For the first time in the last two decades of its run, One Piece recently announced that its anime is officially going seasonal, shocking fans with a new production schedule. It’s safe to say that the series is currently going through a huge transitional period, and the new release schedule is only the first of many huge changes to come.
While many of these changes appear to be for the better, One Piece’s new seasonal format also hints that the series could be ditching one of its defining traditions for good, and it could be its greatest mistake. One Piece’s anime may be changing its approach to filler, and fans may need to say goodbye to anime-original filler arcs for good.
One Piece Reveals More Recap Episodes To Come
In the latest live news stream on One Piece’s official YouTube Channel earlier this week, the series revealed its plans to switch to a seasonal format. Along with this shocking update, the series’ producers also revealed the total episode count for the Egghead Arc.
The arc is going to consist of 33 canon episodes and five recap episodes, all part of the “Dr. Chopper’s Adventure Checkup” series. So far, three of these recap episodes have aired, each being very poorly rated and even becoming some of One Piece’s most disliked episodes to date.
There’s no doubt the remaining two episodes will also receive a similar reception. In fact, the two episodes to come might be especially frustrating as they will likely interrupt Vegapunk’s broadcast and the big battle against the Five Elders.
One Piece Needs to Bring Back Full-Fledged Filler
As much as fans adore Chopper, One Piece needs to ditch the recap episodes. Rather than these boring, uninspiring recaps, it would be much better if the series went back to releasing full-blown anime-original filler arcs between major story arcs like it used to.
Unlike some of its peers, like Naruto and Bleach, One Piece’s anime has always boasted a very low percentage of filler content. Most of the series’ filler arcs span five to six episodes, with the longest standing at a maximum of eleven episodes. As such, even what little filler the series does have is easily skippable without having to constantly refer to a filler guide.
More importantly, however, these filler arcs have always been short, well-contained, and well-regarded among fans. Some, like the G-8 Arc, are even widely considered one of the best arcs of the series. As such, rather than a rehash of old clips, it would arguably be much better if One Piece’s anime simply gave fans another such self-contained filler arc, even if it isn’t as well animated as the main story arc.
A filler arc would not only help pad out the production timeline, but also treat fans to something fresh and original. During arcs like Egghead, where the Straw Hats are all split up, a filler arc could also let fans see more of the Straw Hats’ timeless antics and explore the dynamics with newer members like Jinbe.
A filler arc would not only help pad out the production timeline, but also treat fans to something fresh and original.
Overall, with One Piece officially going seasonal and planning to release only 26 episodes a year from here on out, it’s unlikely we’ll ever get another full-fledged filler arc again, and it’s quite sad to see the series let go of one of its oldest, most charming traditions.
- Release Date
-
October 20, 1999
- Network
-
Fuji TV
- Directors
-
Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
-
Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
-
Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
