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One Piece
File:One Piece Title 9.PNGOne Piece anime logo, from the 9th opening
Genre	Adventure, Comedy
Created by	Eiichiro Oda
Manga
One Piece
Written by	Eiichiro Oda
Published by	Shueisha
Anime
Directed by	Konosuke Uda Munehisa Sakai
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzak
Directed by	Goro Taniguchi
Studio	Production I.G
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 the Island of Perpetual Winter (2008)
One Piece TCG
There has recently been a One Piece card game introduced, created by Bandai, but due to lack of players, sales, and quality, it has been put on hold. Published in: Bandai Amigo Spiele
Special Episodes
Adventure in the Ocean's Navel Open Upon the Great Sea! A Father's Huge, HUGE Dream! Protect! The Last Great Performance The Detective Memoirs of Chief Straw Hat Luffy
Video Games
See: List of One Piece games

One Piece (ワンピース, Wan Pīsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda with an anime adaptation. The series focuses on a ragtag crew of heroic pirates called the Straw Hat Pirates, formed and led by a captain named Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain the world's ultimate treasure, One Piece, and become the Pirate King.

Growth and popularity

The One Piece manga began its serial run in issue #34 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on August 4, 1997, while the anime adaptation produced by Toei Animation premiered on Fuji TV on October 20, 1999.

Eiichiro 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. Nevertheless, the author states (as of July 2007) that the ending is still 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.

One Piece is the third highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shonen Jump, (behind Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo and Dragon Ball) and is currently their most acclaimed and all-time third-best-selling title in Japan. The manga is so well-liked that it is the first to increase the sales of Weekly Shonen Jump in eleven years. Volume 25 of One Piece holds a manga sales record in Japan, with 2,630,000 units sold in its first printing alone; as of Volume 46, the series has sold over 140,000,000 copies domestically, and is the fastest manga to reach sales of 100,000,000.

Manga

Viz translation

The One Piece manga, written and illustrated Eiichiro Oda, is originally published by Shueisha in Japanese for sale in Japan. In the west, the English adaptation is published and distributed for sale in North America and Australia by VIZ Media in both the form of the American Shonen Jump magazine and graphic novels. The first artbook, Color Walk 1 has also been released in English. The second and third books have yet to be released in North America.

Anime

As the success of One Piece rose within its serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump, it would soon 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 with an OVA. In was translated into English and brought over the pacific in 2004, when it debuted on 4Kids TV. Since then, it has migrated to Cartoon Network's Toonami block.

Episodes

As of November 18, 2007, One Piece has had a total of 331 TV episodes. Episodes from 207 onwards have been broadcast in high-definition at 720p resolution, in addition to standard definition.

A filler arc named "Ice Hunter" started on October 14, 2007 and will last up to 2008. Eichiro Oda will be helping Toei with the production of these fillers. The airing of filler arcs is to allow the author a chance to publish more material.

Though most anime series air a new episode every week, the most recent One Piece episodes air at an average of four episodes a month or, in some cases, air as several back-to-back episodes followed by a break of several weeks.

In the fall of 2006, Toei Animation produced a series of five recap episodes, retelling the back stories of each of the Straw Hat crew members using clips from old episodes, tied into the current storyline by framing the recaps as flashbacks each of the characters were having just before storming the Tower of Justice. The recaps also marked a change in the series' time slot.

Movies

Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced nine One Piece feature films, released each spring since the year 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 features, showcasing the characters engaged in various activities unrelated to the series (specifically dancing, playing soccer, and playing baseball). These shorts are similar in style to the shorts of the Pokemon movies, as the Pokemon are shown performing activities they are never shown doing in the anime (vacationing, racing, etc). These movies, and their attached features, are as follows:

1. One Piece: The Movie (ワンピース, 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.
2. Clockwork Island Adventure (ねじまき島の冒険, Nejimaki-shima no bōken, 2001) - When their 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: Jango's Dance Carnival (ジャンゴのダンスカーニバル, Jango no dansu kānibaru) - Jango hypnotizes an entire island, including the Straw Hats, into dancing so he may escape the Marines.
3. 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) - 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 Pirates challenge various enemies from the show to a penalty shoot-out.
4. Dead End Adventure (デッドエンドの冒険, Deddo endo no bōken, 2003) - In order to gain money, the crew enters a pirate race called the Dead End Race.
5. 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 unleashed.
   • 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 Clay as announcers.
6. Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island ( Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help), Error: {{nihongo}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 4) (help)) - 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.
7. 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.
8. 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) - An edited version of the Alabasta arc with new animation.
9. Episode of the Island of Perpetual Winter (2008) - A retelling of the Drum Island Arc.

