🔗 Share this article The Legendary Anime Ends a Quarter-Century Tradition in 2026 This marks the conclusion of an iconic period for ongoing anime, with the production studio announcing a new production schedule for One Piece, which has run continuously for more than 25 years and included dozens of filler arcs. Starting in January, once the current storyline wraps up, the animated series will take a quarterly hiatus until April, when the Elbaph arc begins. Updated Production Plan Going forward, One Piece will release two seasons every year for a cap of 26 episodes. The studio states this will help the anime to “explore further into the heart of the universe — including more material, rhythm, and timing of the original manga.” Yet, producers conclude by hinting at “exciting surprises” during the hiatus period, which means more One Piece content, such as Netflix's live-action season 2, set to premiere during this gap. Previous Hiatus Benefits The series anime previously took a half-year pause that began in late 2024 and ended in April 2025. The hiatus was for the production team to enhance the animation quality and let the comic to build a lead to avoid a rushed adaptation and repetitive summaries. The show greatly benefited from this break, and it has managed to deliver viewers with countless action sequences, superior graphics, and less filler than ever before. Adopting Modern Trends While some recap episodes appeared during this season, the positive effects of this updated approach greatly outweigh the odd pause in the action. This additionally allows the original work, which is currently in the thick of the Elbaph arc, to extend its lead on the adaptation. According to the announcement, this may lead to a single installment of the series adapting a single manga chapter, with some alternatively covering more material or more to compensate for scheduling. It's the end of an era for Japanese animation, as One Piece is the last big series to ditch the old-school way of creation, which prioritized being on air for almost the entire year. It's the reason why iconic series such as Naruto, and naturally One Piece have so many side stories, and the quality of the art can vary widely between installments and the following. Nowadays, anime production is structured in cours, with a couple at most coming out each year, allowing for improved visuals and more faithfulness to the original work.