One Piece Remake: WIT Studio Unveils the Release Plan—Everything Fans Need to Know
Fans scratched their heads when WIT Studios unveiled a One Piece remake with Toei Animation and Eiichiro Oda, but THE ONE PIECE is being positioned as a sleeker, more faithful retelling of the pirate epic.
Yes, there really is a new One Piece anime on the way, and no, it is not replacing the long-running Toei version. WIT Studio is doing a full do-over called 'The One Piece' for Netflix, and the whole point is to re-adapt the manga cleanly from the start so newcomers are not staring down a thousand-plus episodes before they meet Chopper. Here is where things stand, what it covers, and who is making it.
So... when does it come out?
There is no release date yet. WIT Studio and Netflix have not announced timing, and nothing official has slipped out through the usual event circuits since the reveal. Based on how the project has been framed and where production looks to be, 2026 is the realistic window people are circling. Consider that an informed guess, not a promise.
What exactly is being remade?
'The One Piece' is a start-from-zero readaptation of Eiichiro Oda's story, beginning with the East Blue saga. Think of it as a modern, tighter, manga-faithful retelling rather than a touch-up. Meanwhile, Toei's long-running One Piece anime keeps airing as usual, covering much later arcs. They will exist side by side, just at very different points in the timeline.
Why do this at all?
When WIT announced the project at Jump Festa 2024 as part of the anime's 25th-anniversary celebrations, fans had the obvious question: why remake a mega-hit? The pitch is basically accessibility and fidelity. It is a cleaner adaptation for new viewers who bounced off the sheer length, and a chance to present the early story with modern production and pacing. Oda has given the remake his blessing and, reportedly, the freedom to reimagine how those early arcs are told.
What WIT and Netflix have shown so far
WIT and Netflix have rolled out teasers, trailers, concept art, and some production notes. The marketing points to a fresh visual take that still feels recognizably One Piece, and the plan is to cover East Blue first. Internally, the team has been working toward roughly 25 episodes for that initial saga, but that episode count has not been officially locked.
The team steering 'The One Piece'
- Director: Masashi Koizuka (best known for key seasons of Attack on Titan)
- Character design/animation leadership: Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda
- Art direction: Tomonori Kuroda
- Series composition: Taku Kishimoto
- Voice cast: Expect many of the original Japanese actors to reprise roles, though not every return is confirmed
- Platform: Netflix will carry the remake
The practical takeaways
Big-picture: the Toei anime keeps trucking along in its current arc while WIT restarts the story at East Blue with new pacing, new art direction, and a modern production pipeline. If you have been waiting for a cleaner on-ramp, this is literally built for you. If you are already deep into the Toei run, this is a new lens on the early years, not a replacement.
And if you are wondering whether this strategy can work: the original One Piece anime is still a ratings monster after two-and-a-half decades, sitting around 9.0 on IMDb and 8.73 on MyAnimeList. The audience is there. Now we wait for the date. If I had to put money on it, I would keep my calendar flexible for 2026.