It doesn’t happen very often, but One Piece is taking a month off starting at the end of June 2022. Don’t worry though, it’s not because author Eiichiro Oda is ill or anything… quite the opposite, in fact. He’s taking a well-deserved break to get himself ready for the manga’s conclusion!
In a handwritten note posted to Twitter, Oda states that he didn’t originally want to take a summer break but was eventually persuaded to do so by those around him. It’s mentioned that this is going to be a very packed summer for One Piece fans between the release of the latest movie, the 25th anniversary of the manga, and Oda’s planned trip to South Africa to visit the set of the live-action Netflix adaptation. The main reason he’s taking a break, though?
“I want to tighten up the planning for the final chapter.”
Yup, you heard that right and I hope you haven’t forgotten about the article we posted back in 2019 that mentioned Oda wanting to conclude the One Piece manga within five years. It seems that he really meant it because here we are three years later with Oda still planning out how he’s going to finish his epic story.
Luckily for fans, the break will begin with the June 27th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump before returning in the July 25th issue. After almost 25 years of writing, Oda is finally approaching the end of his saga and it will be absolutely amazing to see. The only issue(s) that I can think of is that what if fans aren’t happy with how it ends? Will Oda be able to tie up every single loose thread he has left dangling over the last quarter-century? It’s impossible to know at this point, but I personally know at least a couple of people who will follow it all the way through to the bitter end.
Sources: SoraNews24, Anime News Network
