One Piece

Weekly Shonen Jump is a manga anthology that is published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. This manga distribution stands as the best-selling manga magazine. Not only that, but it is one of the longest-running in the entirety of manga distribution. The first issue was released with a cover date of August 1, 1968 and still goes strong some 50 years later. For those of you that don't know, Shonen (or shounen) are comics (often referred to as manga in the east and by some people in the west) that originate in Japan that target towards male teens between the ages of 12 and 18.

However, I personally feel that anyone can enjoy them. I'm currently in my 30's and I am still reading manga to this day. The only thing that separates manga from comics are the place of origin (with comics originating in the states and manga originating from Japan) and the fact that comics read left to right whereas manga reads right to left.

Some popular franchises that Weekly Shonen Jump has distributed include: Dragon Ball, Naruto and Bleach. Many of which have become anime that are extremely popular by fans. You can ask anyone what their favorite series from this distribution is and you can hear so many different answers. Some people will say Demon Slayer is their favorite series. Others will say Hunter x Hunter is their favorite series. Others will say that Attack on Titan is their favorite series. If you ask me personally, I will tell you that One Piece is my favorite out of the entirety of it's various titles. You're probably asking yourselves why or what is One Piece? Before I can answer that, why don't we step back a few decades.

The year was 1997. Steve Irwin made his television debut as The Crocodile Hunter. It was also the year Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone (known as Sorcerer's Stone in the states) hits the shelves changing the world of literature forever. This was also the year that The Lion King gets a musical adaptation to hit the streets of New York on Broadway. This was also the year that One Piece makes it's debut in Weekly Shonen Jump.

The exact date of when this monumental series debuted was July, 22, 1997. One Piece has just made it's first appearance to Shonen Jump joining a history of various titles that had appeared before it including: Dr. Slump, Jojo's Bizarre Adventures and Fist of the North Star. One Piece is an adventure fantasy series that currently takes place in the 1500's within it's own world. This story tells the adventure of a man named Monkey .D. Luffy who ate a devil fruit called the Gum Gum fruit and set sail to become the new King of the Pirates after the previous one, Gol.D. Roger who died 22 years before the start of the beginning of the series.

The series itself was originally supposed to last 5 years. The final antagonists of the series were supposed to be the warlords of the sea. The warlords are essentially pirates who have allied themselves with The World Government providing them balance against stronger foes such as the four emperors of the sea. The four emperors (also known as The Yonko) are the 4 strongest pirate captains in the One Piece world. Currently those members are: Shanks of the Red Haired Pirates, Big Mom (Charlotte Linlin) of the Big Mom pirates, Kaido of the Beast Pirates and Blackbeard (Marshall D Teech) of the Blackbeard pirates. The only other member of this particular group of pirates was Whitebeard (Edward Newgate). He held this position until his death at the Paramount War when he has killed by Blackbeard and his subordinates. Some point later, Marshall D Teech would replace him. Luffy has been referred to as the 5th emperor by Big News Morgans after the events of the Whole Cake Island arc. However, it's not an official title that he holds.

Now, the problem with One Piece intending to be only 5 years long was that Eiichero Oda (One Piece author and illustrator) enjoys the craft so much and has so many ideas for the series, that he kept on writing. On second thought, problem isn't the correct word in this regard. Instead I should say that situation. For I (and many fans of the series) don't have a problem with the fact that Oda continued to keep writing this series. In fact I personally have enjoyed each and every chapter he has written to date. All the way from Romance Dawn in chapter one to where we are (Wano Country) some 1000 chapters later.

While One Piece may not be the most popular manga series within the states, it is however popular across the globe. Some countries that have a huge amount of One Piece fans include: Germany, France and of course, Japan. In January 3, 2021 the 1000th chapter of One Piece has offically been released. One Piece itself is not the first series to have over a thousand chapters in it's arsenal. Other series that have reached this mile stone include: Cooking Papa, Grappler Baki and Hajime no Ippo. However, it is the longest series to be written by a single author and has in fact sold more volumes than many comic book series found in the west. These series include: Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman. One Piece has sold over 490 Million copies world wide. The only other manga or comic series to sell more than One Piece globally is Superman. However, seeing the growth in popularity of the franchise, I have a feeling that (in time) it will out sell Superman.

All of these accomplishments stand out as phenomenal milestones, but they don't say why I personally enjoy the series and why it stands out and why it stands out as the pinnacle of modern fantasy. For that I would like to take the time to apologize to you for that. Let's take a look at the One Piece world. The world of One Piece looks like a large continent that runs through it's version of the Prime Meridian with several smaller islands that surround it. In it there are four types of people. Keep in mind this is not to be confused with the race of One Piece characters, I will address that in a little while.

The first type of people are the celestial dragons (or World Nobles as they are also known as). Despite the name, they are not actually dragons. They are in fact human. They are the aristocratic descendants of those who had funded the World Government many years ago. As such they see themselves as superior to everyone and everything else in existence. They are (in every sense of the word) untouchable. For if anyone were to dare defy them, it would be at the cost of their life. Due to the fact that if harm of any kind came to them, the World Government would come to their aid.

This brings us to our next group of individuals. Members of the World Government. These group of people are essentially a global regime that has ruled for over 800 years and have found an alliance with over 20 kingdoms. Unlike the Celestial Dragons, they are not exclusively human. While it is true that most of the individuals who make up the World Government are human, we see other races who have joined the ranks of the marines. One example of such Jaguar.D.Saul. He was a giant and a vice admiral at that before his death at the hands of Aikoiji for treason.

The main reason of the existence of The World Government is to promote order and peace. Members of the World Government include: The Marines, The Warlords of the Seven Seas, Cipher Pol and the countries (and therefore it's rulers) associated with the world council that meets every four years. They serve as the enemies of the pirates and other law breakers of their respective world.

Which in turn, brings us to the next group of individuals. The pirates of the One Piece universe. They are the most well known of the entire franchise. Many crews have been formed. Most famously, the Strawhat Pirates ran by the crew's captain, Monkey. D. Luffy. His ambitions is to become the pirate king. What separates the pirates from the other individuals of the franchise are their desire for freedom. While it's true many of the pirates want things like power and treasure, all pirates in the One Piece world desire freedom and lack of constraint from the World Government.

The last group of people in this franchise are the civilians of the One Piece world. They are people the World Government try to protect from the dangers of the world such as the pirates. Then again, many of the civilians do in tern either become members of the World Government or pirates themselves. However, it's not as cut and dry in the sense of good verse evil. The world of One Piece is filled with it's own moral code and structure that stating that is a state of good versus evil would be an understatement to say the least.

What makes the One Piece franchise so good and enticing for over 20 years are some variable factors. The creativity within the series, the humor that Oda brings to the table, the themes this series tackles and how it chooses to tackle them.

The first part (the creativity) can be addressed in a number of ways. From the powers of the characters, to the design of the characters and setting themselves and the humor that is involved with the series.

As mentioned, Luffy ate the Gum Gum fruit. Which is a type of devil fruit. Devil Fruits are mysterious, distinctive fruits scattered throughout the world. They are known for granting their eaters permanent superhuman powers. In exchange, they lose their ability to swim. They also cannot consume another devil fruit, or else it will kill them (with the exception of Marshall D Teech who ate the dark dark fruit and later the quake quake fruit). Once the user passes on, the fruit transfers back into circulation by inhabiting the nearest fruit. As proven when Ceaser Clown's pet Smiley died and it's fruit possessed an apple nearby.

Of these fruits exist 3 different types. The rarest types are the logias. The term logia comes from the Greek word of the same name. The rough translation means: "sayings, utterances, oracles". In Kanji (Japanese written language) it refers to the destructive force this fruit has. When consumed, the user can turn into and manipulate a particular type of element. Such examples include: Crocodile's sand sand fruit, Ace's (later Sabo's) flame flame fruit and Blackbeard's dark dark fruit. The user (typically) can become intangible and more tricky to fight with. The can also fly, but that is depending on the creativity of the user in question.

The next type of fruit are the zoans. The zoans are the next rarest type of devil fruit. The literal translation of the word zoan means: "Animal System". When a zoan fruit is consumed, they can turn into a particular type of animal (as well as animal/hybrid). As in the case with Chopper, he is a reindeer who ate the human human fruit. As such, he is able to turn into a human as well as a reindeer/human hybrid. Through the miracle of his works in modern medicine, he was able to have access to more than the two standard forms of zoan transformation. However, what makes zoans different from other devil fruits is that they not only have models, but there are three (arguably five) sub classes.

The first one are the traditional zoans. When consumed, the individual has the ability to transform into a particular animal. As in the case of Kaku's fruit (ox ox fruit model giraffe), Pierre's fruit (horse horse fruit) and Drophy's fruit (mole mole fruit). As with all zoan users they gain access to two different forms. The beast form (which refers to turning into the specific animal) and the man beast form (the hybrid between the user's base form and their beast form).

The next class are the carnivorous zoans. When consumed, the individual can turn into a carnivorous animal. What separates them from the standard zoans is the bloodthirsty nature of the animal they turn into. Thus, making them more adept to fighting. As in the case with Rob Lucci's fruit (cat cat fruit model leopard), Jabra's fruit (dog dog model wolf) and Pell's fruit (bird bird model falcon).

The next class of zoans are the ancient zoans. They are usually stronger than the previous two types mentioned. Due to the fact that the animal they turn into is usually much larger creature than a traditional animal. There have been 9 different ancient zoan fruits/users that have appeared in the series. Almost all of them being a variant of the dragon dragon fruit. Technically speaking they are all dinosaurs. However, the word for dragon and dinosaur in Japan are one in the same. The only 3 individuals who ate ancient zoans of models not affliated with the dragon dragon fruit are: Kaido's righthand man Jack (who ate the elephant elephant fruit model Mammoth), Black Maria of the Tobi Roppo (who ate the spider spider fruit model Rosamygale Grauvogeli) and Who's Who of the Tobi Roppo (who ate the cat cat fruit model Sabre tooth tiger).

The next one (and most powerful of the bunch) are the mythical zoans. Mythical zoans are zoan Devil Fruit users that turn the holder of the fruit into a mythcial animal. Of the zoans, they are the most saught after due to the fact that the animal has supernatural abilities. Some examples of some mythical zoans we have seen so fare are: Marco's devil fruit (bird bird model Phoenix), Orochi's devil fruit (snake snake fruit model Yamata no Orochi) and Kaido's devil fruit (fish fish fruit model Seiryu). Some of the supernatural abilities guranteed with the mythical zoans include: regeneration, breathing fire and generating shockwaves.

The last group of Zoans are the artifical zoans. These Zoan Devil Fruit users stand out in the sense that they do not happen naturally. Instead they are man made. There have been two individuals who have been known to create these artifical zoans. Vegapunk who has made Momonosuke's devil fruit that allows him to turn into an Eastern dragon much like Kaido. The other person to make an artifical devil fruit is Ceaser Clown.

Ceaser's fruits differ from Vegapunk's for two reasons. The first is the success rate. Ceaser's fruit's only work 10% of the time. When they fail, the user is left with a permanent grin and a state of constant laughter. This is also the reason as to why Ceaser's fruits are referred to as smiles. The second reason is how the user is effected. Instead of being able to turn into a particular animal/animal hybrid, the user permantly changes into a man-beast hybrid. As in the case with Holed'em (who ate a smile that has given him a lion's head, forearms and tail growing from his waist), Speed (who essentially became a centaur after eating her smile fruit) and Babanuki (who grew an elephant's head on his chest after eating his devil fruit).

The last group of devil fruits (and by far the most common) are the Paramecia Devil Fruits. Not only are they the most common, they are also the most diverse of the bunch. The word Parameica translates into Superhuman System. Pretty much any individual who ate a devil fruit and didn't turn into an animal or doesn't manipulate an element, is considered a Paramecia. Not only are they the most diverse, they are the most imaginative. Of which, Paramecia fruits themselves are broken into three categories. These sub categories are: Bodily Alteration, Environmental Adaptation and Substance Generation.

Bodily Alteration Paramecia Devil Fruits are ones that effect the users body directly. Some examples of this fruit are: Katakuri's Mochi Mochi fruit (that can turn him into mochi), Daz Bonez's Dice Dice fruit (that can turn any part of his body into a blade) and of course, Luffy's Gum Gum fruit (which turns his whole body into rubber).

Environmental Adaptation Paramecia Devil Fruits are ones that effect the users surrounding environment, rather than themselves directly. Some examples of this fruit include: Law's Op Op fruit (which gives him the power of spatial manipulation within a limited area), Foxy's Slow Slow fruit (which allows the user slow down time for up to 30 seconds) and Shiki's Float Float fruit (which allows the user to make objects (and people) float in the air.

The last type of the Paramecia Devil Fruit is the Substance Generation Devil Fruits. This type of Devil Fruit allows the user to generate a particular type of substance, but not turn into them. Some examples are Bartolomeo's Barrier Barrier Fruit (which allows him to generate an indestructible barrier), Perona's Hollow Hollow Fruit (which allows her to generate ghosts and spirits) and Magellan's Venom Venom Fruit (which allows him to generate and control many different types of poison.

Other powers found within the One Piece world art the martial arts like the fishman karate and the martial art style: Rokushiki (6 styles). More notably than that is the haki demonstrated throughout the series.

Haki is a mysterious power that allows the user to utilize their own spiritual energy for various purposes. Of which there are three types: Busoshoku Haki (also known as armament haki) gives the user an invisible armor around themselves. Best used for offensive and defensive capabilities. The next is, Kenbunshoku Haki (also known as observation Haki) gives the user a 6th sense in the sense of detecting one's opponent and may have some precognative abilites. The last kind is Haoshoku Haki (also known as Conquerer's Haki), this kind is the rarest of the three. It allows the user to exert their will power over other's. Unlike devil fruits, it's possible to posse more than one type of haki.

The next thing regarding the creativity involving this series are the characters themselves. Of which many races exist within the world of One Piece. These races are: the humans, the fishmen, the merfolk, the giants, the sky people, the minks, the long arm tribe, the long leg tribe, the three eyed tribe, the dwarves, the kinokobito and the lunarians. It has also been noted that hybrid forms of two races have been known to exist as well as humans who have been modified in one way or another. As in the case with Sanji's siblings and the cyborgs we see across the series.

It's also good to take into account that due to the vast number of characters that we see in the series, that almost no person look the same. Like giving some of the characters distinguishing features. As in the case of givng some horns, some fangs and heights that are not quite as tall as giants, but do dwarf that of the average human. More than that, what makes these characters more memorable are the quotes they share, their actions and how it's remembered within the series.

The next great thing about the One Piece franchise, is the humor within it. One Piece is typically categorized as an Adventure Fantasy manga. That's because it is. However, One Piece has been known to have comedy within the series.

One example lies within the running gags of the Strawhat within the series. Such as Luffy wanting to eat the crew's doctor (who is a reindeer) everytime there's a shortage on food, Zoro's poor sense of direction and Usopp's façade at bravery. Completed with perfect timing and deliverance, Oda is underratedly funny.

The comedy doesn't just end within the Strawhat pirates themselves. Queen (one of Kaido's righthand men) has his eyes pop out of his glasses everytime he gets surprised. Another hilarious moment in the series is when Holedem (who ate a lion artifical devil fruit) gets into a fight with the lion on his stomach. The lion hits him in the family jewels. At first he seems proud of himself, but after realizing that they share a body, starts feeling the pain as well.

The next thing we need to look at the themes and topics that have been mentioned within the One Piece world. Of which I saw that many of these issues have been addressed within the series before addressing them in the real world. The themes and topics that have been discussed and mentioned in One Piece are: racism, slavery, the acts of prejudice, elitism, the concept of freedom, genocide, absolute justice, lgtbq+ awareness, discrimination, the importance having good friends in your life, realizing the things you have vs the things you have lost, knowing when to ask for aid, knowing you are as a person and never giving up on your dreams.

They address racism, prejudice and discrimination with the fishmen. Fishmen are (as their names suggests) humanoids that resemble a hybrid between man and fish (as well as mollusks like squid and octopi). Due to their appearence, they are looked down upon by humans and are at times discriminated against. In fact the latest member of the Straw hat pirates is in fact a fishman. Specifically, a whale shark fishman. His dream is to help bring peace between humans and fishmen.

The concept of elitism and slavery has been addressed with the world nobles (celestial dragons). Due to their high stature, everyone must bow in their presence and do exactly as they say. Causing many of them to think of themselves as better than everyone else. They also allow slavery to happen so that they can claim the crème de la crème of slaves for themselves. Infact the most satisfying punch (which can be arguable) came from Luffy who punched a celestial dragon after he shot and wounded his friend. This not only serves as a reminder to those who hurt his friends, but in a way was symbolic of the fact that the future pirate king will not let anyone stand in his way.

The concept of both genocide and absolute justice happens during the Water 7/CP9 saga. Nico Robin's (the crew's archeologist) came from an island called Ohara. Due to the knowledge their island had, the world government saw them as a threat and decided to neutralize them. It was also during this this saga that we got to see Rob Lucci's backstory as well as the first examples of Absolute Justice. Absolute Justice is a code the Marines go by. It means they will do whatever they can to bring peace and justice. Essentially, the definition is that the ends justify the means.

