One Piece

One Piece

First volume of One Piece, released in Japan by Shueisha on December 24, 1997
ワンピース
(Wan Pīsu)
Genre Action, Adventure, Comedy-drama
Manga
Author Eiichirō Oda
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
English publisher Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Flag of the United Kingdom Viz Media
Flag of the United Kingdom Gollancz Manga (former)
Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Flag of Japan Weekly Shōnen Jump
Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Shonen Jump
Flag of South Korea Comic Champ
Flag of the Republic of China Formosa Youth
Original run August 4, 1997 – ongoing
Volumes 52
TV anime
Director Konosuke Uda
Munehisa Sakai
Studio Toei Animation
Licensor Flag of Japan Avex
Flag of the United States 4Kids Entertainment (former)
Flag of the United States Funimation Entertainment
Network Flag of Japan Fuji TV
English network Flag of the United Kingdom Toonami

Flag of Canada YTV
Flag of the United States Cartoon Network
4Kids TV

Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Cartoon Network and Network Ten
Original run October 20, 1999 – ongoing
Episodes 379
Movies
  • One Piece: The Movie (2000)
  • Clockwork Island Adventure (2001)
  • Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (2002)
  • Dead End Adventure (2003)
  • Curse of the Sacred Sword (2004)
  • Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005)
  • The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle (2006)
  • Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates (2007)
  • Episode of Chopper Plus: Miracle Sakura Blooming in Winter (2008)
Anime and Manga Portal

One Piece (ワンピース Wan Pīsu?) is a Japanese shōnen manga written and illustrated by Eiichirō Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997 and 52 volumes released as of December 2008. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy, who gained supernatural abilities by eating a magical fruit, and his ragtag crew of heroic pirates, named the Straw Hats. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain the world's ultimate treasure, One Piece, and thereby become the next Pirate King. When creating the series, Oda was heavily influenced by the manga Dragon Ball.

One Piece is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. The individual chapters are being serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump manga anthology and being published in tankōbon volumes. In the United Kingdom, the series is being released by Gollancz Manga. Madman Entertainment is releasing the series in Australia and New Zealand.

The series was adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced in 1998 by Production I.G. It was later adapted into a full anime series by Toei Animation that premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999. As of November 9, 2008, 376 episodes of the series have aired. The anime series was licensed for a heavily edited English dubbed broadcast in North America by 4Kids Entertainment. It has since been licensed for a full Region 1 DVD release and broadcast by Funimation Entertainment. In addition to the anime series and OVA, One Piece has been adapted into nine feature films by Toei and multiple video games based on the series have been released.

With over 140 million copies sold, One Piece is the third highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shōnen Jump. It is considered their most acclaimed and all-time third-best-selling title in Japan.

Contents

Plot

A boy named Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, sets out on a journey to find the legendary One Piece, to become the new Pirate King. To accomplish this, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line.

Luffy captains the Straw Hat Pirates first through the sea of East Blue and then through the Grand Line. He follows the path of the deceased Pirate King, Gold Roger, from island to island on his way to the great treasure One Piece. On his way his crew grows to have a swordsman, a navigator, a sniper, a cook, a doctor, an archaeologist, a shipwright, and a musician.

During the course of the story, the crew contend with both other less moral pirate crews and the Navy. The latter are the subordinates of the World Government, who apparently seek justice by ending the Golden Age of Pirates. Many background story elements involve the delicate balance of power between the World Government and the world's most powerful pirate crews.

Characters

Main article: List of One Piece characters

Monkey D. Luffy (モンキー・D・ルフィ Monkī D. Rufi?): The main character, a 17-year-old boy.[1] He is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is portrayed as carefree and sometimes air-headed leader. He generally has a huge appetite, for meat in particular. By accidentally eating a Devil Fruit, a fruit that grants special abilities to those who eat them, his body gained the properties of rubber. Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King. Luffy is voiced by Urara Takano in the original video animation (OVA) and by Mayumi Tanaka in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, he is voiced by Bella Hudson for 4Kids, by Chuck Powers for Odex and by Colleen Clinkenbeard for Funimation.

Roronoa Zoro (ロロノア・ゾロ?): The first to join the crew. He is 19 years old[1][2] and a skilled swordsman, who uses up to three swords at once, clutching the third in his mouth. He is extremely poor at understanding geographical directions and gets lost very easily. He also sleeps a great deal and loves to drink. His goal is to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Zoro is voiced by Wataru Takagi in the OVA and by Kazuya Nakai in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, he is voiced by Marc Diraison for 4Kids, by Brian Zimmerman for Odex and by Christopher Sabat for Funimation.

