Highlights

• Toei Animation's One Piece is catching up to industry leaders like MAPPA Studio, showcasing significant improvements in animation quality.
• The Egghead Arc introduces new environments and fights, elevating the series with an updated art style and intense battles like Luffy versus Lucci.
• Exciting conflicts in the upcoming arcs promise to keep fans engaged, with Toei Animation likely continuing to deliver high-quality animation.

Over the past year, One piece Anime has made great strides in updating many facets of its production to compete with the most successful franchises in the industry. Where Toei Animation's reimagining of Eiichiro Oda's manga was once hampered by poor pacing and average animation, it is now receiving significant acclaim and media attention for all the right reasons.

The fact that Toei Animation One piece is now a production whose quality is not far behind the work of industry trendsetters like MAPPA Studio or WIT Studio, it's a great change of pace. Plus, the ongoing Egghead Arc in the anime — which has already been hailed for some stellar episodes — has barely scratched the surface of what the manga has in store. So with more exciting things to come this year for the franchise, here's a look at why 2024 could be the best year yet for the franchise One piece anime.

New Changes During and After Wano Country

While the first two acts of the Wano Country Arc continued to have many of the problems that plagued the series after the time skip, the final act, which featured the Raid on Onigashima, showed many areas of improvement. This was a necessary move given the importance of this segment in the larger narrative of One piece. Initially, these changes appeared in short bursts of high-quality animation, between stretches of languid pacing.

By the time the Straw Hat Pirates were facing their final opponents in the arc, the animation had improved to the point that episodes like Zoro's battle against King were gaining considerable attention online. This was at a time when shows like Demon Slayer Session 3, Oshi no Koand Hellish Paradise: Jigokurakuwere in the air, which says a lot about the kind of company I was in.

When the time came for Gear 5 to finally hit the big screen, the anticipation and discourse among the series' fanbase and the anime industry as a whole reached a level of intensity that hadn't been seen in One pieceThis has been the case for some time now. While the episode itself was an ambitious and fascinating spectacle that still had its share of flaws, it dominated online discourse and debate for a long time, despite competing with hugely successful titles like Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd season and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Court 2.

Post-Wano Country, the beginning of the Final Saga featured even more changes to the One piece anime's art style, with softer, simplified, and less pronounced lines that added a sense of lightness to the updated character designs of the main cast. In addition, there were also other markers of improvement in the animation, as seen in sequences such as the destruction of the Lulusia Kingdom and the early episodes of the Egghead Arc.

The Prelude to the Egghead Incident

Initially, the first episodes of the Egghead Arc brought a series of new environments and aesthetic changes to the tone of the series, mixing retrofuturism and atompunk styles with the cartoonish visual language of One piece. This shift from Wano Country—which was based on feudal Japan—to a futuristic, post-industrial setting in Egghead was a drastic change, reinforced by the extensive use of 3DCG in many of the arc's settings.

Thankfully, the series’ new art style suited this context well and served to elevate this part of the arc above its depiction in the manga. When the action finally kicked off with Trafalgar Law’s battle against Blackbeard, followed by the long-awaited rematch between Luffy and Rob Lucci, all of the series’ new animation changes came together to deliver a brilliant statement about what Toei Animation intends to do for the remainder of the Egghead Arc.

As a battle that could be one of the best animated in the series thus far, Luffy versus Lucci epitomized the surreal, angry animosity that was brewing between its two combatants as they wreaked havoc on Egghead’s “Future Island.” Firmly at the center of this extended anime-only fight sequence was Toei’s new, refined portrayal of Gear 5, which indicated that they had ironed out all the kinks from their previous Wano Country depiction. In this moment, the studio perfected Luffy’s use of cartoon physics while still maintaining the threat that this transformation posed.

Events in other parts of the New World

In addition to Egghead Island itself, the One piece The anime has already teased two of the most exciting conflicts of this upcoming arc, and there's little doubt that they'll propel the series into the spotlight once again as it airs on the airwaves. The two impending battles in question will take place in different regions of the New World, as the Marines, the Four Emperors, and key players among the Worst Generation's ranks make their own moves in an attempt to get to Laugh Tale before anyone else.

If the anime chooses to follow the same sequence as the manga, the first of these two battles will likely begin after the Kid Pirates arrive on the island of Elbaf. In addition to the threat of the giants, Eustass Kid and his gang will also have to face one of the most powerful characters in the world of One piecewhose true strength has been the subject of much speculation among fans of the series for decades.

As manga readers will already know, this conflict is sure to include some breathtaking action sequences, especially if Toei Animation continues to surpass the standards they've set so far with the Egghead Arc. Next up is Garp's rescue mission to free Koby and all those currently being held hostage by the Blackbeard Pirates on Hachinosu Island. It's no secret that the series' fanbase has been dying to see the Marine Hero in action for some time now, and they finally got to see that wish come true in spectacular fashion.

With these two conflicts expected to take center stage in the upcoming episodes, it's easy to see why the best of the Egghead Arc is yet to come. What makes the whole affair even more fascinating is the fact that even these battles pale in comparison to the actual climax of this arc, which will feature a showdown that could shatter any expectations anime-only fans might have about where the narrative is headed.

Why the Revamped Art Style Is a Good Move

Looking at everything that's in store for the remainder of the Egghead Arc, it's easy to see that Toei Animation will be under a lot of pressure to maintain the level of quality it has established thus far. In the past, One piece has suffered due to its hectic production schedule throughout the year, and it might not be a bad move for Toei Animation to space out its release schedule in preparation for the more action-packed episodes of the Egghead Arc.

Naturally, this would give the animators enough time to deliver a final product that would cement the Final Saga as the best the series has to offer. Apparently, there are a few things that could help expedite this process. For example, the new animation style appears to use a slightly lower frame rate at certain moments for stylistic purposes, and this has generally been very well received, as seen in the fights between Law and Blackbeard, as well as Luffy and Lucci.

While there are a few instances where this approach has fallen a little short of ideal, it has been reasonably effective in representing the ridiculous scale of the series' ongoing conflicts. In the future, this will become even more crucial, as battles of monumental proportions come and go in rapid succession, giving those working on the series little time to breathe.

How 2024 Could Be One Piece's Best Year Yet

We hope that the Toei Animation team has enough time to plan and execute these segments. One piece at a reasonable pace. This has become even more important because recent controversies surrounding the working conditions of animators at major production companies such as MAPPA Studio have shed light on the underbelly of the anime industry.

If things continue at the current pace, it may not be long before the anime reaches the long-awaited climax of the Egghead Arc, and bringing that to life on screen will be a challenging task for everyone involved. That said, Toei Animation has shown time and time again that it is more than up to the task of replicating or even surpassing the quality of the One piece manga where it is important.

With so many major story moments set to hit the big screen this year, along with the buzz surrounding the Final Saga, WIT Studio's upcoming anime remake, and Netflix's live-action adaptation of One piece2024 looks to be a promising year for the franchise as a whole.

One piece is available for streaming on Crunchy Roll.