WORD COUNT

One Piece (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its chapters compiled in 109 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, where he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the "One Piece" to become the next King of the Pirates.

The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film by Production I.G, and an anime series by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation, and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004 before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007. Netflix released a live-action TV series adaptation in 2023.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, world-building, art, characterization, and humor. It has received many awards and is ranked by critics, reviewers, and readers as one of the best manga of all time. By August 2022, it had over 516.6 million copies in circulation in 61 countries and regions worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history, and the best-selling comic series printed in a book volume. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. In 2015 and 2022, One Piece set the Guinness World Record for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author". It was the best-selling manga for eleven consecutive years from 2008 to 2018 and is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than 10 years, as well as the only one that had achieved more than 1 million copies sold in all of its over 100 published tankōbon volumes. One Piece is the only manga whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.

SynopsisSettingSee also: List of One Piece characters globe of the One Piece world flag of the World Government

The world of One Piece is populated by humans and other races such as dwarves (more akin to faeries in size), giants, merfolk, fish-men, long-limbed tribes, long-necked people known as the Snakeneck Tribe, and animal people (known as "Minks"). The world is governed by an intercontinental organization known as the World Government, consisting of dozens of member countries. The Navy is the sea military branch of the World Government that protects the known seas from pirates and other criminals. There is also Cipher Pol which is a group of agencies within the World Government that are their secret police. While pirates are major opponents of the Government, the ones who challenge their rule are the Revolutionary Army who seek to overthrow them. The central tension of the series pits the World Government and their forces against pirates. The series regularly emphasizes moral ambiguity over the label "pirate", which includes cruel villains, but also any individuals who do not submit to the World Government's authoritarian—and often morally ambiguous—rule. The One Piece world also has supernormal characteristics like Devil Fruits,[Jp 1] which are mysterious fruits that grant whoever eats them transformative powers. Another supernatural power is Haki,[Jp 2] which grants its users enhanced willpower, observation, and fighting abilities, and it is one of the only effective methods of inflicting bodily harm on certain Devil Fruit users.

The world itself consists of two vast oceans divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line.[Jp 3] Within the oceans is a second global phenomenon known as the Grand Line,[Jp 4] which is a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line and is bounded by the Calm Belt,[Jp 5] strips of calm ocean infested with huge ship-eating monsters known as Sea Kings.[Jp 6] These geographical barriers divide the world into four seas: North Blue,[Jp 7] East Blue,[Jp 8] West Blue,[Jp 9] and South Blue.[Jp 10] Passage between the four seas, and the Grand Line, is therefore difficult. Unique and mystical features enable transport between the seas, such as the use of Sea Prism Stone[Jp 11] employed by government ships to mask their presence as they traverse the Calm Belt or the Reverse Mountain[Jp 12] where water from the four seas flows uphill before merging into a rapidly flowing and dangerous canal that enters the Grand Line. The Grand Line itself is split into two separate halves with the Red Line between Paradise[Jp 13] and the New World.[Jp 14]

One Piece story arcs viewtalkedit showPremiseFurther information: List of One Piece chapters

The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece", and take over his prior title. Luffy sets sail as captain of the Straw Hat Pirates,[Jp 15] and is joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman and former bounty hunter; Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook. They acquire a ship, the Going Merry[Jp 16]—later replaced by the Thousand Sunny[Jp 17]—and engage in confrontations with notorious pirates. As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman. Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, different types of scientists, soldiers of the morally ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

ProductionConcept and creation

Eiichiro Oda's interest in pirates began in his childhood, watching the animated series Vicky the Viking, which inspired him to want to draw a manga series about pirates.[2] The reading of pirate biographies influenced Oda to incorporate the characteristics of real-life pirates into many of the characters in One Piece; for example, the character Marshall D. Teach is based on and named after the historical pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.[3] Apart from the history of piracy, Oda's biggest influence is Akira Toriyama and his series Dragon Ball, which is one of his favorite manga.[4]

While working as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Oda began writing One Piece in 1996.[5] It started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[5]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. They both featured the character of Luffy and included elements that would appear later in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in Shueisha's Akamaru Jump, and reprinted in 2002 in One Piece Red guidebook. The second was published in the 41st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1996, and reprinted in 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted![6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.[7] Kazuhiko Torishima, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, explained that they debated for two hours on whether or not to serialize One Piece.[8] Although acknowledging that it had potential, he was one of those against the work because it was "incomplete".[8] But Torishima ultimately approved serialization due to Asada being so "annoyingly earnest" that another editor suggested both Oda and Asada would be crushed if it was rejected at that time.[8]

Development

Oda's primary inspiration for the concept of Devil Fruits was Doraemon; the Fruits' abilities and uses reflect Oda's daily life and his personal fantasies, similar to that of Doraemon's gadgets, such as the Gum-Gum Fruit being inspired by Oda's laziness.[9] When designing the outward appearance of Devil Fruits Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of some characters' techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of several of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; they look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. For example, Zoro's signature move is Onigiri, which is written as demon cut but is pronounced the same as rice ball in Japanese. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half".[11] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga".[11]

Oda was "sensitive" about how his work would be translated.[12] In many instances, the English version of the One Piece manga uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeiae used in the Japanese version. For instance, "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are both translated as "fshhhhhhh".[13] Unlike other manga artists, Oda draws everything that moves himself to create a consistent look while leaving his staff to draw the backgrounds based on sketches he has drawn.[14] This workload forces him to keep tight production rates, starting from five in the morning until two in the morning the next day, with short breaks only for meals. Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.[15] When a reader asked who Nami was in love with, Oda replied that there would hardly be any love affairs within Luffy's crew. The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.[16]

Conclusion

Oda revealed that he originally planned One Piece to last five years and that he had already planned the ending. However, he found it would take longer than he had expected as Oda realized that he liked the story too much to end it in that period of time.[17] In 2016, nineteen years after the start of serialization, the author said that the manga has reached 65% of the story he intends to tell.[18] In July 2018, on the occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of One Piece, Oda said that the manga has reached 80% of the plot.[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.[20] When asked if the titular treasure is "family bonds", Oda replied: "No, I hate that kind of thing", mentioning the ending of The Wizard of Oz and claiming that he does not endure stories where the reward of adventure is the adventure itself, opting for a story where travel is important, but even more important is the goal.[21] In August 2019, Oda said that, according to his predictions, the manga would end in five years.[22] However, Oda stated that the ending would be what he had decided in the beginning; he is committed to seeing it through.[23] In August 2020, Shueisha announced in the year's 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that One Piece was "headed toward the upcoming final saga."[24] On January 4, 2021, One Piece reached its thousandth chapter.[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.[28]

