‘One Piece’ Episode 1172 Release Date and Time
‘One Piece‘ fans counting down the weeks finally have a firm date to circle, as the next chapter of the Elbaf arc prepares to hit screens. The anime has settled into a new rhythm this year, and episode 1172, marking the seventeenth episode of the arc, is next in line for the Straw Hats’ ongoing adventure.
With Toei Animation locking in its 2026 broadcast calendar well in advance, fans no longer have to guess week to week when new footage will drop. Here is everything currently known about the release date, time, and what viewers can expect from the next chapter of ‘One Piece’.
Elbaf Arc Episode 1172 Release Date And Time
According to ComicBook.com’s breakdown of the full 2026 schedule, episode 1172 is set to release on August 9th, 2026. That puts it one week after episode 1171, which arrives on August 2, and one week ahead of episode 1173, slated for August 16.
The Japanese broadcast and Crunchyroll simulcast follow the same day, since the release schedule reflects only the Japanese broadcast and Crunchyroll’s streaming dates, as Netflix delays its episodes by one week.
Fans tracking prior weeks have seen this pattern hold steady, with episode 1170’s simulcast window confirmed for Sunday, July 19, 2026 at 2.16 PM UTC, giving a reliable template for how the timing should carry into episode 1172’s own release window.
Netflix subscribers should expect their own copy of the episode roughly a week behind Crunchyroll, consistent with the platform’s established pattern this year. For episode 1169, for example, Crunchyroll had it on July 12, 2026, while Netflix followed on July 18, 2026, a gap that has repeated with nearly every entry in the current batch.
Where To Watch The New Episode
International viewers have two main legal options for catching up with ‘One Piece’ as it airs. Crunchyroll remains the first stop for the simulcast, releasing episodes the same day they broadcast in Japan, while Netflix continues to carry the series on its own delayed rollout.
The dual platform arrangement has been the norm since the Elbaf arc launched, with Crunchyroll and Netflix both simulcasting the arc starting April 5, 2026. That means fans loyal to either service can follow along without missing story beats, even if Netflix viewers have to practice a little extra patience each week.
Dub audiences, meanwhile, are on a separate timeline entirely. The English dub only just wrapped up the Egghead arc, with the final batch of Egghead dub episodes, covering 1144 through 1155, releasing on March 24, 2026. No confirmed date has landed yet for when the Elbaf arc dub will begin catching up, so sub viewers remain well ahead of their dubbed counterparts for the foreseeable future.
What The Elbaf Arc Episode Count Means For Episode 1172
Part of what makes tracking ‘One Piece’ trickier these days is the show’s new production format. Rather than airing weekly year round the way it has for over two decades, the anime is now capped at a maximum of 26 episodes per year, split into two separate cours.
The first cour of the Elbaf arc wrapped in early July, and after 13 episodes, that first cour concluded on July 5, 2026 before the second batch resumed shortly after. Episode 1172 falls within this second cour, continuing the momentum built up since the arc’s April premiere.
Since the Elbaf arc technically began with episode 1156, episode 1172 lines up as the seventeenth installment of the arc overall. That number matters for context, since Toei has been adapting the manga closely, and fans have watched the anime steadily work through ‘Elbaf’ at a pace of one chapter per episode.
Story Momentum Heading Into The Next Chapter
The Elbaf arc has been building toward some of the most emotionally loaded material in the franchise’s current run, with the manga chapters that the anime is now adapting centering on Loki’s brutal backstory involving Harald. Recent chapters have dealt with heavy fallout from that history, and the anime has been catching up to those same beats in recent weeks.
On the manga side, the story has been pushing forward with high stakes, as Imu has been actively trying to sabotage everyone on the island while working to eliminate potential threats. That thread has been simmering in the background of the more grounded, character focused material the anime is currently animating.
Fans have also been anticipating the reappearance of the wider Straw Hat crew after a long stretch focused on flashback material. As one recap noted, readers finally got to see Luffy back in the present timeline after six months of story time had passed within the narrative. With the anime working through this same stretch of chapters, episode 1172 should keep pushing the crew’s presence in Elbaf further into focus.
Given the pacing so far, expect the episode to continue developing the fallout from Loki’s arc rather than jumping straight into a new conflict, since Toei has generally given these emotional beats room to breathe rather than rushing through them.
Between the confirmed August 9 release date, the ongoing dual platform rollout, and a story still working through some of its heaviest material yet, ‘One Piece’ fans have plenty to look forward to as episode 1172 approaches. What part of Loki’s fallout are you most eager to see animated when the Elbaf arc’s seventeenth episode finally airs?
