KEY POINTS

  • "One Piece" 1000 aired over the weekend
  • The episode is called "Overwhelming Strength! The Straw Hats Come Together!"
  • "One Piece" 1000 featured the revived "We Are" anime opening

"One Piece" is one of the longest-running animes in the world, and it achieved an impressive milestone on Nov. 21 when it aired its 1000th episode. The following are some things only true-blue fans know about the epic episode.

During the premiere of "One Piece" 1000 anime, servers of Crunchyroll, the American distributor, publisher, production and licensing company known for streaming manga, dorama and anime, crashed. So far, there have only been a few instances in which Crunchyroll servers went down, with the most recent one taking place during the Tournament of Power of "Dragon Ball Super."

The team behind the hit anime also launched a new promo visual on Instagram that features the kingly-looking Monkey D. Luffy with his famous straw hat and his cape that makes him look a lot like Gol D. Roger. Behind him is a collage showing some of the most unforgettable moments in the anime.

TVアニメ「ONE PIECE」1000話記念:ウィーアー!
2021年11月21日!! TVアニメ「ONE PIECE」1000話到達記念!! TVアニメ「ONE PIECE」1000話記念:ウィーアー!映像 YouTube Screenshot/One Piece Official YouTube Channel

To celebrate the anime's 1000th episode, fans in Japan can join in a contest where they can get special goodies and other "One Piece"-related merchandise. Unknown to some, the epic episode was made available to 80 countries over the weekend, with special screenings planned across the U.S.

In France, the world's second-largest manga and anime market, more than 100 theaters held a marathon viewing.

Massive billboards of the series have also been put up in various locations. A huge "One Piece" 1000 billboard has been erected in Los Angeles while another one can be seen in New York. Meanwhile, a giant banner featuring the main characters of the series can also be found at Shibuya Station in Tokyo.

Fans were also delighted to see the revived opening "We Are" exclusively available on episode 1000. The opening was featured from the first until the 47th episode of the anime.

"One Piece" 1000 is titled "Overwhelming Strength! The Straw Hats Come Together!" This is the first time all the Straw Hats fought alongside each other with the latest member of the crew the First Son of the Sea and former Shichibukai Jimbei.

Fans were also treated to some nostalgic clips showing Straw Hat members from the time the anime began. The anime first aired in 1999, a couple of years after the manga debuted in Japan.