Highlights
- The Egghead Island arc in One Piece has surprised fans with its intensity, considered one of the best arcs.
- Oda’s recent shorter chapters and more breaks raise concerns about his health and ability to finish the story.
- Fans hope Oda prioritizes his health and takes more breaks, ensuring the longevity of One Piece and his well-being.
One Pieceis currently in the Egghead Island arc and it is safe to say that this part of the story has been incredibly exciting for the fans. Often, the beginning to massive sagas are slow, as is expected. Oda usually amps up the intensity as the saga progresses, with the first arc being the slowest. However, Egghead has been anything but that. This arc has shocked fans time and again, to such a level that quite a lot of the readers consider it to be one of One Piece’s best arcs of all time.
This just goes to show that the Final Saga delivers on an entirely different level. While Oda has been doing brilliantly in that regard, the pressure from the Final Saga could also come with its own downsides, and fans are currently worried about Oda’s health, which is likely a direct consequence of overworking.
Oda Drops Shorter Than Usual Chapters
One Piece Chapter Length Has Been Somewhat Shorter Than Usual
One Piece’s latest chapters have been shorter than usual as of late. This is a known fact and fans clearly know that Oda often wants to cram as much into his story as possible. He has been writing the story for over 25 years now, and if possible, Oda himself mentioned that he would like to end it in 3 years. Of Course, that is not going to happen, however, it would still help Oda if he sped up the story a bit. As such, for him to go with shorter chapters usually means that something isn’t right. While Oda can drop a one-off short chapter, when it happens again and again, usually, it isn’t a good sign. Last week’s chapter was very short, with 14 pages (including double-page spreads) and it appears that the upcoming chapter of One Piece, which is One Piece 1116, is once again going to be incredibly short, with just 13 pages.
This is a clear indication of the fact that Oda might just be struggling with wrapping up Egghead Island Arc due to some complications. Of course, there has been no confirmation of this from either Jump or Oda himself. That said, fans are always going to be worried about the incredible mangaka who has given them countless moments of happiness and want to see the story conclude for both the sake of satisfaction and at the same time, respect for Oda’s work. Of course, it could also be that the shorter chapters are because they are more packed with information, especially when it comes to chapters with Vegapunk’s message. But, usually, Oda’s chapters are always around 17 to 18 pages, and for fans, this doesn’t seem like a good sign.
Oda’s Frequent Breaks
Oda Has Been Taking More Breaks Than Ever Before
Along with Oda dropping shorter chapters lately, he has also been taking a lot more breaks. Fans know that in Shonen Jump, authors are incredibly overworked. The entire industry puts quite a lot of strain on mangaka, to the point where they only get 2 to 3 hours of sleep a day. The entire industry is incredibly taxing, and under these conditions, any author can fall sick at any time. In fact, the industry is so harsh that Oda was actually drawing One Piece back during the Dress Rosa days from the hospital. There is never a moment when he isn’t working, and Oda even lives separately from his family because of his story. He has had to focus entirely on One Piece, and he doesn’t even find time to take trips with his loved ones, which is something that he envies Kishimoto for, after finishing the Naruto manga.
Indeed. I’m indulging in a break for the next three Jump issues. Recently, after the passing of Toriyama-sensei, I feel people may be worrying about my health more. But to reassure you, I’m not sick right now or anything. It’s just that I still wanted to give myself some time to rest. Think of it as trying to focus on self-maintenance.
The point here is that the industry is so taxing that any mangaka will eventually burn out. For someone who has been doing this for over 25 years, this must have been incredibly taxing. This is why Oda has gradually increased the number of breaks that he is taking.
For fans who are rather new to the series, it might feel normal for Oda to take breaks every 3 weeks. However, for older fans, this was quite a change. There was a point when Oda used to take a break after every five or so chapters, and sometimes, he even used to drop six in a row. Now, that figure has slowly dropped down to three. Lately, Oda has been taking breaks after every two chapters, which is, once again, quite concerning. After One Piece chapter 1116, Oda is taking another break, which is surprising, because this story just returned from a break.
Once again, this hints at Oda having trouble with his health. This especially comes on the back of Oda taking a month-long break from manga, however, he did go on to reassure fans that his health was perfectly fine at the time. Still, fans are always going to worry, as they are right now.
One Piece Fans Worry Over Oda’s Health
One Piece Fans Would Urge Oda To Take More Breaks To Preserve His Health
With Oda taking constant breaks and the chapters getting shorter, fans are naturally going to get worried. The only bright side to all this is that there hasn’t been any announcement regarding Oda’s worsening health and Oda recently went on to reassure fans that he is fine. If Oda’s health is truly getting worse, then, fans should find happiness in him dropping fewer chapters if it means that he gets better and the story eventually reaches its conclusion. Oda’s one-month break should have done him quite a lot of good, and fans should understand that, for him, his health should be a priority. Oda needs to take more breaks if he is to maintain his body, as well as his love for finishing this story.
Another bright side to oldest is that the more Oda takes breaks, the longer it is going to take for the story to finish, which means that One Piece fans will be set for years to come. For now, fans do not need to worry, since there is no official word on Oda’s health right now, but if it truly is worsening, then it would be better for the author to take another long hiatus, just as many other mangaka have done on so many occasions already.
Oda has done more than enough for Jump already, and for a special author such as him, Jump should make special provisions and allow him as much time off as he wants. This way, he can take care of himself, spend more time with his family, take some vacations that he needs, prepare himself, and return to the story he loves to deliver incredible chapters of great quality like he always has been.
As mentioned earlier, One Piece is, unfortunately, going to be on break after chapter 1116, which is set to come out later this week. This came on the back of chapter 1115, which saw the series resume from a 2-week break. Fans can only hope that the author is fine and that he returns to the story when he feels better, and delivers a solid conclusion to the Egghead Island Arc.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1116, is set to be June 3, 2024.
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