One Piece Elbaph Arc Casts Kenjiro Tsuda as Shamrock for April 2026 Premiere
The One Piece anime has confirmed a major cast addition for its upcoming Elbaph arc. The official production account announced that veteran actor Kenjiro Tsuda will voice Shamrock, the leader of the Figarland family and twin brother of Shanks. A new trailer has been released offering a look at the Elbaph arc, a glimpse of Shamrock’s backstory, and a preview of Tsuda’s performance in the role.
The Elbaph arc is set to premiere in April 2026 under a new seasonal format spanning two cours with a maximum of 26 episodes. The shift is intended to improve story pacing and animation quality. Before Elbaph begins, One Piece will take a three month break from January through March 2026 while the current Egghead arc reaches its conclusion.
International viewers also have English dub news to look forward to. A new dub covering Egghead arc episodes 1134 through 1143 will be added to Crunchyroll in November, available in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.
Earlier this year at the ONE PIECE DAY 25 event, an anime adaptation was announced for the One Piece: Heroines light novel series, originally written by Jun Esaka and Sayaka Suwa and serialized in One Piece Magazine starting in 2019. The novels are published in Japan by Shueisha and in English by VIZ Media. The One Piece manga itself has been running since July 1997 and releases new chapters weekly through VIZ Media and Shueisha’s digital platforms.
My take: Kenjiro Tsuda as Shamrock is a wonderful fit. His voice carries a quiet authority that suits someone so closely connected to Shanks. The Elbaph arc has been one of the most anticipated storylines in years, and a seasonal format feels like exactly the right move for a story this important.