The example of Absolute Justice first came from Robin's backstory. As the civilians of Ohara were fleeing on a boat, Aikianu destroyed their ship. He said that if they were going to do this, we need to be through. If a single archeologist was hiding on that boat, all of this would have been for nothing. The next example came from Lucci's backstory. When he was a kid, it was believed that he was sent to rescue 200 soldiers from a group of pirates. When actually, he was sent to assassinate them. For the fact that they were too weak to protect their kingdom and the fact that if the pirates don't have any hostages, they don't have any form of leverage.

The concept of friendship and knowing when to ask for help also came from the Water 7/CP9 saga. Both Robin and Franky were abducted by CP9 due to the fact that they both had knowledge about the ancient weapon Pluton. While it's true that the concept of friendship has appeared many times in the series (as well as a good portion of Shounen series in general). I believe however, that it really resignated in this particular saga.

Robin is someone who has been running all of her life and really relied on herself for a good portion of her life. Seeing that she has friends who were willing to risk their lives just to make sure that she made it out safely. Knowing that, Robin realized that it was okay to ask for help as she begged her friends to save her from the world government.

The next topics One Piece has tackled were freedom and LGTBQ+ awareness. Hearing them, you think they have nothing to do with each other. However, when looking at this series, they work well with each other. As mentioned, all pirates have the yearn and desire to be free from the constraints of the World Government. However, that's not the only freedom demonstrated in the series.

Many people within the One Piece world (like our world) struggle with who they are due to the laws of The World Government. Ivankov (commander of the revolutionary army) ate the Horm Horm fruit. A Devil fruit that allows the user to manipulate hormones within the human (depending on the individual) body. He is so well adept at this fruit, he can turn men into women and visa versa. So he, in a sense, frees people on who they are on the inside.

Not to mention the fact that he is also the Queen of Kamabakka kingdom. An island of men who dress (and identify) as women. Also, there have been many characters who identify with a gender outside of that which they were born with. Some of these characters were: Okiku from Wano, Morley from the Revolutionary Army and for a time, we believed that Yamato (Kaido's son) was transgender as well. Due to the fact that Japan doesn't have a word for Trans, they would often say the phrases: "Man at heart" or "Woman at heart".

The last two topics worth mentioning for this series are never giving up on your dreams and realizing what you have. Both of these issues have been referenced in the Paramount War by two different characters. Blackbeard and Luffy. Blackbeard first mentioned the idea of not giving up on your dreams back in Jaya.

He goes into fruition with this plan by setting up a plan in motion. He had originally planned to capture Luffy and turn him over to the World Government in exchange for a membership as a Warlord. However, he captured his former commander, Ace, instead and claims a spot as Warlord. Using his new status he enter Impel Down to recruit more members for his pirate crew. He then uses them to wait out The Paramount War until his former Captain (Whitebeard) is exhausted from taking on The Marines. He does so by using his crew to murder him. By doing so, he does what no one individual has done before. Acquire two different devil fruits at once. At some point during the time skip he fights with the remaining Whitebeard Pirates in the Payback War. His victory ensured him the title of Yonko and thus inching him closer to be the next king of the pirates.

That's not to say that Luffy and the other Strawhats don't have dreams and ambitions of their own. Luffy (as mentioned) wants to be king of the pirates. Zoro wishes to become the world's greatest swordsman. Nami wishes to draw a map of the entire world. Usopp wishes to become a brave warrior of the sea. Sanji wishes to see the all blue. An ocean where all the fish in the world reside. Chopper wishes to be able to a doctor who is capable of curing any disease. Robin wishes to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the true history of the world. Franky wishes to build a ship that is capable of circumventing the globe. Brook wishes to see his old friend Laboon again and Jimbei's dream is to promote peace between humans and fishmen.

This brings us to our final topic of realizing what you have and realizing what you have lost. In The Paramount War, Luffy lost his brother Ace. The experience was so traumatic for him, that he was distraught up to the point where he was in a state of denial. Jimbei (who also fought in the war) told Luffy that he needs to calm down. Ace is dead and there is nothing that can be done about it. To which he follows up by saying that you need to focus on what you have. Luffy then realizied that he still had his friends/crew. He also came to the realization that if he wants to pursue his dream, then he is going to have train with Rayleigh before he is ready to enter the new world.

It is for these reasons that I feel that One Piece is the best fantasy world in existence. Not only that, but I feel that this series is the pinacle of story telling and after reading this article, I hope that you take the time to read the manga or even watch the anime. When and if you do, I hope you will enjoy the series as much as I do.