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One Piece Anime Reduces Annual Production Schedule to 26 Episodes Starting in April 2026 Following 3-Month Break
posted on by Alex Mateo
Toei Animation and One Piece anime producer Ryūta Koike announced during a One Piece News livestream on Tuesday that the anime will reduce its annual episode output to a maximum of 26 episodes moving forward starting in 2026. Following the conclusion of the Egghead arc this year, the anime will take a three-month production hiatus from January-March 2026. The anime will return in April 2026 for the first of two cours (quarters of a year) with the start of the new Elbaph arc. The stream unveiled a visual for the arc:
According to Toei Animation, the new schedule will allow episodes to "incorporate more content, tempo, and pacing of the manga while continuing to leverage the unique storytelling that is only possible with animation." Historically, with only few exceptions, the anime has aired most weeks since its premiere in 1999. However, the pace has slowed considerably over the years, such that a single anime episode adapts about a single manga chapter on average.
The Egghead arc in the anime debuted in January 2024. In mid-October, the franchise announced that the anime's Egghead arc would pause to "recharge," and then the arc would continue in April 2025. Part 2 of the Egghead arc premiered with its first episode (1,123rd overall episode) on Fuji TV on April 5 and aired alongside a recap episode of Part 1 of the Egghead arc. The second episode (1,124th overall episode) aired on April 6 with its new timeslot at 11:15 p.m. JST (10:15 a.m. EDT).
During the Egghead arc's break, One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga; a 21-episode abridged version of the Fish-Man Island arc of the anime with reshot scenes, retouched art, and other improvements; aired in its place.
The ongoing anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga premiered in 1999.
Sources: One Piece News livestream, press release
