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Ever since One Piece manga revealed Luffy's Gear 5, fans of the franchise have been looking forward to Toei Animation animating the same for the anime. That being said, fans would not have to wait for long. A leaked episode schedule on X revealed that One Piece anime will debut Luffy's Gear 5 on July 2023.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece follows the story of Monkey D Luffy, a boy who accidentally ate a devil fruit and acquired the properties of rubber. Following that, he began his journey to find Gol D Roger's treasure and take over his title as the Pirate King.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece manga.
One Piece's episode schedule reveals Luffy's Gear 5 debut date
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With the One Piece anime close to the end of the Wano arc, manga fans look forward to the Straw Hat Pirates' captain's return. That's when Twitter user @justmeight shared the episode schedule for the upcoming anime episodes.
As per the episode schedule, One Piece anime is set to debut Luffy's Gear 5/Joy Boy in episode 1071. The episode will be released on Sunday, July 23, 2023, as per the release time in Japan, which means fans only have to wait six more weeks to see Luffy's Gear 5 in the anime.
However, before that, fans will witness Kidd and Law defeat Big Mom and Raizo defeat Fukurokujo. Only after that will the anime focus on Luffy and his fight against Kaido.
Fans were divided upon seeing the episode schedule before Luffy's Gear 5 animation
While Luffy's Gear 5 was the main focus for fans, many joked about how they were more excited about the fight between Raizo and Fukurokujo. The fandom seems to love Raizo and wants justice done to his battle. While they know that his fight does not have much impact on the anime, they know that it is a massive deal for the character. Thus, although fans joke, they want to watch his fight.
After learning about the episode schedule, one fan noticed how July 22, i.e., the release date of the Joy Boy episode in the United States, was unique to the franchise. July 22 was declared "One Piece Day" to commemorate the manga's first publication. Thus, it was evident to fans that the anime's episode 1071, scheduled to be released on July 22, was not a coincidence.
Nevertheless, fans were not too optimistic about the episode schedule as Toei Animation tends to release special recap episodes before a big fight. The same thing happened before the fight between Zoro and King, as the anime released a recap episode. Otherwise, the anime would have been one episode closer to Luffy's Gear 5 reveal.
Fans believed that the anime would repeat this move for the upcoming episodes. Currently, the fandom has been expecting recap episodes before two events - Law & Kidd vs Big Mom and Luffy's Gear 5. Additionally, there may be a chance that the anime will go on a break in the upcoming weeks, so fans tried to remain cautious of such events.
As of December 2023, episode 1071 was released on August 6, 2023. The delay from the alleged schedule occurred due to some broadcasting issues. The episode broke the internet nonetheless, with Luffy slowly overpowering Kaido using Gear 5.
The long Wano Arc finally concluded in episode 1085, with Momonosuke reclaiming the throne following the fall of Orochi and Kaido. Unlike what many fans would have expected, Yamato surprisingly refused to join the Straw Hats in their adventures. Luffy and his crew have now set sail for Egghead Island, which will mark the beginning of the final sagas of One Piece.