Nami (ナミ?): The crew's 18-year-old[1] navigator and the second to join. Her navigation skills are excellent and she has the ability to recognize and analyze even the slightest changes in the weather through sheer intuition. She is also an excellent thief and pickpocket. Her dream is to draw a complete map of the world. Nami is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi in the OVA and by Akemi Okamura in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, she is voiced by Kerry Williams for 4Kids, by Alison Lestor for Odex and by Luci Christian for Funimation.

Usopp (ウソップ Usoppu?): The crew's 17-year-old[1] marksman and the third to join. He is a chronic liar, talented inventor and has notable artistic talent, shown in his painting of the Straw Hat's Jolly Roger and crafting of detailed snow sculptures. He is the sharpshooter of the crew with amazing aim and technique. Usopp's dream is to become a "brave warrior of the sea". Usopp is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, he is voiced by Jason Anthony Griffith for 4Kids, by Jamie Meldrum and Chuck Powers for Odex and by Sonny Strait for Funimation.

Sanji (サンジ?): The crew's 19-year-old[2] chain-smoking chef and the fourth to join. He knows how it feels to starve from first hand experience. Therefore he will never refuse someone a meal and becomes easily agitated when food is wasted. He is obsessed with women and has a strong sense of chivalry. He will never harm a woman, no matter what. His dream is to find the All Blue, a legendary sea, containing every kind of fish in the world. Sanji is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, he is voiced by David Moo for 4Kids, by Joe Murray and Paul Pistore for Odex and by Eric Vale for Funimation.

Tony Tony Chopper (トニートニー・チョッパー Tonī Tonī Choppā?): The crew's 15-year-old[3] doctor and the fifth to join. He is a blue-nosed reindeer, who gained human properties by eating a Devil Fruit. He is capable of conversing with humans and animals alike. He is also very naive and has a tendency to believe anything told to him. His dream is to create a cure for all the world's diseases. Chopper is voiced by Ikue Otani in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, he is voiced by Lisa Ortiz for 4Kids, by Emlyn Morinelli for Odex and by Brina Palencia for Funimation.

Nico Robin (ニコ・ロビン Niko Robin?): The crew's 28-year-old[4] archaeologist and the sixth to join. She ate a Devil Fruit and gained the ability to create copies of any part of her body on surfaces in her proximity. She is extremely intelligent, having taught herself archaeology at a very young age. Her dream is to find and decipher the Rio Poneglyph, an ancient stone telling a long lost part of history. Robin is voiced by Yuriko Yamaguchi in the Japanese version of the anime. In the English dubs, she is voiced by Veronica Taylor for 4Kids, by Natasha Malinsky for Odex and by Stephanie Young for Funimation.

Franky (フランキー Furankī?): The crew's 34-year-old[5] shipwright and seventh to join. He is a cola-powered cyborg. His artificial body grants him incredible strength, as well as making him practically invulnerable to most frontal attacks, and is equipped with countless weapons. Nevertheless, Franky is very sensitive and like Chopper has trouble hiding his emotions. His dream is to build a dream ship and sail it around the world, something he is now doing aboard the Thousand Sunny. Franky is voiced by Kazuki Yao in the Japanese version of the anime and by Patrick Seitz in Funimation's English dub.

Brook (ブルック Burukku?): The crew's 88-year-old[6] musician and eighth to join. He is a living skeleton, resurrected by means of a Devil Fruit. He has a strange personality, being a combination of a gentlemanly persona and a perverted, crude sort. He speaks in a dignified, educated manner at most times, while having amazingly bad manners. His goal is to circle the Grand Line and return to Reverse Mountain to see a whale, his old friend Laboon, fulfilling a 50-year-old promise. Brook is voiced by Chō in the Japanese version of the anime. He has yet to appear in any English dub.

Setting

Main article: World of One Piece

The Grand Line, also known as the Graveyard of Pirates,[7] is a fictional sea and the setting for most of the story in One Piece. It follows an imaginary line that runs north-west to south-east around the world and perpendicular to the Red Line.[7] The Red Line is a stretch of land that circles the globe from south-west to north-east.[7] These two Lines divide the two oceans of the world into four seas: North Blue, East Blue, West Blue and South Blue. There are two Calm Belts, running north and south of the Grand Line. These areas experience almost no wind and ocean currents.[8][9] The Calm Belts are also breeding ground for huge sea monsters, called Sea Kings in the One Piece world.[10][9] They are very effective barriers for those trying to enter the Grand Line.

Navigation in the Grand Line is considered to be very difficult.[11] Compasses do not work on the Grand Line because of the nature of its magnetic fields.[11] The islands located in the Grand Line are highly rich in minerals which disturbs the magnetic fields in the area.[11] In order to navigate the Grand Line, a Log Pose, a compass like instrument, must be used.[11] The Log Pose works by locking on to one island's magnetic field and then, once the island is reached, adapting to the next island's magnetic field.[11]

Devil Fruits are a type of fruit which, when eaten, permanently give a special power.[12] There are three categories of Devil Fruit.[13] Zoan fruits allow the user to fully and partially transform into a specific animal.[14] Logia fruits give control over and allow the user "to change their living body structure into the powers of nature".[13] "Everything aside from those is lumped into the Paramecia category."[15] Devil Fruit users can not swim.[16] When even only partially submerged in water, they can't actively use their powers and they temporarily lose their strength.[17]

Production

One Piece started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[18]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. The two one-shots featured the character of Luffy, and included elements that would later appear in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in a special issue of Shōnen Jump and later in One Piece Red. The second was published in the 41st issue of Shōnen Jump in 1996 and reprinted 1998 in Oda's short story collection: Wanted!.[19]

Oda originally planned One Piece to last five years and he had already planned out the ending, but he found himself enjoying the story too much to end it in that amount of time and now has no idea how long it will take to reach that point.[20] Nevertheless, the author states, as of July 2007, that the ending will still be the one he had decided on from the beginning and he is committed to seeing it through to the end, no matter how many years it takes.[21]

The names of many special attacks and certain terminology in the manga consist of a form of punning, in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. For example the names of Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, and Franky's techniques are often mixed with other languages and a number of names of Zoro's sword techniques possibly involve a joke, for example, are fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. 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."[22] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that the he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga."[22]

Media

Manga

Main article: List of One Piece chapters

Written and illustrated by Eiichirō Oda, One Piece premiered in the August 4, 1997 issue Weekly Shōnen Jump, where it continues serialization. In total, 520 chapters have been released in Japan as of November 2, 2008. As of December 2008, those chapters have been compiled into 52 tankōbon volumes in Japan by Shueisha,[23] with the first volume released December 24, 1997.[24]

The series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media.[25] On July 8, 2002 ICv2 reported that One Piece would be in the opening line-up of the Shonen Jump magazine.[26] When its first issue was released in November 2002, so was the first chapter of One Piece.[27] The magazine has been publishing successive chapters ever since. The first volume was released by Viz in June 2003.[28] As of October 2008, 19 volumes have been published.[29] And an upcomming 20th volume is scheduled for February 3, 2009.[30] The English volumes are being distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, with the first volume to be released on November 10, 2008.[31] In the United Kingdom it was published by Gollancz Manga.[32] Currently it is published there by Viz.[33]

Straw Hat Theater

In addition to the regular manga series, Oda also wrote a variety of short manga pieces, generally less than five pages, featuring the One Piece characters. Unrelated to the series' plot, the side comics are drawn in super deformed style, giving all the characters large heads and tiny bodies. Some of these side comics are included in the data book One Piece BLUE: Grand Data File in four-panel format. Eight side stories, collectively referred to as the Straw Hat Theater, were included in the One Piece Logs, a series of magazine-format manga compilations released from late 2005 through April 2006. These short bonus comics were featured at the end of the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Logs, and advertised as "Brand-New from Oda-sensei! Special Manga. According to Oda, for each comic he was given three sheets of blank paper by his editor and told to "draw anything", with these being the result. The first five Straw Hat Theater manga shorts were also included in the One Piece YELLOW: Grand Elements data book, along with another bonus side comic. These five comics were also adapted into anime shorts, narrated by Masaya Takatsuka, that aired alongside episodes 279 through 283 of the One Piece anime adaptation.

  1. "Report Time", published in The 2nd Log: "SANJI" in November 2005
  2. "Obahan Time", published in The 3rd Log: "NAMI" in December 2005
  3. "No Code-of-Honor Time" (仁義ない TIME Jingi nai TIME?), published in The 5th Log: CHOPPER" in February 2006
  4. "Chopper Man", published in The 6th Log: "ARABASTA" in March 2006
  5. "Monster Time", published in The 7th Log: "VIVI" in April 2006
  6. "Space Time", published in One Piece YELLOW: Grand Elements in April 2007[34]
  7. "Red-Hair of Class 3-Sea Time", published in One Piece: 10th Treasures in September 2007
  8. "Märchen Time", published in The 10th Log: "BELL" in April 2008

Original Video Animation

The first animated production of One Piece was an original video animation (OVA) under the name One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak! (ONE PIECE 倒せ!海賊ギャンザック Wan Pīsu: Taose! Kaizoku Gyanzakku?). It was produced by Production I.G, directed by Gorō Taniguchi and featured character settings by Oda, for the Jump Super Anime Tour in 1998.