MediaFurther information: List of One Piece mediaMangaMain article: List of One Piece manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 22, 1997.[29][30] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 24, 1997.[31] By July 4, 2024, a total of 109 volumes have been released.[32]

The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.[33][34][35] In 2009, Viz announced the release of five volumes per month during the first half of 2010 to catch up with the serialization in Japan.[36] Following the discontinuation of the print Shonen Jump, Viz began releasing One Piece chapterwise in its digital successor Weekly Shonen Jump on January 30, 2012.[37] Following the digital Weekly Shonen Jump's cancelation in December 2018, Viz Media started simultaneously publishing One Piece through its Shonen Jump service, and by Shueisha through Manga Plus, in January 2019.[38][39]

In the United Kingdom, the volumes were published by Gollancz Manga, starting in March 2006,[40] until Viz Media took it over after the fourteenth volume.[41][42] In Australia and New Zealand, the English volumes have been distributed by Madman Entertainment since November 10, 2008.[43]

Spin-offs and crossovers

Oda teamed up with Akira Toriyama to create a single crossover of One Piece and Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Entitled Cross Epoch, the one-shot was published in the December 25, 2006, issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump and the April 2011 issue of the English Shonen Jump.[44] Oda collaborated with Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, author of Toriko, for a crossover one-shot of their series titled Taste of the Devil Fruit (実食! 悪魔の実!!, Jitsushoku! Akuma no Mi!!, lit. 'The True Food! Devil Fruit!!'),[45] published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 4, 2011. The spin-off series One Piece Party (ワンピースパーティー, Wan Pīsu Pātī), written by Ei Andō in a super deformed art style, began serialization in Saikyō Jump on December 5, 2011.[46] Its final chapter was published on Shōnen Jump+ on February 2, 2021.[47]

AnimeFestival films and original video animation

One Piece: Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack! was produced by Production I.G for the 1998 Jump Super Anime Tour and was directed by Gorō Taniguchi.[48] Luffy, Nami, and Zoro are attacked by a sea monster that destroys their boat and separates them. Luffy is found on an island beach, where he saves a little girl, Medaka, from two pirates. All the villagers, including Medaka's father, have been abducted by Ganzack and his crew and forced into labour. After hearing that Ganzack also stole all the food, Luffy and Zoro rush out to retrieve it. As they fight the pirates, one of them kidnaps Medaka. A fight starts between Luffy and Ganzack, ending with Luffy's capture. Meanwhile, Zoro is forced to give up after a threat is made to kill all the villagers. They rise against Ganzack, and while the islanders and pirates fight, Nami unlocks the three captives. Ganzack defeats the rebellion and reveals his armoured battleship. The Straw Hat Pirates are forced to fight Ganzack once more to prevent him from destroying the island.

A second film, One Piece: Romance Dawn Story, was produced by Toei Animation in July 2008 for the Jump Super Anime Tour. It is 34 minutes in length and based on the first version of Romance Dawn.[49][6] It includes the Straw Hat Pirates up to Brook and their second ship, the Thousand Sunny. In search for food for his crew, Luffy arrives at a port after defeating a pirate named Crescent Moon Gally on the way. There he meets a girl named Silk, who was abandoned by attacking pirates as a baby and raised by the mayor. Her upbringing causes her to value the town as her "treasure". The villagers mistake Luffy for Gally and capture him just as the real Gally returns. Gally throws Luffy in the water and plans to destroy the town, but Silk saves him and Luffy pursues Gally. His crew arrives to help him, and with their help, he recovers the treasure for the town, acquires food, and destroys Gally's ship. The film was later released as a triple feature DVD with Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and Tegami Bachi: Light and Blue Night, that was available only through a mail-in offer exclusively to Japanese residents.[50]

The One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0 original video animation adapts the manga's special "Chapter 0", which shows how things were before and after the death of Roger. It received a limited release of three thousand DVDs as a collaboration with the House Foods brand.[51]

1999 TV seriesMain article: One Piece (1999 TV series)

An anime television series adaptation produced by Toei Animation premiered on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999;[52] the series reached its 1,000th episode in November 2021.[53]

Upcoming original net animation

In December 2023 at the Jump Festa '24 event, it was announced that Wit Studio would be producing an original net animation (ONA) series remake for Netflix, starting from the East Blue story arc, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original anime series. The remake will be titled The One Piece.[54] It will be directed by Masashi Koizuka, with Hideaki Abe serving as assistant director, and Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda as character designers and chief animation directors. Yasuhiro Kajino will be in charge of the image board and creature design, and Eri Taguchi will be in charge of the prop design. Taku Kishimoto will be in charge of the series scripts, and Ken Imaizumi and Shuhei Fukuda will serve as action animators. Tomonori Kuroda will be the art director, and Ryōma Kawamura will be the animation producer.[55]

Theatrical filmsMain article: List of One Piece films

Fourteen animated theatrical films based on the One Piece series have been released. The films are typically released in March to coincide with the spring vacation of Japanese schools.[56] The films feature self-contained, completely original plots, or alternate retellings of story arcs with animation of a higher quality than what the weekly anime allows. The first three films were typically double features paired up with other anime films and were thus usually an hour or less in length. The films themselves offer contradictions in both chronology and design that make them incompatible with a single continuity. Funimation has licensed the eighth, tenth, and twelfth films for release in North America, and these films have received in-house dubs by the company.[57][58]

Live-action seriesMain article: One Piece (2023 TV series)

On July 21, 2017, Weekly Shōnen Jump editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano announced that Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios) and Shueisha would commence production of an American live-action television adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga series as part of the series' 20th anniversary celebrations.[59][60] Eiichiro Oda served as executive producer for the series alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Adelstein and Becky Clements.[60] The series would reportedly begin with the East Blue arc.[61]

In January 2020, Oda revealed that Netflix ordered a first season consisting of ten episodes.[62] On May 19, 2020, producer Marty Adelstein revealed during an interview with SyFy Wire, that the series was originally set to begin filming in Cape Town sometime around August, but has since been delayed to around September due to COVID-19. He also revealed that, during the same interview, all ten scripts had been written for the series and they were set to begin casting sometime in June.[63] However, executive producer Matt Owens stated in September 2020 that casting had not yet commenced.[64]

In March 2021, production started up again with showrunner Steven Maeda revealing that the series codename is Project Roger.[65] In November 2021, it was announced that the casting for the series includes Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji.[66][67] In March 2022, Netflix added Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Vincent Regan as Garp and Peter Gadiot as Shanks to the cast in recurring roles.[68]

The series was positively received by both fans and critics, and on September 15, 2023, Oda revealed that the show has been renewed for a second season.[69]

Video gamesMain article: List of One Piece video games

The One Piece franchise has been adapted into multiple video games published by subsidiaries of Bandai and later as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment. The games have been released on a variety of video game, handheld consoles, and mobile devices. The video games feature role-playing games, and fighting games, such as the titles of the Grand Battle! meta-series. The series debuted on July 19, 2000, with From TV Animation – One Piece: Become the Pirate King!.[70] Over forty games have been produced based on the franchise.[71] Additionally, One Piece characters and settings have appeared in various Shonen Jump crossover games, such as Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, J-Stars Victory VS and Jump Force.

