Recap: One Piece Day 2026 Event Highlights

Japan's celebration of "ONE PIECE DAY '26" was held on August 22–23 at Makuhari Messe, organized by Bandai Namco Entertainment, Shueisha, and Toei Animation. For its fifth edition, the program featured the highly anticipated results of the second global character popularity poll, an all-star lineup of the Elbaph Arc voice actors, a ONE PIECE CARD GAME panel, a live performance, and some exciting announcements for the anime and live-action series.

To recap, here are some of the stage highlights and photos from the ONE PIECE DAY '26 celebration:

• In celebration of the manga surpassing 600 million copies, the "WORLD TOP 100 (WT100), character poll was launched. The poll received a total of 13,086,239 points from fans around the world. The top rank goes to Monkey D. Luffy, followed by Roronoa Zoro, and then Sanji at third rank, reaffirming the enduring popularity of the future Pirate King and his two wings. The full results can be found on the WT100 website.
• At the launch of WT100, it was announced that original author Eiichiro Oda would create new “Special Outfit” illustrations for the Top 30 characters. In a surprise reveal during the event, a newly drawn illustration of Luffy was unveiled ahead of the full reveal. These “Special Outfit” illustrations will be featured in the anime, ONE PIECE CARD GAME, and various merchandise.

• Shuichi Ikeda, the voice of Shanks, made a surprise appearance, drawing enthusiastic reactions from both fans and his fellow cast members.
• During the live voice-over performance, the cast brought to life scenes from the ELBAPH Arc that had already aired, along with a scene featuring Shanks and Saint Shamrock that has yet to appear in the anime.

• The program also explored the cast members’ “Another Voices,” highlighting other characters they have portrayed in the anime. Each cast member reflected on characters they felt a special connection to and shared memories from their time in the role.
• Four new cast members have also been announced for recurring guest roles in Season 3 of Netflix’s live-action series. Emilio Sakraya joins the cast as Koza, while Omid Abtahi will portray Toto. Rounding out the newly announced cast are Jamie Ward as Pell and Nabeel Khan as Chaka.

• Production on Season 3 has also wrapped in Cape Town, South Africa. “ONE PIECE: The Battle of Alabasta” is set to premiere globally on Netflix in 2027.
• Closing out ONE PIECE DAY’26 was a special live concert featuring Hiroshi Kitadani, Maki Otsuki, AiNA THE END, and 36km/h.

Meanwhile, the exhibition floor featured massive ONE PIECE character displays and special experiences. There were corners for the WORLD TOP 100, ONE PIECE CARD GAME, Gashapon, Banpresto Crane Game, Bounty Rush, and Dawn Strike. There were also areas with toy and hobby showcases, including upcoming merchandise, figures, and rare collectibles. Life-sized character displays and a massive Loki balloon inflatable were also among the highlights. Check out the photo gallery:

ONE PIECE is a manga series by Eiichiro Oda that began its serialization in Shuiesha's Weekly Shonen Jump on July 22, 1997. To celebrate the day that it was serialized, the annual super-sized "ONE PIECE DAY" event is held by Bandai Co., Ltd., Shueisha's Inc., and Toei Animation Inc. For more information, visit the ONE PIECE DAY official website.

Photos via Press Release
©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation