One Piece: The TV phenomenon with 1000 episodes you may not have heard of

Toei a cartoon image featuring a man with a long nose and a pilots helmet, a small reindeer with a red har and a boy in white robe and straw hat holding a metal rodToei

One Piece, one of the most well-known animation companies in the world, has become one of the most famous companies thanks to creators and fans.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Travis Scott, the singer, have been its supporters for more than 1, 000 episodes of the show. The comic sequence it is based on, however, has sold more than 500 million files, earning a Guinness World Record.

Additionally, you can purchase the set ‘ product in local clothing stores.

One Piece, a Japanese animation that will celebrate its 25th celebration in 2024, is the subject of the anime.

It is based on a comic book series by comic author Eiichiro Oda and follows Monkey D. Luffy, the head of a group of pirates searching for the strange One Piece. Along the way, they fight off against the state and their brother bandits while utilizing abilities gained from eating” Devil Fruits”.

As the series is now streaming on BBC iPlayer, creators and fans of the show explain how One Piece became such a phenomenon.

A market within a market

Getty A group of American fans in costume as characters from the anime One PieceGetty

When Zach Logan began his One Piece Podcast in 2009, the present was little-known in the United States.

He tells the BBC,” You may take it from the animation standards that we attended.” They may be ruled out by One Piece viewers now, but it was later like two and a half folks, two people, and therefore their child, who they had dressed as Chopper. In One Piece, Chopper is a toddler-sized combination of people and deer.

In the late 2000s, Logan describes the show as a “niche within a niche” with a smaller second among the already sizable US animation fandom.

In Japan, but, the success of One Piece was more rapid. When it was first published in 1997 in newspaper Shonen Jump, the paper’s reader was falling behind that of its adversary Shonen Magazine. Shonen Jump reclaimed its position as the most-read comic in Japan thanks to One Piece’s participation.

Hiroyuki Nakano, the present writer of the One Piece comics, read the line from its commencement.

” I remember being really amazed, thinking,’ an extraordinary cartoon has begun,'” he says via an speaker.

One Piece altered the comic market.

Getty A young Japanese boy reading multiple copies of the One Piece mangaGetty

In the mid-1990s, comic ( a term used for a range of Chinese comic books and graphic works ) was at its apex, with 1.34 billion comic series sold in 1995. The most well-known titles of the time included Doraemon ( about a time-traveling robotic cat ), Slam Dunk ( about a basketball team ), and Dragon Ball ( about a martial artist searching for magical orbs ).

For Nakono, but, the One Piece comic series changed the business. ” Instead of relying on a careless, week-by-week method”, he says, “it properly built up figures, creating a account structure that leads to an emotional finale at the end”.

” There was a strong focus on cliffhangers in comics before One Piece”, he continues. ” This approach often led to disappointments when the developments did n’t meet the build-up’s expectations”.

Logan adds that the manga series ‘ approach also packs a stronger mental blow than other animation.

When people learn the story of Chopper, who was rejected by his own deer, he emphasizes the Drum Island circle (episodes 78 to 91 ). ” Watching Drum Island”, he says, “anyone with a soul may cry”.

The anime adaptation’s first episode aired in October 1999, but it took more than a decade for it to gain a substantial following outside of Japan.

The quick dubbed version, which was first broadcast in the US in 2004, received criticism for its weak voice acting and the choice to delete some of the battles by replacing some of the blood with water pistols or shovels.

Individuals were offended by the initial version of it, according to Logan.

Logan claims that the crisis helped the show’s global appeal grow. It was comparable to fuel on a fireplace. When individuals were at home, they had no reason not to see a display with 900-plus shows”.

‘ You’ll say’ why is n’t there more?’ ‘

Getty a giant balloon in the shape of one piece character monkey d luffy outside of radio city music hall in new york cityGetty

Though some may become intimidated by the movie’s size – a binge from beginning to end did get two-and-a-half continuous weeks– for Nakano, this is the show’s strength.

No additional body of work can compare to the sheer volume of personalities and ideas created by Oda-sensei father Eiichiro Oda.

Logan contrasts the program with Doctor Who, another popular television program that intimidates viewers and leaves them unsure of its beginning.

” You may skip certain elements and hop in at a certain place, but you’ll lose some important, brilliant stuff”, he says. ” In One Piece, there’s things in incidents from 1999 or 2002 that’s also very insightful to the present because of how Oda interweaves items.

I used to say to friends that they could miss things, but then I think I’m making a mistake by doing that!

” People will start by complaining how much it is, and when they get to the conclusion they’re like,’ why is n’t that more?'”

You can watch One Piece on BBC youtube
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