MusicMain article: Music of One Piece

Music soundtracks have been released that are based on songs that premiered in the series. Kohei Tanaka and Shiro Hamaguchi composed the score for One Piece.[52] Various theme songs and character songs were released on a total of 51 singles. Eight compilation albums and seventeen soundtrack CDs have been released featuring songs and themes that were introduced in the series. On August 11, 2019, it was announced that the musical group Sakuramen is collaborating with Kohei Tanaka to compose music for the anime's "Wano Country" story arc.[72]

Light novels

A series of light novels was published based on the first festival film, certain episodes of the anime television series, and all but the first feature film. They feature artwork by Oda and are written by Tatsuya Hamasaki. The first of these novels, One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak! was released on June 3, 1999.[73] One Piece: Logue Town Chapter followed on July 17, 2000, as an adaptation of the anime television series' Logue Town story arc.[74] The first feature film to be adapted was Clockwork Island Adventure on March 19, 2001.[75] The second, and so far last, light novel adaptation of an anime television series arc, One Piece: Thousand-year Dragon Legend, was published on December 25, 2001.[76] The adaptation of Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals was released on March 22, 2002, and that of Dead End Adventure on March 10, 2003.[77][78] Curse of the Sacred Sword followed on March 22, 2004, and Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island on March 14, 2005.[79][80] The light novel of The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle was released on March 6, 2006, and that of The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta on March 7, 2007.[81][82] A novel adaptation of Episodes of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom was released on February 25, 2008.[83]

Art and guidebooks

Five art books and five guidebooks for the One Piece series have been released. The first art book, One Piece: Color Walk 1, released June 2001,[84] was also released in English by Viz Media on November 8, 2005.[85] A second art book, One Piece: Color Walk 2, was released on November 4, 2003;[86] and One Piece: Color Walk 3 – Lion the third art book, was released January 5, 2006.[87] The fourth art book, subtitled Eagle, was released on March 4, 2010,[88] and One Piece: Shark, the fifth art book, was released on December 3, 2010.[89]

The first guidebook One Piece: Red – Grand Characters was released on March 2, 2002.[90] The second, One Piece: Blue – Grand Data File, followed on August 2, 2002.[91] The third guidebook, One Piece: Yellow – Grand Elements, was released on April 4, 2007,[92] and the fourth, One Piece: Green – Secret Pieces, followed on November 4, 2010.[93] An anime guidebook, One Piece: Rainbow!, was released on May 1, 2007, and covers the first eight years of the TV anime.[94]

Other media

Other One Piece media include a trading card game by Bandai called One Piece CCG and a drama CD centering on the character of Nefertari Vivi released by Avex Trax on December 26, 2002.[95][96] A Hello Kitty-inspired Chopper was used for several pieces of merchandise as a collaboration between One Piece and Hello Kitty.[97] A kabuki play inspired by One Piece, Super Kabuki II: One Piece, ran at Tokyo's Shinbashi Enbujō throughout October and November 2015.[98]

An event called "One Piece Premier Show" debuted at Universal Studios Japan in 2007.[56] The event has been held at the same location every year since 2010.[99][100] (except in 2020, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[100] By 2018, the event has attracted over 1 million visitors.[101] The Baratie restaurant, modeled after the restaurant of the same name in the manga, opened in June 2013 at the Fuji Television headquarters.[102] An indoor theme park located inside the Tokyo Tower called the Tokyo One Piece Tower, which includes some attractions, shops and restaurants, opened on March 13, 2015.[103]

One Piece is the first-ever manga series to hold a "Dome Tour", in which events were held from March 25–27, 2011, at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka,[104][105] and from April 27 – May 1 of the same year at the Tokyo Dome.[104][106] In 2014, the first One Piece exhibition in South Korea was held at the War Memorial of Korea,[107] and the second exhibition in Hongik Daehango Art Center.[108] In 2015, a One Piece trompe-l'œil exhibition was held at the Hong Kong 3D Museum.[109][110]

One Piece on Ice: Episode of Alabaster premiered on August 11, 2023, in Yokohama, starring two-time reigning world champion Shoma Uno in the lead role of Monkey D. Luffy and junior world champion Marin Honda as Princess Vivi. Other cast members included Four Continents champion Nobunari Oda, Kazuki Tomono, Keijii Tanaka, Koshiro Shimada, and Rika Hongo.[111]

ReceptionSales

One Piece is the best-selling manga series in history; in 2012, Oricon, a Japanese company that began its own annual manga sales ranking chart in year 2008, reported that the series was the first to sell 100 million copies (the company does not report on sales figures before April 2008).[112] The series had over 300 million copies in circulation by November 2013;[113] it had over 440 million copies in circulation worldwide by May 2018;[114] 460 million copies by December 2019;[115][116] 470 million copies by April 2020;[117][118] 480 million copies in circulation in forty-three countries worldwide by February 2021.[119][120] It reached 490 million copies in print worldwide by July 2021.[121][122] By August 2022, the manga had reached 516.566 million copies in circulation worldwide.[123][124][125]

One Piece was the best-selling manga series for eleven consecutive years from 2008 until 2018.[126] In 2019, the manga did not top the chart for the first time in twelve years, ranking second in the annual manga sales ranking with over 10.1 million copies sold,[127] although it remained as the best-selling manga by volume in its twelfth consecutive year.[128] It was the third best-selling manga series in 2020, with over 7.7 million copies sold,[129] while volumes 95–97 were the 23rd–25th best-selling manga volumes of 2020, behind the first twenty-two volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.[130] In 2021, it was the sixth best selling manga with over 7 million copies sold,[131] while volumes 98, 99, and 100 were the sixth, eighth, and ninth best-selling manga volumes, respectively.[132] It was the fourth best-selling manga series in 2022, with over 10.3 million copies sold;[133] volumes 101–104 were among the 10 best-selling manga volumes of the year.[134] It was the fifth best-selling manga series in the first half of 2023 (period between November 2022 and May 2023), with over 3.5 million copies sold,[135] while volume 105 was the best-selling manga volume from the same period; volume 104 placed nineteenth.[136] Volumes 105–107 were among the best-selling manga volumes of 2023.[137] Volume 108 was Shueisha's highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period between April 2023 and March 2024), with 3.2 million copies printed.[138]

Individual volumes of One Piece have broken publishing and sales records in Japan. In 2009, the 56th volume had a print run of 2.85 million, the highest initial print run of any manga by then.[139] The 57th volume had a print run of 3 million in 2010,[140] a record that was broken several times by subsequent volumes. The 60th volume had a first print run of 3.4 million and was the first book to sell over two million copies in its opening week on Oricon book rankings,[141][142] and later became the first book to sell over three million copies in Oricon's history.[143] In 2012, the 67th volume had an initial print run of 4.05 million, holding the record of the volume with the highest number of copies in the first print.[144] One Piece is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than ten years.[145] In May 2023, it was reported that each of the 105 volumes, published by then, had sold over 1 million copies.[146] Additionally, One Piece is the only work whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.[147][148]

One Piece (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its chapters compiled in 109 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, where he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the "One Piece" to become the next King of the Pirates.

