Arc Break
A lot of comic books function by appearing in compilations first.
Hasty endings notwithstanding, authors with moderate popularity will sometimes put an Arc Break between major arcs not just for downtime, but in case the story ends for whatever reason and they can end them in a somewhat satisfying manner. Sometimes this is an organic part of the storyline, the author fishing for more money, or the author working on another story.
Unless of course, the people funding said storyline would really like them to continue; compare Franchise Zombie. This becomes a big problem because sometimes the author is 'forced' to stretch an idea, making very good marks in the road to running too long because the author is out of ideas and has to start coming up with very different ones. Occasionally an older idea that provided 'closure' is ignored or reversed to allow for this.
Naturally, these stories end up running quite long. Fans sometimes use them in a suggestion of relative decline, even if the story itself remained decent.
Anime and Manga
- The run of Rurouni Kenshin's manga originally ended serialization in 1999, but later got a 2012-2013 remake and 2014 spinoff, and then a for-real continuation in 2017 with Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc.
- One Piece's "Post-War" arc ended with a one-month break followed by the "Return to Sabaody" arc right after. There had been a two-year Time Skip in the story where the characters trained until their reunion.
- Vinland Saga went on a break before Makoto Yukimura wrote the final arc.
- Dr. Stone's artist, Boichi, and writer, Inagaki, took a one-week break to do research for the final arc.
- Bleach had a one-month break long before its final arc, the Thousand-Year Blood War, began. The anime adaptation was also seemingly cancelled only to be announced to return in the fall of 2022 to adapt said final arc.
- Black Clover took a three-month hiatus after chapter 352. No reason was given except that the final arc would begin when it returned.
- Toriko went on a month-long hiatus after the Human World arc ended and came back to the Gourmet World arc.
- Hunter X Hunter is known for going on hiatuses during or after arcs since the Chimera Ants arc.
- D.Gray-Man went on hiatus from November 2008 to March 2009 because Katsura Hoshino was injured. Another break happened in April, and another occurred in December 2012 and July 2015. After that, it continued quarterly instead of monthly.
- Hellsing: The Dawn stopped running in 2007 without being declared canceled, finished, or on hiatus.
- World Trigger went on a break in late 2016 due to the author's health, which lasted for two years. It then moved from the Weekly Shonen Jump to Jump Square.
- Beet the Vandel Buster went on hiatus for almost ten years due to Koji Inada getting sick. It returned in April 2016, then went on break in October of the same year, and returned in April 2018.
Web Original
- RWBY, which normally released its volumes in late fall, skipped 2021 when it came time to release Volume 9, because of production difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic according to its production team. It eventually was released in early 2023.
- Camp Camp has been on a break due to the restructuring of Rooster Teeth, which prevented show production without help from outside the studio.
- The creator put Super Mario Bros. Z on indefinite hiatus due to real-life problems, which was announced as canceled in 2012.
Western Animation
- Hilda's second season premiered two years after the first. The third and final season, not counting the movie, was released in December 2023, three years after the last.
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