One Piece, as usual, was the last franchise to take the stage during Jump Festa 2026. The annual event, sponsored by Shueisha, is the largest celebration of anime and manga in Japan, and is also where the hottest news of the coming year is usually shared. One Piece gets the most attention every year, and while there were no big franchise announcements at Jump Festa 2026, it was revealed that the next story arc could reveal the final destination of this long journey: Laugh Tale, the island where One Piece awaits.
The Jump Festa program was jam-packed, including an impressive film trailer. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Runand announcement about anime special episode for My Hero Academiawhich adapts the additional final chapter published in the last volume of the manga. One Piece opened with a retrospective of Tony Tony Chopper, the handsome Straw Hats doctor, highlighting his best moments from the manga, and then the anime voice actors took turns holding a mock competition to see who could voice Chopper in live-action. Ikue Ohtani, who voices Chopper in the anime, apparently won, and it was confirmed that she would also lend her voice to a character in the Japanese dub of the Netflix show. A teaser for the new season of the Elbaf Arc anime was then shown, stating that it will begin on April 5, 2026.
Every year, fans watch for an announcement made during the event. One piececreator Eiichiro Oda. While his words are always a bit cryptic, it's a great teaser for what's to come for the best-selling manga next year. This year Oda's message was as follows (translation: @sandmap_AP to X):
“As for anime films, I wasn’t told that I was allowed to say this, but it’s not a smooth progression. However, this may make people say, “Oda actually said that, hurry up!” haha. This topic is definitely of interest to many of you, so please wait very patiently.
Since it's Jump Festa, let me talk about the manga itself.
After a very long flashback, or rather after you have learned a little history about Elbad, we return to the present. When we return to the present, the way Elbaf appears should become clear, and then **boom**, we end it in a colorful way. From this point on things get very difficult.
Are we heading to **that island** that only the Pirate King could reach!!? A person marked with flame will also appear. Characters who never had the chance to meet will finally meet each other. These two will meet, and these two will also meet.
Next year there may be a meeting festival. The story will move at high speed, but I have unknowingly grown older, so while taking care of my life and health, I will continue to sail at the fastest speed One Piece has ever had, steady and powerful, again next year. There's a festival ahead. Please look forward to it.”
The most interesting part of the message is, of course, the mention of an island that only the Pirate King reached. Oda could be referring to Laughter's Tale, One Piece's legendary treasure location that can only be found by collecting four track poneglyphs. The last people to set foot on this island were Gol D. Roger and his crew, meaning fans will finally get their first look at One Piece, or at least its location, in 2026.
2026 will be a big year for the One Piece franchise. Anime will switch to a seasonal production modelfocusing on ensuring fans get the highest quality possible, even if that means only 26 episodes will be released. An anime remake produced by WIT is also in production, but there is no news of its release. The game show's second season will premiere in March, with a third season already confirmed. The manga also continues to move towards its epic conclusion, but fortunately that is still a few years away.
