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There are certain certainties in the world, but the most pleasant of them is that there is almost always a new One Piece episode coming soon. However, the series is going on another long hiatus starting January 2026 – and the show also appears to be abandoning the year-round release schedule at the same time.

October 2024 started what remains the longest hiatus in One Piece anime history, as new episodes didn’t air until April 2025. Less than a year later, the series is taking another months-long break. According to official social media posts from Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation, One Piece will be going on hiatus from January to April 2026, before the highly anticipated Elbaf arc finally kicks off. However, that isn’t the biggest news here.

No, the biggest change to the One Piece release schedule is that it will no longer have a weekly release schedule. The Toei Animation post specifically says that they will be releasing 26 episodes a year, divided into two parts. That actually brings it more in line with what other anime do, with episodes broken up into cours (a term that traditionally translates into a three-month block of continual programming) throughout the year. This isn’t confirmed, but it sounds like there will be 13 episodes of One Piece in the Spring anime season and another 13 episodes later in the year, possibly in the Fall anime season.

The specific reasoning for this is so that there can be one chapter of the One Piece manga covered in each episode, with breaks giving the anime staff more of a buffer to work with. If it works – and if Oda can continue his remarkable pace of producing the manga until it eventually ends – then there is a good chance that there will be no more filler in the anime. Everything you see on the screen will be taken directly from the manga.

This new One Piece release schedule marks the biggest change in the anime’s schedule since it started more than 26 years ago. The year-long release schedule was already a holdover from a previous time in anime history – now it seems to be a thing of the past altogether.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
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• Netflix enlists a Bridgerton star to show off the first big set piece of One Piece season 2, with a Loguetown that is full of easter eggs from the manga
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"