One Piece Creator Shares Health Update Following Last-Minute Delay

One Piece fans have experienced a rough patch recently as the anime release of the series has been delayed for a couple of weeks due to other programs airing during its timeslot in Japan, and while anime fans usually cope with the lack of a new episode with the weekly release of the manga series they hit a brick wall. It was suddenly announced that the most recent chapter of the series, Chapter 973, was going to miss out on Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump due to a bout of illness from series creator Eiichiro Oda. Fans were definitely worried for the creator’s health following the announcement, but now there’s no longer a need to worry as Oda has now “fully recovered.”

Oda’s staff noted his recovery on the official Twitter page with the following announcement, “Due to a sudden illness of its author, ONE PIECE story will be temporarily interrupted for Weekly Shonen Jump #14 (in stores from march 2nd). The author has now fully recovered, and the story will continue from Jump #15 onwards. Thank you for your understanding.”

While fans are undoubtedly concerned for Oda’s health above all else, the delay did sting a bit. Chapter 972 of the series ended the major flashback to Kozuki Oden’s last days on Wano, and teased a return to the present day as the final act of the Wano Country resumes. But now that it has been confirmed that Oda has a clean bill of health, now it’s time to jump back into the swing of things!

Are you happy to hear that Eiichiro Oda is healed up and already getting back to the series? What have you been doing to get through this sudden One Piece delay? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!