One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its individual chapters compiled into 106 tankōbon volumes as of July 2023. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, where he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “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 by Production I.G, and an anime series by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting 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.
The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger’s ultimate treasure known as the “One Piece”, and take over his prior title. In an effort to organize his own crew, the Straw Hat Pirates,Luffy rescues and befriends a pirate hunter and swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, and they head off in search of the titular treasure. They are joined in their journey by Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook. They acquire a ship, the Going Merry later replaced by the Thousand Sunny 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, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman. Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, different types of scientists, soldiers of the morally-ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams
Japanese names
Devil Fruits (悪魔の実, Akuma no Mi)
Haki (覇気)
Red Line (赤い土の大陸, Reddo Rain)
Grand Line (偉大なる航路, Reddo Rain)
Calm Belt (凪の帯, Kāmu Beruto)
Sea Kings (海王類, Kaiō-rui)
North Blue (北の海, Nōsu Burū)
East Blue (東の海, Īsuto Burū)
West Blue (西の海, Uesuto Burū)
South Blue (南の海, Sausu Burū)
Sea Prism Stone (海楼石, Kairōseki, Seastone)
Reverse Mountain (リヴァース・マウンテン, Rivāsu Maunten)
Paradise (楽園, Paradaisu)
New World (新世界, Shinsekai)
Straw Hat Pirates (麦わら海賊団, Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan)
Going Merry (ゴーイング・メリー号, Gōingu Merī-gō)
Thousand Sunny (サウザンドサニー号, Sauzando Sanī-gō)