Oda Reveals The Biggest Problem He Faces With One Piece

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Final Saga.

Key Takeaways

• Oda’s plans for the final saga include involving more characters than just the Straw Hats.
• Oda is taking better care of his health by increasing breaks and extended rest periods.
• The end of One Piece is not near, with at least 5+ years left but likely ending by 2030.

Eiichiro Oda has finally begun the Final Saga of One Piece, and fans are eagerly waiting to see what this masterful author delivers next. The beginning of the Final Saga of One Piece came with Egghead Island, which is, by far, considered to be the best start to any saga in the story. Egghead also set up even better things to come, and Elbaf, which is the current arc of One Piece, has fans on the edge of their seats already.

Fans know that the Final Saga is going to be absolutely massive, but at the same time, they are also aware of the fact that One Piece is edging closer to its end. Often, authors falter at the very end, which leads to some of the best stories collapsing under their own weight and leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the fans. Naturally, fans wonder whether that could be the case with One Piece as well. While Oda himself has stated that he has some worries in regards to One Piece, planning the rest of the story is certainly not one.

Oda’s Plans For The Final Saga Are Very Interesting

• Oda Will Involve More Than Just The Straw Hats
• Oda Plans To End One Piece Soon

With the beginning of the Final Saga, fans have witnessed some of the best One Piece content ever. For instance, Egghead gave fans a majestic portrayal of the strength of the Elders, and at the same time, one of the very best flashbacks in the entire series through the character of Kuma. Fans even got glimpses of the lost history of the Void Century through Vegapunk, and that was only the tip of the iceberg. Egghead was incredibly exciting from start to finish, and it set the expectations of the fans even higher. Long ago, Oda said that Marineford, which is widely regarded as one of the best arcs of One Piece, will look like a joke compared to the Final War of the series, which, naturally, is a part of the Final Saga. Now, those claims, which fans hardly believed at one point, look like they could be very much real.

The expectations went through the roof after Egghead, especially since most fans were expecting a rather quiet arc. Now, One Piece is in Elbaf, and fans absolutely cannot wait to see what ends up happening in this land of the Giants and how Oda will incorporate the many major players of the One Piece world into it.

One of the biggest concerns that fans had in regards to One Piece was surrounding the delivery of the Final Saga. The Final Saga of any story makes or breaks it. If the author fails to reach a proper conclusion, then the story will be all for nothing. Often, Jump mangakas struggle to end their stories on a proper note, which leads to entire stories getting destroyed, or, in other cases, devaluing various character arcs. Thankfully, for Oda, this is not an issue. Oda previously spoke about ideas pertaining to the Final Saga, and according to him, he has no shortage of them.

Oda (2017): I have no fear of running out of manga ideas. I am confident that if I think hard, I can come up with any good ideas. There is only the battle to keep my lifespan from running out before One Piece reaches the final chapter.

As is made clear by Oda himself, he isn’t worried about running out of ideas for his manga. For Oda, the biggest cause of concern is his own health. Oda worries about deteriorating health conditions, which would prevent him from finishing the story. According to him, that is the only thing that he needs to worry about, which is quite a bold statement, given that most authors would be worried about the delivery of the final segment of their stories. Oda’s sheer confidence doesn’t stem out of absolutely nothing. Fans know that Oda has already thought about the vast majority of his story and even knows what the final panel of One Piece is going to be. Such meticulous planning means that Oda is hardly ever going to struggle when it comes to planning out story arcs.

How Oda Has Increased The Frequency Of Breaks

Oda Is Taking Better Care Of His Health Than Ever Before

Naturally, Oda’s fear of worsening health conditions is a valid one. Fans know for a fact that working in Jump is not an easy job for anyone to do. In fact, Jump authors often function on just 3 hours of sleep, and sometimes even away from their families, which is incredibly difficult for anyone to put up with. In fact, in many ways, the whole system in which Jump mangakas work is archaic and needs a change. Unfortunately, that change doesn’t look like it is going to come anytime soon, which means Oda and many other authors simply have to put up with it.

At the same time, fans know that Oda has already written One Piece for 25+ years, which means that now, he isn’t as healthy as he used to be. Simply put, Oda’s fears about his health are not misplaced at all. But, to counter that, Oda has taken steps already. For instance, he takes breaks more frequently in his manga. Whereas Oda used to take a break after every 4 or 5 chapters a few years ago, now, he takes a break after every three chapters, and sometimes even two. Furthermore, Oda also takes extended breaks often. Whenever he feels like he needs it, he goes on a month-long break, or one that spans over a couple of weeks, at the very least.

This is quite a healthy practice from Oda, and the fact that Jump allows him to do so helps tremendously as well. Oda needs to take proper care of his health because One Piece will always come second. Fans need to make their peace with this fact as well and accept that they will only get top-tier One Piece content when Oda himself is in good health.

When Will One Piece End?

One Piece Will Likely Not End Before 2030

As far as the end of One Piece goes, fans know that the series is not anywhere close to its conclusion now. At this point, despite One Piece being in its final Saga, it is not going to end anytime soon. Fans have just seen the beginning of the Elbaf Arc, which is sure to be a major One Piece arc. Egghead, which many fans considered to be a small arc and a gateway to many bigger arcs, lasted for about 2 years. At the very least, Elbaf should go on for 3 or 4 years, potentially even rivaling Wano.

With that, fans can easily come to the conclusion that One Piece has 5+ years left, at the very least. Fans can rest assured that One Piece is set to continue for the foreseeable future, but, the series is likely going to end by 2030, which means that while the end isn’t closed, fans should start preparing for it.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set to be November 10, 2024.