While some modern anime and manga fans try to reclassify what The Big 3 are and where that particular era of anime occurred, the concept has a very clear and well-documented origin.
The Big Three specifically refers to a distinct period in the mid-2000s, when three colossal shōnen series towered over the industry: One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach.
During this time period, it was a three-way race between these shonen titans as they regularly garnered massive sales for their respective manga volumes and also set ratings records on the television airwaves.
While the One Piece manga is still going strong, anime fans who were entrinched in the fandom wars of that era are definitely going to fill a bit of nostalgia in 2026 ans both Naruto and Bleach are also airing new episodes, recreating an incredibly profound and impactful moement in manga and anime history.
For the first time since 2012, all three original pillars of the Big Three are set to release brand-new anime episodes in 2026.
Although Naruto has a sequel manga and anime series in Boruto, the original series is set to make a return of its own, with four long-delayed Naruto 20th Anniversary special episodes finally slated to air in late 2026.
These won’t be a full remake or an entirely new series, but instead four all-new episodes set during the original pre–time skip era of Team 7, when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were still training under Kakashi.
Initially planned for a 2023 release, Studio Pierrot delayed the episodes in order to “improve quality.” New reports now indicate that production is complete and the specials are finally expected to arrive in 2026.
Bleach is also returning in 2026, with the last cour of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War adaptation. The anime will return in July 2026 as part of the Summer anime season as confirmed at Jump Festa, a few weeks back in Japan.
The Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War premiered in October 2022, over a decade after the original anime series was left unfinished. The series is simulcast by Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other international territories outside of Japan.
Lastly, One Piece made major waves this Holiday season by announcing that the anime would no longer air new episodes on a continual basis, opting to align with modern shonen anime and the seasonal format.
Back in the heyday of the Big Three, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach would air lenghty filler arcs whenever the anime would catch up to the manga. To let the source material gain some runway, the anime studios would just produce an original story (filler arc) to keep new episodes dropping on a weekly basis.
Today, in lieu of costly and polarizing filler arcs, popular shonen anime just go on hiatus and take a season or two off before returning.
With the Egghead arc now concluded, One Piece will be taking a break before returning in April to kick off the Elbaph arc. Going forward, One Piece will only release "1 season" each year to allow series creator EiichiroOda the time and space he needs to end the manga.