Elbaph

I’m Reviewing the new Season of One Piece, and you Can’t stop Me!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , ,

Primer for One Piece Elbaph Arc

After all these years, we’re finally here. The One Piece anime has officially made it to Elbaph.

A few months ago, Toei Animation shocked the world of anime with some unbelievable news. After almost three decades of near-continuous running, the One Piece anime would no longer be an all-year-round show. Starting from the end of the Egghead Island Arc, the anime would switch to the same seasonal format that has come to define the industry in recent years. While some got upset about this, others understood the need for the switch. The anime was catching up to the manga, and with Eichiro Oda prioritizing his well-being in recent years, that meant fewer chapters were out. Between that and the higher quality of animation the series has gotten in recent years, releasing a new episode every week isn’t sustainable for anyone. Plus, no one wants to see more filler episodes and we hate those recap specials that keep popping up! Hence the need to move to a seasonal release schedule. But trust me, it will be worth it, because if you only watched the anime, you have no idea how crazy the Elbaph Arc is going to get. But I do.

Over the past several years, I have been covering the One Piece manga on my personal blog, recapping and reviewing each chapter from the end of Act One of the Wano Country Arc onwards. And I’ve been reading the manga for about fourteen years, with it currently in the middle of the Elbaph Arc right now. Which is I’m going to do something that I haven’t thought of doing before: I’m going to review the One Piece anime.

In the past, I’ve never considered reviewing the One Piece anime because I never felt it necessary. I already knew what was going to happen, so I didn’t think that I could properly review it. But then it occurred to me that I review plenty of shows that I already know the outcomes to, both on here and on my personal blog. With that not being an excuse, and the shift to a seasonal format becoming more appealing, why shouldn’t I review the anime? If anything, the fact that I’ve been covering the manga should help me review everything better!

Plus, when I say that the Elbaph Arc is going to be crazy, I mean that it’s going to be crazy. The first look that just dropped on YouTube is just the beginning.

Why this is So Hype!

I don’t know how many people who read this blog like One Piece or have been a long-term fan of it, but indulge me as I explain why this arc is so hyped up. Next to the island where the One Piece is said to be located, Elbaph has been the most anticipated location in the entire series. Ever since it was first mentioned in an arc twenty-seven years ago, Elbaph has been one near the top fo the places that Luffy has wanted to visit. It’s the homeland of most of the Giants, who, as we have seen throughout the series, are some of the strongest warriors in the world. More importantly, it’s a land that’s heavily influenced by Norse culture, AKA the Vikings. Next to the real-life golden age of piracy, the Vikings are who most people think of when they think of pirates. But they’re more than just pirates; they were explorers, traders, nation-builders, and had a culture that has had influenced the world long after the actual civilization faded away. Case in point, we have what Marvel and God of War have done with Norse mythology. Culturally, they’re a pretty big deal! And Eichiro Oda has spent the majority of the manga feeding us tiny hints of what this fantastical land is like, longer than he has for any other location.

There is a reason for why Oda has devoted so much attention to Elbaph. When he was a kid, he grew up watching Vicky the Viking, a German-Japanese show about a smart but timid boy who used his brains to help out his village. That show is what made him want to become a mangaka, and eventually led him to create One Piece. Part of what makes the series so great is that Oda draws influence from real-world cultures for almost every location the Straw Hat Pirates visit, and in the case of Elbaph, it’s the Vikings. To put it simply, Oda’s spent most of his life wanting to tell a story like that of Elbaph, and so far, he hasn’t held anything back.

You are Not Ready for Loki

If you’ve read the manga already, then you already know just how crazy the Elbaph Arc gets, but this quick teaser is more of the “show-but-don’t-tell” variety. That’s understandable, given how it’s only 30 seconds long, but it makes the best of it to hype us up for what we’re about to see. Granted, by the time this goes out, the first episode will already be released, but that’s besides the point. The main focus of the trailer, though, is the introduction of a new character that plays a major role in the arc. A character, as of where the manga is right now, is considered a prime candidate to join the Straw Hat Pirates: Loki, the accursed Prince of Elbaph.

If you know anything about Norse mythology, then you know Oda wasn’t playing around naming this behemoth of a Giant Loki. The fact that the first time we see him, he is blindfolded and chained to a tree should be enough to tell you that this guy is dangerous. If that doesn’t convince you, the fact that he tells Luffy that he’s the Sun God who will destroy the world should tell you how dangerous he is. The fact that he’s claiming to be the Sun God, a title that we thought Luffy unknowingly has thanks to his Devil Fruit, only cements this.

I won’t spoil anything, but for a good part of the arc, Oda does a good job of leaving readers unsure of what to think about Loki. I still remember how people were debating about whether Loki is as bad as his countrymen say he is, or if he’s misunderstood. Oda keeps us guessing for a while, and it was interesting to listen to the debates about it amongst the fans. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Elbaph Arc will begin on April 5th, 2026, and with our release schedule for new posts, it’s likely that has already passed. Hopefully, I will have already reviewed the first episode by the time you’re reading this and it will be scheduled for publishing. If so, I hope you enjoy it!