The episode features a different voice cast and staff from the later TV series by Toei Animation and is 30 minutes long. Tatsuya Hamazaki created a novel version of the story (ISBN 978-4087030846).[35]

The episode starts with Luffy, Nami, and Zoro being attacked by a Sea King, that destroys their boat and separates them. Luffy is found on an island beach, where he saves the little girl Medaka, from two pirates. All the villagers, including the Medaka's father, have been taken away by Ganzak and his crew, as forced laborers. After hearing that Ganzak also stole all the food, Luffy and Zoro rush out to get it back. As they fight the Pirates, one of them kidnaps Medaka. A fight starts bewteen Luffy and Ganzak, ending in Luffy's capture. Meanwhile, Zoro is urged into giving up, by threatening to kill the village people. The people from the village rise up against the Ganzak and while the islanders and pirates fight, Nami goes and unlocks the three. Ganzak defeats the rebellion and reveales his armored battleship. Now it is up to the Straw Hats, to "Defeat The Pirate Ganzak!" and prevent him from destroying the island.

Anime

Main article: List of One Piece episodes

Produced by Toei Animation, the One Piece anime series debuted in Japan on Fuji TV on October 20, 1999, where it continues to air today. As of November 23, 2008, 378 episodes of the series have aired, spanning ten seasons.

4Kids Entertainment licensed the series for an English language dubbed broadcast and release in North America. The 4Kids episodes aired in the United States on the Fox network as part of the Fox Box block, premiering on September 18, 2004. The first 143 episodes of the original were cut down to 104 in the dubbed version. The remaining content was subject to heavy editing. Sanji's cigaretts for example were turned into lollipops,[36] and "the skin of a black pirate was changed to a tan mulatto / white color."[37] In December 2006, 4Kids cancelled production of the dubbed version.[38]

On April 12, 2007, Funimation Entertainment announced it acquired the license for the series. After producing a new English voice dub in, the company released its first unedited, bilingual DVD box set, containing 13 episodes, on May 27, 2008.[39] Similarly sized sets followed with two sets released as of September 16, 2008.[40] The Funimation English dubbed episodes premiered on the Cartoon Network on September 29, 2007 and aired until it was cancelled on March 29, 2008.[41] However, since November 3, 2008, the Funimation dubbed episodes has begun airing on the Australian Cartoon Network block.

In Singapore, the anime is licensed by Odex, who produced an English dub which lasted 104 episodes. It was produced in two 52 episode seasons, with some of the original actors leaving in between seasons.

In the July 2008 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, it was announced that the prototype one-shot that preceded One Piece, Romance Dawn, is being adapted into an anime OVA as part of the Jump Super Anime Tour.[19][42][43]

Movies

Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced nine One Piece feature films, released early in each year since 2000. Although the first three films were less than an hour long and played as part of a double-bill with other anime movies. 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 featurette shorts, showcasing the characters engaged in various activities unrelated to the series. They were shown dancing in Jango's Dance Carnival with Clockwork Island Adventure; playing soccer in Dream Soccer King! with Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals; and playing baseball in Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King with Curse of the Sacred Sword.

One Piece: The Movie (ワンピース Wanpīsu?, 2000) is the first feature film, coming into Japanese cinemas in the year 2000. Like the series itself, it starts by telling the legend of a successful pirate: There once was a pirate named Woonan. He was known as the Great Gold Pirate, who obtained almost a third of the world's gold. Over the course of a few years, that pirate's existence faded and a legend grew, that he disappeared with his gold to a remote island, an island pirates continue to search for. Aboard the Going Merry, Luffy, and his crew, starved and reckless, are robbed of their treasure. In an attempt to get it back Luffy wrecks the getaway ship, freeing a young boy named Tobio, who was a captive of El Drago's pirate crew. El Drago's love for gold has driven him to look for Woonan's island and thanks to Woonan's treasure map, he finds it. Meanwhile Luffy's crew split up and despite their own circumstances, they must find a way to stop El Drago from obtaining Woonan's gold. The movie made 2.16 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[44]

