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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, Comedy, Drama, Shonen
Created byEiichiro Oda
Manga
Written byEiichiro Oda
Published byJapan Shueisha
Brasil/Brazil Editora Conrad
Singapore Chuang Yi (Chinese)
Sweden Bonnier Carlsen
Germany Carlsen Comics
Italy Star Comics
Anime
Directed byKounosuke Uda
StudioToei Animation
Anime
Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzak
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)
  • Karakuri Castle's Mecha Giant Soldier (2006)
Special Episodes
  • The Ocean's Bellybutton
  • Jango's Dance Carnival
  • Dream Soccer King
  • Adventure in the Ocean's Navel

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 obtain the ultimate treasure One Piece that was left behind by the King of the Pirates, Gold Roger.

One Piece Manga Volumes

See also: One Piece manga volumes and chapters

Introduction to Series

One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda, a former assistant to Rurouni Kenshin author Nobuhiro Watsuki. The series began its run in Issue 34 of the year 1997 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump and is still being serialized. As of April 4, 2006, the first 399 weekly installments have been collected in 41 tankōbon volumes. One Piece has currently reached 410 chapters.

One Piece is set in a fictional world, where pirates run rampant in an era known as the "Great Age of Piracy". This age was inaugurated with the execution of Gold Roger, the Pirate King. With his last words, Roger declared that all of the treasure he had collected was up for grabs, if it could be found, and that he left all of it "in one piece."

The story of One Piece focuses on the trials and tribulations of the Straw Hat Pirates, a crew led by the captain Monkey D. Luffy, as they sail the Grand Line from island to island in search of the Pirate King's great lost treasure. Unlike the traditional bloodthirsty pirate stereotype, the Straw-Hats are far truer to their ideals and are oftentimes seen helping a village rather than pillaging it. However, they are still pirates, and as such some crew members have been placed with large bounties on their heads. As of the current story arc, three of the seven pirates have bounties, with an expected eighth crew member and bounties for nearly all the crew members.

Because of its emotional story, original characters, engaging fight sequences, plot twists, sense of adventure, and a strong focus on unity and fighting for your dreams, One Piece has grown into the most popular shônen manga in Japan, frequently topping the bestselling list, even outselling the venerable Dragon Ball franchise and becoming the fastest manga publication to reach 100,000,000 copies sold.

Animation

As the popularity of One Piece swelled with its serialization 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 Ganzak", this one-episode OVA featured an original villain designed by Eiichiro Oda (the titular Ganzak). Notably, the animation for the OVA was handled by the renowned Production I.G., and the vocal cast was completely different from the later TV series, both of which lend a different feel to this production. Wataru Takagi, this OVA's Zoro, 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-exclusive 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].

Movies

Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced seven 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 with 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 (specifically dancing, playing soccer, and playing baseball.) These movies, and their attached featurettes, 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)
  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)
  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)
  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)
  7. The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle (カラクリ城のメカ巨兵 Karakuri-Jō no Meka Kyohei, 2006)


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 released an English version of the first One Piece manga artbook, Color Walk 1, in November 2005.

After the English adaptation of the anime began on the Fox Box (later renamed 4Kids TV), 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. While "Zolo" is not the official romanized spelling of the character's name in Japan, both spellings would be pronounced the same way by a native speaker of Japanese. In the original Japanese versions, Oda consistently uses "Zoro" throughout the entire series whenever the name appears in English, therefore "Zoro" is the character's original Japanese name. 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). There are criticisms of a severe toning of curse words in recent translations (as well as toning down of some swear words of later printings of early chapters), as well as contextual/colloquial phrasing of dialogue, though there is far more animosity between fans and 4Kids Entertainment.

Anime

In North America, the anime is currently licensed by 4Kids Entertainment. It is shown on Cartoon Network's Toonami block at 9:30pm. The show began on the UK's version of Toonami during April 2005. Since January 2, 2006, Cartoon Network has begun airing One Piece reruns on their Miguzi block. Reruns are also played on Cartoon Network's primetime slot. On February 11th, One Piece episodes on Toonami became United States English-Language Premiere Episodes, as the series was taken off the 4Kids TV schedule.

It has began screening in Australia on the Channel Ten network at 7:30am on Toasted TV.

