One Piece had been hinting at a major announcement this week and fans might be disheartened to learn that the anime didn’t drop the news that a new anime is in the works. Instead, the Straw Hat Pirates are taking a long break from the anime scene as Toei Animation wants to put more effort into the current Egghead Arc. Since One Piece normally airs on a weekly schedule, Grand Line fans might be despondent to learn just how long Luffy and company will go on break but it’s for a good reason. Despite the hiatus, Toei does have something special in store for fans.
One Piece announced during a live-stream event, “One Piece News #1″ that the Egghead Arc will be absent until next April. The reasoning Toei Animation gave was for animators to “recharge”, which makes sense considering the series has been regularly producing new episodes on a weekly basis for quite some time. Luckily, anime viewers won’t be going without One Piece entirely, as the production house has something in store. Instead of a new episode for the next release date, Toei Animation will instead air the “One Piece Fan Letter Special”. The Fan Letter Special is a celebration of the series for its 25th anniversary and will feature new material for the Straw Hat Pirates.
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The Grand Line Hiatus
Following the “One Piece Fan Letter Special”, Toei is planning to air a new special edition of the “Fish-Man Island Arc”, one of the first storylines of the series. Acting as the twenty-fifth storyline of the anime series, the Fish-Man Island Arc is one that focuses on new aquatic villains that have put a plan into motion to take over the locale. In hinting at the arrival of the remaster, Toei Animation featured brand new images of the upcoming episodes which you can check out below:
What Does This Mean For The Manga?
One Piece’s manga, luckily, has not made mention of taking a break in the same vein as its anime. Creator Eiichiro Oda is still working on the final saga and, as far as we know, is still working on weekly chapters that document the Straw Hat Pirates following their big fight on Future Island. Headed to the land of the giants, one of the Five Elders has been permanently defeated, but in typical hydra fashion, someone new has taken their place and the villainous Imu still has big plans in place.
Anime adaptations going on hiatus is nothing new, though it might come as a surprise in relation to One Piece. The long-running anime is one that routinely releases episodes on a weekly schedule, playing catch-up to the events taking place in the printed story. Considering the amount of effort that the animators put into the Straw Hats journey, it makes sense that they would need more time to take a break, especially considering that Toei Animation has another major series releasing right now in Dragon Ball Daima.
When One Piece’s anime does return with new episodes, it is sure to be a major event as the Egghead Island Arc has big implications for the past, present and future of the Grand Line. Unfortunately, not everyone makes it out of this latest anime storyline alive thanks to the sheer number of characters that go to war.
Want to follow along with the Straw Hats and stay updated on their big break in the anime world? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.