On January 3, the one-thousandth chapter of popular manga series One Piece was released onto Shonen Jump publications everywhere. The creator, Eiichiro Oda, announced in this special edition, his plans for the story.

Oda released the first manga chapter of One Piece on July 22, 1997 and the story has been going strong to this day. Many have wondered when Oda would end the story, to which he finally decided to give his fans some answers.

Oda said in the special edition that, “We are finally ready to dip our toes into the final stages of the story” and to “please watch over Luffy and his crew as they continue their adventure.” Oda believes he will be able to finish the manga within the next five years.

Oda ended his note in the edition thanking his fans for sticking with his story for so long. 

“I convinced myself that I shouldn’t get too full of myself because my readers would eventually leave the series and move on with their lives,” Oda said. “Let me say that all of you have put me to shame for thinking such a thing.”

The story is currently in its Wano Kingdom arc with the Straw Hat pirates helping the people of the land of Wano be free from the terrible Emperor of the Sea, Kaido. 

I personally can’t wait to see how this arc will end!

Even though this story is very long, I have enjoyed watching this story unfold. One Piece is an amazing story that many people today don’t even bother to read/watch on the basis of it being “too long.”

 The benefit of One Piece being long is that the story has accomplished many achievements that regular stories will never reach. Not only character development but the world building One Piece has had in its story has reached a level of its own. Even though it’s long, I recommend at least giving this amazing story a chance and see for yourself why One Piece has been running for so long.