TV specials

Every year or two, a one-hour special episode is aired in place of a normal episode.

1. 'Adventure in the Ocean's Navel (aired after Episode 53) - The Straw Hats encounter a city in the middle of a whirlpool, called the Ocean's Navel, that is being destroyed by giant monsters. These monsters supposedly protect a treasure capable of granting wishes, but in the process of defeating these guardians, the crew ends up releasing another evil.
2. Open Upon the Great Sea! A Father's Huge, HUGE Dream! (aired after Episode 149) - The crew comes across three children and two adults, posing as a family. As it turns out, the oldest child knows the location of a great treasure discovered by her late father, and they are on the run from a pirate with a dangerous ability.
3. Protect it! The Last Great Performance (aired after Episode 174) - It is the last performance of a great actor and playwright, but several actors suddenly quit. The Straw Hats offer to take their places. The quitting actors turns out to be more than a coincidence when they meet a Marine with a grudge against the playwright.
4. The Detective Memoirs of Chief Straw Hat Luffy (aired after Episode 253) - In an alternate reality world that resembles Edo Period Japan, Luffy acts as a member of the police. This is made up of two adventures: in the first, Buggy makes trouble in the town; in the second, a mysterious girl named Vivi appears. This special contains several cameos from characters throughout the entire series.
5. Boss Luffy Returns! A Dream or Reality Lottery Trouble (Although it continues the story of Special #4, isn't considered as Special #5, but instead Episode 291 by the official count)
6. The Great Race at the Rice Cake Firewood Castle! Red Nose's Conspiracy (Although it continues the story of Special #4, isn't considered as Special #5, but instead Episode 292 by the official count)
7. The Criminal is Boss Luffy? Chase the Vanished Great Sakura Tree (Considered as Special #5, although this is episode 303 with the addition of Jpop singers "Tackey and Tsubasa" in the opening theme song.) Similar to Detective Memoirs of Straw Hat Luffy, this takes place in an alternate reality in feudal Japan with cameos of previous characters. Luffy and the others are samurai living in a feudal Japanese town. The town's giant Sakura tree is stolen, and Luffy goes to search for it.

English adaptations

Odex English version

In Singapore, the anime is licensed by Odex, which produces its English dub. It contains fewer edits to names and animation with most if not all reference to blood, violence and death being left unedited. However, Luffy and Sanji's names are pronounced incorrectly; Luffy's is pronounced similarly to the word "fluffy" (which sounds like "La-fee" as opposed to "Loof-y"), and Sanji's name is pronounced with the "an" sounding similar to how it would be used in the word "sand" ("San-gee" as opposed to "Sahn-ji").

4Kids English version

The anime was adapted by 4Kids Entertainment and previously shown on Cartoon Network's Toonami, and "reruns" are airing on their online broadband service Toonami Jetstream in the United States and on networks in many other English-speaking countries around the world. The 4Kids version debuted in the US on the Fox network as part of the Fox Box block (now called 4Kids TV) on September 18, 2004. This version of the show varies considerably from the original Japanese series. Going well beyond simple edits to make the series more appropriate for children's television, 4Kids sought to revamp the series to better appeal to their target audience.

As of September 2006, 104 English-dubbed episodes have been produced from the first 143 Japanese episodes of One Piece; and a variety of sources explain that 4Kids had dropped the license afterwards, such as Anime Newtype Magazine. The anime's naming conventions are used in One Piece-related media in North America, such as the English version of the fighting game One Piece Grand Battle for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube.

FUNimation English version

On April 12, 2007, FUNimation Entertainment announced it was acquiring the license of One Piece and is currently producing the English version from episodes 144 onward, which premiered on Cartoon Network on September 29, 2007. The FUNimation version of One Piece features many differences from the 4Kids dub: the original opening and ending theme songs (in English) are used, the original Japanese background audio is used, the show has generally been rated TV-PG, and characters have different voice actors to replicate the original Japanese voice actors. According to FUNimation, no more arcs will be skipped, as was the case with the Little Garden arc in the 4Kids version.

FUNimation will also distribute the series in unedited bilingual DVD box sets, retailing for US$49.98 and containing 13 episodes each. The DVD box sets, will also feature unedited video & English audio track. The unedited English language track will restore renamed characters and objects renamed in the original dub to original names. These changes were not made in the TV edit, to allow continuity between the English broadcast of the TV series.

