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One Piece

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One Piece
File:One Piece splash.jpg
One Piece anime logo, with the Merry Go in the background
GenreAction / Adventure
Created byEiichiro Oda
Manga
Written byEiichiro Oda
Published byShueisha
Anime
Directed byKonosuke Uda
StudioToei Animation
Anime
Directed byGoro Taniguchi
StudioProduction I.G.
Movies

• One Piece: The Movie (2000)
• Clockwork Island Adventure (2001)
• Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (2002)
• Dead End Adventure (2003)
• Curse of the Sacred Sword (2004)
• Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005)

One Piece (ワンピース Wanpīsu) is a manga and anime series created by artist Eiichiro Oda. It revolves around a crew of pirates led by captain Monkey D. Luffy, whose dream is to find the legendary treasure One Piece and become the King of the Pirates.

Manga

One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda, a former assistant to Rurouni Kenshin author Nobuhiro Watsuki. The series began its run in 1997 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump and is still being serialized. As of September 2005, there have been over 380 weekly installments, collected into 38 tankobon volumes.

One Piece is set in a fictional world, where pirates run rampant in an era known as the "Age of Piracy". The story of One Piece follows the adventures of a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy whose body was turned to rubber after he ate a cursed fruit known as a Devil Fruit (Akuma no Mi). Luffy's particular fruit was the Gum-Gum Fruit, or Gomu Gomu no Mi in the Japanese release ("gomu" means "rubber"). While Devil Fruits grant their eaters fantastic powers (Luffy, for example, can stretch like rubber), it comes at the cost of never being able to swim, and in fact becoming complete deadweight upon being submerged in water. (This weakness may have a historical basis, as many real pirates were unable to swim.) The story features many pirates with super powers gained from the Devil Fruit, but the main focus of the story is that of Luffy and his crew striving to achieve their dreams while fighting those who would crush the hopes and dreams of others. While the Straw Hat Pirates are technically outlaws to the World Government and its Naval/Marine forces, they are much truer to their ideals than both other pirates and the corrupt establishment.

Because of its strong story, colorful characters, intense fights, and clever plot twists, One Piece has become the most popular current shonen manga published in Japan, and is now almost as recognizable a pop culture icon as Dragon Ball . In February of 2005, the comic set a record in Japan for the fastest manga publication to reach 100,000,000 copies sold.

One Piece Manga Volumes

See: One Piece manga volumes and chapters

Animation

As the popularity of One Piece swelled after its debut in Shonen Jump, it soon would 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.

Early OVA

In 1998, OVAs for three manga serialized in Weekly Jump (including One Piece) were produced for the July "Jump Super Anime Tour". Called "Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack", this one-episode OVA featured an original villain designed by Eiichiro Oda (the titular Ganzack). Notably, the animation for the OVA was handled by the renowned Production I.G., and the voice cast was completely different from the later TV series, both of which lend a different feel to this production. Wataru Takagi (this OVA's Zolo) would later return to the Toei Animation-produced TV series to voice the pirate captain Bellamy the Hyena.

This OVA was originally shown only at the 1998 Jump Super Anime Tour; however, there was a Jump-exlusive promotion in early 1999, where fans could send in special coupons from the magazine and redeem them for a VHS copy. [1]. Later, a novelization of the OVA, by Tatsuya Hamazaki, would be published under Shueisha's Jump jBooks imprint. [2].

The TV Series

The One Piece anime, produced by Toei Animation, first aired on October 20, 1999, on Fuji TV. More than 240 episodes of the television series have aired as of August 2005. From episode 207 (aired October 31, 2004) onwards, One Piece has been simulcast in both HDTV and standard definition. The HDTV version is not simply a "letterboxed" version of the "normal" episode, but actually animated completely in the 16:9 aspect ratio, while the "standard" 4:3 version crops off the right and left sides of the frame.

