In early 2026, a new anime spin-off titled CHOPPER was released, offering a gentle and heartwarming departure from the high-seas adventures of the main series. The story focuses solely on Tony Tony Chopper, the beloved doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates, and is divided into two distinct segments. The first, Chopper Days, presents him in a colorful, stylized world where he embarks on simple, solo adventures that highlight his cheerful and innocent personality. The second, Chopper Journey, takes him on a tour of modern Japan, with the first episode featuring a visit to the historic Asakusa district in Tokyo, where he interacts with the environment and its animals in a series of calm, charming vignettes.

At his core, Chopper is a reindeer who ate the Human Human Fruit, a mystical Devil Fruit that granted him human-like intelligence, the ability to speak, and the power to transform into several different forms. However, this transformation led to him being rejected by both his reindeer herd and humans, who saw him as a monster. The sole exception was the eccentric Dr. Hiriluk, a quack doctor who found him injured and accepted him as a son, giving him his signature pink top hat and his name. Hiriluk instilled in Chopper a dream to become a doctor who could cure any disease, showing him that a pirate flag represents courage and hope. After Hiriluk’s self-sacrifice, Chopper was taken in by the gruff but skilled Dr. Kureha, who trained him in medicine for six years. When the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Drum Island seeking a doctor for their ill navigator, Nami, Chopper’s kind heart and medical skills led him to join the crew, becoming their youngest member and official ship’s doctor.

Despite his timid nature and a habit of hiding with his body fully exposed, Chopper is a fiercely loyal and courageous companion. He is often mistaken for a talking raccoon or the crew’s pet, a misunderstanding reflected in his extremely low bounty. A running gag is his inability to accept compliments; when praised, he performs a quirky dance while pretending to be insulted. In battle, he is a formidable fighter who uses a drug called the Rumble Ball to access seven different transformations, including a powerful and uncontrollable monster point. His personal dream is to honor Dr. Hiriluk’s memory by becoming a cure-all medicine capable of treating any illness, a goal he pursues with serious determination whenever his medical skills are required.