Manga author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda took to social media to provide an update on his plans for One Piece once it comes back from hiatus later this month. Interestingly, the update contains more than a few surprises, including the idea that a new reader can jump in without having read the last 25 years’ worth of stories.
First published in July 1997, the story of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates’ quest for the legendary Pirate King Gol D. Roger’s One Piece treasure, is one of the longest-running manga in the history of the medium. In addition, with nearly half a billion copies in circulation, it is the best-selling manga of all time. Needless to say, over the 25 years of its existence, it has grown to become one of the most beloved comics in the world. Earlier this summer, however, One Piece publisher Shueisha announced plans to wind down and conclude the series after the next story arc.
The biggest surprise of Eiichiro Oda’s message on One Piece‘s final arc is his comment that, despite having written and illustrated more than 1,000 chapters of an intricately complex story with hundreds of characters, Oda doesn’t believe fans will have missed anything if they start reading the manga with the next chapter. On the one hand, this news will surely be encouraging to anyone who is interested in following One Piece but is scared off by the thought of having to read through the manga’s 25 years of content to “catch up.” On the other hand, the comment can’t help from being a little disconcerting for die-hard fans who have conscientiously followed it from the start. What are they to think of the time and effort they put into reading, understanding, and appreciating the story?
Another interesting surprise in Oda’s post is the announcement that the Wano Country story arc is not done. Accounting for four years of the manga’s history, Wano Country is by far the manga’s longest story arc. However, with the defeat of Big Mom and Kaido, Luffy’s Gear Fifth transformation, and the return of the Kozuki Clan to power, the popular belief among fans has been that the arc concluded in chapter 1053 and that the final saga of One Piece would begin with chapter 1054, which is scheduled to be published on July 24, 2022. Oda’s comment, however, means there’s more to come in Wano Country, and more importantly, the final saga is not about to begin anytime soon.
The most unsurprising point of the post is Oda’s comment that he will answer “all the mysteries left in” the One Piece world. Indeed, whether you are a new or old fan, you certainly don’t expect a manga to end without answering the questions it asked. However, considering the many mysteries that have arisen in the story, to state that they will all be answered and that the answers will be “really interesting” risks raising fans’ expectations to perhaps unreasonable heights. Oda seems to recognize that fans will be expecting only the best from him going forward, saying that he’s been preparing for this moment for the last quarter of a century. Only time will tell if Eiichiro Oda can deliver on this promise, but if recent chapters are any indication, fans can rest assured that they will not be disappointed whenever the final saga of One Piece begins.
