One Piece is going on a bit of a hiatus. Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the popular manga, confirmed he will be taking a three-week break which will result in One Piece being put on pause.
As to not panic fans, Oda released a statement on social media in which he confirmed that the break will give him time to grieve the loss of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. It will also serve as some "scheduled maintenance" to take care of his own health.
"Okay, so, I'm taking three weeks for myself," the 49-year-old Oda wrote. "Yes, this is coming on the heels of the news about Toriyama-sensei."
"Yes, this could cause some unnecessarily excessive panic," he added. "But I am not unwell. And while it does have to do with my body, consider this a type of scheduled maintenance rather than anything else."
In addition to taking care of his health, Oda is using this temporary time off to help figure out "what the One Piece actually is."
"That's going to keep me quite busy, I'll have you know!" he teased.
The manga will appear in the Weekly Shonen Jump issue 17 on March 25th and will then go on a three-week break. It will return with issue 21 on April 22nd.
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away on March 1st due to acute subdural hematoma. He was 68 years old.
Oda issued an emotional statement following the tragic news, saying the "hole [Toriyama] left is too large" while expressing both great sadness and admiration for him.
This isn't the first time the One Piece manga has gone on hiatus. Back in 2022, the manga went on a one-month break following the end of the Wano Country arc. While Oda was against it at first, he ultimately came around to it as it allowed him to prepare for the manga's 25th anniversary celebrations and the "final saga." At the time, Oda was also getting ready for the theatrical release of the One Piece: Red Film while also overseeing the production of Netflix's live-action One Piece series.
Speaking of, while the manga is on break, now would be the perfect time to check out the Netflix live-action One Piece adaptation. The series debuted last August to glowing reviews. It sits at an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes with an even more impressive 95% audience score.