It’s been a week of huge manga news so far. There was the news that Berserk was going to be finished following the death of creator Kentarou Miura. Now, there’s the announcement that One Piece is looking toward its final saga soon.
The news comes from the official One Piece Twitter account, with a message from author Eiichiro Oda himself. The tweet, translated via Anime News Network, states that Oda will first be taking a one-month break. This summer features a ton of One Piece and its creator is involved in a lot of it.
There’s the debut of One Piece Film Red, which has a scheduled release date on Aug. 6, 2022 in Japan. According to that film’s producer, Shinji Shimizu, Oda is heavily involved in the production. There’s also Oda wanting to take a break to visit the set of Netflix’s live-action One Piece, which is filming in South Africa. Finally, there’s the manga’s own 25th anniversary, which takes place in July.
The last chapter prior to the break will arrive on June 27. Oda is currently wrapping up the Wano Country Arc, following Luffy’s epic conflict with the pirate Kaido. Following the break, the manga should again resume publication on July 25. During said break, however, Oda supposedly explained that he’s preparing for the manga’s “final saga.”
Of course, One Piece is a weekly manga. Any “final saga” might take a few more years of effort on Oda’s part. As an example, the Wano Country arc began back in 2018, while the last major arc, Dressrosa, stretched from 2013 to 2015. Suffice it to say, while we’re nearing the end, it’s not actually in sight just yet. And this is planning, so it might be a few arcs down the line.
Still! It’s great that Oda will have the chance to finish his magnum opus. The man has been drawing some of the best (and most popular) weekly manga in the world for 25 years. He deserves the chance to cross the finish line and take a break.
