One Piece filler list: The episodes you can skip
You don’t always need a piece of this.
Clocking in at more than 1,100 episodes, One Piece is a true epic of the anime medium. Fans will enthusiastically inform you that it lives up to the hype, but if you want to catch up with the full story, that's a major undertaking.
For many new viewers, the first question is whether there are any filler episodes you can skip to speed up the viewing process.
Adapted from the ongoing manga series by Eiichiro Oda, the One Piece anime premiered back in 1999. A zany adventure story, it follows the exploits of a pirate named Monkey D Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates. They explore a larger-than-life fantasy world and hunt for treasure, encountering a wild array of supporting characters along the way.
Given the impressive length of One Piece's manga and anime editions, you may be wondering when this story is expected to end – if ever. Creator Eiichiro Oda says that Monkey D Luffy's adventures are now entering their final act, but considering the manga's pace so far, fans can expect that to take several more years.
One Piece's narrative is divided into long sagas and shorter arcs, often named after locations in the story. For instance the manga is currently covering the Elbaph Arc, taking place in the nation of Elbaph.
As of April 2025, the anime is up to 1,125 episodes plus spin-off movies and shorts. That's a lot to catch up with, so if you're interested in watching One Piece in order but don't have the bandwidth for every single instalment, we can help you out.
Here's our guide to which One Piece episodes are essential viewing, and which you can easily skip.
Which One Piece filler episodes can you skip?
Like many long-running anime series, One Piece does include some filler episodes that don't have much relevance to the main plot.
These episodes are undeniably skippable, cutting things down to a more manageable runtime for anyone trying to catch up with the full series.
As you make your way through the One Piece anime, the following arcs qualify as filler, and you can skip them accordingly:
- Episodes 54-61: Warship Island arc
- Episodes 131-135: Post-Arabasta arc
- Episodes 136-138: Goat Island arc
- Episodes 139-143: Ruluka Island arc
- Episodes 196-206: G-8 arc
- Episodes 220-224: Ocean’s Dream arc
- Episodes 225 and 226: Foxy’s return arc
- Episodes 326-335: Ice Hunter arc
- Episodes 382-384: Spa Island arc
- Episodes 426-429: Little East Blue arc
- Episodes 575-578: Z’s Ambition arc
- Episodes 626-628: Caesar’s Retrieval arc
- Episodes 747-750: Silver Mine arc
- Episodes 780-782: Marine Rookie arc
- Episodes 895-896: Cidre Guild arc
- Episodes 1029-1030: Uta arc
You can obviously still watch these episodes for fun, but they won't make any difference to your understanding of the core plot.
As for Netflix's live-action One Piece adaptation, that's also nonessential viewing. It adapts the same material as the anime's East Blue saga, although it obviously has a different tone due to its live-action format, and adds some new material to the story.
Which One Piece episodes are essential to watch?
If you love One Piece, its epic volume of episodes is a blessing. At the same time, that same quality is kind of a curse, presenting an incredibly time-consuming commitment to TV viewing.
As such, you may be tempted to skip even more than the filler episodes listed above, cutting down that thousand-plus episode order even further.
But before you start skipping episodes willy-nilly, be aware that some parts of the series really are unmissable. Here's our list of the absolutely crucial episodes, featuring plot points that you just can't skip:
- Season 1, episode 1: "I'm Luffy! The Man Who's Gonna Be King of the Pirates!"
- Season 8, episode 239: "The Criminals Are the Straw Hat Pirates? The Bodyguards of Water 7"
- Season 9, episode 278: "Say You Want to Live! We Are Friends!!"
- Season 10, episode 373: "The Conclusion Arrives! Deliver the Finishing Blow"
- Season 11, episode 402: "Overwhelming! The Navy's Fighting Weapons, the Pacifistas"
- Season 14, episode 483: "Looking for the Answer! Fire Fist Ace Dies on the Battlefield"
- Season 15, episode 517: "The Beginning of The New Chapter! The Straw Hats Reunited!"
- Season 17, episode 658: "A Big Surprise! A True Identity of the Toy Soldier!"
These episodes all reveal important details that you'll need to understand if you want to appreciate the full story.
Where to watch One Piece in the UK
The One Piece anime adaptation is now streaming for UK audiences on Crunchyroll, Netflix and (just for season 1) BBC iPlayer. You can also watch the live-action TV series on Netflix.
Read more:
You can catch One Piece on Crunchyroll.
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Authors
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a freelance critic and entertainment journalist specialising in geek culture, TV and film. She has written for numerous outlets including Empire, TV Guide, Wired and Vulture, and hosts the film podcast Overinvested.
