Key Takeaways
- Oda’s intense work schedule leads to frequent hiatuses due to health concerns, like Akira Toriyama’s impact earlier in the year.
- Oda often takes breaks between One Piece chapters, opting for a biweekly serialization to balance work and health.
- While a better routine would benefit Oda’s work quality and health, fans may have to wait longer for new chapters, but it’s worth it.
One Piece just came out of a hiatus, and will soon take another break. This has been a busy year for One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. After Akira Toriyama died back in March, he took a break, probably due to the impact it had on him. Then he went to South Africa as a new season for the Netflix’s One Piece live-action series was being shot. Later, another hiatus was announced, this time due to health concerns.
It is not uncommon for manga creators to have health problems due to the tight routine, especially when they serialize weekly series. Some authors have said they have around 3 hours of sleep per day. This stressful routine was pointed out by many fans as one of the reasons Berserk creator Kentaro Miura left us in 2021.
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Probably for this reason, Oda doesn’t exactly have a weekly schedule anymore: One Piece usually drops new chapters for 3 weeks and then takes a one-week break. Sometimes, when he prepares a new arc, the series goes on hiatus for some weeks. But this year, breaks have been more frequent, and, according to @WSJ_manga, after a new chapter on December 1, One Piece will take another break next week, returning on December 15.
There is no information regarding the reason for this break, and this hiatus is not yet informed on Manga Plus. However, WSJ_manga is usually a trustworthy source of backstage information regarding Shonen Jump titles.
Biweekly might be a good solution
Despite the hype for the Final Saga, fans usually understand very well Oda needs to take breaks, especially when those hiatus are health-related. For this reason, some fans are already asking for a biweekly serialization. Changing the frequency of the manga might be a good way to go: fans will be aware of when to expect new chapters, and Oda will be able to get more time to rest (despite that, he states he can’t take more breaks, but it might reach a point where he would need to).
Going biweekly has more pros than cons
Oda’s work routine might not be weekly anymore, but dropping chapters for three weeks in a row is still a hard routine. A lot of readers don’t think they are healthy for any mangaka, but, unfortunately, fresh authors usually have opportunities to try to negotiate a better schedule. Oda is an established author, so he probably can easily talk to his editors if he needs more breaks. Also, with a lot of One Piece stuff going on, he will probably get busier and busier in the near future.
A better routine would not only allow Oda to work more carefully on each chapter, but it would also be good to prevent health issues from coming (if they are in any way derived from his work schedule), and he would generally have more time even to read manga. To be honest, the only con is that fans would have to wait more for new chapters, but it’s better to be patient than to force the authors beyond their limits.
One Piece
is licensed in the US by Viz Media. The latest chapters are officially available on Shonen Jump and Manga Plus apps, for free.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda