It Took One Piece 15 Years, But The Show is Finally Fixing Its Biggest Problem

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Since it began in 1999, the One Piece anime has consistently provided weekly entertainment for its fans. It’s become Toei Animation’s most important show and a beloved weekly ritual for viewers. Though there have been short pauses in production, the anime always returns with new episodes. Maintaining this for so many years is challenging, and as a result, the animation quality hasn’t always been perfect. One Piece is also known for being a particularly slow-moving series.

The problem isn’t with the original manga, but with Toei Animation’s attempt to stay ahead of it while still releasing new episodes every week. This has caused the anime to drag out scenes and conversations, slowing down the story. Many fans feel this started after a major time jump, specifically with the Fishman Island arc. Toei even acknowledged this issue by re-editing that arc during a previous break, showing they were aware of it as early as 2011. Thankfully, Toei Animation has announced plans to address this and improve the pacing going forward.

One Piece to Adopt a Seasonal Release Format Starting in 2026

Big news for ONE PIECE fans! The manga will be on a three-month hiatus starting in January, with new chapters beginning in April 2026 as the Elbaph Arc starts. The anime will also get a new production schedule starting in 2026, splitting into two parts.

— Toei Animation (@ToeiAnimation) October 28, 2025

Toei Animation recently announced some big changes for the One Piece anime. Starting next year, they’ll be releasing only 26 episodes per year. The anime will continue with its usual weekly episodes for the rest of 2024, but will then pause from January to March 2026. These 26 episodes will be split into two parts, with the first part premiering in April 2026. This means One Piece will likely take a break in the summer of 2026 and return with the second part in the fall. This new schedule gives Toei a three-month break between each part, which should help with production.

Ryūta Koike, the producer of the series, says this new approach will help the story flow better and allow for more detailed storytelling. This confirms that when the anime returns next year with the Elbaph arc, One Piece will move to a seasonal format—releasing episodes in blocks—instead of its usual weekly schedule. For the past 15 years, the series has struggled with pacing, particularly since the Fishman Island arc in 2011, and this change is a direct response to those concerns. While there are pros and cons to this shift, the benefits are expected to be significant.

One Piece’s New Change Comes With Both Advantages and Disadvantages

The main downside to this change is that it ends a 25-year tradition of releasing new One Piece anime episodes almost every Sunday with few interruptions. However, the benefits of this change are more significant than this one drawback. Primarily, it will improve the anime’s pacing, which has been declining since the Fishman Island arc started 15 years ago. Better pacing will make the show more enjoyable to watch. Releasing episodes in seasons of 13 per cour will also build more excitement and anticipation among fans compared to the usual weekly releases.

Creating episodes every week was probably exhausting the animators, so Toei Animation made a smart choice by slowing down production. This should result in even better animation, as we’ve already seen improvements when the show has taken breaks. The recent pause, during which Toei remastered the Fishman Island arc, seems to have inspired this new approach. Ultimately, as One Piece heads toward its ending, these breaks will help the anime stay ahead of the manga, allowing the series to continue on television for some time after the manga finishes.

This change in approach has one potential downside: it could make Netflix’s One Piece remake less necessary. The remake was meant to address the show’s slow pacing, but its release has been delayed. Now that the original anime is fixing that same issue, the need for a remake might be reduced. Ultimately, fans will have to see the Netflix version to know for sure. It’s good to know that as One Piece heads towards its conclusion, the anime is finally resolving a problem that existed for over 15 years.

What are your thoughts on the big changes happening in the Grand Line of One Piece? Share your opinions in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-10-30 21:12