One Piece‘s manga recently returned for a new chapter following a break for a couple of weeks, and now it’s been revealed that the series is taking yet another surprising hiatus. It’s been an odd time to be a One Piece fan as while the series is at higher peaks than ever before, the end of this year has resulted in some unexpected hiatuses. The anime is now in the midst of a charging period while the team gets ready for the next half of the Egghead Arc, so it won’t be returning for fully new episodes until some time next April.
As for the manga, it’s also been in the middle of a couple of breaks. Eiichiro Oda’s manga has just returned from a two week break as the creator revealed he was using this time to work on the production for Season 2 of Netflix’s live-action One Piece series. But this time around, the series has revealed it will be taking yet another couple of weeks about before the next chapter of the series hits as One Piece Chapter 1132 is currently listed by Shueisha as releasing on December 1st in Japan rather than being listed as still releasing next Sunday, November 17th.
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Why Is One Piece Going On Break Again?
One Piece just came off of a break with the release of Chapter 1131 on Sunday, November 10th. As listed by Shueisha’s MangaPlus website, One Piece Chapter 1132 is currently scheduled for a release on Sunday, December 1st. This means that the manga is going on yet another break for two weeks, but there’s no explanation given this time around. This could also be a listing mistake as Shueisha suddenly updated the release date, but Viz Media’s own digital Shonen Jump library currently has a Sunday, November 17th release date listed as of the time of this publication.
One Piece‘s manga is currently in the early days of the Elbaf arc. This legendary island of giants has been teased as a future location for literal decades, and thus both fans and the Straw Hats have been excited to see this island finally revealed in full. But it seems like it’s going to take just a bit longer to get everything going, but it will be worth it as long as Oda himself is taking care of his health as that’s ultimately what is most important at the end of the day.
Why Manga Creators Need Breaks
Although it can sting a bit when your favorite series takes longer to release a new entry, it’s ultimately best for a creator’s health. As noted by many famed creators such as Hunter x Hunter’s Yoshihiro Togashi, the demanding schedule for a Shonen Jump manga author can be very harmful to personal health. New chapters are needed every week, and it comes at the cost of personal time, and a healthy work and life balance. It can be pretty even more demanding for the blockbuster franchises, especially for titans of the magazine like One Piece.
So while it’s a bummer to see a series taking a break, it’s going to be best for the road forward. Oda being around means he can still create new stories, and with how many years have gone into the series’ story, Oda will have a better chance of paying it all off someday with a proper ending as long as he can fit in more of these breaks. Even if it’s to work on some other aspect of the franchise, Oda getting to take even a minute away from the pages is better for the long run.
