Whether you’re a fan of high-seas adventuring, manga, anime, or all three, there’s a really good chance you’ve heard of One Piece. This long-running Japanese manga and animation has been a part of pop culture since the late 90s, and it’s gained a huge following in the West as well as the East.
It’s well-known for its bizarre storylines and its incredible number of stories and sagas – this is a story you’re going to need to set some serious time aside to enjoy from the beginning!
Whether you’re just getting started with One Piece thanks to its Netflix adaptation, or are reading the books from volume one, we’ve got some fantastic facts about One Piece to clue you in on Luffy and the Straw Hats’ adventures.
1. It was created by Eiichiro Oda.
Before it was a series, One Piece was a successful manga. It was created by Eiichiro Oda, who began serializing the manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in 1997.
It is one of the longest-running manga series in history – today, it has over 1,000 chapters and is still ongoing!
However, it’s got some way to beat Golgo 13, which is still being published at the time of writing since debuting all the way back in 1968!
2. It’s a swashbuckling series of pirate adventures.
In case you haven’t seen or read One Piece, the series follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of pirates.
The premise of the story is that they are continuously searching for the ultimate treasure known as One Piece, hence the name of the manga.
The crew is known as the Straw Hat Pirates. The group consists of diverse characters, each with unique abilities and backgrounds, that we get to know as the story evolves.
With over 1,000 chapters, you can imagine readers get to know this motley crew pretty well – along with the crazy rivals they bump into along the way!
3. One Piece has an incredible world map.
One of the key selling points of One Piece to its fans is its creator’s fantastic world-building – not unlike George RR Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire. It is a very detailed manga that litreally takes the reader on a journey with every new chapter.
The stories take place across a vast ocean known as the Grand Line, numerous islands, and a variety of civilizations and cultures. It’s grown to such a point that there are online communities continuing to create and adapt maps with new locations that arise!
4. You have to be careful of the Devil Fruits.
One of the key elements of One Piece that is known to fans is the Devil Fruits. These mystical fruits have the ability to grant unique powers to those who consume them.
However, they also render the user unable to swim – not brilliant when you’re traversing the high seas! Essentially, the sea “rejects” you if you eat one.
It’s thought that there are 100 different Devil Fruits across the world of One Piece, but there’s only one of each. Some give the eaters the power to become ancient deities!
5. Luffy has a very specific goal.
Luffy is known for his one specific dream, which is to become the Pirate King – and to achieve this goal, he’s aiming to seize the One Piece!
The treasure was supposedly left behind by the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Roger is reportedly the only pirate to have ever held the title – and much of the story of One Piece revolves around pirates around the world, Luffy included, duking it out and seizing treasure in the hopes of gaining the title for themselves.
6. There is an important bounty system.
In One Piece, individuals are assigned specific bounties. These bounties are supposedly based on each person’s threat level to the World Government.
For example, Luffy’s bounty happens to increase throughout the series as he becomes more and more dangerous. At least he’s moving in the right direction – you don’t get to become Pirate King without some infamy!
7. Luffy’s not the only fan-favourite character.
One Piece is, thanks to its length, host to many, many characters – each with their own complex goals and dreams, many of them revolving around treasure hunting!
Beyond Luffy, some of the most popular characters in the series include the brave yet flawed Zoro, Brook, the skeleton musician, Chopper, a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit to gain human intelligence, and the complex and cunning Nami.
8. The anime has been around for a long time.
For many fans, One Piece came into their lives thanks to the online streaming service Netflix. The service helped bring a whole new wave of fans to the stories. However, anime has been around for a long time, long before Netflix even existed.
In fact, the One Piece anime adaptation began airing in 1999! It has since become one of the most popular and long-running anime series – though, be careful which version you watch.
Many fans claim it’s better to watch a subtitled version rather than a dubbed version, as this way you don’t miss out on any of the intended dialogue and action.
