Log 2: An Unexpected Success

Eiichiro Oda, Creator of One Piece

One Piece author and creator Eiichiro Oda initially planned for One Piece to have a 5 year run when the series began featuring on Shounen Jump Magazine on July 22, 1997. As of now, at the time of this video’s release, One Piece has recently released its 888th chapter, being a titan of the Japanese manga industry for over 20 years, breaking several publishing record

     The series has sold over 430 million copies worldwide, making it not only the best selling manga series of all time, but also in the the top 10 best sold comic books, in history, beating out Spiderman by over 70 million copies and coming in right behind Batman and Superman. One piece has also become a massive giant in the world of pop culture in its homeland of Japan, with it cornering the market on merchandising, with posters, action figures, clothing several films, and an equally long running animated series. 

It is estimated that one in every 6 Japanese citizens read or watch One Piece. There are even One Piece themed shops that sell all forms of merchandise from the series. But all publicity and marketing aside, how is the series? to be able to hold this kind of popularity and fanbase for over 20 years. Judging it solely as a piece of fiction, from a story telling standpoint, I can tell you One Piece is one of those rare series that despite it’s continuous rise in quantity, never really seems to drop in its quality, even going into it’s 20th year, it can still can make your jaw drop from its beautiful illustrations and ever changing captivating world. 

One Piece received a Guinness World Record in 2014 for most consecutive comic series
drawn by the same artist