Toei Animation shook the anime world recently with the announcement of the One Piece anime’s hiatus after Episode 1122.
Over the past 25 years, the One Piece anime has not gone on a lengthy break, so this is a big deal for the fanbase. While some believe that it was done given how close the anime is to reaching the manga story-wise, the main reason given by Toei is the extra time is needed to improve the show’s quality. This makes sense considering that the One Piece anime greatly improved its animation quality during the Wano Country Arc and the subsequent Egghead Island Arc.
While the show is now on hiatus, it won’t be too long as the anime is set to return in April 2025, meaning it’s only going to be a six month wait.
【速報】
👇TVアニメ今後の放送について👇https://t.co/khgiCvzZfT
詳細はこのあと21:30からのYouTube配信
『𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙋𝙄𝙀𝘾𝙀 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎』でお知らせします。▼視聴はこちらhttps://t.co/VxrGIXHeUl#みんなでワンピース#ONEPIECENEWS#ONEPIECE pic.twitter.com/9l9HD8nl7z
— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) October 13, 2024
In the meantime, fans can look forward to some specials. to start, Toei Animation announced the One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga. This is a special re-envisioned edition of the iconic first arc following the big timeskip.
This new version is shorter and features a “fresh look and feel” for the arc that gives it an art style that looks more in line with the show’s current look. Plus, this special version has an updated opening and ending themes. The opening theme We Go!” by Kitadani Hiroshi will include a special guest collab. Meanwhile, the ending theme “Sailing” (TV version) by BE:FIRST will also get an update.
As a bonus, a special 25th Anniversary Episode will premiere on October 20. This episode is 30 minutes long, and will show the reunion of the Straw Hat crew from the perspective of the non-pirate characters.
Both of these specials will be streamed on Crunchyroll soon. For more info, visit the official One Piece show page on Crunchyroll.