The One Piece anime remake is happening, and Eiichiro Oda‘s guilt could basically be the reason why. And the CEO of WIT Studio, George Wada, has said so himself.
Oda Felt Bad About New Generation Missing Out
One Piece has been running since 1999. It’s over 1100 episodes now. Oda looked at that and thought about kids who grew up on Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen-level animation having to wade through early-2000s Toei pacing to get into the story. That bothered him.
“Since it started a long time ago, the new generation, accustomed to modern productions, does not necessarily feel the same excitement toward the older animations. He felt a bit of regret about that and wanted the new generation to know and follow the story,” Wada said.
That’s what got WIT Studio in the room. They’re doing a full remake called The One Piece for Netflix with Oda supervising. WIT did Attack on Titan Season 1, Spy x Family, and Vinland Saga. And it’s safe to say that they know what they’re doing.
Wada also said something about the bigger picture. He added, “With Netflix, we now realize that our works are watched all over the world. We are no longer competing only in the Japanese market; we are competing with global giants like Hollywood and Disney.“
The plan is to do the East Blue Arc from scratch, with no filler and modern animation. The original anime is still going at episode 1156, deep in the Elbaph Arc. Nothing is getting replaced.
One Piece started as a manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. Oda wrote a story about a boy named Monkey D. Luffy who ate a Devil Fruit that turned his body into rubber and wants to become King of the Pirates. Simple enough premise.
It became the best-selling manga in history with over 530 million copies in circulation. The fanbase is massive and loyal in a way most franchises never get close to. People have been reading and watching this story for close to 30 years.
The live action on Netflix last year proved there’s a whole new audience for it, too. The remake is going after that same crowd. Get them in from the beginning: no filler, no outdated animation, just the story. Oda mentioned at Jump Festa 2026 that production is moving. No date yet. It’s coming, though.
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