Watching One Piece for free now feels like the titular treasure of Gol D. Rogers, a mystery that might not actually exist (maybe it’s the friends we made along the way). Crunchyroll recently decided to place the legendary anime behind a paywall. One Piece fans will now need to upgrade to the streamer’s Premium tier ($7.99 per month). But, there is another way to watch (almost) all of One Piece for free.
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The method applies to UK audiences, as One Piece was recently added to BBC iPlayer. Both the subbed and dubbed versions of One Piece are streaming on iPlayer. At the time of writing, 746 episodes are available to stream, cutting off at the Dressrosa Arc. But BBC iPlayer plans to have all 1000+ episodes on the streamer by the end of December. The final batch of episodes drops on December 22. BBC iPlayer is free to all UK residents who pay their annual TV license fee. You can find a list of all the arcs currently available on BBC iPlayer below:
- East Blue (1-61)
- Alabasta (62-135)
- Sky Island (136-206)
- Water Seven (207-325)
- Thriller Bark (326-384)
- Summit War (385-516)
- Fish-man Island (517-574)
- Dressrosa (575-746)
The various One Piece movies, and the recently released Fan Letter are not available to stream on iPlayer. One Piece Red was recently added to Netflix’s library. However, just like Crunchyroll premium, this is also a paid service. There is currently no news about any of the fifteen One Piece films coming to BBC iPlayer.
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Crunchyroll Users Still Have Time
It’s not all bad news for newer One Piece fans. While the majority of the 1000+ episodes will be moved behind a paywall, Crunchyroll is still keeping the opening chunk available to everyone for frees. The first 206 episodes will remain on the free tier, which includes ads. However, after you inevitably binge them all within a week, that’s when the problems begin.
BBC iPlayer acquiring the latest episodes of One Piece lines up perfectly with Crunchyroll’s own restructuring. If you’ve been meaning to get round to following Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Crew on their journey to the Grand Line, now is the best time. Free Crunchyroll account holders have until December 23 to binge the next 344 episodes of One Piece. Another 305 episodes will then be transferred to the premium tier on January 20, 2025. And the final lot of episodes will move on February 17, 2025. Can you watch them all in time?
