One Piece is no stranger to surprises; over the years, we’ve seen announcements that have completely revolutionized Eiichiro Oda’s universe, such as the live-action series and multiple new video games. And now it seems we’re at that point where they’re leaving us speechless once again.
One Piece prepares a world-class surprise
It’s official: the next issue of Weekly Shonen Jump will reveal an announcement identified as a world-class project/event related to One Piece. This means that in about seven days, we will find out the nature of this announcement. Right now, the reality is that there is no clue about it, although many fans assume that this announcement must be the reason why Eiichiro Oda has been taking some extra time off in recent months. That said, there are several possibilities already being discussed among the fandom.
A new global popularity poll
It has been almost five years since One Piece held its most recent global popularity poll, which ended up collecting more than 12 million votes and saw Luffy logically crowned as the most popular character in the franchise. Although at first glance this may seem like the least exciting announcement, nowadays popularity polls often result in new illustrations, figures, or even unpublished stories for the winners. That’s why many fans view it positively.
A new One Piece anime movie
This would almost certainly be the best option, especially considering that the last One Piece feature film was released in 2022 with the story of Uta. Since then, there has not been the slightest hint of a new film adaptation of the franchise. The reality is that, given both the timing and recent events in “One Piece,” it’s about time, so to speak. It’s worth noting that we haven’t seen Luffy’s Gear 5 in a movie, with the exception of that teaser in the final seconds of “Film Red,” so it could be the perfect excuse to finally announce a much-desired feature film.
The One Piece video game that truly transcends
One Piece still doesn’t have that video game that everyone agrees is an exceptional piece of work. Naruto and Dragon Ball already have these, but with Luffy’s story, we’re generally left with projects that fall short. The most notable was clearly Odyssey, an RPG that, while receiving considerably positive reviews, did not have the commercial impact expected of an IP like One Piece. It will come eventually, and it can’t be too far off now.
We’ll see where One Piece ends up this time, but it’s clear that we’re at one of those moments when an announcement could define the entire year for Eiichiro Oda’s work. What do you think they’re planning this time?
