With only 4 episodes to go for Egghead arc finale, One Piece bids farewell to weekly releases this December

The Egghead arc of One Piece is about to come to its conclusion, and with that, there is going to be a major shift in the release schedule. This arc has offered phenomenal animation that has left fans in awe, and the story itself has unfolded so many mysteries that everyone has been eagerly waiting for episodes to roll out. But for now, things are going to change as the last episode of the Egghead arc will air on December 28, 2025, and with that will be the final episode of One Piece, which is part of a weekly release schedule.

Now this means that there are only four more episodes left, and fans are ready to say goodbye to an iconic era. Especially fans who have been following this series for a long time will now have to face the fact that the One Piece anime is going to shift to a seasonal model. This is a big chance of pace as the anime is releasing weekly episodes for 25 years. It is not a small number, and Toei Animation has done a great job in maintaining the quality and pacing of the story consistently.

Now that they are going to adapt a season format after this iconic arc finishes, it feels like the timing is right for the shift. Fans will have time to digest all the events that unfolded. Additionally, we also know that from January to April 2025, One Piece took one of its longest breaks to let the team breathe; it was like a preview of the massive structural shift coming next year.

While fans will have to adjust to this new change, it is not necessarily a bad thing, as the production team will now have more time, better production, and fewer constraints. With recent news of how animators get exhausted from delivering quality content without a break has come into the spotlight, even fans are understanding that changing this legendary story into a season format might be the best move.

Why Egghead marks a turning point for the One Piece anime

The Egghead arc has been a turning point in the story, and fans have gotten a sense that the stakes are only going to rise. From the moment Luffy unlocked his Gear 5 ability in Wano, things have gotten serious, and those who had read the manga knew that Egghead had to maintain the quality we got from Wano because Eiichiro Oda was about to drop some heavy revelations.

With directors like Megumi Ishitani and a steadily improving animation pipeline, One Piece looked and felt like a modern, high-budget series, not a 25-year-old weekly show. But that evolution came with a price. When this series began, the animation was old-school, but now the anime industry has changed.

Fans constantly want stellar quality animation, or they move on to a different series. As the adaptation caught up to Oda’s slower and more deliberate manga pacing, the weekly format became almost impossible to sustain without sacrificing quality.

Fan Reactions: Excitement, nostalgia, and the end of an era

The reaction across the One Piece fandom is a mix of excitement and bittersweet nostalgia. While some are still upset about having to accept this change, others were also pushing towards the idea of this anime adapting into a seasonal model. Some common reactions in the fandom are:

"Egghead ending on the 28th?? Oda really said Merry Christmas AND pain 💀" said one fan.

"It’s been one hell of a journey," added another fan.

"Just how fast the night changes.. We'll be going seasonal starting from next season," stated a fan.

As it has been a while since Toei Animation released a statement about shifting to a season model, most of the fandom has come to terms with it. But as the day gets closer towards the final episode before the series shift, viewers cannot help but have bittersweet emotions.

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Final thoughts

In many ways, the final four One Piece episodes feel symbolic. That is why when One Piece Episode 1155 airs on December 28, it won’t just mark the end of an arc. It will mark the end of One Piece's presence in anime culture for a generation. Still, the future looks bright, as from now on, fans will not have to worry about filler, stretched scenes, or recap-heavy episodes.

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