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is a manga and anime series created by artist Eiichiro Oda. One Piece focuses on a ragtag crew of pirates led by Captain Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain the world's ultimate treasure, One Piece, which belonged to the deceased Pirate King, Gold Roger. The manga began its serial run in Issue 34 (1997) of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, while the anime adaptation produced by Toei Animation premiered in 1999. Eiichiro Oda originally planned One Piece to last five years, and he had already planned out the ending; however, the story has continued far beyond his expectations, and its popularity has swelled to enormous proportions. One Piece is the fourth highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shonen Jump*, and is currently Japan's most popular and second-best-selling title (behind Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, which has existed far longer and has many more volumes). In TV Asahi's latest top 100 Anime Ranking, One Piece managed to come 32nd on the list beating other current and popular animes like Naruto. Volume 23 of the One Piece manga was the highest selling Japanese novel of all time, prior to the publication of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. As of October 242006, the first 419 weekly chapter installments have been collected into 43 tankōbon volumes, and the manga has reached 433 chapters so far in its weekly serial run.
Premise The story of One Piece is set in a fictional ocean-bound world similar to Earth, where pirates rampage wildly in an era of freedom and adventure known as the "Great Age of Pirates". This epoch was inaugurated with the public execution of Gold Roger, the Pirate King. With his dying breath, Roger announced that the world was free to seek the wealth he had accumulated during his lifetime, provided it could be found in "that" place (the Grand Line). In the heavily edited English anime adaptation, Roger is also credited with explaining that he "left everything he owned in one piece", hence the eponymous label for his glorious treasure. Twenty two years after Roger's execution, interest in One Piece has dwindled; many have dismissed obtaining it as an impossibility, and some question whether or not it even exists. Although pirates are still a paramount threat to the lives of civilians, the Navy has become more effective at halting pirate raids in the four Blue Seas. However, this laconic change of mood has not deterred the adventurous spirit of the Straw Hat Pirates, who travel to the Grand Line (where the fervor of the "Great Age of Pirates" still roars strong) in a hunt for Roger's treasure. Although the Straw Hats frequently find themselves at odds with other pirates, they are still deemed threatening by the World Government and Navy, and three of their members have been assigned high bounties (although one of them received their bounty long before the present time of the story). One Piece is critically hailed as an effective blend of intense action, slapstick comedy, and drama. It is praised for an engaging plot, imaginative atmosphere, and distinctive, relatable characters, while staying true to its general themes of adventure, discovery, and friendship. Main Characters The main characters of One Piece are Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates. Along the way, they meet several other people, most of them are other pirate crews, while others are in the Navy, whose job it is to arrest these pirates. Most major One Piece characters fall into one of the following: Story Arcs The One Piece manga started its story in East Blue, then followed the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates through their journey on the Grand Line. So far, the story can be divided into 4 main sagas: East Blue Saga, Baroque Works Saga, Skypiea Saga, and CP9 Saga. Each saga is composed of several arcs of various length. The anime tends to follow these arcs. However, since the manga is still on-going, the anime also has filler arcs to allow the manga to distance itself from the anime at times when the anime catches up to the manga. Meaning of "One piece" As to what "One piece", actually is, there is, as of this time, no general fanbase concensous or official statement from the author. If being material in nature, such as an immense treasure and/or weapon of the late Pirate King Roger, like many believe, only hints of its location have been presented so far, the form and content is still awaiting disclosure. Manga The first tankōbon was published in December 1997. As of October 2006, One Piece has 433 chapters. The first 419 chapters have been collected into 43 tankōbon volumes. Anime As the popularity of One Piece swelled with its serialization in Shōnen 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. Episodes As of October 29 2006, One Piece has had a total of 283 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, recently One Piece airs an average of three episodes a month (or, in some cases, will air several episodes back-to-back and then go off the air for a few weeks). This is thought to be because the anime is very close to catching up with the manga, but because the anime is in the middle of a manga storyline, the series cannot simply begin airing fillers right away, the usual practice in such a situation is to wait until the current storyline is over if it's a manga storyline and then do fillers. Despite the infrequent air times, the series has remained very popular. Movies Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced seven 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 featurettes, showcasing the characters engaged in various activities unrelated to the series (specifically dancing, playing soccer, and playing baseball). These movies, and their attached featurettes, are as follows: Voice cast Foreign Language Adaptations
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