Summary
Quick Links
The pacing ofOne Piecehas always been one of the series' biggest issues, especially with the anime. While the manga is decently well-paced, since reading is much faster than watching, sometimes, watching the anime can feel draining. With 20 minutes per episode, and over a thousand episodes, the pacing is one of the main things that scare away new fans ofOne Piecefrom giving the story a chance.
Due to this, many fans are curious about at what point in the series thepacing problems ofOne Piecetruly begin. While overall, the anime has always been decently slow, it isn’t until much later in the series that the slower pacing can become a bit too much for many fans. Although, for some, the slower pacing makes the series a more relaxing and enjoyable experience, others wish that the show was half the length it is now.
Since the manga is well-paced in comparison, this article will mainly refer to the anime of One Piece. However, similar issues do apply to the manga, just to a much lesser degree.
One Piece Pacing Issues Come From Adapting To Few Chapters Per Episode
Sometimes There Are Actually More Episodes Than Chapters
The pacing problems ofOne Piece, unlike other anime, generally don’t come from an overreliance on filler. Proportionally,One Pieceactually has a fairly small amount of filler when compared to other series. Instead, one of the main issues comes from how many chapters are adapted into a single episode of the series. While in the beginning, anarc like the Alabasta Arcwould translate 69 chapters into 39 episodes, at around the Marineford era ofOne Piece, the chapter-to-episode count becomes nearly even. Going beyond this, from Dressrosa onwards, the anime consistently has more episodes than chapters for each arc.
I don’t wanna live a thousand years. If I live through today, that’ll be enough. - Ace
Having more episodes than chapters creates a massive issue with the pacing of the series since, although both explore the same amount of content, reading a manga chapter is much faster than watching an entire episode. While a chapter may only take a few minutes to read, with each episode taking over quadruple the amount of time,One Piececan feel like a choreto get through. This is especially true during the less interesting sections, like drawn-out reaction panels, of the series, which can be breezed through in the manga, but need to be watched in their entirety in the anime.
102 Chapters and 118 Episodes
Wano Chapters Versus Episodes
149 Chapters and 191 Episodes
From here, it’s safe to say that the pacing problems for theOne Pieceanime started during the Dressrosa Arc. In the manga, whilethe Dressrosa Arc is still incredibly long, sitting at 102 chapters, it feels much more manageable to get through, with a strong reader most likely being able to finish the arc in around 8 to 10 hours. However, the anime sits at 118 episodes, requiring the viewer’s full attention for nearly 40 hours of watch time. While this may not seem like the worst thing in the world, it definitely started a downward trend that continued into the next arcs ofOne Pieceas well.
Wano, an arc that some fans already consider to be too bloated even inOne Piece’sbetter-paced manga form, is even worse in its anime form. Although the pacing problem started in Dressrosa, this arc is when the pacing problem truly begins, with the anime version of Wano spanning over 191 episodes, nearly 50 episodes more than the manga has chapters. For some, Wano is the breaking point of pacing in the series and is indicative of whereOne Piecewent past the point of no return.
There Is Hope For The Future Of One Piece
New Releases May Fix The Pacing Issues
However, it seems the creators of the anime are well aware of the issues the series faces and are taking steps to correct them. Overall, withthe rerelease of Fishman Island, and hopefully better pacing coming to Egghead, it may not be too late for the pacing ofOne Piece. Still, as it stands, the series needs to make some big improvements to appeal to a wider audience.
Bring on the hardship. It’s preferred in a path of carnage. - Zoro
In the end, while the pacing does get worseat the Dressrosa Arc, the series has always been very slowly paced to begin with. Although this may seem like a bad thing, many fans actually enjoy the slower pace, which allows the series to take its time and explore and develop the world ofOne Piece. Hopefully, by the end of the series, the slow pace will pay off, once the treasure of theOne Pieceis revealed.
One Piece
Cast
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
