It's the end of an iconic period for ongoing anime, with Toei Animation revealing a revised release plan for One Piece, which has run continuously for over a quarter-century and featured dozens of filler arcs. Commencing in January, after the current storyline wraps up, the anime will go on a three-month break until spring, when the next major arc kicks off.
Updated Production Plan
Going forward, One Piece will release a pair of cours every annually for a cap of 26 episodes. Toei explains this will help the anime to “explore further into the core of the universe — including more material, rhythm, and pacing of the source material.” However, producers conclude by hinting at “thrilling developments” during the hiatus period, which suggests 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 six-month pause that started in late 2024 and concluded in April 2025. The hiatus was for the animators to enhance the animation quality and let the manga to get further ahead to prevent a faster anime pace and lengthy recap episodes. The anime greatly benefited from this break, and it has managed to deliver viewers with numerous action sequences, superior graphics, and less filler than previously.
Embracing Seasonal Format
While a few summary installments appeared during this season, the benefits of this updated approach greatly outweigh the occasional interruption in the action. This additionally allows the manga, which is currently in the thick of the latest arc, to extend its lead on the anime. According to the announcement, this may result in a single installment of the series adapting one chapter, with others alternatively handling one and a half chapters or more to compensate for scheduling.
This concludes of an era for anime, as the epic saga is the last big series to abandon the traditional method of production, which focused on airing for almost the entire year. This explains why iconic series such as Naruto, and of course One Piece have numerous filler arcs, and the standard of the animation can change drastically between one episode and the next. Today, series creation is organized in cours, with a couple maximum releasing each year, enabling improved visuals and greater accuracy to the source material.
