Ask John: Will the One Piece Anime End Soon?

Question:
I’m a big fan of the One Piece anime, and I recently heard some rumors floating around that the anime may actually be concluded after the current (Enies Lobby) arc. As far as I know, the anime is still getting consistently high ratings in Japan and is very popular, so I really don’t see a reason why it would be ended. I am aware of a timeslot/TV station change for the show, but that’s about it. From what I understand, these rumors are ungrounded in fact. But they do have me a little worried. Has Toei made any mention of the One Piece anime ending after the current arc, or anything to that effect, or are these nothing more than rumors?

Answer:
All I can say is that I personally haven’t heard any rumors about the One Piece anime ending, and I don’t know of any reason why it would possibly end in the foreseeable future. There are no indefinitely long running shonen action/adventure shows in Japan. Current anime television series longer than One Piece, including Detective Conan and Crayon Shin-chan, aren’t in the same stylistic vein as One Piece. History has shown that all action/adventure anime TV series do eventually end. Examples like Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Dragonball support this fact. But, by comparison, the anime TV series adaptation of Akira Toriyama’s Dragonball manga had 444 episodes. (That number goes up to 508 when Dragonball GT, not based on Toriyama’s manga, is included.) One Piece currently has 280 episodes, so there’s an earlier precedent for a Toei produced action/adventure anime based on a manga from Shonen Jump Magazine continuing for far longer than One Piece has lasted so far.

Dragonball Z ended when it reached the end of Akira Toriyama’s original manga, yet the Dragonball anime franchise continued with the original story Dragonball GT. Likewise both Bleach and Naruto have been broadcasting original storylines for quite some time. So even if One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda were to suddenly conclude his One Piece manga, Toei could continue its One Piece anime indefinitely. If the One Piece anime does end at the conclusion of its current story arc, it will have lasted roughly as long as Dragonball Z, which is an impressive run for any anime TV series. Given the present length of the show and the fact that One Piece already has more episodes than nearly every other shonen action anime ever made, I can envision Toei deciding to wrap up the franchise. However, I’ve seen no evidence of that, and I can’t think of any reason why Toei would feel compelled to conclude the One Piece TV series in the foreseeable future. Honestly, at this point in time I wouldn’t be very surprised to see the One Piece TV series end. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to see it continue indefinitely.