The Summer 2026 Anime Preview Guide

One Piece Heroines

All hail the heroines. The girls of One Piece take the helm in this collection of prose short stories. Join Nami, Robin, Vivi, and Perona as they each star in exciting adventures of their own. Nami proves that the shoe must fit for the show to go on, Robin decodes a stone tablet to help Koala and the Revolutionary Army, Vivi gets to the bottom of a mysterious love letter setting the kingdom abuzz, and Perona fights Mihawk for the right to turn a barrel of booze into a sweet treat.

One Piece Heroines is based on the light novel series by author Jun Esaka and illustrations by Sayaka Suwa. The series is based on the One Piece characters created by Eiichiro Oda. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Sundays.

One of my favorite aspects of One Piece is just how high the stakes have been raised over the years. What began as, “Hey, there's some literal clown terrorizing a small village,” now routinely takes on heavy topics like capitalism, classism, and racism on the regular. Luffy has delivered many of the all-time most satisfying anime beatdowns to multiple oligarchs, and that's a beautiful thing. Still, that doesn't mean there's no place for the occasional low-stakes adventures every now and again. That's one of the main itches I think One Piece Heroines—whose first episode boils down to Nami getting a new pair of shoes, and she and Robin teaming up to re-steal some jewels—is going to scratch.

I say “one of” because the obvious thing I think this series will do is put the spotlight on the wonderful and iconic women of One Piece—who don't always get the attention they're due. Make no mistake: When Oda wants to write women well, he can and does. Many of the all-time best moments in the series overall revolve around female characters. And yet, one can't deny that Oda seems to forget his women at times, or otherwise give them the short end of the stick for no apparent reason. Take Robin for example: Although she's far from being irrelevant in the series, she nonetheless often takes a backseat to the action. She's a far cry from the intimidating, looming threat—something of a boss fight in and of herself—that she was when she was introduced. And while I'd argue Robin is the more extreme example of this—someone who could easily be one of the most powerful and critical Straw Hats if only Oda leveled her up at the same pace he does Robin's male counterparts—the same can be said for Nami more often than not. So perhaps, because of Oda's habit of doing this, we need something like Heroines—which isn't by Oda—to put the spotlight on them. Even if, again, it's more low stakes than what we've become accustomed to in modern One Piece.

The episode itself was pretty good, all things considered! I like the art direction, and as I mentioned earlier, I don't mind that it's low-stakes. If anything, that gives it some extra charm. Nami has always been a fashion icon, so I think a little adventure like this suits her well. Fits her like a comfortable shoe, one could say. We've seen her fight in some pretty uncomfortable looking clothes (and I'm sure there's more than a few Nami cosplayers out there who left this episode screaming to themselves, “ARE YOU SAYING YOUR SHOES IN [INSERT OUTFIT HERE] WERE MEANT TO BE COMFORTABLE???”) so the idea that Nami is suddenly prioritizing comfort feels at least a little out-of-character. I've seen drag performers do some pretty athletic stunts in 10 inch heels—I think Nami, a known and documented wearer of heels for most of this thousand-plus-episode-series, has the capacity to run and fight in these wedge heels. But whatever.

I really liked Miucha, too! More specifically, there was a very core One Piece quality to this episode of Heroines, when it shifted the focus to Miucha, and opine on how she's the one doing the work, and yet it's her male boss (who's voiced by the deeply iconic Takehito Koyasu, who as always, absolutely tears up the scenery) who gets the credit anyways. He's the boss and his name is on the logo—even though, again, she's the one actually doing the work. This felt like something One Piece proper would do as well, if this were part of a main series arc. The only thing I really feel inclined to ding it on is that it teased a theme of lookism—how Nami is hot, and therefore gets what she wants all the time. This felt a bit tone deaf coming from another character who's conventionally attractive and nothing ever really came of this. In fact, Nami did—once again—get what she wanted, and one could argue that her being hot added to her charm. I think it could've been really interesting to see this series really explore that idea somewhat, but alas. Maybe some other time.

