December 28 Marks the End of a Legendary One Piece Era
On December 28, 2025, One Piece caps a record 26-year streak without a single weekly break—the longest in modern anime—bringing the series to an end even as Luffy’s adventure sails on.
Well, it finally happened: after 26 straight years on the air without a real break, One Piece is ending its nonstop weekly era. December 28, 2025 is the last weekly episode. No, the anime itself is not ending. What is ending is the grind. Starting in 2026, the show shifts to a seasonal model. Honestly, this was inevitable and probably overdue.
What actually changes in 2026
Toei Animation confirmed the switch on October 28, 2025: beginning in April 2026, One Piece will release in seasons, roughly 26 episodes a year, split into two parts. That December 28, 2025 episode closes the book on a weekly schedule that has run since 1999, which makes this the longest uninterrupted weekly anime run in modern history. Wild.
Three months off, then Elbaph
Before the seasonal era starts, the anime is taking a planned breather from January through March 2026. The point is to reset the pipeline and launch the Elbaph arc properly in April. Toei says this new setup should mean cleaner pacing, smoother storytelling, and animation that tracks the manga more closely without stretching single chapters over a bunch of episodes. In other words: fewer speed bumps, more story.
Egghead closes the weekly era
The Egghead arc, which is the one currently airing, will be the last arc produced fully under the old weekly model. By the end of 2025, the anime will have delivered around 38 episodes for the year, counting canon and specials. That makes Egghead the final chapter of a 26-year tradition.
One Piece is expanding, not shrinking
Outside the main series, the franchise is retooling on multiple fronts at once:
Wit Studio is working on a separate One Piece anime remake — think a fresh retelling with modern pacing and production values. No date is locked, but industry chatter has it circling 2026.
Meanwhile, Netflix is pushing ahead with its live-action take. Season 2, titled 'Into the Grand Line', drops March 10, 2026 and covers the early Grand Line stretch: Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. Netflix has already renewed Season 3, with production slated to start later in 2025 in Cape Town.
The quick timeline
- Final weekly episode: December 28, 2025
- Weekly run length: 26 years (since 1999), longest modern uninterrupted weekly anime run
- Hiatus: January–March 2026
- Seasonal format begins: April 2026
- Episodes per year: ~26, released in two parts
- Final weekly arc: Egghead
- Next major arc: Elbaph
- Anime remake: Wit Studio (TBA, widely speculated for 2026)
- Live-action Season 2: March 10, 2026 ('Into the Grand Line' — Loguetown through Drum Island)
- Live-action Season 3: Renewed; production begins in 2025 in Cape Town
So yeah, a decades-long tradition ends on December 28. But this is the right call for the home stretch: let the story breathe, let the animation shine, and stop padding what does not need padding. Weekly One Piece is ending; One Piece isn't. And if you want to catch up, the anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.