One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga-led entertainment franchise created by Eiichiro Oda.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda and published by Shueisha. The story follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate whose rubber-like body results from eating a Devil Fruit, as he sails with the Straw Hat Pirates in search of the legendary treasure known as the One Piece. Luffy seeks to become the next King of the Pirates, while his crew members pursue their own ambitions and confront pirates, criminal organizations, governments, military forces, revolutionaries, and other powers across a vast fictional world. The series began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1997 after Oda developed earlier one-shot stories titled Romance Dawn. Its setting combines adventure fiction, comedy, fantasy, political conflict, and serialized mystery. The world is divided by the Red Line and the Grand Line into several seas and includes humans, giants, fish-men, merfolk, animal-like Minks, long-limbed peoples, and other races. The World Government and its Navy exert authority over much of the known world, while pirates range from opportunistic criminals to people resisting that authority. Supernatural systems such as Devil Fruits and Haki provide the series with much of its combat and mythology. One Piece expanded beyond its original manga into a major media and merchandising franchise. Toei Animation began broadcasting the television anime in October 1999. Toei has also produced animated feature films and an original video animation, while other companies have developed video games, trading-card products, books, apparel, toys, events, and other licensed goods. Netflix released a live-action television adaptation in 2023. A separate anime project produced by Wit Studio was announced for a planned 2027 premiere. The franchise is recognized for its long-form storytelling, worldbuilding, visual style, ensemble cast, humor, and treatment of freedom, authority, inherited will, friendship, and social injustice. It has become one of the most commercially successful and internationally recognized manga properties. According to the supplied reference material, more than 600 million copies were in circulation worldwide by March 2026. The series has also set publishing and sales records, including Guinness World Records relating to copies published by a single comic author. Its continued serialization, adaptations, licensing, and merchandising have made One Piece a durable global entertainment property rather than only a print title.
History
Eiichiro Oda developed his interest in pirate stories during childhood, influenced in part by the animated series Vicky the Viking and by biographies of historical pirates. Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball was another important creative influence. Before One Piece, Oda worked as an assistant to manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki and developed two one-shot stories titled Romance Dawn. These prototypes introduced Luffy and several ideas that would later become central to the serialized work. One Piece was accepted for serialization after editorial discussions at Weekly Shōnen Jump and began publication on July 22, 1997. Shueisha collected the early chapters into tankōbon volumes, with the first volume appearing in December of that year. The series follows Luffy and the gradually expanding Straw Hat crew as they travel from the East Blue toward the Grand Line and beyond. The crew's adventures are structured around individual island settings, large-scale conflicts, historical mysteries, and recurring questions about freedom and political authority. Oda's fictional world combines conventional pirate imagery with elaborate geography and social systems. The Red Line and Grand Line divide the seas, while the World Government, Navy, Cipher Pol, pirate crews, revolutionary forces, and major imperial figures compete for power. Devil Fruits grant unusual abilities but weaken users in water, and Haki represents a separate power associated with willpower, perception, armament, and combat. The series also incorporates numerous species and cultures, allowing individual adventures to connect with broader themes of discrimination, oppression, inherited history, and resistance. Production has involved a demanding manga schedule. Oda has described a working process centered on storyboarding, inking, coloring, and close control over moving characters, while assistants generally handle backgrounds based on his sketches. His technique also uses wordplay, multilingual expressions, unusual readings of Japanese characters, and visual gags. Many attacks and names are designed to work simultaneously as jokes and dramatic labels, creating translation challenges for international editions. The manga's planned duration changed as the narrative expanded. Oda initially expected the series to conclude in roughly five years, but later acknowledged that the scale of the story and his attachment to it had made that estimate unrealistic. Public comments in 2016 and 2018 placed the story at approximately 65 percent and 80 percent of the intended plot, respectively. Shueisha announced in 2020 that the manga was moving toward its final saga. In 2022, Oda announced a short break connected with preparation for the anniversary and final-saga transition. The supplied reference material states that the manga had reached 115 collected volumes by July 2026. The property grew into a multimedia franchise through the television anime that premiered in 1999, animated films, an original video animation, games, trading cards, publishing, live events, and licensed merchandise. Viz Media handled English-language manga publication in North America and later digital simultaneous publication, while other regional publishers and distributors served the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Netflix's live-action adaptation, released in 2023, brought the property to a wider general-audience television market. A Wit Studio anime project was scheduled for 2027. One Piece has received sustained critical and reader praise for its narrative ambition, worldbuilding, art, characterization, humor, and emotional continuity. It has repeatedly led Japanese manga sales rankings and achieved unusually high initial print runs and volume sales. The supplied reference material reports worldwide circulation above 600 million copies by March 2026, making it one of the most successful comic and manga properties ever published. No conclusion to the main story is identified in the supplied material, so the brand remains active.
- 2023
Live-action adaptation launches
[1]Netflix releases a live-action television adaptation.
- 2021
One thousandth chapter
[1]The manga reaches chapter 1,000.
- 2020
Final saga is announced as approaching
[1]Shueisha describes the manga as moving toward its upcoming final saga.
- 2015
Guinness World Record recognition
[1]The series receives Guinness World Record recognition for copies published for the same comic series by a single author.
- 2002
English-language manga publication expands
[1]Viz Media begins publishing the manga in English through its Shonen Jump anthology.
- 1999
Television anime premieres
[1]Toei Animation's television adaptation begins broadcasting.
- 1997
Manga serialization begins
[1]One Piece begins serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and its first collected volume is published later that year.
- 1996
Romance Dawn prototypes are published
[1]Two one-shot stories introduced Luffy and concepts that became foundations for One Piece.
Products and positioning
A long-running, globally marketed manga and anime adventure franchise centered on piracy, freedom, friendship, mystery, and expansive fantasy worldbuilding.
Manga · 1997
One Piece manga
The original written and illustrated work by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997 and collected by Shueisha into tankōbon volumes. The manga is the foundation for the franchise's characters, setting, story arcs, adaptations, and licensing program.
Television anime · 1999
One Piece anime
Produced by Toei Animation, the television anime premiered in October 1999 and adapts the manga's continuing adventure. It has helped establish One Piece as an international screen franchise and supports associated films, games, music, home video, streaming, and merchandise.
Animated films
One Piece animated films
Toei has developed 14 animated feature films and one original video animation connected with the franchise. These projects extend the property into theatrical and special-event formats, often presenting standalone or expanded adventures involving the established cast.
Live-action television · 2023
One Piece live-action series
Netflix's live-action adaptation translates the manga's early adventure material into serialized television with physical performers and large-scale production. Its 2023 release broadened the franchise's reach beyond established manga and anime audiences.
Trading cards
One Piece trading card game
The franchise has been extended into collectible and competitive trading-card products developed through licensing and merchandising partners.
Brand decisions
2023
Launch of the Netflix live-action adaptationProduct launchBackground
The established manga and anime property was adapted for a broader live-action television audience.
Action taken
Netflix released a live-action One Piece series.
Aftermath
The franchise expanded into a prominent live-action format; specific financial results are not included in the supplied material.
2020
Transition toward the final sagaStrategyBackground
After more than two decades of serialization, the publisher and creator indicated that the overarching story was moving toward its final saga.
Action taken
Shueisha publicly described One Piece as heading toward the upcoming final saga, while Oda later used a planned break to prepare for the anniversary and the next phase of the story.
Aftermath
The manga continued serialization and remained an active multimedia franchise; the supplied material does not identify a final publication date.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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