‘One Piece’ Episode 1172 Release Date and Time Confirmed as the Elbaph Arc Builds Toward Its Next Turn
Fans following the Elbaph arc are already looking past this weekend’s episode toward what comes next in the story of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. With Loki’s fate now front and center in the anime, the countdown to episode 1172 has become one of the more closely watched release windows of the year for the long-running series.
The wait comes right after a run of episodes that pushed the Elbaph arc into more serious territory, with the Holy Knights of the World Government emerging as an active threat to the giants’ island. That shift in tone has raised expectations for how the story will continue once the current chapter of the arc wraps up.
One Piece Episode 1172 Release Date and Time
Episode 1171, titled ‘Elbaph’s Heinous Sinner, Loki of the Underworld Freed’, was confirmed by official sources to release on July 26, 2026 , following the anime’s usual weekly release schedule with the episode first airing on a local Japanese broadcast channel. Based on that same weekly simulcast pattern, tracking data synced from AniList lists episode 1172 as releasing on August 2, 2026, following directly behind episode 1171 in the schedule.
For episode 1171, Crunchyroll’s simulcast window was set for 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time, 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, and 5:00 PM British Summer Time on that Sunday. Episode 1172 is expected to follow a similar timing pattern, since the series has kept a consistent weekly slot through the current run of the ‘Elbaph’ arc.
Netflix subscribers in select regions should not expect the episode at the same moment as the Crunchyroll simulcast. New episodes generally arrive on Netflix about a week later than the Crunchyroll release, depending on regional availability. That gap has become a familiar pattern for the platform’s One Piece library over the current broadcast year.
Where to Watch One Piece Episode 1172
Crunchyroll remains the primary home for the weekly simulcast outside Japan. The platform streams the series in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, French speaking Europe, and Latin America, covering most of the international fanbase that follows the show in real time.
Crunchyroll’s reach also extends across South America, Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia through its ongoing simulcast agreement. That broad footprint is part of why the platform has become the default option for fans who want to avoid spoilers circulating from the Japanese broadcast.
Viewers in Japan continue to catch the series through its original domestic broadcast, which airs the episode first before the international simulcast follows a short time later. This structure has remained consistent throughout the current stretch of episodes covering the giants’ island.
What Happened Before Episode 1172
Episode 1170, titled ‘Get the Key, Luffy vs Scopper Gaban’, set the stage for the current run of episodes. In that installment, Gaban told Luffy he would have to fight for Loki’s key, and after some taunting, Luffy agreed, only to find he could not even land a hit on the veteran pirate. A review of the episode noted that the animation was excellent and the pacing never lagged, while the Holy Knights shifted from background threats into active players in the story.
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Episode 1171 then picked up that thread. The Holy Knights Sommers and Killingham arrived with a plan involving Elbaf’s children, escalating the danger facing the island considerably. A preview released ahead of the episode showed Luffy and Zoro moving to free Loki from his chains after securing the key from Gaban in the previous installment.
That same preview material confirmed some behind the scenes details for the current stretch of episodes. Voice actor Yuichi Nakamura was revealed as the voice of Loki, while the opening theme for the arc is titled ‘Luminous’, performed by AiNA THE END, with the ending theme ‘That Future’ performed by Jisoku 36km. The current run also marked a return for the anime after a break, with the series coming back from a three month hiatus on April 5 to continue the Elbaph storyline.
Earlier chapters of the arc drew praise for how they handled the giants’ island as a setting. A review of episode 1162 observed that the slower pacing worked in the story’s favor, immersing viewers in Elbaph rather than rushing toward action, with the closing narration adding an unsettling layer of mystery to the island.
The Bigger Picture for the Elbaph Arc
‘One Piece’ has been running for a long time by any measure. The manga by Eiichiro Oda began serialization in July 1997 and has since exceeded 500 million copies in circulation worldwide, while the anime adaptation started in October 1999 and remains ongoing. The story follows Monkey D. Luffy as he sails the seas in search of the treasure known as One Piece, and the current arc represents one of the more significant turning points in that decades long journey.
With Loki’s freedom now central to the plot and the Holy Knights actively working against the giants, episode 1172 is positioned to carry that momentum forward rather than slow it down. The arc has spent recent weeks building tension around the island’s fate, and viewers heading into the next episode will likely be watching to see how directly that conflict escalates.
What are you hoping to see once Loki steps fully into the fight against the Holy Knights in the episodes ahead.
