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It's the end of an iconic period for long-running series, with Toei Animation announcing a new production schedule for the beloved series, which has run continuously for more than 25 years and featured dozens of non-canon storylines. Starting in the new year, after the current storyline concludes, the anime will take a three-month hiatus until April, when the next major arc kicks off.

Updated Production Plan

From now on, the series will release two seasons every year for a cap of two dozen installments. Toei explains this will enable the anime to “dive even deeper into the heart of the universe — incorporating more material, tempo, and pacing of the original manga.” However, producers conclude by hinting at “exciting surprises” during the hiatus period, which suggests more One Piece content, such as Netflix's live-action season 2, set to premiere during this gap.

Previous Hiatus Benefits

The series anime had a six-month break that began in late 2024 and ended in April 2025. The intermission was for the animators to improve the visuals and allow the manga to get further ahead to prevent a faster anime pace and repetitive summaries. The show greatly benefited from this respite, and it has managed to deliver fans with countless fight scenes, superior graphics, and less filler than previously.

Embracing Seasonal Format

While some recap episodes sprouted up during the recent run, the positive effects of this new production schedule greatly outweigh the occasional interruption in the action. This also gives the manga, which is currently in the middle of the latest arc, to extend its lead on the anime. Per the news, this may result in one episode of the series covering one chapter, with others alternatively covering one and a half chapters or more to make up for scheduling.

This concludes of a generation for Japanese animation, as the epic saga is the last big series to ditch the traditional method of creation, which focused on being on air for most of the calendar. This explains why iconic series such as Bleach, and naturally itself have numerous side stories, and the standard of the animation can vary widely between one episode and the next. Today, series creation is structured in seasons, with one or two at most releasing each annually, enabling improved visuals and greater accuracy to the source material.