At Anime Expo 2007, FUNimation announced that the DVDs will be officially released starting at episode 144 in 2008. FUNimation also eventually plans to redub the first 143 episodes of the series and release them to DVD, however, currently, Viz still owns the distribution rights to them. FUNimation has also said that they will release Movie 8 sometime in 2008. They have also announced that they are working on the English Version of One Piece Unlimited Adventure {which will include all original playable characters and power ups as the Japanese version} and will be released on January 22nd, 2008.

Voice cast

Japanese staff

• Original story: Eiichiro Oda
• Planning: Yoshihiro Suzuki -> Kōji Kaneda -> Tsuyoshi Kumagai -> Yōko Matsuzaki -> Kentarō Shibuya (Fuji TV), Shinji Shimizu -> Atsutoshi Umezawa -> Yōsuke Asama
• Production management: Munehisa Higuchi -> Kazumi Fujioka -> Kenkichi Sakamoto -> Kazumitsu Matsuzaka
• Series composition: Hirohiko Uesaka
• Script: Junki Takegami, Michiru Shimada, Ryōta Yamaguchi, Yoshiyuki Suga, Hirohiko Uesaka, Naoki Koga
• Music: Kohei Tanaka, Shirō Hamaguchi
• Editing: Shin'ichi Fukumitsu -> Masahiro Gotō (TAVAC)
• Recording: Kenji Ninomiya -> Erina Watanabe (TAVAC)
• Sound effects: Hidenori Arai (Fizz Sound Creation)
• Music selection: Tadashi Jinbo (Audio Tanaka)
• Recording studio: TAVAC
• Character design: Noboru Koizumi
• Art design: Takashi Yoshiike
• Color coordination: Tsutomu Tsukata
• Series director: Kōnosuke Uda, Atsuji Shimizu (one-time) -> Munehisa Sakai
• Production support: Toei
• Production: Fuji TV, Toei Animation

Foreign language adaptations

The popularity of One Piece has led to adaptations of both the manga and anime into many other languages including (but not exclusive to) Korean, Chinese, English, German, French, Italian, Basque, Spanish, Thai, Tagalog, Catalan, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi and Finnish.

Influences

Real-life pirates

Oda has referenced many real-life pirates over the course of the manga as well as many other figures of the Golden age of Pirates. These have included; Bartholomew Roberts (Batholomew Kuma), Edward Teach (Marshall D. Teach and Edward Newgate), Samuel Bellamy (Bellamy the Hyena), Francois l'Ollonais (Roronoa Zoro), Henry Morgan (Captain Morgan), Bartolomeo Português (Portgas D. Ace), Samuel Burgess (Jesus Burgess), John Auger (Van Auger), Jean Lafitte (Lafitte), Francis Drake a.k.a "The Dragon" (Monkey D. Dragon), Woodes Rogers (Gold Roger) and the female pirate Awilda (Alvida). In addition, Calico Jack's famous flag, the two crossed swords and skull are believed to be referenced by the flag of Red-Haired Shanks. However out of these references, only Zoro, Morgan, Bellamy, and Teach have been confirmed by the creator.

Another pirate related reference comes from the Shichibukai. They are loosely based on the privateers of old Europe. The privateers were approved pirates, considered heroes in their homeland and pillagers in others. Their main goal was to plunder the villages and towns of the then mighty country of Spain.

The worlds "Great Age of Piracy" is comparable to the Golden Age of Piracy in the real world. The flow of pirates into the Grand Line, is equally compariable to the flow of pirates into the Caribbean.

Cultural references

Several cities within the story have been based on known cities and countries. The entire Alabasta arc had elements based on ancient Egypt and Arab architecture and clothing. Water 7 is based on the city of Venice, and Logue Town on the city of Florence. The Florian Triangle is based on The Bermuda Triangle where all the ships that went there disappeared. Overall the Thriller Bark arc refers to many references in the Fictional Horror including The Invisible Man (Absalom), Vampires (Hildon), Ghosts(Perona), Mad scientist (Dr.Hogback), Zombies, living skeletons (Brook) and demons(Gecko Moria).

The Shandian Tribe were based on Native American Indians. The war between them and the Skypieans is similar to the situation where Europeans began to take land away from the American Indians, leading to bloodshed and war. The city of Shandora is equally comparable to the claimed "cities of gold" which many Europeans were given the impression of about America. The Giants of Elbaf are based on the Vikings. Eiichiro Oda has been a fan of Viking culture since his childhood; he also produced a colourspread of various Straw Hats as Vikings.

