Toei Animation is one of the largest anime studios in all of Japan, and over the years they have handled the adaptations of some of the biggest and most well-known anime series ever to air. Some of these hits include Sailor Moon and Digimon, among many. But when it comes to the biggest of all, one cannot forget Toei's two biggest series of all time – One Piece, the most popular adventure and pirate anime, and Dragon Ballthe father of all Shonen.
It's official: One Piece Anime is going on a long hiatus
The One Piece anime is leaving, and it's been quite a while.
One Piece has had a strong run for over 25 years, but now Toei's focus may shift. With One Piece seasonal, Toei Animation has announced that Dragon Ball is returning in full force with two new projects. It can be said that Toei plans to periodically replace One Piece with their other biggest hit, Dragon Ball.
One Piece's anime has switched from weekly to seasonal releases
-
One Piece now gets half of the episodes
-
New release schedule aims to improve quality
One Piece is one of the longest running anime of all time, based on the original manga work by creator Eiichiro Oda. It began its anime adaptation in 1999 by Toei Animation, and now, over 25 years later, the anime still airs almost continuously. For decades, One Piece has aired as a weekly anime and releases new episodes every week. However, it is clear that in recent years studios have tried to move away from the old release pattern.
One Piece still remained as one of the few weekly anime left, but now that will change, starting in 2026. One Piece is now officially switching from a weekly scheduled anime to a seasonal one. Instead of a new episode every week, fans will only get One Piece content for half the year, and even then it won't be in one stretch.
Instead of the usual 40+ episodes, fans will get 26 episodes per year, but split into two courses. Every three months, One Piece going on a 3 month break. This definitely reduces what One Piece fans will get in terms of content, and it will definitely reduce the rate at which the anime catches up to the manga.
While fans were hoping that this would at least come with a big improvement in quality, that doesn't seem to be the case. One Piece's anime doesn't seem to be getting any real quality upgrade, and other than that, the pacing will remain the same as it was in Egghead. Toei promised a chapter-to-episode adaptation, so at least it's not terrible. This is definitely a very disappointing phase for the fans of anime.
One Piece's shift began in late 2025 immediately after the airing of the final episode, which concluded the Egghead arc on December 28, 2025. Now, for the return of the next batch of One Piece episodes, fans will have to wait about three months, until April 2026.
Then Toei Animation will release One Piece's next episode which will cover the beginning of the Elbaf Arc. This arc is one that many fans are very excited about. It goes without saying that Elbaf will be exciting, but considering the fact that Toei often takes breaks between each cour of One Piece, they really need a replacement anime to fill in. This is where the new Dragon Ball anime comes in, and with it, Toei Animation will finally have two major animes on their hands.
Toei Animation Announces Major Dragon Ball Project
-
Dragon Ball Super: Beerus Remastered and Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol could help replace One Piece during its absence
Recently, Dragon Ball held one of its biggest events, called Dragon Ball: Genkidamatsuri, for the series' 40th anniversary. This event took place on January 25, 2026, and fans' expectations were not only met, but completely blown out of the water.
Toei, the Dragon Ball animation studio, revealed two major projects that particularly stood out to fans during the event.
The Dragon Ball Super: Beerus Remastered anime. Coming in late 2026, this anime will bring a new take on the Beerus arc of Dragon Ball Super. It will span 6 episodesand with that, an improved version of the 2016 anime will be given to fans. Snippets have already been revealed, and it looks amazing.
It's time to finally welcome the new Dragon Ball Z replacement
Dragon Ball Z is a fan favorite anime. This new anime can be a good replacement for it.
Apart from this, fans can also expect the return of the Dragon Ball Super anime. Really, Toei has announced that the story of Dragon Ball Super will continue through a new anime project, Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol. The Galactic Patrol doesn't have a release date yet, but hopefully it will come sometime in late 2027. It will be a big step forward for the franchise after the unfortunate passing of its creator, Toriyama, which left a huge hole for the series.
When One Piece is on hiatus, Dragon Ball can be its replacement
At the moment, it may feel like Toei is replacing One Piece with Dragon Ball. After all, One Piece's content is significantly reduced to almost half, and beyond that, no real improvement in quality has been promised. From what fans have seen of Elbaf so far through teasers, it seems that One Piece's quality will remain as it was in Egghead. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it's easily one of the best produced anime out there.
The truth is that Dragon Ball will never actually replace One Piece, but it may air during the periods when One Piece is on hiatus, so in a way, Toei has the perfect replacement to keep fans interested in their products. While Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will air side-by-side with One Piece, Dragon Ball: The Galactic Patrol may be scheduled to release around the time One Piece is on one of its three-month hiatuses.
Anyway, most fans interested in One Piece are also likely Dragon Ball fans. Dragon Ball will be the perfect entertainment for fans waiting for One Piece to make a comeback during the breaks.
Apart from that, it may also be the first time in nearly 8 years that One Piece and Dragon Ball air side by side. Dragon Ball Daima had an episode overlapping with One Piece, but that's about it. The actual return of Dragon Ball can only be an exciting period for all shonen fans.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to claim the great treasure known as One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date for One Piece Chapter 1172 is February 1, 2026. In Japan, One Piece is released at 12:00 JST on Monday, which is 11:00 EST or 8:00 PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on the Manga Plus and Shonen Jump apps. If you do that, the fans will always support the author.
