Here’s some exciting news for anime fans, as the BBC has announced that it has acquired the UK rights to English dubbed versions of the legendary series One Piece and will be bringing over 1000 episodes to the BBC iPlayer service this year – with the first 206 already available to stream now!
“It’s a really exciting move to bring the One Piece franchise to UK audiences in the coming months,” said Fiona Campbell, Controller of Youth Audiences, iPlayer and BBC Three. “With its captivating storytelling, rich characters and global fanbase, One Piece has become a cultural phenomenon and we’re so excited to see how the fanbase will enjoy this huge canon of episodes available in English only on iPlayer.”
The first three sagas of One Piece – East Blue, Alabasta and Sky Island – Skypiea – released on iPlayer today (Sunday, September 1st), marking the first time that the English dubbed versions have been available in the UK. The remaining seven sagas will join the service between now and December.
Based on Eiichiro Oda’s manga series, One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as they search for the ‘One Piece’, a mythical treasure belonging to the deceased King of the Pirates.
Produced by Toei Animation, the anime series launches in 1999 and has now extended to over 1100 episodes. It was also adapted into a live-action series by Netflix last year, with a second season in the works, while the streamer is also working on an animated reboot entitled The One Piece.