In Singapore, the anime is licensed by Odex, which produces an English dub, not edited to the extent of the 4Kids version.

Censorship and Editing

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.

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

  • 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. As of October 2005, the equivalent of 32 episodes of material had been cut from what were originally 86 episodes, resulting in roughly 37% of the series being eliminated. Eight of these episodes are filler. Among the removed was the entire Little Garden Arc; this arc introduced several characters that would later appear in the series as well as being the source of Nami's illness that would force the detour to Drum Island. It has been speculated that a great part of the cutting was due to a desire to introduce the very-marketable Chopper as soon as possible, although that possibility has never been confirmed.
  • Removing the original symphonic score and replacing it with music produced on a synthesizer.
  • Replacing the opening theme (originally a succession of upbeat pop songs) with a rap theme (even though original promos for the series used the original Japanese theme translated and dubbed in to English).
  • Altering much of the dialog from its original intent, removing most all of the emotion the series is popular for, 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) and Captain Smoker's two cigars. However, from the newest dub episodes, Sanji's cigarette has been restored to normal, but doesn't have a lolly ball at the end or have smoke coming from it. So in short, it's just become a short white stick.
Comparison between original Japanese version and 4Kids edit of supposed blackface.
  • Although most firearms in the series are still referred to as such and still shoot bullets, the great majority have been cosmetically altered to look less realistic. Rifles belonging to the Marines have been altered to look more like large water pistols while most other guns are simply recolored. Occasionally, guns such as Helmeppo's pistol (see image to the right) are altered into other objects altogether, although this has become less common as the series progresses.
  • Editing of more "intense" scenes to lessen or eliminate the peril to the characters (including the removal of nearly all blood, many crucial or implied deaths, and much of the explicit violence.) Examples include Kuina's death from falling down stairs changed to beaten up by someone she defeated, Bellemere's getting shot in front of Nami changed to being sent to Arlong's dungeon, and Luffy getting impaled by Sir Crocodile to getting caught by him.
  • Removing all Japanese (and most of the English) text, as well as altering every instance of the Navy's emblem (which reads "MARINE") to say "NAVY".
  • Changing the skin colors of some characters to downplay supposed racial stereotypes.


Even after all these edits, One Piece is still one of 4Kids' more violent properties as they have left in some blood, appendages being ripped off (such as Shanks' arm and Zeff's leg), and even a character being killed by gunfire. 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 sword held near the right side of his head). It is also worth noting that the series is no longer as sanitized as it once was, possibly as an indirect consequence of the looser standards afforded sister 4Kids show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Since the dubbed version of the Drum Island arc began, most deaths and references to death have been kept in one way or another, and the level of violent content allowed is now closer to that of the original show.

Criticism

The majority of criticisms against 4Kids' interpretation of the anime come from fans of the original Japanese series. The primary reason for these complaints is the large scale editing done to the series by 4Kids, both to the artwork and the storyline itself. A sticking point for the fans is the 4Kids' marketing strategy for the franchise; although the show is 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 originally). It now airs at night on Cartoon Network and has been getting a lot better ratings from the 9-14 demographic. Such practices do not apply solely to One Piece; they follow the corporate policy of Americanization. As a result, many of 4Kids' other properties are heavily edited as well. Madman Entertainment, holder of the distribution sublicense in Australia, had stated that it would be releasing uncut One Piece DVDs, but as of January 23, 2006, "for the time being, Madman will be releasing the TV edited version only."[4] It is unclear when Madman Entertainment will release uncut episodes of One Piece in the future or what factors transpired in this sudden change. This might have stemmed from 4Kids' plans to release uncut, undubbed versions of their anime series, which they have done with Yu-Gi-Oh! and Shaman King; however, they abruptly discontinued these versions in 2005, for reasons unknown. Considering that Madman generally releases DVDs that were released and refined in the US (converted to PAL, for Australian viewers), this may be a plausible reason.

Another contentious aspect to the editing in the North American English dub is that the same naming conventions are used in One Piece-related media in North America, such as the English version of the fighting game One Piece Grand Battle (known as One Piece Grand Battle! Rush in Japan) for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube. While the English adaptation of the manga remains true to the original story and has no art edits, it uses some of the naming conventions established by 4Kids, such as "Zolo" and "Coco Village." The English manga translation does not use most other 4Kids conventions, such as the changing of some names.