Movies

Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced six One Piece feature films, released each spring since 2000. In typical fashion for movies based on serialized manga, the films feature self-contained, completely original plots, and 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 (dancing, playing soccer, and playing baseball). These movies, and their attached featurettes (where applicable), are as follows:

  1. One Piece: The Movie (ワンピース Wanpīsu, 2000)
  2. Clockwork Island Adventure (ねじまき島の冒険 Nejimaki-Shima no Bōken, 2001)
    • Featurette: Django's Dance Carnival (ジャンゴのダンスカーニバル Jango no Dansu Kānibaru)
  3. Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals (珍獣島のチョッパー王国 Chinjū-jima no Choppā-Ōkoku, 2002)
    • Featurette: Dream Soccer King! (夢のサッカー王! Yume no Sakkā-Ō!)
  4. Dead End Adventure (デッドエンドの冒険 Deddo Endo no Bōken, 2003)
  5. Curse of the Sacred Sword (呪われた聖剣 Norowareta Seiken, 2004)
    • Featurette: Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King (めざせ! 海賊野球王 Mezase! Kaizoku Yakyū-Ō)
  6. Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (オマツリ男爵と秘密の島 Omatsuri Danshaku to Himitsu no Shima, 2005)


English Adaptations

Manga

File:OnePieceVolume1English.jpg
One Piece Volume 1 English version

The One Piece manga is published in English in the North American Shonen Jump by VIZ Media. Viz also has plans to release the One Piece manga artbooks (the Color Walk series) in English, beginning with Color Walk 1 in November 2005.

After the English adaptation of the anime began on the Fox Box, Viz renamed the character Roronoa Zoro to Roronoa Zolo, and later editions of the first four volumes of the series were changed to match this. Apparently, the rising profile of the series in North America meant that both VIZ and 4Kids were at risk of a lawsuit from those who own the trademark on the fictional character Zorro (which, the author has admitted, was the inspiration for his own character's name). Many fans displayed a very adverse reaction to this change, which was made without comment after 50 chapters of the previous spelling. However, while "Zolo" is not the official romanized spelling of the character's name in Japan, it is important to note that both spellings would be pronounced the same way by a native speaker of Japanese. This change is also the most obvious deviation from the original Japanese version: the English-language manga's story and artwork (aside from text replacement and redrawing of sound effects) continue to remain unaltered, in a stark contrast from the English version of the anime (see below).

Anime

In North America, the anime is currently licensed by 4Kids Entertainment. It is shown on 4Kids TV (on Fox TV) in the US, and on YTV in Canada. One Piece later began airing on the US Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on April 23, 2005 and became a daily (Monday through Thursday) series in September. The show began on the UK's version of Toonami as of April 2005. In Singapore, the anime is licensed by Odex. DVDs are forthcoming, and will be distributed by Toei Animation in North America.

Editing

In producing a version of One Piece for the North American market, 4Kids made a number of changes to the property [3]. These alterations include (but are not necessarily limited to):

File:HelmeppoEdit OnePiece.jpg
An example of an edited scene in the American version of the One Piece TV show. In the Japanese version Helmeppo is pointing a gun at Koby's head.
  • removing the original symphonic score and replacing it with music produced on a synthesizer;
  • replacing the opening theme (originally a succession of ubpeat pop songs) with a rap;
  • altering much of the dialogue from its original intent, and adding extraneous lines during moments of silence;
  • removing or changing anything suggestive of alcohol or tobacco use, including Sanji's cigarette (which is turned into a lollipop); as well as removing the ever-present cigars from Major Smoker's mouth, and changing his name to "Captain Chaser"
  • altering all weapons other than knives or swords (including firearms) to become either toys (like the Marines' rifles) or odd contraptions (such as Helmeppo's pistol — see image at right);
  • editing of more "intense" scenes to lessen or eliminate the peril to the characters (including the removal of nearly all blood and much of the explicit violence);
  • removing all Japanese (and some English) text, and altering every instance of the Navy's emblem (which reads "MARINE") to say "NAVY";
  • changing the skin colors of some characters [4] to downplay supposed racial stereotypes; and
  • cutting longer scenes for time, editing episodes together, and skipping entire story arcs, including those which were originally important to the progression of the plot.

Even after all these edits, One Piece is still one of 4Kids' more violent properties as they have left in some blood and even appendages being ripped off (such as Shanks' arm or Zeff's leg). Not all scenes have been edited with much attention to detail, however, causing such oddities as a Luffy with two scars (the left side of his face being mirrored to remove a knife held near the right side of his head).

