One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda officially confirms Sudden Break

One Piece is a legendary shonen manga that has been in consistent serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1997. For nearly 3 decades of weekly releases, Eiichiro Oda has had to put in long hours of work with little time to rest. Consequently, he now has to take frequent breaks to recover his energy and plan things properly. But even though Oda often takes breaks, he usually comes back with a 3-chapter run right after. However, June has proved difficult.

One Piece officially skipped last week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #28 on June 7, 2026. The manga announced a return on June 14, 2026. Unfortunately, it goes on hiatus again right after the release of One Piece chapter 1185. As confirmed by creator Eiichiro Oda, One Piece will now skip Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30.

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda Officially Announces New Break June 21, 2026 Skipping Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30

To kickstart June 2026, One Piece had no chapter editions. That's because Oda took a sudden break that many fans didn't see coming. Although the break came out of nowhere, it didn't last too long, as it usually is with Oda's breaks. The author had already announced his plan to return to the manga on June 14, 2026, with One Piece chapter 1185. The upcoming chapter of the series is highly anticipated, and although fans thought it would mark the end of the hiatus for the foreseeable future, it turned out not to be the case. A week after his return, Eiichiro Oda has already taken another break, to everyone's surprise.

It was announced that on June 10, 2026, that One Piece would skip issue 30 of Weekly Shonen Jump. This means One Piece the story will be interrupted at an exciting point in the ongoing flashback in Esperia Kingdom, which explores the background of the Straw Hat Pirate Brook and Princess Shuri. Although a hiatus is sad, at least we know when the manga will return. As usual is the case with Eiichiro Oda's breaks, One Piece will return in two weeks. In that sense, One Piece manga will return at the end of the month on June 28, 2026, in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #31 with chapter 1186. The wait will be tough to bear given the limited content we've been given this month, but giving Oda time to recover is important. One Piece Chapter 1186 will mark the last release for the month of June, and hopefully we'll have a better run in July.

Eiichiro Oda took two breaks due to One Piece Live Action

Many fans are wondering why One Piece is going through so much turmoil with its June release schedule. After all, a chapter between two breaks is pretty unusual for Oda, who usually only takes a break every three chapters or so, unless absolutely necessary due to a health issue or magazine breaks beyond his control. The reason for the recent hiatus can actually be traced back to a major global One Piece project – The One Piece Live Action by Netflix. As we know, One Piece live Action season 1 and 2 were huge hits, and Netflix is ​​already back to produce season 3 in South Africa. Due to the ongoing production, Oda had to visit the cast in South Africa, which meant long flights and distractions from the manga for his own free time, and also publicity for the show.

This isn't exactly new either, as Oda has taken breaks in the past for Live Action production of the first two seasons of the series. But now, with its journey over and its own hiatus done, One Piece should release chapters as usual going forward.

One Piece's Return marks the climax of the Esperia flashback and a return to the Imu battle

Now that we know why One Piece is on hiatus, it's also important to talk about what to expect when the series returns on June 28, 2026. One Piece Chapter 1184 and One Piece 1185 covers both events in Esperia in a flashback as seen through Straw Hat Brook. Many fascinating characters were introduced, such as Candelle and Reuven, as well as Shuri before she fell into the hands of the World Government. Esperia was eventually destroyed, and we're heading towards the disaster that caused the downfall of this entire island.

One Piece Chapter 1186 will likely mark the end of the flashback or bring it to its climax. While the flashback is exciting, we can't wait for the story to return to the current timeline in Elbaf, where Nerona Imu vs. Loki is playing out and Luffy is nearing his entry into the fray. Elbaf's climax is fast approaching, and the final battle could be even bigger than Wano's, depending on what Oda chooses to do with Luffy and Imu.

One Piece by mangaka Eiichiro Oda is available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.