The English dub that is made and shown in Singapore is frequently ridiculed by fans for having low production values, though it is considered to be much more faithful to the original Japanese series than its American counterpart. The Singaporean version, however, still contains edits, such as the occasional omission of Smoker's cigars and Sanji's cigarettes and the removal of blood.

Cast of characters

File:Mugiwara.jpg

The Straw Hat Pirates

Honorary/Speculated Straw Hats

  • Princess Nefertari Vivi (Sailed with them the entire Baroque Works Saga.)
  • Karoo (See Vivi)
  • Mr. 2 Bon Clay (Helped the Strawhats escape Alabasta during a naval blockade.)
  • Koby (befriended Luffy in the first episode and kind of helped to defeat Axe-Hand Morgan)
  • Apis (Anime Only.)
  • Portgas D. Ace (Sailed with them during their time in Alabasta Kingdom but has clearly stated he will remain loyal to Whitebeard)
  • Franky (Speculated as most likely to join after Enies Lobby)
  • Paulie (Speculated to join after Enies Lobby, though less likely than Franky)
  • Johnny and Yosaku (Sailed with them during the Baratie and Arlong arcs)

Villains

Others

Character Bounties in One Piece

See also: List of One Piece bounties


One Piece 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 The World Government Saga. It is broken up to smaller sub-arcs.

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, Oda will take minor characters and defeated villains, and give them their own story arcs, which sometimes end up coinciding with the goings-on of Luffy and his crew at some point. 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 Richie as captain)
    • Chronicles the misadventures of Buggy as he makes his way across the sea without his limbs or torso, and his crew as they choose a new captain and (literally) get themselves into hot water. Also marks the reappearance of another pirate captain in a new form.
  2. Koby and Helmeppo's Chronicle of Toil (A Diary of Koby-Meppo's Struggles (コビメッポ奮闘日記 KobiMeppo Funtō Nikki)), ch. 84–119 (30 installments)
    • Follows Koby and Helmeppo's trials and tribulations as Chore Boys in the Navy, the incident involving Helmeppo's father, and their being taken in by Vice-Admiral Garp.
  3. Django's Dance Paradise (ジャンゴのダンス天国 Jango no Dansu Tengoku), ch. 126–172 (37 installments)
    • Follows Django from his abandonment by his crew, to his fateful meeting with Fullbody, all the way to his enlistment as a member of the Navy.
  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)
    • Hatchan escapes from prison and travels the ocean, meeting various characters. Though he is spurned by Octopako, the object of his affections, he finds fulfillment in running a takoyaki stand.
  5. Wapol's Omnivorous Hurrah (ワポルの雑食バンザイ Waporu no Zasshoku Banzai), ch. 236–262 (23 installments)
    • Shows what happened to Wapol after he was knocked out of the Drum Kingdom. Though he is reduced to abject poverty, his Devil Fruit powers prove useful and he soon ascends to power once more as the wealthy CEO of a toy company.
  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)
    • Follows Ace as he searches for Blackbeard on behalf of his captain, Whitebeard. During the course of his travels, he befriends the milk-maiden Moda, and infiltrates the Naval base G2 where he is able to obtain classified documents about Blackbeard's whereabouts, as well as help reunite Moda with her parents.
  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)
    • Shows what happens to Gedatsu after he loses his battle to Chopper and falls from Skypiea. Through a series of accidents and coincidences, he ends up as the business partner of Goro, Kohza's uncle, and helps him found a hot spring resort.
  8. Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works" (ミスG・Wの作戦名「ミーツ・バロック」 Misu Gōruden Wīku no Sakusenmei "Mītsu Barokku"), ch. 359—present
    • Follows the adventures of Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine As they escape from Little Garden after hearing of the demise of Baroque Works. Recently they have met Mr. 2, who helped out after Miss Valentine was captured by the navy. Mr.'s 0, 1, 3, 4 as well as Miss Doublefinger and Merry Christmas are rescued by them, and they all break out of their cells. Sir Crocodile states that he's not in the mood for escaping, and stays behind with Mr. 1.

