One Piece is getting a new home for British viewers, and the platform isn’t a service you’d expect Luffy and the Straw Hats to end up on.
Despite now running for over 25 years, One Piece continues to only grow in popularity. As the manga moves into the Elbaf Arc, Eiichiro Oda’s pirate epic consistently remains one of the best anime going, keeping up alongside franchises such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer.
In a twist nobody saw coming, it’s now been announced that One Piece is coming to the BBC. The remainder of 2024 will see most episodes of the anime show arrive on the iPlayer, viewable for anyone within the British Isles.
For anyone outside the UK, the British Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster, with a bespoke streaming service called the iPlayer. The company funds a huge amount of TV shows, including Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders, alongside licensing other properties for British viewers.
On August 30, 2024, it was revealed that One Piece would be joining the BBC’s existing library, joining Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai and Pokémon. The selection for the medium isn’t particularly large, but this is something that definitely injects some life into the choices.
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“With its captivating storytelling, rich characters and global fanbase, One Piece has become a cultural phenomenon,” Fiona Campbell, Controller of Youth Audiences, iPlayer and BBC Three, said in a statement. “We’re so excited to see how the fanbase will enjoy this huge canon of episodes available in English only on iPlayer.”
One Piece starts arriving on the BBC iPlayer from September 1, 2024, with over 1,000 episodes coming between then and November. The deal only goes up to the Land of Wano Arc so far, but still – that’s a lot to watch.
If you want to know what’s happening in the manga, check out our guide to Chapter 1125. We have a look at the Devil Fruits too, if you’d rather be educated on the lore.