Criticism

Most criticisms against 4kids' adaptation of the anime come from fans of the original Japanese series. Their criticisms mostly stem from 4kids' marketing strategy of the franchise. Despite the fact that the show was enjoyed by a fairly broad audience in Japan and consistently scored high ratings from teens, children, and even adults, 4Kids decided to air the show on Saturday mornings and focus solely on the lucrative 6-11 demographic (which the show was only partially intended for in the first place). This does not apply solely to One Piece: many of 4Kids' other properties are heavly edited as well. Uncut DVDs were originally slated to be released in late 2005, but apparently there are now no plans to release or even produce an uncut version in North America. Madman Entertainment, holder of the distribution sublicense in Australia, has stated emphatically that it will be releasing uncut One Piece DVDs, but it is unclear whether or not this assertion rests on the cooperation of 4Kids to become a reality.

The English dub that is made and shown in Singapore tends to be ridiculed by fans for having low production values. But despite these negative factors, the Singapore dub is nevertheless considered to be much closer to the feel of the original Japanese series than its American counterpart.

Despite this criticism, however, the American English dub is appearently considered tolerible by fans and faces no true threat of being boycott. Only time will tell if One Piece's American English dub will ever be re-released to be closely resemblent of the original Japanese version.

Cast of characters

File:Monkey D Luffy King of the Pirates.png
Monkey D. Luffy, preparing his Gum Gum Pistol (Gomu Gomu no Pistol) attack.

The Straw-Hat Pirates

Villains

Others

One Piece Story Arcs

Manga Story Arcs

This is the portion of the anime which is based on the manga. The series can currently be broken down into 4 parts: The East Blue Saga, The Baroque Works Saga, The Skypiea Saga and Nico Robin/Shipwight Saga. It is broken up to smaller sub-arcs.

  1. East Blue Saga: This Saga is the warm-up of the series. Luffy is born and meets Shanks as a young boy living on the East Blue sea. This is where he forms most of his Straw Hat crew and, ultimately, where the adventure begins. The saga starts off with a flashback of Gold Roger about to be executed, before he dies he tells the crowds to go out and search for his treasure. With that he sparked the Golden age of pirates; countless pirates raise their flags and set off to find One Piece.
    1. Zolo / Captain Morgan / Intro Arc
    2. Nami / Captain Buggy Arc
    3. Usopp / Captain Kuro Arc
    4. Sanji / Don Krieg / Baratie Arc
    5. Arlong arc
    6. Louge Town arc
  2. Baroque Works Saga: The Straw-Hat pirates finally enter the Grand Line. They must help Vivi fight off the criminal organization Baroque Works and help her save her country Alabasta from being thrown in chaos. Along the way they meet Luffy's older brother, Portgas D. Ace, and pick up a new crew member: Tony Tony Chopper.
    1. Laboon Arc (cut from English anime)
    2. Whiskey Peak arc
    3. Little Garden arc (cut from English anime)
    4. Drum Island arc
    5. Alabasta arc
  3. Skypiea Saga: Nico Robin Joins the crew, and Vivi stays in Alabasta. A ship hundreds of years old falls from the sky, and from the evidence contained inside, the crew begins to wonder if an island in the sky can really exist as the legends say. Meanwhile, the World Government gathers the remaining Shichibukai together to discuss a replacement for Sir Crocodile, Ace meets Buggy, and Shanks is seen again in the story. With help from Montblanc Cricket in Jaya, the Straw Hat Pirates manage to reach Skypiea, an island in the sky ruled by a false god named Eneru.
  4. Shipwright/Nico Robin Saga: Luffy is on a quest to find a shipwright for the crew. Meanwhile, the World Government is after Nico Robin to recover the plans for an ancient warship called "Pluton".

Eneas Lobby Saga:Luffy and his remaining crew that consists of Zoro,Nami,Sanji and Chopper,team up with the Franky Family and remaining Galley La members,Paulie,Lulu and Tilestone to attack Eneas Lobby,the HQ of the CP9.

Chapter Title Page "Mini-Arcs"

Due to the One Piece manga's nature as a weekly serial, each individual chapter has its own title page to start that series' section of Weekly Shonen Jump. While most manga artists use this space either to expand the chapter's length by a page or to draw a one-off illustration, Eiichiro Oda will take minor characters and defeated villains, and give them their own story arcs. Each of these stories, known officially as "Short-Term Focused Title-Page Serials" (短期集中表紙連載 Tanki Shūchū Hyōshi Rensai), runs for between 20 and 40 (usually around 30) consecutive installments, interrupted only by title pages drawn in color. Each "episode" is one panel, with a caption that includes the title of the arc (given by Oda himself) and a description of what happens in the image. After each arc has run its course, there is a set of "normal" chapter title pages that showcases each member of the Straw Hat crew, and then a new story arc is introduced. While these "mini-arcs" (as fans call them) are part of the canon manga story, only two have appeared thus far in the anime: those of Buggy and his crew (episodes 46-47) and of Koby and Helmeppo (episodes 68-69).