SO MUCH PEAK FOR SPRINGTIME

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything RJ Writing Ink Wants to watch Spring 2026

Time to put away the snow shovels and cold-weather jackets, people. It’s finally spring. That means going outside to touch grass, watching the flowers and cherry blossoms bloom, and most importantly, enjoying a new season of anime. And there is a lot of anime for us to enjoy this year. From a new season of a few of the Seven Summits of Isekai to the return of some legendary Shonen anime, we have a lot to look forward to over the next few months. I don’t know how much I will actually be able to watch, but here are a few of the ones that I know are on my list. And who knows? I might end up reviewing them for the D&A Anime Blog!

Rooster Fighter, March 15th-

When it comes to fearsome animals, chickens aren’t exactly high on people’s tier lists. But then you remember that they’re related to dinosaurs like the T. rex and that some people pay to watch them fight each other and think, “dang. These birds are tough!” And someone in Japan to take that premise and run with it with a web manga that’s now getting welcomed onto Toonami’s block. Set in a world where demons have appeared in Japan, Rooster Fighter follows Keiji, a rooster who wanders the land like a ronin of old, beating the snot out of demons in search of the one that killed his sister. If it sounds incredibly silly and over-the-top, that’s because it is. But the fact that Keiji acts so serious despite being a rooster somehow makes it both funny and awesome. Plus, he’s dubbed by Patrick Seitz, the voice of Franky, Endeavor, and DIO. The idea of man who voices DIO playing a fighting rooster is too good to pass up!

Speaking of DIO….

Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, March 19th

Let the race begin! After four long years of waiting, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure returns with the long-awaited adaptation of Part Seven, Steel Ball Run. Serving as Hirohiko Araki’s love letter to spaghetti westerns, the premise behind Part Seven is the titular Steel Ball Run, a race that stretches from one end of the United States to the other with a massive cash prize awaiting the winner. Since this is JoJo, though, that means that there’s a bizarre conspiracy at work and supernatural powers at play. Regarded by many as Araki’s magnum opus, Steel Ball Run also has the distinction of being the first part to take place in an entirely new timeline, featuring reimaginations of many characters fans have come to know and love. Jonathan Joestar is now Johnny Joestar, Zeppeli is a mysterious vagabond, and best of all, Dio is now a cocky horse jockey. And that’s just the start, from what I hear! The best part is that it seems Netflix will be releasing new episodes weekly rather than dumping an entire cours at once!

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Season 4, Pt. 1-April 2nd

We here at the D&A Anime Blog are massive fans of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and if you’ve seen the show, it’s not hard to understand why we’re excited for his return. Having solidified his status as a Demon Lord and debuted his country on the world stage, Rimuru and his friends continue their efforts to build a world where humans and monsters can live in harmony. Much like before, though, there are people working in the shadows trying to knock him down, and he will have to show them why that is a terrible idea. It should also be noted that this is just part one of the fourth season, with the entire thing being broken up into a staggering 5 cours’ spanning 50 episodes! That’s either madness or sheer brilliance, but either way, we’re not complaining.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, April 4th-

Fullmetal Alchemist is considered by many to be one of the greatest anime of all time and a must-watch for anime fans. But did you know that we’re about to get an anime adaptation of another one of its creators’ works, Daemons of the Shadow Realm? Set in a world where people can control supernatural creatures called Daemons, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, much like Fullmetal, is a story about two siblings, Yuru and Asa. Separated while young, the two embark on a journey to reunite as they discover that they are meant to control all Daemons in order to save the world. So, pretty standard shonen stuff. But the fact that it was created the woman behind FMA and is getting animated by Studio Bones should be all the reason why fans should check this out.

Dr. Stone-Science Future Part 3-April 2nd

Full disclosure: I actually skipped over watching the second part of Dr. Stone’s fourth season. I know that everything works out in the end, but given how close Senku and the others came to biting it in part two, I didn’t feel like dealing with that kind of stress. However, given how close the series is to the end, and Senku and the Kingdom of Science are to making it to the moon, I think I’m going to hop back on.

Now before we get to the last anime I’m looking forward to seeing, let’s talk about the one that I won’t be watching.

The Beginning After the End, Season 2, April

Last year, one of the founders of D&A Anime Blog had told me about this webcomic that was getting an anime adaptation, and I wound up binge-reading most of it in a few days and loved it. It combined the best aspects of Mushoku Tensei with powers systems and abilities that reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of, if not, my favorite show of all time. Unfortunately, the anime has gone down in infamy as the biggest disappointment of 2025. The animation was complete trash. I knew it, the fans knew it, and I think even the creator of the series himself knew he got screwed over. I stuck with it out of principle, but I’m not going through that again!

One Piece, Elbaph Arc Cours 1-April 5th

I don’t think that everyone was happy when Toei announced they were moving One Piece to a seasonal release schedule, but let’s be honest: it was inevitable. Anime that release every week year-round have been phased out for years, with One Piece being the last big holdout. Having read and covered the manga on my own blog, though (which I welcome you to read), I understand why they’re doing this. Next to the island where the One Piece is located, Elbaph, home of the Giants, was the most anticipated location that fans wanted to see the Straw Hats visit. And Oda has made the decades-long wait worth it, as Elbaph is one of the most fantastic places in the entire series. If you’re not caught up on the manga, then you are going to be in for a wild and crazy ride as the Straw Hats make it to the land they’ve dreamt of for years. In addition to the usual Straw Hat shenanigans, we’re poised to get one of the most important flashbacks in the entire series, while Luffy has his first encounter with one of the two characters I consider to be in the running for the ultimate antagonist of the series. Honestly, Toei needed this extra time to cook!