Making my way through the One Piece manga has been one of the chief pleasures I've gotten to experience over the past year or two, and I was very excited to finally experience a new One Piece anime project in real time alongside all of the other fans. What's more, One Piece Heroines is an absolutely fascinating for a fledgling Straw Hat like me to dig into, since its an adaptation of one of the spin-off books that is being done in a style completely unlike anything produced for the main manga adaptation. HEROINES ditches Eiichiro Oda's trademark Looney Tunes' style for an aesthetic that looks like it could have come straight out of the illustrations from the high-fashion magazines of the mid-20th century. This is, I'm sure, an intentional shift, since this standalone story is all about Nami's desire to right the fashion wrongs that led to her treasure being stolen—which leads our beloved cat burglar to a fashionista runway walk.

It's a story that is at once completely unlike any adventure I've read from the manga so far, but still so very fitting for this most diverse and adaptable of settings. My favorite aspect of the entire One Piece franchise is just how malleable this property is—with tones, characters, and themes that can stretch and bend to fit any situation about as well as the great Would-Be-King of the Pirates. I would kill to see dozens upon dozens of fun experiments like this, done in all sorts of creative and experimental styles.

None of this is to say that HEROINES premiere adventure doesn't feel like a perfect fit for the crew of the Thousand Sunny. Even though the most we see of any of the Straw Hat boys in this special is a very brief, obscured cameo from Luffy, the story loses none of that all-important One Piece je ne sais quoi by shifting the focus entirely to Nami and Robin. Their caper is a well-paced and interesting jaunt into a tale of fashion and intrigue that still ties into all of the neverending piratey drama that characterizes this whole world. Lebno Listchaque makes for a great antagonist—flamboyant and arrogant in equal measure. Just the sort of douchebag who deserves to get his ass kicked by the likes of the Straw Hat Pirates. Even more compelling is Miucha, the complex and long put-upon partner of Lebno whose character really stands as the heart of this whole adventure. Her relationship with the villain of the story makes him more sympathetic and more detestable all at once.

I only have one complaint about this One Piece Heroines project, which is that there is simply not enough of it. I don't just need more episodes to adapt the different chapters of the book. I need a whole spinoff series that gives the gals of the One Piece universe the chance to steal the spotlight and show off the talents of these hardworking animators. It's almost cruel to tease us with such a pretty and entertaining product, only to leave us on the hook with no idea when we'll ever get to see more.

One of my greatest regrets about One Piece is that it seemed like the women weren't getting their fair share of the action as it went on. Maybe that's not a fair statement, because when Nami or Robin get an arc, it's usually excellent. But there are times when it feels like Oda doesn't quite know what to do with them or how to write them, which is why I was excited when One Piece Heroines, a duology of light novels, came out. Finally, the women of One Piece would get their chance to claim the spotlight.

While I have a few issues with the books that aren't pertinent to this episode, this first adapted story does a good job with Nami and Robin. One element of that is seeing how Nami helps cobbler and designer Miucha break free of her toxic (male) boss' shadow. Miucha has allowed herself to be convinced that only his name mattered, that only his word was important in their business. She's been beaten down to the point where she can't allow herself to understand Nami's complaints for what they really are: not just about false advertising, but about function and women looking out for each other. From the moment Nami realizes that it's Miucha who's the master shoemaker (and even before when she rebuffs Lebno's advances), she's willing to both listen and explain. And she wants Miucha to find the courage to do the same.

It's a plot trajectory that makes a lot of sense for Nami. She spent years at the mercy of (fish)men, unable to truly chart her own course. She recognizes Miucha's position because she's been in it. And just like the Straw Hats helped her break free of Arlong, she's going to help Miucha do the same from Lebno. Their situations may not look similar on the surface, but the underlying theme is about women learning that they don't have to take it anymore. Miucha may not need a whole pirate crew to save her, but having two lady pirates on her side certainly gives her the impetus to stand up for herself – because if Nami can do it, why can't she?

I could see some people being disappointed that Nami's adventures revolve around high heeled shoes. A piece of me, who grew up on the water, had a hard time suspending my disbelief about wearing heels on a boat. But this isn't really about the shoes. It's about Nami and Robin having their own rescue mission and crime caper, taking down a corrupt man to help a disheartened woman. That's a storyline I can get behind, and one that's enhanced by Sayaka Suwa's take on Oda's character designs. (Robin looks so good.) If the ladies of One Piece are among your favorite characters, it's worth it to check this out. (And if you're looking for it on Crunchyroll's site, as of this writing it's been shoved into the greater One Piece listing as the most recent season.)