'The One Piece' Confirms 71-Year-Old Mayumi Tanaka as Luffy
Tanaka Returns After 26 Years as Luffy
Mayumi Tanaka has voiced Monkey D. Luffy since the One Piece TV anime debuted in 1999. At 71, she admitted to feeling some nerves about starting fresh. "I was a little anxious about beginning something new at this age," Tanaka said in a statement reported by Japanese entertainment site Oricon News, "but once I actually got into it, I made new discoveries and was able to play Luffy with a fresh mindset."
The casting came at the production team's insistence. Tanaka added that recording sessions have been genuinely fun, and urged fans to look forward to the February 2027 premiere.
What the First Footage Shows
The teaser opens with the moment that sets the entire story in motion: Gold Roger, the man who once possessed everything the world had to offer, utters his final words before execution and sends the world rushing to the seas. From there, the footage follows Luffy as he leaves Fūsha Village wearing the straw hat entrusted to him by Red-Haired Shanks and sets out after the legendary treasure, the One Piece.
The trailer offers first looks at the main crew. Shanks, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji all appear in WIT Studio's (Spy x Family, Attack on Titan seasons 1–3) updated visual style. The footage closes with Luffy unleashing a Gum-Gum Pistol at the Lord of the Coast.
A New Production Team Takes the Helm
THE ONE PIECE moves production from Toei Animation, which has handled the TV anime for over 25 years, to WIT Studio. The series is directed by Masashi Koizuka, whose credits include co-directing Attack on Titan Season 2 and directing Mashle. Taku Kishimoto, the writer behind Haikyu!! and Fruits Basket (2019), handles series composition and scripts. Kyōji Asano, the character designer for Attack on Titan, shares character design and chief animation director duties with Takatoshi Honda. The score comes from Yūki Hayashi, the composer behind My Hero Academia and Haikyu!!
Koizuka spoke about matching the energy of the voice performances. "The voice actors delivered incredibly passionate, outstanding performances," the director said, "so the animation team is constantly giving 120% to keep up." He also reflected on the excitement he felt reading the original manga week to week when it first started, calling it a feeling of unknown possibility similar to what Luffy himself feels setting out to sea. "We're focused entirely on giving our all to animate the brilliant One Piece manga that Oda created," Koizuka said.
Season 1: East Blue in Seven Episodes
The first season adapts manga chapters 1 through 50, covering the East Blue arc and ending with Luffy meeting Sanji, the sous-chef at the sea restaurant Baratie. All seven episodes drop at once on Netflix, totaling approximately 300 minutes of content. The show runs as a separate production line from the current TV anime, which continues its Elbaf arc on broadcast television.
For context, Eiichirō Oda's manga has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since July 22, 1997. Worldwide cumulative circulation has surpassed 600 million copies. The 2022 theatrical film ONE PIECE FILM RED grossed over ¥20.3 billion (approx. $140 million) domestically.
Looking Ahead
THE ONE PIECE Season 1 launches on Netflix worldwide in February 2027. As a Netflix global exclusive, international fans won't need to wait for a separate licensing window. No word yet on whether additional Straw Hat crew voice actors will carry over from the original series or be recast.
The source manga is published in English by Viz Media and is also available through Shueisha's free Manga Plus platform. The current TV anime's Elbaf arc continues airing in Japan for viewers who want to stay current with the long-running series while waiting for the remake.