Few anime in history have carried the cultural, emotional, and narrative weight of One Piece. Spanning over 25 years and more than 1,100 episodes, Eiichiro Oda’s epic has long been recognized for its storytelling highs, but now it has earned a milestone that no other TV show—anime or otherwise—has ever reached. According to fan tracking on IMDb, One Piece has officially surpassed 200 individual episodes rated 9.0 or higher.
This achievement is not only a testament to the anime’s longevity but also a reflection of the sheer consistency with which it delivers unforgettable moments. The community has been buzzing with reactions—some celebratory, others skeptical—about what this record really says about One Piece as a piece of entertainment and about the fandom that has supported it for decades.
This post will break down what the milestone means, how it compares to other long-running series, why it has ignited debate within the fanbase, and what it reveals about the unique bond between One Piece and its global audience.
The IMDb Milestone Explained
IMDb is one of the most widely referenced databases for films and television. Its episode-by-episode ratings system allows viewers to score individual installments, producing a running snapshot of audience sentiment across the lifespan of a series.
For a show to have episodes rated above 9.0 is rare. For it to have dozens is extraordinary. For One Piece to cross 200 episodes with such a rating is unprecedented.
To put this in perspective:
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Friends, with 235 episodes, averages around 8.9 at its highest points but does not approach the 200 mark for 9.0+ episodes.
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Game of Thrones, often lauded as peak television in its heyday, had a fraction of that number despite enjoying global popularity.
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Even other “Big Three” anime like Naruto and Bleach only see a handful of episodes cresting that high.
The fact that One Piece has accomplished this with a series length stretching well beyond a thousand episodes makes the achievement doubly striking. Roughly one out of every five episodes is considered by IMDb voters to be near-masterpiece level. That ratio, given the scale of the series, is almost unheard of.
Why Now? Wano, Egghead, and the Current Peak
The timing of this milestone is no accident. The anime’s recent arcs—particularly Wano and Egghead—have been showered with praise for their animation quality, story execution, and emotional payoff.
Episodes like “Luffy’s New Dawn” and “Kuma’s Life” became instant classics, resonating deeply with fans around the world. The adaptation of pivotal manga chapters has been handled with a care and cinematic flair that many argue surpasses anything Toei had done before.
The Wano arc in particular delivered a steady stream of high-rated episodes:
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The climax of Luffy vs. Kaido.
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Zoro unveiling Conqueror’s Haki.
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Yamato’s emotional flashback.
Egghead has continued that momentum, delivering deeply human stories alongside world-shaking revelations. Bonney’s confrontation with Kuma’s past struck such a chord that its anime episode briefly topped the IMDb ratings for the entire series, illustrating how One Piece still manages to create moments that feel both intimate and historic.
It’s these peaks—clustered together in the modern era—that pushed the total number of 9.0+ episodes past 200.
The Fandom Reacts: Celebration and Skepticism
The milestone sparked a flurry of discussion in the One Piece subreddit and across other fan hubs. On one side were jubilant supporters who saw the achievement as proof of One Piece’s dominance in serialized storytelling. They viewed it as validation, a badge of honor earned by their beloved series after decades of loyalty.
One fan put it simply: “What other show even comes close?”
But not everyone was convinced. Critics quickly pointed out that IMDb ratings are subject to bias, review bombing, and statistical quirks. With such a massive number of episodes, it’s natural that One Piece would accumulate more opportunities for standout scores. Some argued that raw counts are less meaningful than percentages: if 200 out of 1,100 episodes are above 9.0, that’s about 20%—an impressive ratio, but not necessarily a slam dunk against shorter, more tightly curated series.
Others raised familiar concerns about pacing, filler, and the inherent drag of weekly anime production. Comments often compared One Piece to Naruto and Bleach, noting that while those series suffered from infamous filler arcs, One Piece instead stretched canon material with drawn-out staredowns, recaps, and long pauses. For some fans, this makes the highs feel even more impressive—they shine despite structural flaws. For others, it undermines the very notion of celebrating ratings.
The debate highlighted one of One Piece’s defining features: the fandom itself. Passionate, opinionated, and often divided, the community mirrors the series’ complexity. The very fact that so many people cared enough to argue shows the depth of engagement that keeps the series alive.
Comparing to Other Long-Runners
It’s instructive to compare One Piece’s milestone with other titans of long-form storytelling.
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Naruto / Naruto Shippuden: Across nearly 700 episodes, only a handful cross the 9.0 threshold. The weight of filler arcs—sometimes lasting an entire year—dragged down ratings. While Naruto has iconic highs (Pain’s Assault, Itachi’s Revelations), they are fewer in number compared to One Piece.
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Bleach: Bleach suffers from similar filler challenges, though fans often credit it with more self-contained filler arcs that at least told consistent side stories. Still, the count of top-rated episodes falls far short of One Piece.
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Attack on Titan: If measured by percentage, Attack on Titan would likely outperform One Piece. Many of its seasons average near 9.0 as a whole. But with fewer than 100 episodes total, it can never reach 200 individual highs.
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Western Series: Sitcoms like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory run for hundreds of episodes but rarely see more than a handful above 9.0. Serialized dramas like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad produce consistent peaks, but their total episode count is too small to compete with One Piece’s sheer volume.
In essence, the One Piece record is the product of two factors working together: longevity and consistency. Other shows have one or the other, but almost none have both.
What the Numbers Don’t Show
As many fans pointed out, raw IMDb counts don’t tell the full story. Ratings are influenced by recency bias, fan enthusiasm, and sometimes even coordinated voting pushes.
Furthermore, One Piece’s anime has always been a mixed experience. For every beautifully directed climax, there are multiple episodes padded with long shots, recap material, and drawn-out sequences that frustrated viewers. The rise of “One Pace”—a fan project that edits the anime for tighter pacing—demonstrates how widespread these frustrations are.
This raises a deeper question: do milestones like 200 episodes at 9.0+ celebrate One Piece’s excellence, or do they gloss over its flaws? The answer may be both.
What makes One Piece remarkable is not that every episode is flawless, but that so many episodes, scattered across decades, still land with the power of a sledgehammer. They are the moments that make fans cry, cheer, and jump out of their chairs. They are the episodes that become memes, community touchstones, and shared memories. Ratings are imperfect, but they capture that collective experience.
The Role of Community Validation
One undercurrent in the fandom discussion is the idea of validation. Why does it matter so much that One Piece hit this milestone? Why do fans care about IMDb, a platform that many acknowledge has flaws and inconsistencies?
The answer lies in cultural recognition. For years, anime fans were on the defensive in Western spaces, dismissed as niche or juvenile. Achievements like this provide a way to demonstrate legitimacy, to say: this story belongs in the same pantheon as the greats of television history.
Of course, some fans push back against that need for validation, arguing that One Piece’s worth is self-evident. But the excitement around the milestone shows that, for many, external recognition still matters. It’s not just about loving the show; it’s about showing the world why it deserves to be loved.
What This Means for the Future
As One Piece barrels through its Final Saga, the anime is poised to generate even more highly rated episodes. If the Egghead arc continues delivering at its current level, and if the eventual climax of the entire story lives up to expectations, the count could climb significantly higher.
The long-rumored anime remake with tighter pacing could also reshape perceptions, potentially boosting average scores and drawing in new audiences who find the current version daunting. If that project takes off, it could introduce One Piece to a generation of viewers who experience its highlights without the drag of weekly pacing.
For now, though, the milestone stands as a symbol of what One Piece has already achieved: not just longevity, but an uncanny ability to repeatedly hit heights that most series can only dream of.
Conclusion: A Record Born of Endurance and Heart
In the end, the 200+ episodes rated 9.0 or higher on IMDb are less about numbers and more about the story they tell. They speak to a series that has managed, again and again, to reach deep into the hearts of its audience. They show how a pirate saga can be both epic and personal, both global phenomenon and intimate memory.
Yes, there are debates about pacing, filler, and the meaning of ratings. Yes, the statistic can be challenged, reframed, or dismissed. But what cannot be denied is the passion it represents. Passion from the creators who pour decades into the work. Passion from the fans who watch, rate, argue, and celebrate. Passion that turns a record into a story worth telling.
And that, more than any number, is what makes One Piece truly one of a kind.