9. Toei Animation is responsible for producing the series.
The anime adaptation of One Piece was produced by Toei Animation, which is well-known for series such as the Dragon Ball sagas, Transformers, Sailor Moon, and Dr. Slump.
In fact, even today if you want to see over 1000 episodes of the anime, you will have to turn to Toei Animation! Netflix currently only has the rights to a few hundred of the episodes – meaning you’d have to go on a bit of a treasure hunt of your own to catch up completely.
10. It is a top-selling manga.
As you can imagine, One Piece consistently ranks among the top-selling manga series in Japan. In fact, there are millions of copies sold worldwide!
It is believed that there have been over 523 million copies of One Piece sold around the world, with that number only likely to grow since the popularity of the Netflix series has increased.
11. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-selling manga of all time.
In 2015, One Piece set an incredible record. Its volume 80 became the fastest-selling manga volume in history! Incredibly, that issue sold over three million copies in its first three days of release!
12. Haki has the power to change the world of One Piece.
Fans of One Piece will know just how important Haki is. For those of you who don’t know, Haki is a mysterious power that allows users to manifest their spiritual energy in various ways.
For example, those who use Haki can enhance their physical abilities or even sense the presence of others. Haki is an essential tool in the One Piece world and is frequently brought into the various adventures of the characters.
13. The World is controlled by the Yonko.
The Yonko is a key group in One Piece. Also known as the Four Emperors, the Yonko is a group made up of four powerful pirate captains who control the New World, the second half of the Grand Line.
As you can imagine, they are among the most important and impressive characters in the series.
The entire world of One Piece is divided into three great powers: the World Government, the Yonko, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, each with its own influence and agenda, and each provides different story arcs for the main characters!
14. The Grand Line is a dangerous place!
As important as the Grand Line is to the story (as mentioned above), it is also known for its treacherous seas, unpredictable weather, and dangerous creatures!
That is why the Grand Line presents numerous challenges to those who dare to navigate it. It is also what makes it such a great place for much of the action of One Piece to take place!
15. There are multiple story arcs – as you might imagine!
Just as there are many characters in One Piece, so too are there many different story arcs to follow.
One of the most famous One Piece storylines follows the Pirate Alliance Saga. This particular saga evolves around Luffy forming alliances with other pirate crews to become more powerful and take on even more powerful adversaries.
Another plot is that of Poneglyphs. Poneglyphs are ancient stone tablets inscribed with the history of the world, and deciphering their secrets is a key aspect of the various stories.
Another important arc is that of the Wano Country Arc. This particular story arc focuses on the Straw Hat Pirates’ involvement in the isolated and samurai-dominated country of Wano.
16. One particular death shook fans to the core.
Spoiler alert! One of the biggest events to ever happen in One Piece was the death of Luffy’s older brother, Portgas D. Ace.
The death of his brother naturally had a profound impact on the character and helped to drive him to become even stronger. For example, Luffy develops a powerful new combat technique known as Gear Fourth.
Gear Fourth grants him enhanced strength, speed, and elasticity. However, this new ability comes at the cost of exhausting his energy more quickly, sometimes even entirely.
17. There is a critical time jump in the story, too.
During the story, there is an important two-year time skip. During that time, Luffy and his crew undergo intensive training to prepare for the challenges ahead.
Even taking a quick look online, it’s easy to tell that fans have taken incredible time and effort to arrange character profiles and story updates before and after the time skip! This is the sort of series you really need to dedicate yourself to…
18. One Piece is also well-known for its music.
Believe it or not, one of the key elements of One Piece for its fans is actually its music! The series is known for its catchy and memorable music themes, including its opening and ending songs, which are performed by popular artists.
As you can imagine, thanks to the long-running story, there are many different soundtrack albums full of music from One Piece episodes. In fact, at the time of writing, there are a staggering 17 different soundtrack CDs!
That doesn’t just cover the animated series and feature films, but the video game adaptations, too!
19. There are over 100 volumes.
If you are interested in starting to read One Piece, it is important to know that you have quite a way to go back!
