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.[1] 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.[2]
One Piece is the third highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shonen Jump,[3] (behind Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo [Kochi Kame] 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.[4] 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.[2]
Manga
Main article: List of One Piece chapters
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.
It 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 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.
It 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
Main article: List of One Piece episodes
As of January 13, 2008, One Piece has had a total of 338 TV episodes. Episodes from 207 onwards have been broadcast in high-definition at 720p resolution, in addition to standard definition.
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
movies, and their attached features, are as follows:
- 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. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- A retelling of the Drum Island Arc featuring Franky, Nico Robin, and
the Thousand Sunny. Eichiro Oda himself participated in the writing.
TV specials
Every year or two, a one-hour special episode is aired in place of a normal episode.
- '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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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)
- 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)
- 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. - Chopperman Departs! Protect the TV Station by the Shore - Continuing from the Chopperman side comic, the reindeer hero fights against Usodabada after he takes over a local TV station.
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 varied considerably from the original Japanese series.[1]
In an attempt to appeal to their target audience, 4kids editted the
series considerably to make it more appropriate for children's
television. 4Kids announced in December 2006 that they had cancelled
production of their dub.
As of September 2006, 104 English-dubbed episodes have been produced from the first 143 Japanese episodes of One Piece;[2] and a variety of sources explain that 4Kids had dropped the license afterwards, such as Anime Newtype Magazine.[5] 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 had acquired 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.
FUNimation will also distribute the series in unedited bilingual DVD box sets, which will retail for US$49.98
and contain 13 episodes each. The DVD box sets will also feature
unedited video & English audio track. The unedited English language
track will restore character and objects renamed in the dub to their
original names. These changes were not made in the TV edit to allow
continuity in the English broadcast of the TV series.
At Anime Expo 2007, FUNimation announced that the DVDs will be officially released starting at episode 144 sometime 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. [3]
FUNimation has also said that they will release Movie 8 on DVD on
February 19, 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
Main article: List of One Piece voice actors
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, Shiro 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
the end
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