Clockwork Island Adventure (ねじまき島の冒険 Nejimaki-shima no bōken?, 2001) is the second movie. As with the first, it starts with the Straw Hats being stolen something, - their ship. Luffy’s crew is adrift for over a week, leaving plenty of time to lament the loss. They 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, Nami is kidnapped. Now, the gang must travel to Clockwork Island to, not only reclaim their vessel, but also to potentially find the world famous treasure, the Diamond Clock, and to save Nami, before she has to marry the Trump Pirates' leader. The movie made 30 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[45]

Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (珍獣島のチョッパー王国 Chinjū-tō no Choppā-ōkoku?, 2002) is the third to be released and the first movie to feature Chopper, although neither Vivi nor Robin are present. 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 and Mobambi, a young boy living among them, declare Chopper their king. The remaining Straw Hats, searching for him, encounter the treasure hunter Butler and his henchmen. After escaping from his hoard of Horn Eaters, an armored kind of animal, the size of a cow, they succeed in finding Chopper. But when Butler notices the reindeer to be the new animal king he summons his Horn Eaters after him and the fighting starts. In an attempt to save Chopper, Mobambi loses the Crowning Treasure to Butler. Strengthened by its power, he now poses a significant threat to the Straw Hats and every animal on the island. The movie made 20 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[46]

Dead End Adventure (デッドエンドの冒険 Deddo endo no bōken?, 2003) is the fourth movie and the first to actually have full feature length. In order to gain money, the crew enters the Dead End Race, a dangerous anything goes sailing competition. On the starting island of the race the crew is introduced to that year's favorite, General Gasparde, a former navy general who deserted after killing his men. The race proceeds and after lots of fighting and Gasparde's treachery, it all comes down to him and Luffy, one on one. The movie made 20 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[47]

Curse of the Sacred Sword (呪われた聖剣 Norowareta seiken?, 2004) is the fifth movie, and mainly focused on Zoro, who goes missing, as the Straw Hat's restock. On their search for him, Sanji follows Maya, a girl of the island, to a village. There, Zoro appears, accompanied by a group of marines. Zoro wields his sword against Sanji and takes three jewel balls from Maya. Luffy stumbles upon a training center of the local navy division. There, he encounters Saga, the leader of the center and owner of the Seven Star Sword, who made Zoro take the balls to revive that swords slumbering power. Luffy fights him, but falls from a cliff. The Seven Stars Sword was that, which had ruined the country of Asuka with its cursed power a long time ago and had therefore been sealed. But with a night of a red full moon, that occurs only once every hundred years, the jewel balls in his possession, and Zoro on his side, only the remaining Straw Hats stand in Saga's way to reviving the swords true power. The movie made 18 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[48]

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (オマツリ男爵と秘密の島 Omatsuri danshaku to himitsu no shima?, 2005) is the sixth One Piece movie to appear in japanese cinemas. The Straw Hats visit a recreational island, run by Baron Omatsuri, the former captain of a pirate crew, who were all killed years ago. Being the only survivor, he then started hating all close-knit groups of pirates and wishing to separate them. He and his henchmen seed distrust among the Straw Hats and capture them one by one, leaving only Luffy to free his crew from the Baron's hold. The movie made 12 billion yen in the Japanese Total Box Office.[49]

The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle (カラクリ城のメカ巨兵 Karakuri-jō no meka kyohei?, 2006) is the seventh movie and features an unusually large amount of fanservice for the series (as Nami's breast bounce to practically the slightest movement). The Straw Hats visits an island, known as Mecha Island, where a fisherman sings an old folk song about a Golden Crown. Searching for that mysterious treasure, they find a hidden entrance into the island. The island's leader, Ratchet, impressed with the find and in search of the Golden Crown himself, invites the crew to join him in his search and the crew along with Ratchet and his henchmen enter the cave. As it turns out, the islands true form, is that of a giant turtle. Ratchet, who had known this all along, uses his mechanical castle to take control of the turtle, in order to use it, to take over the world. Now the Straw Hats have to stop not only Ratchet, but also the helpless turtle, from crashing into a nearby island.

Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates (エピソードオブアラバスタ 砂漠の王女と海賊たち Episōdo obu Arabasuta Sabaku no ōjo to kaizoku-tachi?, 2007) is the eighth movie and a retelling of the Alabasta storyline. - The Straw Hats travel to Alabasta, the desert island and home of Nefertari Vivi. They find the country in the middle of a revolution. Sir Crocodile, the country's hero, secretly used his criminal organization, Baroque Works, to undermine the citizens trust in Cobra, Vivi's father and head of the Kingdom of Sand, in order to seize the throne and the countries hidden secret for himself. The crew now has to cross the desert, stop the revolution, save thousands of lives from Baroque Works hidden bombers, and most of all, defeat Crocodile, the mighty Shichibukai. - Funimation released the film to selected theaters across the United States on February 7, 2008 and to DVD on February 19, 2008. A Blu-Ray version is stated to be released on January 27, 2009.[50]

Episode of Chopper: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Sakura (エピソードオブチョッパー＋　冬に咲く、奇跡の桜 Episōdo Obu Choppā Purasu: Fuyu ni Saku, Kiseki no Sakura?, 2008) is the ninth One Piece movie and the second to focus on Chopper, as it is a retelling of the Drum Island storyline from the manga. It features Franky, Nico Robin, and the Thousand Sunny, who weren't present in the original version.

