One Piece's Strongest Villain by harsh07

One Piece (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its chapters compiled in 110 tankōbon volumes as of November 2024. The series follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the mythical treasure known as the "One Piece" to become the next King of the Pirates.

The manga spawned a media franchise, having been adapted into a festival film by Production I.G, and an anime series by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed fourteen animated feature films, one original video animation, and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising and media, such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004 before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007. Netflix released a live action TV series adaptation in 2023.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, world-building, art, characterization, and humour. It has received many awards and is ranked by critics, reviewers, and readers as one of the best manga of all time. By August 2022, it had over 516.6 million copies in circulation in 61 countries and regions worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history, and the best-selling comic series printed in a book volume. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. In 2015 and 2022, One Piece set the Guinness World Record for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author". It was the best-selling manga for eleven consecutive years from 2008 to 2018 and is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than 10 years, as well as the only one that had achieved more than 1 million copies sold in all of its over 100 published tankōbon volumes. One Piece is the only manga whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.

SynopsisSettingSee also: List of One Piece charactersThe globe of the One Piece worldFlag of the World Government

The world of One Piece is populated by humans and other races such as dwarves (more akin to faeries in size), giants, merfolk, fish-men, long-limbed tribes, long-necked people known as the Snakeneck Tribe, and animal people (known as "Minks"). The world is governed by an intercontinental organization known as the World Government, consisting of dozens of member countries. The Navy is the sea military branch of the World Government that protects the known seas from pirates and other criminals. There is also Cipher Pol which is a group of agencies within the World Government that are their secret police. While pirates are major opponents of the Government, the ones who challenge their rule are the Revolutionary Army who seek to overthrow them. The central tension of the series pits the World Government and their forces against pirates. The series regularly emphasizes moral ambiguity over the label "pirate", which includes cruel villains, but also any individuals who do not submit to the World Government's authoritarian—and often morally ambiguous—rule. The One Piece world also has supernormal characteristics like Devil Fruits,[Jp 1] which are mysterious fruits that grant whoever eats them transformative powers at the cost of becoming weakened in bodies of water, resulting in them losing the ability to swim. Another supernatural power is Haki,[Jp 2] which grants its users enhanced willpower, observation, and fighting abilities, and it is one of the only effective methods of inflicting bodily harm on certain Devil Fruit users.

The world itself consists of two vast oceans divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line.[Jp 3] Within the oceans is a second global phenomenon known as the Grand Line,[Jp 4] which is a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line and is bounded by the Calm Belt,[Jp 5] strips of calm ocean infested with huge ship-eating monsters known as Sea Kings.[Jp 6] These geographical barriers divide the world into four seas: North Blue,[Jp 7] East Blue,[Jp 8] West Blue,[Jp 9] and South Blue.[Jp 10] Passage between the four seas, and the Grand Line, is therefore difficult. Unique and mystical features enable transport between the seas, such as the use of Sea Prism Stone[Jp 11] employed by government ships to mask their presence as they traverse the Calm Belt, or the Reverse Mountain[Jp 12] where water from the four seas flows uphill before merging into a rapidly flowing and dangerous canal that enters the Grand Line. The Grand Line itself is split into two separate halves with the Red Line between being Paradise[Jp 13] and the New World.[Jp 14]

One Piece story arcs viewtalkedit show

PremiseFurther information: List of One Piece chapters

The series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating the Gum-Gum Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece", and take over his prior title. Luffy sets sail as captain of the Straw Hat Pirates,[Jp 15] and is joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman and former bounty hunter; Nami, a money-obsessed thief and navigator; Usopp, a sniper and compulsive liar; and Sanji, an amorous but chivalrous cook. They acquire a ship, the Going Merry[Jp 16]—later replaced by the Thousand Sunny[Jp 17]—and engage in confrontations with notorious pirates. As Luffy and his crew set out on their adventures, others join the crew later in the series, including Tony Tony Chopper, an anthropomorphized reindeer doctor; Nico Robin, an archaeologist and former Baroque Works assassin; Franky, a cyborg shipwright; Brook, a skeleton musician and swordsman; and Jimbei, a whale shark-type fish-man and former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who becomes their helmsman. Together, they encounter other pirates, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, revolutionaries, secret agents, scientists, soldiers of the morally ambiguous World Government, and various other friends and foes, as they sail the seas in pursuit of their dreams.

