Toei Animation announces a major change is coming to One Piece in 2026. The studio has been working on the Japanese anime hit since it first aired in 1999, and by next year, not only will the anime reach the current story arc, but it will also change how it is broadcast, allowing the anime to cover more of the source material.
According to a social media post from Toei Animation, the studio announced that it will have a three-month break from January 2026, and One Piece will resume in April 2026 as it adapts the Elbaph Arc, which is also the current story arc the manga is in. Additionally, following the short hiatus, Toei Animation will adopt a new production schedule, moving away from a weekly episodic model to a seasonal model.
From 2026, One Piece will be limited to a maximum of 26 episodes per year, split into two parts. The reason for this change is to allow the anime to incorporate more of the source material and to follow the manga’s pacing. Before this change, One Piece had a weekly broadcast, delivering multiple episodes per year, and the studio would have long hiatuses, with some going as long as six months.
What Is ‘One Piece’ About?
One Piece is a record-breaking Japanese franchise by Eiichiro Oda, which follows Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they travel across the Grand Line to not only follow their dreams, but to find the legendary One Piece treasure that once belonged to Gol D. Roger. Both the anime and manga are still ongoing, with over 100 manga volumes released and over 1000 anime episodes aired. Additionally, the Netflix live-action series is about to enter its second season in 2026, and a new anime adaptation by WIT Studios is in the works.
At the moment, it’s currently unknown when One Piece will end. According to Game Rant, Oda once stated that the manga would end by 2025. However, the manga, and by extension the anime, are covering the second story arc of the Final Saga. At the moment, there isn’t an official date for the story’s conclusion, but its author has shared his vision for how he wants this franchise to end.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll, while the live-action adaptation is available to stream on Netflix. Follow Collider to stay up to date with the latest updates.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
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One Piece
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