The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film by Production I.G, and an anime series by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation, and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004 before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007. Netflix released a live action TV series adaptation in 2023.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, world-building, art, characterization, and humour. It has received many awards and is ranked by critics, reviewers, and readers as one of the best manga of all time. By August 2022, it had over 516.6 million copies in circulation in 61 countries and regions worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history, and the best-selling comic series printed in a book volume. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. In 2015 and 2022, One Piece set the Guinness World Record for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author". It was the best-selling manga for eleven consecutive years from 2008 to 2018 and is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than 10 years, as well as the only one that had achieved more than 1 million copies sold in all of its over 100 published tankōbon volumes. One Piece is the only manga whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.

SynopsisSettingSee also: List of One Piece charactersThe globe of the One Piece worldFlag of the World Government

The world of One Piece is populated by humans and other races such as dwarves (more akin to faeries in size), giants, merfolk, fish-men, long-limbed tribes, long-necked people known as the Snakeneck Tribe, and animal people (known as "Minks"). The world is governed by an intercontinental organization known as the World Government, consisting of dozens of member countries. The Navy is the sea military branch of the World Government that protects the known seas from pirates and other criminals. There is also Cipher Pol which is a group of agencies within the World Government that are their secret police. While pirates are major opponents of the Government, the ones who challenge their rule are the Revolutionary Army who seek to overthrow them. The central tension of the series pits the World Government and their forces against pirates. The series regularly emphasizes moral ambiguity over the label "pirate", which includes cruel villains, but also any individuals who do not submit to the World Government's authoritarian—and often morally ambiguous—rule. The One Piece world also has supernormal characteristics like Devil Fruits,[Jp 1] which are mysterious fruits that grant whoever eats them transformative powers. Another supernatural power is Haki,[Jp 2] which grants its users enhanced willpower, observation, and fighting abilities, and it is one of the only effective methods of inflicting bodily harm on certain Devil Fruit users.

The world itself consists of two vast oceans divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line.[Jp 3] Within the oceans is a second global phenomenon known as the Grand Line,[Jp 4] which is a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line and is bounded by the Calm Belt,[Jp 5] strips of calm ocean infested with huge ship-eating monsters known as Sea Kings.[Jp 6] These geographical barriers divide the world into four seas: North Blue,[Jp 7] East Blue,[Jp 8] West Blue,[Jp 9] and South Blue.[Jp 10] Passage between the four seas, and the Grand Line, is therefore difficult. Unique and mystical features enable transport between the seas, such as the use of Sea Prism Stone[Jp 11] employed by government ships to mask their presence as they traverse the Calm Belt, or the Reverse Mountain[Jp 12] where water from the four seas flows uphill before merging into a rapidly flowing and dangerous canal that enters the Grand Line. The Grand Line itself is split into two separate halves with the Red Line between being Paradise[Jp 13] and the New World.[Jp 14]

One Piece story arcs viewtalkedit showPremiseFurther information: List of One Piece chapters

The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece", and take over his prior title. Luffy sets sail as captain of the Straw Hat Pirates,[Jp 15] and is joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman and former bounty hunter; Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook. They acquire a ship, the Going Merry[Jp 16]—later replaced by the Thousand Sunny[Jp 17]—and engage in confrontations with notorious pirates. As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman. Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, different types of scientists, soldiers of the morally ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

ProductionConcept and creation

Eiichiro Oda's interest in pirates began in his childhood, watching the animated series Vicky the Viking, which inspired him to want to draw a manga series about pirates.[2] The reading of pirate biographies influenced Oda to incorporate the characteristics of real-life pirates into many of the characters in One Piece; for example, the character Marshall D. Teach is based on and named after the historical pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.[3] Apart from the history of piracy, Oda's biggest influence is Akira Toriyama and his series Dragon Ball, which is one of his favorite manga.[4]

While working as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Oda began writing One Piece in 1996.[5] It started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[5]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. They both featured the character of Luffy and included elements that would appear later in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in Shueisha's Akamaru Jump, and reprinted in 2002 in One Piece Red guidebook. The second was published in the 41st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1996, and reprinted in 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted![6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.[7] Kazuhiko Torishima, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, explained that they debated for two hours on whether or not to serialize One Piece.[8] Although acknowledging that it had potential, he was one of those against the work because it was "incomplete".[8] But Torishima ultimately approved serialization due to Asada being so "annoyingly earnest" that another editor suggested both Oda and Asada would be crushed if it was rejected at that time.[8]

Development

Oda's primary inspiration for the concept of Devil Fruits was Doraemon; the Fruits' abilities and uses reflect Oda's daily life and his personal fantasies, similar to that of Doraemon's gadgets, such as the Gum-Gum Fruit being inspired by Oda's laziness.[9] When designing the outward appearance of Devil Fruits Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of some characters' techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of several of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; they look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. For example, Zoro's signature move is Onigiri, which is written as demon cut but is pronounced the same as rice ball in Japanese. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half".[11] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga".[11]

Oda was "sensitive" about how his work would be translated.[12] In many instances, the English version of the One Piece manga uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeiae used in the Japanese version. For instance, "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are both translated as "fshhhhhhh".[13] Unlike other manga artists, Oda draws everything that moves himself to create a consistent look while leaving his staff to draw the backgrounds based on sketches he has drawn.[14] This workload forces him to keep tight production rates, starting from five in the morning until two in the morning the next day, with short breaks only for meals. Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.[15] When a reader asked who Nami was in love with, Oda replied that there would hardly be any love affairs within Luffy's crew. The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.[16]