Music

Four Music & Song Collections, containing various music pieces from the anime and the first feature film have been released.

For each feature film, starting with the second and thus far ending with the eighth, there has been released a Movie Single, from various artists, as well as an original soundtrack.

For all of the first seven Straw Hats there has been released a Character Song Single, a single sung by the seiyū of each character, in the corresponding voice. Also, seven Character Song Albums, albums containing songs, sung by more than one of the Straw Hat's seiyū's, have been released.

The first seven opening songs, as well as the first 18 ending themes, have been released in single form.

Additionally, there have been 15 releases of various music collection cds, ranging from best-ofs to video game soundtracks.

Video games

Main article: List of One Piece video games

One Piece has been adapted into a whole series of video games published by subsidiaries of Namco Bandai Holdings. The games have been released on a variety of video game and handheld consoles. The series features various genres, mostly role-playing games—the predominant type in the series' early years—and fighting games, such as the titles of the Grand Battle! sub-series.

The series debuted in Japan on July 19, 2000 with One Piece: Mezase Kaizoku Ou!.[51] At the moment, the series contains 27 games, not counting Battle Stadium D.O.N, the title One Piece shares with its related anime series Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. The second episode of the most recently released game One Piece: Unlimited Cruise is currently in production and is supposed to be released sometime during the winter of 2008/2009.[52] Furthermore, two unnamed titles have been announced for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable handheld consoles.[53][54]

Art and guidebooks

Three art books and three guidebooks for the One Piece series have been released. The first art book, One Piece: Color Walk 1, released June 2001,[55] has also been released in English on November 8, 2005.[56] The second art book, One Piece: Color Walk 2, was released on November 4, 2003,[57] and the third, One Piece: Color Walk 3 - Lion, was released January 5, 2006.[58] The first guidebook, One Piece: Red - Grand Characters was released in Japan on March 2, 2002.[59] Released on August 2, 2002, One Piece: Blue - Grand Data File not only included various character and series information, but also eight new four-panel manga side stories, the Luffy Pirates 4-Panel Theater (ルフィ海賊団四コマ劇場 Rufi Kaizokudan Yon-Koma Gekijō?).[60] Each of the shorts featured one of the Straw Hat Pirates in absurd situations. The third guidebook, One Piece: Yellow - Grand Elements, was released April 4, 2007.[61]

Reception

One Piece is the third highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan[62] and is currently their most acclaimed and all-time third-best-selling title. The manga is the first to increase the sales of Weekly Shōnen Jump in eleven years.[63] Volume 27 holds a manga sales record in Japan, with 2.63 million units sold in its first printing alone;[21] as of volume 46, the series has sold over 140 million copies domestically;[21] and is the fastest manga to reach sales of 100 million.[21]

The manga was a finalist for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize three times in a row from 2000 to 2002,[64][65][66] with the highest number of fan nominations in the first two years.[67] And the German translation of its 44th volume won the Sondermann audience award on the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005.[68] In a 2008 poll by Oricon, Japanese teenagers elected it the most interesting manga.[69]

The first opening of the TV anime, We Are (ウィーアー!?), won the Animation Kobe Theme Song Award of the year 2000.[70] In February 2001, One Piece placed 9th among TV anime in Japan.[71] In 2001, the readers of Animage, a popular Japanese anime magazine, voted the TV anime in 5th place of "The Readers' Picks for the Anime that should be remembered in the 21st Century".[72] In June 2002, the Animage readers voted One Piece to be the 16th best new anime of the year 2001,[73] and gave it another 16th place in 2004 in the category "Favorite Anime Series".[74] In a 2005 web poll by Japanese television network TV Asahi One Piece was voted 6th "most popular animated TV series".[75] Before the poll, Asahi TV broadcast another list based on a nation-wide survey in which One Piece placed 4th among teenagers.[76] In 2006, it was elected 32nd of the Top 100 Japanese anime by TV Asahi and 21st by its viewers.[77][78] In September of the same year the Newtype magazine placed it 5th.[79] It was the most downloaded TV torrent for the week ending July 7, 2008.[80]

