On December 17th 2023, upon watching the latest episode of Toei Animation’s decades-long anime series One Piece, as well as seeing the announcement of WIT Studio producing an anime remake titled The One Piece, I started to think about what this means for the future of this beloved franchise.
Eiichiro Oda’s manga series, One Piece, began publication in 1997 and is still going strong with over a thousand chapters, compiled in 107 volumes. Selling over 500 million copies, making it the best-selling manga series in history, One Piece has a devoted fan base that has followed the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, exploring the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece” in order to become the next King of the Pirates. And yet, during the initial 25 years of the manga – which spawned the aforementioned anime, 15 movies, multiple television specials and video games, even an ice-skating show – I was completely ignorant of this phenomenon.
As a lifelong anime fan, I grew up watching shows like Dragon Ball Z during the days of Cartoon Network, and even enjoyed recent Shonen entries like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer. The Battle Shonen anime can be a very formulaic genre, however, one that can prioritize fights and longevity over characterization and quality. What ultimately convinced me to give One Piece a chance was the internet raving about the Wano Arc, and based on seeing clips that showcased the stellar animation, I started with episode 1.
As I began my long journey to Wano by watching the long-running anime, what initially struck about One Piece was there is more character development than you would think from this type of anime from the tragic backstories to everyone clinging on to a dream. There are shades of kid Goki in the persona of Luffy, who is mostly a static character that comically puts his crew in danger, but his simple motivations can range from fighting someone for an innocent dog’s sake, to saving a whole nation amid civil war. As much as Luffy goes on to say he will be the King of the Pirates, we believe in him, as do his crew members who will be there for their captain as they hope to achieve their own dreams.
There is a lot to like about the anime, but there is also plenty to dislike, not least of which is that it moves at a snail’s pace. Being a weekly show that has been going on for nearly 25 years, the show is not willing to go beyond where the manga is, and so there are many episodes that comprised of filler arcs and recap episodes. If the Straw Hats are staying in a city during one of the main arcs, you will know there will be a bunch of episodes that see our heroes split off on a mini adventure. There are times where the animation shines, but again as a weekly show with a difficult production schedule, it really does not hold up, especially those early years in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
I certainly took breaks from watching the anime, which allowed me to give the manga a read, and this is where I discovered the true majesty of Oda’s creation. I may have a love-hate relationship with the anime, but the manga is a masterpiece. While it may not deconstruct the Battle Shonen tropes like Hunter × Hunter, it’s extremely well-written when it comes to characterization, world-building and the balance between fun and serious subject matter. Oda has acknowledged the influence of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama and his approach to sequential storytelling, but I would argue that Oda exceeds his hero from both an artistic standpoint and long-form storytelling. Best of all, no filler, no recap.
After months and months of reading the manga to the point we finally caught up with it, I eventually returned to the anime to continue my journey to Wano. Once the Straw Hats arrive in the Land of Wano, One Piece finally lives up to the source material. With a change of staff, including a new series director, Tatsuya Nagamine, the animators brought their A-game over the course of four years with an arc that was heavily inspired by Japanese culture and mythology. There were episodes that I felt like I should pay for a ticket to see it in the cinema, but the quality of animation was not just cinematic, but experimental, based on the various directors bringing their own skills.
What made Wano also exciting, in story terms, was that it was the culmination that the Straw Hats have proved their strength travelling through the New World so that they can save the island, as best seen in the celebratory 1000th episode. From standout episodes such as 1015, the best episode of the entire show, to 1071 that introduces Luffy’s Gear Five form, we have seen the Gum-Gum captain getting closer to his goal of being the King of the Pirates.
2023 was a great year for One Piece, from the anime concluding its adaptation of the Wano Arc, to the manga itself going some big revelations doing its current arc, taking place in the futuristic island Egghead, which will be animated at the start of next year. Like the manga, the anime will reach the final saga of Oda’s epic narrative, and whilst it will take a few more years till we see the ending from both versions, new adaptations have been coming to our shores. Whilst we already have Netflix’s live-action series that has done so well that a second season has been commissioned, there was the most recent announcement of another One Piece show in the works.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Toei’s anime, WIT Studio (best known for the first three seasons of Attack on Titan and Spy × Family) will be producing an anime series that reimagines Luffy’s adventures through the initial East Blue Saga. Although Toei is involved in the production, there is very little about what we know about The One Piece, in terms of cast and crew involvement, and whether it will be an ongoing series that could adapt the rest of the manga. Reactions towards this announcement have varied from fans being excited to an animator from Toei expressing disappointment through social media over the series getting a remake from another studio. No doubt you could sense some cynicism in that One Piece is a billion-dollar franchise that Japan will never let go, and in this current wave where iconic manga titles are getting re-adapted, I’m intrigued to see this accomplished studio putting their own spin on Oda’s creation.
I may have mixed feelings towards the Netflix live-action show, and whatever outcome this new anime series will deliver when it eventually arrives at the same streaming service, if both adaptations will gain a new generation of One Piece fans that give the manga a read, mission accomplished. Like the many American superheroes that have spawned comics and other media, One Piece has been reinterpreted over the years that the fandom will continue to grow, ranging from athletes who mimic Luffy’s Gear Two pose, to BookTubers that go into great depth about the themes from the manga.
Going back to achieving one’s dreams, the most recent episode embodies this theme and what we love about One Piece, which is defined by its long-form storytelling that lays out many questions and answers over the years. Episode 1088, titled “Luffy’s Dream”, concludes with Luffy saying to his crew members what his actual dream is. We never hear it, but some of the Straw Hats are left baffled, some are left laughing, and then you have Usopp scoffing at Luffy’s dream. Luffy, with a smile on his face, believes the dream is possible when he becomes the King of the Pirates. We all know Luffy will find the One Piece, we all know he will be the Pirate King, and he will achieve his dream that will most likely be revealed to us at the end.
To quote the best villain, Blackbeard: “People’s dreams don’t ever end!!” And neither will One Piece!
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