The One Piece anime by Toei Animation has delivered immense quality consistently over the course of the last 26 years. Throughout its run, this anime adaptation has definitely gone through some ups and downs, but still, it has largely remained something that all fans looked forward to seeing every week.
But now, One Piece is changing for good. On December 28, 2025, One Piece’s last episode of the year will air. This final episode will mark the end of the Egghead arc, and also the end of One Piece’s run as a weekly anime. From 2026 onward , One Piece will become seasonal, only receiving 26 episodes a year, as opposed to 40+ like before. This is going to be a drastic shift, but either way, One Piece will return with Elbaf in April 2026.
The One Piece Anime Is Going on a Long Break on December 28
- One Piece Anime Is Set To Go On A Big Hiatus
- One Piece Is Now Fully Seasonal
The One Piece anime announced a huge upcoming break a while ago, and this break is officially getting closer every day now. Indeed, One Piece’s final episode of 2025 is about to air on December 28, 2025. One Piece Episode 1155 will conclude the Egghead arc, and it is titled “The Promised Horizon At Long Last, Towards the Long-Awaited Elbaf!”
After this episode, One Piece will enter a long break that will last for three months. It won’t be as long as the break between 2024 and 2025, but it will still require patience from the fans to get through.
The One Piece Anime Is Officially Going Seasonal
One Piece episode 1155 will mark the end of an era for the One Piece anime, as a huge change that fans never saw coming is taking place. One Piece, an anime that has been weekly for almost three decades now, is shifting plans.
Instead of getting around 46 episodes a year, now, starting in 2026, the One Piece anime will produce only 26 episodes a year. Not only that, but these 26 episodes will be split into two cours, each separated by three months.
15 Years After Haki, Oda Officially Introduces A New Power System In One Piece
One Piece has a new power system, and it will be essential in the Final Saga.
This, of course, has huge repercussions. One Piece arcs will take a whole lot longer to adapt. For example, Wano ran in the Toei One Piece adaptation for 4 years with 195 episodes. If this were to air after the shift, this would instead take over 7 years. Of course, Toei has vowed to work on the pacing and adapt, at the very least, one chapter per episode, but this isn’t much different from the current Egghead pacing, which is still slow.
The One Piece Anime Returns In April 2026
The One Piece anime break is starting soon, on December 28, 2025, and fans are already looking forward to the return. After all, fans have been very excited for Elbaf to be adapted into the anime due to it being an arc that was first teased long ago, before even the two-year timeskip.
The return date for One Piece, luckily, has already been confirmed. One Piece will officially return with the new Elbaf arc on April 5, 2026. The wait is going to be long, but the Elbaf arc is well worth it.
During the big stage that One Piece had during Jump Festa 2026, a new trailer for the Elbaf arc of the story was also officially revealed. This trailer was not the finished product, but it still showcased some exciting bits of content. Fans absolutely cannot wait for what One Piece will deliver later down the line after its proper return in April 2026 as a seasonal anime.
At the moment, fans only have the manga to look forward to. However, manga fans should also keep in mind that the story is going to take a couple of breaks moving forward due to the holidays and Oda's personal break schedule. Still, 2026 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for the fans as Luffy and the crew get even closer to the One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1169 is December 21, 2025. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.