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A true milestone for the One Piece franchise, the Wano Arc is the longest in the series by far. In the anime adaptation, it is bound to reach the absurd number of 192 installments as of episode 1085, which is the last of the arc.
The Wano Arc is in fact now close to its end, which raises doubt about the future schedule of the One Piece anime. Due to the several breaks taken by Eiichiro Oda, the pace of the manga has slowed down a lot, which means that, even though the anime's storytelling is pretty loose, it might eventually get too close to the manga's.
This situation, quite frequent in the past, has been obviated via filler arcs. So far, however, no information has been released regarding Toei Animation's intentions in this direction. Instead, it's rumored that the anime will restore its natural gap with the manga by entering a hiatus of a few weeks.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga for anime-only viewers.
The One Piece anime has to organize the transition from Wano to Egghead
An overview about the recent events
In a continuous swing of emotions, the arc set in Wano disclosed the story of Kozuki Oden, showcasing his acquaintance with Whitebeard and his travels with the Roger Pirates, including his arrival on Laugh Tale, the legendary island where the One Piece lies.
Several years ago, Oden fought a desperate battle to protect Wano from the mighty Kaido. The captain of the Beasts Pirates, however, eventually ended up winning the struggle and making Wano his personal domain, establishing a veritable tyranny over the country.
In the present time, the Straw Hat Pirates, who befriended Oden's son, Momonosuke, and his faithful retainer, Kinemon, teamed up with many allies, including the Kid Pirates, the Heart Pirates, the Red Scabbards, Marco, Yamato, and more, to fight the Beasts Pirates, who were associated with Big Mom and her subordinates.
The ensuing battle featured amazing moments, such as the clash that opposed the five strongest Worst Generation Supernovas to Kaido and Big Mom, the revelation of Zoro's Conqueror's Haki powers as a major staple in his rise to become the World's Strongest Swordsman, as well as the onset of Luffy's iconic Gear 5 transformation.
After a fierce fight on the island of Onigashima, the lair of the Beasts Pirates, Luffy and his friends and allies finally freed Wano from the oppression. Kaido and Big Mom were defeated, which caused them to be stripped of their Emperor titles.
Following their downfall, Luffy was instead appointed as one of the Four Emperors, the other being Shanks, Blackbeard, and, funnily enough, Buggy. After the end of the fighting in Wano, the Straw Hat Pirates parted ways with their allies and set sail for a new adventure.
Their journey led them to Egghead, the island where Dr. Vegapunk has his laboratory. There, the Straw Hats were involved in a big incident, as the World Government's attempt to murder Vegapunk led to unforeseeable developments. Meanwhile, other major events were occurring, whose consequences would directly affect the balance of the One Piece world.
How will Toei Animation handle the situation?
The longest arc in the franchise, the portion of the story set in Wano built up a remarkable narrative with several subplots, each of them worth mentioning on its own. The arc reached its climax as Luffy finally managed to defeat Kaido, a triumph of paramount importance both symbolically and concretely.
Throughout the entire transposition of the Wano Arc, Toei Animation has left fans astonished, managing to maintain a movie-level quality despite releasing episodes on a weekly basis.
With the conclusion of the Wano Arc, however, the story will shift its focus to Egghead, and that is where the problem comes up, as Toei Animation must ensure that the gap between anime episodes and manga chapters remains substantial. Needless to say, the manga's frequent breaks make this task increasingly difficult.
It must be noted that the breaks were mostly due to Eiichiro Oda's active participation in the making of Netflix's One Piece Live Action as one of the show's executive producers. With Netflix having renewed the show for season 2, Oda's breaks are likely to continue.
While a filler arc was highly expected for this reason, the intentions don't seem to be these, at least for the time being. The forthcoming schedule of the One Piece anime has been revealed, and in fact, it discloses that all the episodes until the end of the Wano Arc will be based on manga content.
- Episode 1079 - "Morning has come! Luffy and his friends are resting!" Set to air on October 15, 2023.
- Episode 1080 - "The Festival Banquet! New Emperors of the Sea!" Set to air on October 22, 2023.
- Episode 1081 - "The world burns! The Navy Admiral attacks!" Set to air on October 29, 2023.
- Episode 1082 - "A New Era arrives! Wrath of the Red Hair Emperor!" Set to air on November 5, 2023.
It remains possible for a mini arc filler to be implemented in the part of history that features the Straw Hat crew's travel between Wano and Egghead.
Otherwise, the only solution to prevent the anime from getting too close to the manga would be to pause the anime for a few weeks after the conclusion of the Wano Arc.
A prolonged hiatus would actually make sense for the One Piece anime
Considering that episode 1082 is scheduled for November 5, 2023, episode 1085, which is set as the last installment of the anime in Wano, should be broadcast, barring surprises, by the end of the same month of November.
As such, it would seem perfect for the anime to undergo a hiatus in December 2023, and return with the new year, starting with the events set on Egghead by January 2024. Contrary to what one might expect, One Piece fans are not at all against this option, which they instead appreciate.
Fans are seemingly much more inclined to accept the anime taking an extended break so that it can return with a satisfying and fast-paced narration, rather than needing to implement a filler arc or slow down the storytelling, which is already pretty loose.
As a matter of fact, the anime is somehow on a break already this week, as episode 1079, which should have been aired on October 8, 2023, has been postponed to make way for the umpteenth recap episode.
Titled "Luffy-senpai Support Project! Barto's Secret Room 4!", the episode broadcast in place of episode 1079 is in fact a summary of Luffy's fight with Kaido. Recap episodes have become very frequent in the anime adaptation of Wano Arc, but fans don't seem to appreciate them particularly.
As such, a full-fledged break seems like the best solution. So far, there is no official announcement in this regard, but leaving aside unnecessary fillers or recap episodes in favor of pausing the anime so that it can then adapt the Egghead Arc with a good rhythm would truly be the smartest choice Toei Animation can make.
Keep up with One Piece's manga, anime, and live-action as 2023 progresses.
