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Fans are waiting for the return of the One Piece anime in April - after all, while the Fishman Island Saga remake is a fun distraction, nothing beats new One Piece. Strangely, over the weekend, that’s exactly what we got, as a new five-minute original episode of One Piece has been uploaded to the franchise’s YouTube channel.

The new episode takes place after the final battles in Wano Country and tells a new story that wasn’t covered in the manga. Unfortunately, the current version streaming on YouTube doesn’t have subtitles so it can be a bit difficult for most fans in the West to follow what is happening, but we can see both Luffy and Trafalgar having a discussion and dealing with a large monster. Even if you can’t understand exactly what is happening, the action sequences are as impressive as we’ve come to expect from One Piece.

This unexpected new episode of One Piece was first screened at MBS Anime Fest 2025 over the weekend and was uploaded to YouTube shortly after. It doesn’t do much to advance the story of the anime, but it is good to know that Toei Animation is still working on the show during its longest hiatus. That hiatus began back in October just as the anime reached its 25th anniversary. 

Unless Toei has something else up their sleeves between now and then, this will be the only new episode of One Piece we get before the anime returns for the second half of the Egghead Island Arc in April 2025. Hopefully, we get a version with subtitles so those of us who don’t speak Japanese can follow along more easily.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"