The Final Saga of One Piece has already commenced in the anime, with its very first arc, Egghead. After around two years of Egghead now, the arc is approaching its an ending at a blistering pace. Egghead will conclude before the end of this year, and the next big adventure of the Straw Hat Pirates will soon follow. Naturally, all One Piece fans are definitely hyped.
During a One Piece live event recently, it was revealed that Elbaf, One Piece’s upcoming arc, is starting officially in April 2026. This arc will finally begin after a long anime break, and sneak peeks have already been given, including character designs. Elbaf is set up to be exciting, but it will be the slowest arc in One Piece to ever be adapted, and will stretch over years in the anime.
One Piece’s Elbaf Arc is Fast Approaching In The Anime
- Egghead Arc is Nearing Its Conclusion
- Elbaf Arc Will Start in April 2026
Fans were warned a few days ago that big news concerning the One Piece anime would be unveiled soon, and indeed, a ton of rather massive news dropped yesterday via the Official One Piece account during the One Piece NEWS press conference. While some news was certainly good, other parts of it were definitely sad.
For one, Egghead is approaching its end, and will conclude before the end of 2025. Egghead has definitely been exciting, but fans are ready to move on to the next big One Piece arc.
However, before moving on, fans will need to wait for 3 months as the One Piece anime goes on an extended break from January to the end of March 2026. Only after that can One Piece fans welcome the newest arc, Elbaf, in the anime, and see the Straw Hat Pirates’ adventure in the land of Giants.
Elbaf has been a fan favorite arc in the manga, and seeing it coming to the anime so soon has many fans hyped. The Straw Hat Pirates’ character designs have also been revealed, and most of them look amazing.
The One Piece Anime’s New Schedule Will Stretch The Elbaf Arc Across Years
With Only 26 Episodes A Year, Elbaf Will Take Around 4 Years To Adapt
While One Piece fans are excited to move on to the next arc, the 3-month break doesn’t sit well with many fans. The worst part is, it won’t be the last break either. Indeed, it was revealed that starting 2026, fans should only expect 26 episodes a year from One Piece. This is a major shift, and one that fans didn’t expect.
The One Piece anime is essentially turning seasonal, and will split 26 episodes over two cours every year, presumably with 3-month breaks in between. While the episode number is being reduced in half, fans shouldn’t really expect quality or pacing improvement as it’s already been confirmed that Toei will continue to adapt one chapter per episode, which is, for the most part, what they’re already doing with Egghead. Elbaf will, in other words, be the slowest One Piece arc to ever be adapted and will take over 3 years, depending on the final chapter count once it concludes in the manga.
When I was a kid, I thought to myself: man I would love to draw a manga with the most hyped final stage! I wonder if I’m up to it! Now, we have only a tiny bit of Wano arc left, the preparations are almost done. Took me 25 years lol. That said, it’s fine if you start reading from this point on. Because from this point on…it’ll be… The ONE PIECE!! The mysteries of this world, I’ll be drawing all of them! It’ll be super interesting! Fasten your seatbelt! And please stay with me for a bit longer! — Eiichiro Oda, Author of One Piece, 2022
The One Piece series can be found in its entirety to watch on Crunchyroll, with the next One Piece episode coming later this week, on Sunday, as scheduled.
