The One Piece series has been ongoing for over 28 years in the manga, and around 26 years in the anime. When it comes to the latter, despite its many flaws, it is beloved by many and has maintained tremendous popularity over the years. Millions of fans all over the world tune in every single week to see Luffy and the Straw Hats’ adventures in the One Piece anime.
Regardless of whether fans hate it or love it now, the One Piece anime is changing drastically. It has been revealed that starting in 2026, the One Piece anime will basically become seasonal, which is starkly different from how it ran for the past 26 years and fans got a new episode almost every week. This is a huge shift, and many fans aren’t ready for it, especially as the anime faces extremely long breaks ahead. Perhaps the most disheartening part of it all is that the quality and pacing aren’t improving with the production change. Either way, the One Piece anime is entering a new era, for better or for worse.
The One Piece Anime Is Turning Seasonal
- It Will Produce Only 26 Episodes a Year
- The Anime Will Be Split into Two 13-Episode Cours
Earlier this week, it was revealed that on the 28th, big news pertaining to the One Piece anime would be revealed. And indeed, during the One Piece NEWS press conference held on the said date, which was streamed by the official One Piece account, huge pieces of information dropped.
It was revealed that the One Piece anime is basically turning seasonal, as opposed to how it’s been operating for the last 26 years. Fans will not be getting an episode every single week of the year anymore starting in 2026. Instead, the One Piece anime will deliver only 26 episodes a year. In comparison, the series used to average over 45 a year before that.
These 26 episodes, starting 2026, will be split into two cours every year, each made up of around 13 episodes. Between these 13 episodes, fans will probably get around 3 month breaks. This is definitely a huge shift that many fans aren’t ready for, but numerous fans saw it coming with the last 6 months break that took place from late 2024 to early 2025.
What This Mean For The Future Of The One Piece Anime
Toei’s One Piece Adaptation’s Life Span Will Be Extended By Years
Switching from weekly to seasonal is a huge change for the One Piece anime, and it will definitely have a major impact on the franchise. However, Toei has already revealed that, despite cutting the number of episodes in half, the number of chapters adapted per episode will remain set at 1. Toei is already, for the most part, doing this. In other words, One Piece’s pacing is not improving with this change.
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
Overall, even though there will be fewer episodes, fans shouldn’t expect superior anime quality. The One Piece anime will remain relatively the same in every other regard. The 26 episodes a year will simply mean that adapting One Piece will take extra years, and perhaps that is Toei’s goal, as the series enters its final saga, with it being the biggest anime they have at the moment.
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.
Source: X (Formerly Twitter)