ProductionConcept and creation

Eiichiro Oda's interest in pirates began in his childhood, watching the animated series Vicky the Viking, which inspired him to want to draw a manga series about pirates.[2] The reading of pirate biographies influenced Oda to incorporate the characteristics of real-life pirates into many of the characters in One Piece; for example, the character Marshall D. Teach is based on and named after the historical pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.[3] Apart from the history of piracy, Oda's biggest influence is Akira Toriyama and his series Dragon Ball, which is one of his favorite manga.[4]

While working as an assistant to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Oda began writing One Piece in 1996.[5] It started as two one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[5]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. They both featured the character of Luffy and included elements that would appear later in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in Shueisha's Akamaru Jump, and reprinted in 2002 in One Piece Red guidebook. The second was published in the 41st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 1996, and reprinted in 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted![6] In an interview with TBS, Takanori Asada, the original editor of One Piece, revealed that the manga was rejected by Weekly Shōnen Jump three times before they agreed to publish the series.[7] Kazuhiko Torishima, then the magazine's editor-in-chief, explained that they debated for two hours on whether or not to serialize One Piece.[8] Although acknowledging that it had potential, he was one of those against the work because it was "incomplete".[8] But Torishima ultimately approved serialization due to Asada being so "annoyingly earnest" that another editor suggested both Oda and Asada would be crushed if it was rejected at that time.[8]

Development

Oda's primary inspiration for the concept of Devil Fruits was Doraemon; the Fruits' abilities and uses reflect Oda's daily life and his personal fantasies, similar to that of Doraemon's gadgets, such as the Gum-Gum Fruit being inspired by Oda's laziness.[9] When designing the outward appearance of Devil Fruits Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[10] The names of many special attacks, as well as other concepts in the manga, consist of a form of punning in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of some characters' techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of several of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; they look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. For example, Zoro's signature move is Onigiri, which is written as demon cut but is pronounced the same as rice ball in Japanese. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half".[11] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga".[11]

Oda was "sensitive" about how his work would be translated.[12] In many instances, the English version of the One Piece manga uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeiae used in the Japanese version. For instance, "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are both translated as "fshhhhhhh".[13] Unlike other manga artists, Oda draws everything that moves himself to create a consistent look while leaving his staff to draw the backgrounds based on sketches he has drawn.[14] This workload forces him to keep tight production rates, starting from five in the morning until two in the morning the next day, with short breaks only for meals. Oda's work program includes the first three days of the week dedicated to the writing of the storyboard and the remaining time for the definitive inking of the boards and the possible colouring.[15] When a reader asked who Nami was in love with, Oda replied that there would hardly be any love affairs within Luffy's crew. The author also explained he deliberately avoids including them in One Piece since the series is a shōnen manga and the boys who read it are not interested in love stories.[16]

Conclusion

Oda revealed that he originally planned One Piece to last five years and that he had already planned the ending. However, he found it would take longer than he had expected as Oda realized that he liked the story too much to end it in that period of time.[17] In 2016, nineteen years after the start of serialization, the author said that the manga has reached 65% of the story he intends to tell.[18] In July 2018, on the occasion of the twenty-first anniversary of One Piece, Oda said that the manga has reached 80% of the plot.[19] In a television special aired in Japan in January 2019, Oda said that One Piece is on its way to the conclusion, but that it would exceed the 100th volume, also commenting that he would be willing to change the ending if the fans were to be able to predict it.[20] When asked if the titular treasure is "family bonds", Oda replied: "No, I hate that kind of thing", mentioning the ending of The Wizard of Oz and claiming that he does not endure stories where the reward of adventure is the adventure itself, opting for a story where travel is important, but even more important is the goal.[21] In August 2019, Oda said that, according to his predictions, the manga would end in five years.[22] However, Oda stated that the ending would be what he had decided in the beginning; he is committed to seeing it through.[23] In August 2020, Shueisha announced in the year's 35th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump that One Piece was "headed toward the upcoming final saga."[24] On January 4, 2021, One Piece reached its thousandth chapter.[25][26][27] In June 2022, Oda announced that the manga would enter a one-month break to prepare for its 25th anniversary and its final saga, set to begin with the release of chapter 1054.[28]

MediaFurther information: List of One Piece mediaMangaMain article: List of One Piece manga volumes

Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece has been serialized by Shueisha in the shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 22, 1997.[29][30] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 24, 1997.[31] By November 1, 2024, a total of 110 volumes have been released.[32]

The first English translation of One Piece was released by Viz Media in November 2002, who published its chapters in the manga anthology Shonen Jump, and later collected in volumes since June 30, 2003.[33][34][35] In 2009, Viz announced the release of five volumes per month during the first half of 2010 to catch up with the serialization in Japan.[36] Following the discontinuation of the print Shonen Jump, Viz began releasing One Piece chapterwise in its digital successor Weekly Shonen Jump on January 30, 2012.[37] Following the digital Weekly Shonen Jump's cancelation in December 2018, Viz Media started simultaneously publishing One Piece through its Shonen Jump service, and by Shueisha through Manga Plus, in January 2019.[38][39]

In the United Kingdom, the volumes were published by Gollancz Manga, starting in March 2006,[40] until Viz Media took it over after the fourteenth volume.[41][42] In Australia and New Zealand, the English volumes have been distributed by Madman Entertainment since November 10, 2008.[43]

