One Piece began publication in 1997, and has now surpassed 1,000 chapters. Thereâs a lot for fans to celebrate! But according to website My Jitsu, some manga readers in Japan are not happy about how things are going.
My Jitsu reports that a segment of fans in Japan are not only annoyed by the pacing of the current Wano Country Arc, which began in 2018, but also by the manga going on hiatus. That last complaint is rather silly, if not selfish, to be honest, considering how hard manga creator Eiichiro Oda has worked and for how long. The guy isnât a machine. He needs time to recharge and do things like sleep!
Below, via My Jitsu, are some recent complaints from Japanese readers:
âOne Piece going on hiatus is no good.â
âOne Piece of late has been going on hiatus a bunch. Plus, the story development has been sloppy.â
âThe most recent Shonen Jump was pretty interesting. But One Piece, youâre taking too much time off.â
âOne Piece is going on too many breaks. Itâs like every other week.â
âDonât take the week off because the story isnât going well!â
As noted on My Jitsu, the problem could be with the pacing of the Wano Country Arc, which is said to be dragging on and losing the interest of fans. This, in turn, impacts the anime, and it becomes harder to win over new readers.
Meanwhile, in the past few years, One Piece has been outsold by manga like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Make no mistake, itâs still an incredibly successful and popular manga.
All of this seems rather stressful and relentless for Oda! One Piece has had an impressive run, and itâs not over just yet. There are still adventures to be had.
If youâve never read One Piece, check out this look at 1,025 chapters of the manga by Kotakuâs own Isaiah Colbert.