Conclusion

Oda revealed that he originally planned One Piece to last five years and that he had already planned the ending. However, he found it would take longer than he had expected as Oda realized that he liked the story too much to end it in that period of time.[17] In 2016, nineteen years after the start of serialization, the author said that the manga has reached 65% of the story he intends to tell.[18] In July 2018, on the occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of One Piece, Oda said that the manga has reached 80% of the plot.[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.[20] When asked if the titular treasure is "family bonds", Oda replied: "No, I hate that kind of thing", mentioning the ending of The Wizard of Oz and claiming that he does not endure stories where the reward of adventure is the adventure itself, opting for a story where travel is important, but even more important is the goal.[21] In August 2019, Oda said that, according to his predictions, the manga would end in five years.[22] However, Oda stated that the ending would be what he had decided in the beginning; he is committed to seeing it through.[23] In August 2020, Shueisha announced in the year's 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that One Piece was "headed toward the upcoming final saga."[24] On January 4, 2021, One Piece reached its thousandth chapter.[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.[28]

MediaFurther information: List of One Piece mediaMangaMain article: List of One Piece manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 22, 1997.[29][30] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 24, 1997.[31] By July 4, 2024, a total of 109 volumes have been released.[32]

The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.[33][34][35] In 2009, Viz announced the release of five volumes per month during the first half of 2010 to catch up with the serialization in Japan.[36] Following the discontinuation of the print Shonen Jump, Viz began releasing One Piece chapterwise in its digital successor Weekly Shonen Jump on January 30, 2012.[37] Following the digital Weekly Shonen Jump's cancelation in December 2018, Viz Media started simultaneously publishing One Piece through its Shonen Jump service, and by Shueisha through Manga Plus, in January 2019.[38][39]

In the United Kingdom, the volumes were published by Gollancz Manga, starting in March 2006,[40] until Viz Media took it over after the fourteenth volume.[41][42] In Australia and New Zealand, the English volumes have been distributed by Madman Entertainment since November 10, 2008.[43]

Spin-offs and crossovers

Oda teamed up with Akira Toriyama to create a single crossover of One Piece and Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Entitled Cross Epoch, the one-shot was published in the December 25, 2006, issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump and the April 2011 issue of the English Shonen Jump.[44] Oda collaborated with Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, author of Toriko, for a crossover one-shot of their series titled Taste of the Devil Fruit (実食! 悪魔の実!!, Jitsushoku! Akuma no Mi!!, lit. 'The True Food! Devil Fruit!!'),[45] published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 4, 2011. The spin-off series One Piece Party (ワンピースパーティー, Wan Pīsu Pātī), written by Ei Andō in a super deformed art style, began serialization in Saikyō Jump on December 5, 2011.[46] Its final chapter was published on Shōnen Jump+ on February 2, 2021.[47]

AnimeFestival films and original video animation

One Piece: Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack! was produced by Production I.G for the 1998 Jump Super Anime Tour and was directed by Gorō Taniguchi.[48] Luffy, Nami, and Zoro are attacked by a sea monster that destroys their boat and separates them. Luffy is found on an island beach, where he saves a little girl, Medaka, from two pirates. All the villagers, including Medaka's father, have been abducted by Ganzack and his crew and forced into labour. After hearing that Ganzack also stole all the food, Luffy and Zoro rush out to retrieve it. As they fight the pirates, one of them kidnaps Medaka. A fight starts between Luffy and Ganzack, ending with Luffy's capture. Meanwhile, Zoro is forced to give up after a threat is made to kill all the villagers. They rise against Ganzack, and while the islanders and pirates fight, Nami unlocks the three captives. Ganzack defeats the rebellion and reveals his armoured battleship. The Straw Hat Pirates are forced to fight Ganzack once more to prevent him from destroying the island.

A second film, One Piece: Romance Dawn Story, was produced by Toei Animation in July 2008 for the Jump Super Anime Tour. It is 34 minutes in length and based on the first version of Romance Dawn.[49][6] It includes the Straw Hat Pirates up to Brook and their second ship, the Thousand Sunny. In search for food for his crew, Luffy arrives at a port after defeating a pirate named Crescent Moon Gally on the way. There he meets a girl named Silk, who was abandoned by attacking pirates as a baby and raised by the mayor. Her upbringing causes her to value the town as her "treasure". The villagers mistake Luffy for Gally and capture him just as the real Gally returns. Gally throws Luffy in the water and plans to destroy the town, but Silk saves him and Luffy pursues Gally. His crew arrives to help him, and with their help, he recovers the treasure for the town, acquires food, and destroys Gally's ship. The film was later released as a triple feature DVD with Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and Tegami Bachi: Light and Blue Night, that was available only through a mail-in offer exclusively to Japanese residents.[50]

The One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0 original video animation adapts the manga's special "Chapter 0", which shows how things were before and after the death of Roger. It received a limited release of three thousand DVDs as a collaboration with the House Foods brand.[51]

1999 TV seriesMain article: One Piece (1999 TV series)

An anime television series adaptation produced by Toei Animation premiered on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999;[52] the series reached its 1,000th episode in November 2021.[53]

Upcoming original net animation

In December 2023 at the Jump Festa '24 event, it was announced that Wit Studio would be producing an original net animation (ONA) series remake for Netflix, starting from the East Blue story arc, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original anime series. The remake will be titled The One Piece.[54] It will be directed by Masashi Koizuka, with Hideaki Abe serving as assistant director, and Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda as character designers and chief animation directors. Yasuhiro Kajino will be in charge of the image board and creature design, and Eri Taguchi will be in charge of the prop design. Taku Kishimoto will be in charge of the series scripts, and Ken Imaizumi and Shuhei Fukuda will serve as action animators. Tomonori Kuroda will be the art director, and Ryōma Kawamura will be the animation producer.[55]

Theatrical filmsMain article: List of One Piece films

Fourteen animated theatrical films based on the One Piece series have been released. The films are typically released in March to coincide with the spring vacation of Japanese schools.[56] The films feature self-contained, completely original plots, or alternate retellings of story arcs with animation of a higher quality than what the weekly anime allows. The first three films were typically double features paired up with other anime films and were thus usually an hour or less in length. The films themselves offer contradictions in both chronology and design that make them incompatible with a single continuity. Funimation has licensed the eighth, tenth, and twelfth films for release in North America, and these films have received in-house dubs by the company.[57][58]

Live-action seriesMain article: One Piece (2023 TV series)

On July 21, 2017, Weekly Shōnen Jump editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano announced that Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios) and Shueisha would commence production of an American live-action television adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga series as part of the series' 20th anniversary celebrations.[59][60] Eiichiro Oda served as executive producer for the series alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Adelstein and Becky Clements.[60] The series would reportedly begin with the East Blue arc.[61]

In January 2020, Oda revealed that Netflix ordered a first season consisting of ten episodes.[62] On May 19, 2020, producer Marty Adelstein revealed during an interview with SyFy Wire, that the series was originally set to begin filming in Cape Town sometime around August, but has since been delayed to around September due to COVID-19. He also revealed that, during the same interview, all ten scripts had been written for the series and they were set to begin casting sometime in June.[63] However, executive producer Matt Owens stated in September 2020 that casting had not yet commenced.[64]

In March 2021, production started up again with showrunner Steven Maeda revealing that the series codename is Project Roger.[65] In November 2021, it was announced that the casting for the series includes Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji.[66][67] In March 2022, Netflix added Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Vincent Regan as Garp and Peter Gadiot as Shanks to the cast in recurring roles.[68]

The series was positively received by both fans and critics, and on September 15, 2023, Oda revealed that the show has been renewed for a second season.[69]

Video gamesMain article: List of One Piece video games

The One Piece franchise has been adapted into multiple video games published by subsidiaries of Bandai and later as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment. The games have been released on a variety of video game, handheld consoles, and mobile devices. The video games feature role-playing games, and fighting games, such as the titles of the Grand Battle! meta-series. The series debuted on July 19, 2000, with From TV Animation – One Piece: Become the Pirate King!.[70] Over forty games have been produced based on the franchise.[71] Additionally, One Piece characters and settings have appeared in various Shonen Jump crossover games, such as Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, J-Stars Victory VS and Jump Force.

MusicMain article: Music of One Piece

Music soundtracks have been released that are based on songs that premiered in the series. Kohei Tanaka and Shiro Hamaguchi composed the score for One Piece.[52] Various theme songs and character songs were released on a total of 51 singles. Eight compilation albums and seventeen soundtrack CDs have been released featuring songs and themes that were introduced in the series. On August 11, 2019, it was announced that the musical group Sakuramen is collaborating with Kohei Tanaka to compose music for the anime's "Wano Country" story arc.[72]

Light novels

A series of light novels was published based on the first festival film, certain episodes of the anime television series, and all but the first feature film. They feature artwork by Oda and are written by Tatsuya Hamasaki. The first of these novels, One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak! was released on June 3, 1999.[73] One Piece: Logue Town Chapter followed on July 17, 2000, as an adaptation of the anime television series' Logue Town story arc.[74] The first feature film to be adapted was Clockwork Island Adventure on March 19, 2001.[75] The second, and so far last, light novel adaptation of an anime television series arc, One Piece: Thousand-year Dragon Legend, was published on December 25, 2001.[76] The adaptation of Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals was released on March 22, 2002, and that of Dead End Adventure on March 10, 2003.[77][78] Curse of the Sacred Sword followed on March 22, 2004, and Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island on March 14, 2005.[79][80] The light novel of The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle was released on March 6, 2006, and that of The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta on March 7, 2007.[81][82] A novel adaptation of Episodes of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom was released on February 25, 2008.[83]

Art and guidebooks

Five art books and five guidebooks for the One Piece series have been released. The first art book, One Piece: Color Walk 1, released June 2001,[84] was also released in English by Viz Media on November 8, 2005.[85] A second art book, One Piece: Color Walk 2, was released on November 4, 2003;[86] and One Piece: Color Walk 3 – Lion the third art book, was released January 5, 2006.[87] The fourth art book, subtitled Eagle, was released on March 4, 2010,[88] and One Piece: Shark, the fifth art book, was released on December 3, 2010.[89]

The first guidebook One Piece: Red – Grand Characters was released on March 2, 2002.[90] The second, One Piece: Blue – Grand Data File, followed on August 2, 2002.[91] The third guidebook, One Piece: Yellow – Grand Elements, was released on April 4, 2007,[92] and the fourth, One Piece: Green – Secret Pieces, followed on November 4, 2010.[93] An anime guidebook, One Piece: Rainbow!, was released on May 1, 2007, and covers the first eight years of the TV anime.[94]

Other media

Other One Piece media include a trading card game by Bandai called One Piece CCG and a drama CD centering on the character of Nefertari Vivi released by Avex Trax on December 26, 2002.[95][96] A Hello Kitty-inspired Chopper was used for several pieces of merchandise as a collaboration between One Piece and Hello Kitty.[97] A kabuki play inspired by One Piece, Super Kabuki II: One Piece, ran at Tokyo's Shinbashi Enbujō throughout October and November 2015.[98]

An event called "One Piece Premier Show" debuted at Universal Studios Japan in 2007.[56] The event has been held at the same location every year since 2010.[99][100] (except in 2020, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[100] By 2018, the event has attracted over 1 million visitors.[101] The Baratie restaurant, modeled after the restaurant of the same name in the manga, opened in June 2013 at the Fuji Television headquarters.[102] An indoor theme park located inside the Tokyo Tower called the Tokyo One Piece Tower, which includes some attractions, shops and restaurants, opened on March 13, 2015.[103]

One Piece is the first-ever manga series to hold a "Dome Tour", in which events were held from March 25–27, 2011, at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka,[104][105] and from April 27 – May 1 of the same year at the Tokyo Dome.[104][106] In 2014, the first One Piece exhibition in South Korea was held at the War Memorial of Korea,[107] and the second exhibition in Hongik Daehango Art Center.[108] In 2015, a One Piece trompe-l'œil exhibition was held at the Hong Kong 3D Museum.[109][110]

One Piece on Ice: Episode of Alabaster premiered on August 11, 2023, in Yokohama, starring two-time reigning world champion Shoma Uno in the lead role of Monkey D. Luffy and junior world champion Marin Honda as Princess Vivi. Other cast members included Four Continents champion Nobunari Oda, Kazuki Tomono, Keijii Tanaka, Koshiro Shimada, and Rika Hongo.[111]

ReceptionSales

One Piece is the best-selling manga series in history; in 2012, Oricon, a Japanese company that began its own annual manga sales ranking chart in year 2008, reported that the series was the first to sell 100 million copies (the company does not report on sales figures before April 2008).[112] The series had over 300 million copies in circulation by November 2013;[113] it had over 440 million copies in circulation worldwide by May 2018;[114] 460 million copies by December 2019;[115][116] 470 million copies by April 2020;[117][118] 480 million copies in circulation in forty-three countries worldwide by February 2021.[119][120] It reached 490 million copies in print worldwide by July 2021.[121][122] By August 2022, the manga had reached 516.566 million copies in circulation worldwide.[123][124][125]

One Piece was the best-selling manga series for eleven consecutive years from 2008 until 2018.[126] In 2019, the manga did not top the chart for the first time in twelve years, ranking second in the annual manga sales ranking with over 10.1 million copies sold,[127] although it remained as the best-selling manga by volume in its twelfth consecutive year.[128] It was the third best-selling manga series in 2020, with over 7.7 million copies sold,[129] while volumes 95–97 were the 23rd–25th best-selling manga volumes of 2020, behind the first twenty-two volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.[130] In 2021, it was the sixth best selling manga with over 7 million copies sold,[131] while volumes 98, 99, and 100 were the sixth, eighth, and ninth best-selling manga volumes, respectively.[132] It was the fourth best-selling manga series in 2022, with over 10.3 million copies sold;[133] volumes 101–104 were among the 10 best-selling manga volumes of the year.[134] It was the fifth best-selling manga series in the first half of 2023 (period between November 2022 and May 2023), with over 3.5 million copies sold,[135] while volume 105 was the best-selling manga volume from the same period; volume 104 placed nineteenth.[136] Volumes 105–107 were among the best-selling manga volumes of 2023.[137] Volume 108 was Shueisha's highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period between April 2023 and March 2024), with 3.2 million copies printed.[138]

Individual volumes of One Piece have broken publishing and sales records in Japan. In 2009, the 56th volume had a print run of 2.85 million, the highest initial print run of any manga by then.[139] The 57th volume had a print run of 3 million in 2010,[140] a record that was broken several times by subsequent volumes. The 60th volume had a first print run of 3.4 million and was the first book to sell over two million copies in its opening week on Oricon book rankings,[141][142] and later became the first book to sell over three million copies in Oricon's history.[143] In 2012, the 67th volume had an initial print run of 4.05 million, holding the record of the volume with the highest number of copies in the first print.[144] One Piece is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than ten years.[145] In May 2023, it was reported that each of the 105 volumes, published by then, had sold over 1 million copies.[146] Additionally, One Piece is the only work whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.[147][148]

One Piece (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its chapters compiled in 109 tankōbon volumes as of July 2024. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, where he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the "One Piece" to become the next King of the Pirates.

The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film by Production I.G, and an anime series by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation, and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004 before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007. Netflix released a live action TV series adaptation in 2023.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, world-building, art, characterization, and humour. It has received many awards and is ranked by critics, reviewers, and readers as one of the best manga of all time. By August 2022, it had over 516.6 million copies in circulation in 61 countries and regions worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history, and the best-selling comic series printed in a book volume. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. In 2015 and 2022, One Piece set the Guinness World Record for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author". It was the best-selling manga for eleven consecutive years from 2008 to 2018 and is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than 10 years, as well as the only one that had achieved more than 1 million copies sold in all of its over 100 published tankōbon volumes. One Piece is the only manga whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.

SynopsisSettingSee also: List of One Piece charactersThe globe of the One Piece worldFlag of the World Government

The world of One Piece is populated by humans and other races such as dwarves (more akin to faeries in size), giants, merfolk, fish-men, long-limbed tribes, long-necked people known as the Snakeneck Tribe, and animal people (known as "Minks"). The world is governed by an intercontinental organization known as the World Government, consisting of dozens of member countries. The Navy is the sea military branch of the World Government that protects the known seas from pirates and other criminals. There is also Cipher Pol which is a group of agencies within the World Government that are their secret police. While pirates are major opponents of the Government, the ones who challenge their rule are the Revolutionary Army who seek to overthrow them. The central tension of the series pits the World Government and their forces against pirates. The series regularly emphasizes moral ambiguity over the label "pirate", which includes cruel villains, but also any individuals who do not submit to the World Government's authoritarian—and often morally ambiguous—rule. The One Piece world also has supernormal characteristics like Devil Fruits,[Jp 1] which are mysterious fruits that grant whoever eats them transformative powers. Another supernatural power is Haki,[Jp 2] which grants its users enhanced willpower, observation, and fighting abilities, and it is one of the only effective methods of inflicting bodily harm on certain Devil Fruit users.

The world itself consists of two vast oceans divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line.[Jp 3] Within the oceans is a second global phenomenon known as the Grand Line,[Jp 4] which is a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line and is bounded by the Calm Belt,[Jp 5] strips of calm ocean infested with huge ship-eating monsters known as Sea Kings.[Jp 6] These geographical barriers divide the world into four seas: North Blue,[Jp 7] East Blue,[Jp 8] West Blue,[Jp 9] and South Blue.[Jp 10] Passage between the four seas, and the Grand Line, is therefore difficult. Unique and mystical features enable transport between the seas, such as the use of Sea Prism Stone[Jp 11] employed by government ships to mask their presence as they traverse the Calm Belt, or the Reverse Mountain[Jp 12] where water from the four seas flows uphill before merging into a rapidly flowing and dangerous canal that enters the Grand Line. The Grand Line itself is split into two separate halves with the Red Line between being Paradise[Jp 13] and the New World.[Jp 14]

One Piece story arcs viewtalkedit showPremiseFurther information: List of One Piece chapters

The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece", and take over his prior title. Luffy sets sail as captain of the Straw Hat Pirates,[Jp 15] and is joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman and former bounty hunter; Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook. They acquire a ship, the Going Merry[Jp 16]—later replaced by the Thousand Sunny[Jp 17]—and engage in confrontations with notorious pirates. As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman. Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, different types of scientists, soldiers of the morally ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

ProductionConcept and creation

Eiichiro Oda's interest in pirates began in his childhood, watching the animated series Vicky the Viking, which inspired him to want to draw a manga series about pirates.[2] The reading of pirate biographies influenced Oda to incorporate the characteristics of real-life pirates into many of the characters in One Piece; for example, the character Marshall D. Teach is based on and named after the historical pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.[3] Apart from the history of piracy, Oda's biggest influence is Akira Toriyama and his series Dragon Ball, which is one of his favorite manga.[4]

While working as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Oda began writing One Piece in 1996.[5] It started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[5]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. They both featured the character of Luffy and included elements that would appear later in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in Shueisha's Akamaru Jump, and reprinted in 2002 in One Piece Red guidebook. The second was published in the 41st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1996, and reprinted in 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted![6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.[7] Kazuhiko Torishima, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, explained that they debated for two hours on whether or not to serialize One Piece.[8] Although acknowledging that it had potential, he was one of those against the work because it was "incomplete".[8] But Torishima ultimately approved serialization due to Asada being so "annoyingly earnest" that another editor suggested both Oda and Asada would be crushed if it was rejected at that time.[8]

Development

Oda's primary inspiration for the concept of Devil Fruits was Doraemon; the Fruits' abilities and uses reflect Oda's daily life and his personal fantasies, similar to that of Doraemon's gadgets, such as the Gum-Gum Fruit being inspired by Oda's laziness.[9] When designing the outward appearance of Devil Fruits Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of some characters' techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of several of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; they look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. For example, Zoro's signature move is Onigiri, which is written as demon cut but is pronounced the same as rice ball in Japanese. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half".[11] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga".[11]

Oda was "sensitive" about how his work would be translated.[12] In many instances, the English version of the One Piece manga uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeiae used in the Japanese version. For instance, "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are both translated as "fshhhhhhh".[13] Unlike other manga artists, Oda draws everything that moves himself to create a consistent look while leaving his staff to draw the backgrounds based on sketches he has drawn.[14] This workload forces him to keep tight production rates, starting from five in the morning until two in the morning the next day, with short breaks only for meals. Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.[15] When a reader asked who Nami was in love with, Oda replied that there would hardly be any love affairs within Luffy's crew. The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.[16]

Conclusion

Oda revealed that he originally planned One Piece to last five years and that he had already planned the ending. However, he found it would take longer than he had expected as Oda realized that he liked the story too much to end it in that period of time.[17] In 2016, nineteen years after the start of serialization, the author said that the manga has reached 65% of the story he intends to tell.[18] In July 2018, on the occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of One Piece, Oda said that the manga has reached 80% of the plot.[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.[20] When asked if the titular treasure is "family bonds", Oda replied: "No, I hate that kind of thing", mentioning the ending of The Wizard of Oz and claiming that he does not endure stories where the reward of adventure is the adventure itself, opting for a story where travel is important, but even more important is the goal.[21] In August 2019, Oda said that, according to his predictions, the manga would end in five years.[22] However, Oda stated that the ending would be what he had decided in the beginning; he is committed to seeing it through.[23] In August 2020, Shueisha announced in the year's 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that One Piece was "headed toward the upcoming final saga."[24] On January 4, 2021, One Piece reached its thousandth chapter.[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.[28]

MediaFurther information: List of One Piece mediaMangaMain article: List of One Piece manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 22, 1997.[29][30] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 24, 1997.[31] By July 4, 2024, a total of 109 volumes have been released.[32]

The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.[33][34][35] In 2009, Viz announced the release of five volumes per month during the first half of 2010 to catch up with the serialization in Japan.[36] Following the discontinuation of the print Shonen Jump, Viz began releasing One Piece chapterwise in its digital successor Weekly Shonen Jump on January 30, 2012.[37] Following the digital Weekly Shonen Jump's cancelation in December 2018, Viz Media started simultaneously publishing One Piece through its Shonen Jump service, and by Shueisha through Manga Plus, in January 2019.[38][39]

In the United Kingdom, the volumes were published by Gollancz Manga, starting in March 2006,[40] until Viz Media took it over after the fourteenth volume.[41][42] In Australia and New Zealand, the English volumes have been distributed by Madman Entertainment since November 10, 2008.[43]

Spin-offs and crossovers

Oda teamed up with Akira Toriyama to create a single crossover of One Piece and Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Entitled Cross Epoch, the one-shot was published in the December 25, 2006, issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump and the April 2011 issue of the English Shonen Jump.[44] Oda collaborated with Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, author of Toriko, for a crossover one-shot of their series titled Taste of the Devil Fruit (実食! 悪魔の実!!, Jitsushoku! Akuma no Mi!!, lit. 'The True Food! Devil

While working as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Oda began writing One Piece in 1996.[5] It started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[5]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. They both featured the character of Luffy and included elements that would appear later in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in Shueisha's Akamaru Jump, and reprinted in 2002 in One Piece Red guidebook. The second was published in the 41st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1996, and reprinted in 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted![6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.[7] Kazuhiko Torishima, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, explained that they debated for two hours on whether or not to serialize One Piece.[8] Although acknowledging that it had potential, he was one of those against the work because it was "incomplete".[8] But Torishima ultimately approved serialization due to Asada being so "annoyingly earnest" that another editor suggested both Oda and Asada would be crushed if it was rejected at that time.[8]

Development

Oda's primary inspiration for the concept of Devil Fruits was Doraemon; the Fruits' abilities and uses reflect Oda's daily life and his personal fantasies, similar to that of Doraemon's gadgets, such as the Gum-Gum Fruit being inspired by Oda's laziness.[9] When designing the outward appearance of Devil Fruits Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of some characters' techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of several of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; they look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. For example, Zoro's signature move is Onigiri, which is written as demon cut but is pronounced the same as rice ball in Japanese. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half".[11] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga".[11]

Oda was "sensitive" about how his work would be translated.[12] In many instances, the English version of the One Piece manga uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeiae used in the Japanese version. For instance, "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are both translated as "fshhhhhhh".[13] Unlike other manga artists, Oda draws everything that moves himself to create a consistent look while leaving his staff to draw the backgrounds based on sketches he has drawn.[14] This workload forces him to keep tight production rates, starting from five in the morning until two in the morning the next day, with short breaks only for meals. Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.[15] When a reader asked who Nami was in love with, Oda replied that there would hardly be any love affairs within Luffy's crew. The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.[16]

Conclusion

Oda revealed that he originally planned One Piece to last five years and that he had already planned the ending. However, he found it would take longer than he had expected as Oda realized that he liked the story too much to end it in that period of time.[17] In 2016, nineteen years after the start of serialization, the author said that the manga has reached 65% of the story he intends to tell.[18] In July 2018, on the occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of One Piece, Oda said that the manga has reached 80% of the plot.[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.[20] When asked if the titular treasure is "family bonds", Oda replied: "No, I hate that kind of thing", mentioning the ending of The Wizard of Oz and claiming that he does not endure stories where the reward of adventure is the adventure itself, opting for a story where travel is important, but even more important is the goal.[21] In August 2019, Oda said that, according to his predictions, the manga would end in five years.[22] However, Oda stated that the ending would be what he had decided in the beginning; he is committed to seeing it through.[23] In August 2020, Shueisha announced in the year's 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that One Piece was "headed toward the upcoming final saga."[24] On January 4, 2021, One Piece reached its thousandth chapter.[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.[28]

MediaFurther information: List of One Piece mediaMangaMain article: List of One Piece manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 22, 1997.[29][30] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 24, 1997.[31] By July 4, 2024, a total of 109 volumes have been released.[32]

The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.[33][34][35] In 2009, Viz announced the release of five volumes per month during the first half of 2010 to catch up with the serialization in Japan.[36] Following the discontinuation of the print Shonen Jump, Viz began releasing One Piece chapterwise in its digital successor Weekly Shonen Jump on January 30, 2012.[37] Following the digital Weekly Shonen Jump's cancelation in December 2018, Viz Media started simultaneously publishing One Piece through its Shonen Jump service, and by Shueisha through Manga Plus, in January 2019.[38][39]