The zodiac would suggest that 2016 should be The Year of Monkey D. Luffy. However, going into the holidays, at the end of 2015's Jump Festa event, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda suggested that fans should expect things from a certain curly eyebrowed cook abscent for much of the long-running Dressrosa arc with the statement that 2016 will be The Year of Sanji.

Both the return of anime voice actor Hiroaki Hirata and the manga's account of the secrets of the character's birth were promised for 2016.

Hirata and company celebrating...

Let the manga's latest color spread inspire your speculation!

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.