A few references have also been made to Biblical sources, such as Sodom and Gomorrah: the two King Bulls belonging to the Franky Family, which are named after Biblical cities noted for being corrupt. Bartholomew Kuma was also seen holding a book resembling a Bible upon his first appearance, although this has not yet been elaborated upon in the storyline.

Allusions

Zoro appears to be an allusion to the masked swordsman Zorro. Although unconfirmed, the most obvious allusion being the name which is nearly identical and pronounced the same. Zoro also wears a black bandana around his arm that when going into battle with his swords he puts around his head casting a mask like shadow over his eyes, much like the bandana and mask Zorro puts over his own eyes when going into battle as Zorro. They are both master swordsmen and explicitly identified with that particular weapon.

Sir Crocodile of the Shichibukai appears to have references to the famous Captain Hook of the story Peter Pan, such as his left hand being a hook. He also keeps Bananawani, giant Crocodiles, believed to be a reference to the fact Hook always lived in fear of his mortal enemy the giant crocodile. These references however remain unconfirmed by the creator. Another member of the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria, has a Devil Fruit power which allows him to cut off shadows. Rendering them in a state similar to how shadows are shown also from the story of Peter Pan.

While most character design origins are questionable, there are two that remain obivous but unconfirmed by Oda. The first is Jango, who is clearly based on Michael Jackson (his appearance and the fact he is seen moonwalking upon first appearance). Alongside this is the fact the more recent story arc, Thriller Bark is seen as a tribute to his song Thriller in name and the fact it has zombies in it (at one point the zombies are seen dancing around the mansion on Thriller Bark, although not to the dance featured in the original song). The second is Tony Tony Chopper, who is based on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as both character not only have odd coloured noses, but are outcasts of their family because of it. Chopper's birthday is also Christmas Eve, the day Santa Claus delivers presents and during the Drum Island arc Chopper was seen pulling a sleigh.

Nico Robin formed the technique "Cien Fleur: Wing" and lifted up the character Franky. This mimicked a moment in Trigun, which ended a month before this appeared in One Piece, where two of the characters, Vash and Knives, fly away in the last chapter. Kankichi Ryotsu from Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo appears in a panel in Volume 44. Kochikame forged the incredible streak of over 30 years in publication leading to Ryotsu appearing in all the stories in the Shonen Jump magazine including One Piece. This was part of an organised tribute between the different mangaka of Shounen Jump magazine.

A possible reference to Full Metal Alchemist was made in Chapter 471, where the crew (minus Luffy and Nami) all forget Oz's name and come up with the names "Ross", "Hughes", and "Oss". "Hughes" and "Ross" may be a reference to Maes Hughes and Maria Ross.

Notes and references

1. Oda, Eiichiro. Volume 42. One Piece (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shueisha. p. 126. ISBN 4088741277. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ Kanta Ishida (2007-07-25). "One Piece Q&A with Eiichiro Oda (「ONE PIECE」尾田栄一郎さんに聞く[[Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text]])". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
3. "Shonen Jump Manga Circulation Numbers". ComiPress. 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help); External link in |work= (help)
4. "Weekly Shonen Magazine Circulation Drops Below 2,000,000". ComiPress. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
5. 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.
6. SBS One Piece Manga - Vol.4 - Chapter 28: The source of Zoro's name.
7. SBS One Piece Manga - Vol.25 - Chapter 230, Bellamy's name explained?
8. SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.28 - Chapter 260, Fan question: Are the Shichibukai based on the privateers of old England and France?
9. SBS questions: One Piece manga, Vol.43 Chapter 411 - Origins of Sodom and Gomorrah's names.
10. One Piece Manga - Chapter 453, Robin creates wings from her arms to briefly fly, thus alluding a tribute to Trigun in the progress. Oda has not confirmed this.

"Australia Loses Uncut One Piece (2006-01-23 14:02:45)." Madman Entertainment press release reported on ANN 23 January 2006. Accessed 24 January 2006.

Reception

External links

Template:Contains Japanese text

English

• One Piece Wikia- A Wiki related to One Piece
• Shonen Jump's One Piece site Official manga site in North America
• One Piece on YTV Secondary official anime site in Canada.
• Official One Piece Anime Website from FUNimation
• Archive of 4Kids corporate One Piece page
• One Piece Episode Comparisons
• Anime News Network

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 in Japan.
• 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.

• Manga series
• 1997 introductions
• 1999 television program debuts
• 2000s American television series
• Adventure anime and manga
• Anime of the 2000s
• Comedy anime and manga
• Manga of the 1990s
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• Viz Media manga
• YTV shows