This marks the conclusion of a long-standing era for ongoing anime, with the production studio announcing a revised release plan for One Piece, which has been airing for more than 25 years and included dozens of filler arcs. Starting in the new year, once the current storyline wraps up, the animated series will go on a three-month hiatus until spring, when the Elbaph arc begins.
New Release Strategy
From now on, One Piece will produce a pair of cours every annually for a maximum of 26 episodes. The studio states this will help the anime to “dive even deeper into the core of the universe — including more content, tempo, and pacing of the source material.” Yet, producers conclude by hinting at “thrilling developments” during the hiatus period, which means more One Piece content, such as Netflix's live-action season 2, scheduled to debut during this gap.
Learning from Past Breaks
The One Piece anime had a six-month pause that began in late 2024 and ended in April 2025. The intermission was for the production team to improve the visuals and allow the comic to get further ahead to avoid a rushed adaptation and lengthy recap episodes. The show greatly benefited from this respite, and it has managed to deliver viewers with numerous action sequences, high-quality animation, and less filler than ever before.
Embracing Seasonal Format
While some recap episodes appeared during this season, the positive effects of this updated approach far surpass the odd pause in the story. This additionally allows the manga, which is currently in the thick of the latest arc, to extend its lead on the anime. Per the announcement, this may lead to a single installment of the anime covering one chapter, with some alternatively covering more material or additional to make up for time.
This concludes of an era for anime, as the epic saga is the final major title to abandon the old-school way of production, which prioritized being on air for most of the calendar. This explains why iconic series such as Naruto, and of course itself have numerous filler arcs, and the quality of the art can vary widely between one episode and the next. Nowadays, anime production is organized in cours, with one or two maximum releasing each annually, enabling better quality and more faithfulness to the original work.
