The Straw Hat Pirates are en route to Elbaf, the homeland of giants, which has been the long-awaited dream for Luffy and Usopp. Ahead of the Elbaph arc’s premiere, the One Piece anime staff revealed that the anime will no longer be a weekly anime; instead, it will transition to a seasonal anime with two cours. So, if you are ready to sail to the Elbaph island with the Straw Hat Pirates, check out the episode count and release schedule of the Elbaf arc in the One Piece anime here.
One Piece Anime Elbaf Episode Count: How Many Episodes Will the Elbaf Arc Have?
At the moment, Toei Animation has only disclosed that the One Piece anime will only have 26 episodes per year starting from the Elbaf arc. These episodes will be split into two separate cours and air following a break. Therefore, the Elbaph arc will have 26 episodes in 2026. The first 13 episodes will begin airing on April 5, 2026, and Toei will announce the beginning date of the second cour once the first cour ends in June.
The Elbaf arc is shaping up to be one of the longest arcs in the One Piece manga. It has 50+ chapters at the time of writing and is expected to have at least 60-70 chapters in total. As the One Piece anime staff have confirmed a 1:1 adaptation, i.e., adapting one chapter per episode, we can predict the Elbaf arc to have 60-70 episodes in the One Piece anime.
One Piece Anime Elbaf Release Schedule (2026)
The One Piece anime is confirmed to return on April 5, 2026, following a three-month long break. The first cour of Elbaph will feature 13 episodes as we mentioned above and One Piece Episode 1156 marks the beginning of the Elbaf arc in the One Piece anime. Since the anime has become seasonal now, we don’t expect any sudden breaks in between the episode releases. That said, here is the release schedule of the Elbaf arc in the One Piece anime:
- One Piece Episode 1156: April 5, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1157: April 12, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1158: April 19, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1159: April 26, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1160: May 3, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1161: May 10, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1162: May 17, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1163: May 24, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1164: May 31, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1165: June 7, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1166: June 14, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1167: June 21, 2026
- One Piece Episode 1168: June 28, 2026
We will update our release schedule once Toei Animation reveals new details about the premiere date of Elbaph’s second cour. But we do know that the One Piece: Heroines spin-off anime will air the following week after the first cour of Elbaf ends on June 28, 2026.
Where to Watch the One Piece Anime Elbaf Arc?
Both Crunchyroll and Netflix have announced that the most-awaited Elbaf arc will be simulcast on their respective platforms starting April 5, 2026. Kindly check the availability of the One Piece anime on the aforementioned platforms before getting a subscription.
Furthermore, only the Japanese sub version will be released weekly on streaming platforms first as the Elbaf dubbed episodes don’t have a release date at the moment. That said, are you excited to stream the newest adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates on the homeland of giants? Let us know in the comments below.
Toei Animation has confirmed that only 26 One Piece episodes will be released in 2026.
The Elbaf arc premieres on April 5, 2026, from One Piece Episode 1156.
No! The whole Elbaf arc won’t be adapted into 26 episodes. Only the first 26 episodes of the Elbaf arc is scheduled for release in 2026.
The new episodes of the Elbaf arc will air weekly but not for a year straight like in the past. Instead, it will split into two cours with 13 episodes each.
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar
