One Piece Has Officially Been Surpassed By 2025's Biggest Anime Movie

One Piece is, quite easily, one of the most popular anime and manga series out there, and much of it is down to the incredible level of quality that Oda managed to deliver year after year. The enduring success of One Piece is what makes it the very best story of all time in the eyes of many, especially when the manga is concerned. However, the anime side of things isn't all that great. One Piece’s anime has struggled to compete with the best out there, especially as more advancements are made in today's era.

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With Toei Animation still being stuck in the early 2000s in some departments, it is only natural that the One Piece anime will fall behind. It goes without saying that the staff of animators at Toei is incredibly talented, but despite all that, One Piece has officially been surpassed in 2025 by an even bigger anime, and that's Demon Slayer. As fans know, Demon Slayer achieved tremendous success in 2025 with the Infinity Castle Part 1 movie, and now, with its North American Release, it has all but solidified its grip over the title of the best 2025 anime.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle — Akaza's Return Surpasses One Piece

Demon Slayer Is Easily The Anime Of The Year

• Infinity Castle Part 1 Broke All Records
• Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 Has Left One Piece In The Dust

If there was ever any doubt, Demon Slayer has shattered all expectations and records in 2025, and it has officially reached a level where it has actually managed to surpass even One Piece. Infinity Castle Part 1 was a smash hit in Japan, and it recently surpassed One Piece Film Red, the best-performing One Piece movie of all time, as well. It is now closing in on its own record set by Mugen Train.

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Meanwhile, in the US, Infinity Castle has officially enjoyed the greatest opening for any international movie, which is absolutely stunning, to say the least. It even dwarfed Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes in the process.

Of course, One Piece doesn't have any movie out this year to compete with Demon Slayer, but in terms of anime out there this year that the fans received, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is head and shoulders above the rest, and that includes One Piece as well.

One Piece Still Has The Best Manga

Nobody Can Come Close To One Piece's Manga Record

It is unfortunate for One Piece fans that Toei Animation cannot deliver something on the same level. This is largely because Toei Animation, despite having a stunning cast of animators and directors, is lacking in many areas, such as sound direction. But an even bigger reason is that One Piece is a weekly anime and that means it can't put out incredible quality week in week out. Even if it could, the pacing will always hold it back. What should be a 600-episode anime is currently at 1140 episodes, and that paints quite a picture.

This is why all fans of One Piece should stick to the manga until a better product comes out, and hopefully, Wit Studio will deliver just that when it drops the One Piece Remake.

When I was a kid, I thought to myself: man I would love to draw a manga with the most hyped final stage! I wonder if I'm up to it! Now, we have only a tiny bit of Wano arc left, the preparations are almost done. Took me 25 years lol. That said, it's fine if you start reading from this point on. Because from this point on...it'll be... The ONE PIECE!! The mysteries of this world, I'll be drawing all of them! It'll be super interesting! Fasten your seatbelt! And please stay with me for a bit longer! — Eiichiro Oda, Author of One Piece, 2022

One Piece chapter 1161 will be out in two weeks. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. The official release date for One Piece Chapter 1161 is September 28, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.