A One Piece spin-off based on female characters from the popular anime is in the works, Crunchyroll has announced.
At the One Piece Day ‘25 celebration on Monday, the voice actors of the long-running show announced an anime adaptation of the Heroines light novel series, written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Sayaka Suwa.
A part of the One Piece world, created by Eiichiro Oda, Heroines follows the female protagonists, with some plotlines occurring between events of the main story.
Along with the announcement, the first visual featuring Nami and Robin in the anime’s art style was revealed.
One Piece novel Heroines is a collection of short stories focused on the women of the world of pirates. The series was initially released as short stories in One Piece Magazine before being collected into two light novels.
The first light novel has stories focused on Nami, Robin, Vivi, and Perona, while the second volume has Hancock, Tashigi, Reiju, and Uta chapters, with the final story being a conversation between Nami and Robin about the crew’s hygiene. VIZ Media has released both volumes in English.
Haruka Kamatani, who is set to helm a vertical short anime adaptation of One Piece in Love, is directing Heroines with character designs from Takashi Kojima (Flip Flappers) and scripts written by Momoka Toyoda (One Piece Fan Letter). Further details, such as release date or format, are not out yet.
One Piece fans cannot stop raving about the upcoming adaptation.
Some of them are demanding spin-offs based on the characters of Big Mom and Yamato. Others are also pointing out the need for series dedicated to Ace and Sanji.
Hyping up the new anime, a fan wrote on X, “They really said ‘let’s drop the baddie roster all at once’ and expect the fandom to stay calm… impossible.”
A fan expressed excitement over the story of Uta, the adopted daughter of Red-Haired Shanks. “Wait my goat Uta is actually getting some love???? That caught me a little off-guard, I won’t lie,” reads the tweet.
“Shame they didn't get to Yamato but hopefully she's in it in the future,” wrote another fan.
Baby 5, a former member of the Donquixote Pirates, is among other female characters with an emotional backstory in the anime. “WHAT ABOUT BABY 5!??” asked a fan.
Fans on Reddit, too, are elated, with some desiring an anime adaptation of Ace’s manga. “They should animate the Ace Manga/Novel. That would be so good with a proper studio behind it. And Boichi's style translates well into shonen,” they wrote. Another fan agreed, mentioning that full movie adaptations of Ace and Law’s manga would work well.
“I knew they would continue adapting the One Piece novels, I can't wait for when they adapt Ace's, Law's and Zoro's novels,” wrote a Redditor.
“They deserve to be animated. I really enjoyed the LNs. Very light reading (as you would expect) but the stories are extremely authentic to the heart of One Piece,” a Reddit user wrote in anticipation of the Heroines anime.
Some fans are also delighted with Momoka Toyoda, writer of the special episode One Piece Fan Letter, penning the script for the upcoming anime.
One Piece Fan Letter, released ahead of the anime’s comeback in April after a six-month hiatus, was well-received by fans for its unique perspective, animation and emotional resonance. Many considered it a masterpiece and a love letter to the anime and its dedicated fanbase.