One Piece announced that it is truly nearing the end of Monkey D. Luffy's adventure, as the manga's next saga has been confirmed to be its last.
The official One Piece Twitter account announced that the long-running manga will take a 4-week break to allow series creator Eiichiro Oda to prepare for both the series' upcoming 25th anniversary, as well as prepare the beginning of the story's final saga. The hiatus will begin afte the publication of Weekly Shonen Jump's 30th issue of the year, which will be released in Japan on June 27. The series' final act will begin on July 25th, when the 34th issue of the manga magazine hits store shelves.
While the message provides official confirmation that One Piece is nearing its conclusion, fans may still have a fair bit of time left with Luffy and company, as it is worth noting that the series' sagas can run for several years. The series' current Four Emperors saga began in 2016, and the soon-to-be concluded Wano Country arc, which is just one of the four story arcs contained within that larger saga, has been running for almost four years on its own, having published its first chapter in July 2018.
Despite the hiatus, Oda will still have a full schedule this summer, as in addition to preparing the manga and getting ready for its upcoming anniversary, the author is also working on the series' upcoming 15th feature-length animated movie, One Piece Film: Red. Oda created a new character for the movie, Uta, a young singer who is the estranged daughter of Red-Haired Shanks, the powerful captain who gave Luffy his iconic straw hat and inspired the young boy to become a pirate. The movie will premiere in Japan on Aug. 6. Details about the film's international release have yet to be announced.
Oda is also serving as the executive producer for Netflix's upcoming live-action adaptation of his work. The streaming giant recently released a new teaser video that shows off concept art from the new TV series, as well as the first official look at the show's various pirate ships, including the Straw Hat Pirates' beloved original sailing vessel, the Going Merry. Oda stated that he originally planned on traveling to Cape Town, South Africa to oversee production on the show, but he was forced to cancel those plans due to Japan's on-going travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since it's debut in 1997, One Piece has managed to become the best-selling manga of all time, with over half-a-billion copies in circulation around the world. The entire anime series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll, while select seasons and several of the franchise's animated features are available for streaming on Netflix. The manga is available in English from VIZ Media.
Source: Twitter