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 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 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 Going Merry 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 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).

TV Specials

Every year, a one-hour special episode is aired in place of a normal episode.

  1. Adventure in the Ocean's Naval (aired after Episode 53)
  2. Open Upon the Great Sea! A Father's Huge, HUGE Dream! (aired after Episode 149)
  3. Protect! The Last Great Performance (aired after Episode 174)
  4. The Detective Memoirs of Chief Straw Hat Luffy (aired after Episode 253)

Terms

  • 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 Gol D. 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; Marshal D., Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard), and Jaguar D. Saul to Gold Roger (originally named "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. There is some evidence in the series to support this notion; Luffy refers to Portgas D. Ace as his brother, though they share no part of their names except the initial D. However, Luffy may have been speaking metaphorically rather than talking about blood relations (despite their amazingly similar personalities), as the Japanese term is somewhat ambiguous. Nico Robin has commented that all the people she's met with D as their middle initial are incredibly strong and stubborn.
  • 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 (including the "Blank Century" that is forbidden to be researched), may be found on the island of Raftel at the end of the Grand Line. Recently it has been revealed that it is against the law of the One Piece World Government to decipher them. Regardless, to reach and decipher the Rio Poneglyph is the ultimate goal of Nico Robin. It has also been revealed that Gol D. Roger can read poneglyphs.
  • The Grand Line
  • Devil Fruit (悪魔の実 Akuma no Mi, called "Cursèd Fruit" in the English anime）
  • Seastone (海楼石 Kairōseki)
  • King of the Pirates (海賊王 Kaizoku-Ō）
  • East Blue Weakest of the four seas that make up the One Piece world, East Blue was the setting of the first five arcs of the manga and Anime. East Blue, like its sister seas, comprises almost entirely of ocean, with a few scattered islands and a border with Red Line. It is the birthplace of Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Luffy, and Gol D. Roger
  • 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"
  • Berries (ベリー Berī): The unit of monetary currency in One Piece, almost exclusively depicted in paper form. Although closely resembling United States dollar bills, the large values on the notes harken to the Japanese yen. "Berry" is not necessarily the appropriate rendering in Roman characters, as the author has spelled it both as "Berry" and "Belly" on the actual bills. (See: Japanese phonology.) Instead of writing the word out in the text, the author typically uses a shorthand "Berry sign," consisting of a capital "B" with a vertical line through it (similar to a dollar sign), rather than writing out the pronunciation.
  • Going Merry( ゴーイングメリー号 pronounced Gōingu Merī-gō, the extra gō being a suffix used to denote that the name is that of a ship) / Merry Go
  • 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. Because of this, 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 Navy 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 caller's voice, as well as sometimes imitating the facial expressions of the caller. There´s also the Golden Den Den Mushi, a special kind that is used to summon the Buster Call. A Silver Den Den Mushi is like an alarm used to receive the Golden one´s Buster Call request.
  • Buster Call: A massive retaliatory attack used by the marines. Apparantly only Admirals and the Five Elder Stars have the ability to initiate a Buster Call, but Aokiji gave Spandam his Golden Den Den Mushi to use once. When a Golden Den Den Mushi is used, the Silver Den Den Mushi is activated, which rings out loud. Immediately, five Vice Admirals and a large fleet of ships are scrambled and rushed to the location of the caller. It seems that the Buster Call can not be rescinded. Once the fleet arrives, the Vice Admirals, as well as the entire fleet, lay waste to the island, killing everything on the island, regardless of who is still on the island. The Buster Call fleet even kills marine officers if they are still left stranded on the island. Robin described it as a "nightmare version of concentrated arson." So far only two islands have been known to be Buster Called: Ohara and Eneas Lobby.
  • The SBS (short for 質問を募集するShitsumon o Boshū Suru, "I'm Taking Questions") is a question-and-answer column that began in volume 5 of the manga, in which Eiichiro Oda answers questions sent in by his fans, making jokes and sometimes telling useful information about the story and characters. It is here that the ages of the Straw Hat pirates were first revealed, as well as various facts about the story that are not immediately apparent (but nevertheless present) in the chapters themselves. There are several running jokes throughout the SBS, including the fact that a reader always manages to start the SBS before the author can. The SBS was also where the author revealed the existence of the hidden characters Pandaman and Tomato Gang, who appear hidden in the background at many points during the series.

Associated Music

As has become typical of long-running youth-oriented anime, One Piece has gone through a long succession of theme songs, performed by popular artists, since its debut on television. Though performed by popular singers and bands, most seem to be written specifically for the show, as nearly all of them reference treasure, the sea, or ships in some way. As of May 2006, there have been 6 opening themes, 17 regular ending themes, and a number of film- and special endings as well. Soundtrack CDs released in Japan also include a large number of "image songs" based on the series, performed either by cast members in character, or by theme song artists. 4Kids' dub of the series has stripped the opening and ending music of all episodes in favor of a more catchy, "kid-friendly" version.

Opening Themes

1. "We Are!" by Hiroshi Kitadani

  • (Episode 1-47)

2. "Believe" by Folder5

  • (Episode 48-115)

3. "Hikari e" (ヒカリへ "Toward the Light") by The Babystars

  • (Episode 116-168)

4. "BON VOYAGE!" by Bon-Bon Blanco

  • (Episode 169-206)

5. "Kokoro no Chizu" (ココロのちず "Map of the Heart") by BOYSTYLE

6. "Brand New World" by D-51

  • (Episode 265-current)

Ending Themes

Television

  1. "Memories" by Maki Otsuki
    • (Episode 1-30)
  2. "RUN! RUN! RUN!" by Maki Otsuki
    • (Episode 31-63)
  3. "Watashi ga Iru Yo" (私がいるよ "I'm Right Here!") by TOMATO CUBE
    • (Episode 64-73)
  4. "Shōchinosuke" (しょうちのすけ "That's a fact!") by Suitei Shojo
    • (Episode 74-81)
  5. "BEFORE DAWN" by AI-SACHI
    • (Episode 82-94)
  6. "fish" by The Kaleidoscope
    • (Episode 95-106)
  7. "GLORY -Kimi ga Iru Kara-" (GLORY -君がいるから- "Glory: Because You're Here") by Takako Uehara
    • (Episode 107-118)
  8. "Shining ray" by Janne da Arc
    • (Episode 119-128, 130-132)
  9. "Free will" by Ruppina
    • (Episode 133-155)
  10. "FAITH" by Ruppina
    • (Episode 156-168)
  11. "A to Z" by ZZ
    • (Episode 169-181)
  12. "Tsuki to Taiyō" (月と太陽 "Moon and Sun") by Shela
    • (Episode 182-195)
  13. "Dreamship" by Aiko Ikuta
    • (Episode 196-206)
  14. "Mirai Kōkai" (未来航海 "Future Voyage") by Tackey & Tsubasa
    • (Episode 207-230)
  15. "Eternal Pose" (エターナルポーズ Etānaru Pōzu) by Asia Engineer
    • (Episode 231-245)
  16. "Dear friends" by TRIPLANE
    • (Episode 246-255)
  17. "Asu wa Kuru Kara" (明日は来るから "Because Tomorrow Will Come") by TVXQ
    • (Episode 256-263)
  18. "Adventure World" by Delicatessen
    • (Episode 264-)
  • Special: "Family" by the Straw Hat Pirates
    • (Episode 128, TV Special #2, TV Special #3, TV Special #4)

Films

  1. "Memories" by Maki Otsuki
  2. "Believe" by Folder5
  3. "Mabushikute" (まぶしくて "Dazzling") by DASEIN
  4. "Sailing day" by BUMP OF CHICKEN
  5. "Ano Basho e" (あの場所へ "To That Place") by Harebare
  6. "Yume Miru Koro o Sugitemo" (夢見る頃を過ぎても "Even If I Spend Too Much Time Dreaming") by Kishidan
  7. "Sayaendou" by NewS

References

^ "Australia Loses Uncut One Piece (2006-01-23 14:02:45)." Madman Entertainment press release reported on ANN 23 January 2006. Accessed 24 January 2006.

TV series episodes

Main article: One Piece Episode Guide

External links

Official Sites

English

Japanese

Fan Sites

English

Italian


Spanish

Brazilian

Commentary

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