One Piece

One Piece (Japanese: ワンピース, Hepburn: Wan Pīsu) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 96 tankōbon volumes as of April 2020. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. With his crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of the world’s ultimate treasure known as “One Piece” in order to become the next King of the Pirates.

The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film produced by Production I.G, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in Japan in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004, before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, art, characterization, and humor. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. The official website for Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga announced that the manga has set the Guinness World Record for “the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author”. As of April 2020, the manga had over 473 million copies in circulation in 43 countries worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history. It became the best-selling manga for the eleventh consecutive year in 2018. One Piece is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, estimated to have generated more than $21 billion in total franchise revenue, from the manga, anime, films, games and merchandise.

Synopsis

Premise

The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy, a young man who, inspired by his childhood idol and powerful pirate “Red Haired” Shanks, sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the titular treasure and proclaim himself the King of the Pirates. In an effort to organize his own crew, the Straw Hat Pirates (麦わら海賊団, Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan), Luffy rescues and befriends a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, and they head off in search of the One Piece. They are joined in their journey by Nami, a navigator and thief; Usopp, a sniper and a pathological liar; and Vinsmoke Sanji, a womanizing chef. They acquire a ship named the Going Merry (ゴーイング・メリー号, Gōingu Merī-gō) and engage in confrontations with notorious pirates of the East Blue. As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, a doctor and anthropomorphized reindeer; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeletal musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a fish-man helmsman and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Once the Going Merry becomes damaged beyond repair, the Straw Hat Pirates acquire a new ship named the Thousand Sunny (サウザンドサニー号, Sauzando Sanī-gō). Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents and soldiers of the corrupt World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

Setting

The world of One Piece is populated by humans and many other races, such as fish-men (a race of fish/human hybrids, similar to mermen and mermaids), dwarves, minks (a race of humanoid animals), and giants. It is covered by two vast oceans, which are divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line(赤い土の大陸レッドライン, Reddo Rain), which is also the only continent in the world.[3] The Grand Line (偉大なる航路グランドライン, Gurando Rain), a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line, further divides them into four seas: North Blue (北の海ノースブルー, Nōsu Burū), East Blue (東の海イーストブルー, Īsuto Burū), West Blue (西の海ウェストブルー, Uesuto Burū) and South Blue(南の海サウスブルー, Sausu Burū).[4] Surrounding the Grand Line are two regions called Calm Belts (凪の帯カームベルト, kāmu beruto), similar to horse latitudes, which experience almost no wind or ocean currents and are the breeding ground for huge sea creatures called sea kings (海王類, kaiōrui, lit. “sea kings”). Because of this, the calm belts are very effective barriers for those trying to enter the Grand Line.[5] However, navy ships, members of an intergovernmental organization known as the World Government, are able to use a sea-prism stone (海楼石, kairōseki) to mask their presence from the sea kings and can simply pass through the calm belts. All other ships are forced to take a more dangerous route, going through a mountain at the first intersection of the Grand Line and the Red Line, a canal system known as Reverse Mountain (リヴァース・マウンテン, Rivāsu Maunten).[6] Sea water from each of the four seas runs up that mountain and merges at the top to flow down a fifth canal and into the first half of the Grand Line.[7] The second half of the Grand Line, beyond the second intersection with the Red Line, is known as the New World (新世界, Shin Sekai).[8]

The currents and weather of the Grand Line’s open sea are extremely unpredictable, whereas in the vicinity of islands the climate is stable.[9] The magnetic fields within the Grand Line cause normal compasses to malfunction, making it even more difficult to navigate,[10] and instead a special compass called a Log Pose(記録指針ログポース, Rogu Pōsu) must be used.[11] The Log Pose functions by locking on to one island’s magnetic field and then locking on to another island’s magnetic field.[12] The time for it to set depends on the island.[13] This process can be bypassed by obtaining an Eternal Pose (永久指針エターナルポース, Etānaru Pōsu), a Log Pose variation that is permanently set to a specific island and never changes.[14]

The world of One Piece includes anachronisms, such as the Transponder Snails (電伝虫, Den-Den Mushi), snail-like animals that can be attached to electric equipment and function as rotary phones,[15] fax machines,[15] surveillance cameras,[16] and similar devices.[16] Dials (貝ダイアル, daiaru), the shells of certain sky-dwelling animals, can be used to store kinetic energy, wind, sound, images, heat, and the like and have various applications.[17]

Devil Fruits

A Devil Fruit (悪魔の実, Akuma no Mi) is a type of fruit that, when eaten, grants a power to the eater.[18] A person may only eat one Devil Fruit during their lifetime, as eating a second Devil Fruit will swiftly end their life.[19] There are three categories of Devil Fruits;[20]

• Paramecia (超人系パラミシア, Paramishia, “superhuman type”) is a category of fruits that gives the user superhuman abilities, such as Luffy’s rubber powers.[21]
• Zoan (動物系ゾオン, Zoon, “animal type”) fruits allow the user to fully or partially transform into a specific animal. Certain Zoan fruits allow the user to transform into mythical creatures. Through an unknown technique developed by scientist Dr. Vegapunk, inanimate objects can also “eat” a Devil Fruit, such as Spandam‘s sword Funkfreed, which can transform into an elephant.[22]
• Logia (自然系ロギア, Rogia, “nature type”) fruits give control over and allow the user “to change their living body structure into the powers of nature”, like Ace’s control over fire.[20]

Devil Fruits are said to be incarnations of the sea devil himself, and as a result, Devil Fruit users cannot swim in sea water, as “they are hated by the sea”.[23] Sea-prism stone also has this effect. When even partially submerged in sea water, they lose all their strength and coordination, although some abilities remain. For example, Luffy is still able to stretch after being totally submerged. Moving water, such as rain or waves, does not have this effect. When a Devil Fruit user dies, the powers reincarnate into a new Devil Fruit. For unknown reasons, Devil Fruit users cannot eat a second Devil Fruit because it would cause their bodies to burst, although series antagonist Blackbeard manages to obtain a second Devil Fruit power through an unknown method. Devil Fruit powers can also be “awakened”, greatly increasing the power and utility of the user’s abilities.[24]

Haki

Haki (覇気, lit. “Ambition”) is a latent ability that every living being in the world of One Piece possesses; very few manage to awaken it, and even fewer master it. There are three varieties of Haki: Color of Observation (見聞色の覇気, Kenbunshoku no Haki) allows one to sense the presence of other beings and to have a form of limited precognition. Color of Arms (武装色の覇気, Busōshoku no Haki) allows one to envelop body parts and even inanimate forms with a force akin to an invisible armor that possesses defensive and offensive properties. It also allows one to inflict harm upon Devil Fruit users. The rare Color of the Supreme King (覇王色の覇気, Haōshoku no Haki) is an ability that, unlike the other two Haki, only a few gifted people have. The Color of the Supreme King enables one to overpower the will of the weak-willed. It can be used to force others into submission or even render victims unconscious. Strong-willed people can withstand, or even completely ignore, the effects of this Haki, even if they do not possess the ability themselves. This Haki can also have physical impacts, such as causing shock waves and destruction to the user’s surroundings.