One Piece Arc List Guide: I Mapped Out All 34 Arcs So You Don’t Have To

Last updated on November 20th, 2025 at 02:19 am

I mean, I am not going to make this sound as easy as possible but it feels like the time I was standing at the bottom of Mount Everest and I had flip-flops on my feet.

However, what I have learned after going through this entire One Pieces arc scenario is that it is not as frightening as it appears when you realise how the plot is constructed.

The Big Picture: 34 Arcs of 7 Other Sagas.

One Piece is not a marathon, a long one. It is divided into 34 verifiable arcs dispersed in great story blocks known as sagas. Imagine the sagas to be seasons of a TV series, and the arcs to be literal episodes of the shows.

This is how it is divided: the series is divided into two gigantic eras. There is the stuff that comes before the time skip (597 manga chapters, 516 anime episodes) and the stuff that comes after the time skip New World (as of now, there are 500+ chapters and more in progress).

The time skip pre-time skip includes six sagas and they are East Blue, Arabasta, Sky Island, Water 7, Thriller Bark, and Summit War. Then when you jump to the time next you are in Fish-Man Island, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, the Wano Country, and the Final Saga we are current in now.

Where we are actually now (November 2025).

The Egghead Arc is coming to an end, the anime is dedicating the end to itself on the 28th of December 2025 with episode 1155. This arc of the manga concluded in 68 chapters, and overall, it was full of outrageous revelations about Dr. Vegapunk, as well as solemn character scenes.

However, the highlight is that the anime is going on a three-month hiatus in January 2026 through to March 2026. Why? Quality control. They are providing the manga with greater space and enhancing production of animation. Smart move if you ask me.

Then Elbaf kicks off in April 2026 (episode 1156 drops April 5 th). It is the second Final Saga arc and is already being run in the manga since Chapter 1126. According to my eyes, this arc is going to be huge, we are talking the great homeland, flashbacks about gods Valley, the history of Shanks, and the Gods Knights on the rampage.

The Arcs You Actually Need to Prioritize

Not all arcs hit the same. In case you are trying to determine what the most important are, my ranking based on them is:

Tier 1 – Can’t Skip These:

• Your foundation East Blue Saga.
• Hyundai Arc (first major battle)
• (crew dynamics + government intro) Water 7 / Enies Lobby.
• This one changes everything: Marineford Arc.
• Wano Country Arc (prepares the endgame)

Tier 2 – Highly Recommended:

• Skypiea (teaches important concepts that you will use in the future)
• Whole Cake Island (Threats and menaces of Emperor level)
• Dressrosa (relates various narratives and plots)

Tier 3 – Optional But Good:

• The character depth of Thriller Bark (depth).
• Punk Hazard (formation of an alliance)

Tier 4 – Do Not Read Any More:

• Long Ring Long Land (or simply another version: one pace version)
• Filler arcs (unless recommended to the contrary by a particular person)

The Pacing Issue That No one Warns You about.

I have something to tell you earlier: the pacing of the anime becomes quite rough beginning with Dressrosa. The manga consisted of 102 chapters yet the anime expanded it into 118 episodes. That’s a lot of padding.

Wano was more so – 191 episodes of anime compared to 148 chapters of the manga. It is nearly half an hour of additional episodes of long takes, reaction shots, and slow pans.

Why does this happen? The anime is weekly and the manga has not provided them with a sufficient content in order to stay ahead. Then they deliberately slacken things not to be overtaken.

My advice: either fly to the manga, or ask One Pace to do their filler edits of these slower arcs. In their version, 22 episodes are edited down to 6. Huge time savings.

Manga vs. Anime: What the Hell Works.

Not that I tried them both, but here is my opinion: manga is better (you can read everything offered in 100-120 hours compared to 420+ hours in anime), however, the anime hits the nail on the head in emotional moments and in battles.

Hybrid style is the best: read manga to get through the storyline and watch anime to see the climax. You get the best thing in a world and never burn out.

In addition, Manga Plus allows reading 100 chapters a day free. You can gain ground within a few months in case you are consistent.

What Elbaf and What Still Follows?

The story’s nowhere near done. In Elbaf we are not to be prepared:

• Lodestar Island Arc
• Laugh Tale Arc (the location of the treasure of One Piece)
• Endgame War against Imu (the World Government war to end them all)
• And battles with Blackbeard and other dangerous antagonisms.

Eiichiro Oda has estimated that there were 4-5 more years to go in 2020. By 2025, the majority of fans believe it will be realistically 5-8 years more (it will be around 2030-2032) (probably). The series now has a seasonal format, and now it is taking up 26 episodes annually in two 13-episode blocks. Quality over quantity.

The Bottom Line

The differences between One Piece Arc List Guide can be reduced to a single set: 34 arcs, 7 major sagas, and the definite way in where there is what to focus on. To begin with East Blue (chapters 1-75 or 1-61 episodes), find out whether or not the vibe works. Unless Arlong Park entices you with it, then you are unlikely to be enticed by the series.

The arc hierarchy to avoid filler is to lean on One Pace on bloat, and the need to focus on the idea of Uses and Cumwriting Exist there is no need to worry that you are missing anything whether it is because you are the subject of a dozen guides, a wiki article, and a Reddit thread to unpack it or binaries are only to make us imagine we are insufficient.

You’ve got options. You’ve got time. And honestly? After knowing the structure, it becomes so much easier to deal with the entire thing.

Also Read: All Boruto Arcs in Order: The Complete Guide for Anime Lovers