Eiichiro Oda Reveals The Original Ending Date Of The Series

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is one of the longest-running manga series of all time. It is, at the same time, also one of the best stories ever told, which is ongoing even after 28 long years, fans are addicted to this story. Oda’s One Piece marked a monumental shift in Weekly Shonen Jump, ushering in a new era. Since its serialization in 1997, it has changed the manga industry forever and over all these years, it has become a pillar of the manga industry like no other series.

One Piece is truly a majestic masterpiece that keeps on delivering year after year. However, the series wasn’t always expected to be as long. Oda never intended for One Piece to run for 28 years, and even in his wildest dreams would the series would not have taken such a turn. Initially, Oda wanted One Piece to be much shorter, but his habit of creating a massive world, writing detailed characters, and putting in tremendous work into worldbuilding saw to it that it became the comprehensive story that it is today. According to Oda himself, One Piece was originally supposed to run only for 5 years, which means the story would’ve ended long before it even became popular.

One Piece Was Supposed To End In 2002 Originally

Oda planned a run of 5 years

One Piece was supposed the be a story about Luffy Vs Yonko

According to Eiichiro Oda himself, One Piece was never supposed to be as long as it ended up being. When he first began the manga in 1997, Oda believed that he would be able to wrap up the story in around 5 years. In other words, the original ending date for One Piece was 2002, which is shocking for most fans. In just 5 years, Oda expected to draw every mystery that he wanted in the story and deliver a very fitting conclusion to Luffy’s journey. This would’ve been incredibly hard to achieve, and there’s a reason why One Piece continues even 28 years later, with the end nowhere in sight.

The Shichibukai Extended One Piece’s Length Greatly

According to Oda himself, the main reason why One Piece became as long as it did was the Shichibukai. Oda never thought introducing so many of them would expand the world the way it did, and before he knew it, the story was already massive. Initially, Oda wanted One Piece to only be a story of Luffy Vs the Four Emperors. To this day, Oda regrets that decision a bit, but the fans are relieved as it gave them a much better and in-depth look at the One Piece world. Here’s what Oda had to say:

One Piece was originally intended to be a story that would end in 5 years, fighting the Four Emperors. Warlords are the reason why OP hasn’t ended yet. I casually came up with Warlords. I should have at least restrained it to 2 or 5 people, not 7. I regret it a bit. — Eiichiro Oda, 2017

When Will One Piece Truly End?

28 years later, One Piece continues stronger than ever before. The story has officially entered the Final Saga and fans know that it’s edging closer to the end now. Naturally, many fans are probably wondering when One Piece will truly end. The answer to that question is not clear. However, it can be said with certainty that One Piece will not end anytime soon. At the very least, One Piece has five more years left, if not even longer. Elbaf is nowhere close to ending right now and will probably take over a year to wrap up, especially given the number of breaks that Oda is now taking.

One piece will have a few more arcs before the Final War begins, and that in itself will take a couple of years to wrap up. On average, One Piece should still have at least 7 years left, and it could even extend to 10 more years. But, as mentioned previously, at the very least, the series should still run for 5 years.

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece will be featured in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1166 is November 23, 2025. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps.