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This marks the conclusion of a long-standing era for ongoing anime, with the production studio revealing a new production schedule for the beloved series, which has been airing for more than 25 years and included numerous non-canon storylines. Commencing in January, after the current storyline concludes, the animated series will take a quarterly break until April, when the next major arc kicks off.

Updated Production Plan

Going forward, the series will release a pair of cours every annually for a maximum of 26 episodes. The studio explains this will help the anime to “explore further into the core of the universe — including more material, tempo, and timing of the source material.” However, producers end by promising “exciting surprises” during the hiatus period, which means more related projects, such as the upcoming live-action adaptation, set to premiere during this gap.

Previous Hiatus Benefits

The series anime had a half-year pause that started in late 2024 and concluded in April 2025. The hiatus was for the animators to improve the animation quality and let the manga to build a lead to prevent a faster anime pace and repetitive summaries. The anime greatly benefited from this break, and it has managed to supply viewers with numerous fight scenes, high-quality animation, and less filler than previously.

Embracing Seasonal Format

While a few summary installments sprouted up during this season, the benefits of this updated approach far surpass the odd pause in the action. This also gives the manga, which is presently in the thick of the Elbaph arc, to gain more ground on the anime. According to the announcement, this may result in one episode of the anime covering a single manga chapter, with others instead covering more material or more to make up for time.

It's the end of a generation for anime, as One Piece is the final major title to ditch the traditional method of production, which focused on airing for most of the calendar. It's the reason why classics such as Naruto, and of course One Piece have so many side stories, and the quality of the animation can vary widely between installments and the next. Nowadays, anime production is structured in seasons, with one or two maximum releasing each annually, enabling better quality and more faithfulness to the source material.