The first feature film, which was shown together with Digimon Adventure in a double bill, made it to the first place of the Japanese Box Office for two weekends and the week in between.[81] The sixth feature film One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island made it to a third place in the Japanese Box Office on its first week of showing.[82] In its second week, it placed 4th.[83] The eighth movie, Episode of Arabasta - The Desert Princess and the Pirates, made a second place on the weekend it came into the Japanese cinemas.[84] All in all it stayed in the Top 10 for four weeks.[85][86]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.4, Chapter 27, Fan question: What are the ages of Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Shanks?((JP) ISBN 4-08-872594-8 (US) ISBN 1-59116-337-4 )
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 SBS question: One Piece Manga - Vol.7 - Chapter 55, Fan question: How old is Sanji-san?((JP) ISBN 4-08-872683-9 (US) ISBN 1-59116-852-X )
  3. ↑ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.19 - Chapter 167, Fan question: I've been wondering, how old are Vivi and Chopper? ((JP) ISBN 4-08-873133-6 )
  4. ↑ One Piece Manga - Vol. 24 - Chapter 218
  5. ↑ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.44 - Chapter 427, Fan question:Umm, I have a little question about Franky-san. He was adopted at age 10, began building the sea train at age 12, finished the Express 10 years later, and 4 years after that met with the accident from "8 years ago," which would mean... HE'S 34 YEARS OLD!! Can someone really be so nutty at that age? Before doing the calculations, I assumed he was 18 or something...((JP) ISBN 4-08-874287-7 )
  6. ↑ One Piece Manga - Chapter 487
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Morgan versus Luffy! Who's the Mysterious Pretty Girl?". One Piece anime.
  8. ↑ "Foreboding of a New Adventure! The Puzzling Girl, Apis". One Piece anime.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Oda, Eiichirō (2000). "Chapter 101". One Piece. 12. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-872822-X. 
  10. ↑ "The Holy Beast! Apis' Secret and the Legendary Island". One Piece anime.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "A Man's Promise, Luffy and the Whale Vow to Meet Again". One Piece anime.
  12. ↑ Oda, Eiichirō (1998). "Chapter 19". One Piece. 3. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-872569-7. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 SBS questions: One Piece manga - Vol.30 Chapter 280
  14. ↑ "Zoan Type Devil's Fruit! Chopper's Seven-Level Transformation". One Piece anime.
  15. ↑ SBS questions: One Piece manga - Vol.35 Chapter 334
  16. ↑ Oda, Eiichirō (1997). "Chapter 1". One Piece. 1. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-872509-3. 
  17. ↑ "The Key to Turning the Tide and a Great Escape! Doru Doru Ball!". One Piece anime.
  18. ↑ Oda, Eiichirō. Wanted!. p. p. 202. ISBN 978-4088726311. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "One Piece's 'Prototype' Romance Dawn to be Animated". Anime News Network (2008-07-10). Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
  20. ↑ Oda, Eiichirō (in Japanese). Pirates vs. CP9 (海賊　VS　CP9 Kaizoku VS CP9?). One Piece. Tokyo: Shueisha. pp. 126. ISBN 4088741277. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Kanta Ishida (2007-07-25). "One Piece Q&A with Eiichirō Oda (「ONE PIECE」尾田栄一郎さんに聞く?)" (in Japanese). Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Shonen Jump Volume 5, Issue 12. December 2007. VIZ Media. 198.
  23. ↑ "ONE PIECE／52" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-12-03.
  24. ↑ "ONE PIECE／1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on August 25, 2008.
  25. ↑ "One Piece". Viz Media. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  26. ↑ "Shonen Jump Line-up Tied to Cartoon Network". ICv2 (2002-08-07). Retrieved on 2008-07-01.
  27. ↑ "Shonen Jump #1 in Third Printing". ICv2 (2002-12-10). Retrieved on 2008-07-01.
  28. ↑ "Amazon.com: One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance Dawn: Eiichiro Oda: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2008.
  29. ↑ "VIZ Media . products: One Piece Volume 19". Viz Media. Retrieved on August 26, 2008.
  30. ↑ "Amazon.com: One Piece, Volume 20 (One Piece (Graphic Novels)): eiichiro Oda: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2008.
  31. ↑ "One Piece (Manga)". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
  32. ↑ "One Piece Volume 14 (Abandoned): v. 14 (Manga): Eiichiro Oda". Amazon. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
  33. ↑ "Amazon.co.uk: One Piece Volume 1: v. 1 (Manga): Eiichiro Oda". Amazon. Retrieved on 2008-11-02.
  34. ↑ Oda, Eiichirō (2007). One Piece YELLOW: Grand Elements. Tokyo: Shueisha. ISBN 408874098X. 
  35. ↑ "Amazon.co.jp: One Piece -倒せ! GYANZAKKU pirate (JANPUJEIBUKKUSU) (book (paperback))". Retrieved on 2008-08-20.
  36. ↑ "4Kids Announces Fox Box Schedule". Anime News Network (2004-09-02). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  37. ↑ "White Pirates, Black Pirates?". Anime News Network (2005-08-26). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  38. ↑ NewType USA February 2007 edition page 118 confirmation of the end of One Piece, Status of uncut version and overall status of anime at the time of announcement.
