Translated by The Asahi Shimbun from the website of Anime Anime Japan Ltd.
December 28, 2019 at 11:00 JST
“One Piece” comic books (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The “One Piece” manga series has more than 460 million copies in print worldwide after its 95th volume was released on Dec. 28 in Japan.
Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, the story centers around Luffy, who seeks to find a secret treasure called One Piece and become the pirate king.
The series started its run in the 34th issue of the Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology in 1997. It was adapted into an animated TV series in 1999 and has spawned many animated films and video games.
A live-action Hollywood TV series adaptation is also in the pipeline.
After Vol. 57 of the original manga had an initial print run of 3 million copies, subsequent volumes continued to cross the same print run threshold for about 10 years.
The latest volume features the “Wano Country” arc, which is believed to lead into the heart of the long-running story.
With Vol. 95 released, the manga series now boasts more than 390 million copies in print in Japan and 70 million copies in print in 42 countries and regions across the world.
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To learn more about the latest developments in Japanese anime, visit the official site of Anime Anime (http://animeanime.jp/).
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