One Piece
is a
steampunk manga and
anime series created by artist
Eiichiro Oda, a former assistant to
Nobuhiro Watsuki (author of
Rurouni Kenshin).
One Piece focuses on a ragtag crew of unorthodox
pirates led by Captain
Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain his world's ultimate treasure,
One Piece, which was the former property of the deceased
Pirate King,
Gold Roger.
The manga began its serial run in Issue 34 (1997) of
Shueisha's
Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, while the anime adaptation produced by
Toei Animation premiered in 1999. Eiichiro Oda originally planned
One Piece to last five years
[SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.42 Chapter 405, Fan question: Are you thinking about ending One Piece any time soon? ], and he had already planned out the ending; however, the story has continued far beyond his expectations, and its popularity has swelled to enormous proportions.
One Piece is the third highest selling manga in the history of
Shonen Jump [
1], and is currently Japan's most popular and best-selling title. Volume 24 of the
One Piece manga was the highest selling Japanese novel of all time, prior to the publication of
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. As of
July 252006, the first 409 weekly installments have been collected into 42
tankōbon volumes, and the manga has reached 422 chapters.
The story of
One Piece is set in a fictional ocean-bound world similar to
Earth, where pirates rampage wildly in an era of freedom and adventure known as the "Great Age of Piracy". This epoch was inaugurated with the public
execution of
Gold Roger, the
Pirate King. With his dying breath, Roger announced that the world was free to seek the wealth he had accumulated during his lifetime, provided it could be found in "that" place (Grand Line). In the English adaptation, Roger is also credited with explaining that he "left everything [he] owned in one piece", hence the eponymous label for his glorious treasure.
Twenty two years after Roger's execution, interest in One Piece has dwindled; many have dismissed obtaining it as an impossibility, and some question whether or not it exists. Although pirates are still a paramouont threat to the lives of civilians, the
Navy has become more effective at halting pirate raids in the four Blue Seas. However, this laconic change of mood has not deterred the adventurous spirit of the
Straw Hat Pirates, who travel to the Grand Line (where the spirit of the "Great Age of Piracy" still roars strong) in a hunt for Roger's treasure. In contrast to stereotypical pirates of history and lore, the Straw Hat Pirates represent the twentieth century romanticism of pirate ideal; they lead carefree yet exciting lives on the high seas. Although the Straw Hats frequently find themselves at odds with other pirates, they are still deemed threatening by the World Government and Navy, and three of their number have been assigned high bounties.
One Piece is critically hailed as an effective blend of slapstick action, comedy, and drama. It is praised for an engaging plot, imaginative atmosphere, and distinctive, relatable characters, while staying true to its general themes of adventure, discovery, and friendship.
Story Arcs
The One Piece manga started its story in
East Blue, then followed the adventures of the
Straw Hat Pirates through their journey on the
Grand Line. So far, the story can be divided into
4 main story arcs:
East Blue Saga,
Baroque Works Saga,
Skypiea Saga, and
World Government Saga. Each saga is composed of several arcs of various length. The anime tends to follow these arcs. However, since the manga is still on-going, the anime also has
filler arcs to allow the manga to distance itself from the anime.
The main characters of One Piece are
Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the
Straw Hat Pirates. Along the way, they meet several other people, most of them are other
pirate crews, while others are in the
Navy, whose job it is to arrest these pirates.
Most major One Piece characters fall into one of the following:
*
Pirates**
Straw Hat Pirates*
World Government**
Navy**
Cipher Pol**
Seven Warlords of the Sea (
Shichibukai in the Japanese version)
*
Baroque Works*
Skypiea's Priests*
Galley-La CompanyThe crew also encounter countless
other characters during their travels.
The first
tankōbon was published in
December 1997. As of
August 2006, One Piece has 422 chapters. All of the chapters through chapter 409 have been collected into 42 tankōbon volumes.
*
One Piece manga volumes and chaptersAs the popularity of One Piece swelled with its serialization in
Shonen Jump, it soon would reach an even larger audience through the medium of television, being adapted into an animated series. That television series (a largely faithful adaptation of the manga) debuted in
1999, but animated One Piece actually had its origins one year earlier.
Episodes
As of
August 2006, One Piece has had a total of 274 TV episodes. Episodes from 207 onwards have been broadcast in
high-definition at
720p resolution, in addition to standard definition.
*
One Piece Episode GuideMovies
Since the debut of the series on television,
Toei Animation has also produced seven One Piece feature films, released each spring since 2000. In typical fashion for movies based on serialized manga, the films feature self-contained, completely original plots with animation of higher quality than what the weekly anime allows for. Additionally, three of these movies have had special featurettes, showcasing the characters engaged in various activities unrelated to the series (specifically dancing, playing soccer, and playing baseball.) These movies, and their attached featurettes, are as follows:#
One Piece: The Movie (ワン"ース
Wanpīsu, 2000)- The crew comes across an island that is said to be the location of an amazing collection of gold, but they are not the only ones after it.#
Clockwork Island Adventure (ねじまき島の'険
Nejimaki-Shima no Bōken, 2001)- When the ship is stolen, the Straw Hats come across a thief duo that claims it was stolen by the Trump Pirates, who have taken over Clockwork Island. To make things even worse, the Trump Pirates kidnap Nami so she can marry their leader. The Straw Hats have to stop them before it's too late.#* Featurette:
Django's Dance Carnival (ジャンゴのダンスカーニバル
Jango no Dansu Kānibaru)- Django hyponizes an entire island, including the Straw Hats, into dancing so he may escape the Marines.#
Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (珍獣島のチョッパー王国
Chinjū-jima no Choppā-Ōkoku, 2002)- The crew searches for the "Crowning Treasure", but as they approach the island it is said to be on, they are sent into the air, separating Chopper from the group. On the island, the animals declare Chopper their king. However, there are people besides the Straw Hats looking for the Crowning Treasure.#* Featurette:
Dream Soccer King! (夢のサッカー王!
