Why Did One Piece’s Anime Go on a 6-Month Hiatus?

One Piece fans were hit with a shocking update suggesting a break for the anime, which left most of them heartbroken. The makers of the One Piece anime recently announced a long-term hiatus which means that no new episodes will drop until the break ends. Although this isn’t the first time the anime has gone on a break, fans have bombarded social media by asking when One Piece will return with brand-new episodes.

Why is One Piece going on a 6-month hiatus?

The announcement of One Piece anime was posted on X through the account which is run by creator Eiichiro Oda’s staff.

The tweet, which was originally made in Japanese when translated into English stated, “In order to achieve even higher quality, the Egghead arc will be on hold until April 2025. In addition, the broadcast time slot will change when the program resumes in April 2025.”

According to a report by Comicbook.com, in a livestream event on YouTube, Toei animation revealed that the break was announced to provide the animators with time to freshen up. As per Ryuta Koike, who is the chief producer of One Piece anime, the break will help the animators to improve and they will use this time “to make the anime even more powerful.”

Currently, episodes for the anime drop every week, however, a new time slot will be revealed for the airing of the Egghead Arc in April 2025. The announcement of this will be made on December’s Jump Festa 2025.

When will new episodes of One Piece air?

The new episodes of One Piece will make a return in April 2025, approximately six months later. Although the break is a big one, the makers of the anime have announced a line of different projects for the fans which will air starting October 26.

Despite the hiatus, on October 26 Toei Animation is releasing a One Piece Fan Letter Special which is being released to commemorate 25 years of the anime. Additionally, the makers will also release a remastered version of the Fish-Man Island arc, named One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga, to cope with the long hiatus.

The official account of One Piece anime on X stated, “Heads up, One Piece watchers! New episodes of Egghead Arc are taking a break and will return in April 2025. Beginning October 26 a special version of the Straw Hats journey to Fish-Man Island will air, titled One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga!”