One Piece Sets Sail On Its Final Saga Next Month

For readers of the One Piece manga, the longest arc in the series focused on the secluded country of Wano is coming to an end in just a couple of weeks. Eiichiro Oda, One Piece's creator, has announced a brief hiatus for the manga in preparation for the start of its final saga, which begins on July 24 with chapter 1054.

In a message from Oda yesterday, the mangaka announced the hiatus of the series will follow chapter 1053, which is scheduled to hit on June 26. At that time, no new chapters of One Piece would be available for an entire month, an almost unprecedented length of time for the pirating adventures, save for a similar gap when the series made a two-year time skip in the story over a decade ago. According to a translation from Library of Ohara on Twitter, Oda will use the break not just to rest but says, "I want to fix up the structure for the final saga so I can tighten it up as soon as possible." One Piece is known for its massive world and intricate worldbuilding, so it makes sense Oda would want to make sure the pieces are in place for the end of the story to come together sometime in the future.

Just before the return of the One Piece manga on July 24, a live stream has also been announced for One Piece Day. The series is celebrating its 25-year anniversary, and plenty is going on with the franchise this summer, begging to be included in the festivities. One Piece: Film RED is out in August, so expect some sort of news regarding that theatrical release. Namco Bandai is also listed on the One Piece Day website, heavily hinting at another look at the upcoming RPG One Piece Odyssey. However, we won't have to wait too long for our next peek at that adventure, as a new trailer is coming during tomorrow's Summer Game Fest showcase.

Poster for One Piece: Film RED

"When is One Piece going to end?" you may be asking. After well over 1000 manga chapters and anime episodes, the final saga will likely last about five years. That timeline was laid down by Eiichiro Oda himself a couple of years ago in the midst of writing the now-ending Wano arc. While we're on the last leg of the journey with Monkey D. Luffy and his lovable pirate crew, there are plenty of stories to tell, with at least a few more story arcs still expected to comprise this final saga.

If you're looking to start reading or watching One Piece but don't know where you can dive in, check out the Shonen Jump app, which has every chapter of One Piece available as part of its $2.99/month subscription. For the anime, Netflix has recently added a whole arc's worth of episodes, which brings its collection of episodes to watch just shy of 200. If you want to go even deeper into the anime, look no further than Crunchyroll, which has the latest episodes with subtitles as they air in Japan.