Mar 22, 2017 09:09 AM EDT
Funimation has confirmed that the ninth season of one of the longest running anime, "One Piece," will be released in the US. Officially titled "One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1, the hit manga-turned-anime is slated to go on sale on June 20, 2017.
According to Comic Book, Funimation updated its website by providing a pre-order link for "One Piece" Season 9, thereby announcing that Monkey D. Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats would be arriving on US shores soon. This marks the first time in 10 years that Funimation has received licensing rights to "One Piece." In the past, Funimation has distributed 42 Voyage sets, 18 Collection sets, and three Collection Treasure Chests. The studio also dubbed a number of movies including "Strong World," "Film Z," and "Film Gold." "One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 would be released following the debuts of Collection 19 and "One Piece Film: Gold" on May 2017.
One Piece Podcast reports that the launch of "One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 will follow the traditional "One Piece" releases. Meaning, "One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 will include 12 new English dubbed episodes, a 22-minute worth of special features containing trailers, textless opening songs, and commentary for episodes 519 and 529. It will include the "One Piece Cast Goes to Matsuricon 2016: Live Dub."
"One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 will feature episodes 517 to 528. "One Piece" Season 9 will focus on Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hats struggle against Hordy Jones and his massive army. Hordy Jones will play the main antagonist and only Monkey D. Luffy and his crew can rescue the royal family of Fishman Island from Hordy Jones.
Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hats would have to overcome challenges and difficulties in "One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 if they are to be successful in saving the royal family, including defeating an ancient ship almost twice the size of the island. To make matters worse, Monkey D. Luffy would have to rely on cowering mermaids to lead them away from the ancient ship before it gets a chance to wipe them out.
"One Piece" Season 9 Voyage 1 is the first batch of episodes from the Return to Sabaody Archipelago and Fishman Island Arc. For more "One Piece" latest news and update, visit our website!