Staff behind the ONE PIECE series announced today during a special news livestream that the ONE PIECE anime will adjust its yearly broadcast schedule starting in 2026. Ryuta Koike, ONE PIECE series producer at Toei Animation, announced the anime series will go on hiatus from January to March 2026 and then return in April 2026 to begin a divided two-cours-per-year structure, maxing out at 26 episodes annually going forward. In a Toei Animation press release, Koike explained that the change is a “ strategic decision to support the advancement and evolution of the anime series. ” An exact episode amount per cour and start date of the second cour in 2026 were not announced at the time of reporting. The livestream, hosted by ONE PIECE Media Editor-in-Chief Hiroyuki Nakano, also revealed teaser art for the upcoming Elbaph Arc of the anime series. The ONE PIECE NEWS livestream also revealed a new anime character setting art of all the Straw Hats for the upcoming Elbaph Arc: The ONE PIECE anime, which just celebrated its 26th anniversary , is currently streaming on Crunchyroll in both sub and dub formats, along with a selection of ONE PIECE theatrical movies. Sources : ONE PIECE Official YouTube Channel , Official X (formerly Twitter) , Press Release