There are currently eight title page story arcs in the manga, with the last still ongoing:

  1. Buggy's Crew: After the Battle! (An Account of Buggy & Crew's Adventures (バギー一味冒険記 Bagī Ichimi Bōken-Ki) in the Japanese version), ch. 35-75 (28 installments, plus 2 "sidestories" with Ritchie as captain)
  2. A Diary of Koby-Meppo's Struggles (コビメッポ奮闘日記 KobiMeppo Funtō Nikki), ch. 84-119 (30 installments)
  3. Django's Dance Paradise (ジャンゴのダンス天国 Jango no Dansu Tengoku), ch. 126-172 (37 installments)
  4. Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll (はっちゃんの海底散歩 Hatchan no Kaitei Sanpo), ch. 182-228 (40 installments)
  5. Wapol's Omnivorous Hurrah (ワポルの雑食バンザイ Waporu no Zasshoku Banzai), ch. 236-262 (23 installments)
  6. Ace's Great Blackbeard Search (エースの黒ひげ大捜査線 Ēsu no Kurohige Dai-Sōsasen), ch. 272-305 (29 installments)
  7. Gedatsu's Accidental Blue-Sea Life (ゲダツのうっかり青海暮らしGedatsu no Ukkari Seikai-Gurashi), ch. 314-348 (32 installments)
  8. Miss GoldenWeek's "Operation: Meets Baroque" (ミスG・Wの作戦名「ミーツ・バロック」 Misu Gōruden Wīku no Sakusenmei "Mītsu Barokku"), ch. 359-??? (ongoing)
    • After the downfall of Baroque Works, Miss GoldenWeek, Miss Valentine, and Mr. 5 are living on Little Garden, in the wax hut left behind by Mr. 3. When Miss GoldenWeek learns of the capture and imprisonment of the Baroque Works higher-ups, she decides to go to the prison and meet them. She uses her "Colors Trap" painting skills to enlist the help of a Pteranodon, and the three of them take flight from the island, leaving the giants Dorry and Brogy to duel in peace from then on. Unfortunately for them, it begins to rain, and the paint controlling the dinosaur washes off. The now-hostile pteranodon drops them onto Kyūka (Vacation) Island, where they learn that Mr. 2 has already broken out of prison. It also just so happens that Hina, Fullbody, and Django are on the lookout for Mr. 3 and any other remaining members of Baroque Works. The three fugitives disguise themselves (poorly), but are quickly discovered. Miss Valentine is captured by Hina's Ori-Ori Devil Fruit ability, but Mr. 5 creates a diversion with his Bomu-Bomu Fruit powers, and he and Miss GoldenWeek escape. Mr. 3, Mr. 5, and Miss GoldenWeek now have until sundown to turn themselves in, or Miss Valentine will be hanged...

Anime-Only Arcs

File:OnePieceVol3.jpg
One Piece Volume 3, English version

Because the One Piece manga is still ongoing, Toei Animation uses non-manga material (filler) as a way to slow down the progression of the plot. If the anime were to catch up with the manga, Toei would either have to wait for Oda to release more manga chapters, take the story in a direction independent of the manga (as was done in Rurouni Kenshin, InuYasha and Fullmetal Alchemist), or simply end it; any of these would likely damage the popularity of the series, and would not reflect well on either Toei Animation or Eiichiro Oda. Thus, additional material is the only viable alternative.

Unlike non-manga material in many other shows, most One Piece filler takes place in story arcs independent from the main plot, and having little to no effect on the subsequent canon story. These arcs also generally consist of lighter fare than Oda's own work, containing much more comedy, the presence of child characters, and little in the way of drama. Purist fans of the series tend to consider them little more than entertaining fluff, and inferior to material by Eiichiro Oda himself. Currently, the anime has four story arcs not present in the manga:

