One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The manga follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, who explore the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece” to become the next King of the Pirates.
Oda began writing One Piece in 1996. It was a huge success and inspired a media franchise, an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which began airing in 1999. In July 2022, Oda took a one-month hiatus to celebrate the 25th anniversary and the final chapter of the manga. However, a 1087th chapter was released on Sunday, July 16th, 2023.
One Piece also broke Guinness World Record in 2015 and 2022, respectively, for having the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author. It has also been ranked as one of the best manga of all time.
Here is what you need to know about the record-breaking manga.
What is One Piece?
One Piece is a Japanese manga series about Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, who explore the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece”. This is done by the group so that Luffy can become the next King of the Pirates.
Written and illustrated by Oda, the manga was released in 1996, with its chapters compiled into 106 tankōbon volumes and currently in its 1084th chapter as of July 2023.
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One Piece manga
The manga is set in the One Piece world, which is populated by humans and other races, such as dwarves (more likely faeries), giants, merfolk, fish-men, long-limbed tribes, long-necked people known as the Snakeneck Tribe and animal people (known as “Minks”). Governed by an intercontinental organisation known as the World Government, which consists of dozens of member countries, there are the pirates who are the enemies of the government and the Revolutionary Army who seeks to overthrow the same government.
One Piece explores the supernatural like Devil Fruits (悪魔の実, Akuma no Mi), which are mysterious fruits that grant whoever eats them all kinds of super abilities; Zoans (動物系, Zōn-Kei), which are fruits that grant the ability to turn into a specific powerful animal or humanoid-animal hybrid form; Logias (自然系, Rogia-kei), fruits that give the ability to generate, control or become a certain element; and Haki (覇気), which grants its users enhanced willpower, observation and fighting abilities. Haki also inflicts harm on Devil Fruits users.
The One Piece world consists of two vast oceans divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line (赤い土の大陸, Reddo Rain). Within the oceans lies the Grand Line (偉大なる航路, Reddo Rain), which is a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line and is bounded by the Calm Belt (凪の帯, Kāmu Beruto), strips of calm ocean infested with huge ship-eating monsters known as Sea Kings (海王類, Kaiō-rui). These barriers divide the world into four seas: North Blue (北の海, Nōsu Burū), East Blue (東の海, Īsuto Burū), West Blue (西の海, Uesuto Burū), and South Blue (南の海, Sausu Burū). Therefore, passing through these seas and the Grand Line is a difficult task.
In addition, Three Great Powers (三大勢力, San Dai Seiryoku) – Navy Headquarters, Seven Warlords of the Sea and Four Emperors (四皇, Yonkō) – are the greatest military forces on the ocean who keep the world in peace and balance. The Seven Warlords of the Sea is a group of very powerful pirates employed and sanctioned by the World Government. The group gives a portion of their loot to the government in exchange for a pardon for their crimes and removing bounties from the heads of members.
It is on this premise that Luffy, a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit, sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the ultimate treasure of Gol D. Roger, the deceased King of the Pirates, known as the “One Piece” to reclaim his lost title. On the way, he is joined by the Straw Hat Pirates, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji. The crew is joined by other crew members as the series continues and together, they encounter in the course of their journey other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organisations, revolutionaries, secret agents, different types of scientists, soldiers of the morally-ambiguous World Government and other friends and foes.
Media franchise
The One Piece manga inspired a successful media franchise after it was adapted into a festival film produced by Production I.G. and an anime series produced by Toei Animation. The series was released in 1999 and has since been developed into 14 animated feature films, one original video animation and 13 television specials. Also, there is a trading card game and numerous video games based on the manga.
One Piece was licensed for English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. 4Kids Entertainment licensed the anime series for English-language release in North America in 2004 before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007.
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Reception
One Piece was praised for its storytelling, world-building, art, characterisation and humour. It has also received several awards and was ranked by critics, reviewers and readers as one of the best manga of all time. In August 2022, the manga sold over 516.6 million copies 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.
One Piece also set the Guinness World Record for “the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author” in 2015 and 2022. It was the best-selling manga for 11 consecutive years from 2008 to 2018 and the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above three million continuously for more than 10 years. One Piece is the only manga whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon’s weekly comic chart since 2008.
How to read One Piece
To read One Piece manga for free, visit MangaPlus.com. All you have to do is open an account and you can read the series. You do not have to worry about piracy issues as the website is owned by Shonen Jump, the company which publishes One Piece.
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