One Piece Fan Perfectly Explains Why The Anime Hasn't Ended After 1,000+ Episodes

"One Piece" is absolutely massive — in more ways than one. The mega-popular series is widely considered to be one of the best anime of all time, with considerable praise heaped upon its loveable cast of characters, sprawling narrative, epic battles, and, especially recently, its jaw-dropping animation. It's also quite notable for being one of the lengthiest shows out there. To date, "One Piece" has aired more than 1,000 episodes, and new installments are still consistently releasing. It's the sort of length that would make even some of the most-tenured procedurals and soap operas quake in their boots, but that doesn't mean everyone thinks the scope of "One Piece" is a good thing.

Over time, "One Piece" has built up an unfortunate reputation for being just too large of a series for casual fans to invest time in and catch up on. Some have even argued that the show's absurd length isn't warranted, and that it has padded out its run with filler content and far-too-leisurely pacing. The sheer fact that Luffy hasn't yet obtained the mythical One Piece itself after more than 1,000 episodes has many frustrated.

In response to these criticisms, one particular "One Piece" fan has offered a respectable counter-argument for why the show has run for so long. Simply put, the series is actually moving through its story at a relatively quick pace when observed from a certain perspective.

In a TikTok video, user @saigarunner responded to a comment criticizing "One Piece" for still not seeing Luffy reach his ultimate goal. The user emphasized that "One Piece," by nature, is meant to be an epic saga that sees its characters traveling across the entire world in pursuit of the titular artifact. Locating the One Piece was always intended to be an enormous task with multiple steps, and the show reflects that challenge with its length. It's true that Luffy hasn't yet obtained the famed treasure, but he's still taking all the necessary steps to reach that goal — there are just a lot of them.

The creator further argued that while "One Piece" as a series has been running for decades, the in-universe timeline is far more condensed. By his estimates, only three years have elapsed in the world of "One Piece" since the story began. That means all the massive things Luffy and his crew have accomplished have been done within a small period of time, giving them a level of unrivaled efficiency.

While @saigarunner's explanation helps explain why "One Piece" is taking so long to wrap up its story, some still may feel that the length of the series isn't completely justified. At the very least it's important to remember that, as astonishing as it sounds, the narrative could be progressing at an even slower rate. "In-universe, Luffy is absolutely speed-running this whole Pirate King thing," the user noted.