Toei Hires First Non-Japanese Person to Direct an Episode of One Piece

For the first time in the anime’s decades-long run, American director Henry Thurlow has been tapped to helm an episode of One Piece. In the July issue of Newtype, the news of Thurlow’s directing job was first published.

On Friday, American animator Henry Thurlow, who is currently based in Japan, announced on Twitter that he directed One Piece Episode 1,066. According to Thurlow and the rest of the Toei Animation crew, he is the first non-Japanese person to direct an episode of One Piece or “possibly any Toei Animation television series”.

Episode 1066, Henry Thurlow’s directing debut, is scheduled to air for the first time on June 25. The series is currently adapting the battle between Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid versus Big Mom, thus it is likely that this episode will center on its resolution.

Sweetness & Lightning, Nurse Witch Komugi R, ClassicaLoid, Naruto Shippuden, and Tokyo Ghoul are just a few of the significant works that Thurlow has contributed to. When he first started at Toei Animation in July 2021, he worked on animation for the One Piece series and the One Piece Film Red.

Even though anime is rooted in Japanese culture, the ingenuity and effort that go into making it are increasingly international. So, that’s how we see it. Share your thoughts with us below.

One Piece

Japanese mangaka Eiichiro Oda created and draws One Piece. It first appeared in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 22, 1997, and has been serialized there ever since.

Gol D. Roger is the Pirate King since he has amassed all of the world’s wealth. His last words before being taken to the tower of death were, “My treasures?” I’ll give it to you if you really want it. Go there and see if you can find anything I left there. Many people’s hopes and desires were sparked by these words, and they set sail for the Grand Line in pursuit of One Piece. A new era had begun!

Young Monkey D. Luffy, who aspires to equal Blackbeard as the world’s greatest pirate, also sails toward the Grand Line in quest of One Piece. Along for the ride will be a motley crew that includes a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright.