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 individual chapters compiled into 105 tankōbon volumes as of March 2023. 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” in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film produced by Production I.G, and an anime series produced 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.
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.
As of 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 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 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.
The ONE PIECE fandom is celebrating the birthday of Monkey D. Luffy along with series creator Eiichiro Oda, also known as Oda-Sensei, who just dropped a personally penned letter to fans assuring them that the production is “burning with passion.”
ONE PIECE is the bestselling manga series of all time, and the Netflix series will be the franchise’s first live-action adaptation. A epic saga of adventure on the high seas, the original manga follows the adventures of Luffy, an enthusiastic young man with the singular aspiration of becoming “King of the Pirates.”
A cultural phenomenon with millions of passionate fans around the globe, ONE PIECE is an expansive, ongoing story about a group of misfits with a dream of joining together to become Luffy’s loyal crew, The Straw Hats.
The Netflix series, executive produced by Oda-Sensei, starts at the very beginning of Luffy’s tale, introducing existing fans and brand new audiences to the live-action iterations of the manga’s beloved characters, antagonists and destinations. Curious to come aboard?
What’s the ONE PIECE 101?
The ONE PIECE universe is the brainchild of Japanese writer and illustrator Eiichiro Oda. Conceived as a serialized manga pirate adventure, ONE PIECE debuted in July 1997 in the manga anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. A hit with readers, the first four chapters of ONE PIECE were eventually collected and released in December 1997. Since then, there have been 105 (and counting!) collected volumes of ONE PIECE stories, all written and illustrated by Oda-Sensei.
In 1999, Toei Animation produced a ONE PIECE 2D animated series based on Oda-Sensei’s work. This brought Luffy and his Straw Hat pirates to life in a colorful way that retold their origin story. It gave dedicated ONE PIECE readers a slightly different take the books, and was an opportunity to welcome non-readers and anime fans into the mythology. It now boasts 20 seasons with over 1,000 episodes of adventures featuring Luffy and a huge ensemble of characters.
The ONE PIECE world has also expanded into animated theatrical films. Since March 2000, there have been 15 movies that add original stories to the mythology, or remix existing stories for the big screen. For gamers, Bandai has produced 40 different video game titles set within the world, and the ONE PIECE characters have appeared in Shōnen Jump video games.
Who is Eiichiro Oda?
In the world of publishing, William Shakespeare remains the bestselling fiction GOAT (or Greatest of All Time) with approximately 4 billion in sales. But slide down a mere nine slots on that list, and residing at No. 10 is Eiichiro Oda. ONE PIECE has sold 516.5 million worth of books, making him the only manga writer and illustrator to rank in the Top 10. As such, he’s earned the distinction of being one of the most influential manga creators in the history of the medium. With 105 individually collected volumes of ONE PIECE stories, Oda-Sensei is the rare manga creator who has remained a singular creative voice charting an ongoing, serialized mythology. He plans to personally close it out by 2025.
An interesting fact that even long-time Oda-Sensei fans may not be aware of: He always wanted ONE PIECE to be adapted into a live-action series. Various creative false starts and developmental dead-ends delayed that endeavor until Netflix partnered with publisher Shueisha and Tomorrow Studios to bring Luffy and his eclectic crew of thieves, fighters and dreamers into the real world.
As an executive producer on the series, Oda-Sensei has been deeply involved and played an integral part in all aspects of the development, including casting approval, post-production and refining the tone with an expert level of detail. He is working closely with executive producers and series showrunners Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, and executive producers Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements from Tomorrow Studios. The series is a collaboration where the original creator is woven into the fabric of an adaptation team, which ensures that the global fans of the manga and anime will see a live-action series that matches the creative intentions of Oda-Sensei’s original manga.
Why is ONE PIECE so special to fans?
ONE PIECE is a legendary high-seas quest unlike any other. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom ever since he can remember. He sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, ONE PIECE, to become King of the Pirates! But in order to find the ultimate prize, he will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.
The heart and soul of the story is Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and his rambunctious, ragtag crew made up of talented misfits called the Straw Hats. Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu) is the ambitious but guarded swordsman. Nami (Emily Rudd) is a thief who keeps her secrets close to the vest keeps her secrets close to the vest. Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson) is another dreamer with adventure in his heart. And Sanji (Taz Skylar) is a skilled cook and charming rascal. Together, they embody what ONE PIECE is all about: the power of achieving dreams, the bond between found family and nakama (close friends) facing hardship together.
The existing fandom of ONE PIECE already consider themselves as de facto Straw Hats, and this series will be yet another opportunity to welcome aboard an even bigger contingent of like-minded dreamers from all walks of life to join Luffy’s crew.
Who else is in the cast?
Additional cast includes Vincent Regan, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Morgan Davies, Aidan Scott, Langley Kirkwood, Jeff Ward, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, McKinley Belcher III, Craig Fairbrass, Steven Ward and Chioma Umeala. More will be announced.
Netflix’s ONE PIECE is coming soon. Add it to your MY LIST.
and I play Luffy in One Piece.
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‘One Piece’ Live-Action Series Debuts Sets and New Cast
