One Piece is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 63rd volume released as of August 2011. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy who gains elastic abilities after inadvertently eating a supernatural fruit, and his diverse crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy explores the ocean in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as the One Piece and to become the next Pirate King. Along his journey, Luffy makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom try to capture the Straw Hats.
Since its release, One Piece has become the most popular manga series of all time in Japan and one of the most popular manga series worldwide. It is the highest-selling manga of all time in the history of Weekly Shōnen Jump, as well as currently being its most acclaimed manga. In 2010, Shueisha announced that they sold over 230 million volumes of One Piece manga so far; volume 61 set a new record for the highest initial print run of any book in Japan in history with 3.8 million copies (the previous record belonging to volume 60 with 3.4 million copies). Volume 60 is the first book to sell over two million copies in its opening week on Japan's Oricon book rankings. One Piece is currently ranked as the best-selling series of all time in manga history. It enjoys a very high readership, with more than 240 million volumes of the series sold by 2011. One Piece has received wide critical acclaim from reviewers, primarily for its art, characterization, humor and story.
Plot
The series begins with the execution of Gol D. Roger, a man known as the King of the Pirates. Just before his death, Roger announces that his treasure, the One Piece, will be up for the taking, causing the Great Pirate Era (大海賊時代 Dai Kaizoku Jidai) to begin. As a result, countless pirates set out to the Grand Line to look for the treasure.
Twenty years have passed since Roger's execution, and Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate inspired by the pirate known as "Red-Haired" Shanks, has since set off on a journey from the East Blue to succeed Roger and find the treasure. He organizes and leads a nine-member crew named the Straw Hat Pirates. Each crew member Luffy encounters eventually become his close friends, including the swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the navigator and thief Nami, the liar and cowardly sharpshooter Usopp, the womanizing chef Sanji, the doctor and anthropomorphized reindeer Tony Tony Chopper, the archaeologist and former enemy Nico Robin, the cybernetic shipwright Franky, and the musician skeleton Brook.
The crew crosses paths with diverse villains, such as Buggy the Clown, many of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Marines, who place bounties on Luffy and Zoro's heads, and Arlong, a fishman and member of the former Sun Pirates. They encounter Baroque Works, the crime syndicate responsible for a civil war in the desert kingdom of Alabasta, along with fellow rookie pirate Blackbeard, whose dream is also to become the King of the Pirates. The crew also confronts Enel, the ruler of the floating island Skypiea. Later, the crew meets the Marine admiral Aokiji, who reveals that Robin was involved in searching for Poneglyphs, stones with markings left by an ancient civilization whom Roger himself was also able to read. The crew also encounters Cipher, the intelligence agency responsible for the destruction of Robin's homeland, who causes the pirates to declare war on the World Government. After an epic battle at Enies Lobby, the crew defeats CP9 - saving Robin and avenging the lives lost in the destruction - and each member receives bounties on their heads.
Some time later, the crew prepares to sail off to the New World, the second half of the Grand Line. The crew eventually gets separated during a battle at the Sabaody Archipelago. At the same time, the Marines sentence Luffy's older brother and Roger's son Portgas D. Ace to be executed, and hold a war against a group of pirates led by Whitebeard. Luffy eventually rescues Ace, but both Whitebeard and Ace are killed in the ensuing chaos. Later, Luffy and the crew undergo rigorous training regimens, some under the tutelage of prominent figures. Two years later, the crew regroups and journeys to Fishman Island to enter the New World. At the same time, a group of evil fishman pirates appear, and holds a coup d'état to decide the fate of the island, but the Straw Hats fight them alongside Jimbei.