  39. ↑ "Anime on DVD Reviews – One Piece: Season 1 Part 1". Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  40. ↑ "Amazon.com: One Piece: Season 1, Second Voyage". Retrieved on 2008-07-23.
  41. ↑ "Cartoon Network Has No Plans for One Piece's Return (Updated)" (2008-03-29). Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  42. ↑ "In memory of 40 years of Weekly Shōnen Jump" (in Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
  43. ↑ "Jump Super Anime Tour - Great Gathering of Jump-Heroes" (in Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
  44. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2000.html
  45. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2001.html
  46. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2002.html
  47. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2003.html
  48. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2004.html
  49. ↑ http://www.eiren.org/toukei/2005.html
  50. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/One-Piece-Movie-8-Blu-ray/dp/B001K98M7I/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1225936390&sr=1-25
  51. ↑ "From TV Animation: One Piece for WonderSwan". GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
  52. ↑ "バンダイレーベル" (in Japanese). Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-09-29.
  53. ↑ "GameSpy: One Piece". GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
  54. ↑ "GameSpy: One Piece". GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
  55. ↑ "ONEPIECEイラスト集／COLORWALK／1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  56. ↑ "One Piece Color Walk Art Book, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  57. ↑ "ONEPIECEイラスト集／COLORWALK／2" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  58. ↑ "ONEPIECEイラスト集／COLORWALK／3／LION" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  59. ↑ "ONE PIECE　RED　GRAND　CHARACTERS" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  60. ↑ "ONE PIECE　BLUE　GRAND　DATA　FILE" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  61. ↑ "ONE PIECE　BLUE　GRAND　DATA　FILE" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  62. ↑ "Shōnen Jump Manga Circulation Numbers". ComiPress (2007-05-06). Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
  63. ↑ "Weekly Shōnen Magazine Circulation Drops Below 2,000,000". ComiPress (2007-04-17). Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
  64. ↑ "2000 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes". Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  65. ↑ "2001 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes". Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  66. ↑ "2002 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes". Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  67. ↑ "2001 Tezuka Award Nominees are in". Anime News Network (2001-03-17). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  68. ↑ "Comic-Preis Sondermann an sieben Preisträger verliehen" (in German). Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  69. ↑ "Oricon: most interesting manga". Tokyograph. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  70. ↑ "アニメーション神戸賞" (in Japanese). Animation Kobe. Retrieved on 2008-11-22.
  71. ↑ "Top 10 Anime in Japan". Anime News Network (2001-03-16). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  72. ↑ "More details Regarding Animage Top 100". Anime News Network (2001-01-16). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  73. ↑ "June Animage Ranks Anime". Anime News Network (2002-05-10). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  74. ↑ "Animage Awards". Anime News Network (2004-05-12). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  75. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network (2005-09-23). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  76. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime - Part 2". Anime News Network (2005-09-23). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  77. ↑ "日本全国徹底調査！好きなアニメランキング100" (in Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  78. ↑ "月バラ2時間スペシャル　芸能界アニメ通が集結!徹底調査アニメランキング100" (in Japanese). Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  79. ↑ . Newtype (September 2006). 
  80. ↑ "'One Piece' Most Downloaded TV Series". ICv2. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
  81. ↑ "Digimon on Top in Japan". Anime News Network (2001-03-27). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  82. ↑ "Japanese Box Office". Anime News Network (2005-03-08). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  83. ↑ "Japanese Box Office". Anime News Network (2005-03-16). Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  84. ↑ "One Piece Movie 8 Box Office Results". Anime News Network (2007-03-07). Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  85. ↑ "Japanese Box Office Update". Anime News Network (2007-03-26). Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  86. ↑ "Japanese Box Office Update". Anime News Network (2007-04-02). Retrieved on 2008-11-21.

External links

One Piece by Eiichirō Oda
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