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It's the end of an iconic period for long-running series, 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 January, once the current storyline wraps up, the anime will go on a quarterly hiatus until spring, when the next major arc begins.

Updated Production Plan

From now on, One Piece will produce two seasons every year for a cap of two dozen installments. Toei explains this will help the anime to “explore further into the core of the ONE PIECE world — including more material, rhythm, and timing of the original manga.” Yet, Toei conclude by hinting at “thrilling developments” during the hiatus period, which means additional One Piece content, such as the upcoming live-action adaptation, set to premiere in the interim.

Previous Hiatus Benefits

The One Piece anime previously took a half-year break that started in late 2024 and concluded in early 2025. The intermission was for the animators to improve the visuals and let the manga to build a lead to prevent a rushed adaptation and lengthy recap episodes. The anime couldn't benefit more from this break, and it has managed to supply viewers with countless action sequences, high-quality animation, and reduced non-canon content than ever before.

Embracing Seasonal Format

While some recap episodes sprouted up during this season, the positive effects of this new production schedule far surpass the odd pause in the story. This additionally allows the manga, which is presently in the thick of the Elbaph arc, to gain more ground on the anime. Per the news, this may lead to one episode of the anime adapting a single manga chapter, with others instead covering more material or additional to make up for scheduling.

This concludes of a generation for anime, as the epic saga is the final major title to abandon the traditional method of creation, which focused on being on air for most of the calendar. This explains why classics such as Naruto, and of course itself have so many side stories, and the standard of the animation can change drastically between installments and the following. Nowadays, anime production is structured in cours, with one or two maximum coming out each year, enabling better quality and more faithfulness to the source material.