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Funimation's One Piece Simulcast Begins Tonight

The North American anime distributor Funimation is set to launch its simultaneous streaming of the One Piece anime series on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. CDT (10:00 p.m. EDT), or one hour after the Japanese broadcast. The anime adapts Eiichiro Oda's manga about a young rubber-bodied pirate captain and his motley crew's search for the legendary One Piece treasure. Before Funimation simulcasts episode 415, it has already started streaming the first six episodes and episodes 391-411. (The later episodes are English-subtitled, while the first six are available with English dubbing or subtitles.)

Viz Media will publish the 22nd volume of Oda's original manga in October. Oda himself is overseeing the production of the 10th anime film, One Piece Film Strong World, which will open in Japan on December 12. Oda created the film's original story and over 120 pages of rough drawings.

Funimation had planned to start online simulcast streaming of One Piece on May 30. At the time, the company was aiming to make One Piece episode 403 available within one hour of the Japanese broadcast. However the simulcast was quickly canceled after episode 403 was leaked and distributed online illegally more than a day before the Japanese broadcast.

Image © Eichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation