While passing seasonal sensations like Solo Leveling may have kept fans company until now, the true king of shonen anime has returned with One Piece, finally having made its return from hiatus. The series’ return after half a year has been accompanied by many changes, including a new series director, a new voice actor replacing Kazuki Yao as Franky, new opening and ending themes, and most importantly, a new broadcast schedule. One Piece has surprisingly shifted to a late-night time slot, and it seems the shift is already paying off for the anime in terms of viewership.
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According to a post on X by @pewpiece, a recent comment by Mayumi Tanaka, the Japanese voice of Luffy, reveals that One Piece’s viewership has increased since the anime’s broadcast was moved to a late-night time slot. Though the exact source of the comment is yet to be verified, it’s no shocker that One Piece’s viewership has gone up given the anticipation surrounding the anime’s return and the general excitement surrounding the Egghead Arc and its upcoming developments. That said, there may be another huge reason why One Piece’s new time slot is working in its favor, and it has to do with the series’ fan base itself
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One Piece’s Rising Viewership Proves the Series’ Audience Has Changed
When the time-slot change was first announced, One Piece mainly claimed that the reason for the time slot change was so that fans could go straight from watching the new episode to reading the latest chapter of the manga which is released online in Japan at midnight, Monday morning, just a few minutes after One Piece’s anime finishes airing with its new 11:15 PM time slot. While this is no doubt a major win for the manga and will inevitably urge more anime-only fans to pick up the manga, it seemed like the new time slot didn’t have any apparent benefits for the anime.
However, One Piece’s new late-night air time makes perfect sense when one considers the fact that One Piece’s fanbase has matured along with the series over the last two decades. The old morning time slot meant that the series was mainly targeting young children. But, One Piece’s core audience is those who have grown up with the series over the years, who have now become adults and may not find the morning time slot as convenient. Though the Sunday night release time would be considered a graveyard slot for any other TV show, it oddly works perfectly in One Piece’s favor, even giving Western fans a more convenient time to tune in.
More importantly, the fact that One Piece is finally honing in on its adult audience means that the anime will no longer have to turn down the blood and gore or censor any of the gnarlier parts of the story. Ultimately, this means fans can hope to see a much more authentic and satisfying adaptation as a result.
Source: @pewpiece on X.
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