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This marks the conclusion of an iconic period for ongoing anime, with Toei Animation announcing a revised release plan for One Piece, which has been airing for more than 25 years and featured dozens of non-canon storylines. Commencing in the new year, after the current storyline wraps up, the animated series will go on a three-month break until spring, when the next major arc kicks off.

New Release Strategy

Going forward, the series will release a pair of cours every year for a cap of 26 episodes. The studio states this will enable the anime to “explore further into the heart of the ONE PIECE world — including more material, rhythm, and pacing of the original manga.” However, Toei conclude by hinting at “thrilling developments” during the hiatus period, which means additional One Piece content, such as Netflix's live-action season 2, set to premiere in the interim.

Previous Hiatus Benefits

The One Piece anime had a half-year pause that began in October 2024 and concluded in April 2025. The hiatus was for the animators to improve the animation quality and allow the manga to build a lead to prevent a faster anime pace and repetitive summaries. The anime greatly benefited from this respite, and it has managed to supply fans with countless action sequences, high-quality animation, and less filler than ever before.

Embracing Seasonal Format

While some recap episodes sprouted up during this season, the benefits of this new production schedule greatly outweigh the occasional interruption in the story. This also gives the original work, which is currently in the middle of the latest arc, to extend its lead on the anime. Per the news, this may result in a single installment of the series adapting a single manga chapter, with others instead covering more material or additional to make up for time.

This concludes of a generation for anime, as the epic saga is the last big series to ditch the traditional method of production, which prioritized being on air for most of the calendar. This explains why iconic series such as Bleach, and of course One Piece have so many side stories, and the quality of the animation can change drastically between one episode and the following. Today, series creation is organized in cours, with one or two maximum coming out each year, enabling improved visuals and greater accuracy to the original work.