One Piece: Eiichiro Oda Reveals The Original Ending Date Of The Series

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This article contains spoilers from the One Piece series.

Eiichiro Oda‘s One Piece is a remarkably long-running manga series, and widely considered one of the greatest stories ever written. Still ongoing after 28 years, it has captivated a dedicated fanbase. Debuting in 1997, One Piece revolutionized Weekly Shonen Jump and fundamentally changed the manga landscape, becoming a cornerstone of the industry like no other series.

One Piece is a remarkable and consistently excellent series. Surprisingly, its creator, Eiichiro Oda, never planned for it to last this long. He originally envisioned a five-year run, and never imagined it would continue for the past 28 years! Oda initially wanted a much shorter story, but his dedication to building a detailed world and crafting complex characters led to the expansive and comprehensive story we know today.

One Piece Was Supposed To End In 2002 Originally

  • Oda planned a run of 5 years
  • One Piece was supposed the be a story about Luffy Vs Yonko

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, originally planned for the manga to be much shorter than it is today. When he started writing in 1997, he thought he could finish the story in about five years – meaning the original target completion date was 2002. He believed he could resolve all the mysteries and conclude Luffy’s adventure within that timeframe. Of course, that proved to be very ambitious, and One Piece is still going strong 28 years later, with no end currently planned.

Just a little more patience, and I’ll share all the biggest secrets of the world! — Eiichiro Oda, 2022

The Shichibukai Extended One Piece’s Length Greatly

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, has said that the introduction of the Shichibukai is the main reason the series became so long. He didn’t realize how much adding so many of those characters would expand the story’s world, and it quickly grew much larger than he initially planned. Originally, Oda envisioned One Piece as a simpler story focused on Luffy battling the Four Emperors. While he slightly regrets making the story more complex, fans are happy with the richer and more detailed world it created. Here’s a quote from Oda explaining this:

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, initially planned for the story to conclude within five years, focusing on battles against the Four Emperors. However, he admits the introduction of the Warlords is the reason the series is still ongoing. He spontaneously created the Warlords and now wishes he had limited their number to just two or five, as the current seven have extended the story’s length. He expressed this regret in 2017.

When Will One Piece Truly End?

After 28 years, One Piece is still incredibly popular. The story has officially begun its final arc, and fans are starting to wonder how much longer it will run. While there’s no definite answer, it’s safe to say the series won’t be ending soon. At a minimum, One Piece is expected to continue for at least five more years, and possibly even longer. The current arc, Elbaf, is far from over and will likely take over a year to conclude, considering the author, Oda, is taking more frequent breaks.

The story of One Piece still has a few story arcs to go before the big final battle starts, and that battle itself will take a couple of years to conclude. Overall, One Piece is likely to continue for at least 7 years, and possibly up to 10. Even on the shorter side, fans can expect the series to run for another 5 years.

The newest chapter of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece will be available in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump. Chapter 1166 is scheduled to release on November 23, 2025. In Japan, it will be released at midnight on Monday, which translates to 11:00 AM Eastern Time and 8:00 AM Pacific Time. Fans can read the chapter without charge on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app.

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2025-11-22 15:34