The nostalgia starts early, as Episode 1,000’s opening kicks off with the exact same opening narration as Episode 1’s did, which transitions straight into the sounds of “We Are,” the original One Piece opening theme song.
So when One Piece broadcast its 1,000th episode last Sunday in Japan, it celebrated the landmark by going back and updating the original One Piece opening animation, but with the Straw Hat Pirates’ current roster and designs.
Like most long-running anime, One Piece has gone through several opening sequence and theme songs over the years, and the original opening only lasted until Episode 47, which aired in November of 2000.
That’s not to say that One Piece is a static story, though.