One of One Piece‘s biggest feats has been its ability to remain consistent in quality despite its twenty-year run time. Having said that, recent reports regarding the release of One Piece’s unfinished Chapter #1098 may be indicative of a larger problem within the industry rather than Oda’s schedule or well-known health issues.

Weekly Releases are Notoriously Demanding on Manga Authors

As X user and One Piece fan Artur points out, the hectic schedule that comes with weekly release schedules has led to similar incidents with many other manga series in the past and is very much a recurring issue due to the unsustainable structure and tight deadlines involved with weekly releases.

Releasing new chapters back to back can be incredibly demanding and has often led to many manga authors nearly working themselves to death trying to keep up with the vicious, unsustainable cycle. The issue has been a topic of heated discussion for years within the industry and among readers. Oda himself has been hospitalized on multiple counts and has often been urged to take breaks by his editors. Fortunately, fans of One Piece have reacted positively to the news regarding Chapter #1098 with many expressing their concern for the author.

Oda Can Afford to Prioritize His Health

With that being said, Oda’s decision to publish the chapter as is may instead bode well regarding his well-being as it suggests he chose to prioritize his health over finishing the chapter. Needless to say, Oda is among the privileged few manga artists to be able to pull off such a feat. Oda’s ability to take such a call while other manga artists would be vexed to finish the chapter at any cost certainly stems from him being in the industry for as long as he has and, if anything, is a testament to the loyal yet mindful fan base both Oda and One Piece have acquired over the decades.

While Oda’s passion for his art is unquestionable, and his ethic for the past two decades is just as admirable, fans can only hope that Oda continues to prioritize his health, especially considering the buzz surrounding the Netflix live-action adaptation and the anime debut of Gear Five. Regardless of how excruciating One Piece‘s weekly breaks may be, fans of the series seem to be in agreement that they would rather see the ending of One Piece later than never at all in favor of weekly releases and considering how exceptional the Egghead Arc has been thus far, a break would certainly be well deserved.