In a shocking twist, the staff of the One Piece anime have announced that starting from 2026, the anime will only air 26 episodes per year. One Piece was one of the last remnants of when anime would run for years on end without rest, so it’s impossible to see this as anything other than the end of an era.
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One Piece switching to a seasonal format is something fans have wanted to see happen for years, so on the surface, this is the best news fans could ask for. Unfortunately, the new schedule does come with some caveats that spoil the appeal of it all, and at least right now, it’s hard not to be upset with that.
Why One Piece’s New Format Is Still Disappointing
When it was first announced that One Piece was switching to a seasonal format, fans were appropriately excited, but that excitement started to fade when further details came out and confirmed that, despite the format change, the anime would still be adapting the manga at a rate of one chapter per episode.
One Piece’s terrible pacing has been a major criticism for years now, and the idea was that a seasonal format would put enough space between the anime and manga to allow for more content per episode. Unfortunately, One Piece not changing how it adapts the manga misses the chance to fix that problem, and it’s hard not to be disappointed.
Why One Piece’s New Schedule Is The Best Thing For The Anime
As disappointing as it is for One Piece to not improve its pacing, it was also revealed that the seasonal format will add original content and expand on areas that were lacking in the manga. In recent years, the anime has excelled with its filler content, so if that will become the norm, then that’s great to think about.
More importantly, the anime’s recent hiatus was done to keep the staff from feeling overworked, so if One Piece is committing to fewer episodes per year, that means the staff will have more time and energy to work on the anime, which will likely lead to more episodes with consistently great quality, and that’s something everyone can be happy about.
One Piece’s new seasonal format isn’t exactly what people were hoping for, but it does promise to fix some of the biggest problems with the anime’s production, and that’s something everyone can be happy about. It will still be a while before the full effects are seen, but hopefully, the anime will become even better for years to come.
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