There are currently 108 volumes of One Piece, spread out over 1000 chapters, but this only makes it the 22nd-longest manga ever produced… it’s considered “baby steps” for breaking into the longer end of Japanese graphic litreature!
20. Its Netflix adaptation has been highly successful.
Adapting anime and manga to live action isn’t always easy – and Netflix, in particular, didn’t exactly strike gold with its adaptation of Cowboy Bebop in recent years!
However, One Piece’s Netflix adaptation pleased critics and many fans alike, and the viewing figures don’t lie.
The series, featuring Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, and Taz Skylar, is said to have racked up more than 140 million hours in streams in just its first week on the streaming service.
21. It wasn’t meant to run for longer than five years.
As bizarre as it sounds, this long-running series was only meant to run until 2002 – but Eiichiro Oda has simply kept on writing and creating new adventures for his characters.
Oda is even thought to have the official ending for the series all planned out – but who knows when we’ll get there? It’s good to know he has a game plan, at least!
22. Zoro was meant to be a bad guy.
One of the most popular characters in the Straw Hat crew is Roronoa Zoro – a bold swordsman. However, did you know that Oda intended for him to fight for the bad guys, at least at first?
Fans of the series will no doubt be aware of the bizarre Buggy the Star Clown – well, Zoro was originally written to serve as his bodyguard.
Thankfully, Zoro was reworked to become one of Luffy’s first allies, and he’s long since been the Straw Hat second-in-command. We’re all the more thankful for it!
23. One Piece is heavily inspired by Dragon Ball Z.
Fans of Toei probably won’t find this too surprising, but without Dragon Ball Z, there would be no One Piece. Oda was a childhood fan of Goku and DBZ, and fans of both series can clearly see the influences throughout stories in each saga.
In particular, the Z Fighters in DBZ are as close-knit as Luffy and the Straw Hats – and sometimes, the art style in One Piece looks a little familiar!
24. Odo took inspiration for some characters from real pirates.
It’s true! Characters such as Jewellery Bonney are based on the likes of Anne Bonney, well known for being the most fearsome female pirate in known history.
Even fan-favourite Zoro takes inspiration from the legendary French swordsman and pirate François l’Olonnais. Gol D. Roger himself, meanwhile, is said to be based on Olivier Levasseur.
Perhaps tellingly, Levasseur hid his own treasure – much like the One Piece – which has never been found! Will Luffy and the crew buck history’s trends and find the loot?
25. Luffy hasn’t killed a single foe.
Despite his status as a bold pirate and his bounty always rising, Luffy is something of an outlier in that he doesn’t kill his enemies!
This is part of Oda’s plan for a more compelling narrative. He states that being defeated by Luffy is more devastating for many of his foes than death outright – and, if you look back across the series, you can see Luffy effectively destroying dreams rather than killing people outright!
What’s all the more interesting is that, most of the time, Luffy’s rivals come back, having pursued their dreams elsewhere – creating new and interesting challenges for the Straw Hat crew in adventures to come.
FAQs About One Piece
Why is One Piece so popular?
One Piece has proven to be so popular thanks to its masterful storytelling, complex characters, wonderful sense of humour, and fantastic art. It has, therefore, received multiple awards and is critically acclaimed.
The fact it’s been running for so long has also given the series time to pick up millions of fans all over the world. It wouldn’t still be running if it wasn’t popular, either!
Does Netflix have One Piece?
Yes, at present, fans can watch 500 episodes of One Piece through Netflix. However, this will vary depending on your region, and Netflix changes its content every so often. Dive in and set sail while you can!
How long does it take to watch One Piece?
Given that the One Piece anime has over 1.000 episodes, it would take someone approximately 17 days of constant viewing to see the whole series! That is to say, with no breaks, not even sleep.
Do you know any fun facts about One Piece? Share them in the comments below!
External Links
https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/One_Piece_(Manga)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80217863
