It's the end of a long-standing era for ongoing anime, with Toei Animation announcing a new production schedule for the beloved series, which has run continuously for over a quarter-century and included numerous non-canon storylines. Starting in the new year, after the Egghead Island arc concludes, the animated series will go on a quarterly hiatus until April, when the next major arc kicks off.
Updated Production Plan
From now on, the series will produce two seasons every year for a maximum of 26 episodes. The studio explains this will enable the anime to “dive even deeper into the core of the universe — incorporating more material, rhythm, and pacing of the source material.” However, Toei conclude by hinting at “thrilling developments” during the series' break, which means additional related projects, such as Netflix's live-action season 2, scheduled to debut in the interim.
Learning from Past Breaks
The series anime had a half-year pause that began in late 2024 and ended in April 2025. The intermission was for the animators to improve the animation quality and allow the manga to get further ahead to avoid a faster anime pace and repetitive summaries. The anime couldn't benefit more from this respite, and it has managed to supply viewers with countless action sequences, superior graphics, and less filler than ever before.
Adopting Modern Trends
Although some recap episodes appeared during the recent run, the positive effects of this updated approach far surpass the odd pause in the story. This also gives the manga, which is currently in the middle of the Elbaph arc, to gain more ground on the anime. Per the news, this may result in one episode of the anime covering one chapter, with some alternatively covering more material or more to compensate for scheduling.
It's the end of a generation for Japanese animation, as the epic saga is the last big series to abandon the traditional method of production, which prioritized airing for most of the calendar. It's the reason why classics such as Bleach, and of course One Piece have so many side stories, and the quality of the art can change drastically between one episode and the following. Today, series creation is organized in cours, with a couple at most coming out each annually, enabling better quality and more faithfulness to the original work.
