30 years pass in a blink, or that’s what all the One Piece fans who started reading it from its first chapter in Shonen Jump back in July 1997 must think. Eiichiro Oda, who was 22 at the time, has dedicated his entire life to Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats, bringing in millions in profits and recognition from the entire industry. It has led to several apocryphal spin-offs, 14 movies, all kinds of merchandise, and, of course, an anime that, to this day, has 1155 episodes. And it is right now that, for the first time, he has come to a complete stop after more than 25 years airing almost without breaks. It will be hard for you, but believe me: it’s worth trying to catch up.
Gomu Gomu No Marathon!
You should know something very important before facing a challenge like this: unlike current animes, One Piece has been aired weekly, often closely following the manga, which has forced them to include filler arcs to allow for new adventures of the pirates. It’s not that they are necessarily bad, but you can skip them without any problem because they have no real importance, and you still have plenty to watch. Thus, there are 98 filler episodes (although some may question this), so you only have 1057 episodes left to watch. Are you up for catching up before it returns with a new saga on April 5th?
If you say yes, ahead of you are about 350 hours (that is, 15 days non-stop watching One Piece), which can be significantly reduced if you skip the openings, the endings, and of course, the recaps: there are episodes that repeat up to 10 minutes of the previous one to catch the viewer up. To put it plainly: it would be 12 episodes a day, a bit of a stretch but worth it to enjoy, along with everyone else, the final stage of the most important pop culture piece of the 21st century, the ultimate adventure, the anime and manga that will define a whole generation, even more than others like Dragon Ball or Naruto did. And no, it’s not too late to start.
You may have seen an episode back in the day and think that One Piece is a comic about pirates going from island to island facing off against villains with strange powers and using their strength to defeat them. And yes, that’s true, that’s the main premise, but there’s so much more inside: an epic interconnected adventure full of mysteries, nuanced characters, surprises, and moments that have marked the history of Japanese animation (“I want to live!”). Its sensitive flashbacks are impossible to watch without shedding one or a thousand tears, its characters are in constant evolution, its life-or-death battles, and its unexpected revelations make waiting each week a torment that millions of people around the world are eager to “suffer.”
Just by having lived through Ennies Lobby and understanding the power of its characters as a destabilizing force in an unjust world, it is already worth approaching One Piece, a series that masks a revolution of the people with stretching arms, fire swords, flying kicks, and skeletons playing the violin. It is necessary in this bitter 2026, unique, fun, fantastic, and starring the most charismatic character in the history of anime: Luffy D. Monkey. Believe me: taking the routine of spending your afternoons watching One Piece is going to bring you much more joy than you think, even if it’s just to face what is possibly going to be the most remembered ending of the century on time. Don’t be swayed by the Netflix series or projects like One Pace: embrace the adventure in all its splendor. You won’t regret it.
