One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is putting the manga series on hiatus for three weeks as he mourns the passing of Akira Toriyama and “undergoes maintenance.” The hiatus will be in effect with the release of the April 1-due issue of Weekly Shonen Jump.
Toriyama passed away on March 1 from an acute subdural hematoma. The news was made public on March 7, shocking the entire world, including successful manga artists and authors inspired by Toriyama’s work. Oda, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, and Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto were especially devastated by his passing.
One Piece Manga Enters a Three-Week Hiatus
In a new message shared by the official One Piece Twitter account, Oda explains that the death of Toriyama made him think that many people were worried about his own wellbeing. Oda confirms that he’s not ill, but he plans to undergo “maintenance” on himself and mourn Toriyama’s passing. The One Piece manga will go on hiatus from the April 1 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump to the April 22-due issue. During the hiatus, Oda will take time to think about “what One Piece actually is.”
【読者の皆様へ】「週刊少年ジャンプ」18号～20号までの『ONE PIECE』休載のお知らせと尾田栄一郎先生の直筆メッセージ#ONEPIECE
▼メッセージはこちらhttps://t.co/2QwY71tC3B pic.twitter.com/DM6twNVeaK
— ONE PIECE.com(ワンピース) (@OPcom_info) March 21, 2024
The One Piece anime is unaffected by the manga’s hiatus. New episodes of One Piece air on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. JST on Fuji TV in Japan. Crunchyroll is simulcasting the One Piece anime on Saturdays at around 10:00 p.m. EDT with Japanese audio and English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. Moreover, Crunchyroll periodically releases batches of episodes with the English dub.
The upcoming Dragon Ball Daima series is the last major anime work that Toriyama was involved in before his untimely passing. Goku, Vegeta, Supreme Kai, and the rest of the iconic crew are turned into children, prompting them to embark on a new adventure. The new anime will air on Fuji TV this fall, just like the original Dragon Ball anime 40 years ago.