  1. Warship Island Arc (a.k.a. Apis arc): comes between the East Blue and Baroque Works sagas. The Straw Hat Pirates attempt to help a mysterious girl named Apis and a "Thousand Year Dragon" named Ryuji, while combating the nefarious Erik and the Naval forces after the dragon. It was completely cut from the English-dubbed anime. Despite the arc's low reputation among fans, its removal struck many as an uncharacteristic move on the part of 4Kids, as the Warship Island arc seems to be aimed at younger viewers than the majority of the series, featuring very little content that 4Kids would consider "objectionable" by its standards.
  2. Filler Arcs: comes between the Baroque Works and Jaya/Skypiea sagas. It is composed of several standalone episodes, followed by two short story arcs.
  3. G8 Arc: comes after the end of the Jaya/Skypiea saga. Instead of splashing down in open sea, the Merry Go is trapped within the enclosed and heavily fortified waters of a Navy base, where the crew must scatter to survive before attempting to retake their ship and escape.
  4. Ocean's Dream Arc: follows the Longring Longland arc and precedes the crew's arrival at Water Seven. The crew loses its memory and has to get it back before they can continue. It is notable in that it marks the reappearance of Arlong, and is the only non-manga storyline thus far to be based on a One Piece videogame (Ocean's Dream, released for the Sony PlayStation in 2003).

Terms

  • The One Piece (glossed in print as ひとつなぎの大秘宝 Hito-Tsunagi no Dai-Hihō "The Great Treasure of One Piece", but still pronounced Wanpīsu) is a legendary treasure said to be of unimaginable value. It is said that it was hidden somewhere deep in the Grand Line by its previous owner, the Pirate King Gold Roger. Nobody seems to know what it really is or what it looks like.
  • The Will of D: A mysterious property linking Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace and Marshal D. Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard) to Gold Roger, (Gol D. Roger). It is not clear what the significance of the shared middle initial is, but it appears that all share a similar faith in their own (and others') dreams. It has been speculated by fans that these characters may in fact all share some sort of blood relation, though there is currently no evidence in the series to either support or contradict this argument.
  • Raftel: The island at the end of the Grand Line. Gold Roger is supposedly the only one to ever make it there. One would assume that the One Piece is to be found there, though it is not entirely certain.
  • Poneglyph: Scattered among the islands of the Grand Line are mysterious stone blocks called "Poneglyphs." These blocks are inscribed with the script of an ancient language, and tell of a history long forgotten. This history includes the mention of (at least) two weapons of terrible power: Pluton and Poseidon. It is said that the Rio Poneglyph, which contains the true history of the One Piece world, may be found on the island of Raftel at the end of the Grand Line. To reach and decipher the Rio Poneglyph is the ultimate goal of Nico Robin.
  • The Grand Line
  • Devil Fruit (悪魔の実 Akuma no Mi, called "Cursèd Fruit" in the English anime）
  • King of the Pirates (海賊王 Kaizoku-Ō）
  • East Blue
  • All Blue A mystical sea of legend, rumored to be the only place in the world where the North, South, East, and West seas meet. In this legendary ocean there are said to be fish from each of the seas. Sanji strives to find this ocean of dreams. It is said that the All Blue is found in the Grand Line. In the English anime it's called the "Great Blue"
  • Merry Go (ゴーイングメリー号 Gōingu Merī Gō, also called the "Going Merry" by fans)
  • Sea King
  • Nakama (仲間): This Japanese term means friend(s), buddy(ies), crew, comrade(s) or gang. In the Japanese version of One Piece this term is used extensively to describe friends who are as close as or closer than family (especially in the context of Luffy's crew). Many popular fan-translations of One Piece will not translate this term.
  • Sea Train
  • Log Pose
  • Davy Back Fight
  • Dials: Coming from the land of Skypiea, dials in this manga are shell like devices that vary in sizes and uses. Some are used to power everyday items such a lamps, stoves, or recording devices. Others have more powerful properties, such as absorbing smells, powering machines (such as the JetSki-like Wavers) and even taking attacks which can then be thrown back at their opponents. Usopp gains a number of these dials, which he uses later on in the series.
  • Den Den Mushi:These are the odd "phone snails" that are used throughout the series. They come in a variety of colors and shapes and have multiple functions. The snails act as a number of devices including: Rotary phones, fax machines, and cellular wrist watch devices. The latter is called the Kuro (Black) Den Den Mushi, which is used by the Marines to intercept calls between pirates or other miscreants. A miniature version, the Baby Den Den Mushi, is fairly small and portable, but incapable of international calls. When they are used, the snails speak in sync with the callers voice, as well as sometimes imitating the facial expressions of the caller.

Official Sites

English

Japanese

Fan Sites

English

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