2023 saw One Piece grow to unseen levels of popularity thanks to the success of Film: Red, the Live-Action series, and the consistently trending Wano arc adaptation. So much success helped grow the general public’s interest in Monkey D. Luffy’s adventures. Netflix has begun airing the latest One Piece anime arc, and series author Eiichiro Oda said it’s okay for first-time watchers to skip ahead to enjoy the beginning of the series Final Saga.

In a 2022 statement translated by X user and notable fan NewWorldArtur, One Piece‘s author, Eiichiro Oda, celebrated the end of Wano and the beginning of the series’ Final Saga; he stated, “Though it’s totally okay even if you read from here on. After all… from here on we’re getting to (the) ONE PIECE!!” Even though Oda has been working hard creating One Piece for more than 25 years, he believes that new fans can start from the beginning of the Final Saga and will still be able to enjoy the story.

One Piece Creator Encouraged New Fans To Start With Egghead

Oda initially referred to the manga when he suggested that new fans can “read from here on.” Still, now that One Piece‘s anime has officially begun the first arc of the story’s Final Saga, the talented author’s suggestion works for the anime’s Egghead Island arc as well. While there will be a lot of context, characters, and abilities that will puzzle new fans, the direction and emaculate character writing in the One Piece anime creates an experience that can be enjoyable to watch without watching the previous 1088 episodes.

Netflix has been providing subscribers with the One Piece anime over the last few years by releasing chunks of the pirate epic over time. However, Marineford was the latest arc added to Netflix’s US servers on January 1, 2024, up to episode #516. Viewers who have been watching the series exclusively on Netflix might be confused when the story jumps from the tragic events of “The War of The Best” to episode #1089’s incredibly well-directed first episode of the Egghead arc. Still, over time, Netflix will undoubtedly add the anime’s missing 573 episodes that feature the events after One Piece‘s incredible time skip.

One Piece’s Final Saga Has Been Good Enough To Skip Ahead

Starting the One Piece anime from the Egghead arc is an option for first-time viewers, but they will undoubtedly have many questions. If new fans dive into newer episodes and like what they experience, they will likely go back and catch up on what they have missed. However, even without full context, the Egghead arc proves that Eiichiro Oda has only been improving his abilities as a storyteller. The final saga of One Piece will be a marvel to behold, even if viewers are missing large parts of the story.