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One Piece: Elbaf Arc - Where the Anime Is Right Now and What Is Next
One Piece just went through the biggest structural change in its 27-year history, and if you've been out of the loop, the show doesn't work the way it used to. Here's where things actually stand.
The Big Change: One Piece Is No Longer Weekly
Starting with the Elbaf Arc in 2026, One Piece dropped its nearly three-decade weekly release schedule in favor of a seasonal, two-cour format, roughly 26 episodes per year total, split into two blocks of 13. Toei Animation and producer Ryuta Koike confirmed the change is deliberate, meant to let the anime match the manga's actual pacing and content more closely instead of stretching material thin to fill a weekly slot. This isn't a temporary hiatus or a production hiccup, it's the new permanent structure for the rest of the Final Saga.
Where the Anime Is Right Now
The Elbaf Arc premiered April 5, 2026, with episode 1156. The first cour ran 13 episodes and concluded July 5, 2026. After a short break, the second cour picked up on Netflix starting July 18, running without further breaks. As of late August 2026, the anime is deep into that second cour, with episode 1176 airing August 30 on Crunchyroll and September 5 on Netflix (Netflix runs about a week behind the Japanese broadcast and Crunchyroll's simulcast).
Once this second cour wraps, that's it for new episodes in 2026, the 26-episode annual cap means there won't be additional Elbaf content until 2027.
How Much of the Manga This Covers
Toei confirmed the anime is now adapting on a strict 1:1 ratio, one manga chapter per episode, a notable shift from the old pace where 11 to 12 episodes used to cover 4 to 5 volumes at once. At the time the Elbaf Arc began adapting, there were already over 50 manga chapters of material to work with, with more releasing on a near-weekly basis in the source material. Given that pace, most estimates put the full Elbaf Arc at somewhere around 60 to 70 anime episodes once it's completely adapted, spread across multiple years under the new seasonal format.
Why the Slower Pace Is Actually Good News
It's a real tradeoff, less content per year in exchange for noticeably better production. Toei specifically framed the change around quality: fewer episodes per year means the studio can put more time, tempo, and faithfulness into each one rather than rushing to hit a weekly deadline. Early reception to the higher episode quality in the Elbaf Arc has been strong enough that most of the initial fan pushback around losing weekly episodes has quieted down.
Where to Watch
New episodes air Sundays on Crunchyroll as part of the simulcast, then follow about a week later on Netflix. Both platforms carry the full run, so there's no need to juggle subscriptions depending on which service you already use, just be aware of the schedule gap if you're a Netflix-only viewer.
What's Coming Next
Once the current cour finishes, expect a break before the anime returns in 2027 with the next roughly 26-episode block, continuing further into the Elbaf Arc's remaining chapters. No specific 2027 return date has been announced yet, but based on this year's rollout, expect Toei to confirm details closer to the new year.
Not Sure Which Episode a Clip Is From
With One Piece now on a slower release cadence and higher production values driving a lot of shareable moments, clips from the Elbaf Arc circulate constantly without clear episode context. If you've seen a screenshot and want to know exactly where it's from, our screenshot identifier will place it instantly.
And if the shift to a slower, more polished seasonal pace has you looking for other well-produced long-running shonen to fill the gap between cours, our vibe search can point you toward similar shows without needing you to already know the titles.
Bottom Line
One Piece permanently moved to a 26-episode-per-year seasonal format starting with the Elbaf Arc, currently in its second cour as of late August 2026, with episode 1176 releasing this week. New episodes pause once this cour ends, resuming sometime in 2027 as the arc continues at its new, more deliberate pace.