Yume no Sakkā-Ō!)- The Straw Hat men challenge their foes to a game of soccer.#
Dead End Adventure (デッドエンドの'険
Deddo Endo no Bōken, 2003)- In order to gain money, the crew enters a pirate race called the Dead End Race.#
Curse of the Sacred Sword (呪われた聖剣
Norowareta Seiken, 2004)- An old friend of Zoro's is possessed by an evil sword, and due to a favor Zoro owes him, he joins his side. The Straw Hats will have to find a way to seal the sword before its true power is revealed.#* Featurette:
Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King (めざせ! 海賊野球王
Mezase! Kaizoku Yakyū-Ō)- The Straw Hats face the Arlong Pirates in a game of baseball, with Buggy and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei as announcers.#
Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (オマツリ"爵と秘密の島
Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima, 2005)- The crew lands at a resort owned by Baron Omatsuri, who challenges them to a series of games. However, there is more to Omatsuri and his friends than meets the eye.#
The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle (カラクリ城のメカ巨兵
Karakuri-Jō no Meka Kyohei, 2006)- The crew searches for the treasure known as the Golden Crown on Mecha Island, a technologically advanced island filled with amazing machines, which is ruled by a man named Ratchet.
|
One Piece Volume 1 English version. |
The popularity of One Piece has led to adaptations of both the manga and anime into many other languages including (but not exclusive to)
English,
German,
French,
Italian,
Spanish,
Tagalog,
Catalan, and
Finnish.
*
Manga Adaptions*
Anime Adaptions*
Related music*
Related Console GamesOfficial Sites
English
*
Kingofthepirates.com Official anime site in the USA.
*
Shonen Jump's One Piece site Official manga site in the USA.
*
One Piece on YTV's BIONIX block*
Madman's One Piece site Official anime site in Australia
Japanese
*
OnePiece.com (One Pieceドットコム
One Piece Dottokomu) Official site from the Japanese publishers.
*
Shueisha's One Piece Site Official site from the magazine where One Piece is serialized.
*
Fuji TV's One Piece Site Official site from the network airing One Piece in Japan.
*
Toei's One Piece Site Official site from the animation studio.
*
One Piece Movie Site Promotional site for Movie 1.
*
One Piece "Clockwork Island Adventure" Site Promotional site for Movie 2.
*
One Piece "Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals" Site Promotional site for Movie 3.
*
One Piece "Curse of the Sacred Sword" Site Promotional site for Movie 5.
*
One Piece "Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island" Site Promotional site for Movie 6.
*
One Piece "Karakuri Castle's Mecha Giant Soldier" Site Promotional site for Movie 7.
Unofficial Sites
English
*
Piece at TVRage.com (Guide for the Original Japanese Version)
* (Guide for the English Dub Version)
*
One Piece at
Animenfo.com*
Anime News Network's encyclopedia page for the One Piece manga (with links to entries for the TV series, OVA and movies).
*
Straw Hat Paradise*
GumGum Media, Information, Release Dates, and News
*
Arlong Park General One Piece info and news.
*
One Piece Episode Comparisons Chronicles the changes to the One Piece anime made by 4 Kids.
*
Codename: Prince Sanji character site with in-depth info, media and more.
*
The Grand Line - One Piece Small but growing in-depth
One Piece information site.
*
Píos Amhain - Dedicated to the fun and stupid side of One Piece
*
Nico Robin Shrine - A site about Nico Robin.
*
Gashapon Collector - One Piece Gashapon Reference
* [
2]- One Piece text based RPG
*
One Piece Crew- One Piece text based forum RPG
Italian
*
One Piece Planet.com - the bigger One Piece website with 6500 images, multimedia and info (warning: contains
hentai)
*
Rolonoa Zoro One Piece Italia - the first Italian Site about One Piece
*
One Piece World - Italia - One Piece Italian Site
Spanish
*
One Piece - Pirateking - General
One Piece information site.
*
One Piece Shichibukai - International group of One Piece fans.
*
One Piece Tribute - The Spanish One Piece Fanlisting.
Brazilian
*
piecePROJECT - Brazil - Great media, information, news and much more.
*
Romance Dawn - Information about One Piece's anime/manga, news and pictures.
*
One Piece Experiment ( opEX )- Brazil - Fansub, Media, information, news and much more.
Finnish
*
One Piece.fi - Finland - Finnish One Piece fansite