Spin-offs and crossovers

Oda teamed up with Akira Toriyama to create a single crossover of One Piece and Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Entitled Cross Epoch, the one-shot was published in the December 25, 2006, issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump and the April 2011 issue of the English Shonen Jump.[44] Oda collaborated with Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, author of Toriko, for a crossover one-shot of their series titled Taste of the Devil Fruit (実食! 悪魔の実!!, Jitsushoku! Akuma no Mi!!, lit. 'The True Food! Devil Fruit!!'),[45] published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 4, 2011. The spin-off series One Piece Party (ワンピースパーティー, Wan Pīsu Pātī), written by Ei Andō in a super deformed art style, began serialization in Saikyō Jump on December 5, 2011.[46] Its final chapter was published on Shōnen Jump+ on February 2, 2021.[47]

AnimeFestival films and original video animation

One Piece: Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack! was produced by Production I.G for the 1998 Jump Super Anime Tour and was directed by Gorō Taniguchi.[48] Luffy, Nami, and Zoro are attacked by a sea monster that destroys their boat and separates them. Luffy is found on an island beach, where he saves a little girl, Medaka, from two pirates. All the villagers, including Medaka's father, have been abducted by Ganzack and his crew and forced into labour. After hearing that Ganzack also stole all the food, Luffy and Zoro rush out to retrieve it. As they fight the pirates, one of them kidnaps Medaka. A fight starts between Luffy and Ganzack, ending with Luffy's capture. Meanwhile, Zoro is forced to give up after a threat is made to kill all the villagers. They rise against Ganzack, and while the islanders and pirates fight, Nami unlocks the three captives. Ganzack defeats the rebellion and reveals his armoured battleship. The Straw Hat Pirates are forced to fight Ganzack once more to prevent him from destroying the island.

A second film, One Piece: Romance Dawn Story, was produced by Toei Animation in July 2008 for the Jump Super Anime Tour. It is 34 minutes in length and based on the first version of Romance Dawn.[49][6] It includes the Straw Hat Pirates up to Brook and their second ship, the Thousand Sunny. In search for food for his crew, Luffy arrives at a port after defeating a pirate named Crescent Moon Gally on the way. There he meets a girl named Silk, who was abandoned by attacking pirates as a baby and raised by the mayor. Her upbringing causes her to value the town as her "treasure". The villagers mistake Luffy for Gally and capture him just as the real Gally returns. Gally throws Luffy in the water and plans to destroy the town, but Silk saves him and Luffy pursues Gally. His crew arrives to help him, and with their help, he recovers the treasure for the town, acquires food, and destroys Gally's ship. The film was later released as a triple feature DVD with Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! and Tegami Bachi: Light and Blue Night, that was available only through a mail-in offer exclusively to Japanese residents.[50]

The One Piece Film Strong World: Episode 0 original video animation adapts the manga's special "Chapter 0", which shows how things were before and after the death of Roger. It received a limited release of three thousand DVDs as a collaboration with the House Foods brand.[51]

1999 TV seriesMain article: One Piece (1999 TV series)

An anime television series adaptation produced by Toei Animation premiered on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999;[52] the series reached its 1,000th episode in November 2021.[53]

Theatrical filmsMain article: List of One Piece films

Fourteen animated theatrical films produced by Toei Animation based on the One Piece series have been released. The films are typically released in March to coincide with the spring vacation of Japanese schools.[54] The films feature self-contained, completely original plots, or alternate retellings of story arcs with animation of a higher quality than what the weekly anime allows. The first three films were typically double features paired up with other anime films and were thus usually an hour or less in length. The films themselves offer contradictions in both chronology and design that make them incompatible with a single continuity. Funimation has licensed the eighth, tenth, and twelfth films for release in North America, and these films have received in-house dubs by the company.[55][56]

Upcoming original net animation

In December 2023 at the Jump Festa '24 event, it was announced that Wit Studio would be producing an original net animation (ONA) series remake for Netflix, starting from the East Blue story arc, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original anime series. The remake will be titled The One Piece.[57] It will be directed by Masashi Koizuka, with Hideaki Abe serving as assistant director, and Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda as character designers and chief animation directors. Yasuhiro Kajino will be in charge of the image board and creature design, and Eri Taguchi will be in charge of the prop design. Taku Kishimoto will be in charge of the series scripts, and Ken Imaizumi and Shuhei Fukuda will serve as action animators. Tomonori Kuroda will be the art director, and Ryōma Kawamura will be the animation producer.[58]

Live-action seriesMain article: One Piece (2023 TV series)

On July 21, 2017, Weekly Shōnen Jump editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano announced that Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios) and Shueisha would commence production of an American live-action television adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga series as part of the series' 20th anniversary celebrations.[59][60] Eiichiro Oda served as executive producer for the series alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Adelstein and Becky Clements.[60] The series would reportedly begin with the East Blue arc.[61]

In January 2020, Oda revealed that Netflix ordered a first season consisting of ten episodes.[62] On May 19, 2020, producer Marty Adelstein revealed during an interview with SyFy Wire, that the series was originally set to begin filming in Cape Town sometime around August, but has since been delayed to around September due to COVID-19. He also revealed that, during the same interview, all ten scripts had been written for the series and they were set to begin casting sometime in June.[63] However, executive producer Matt Owens stated in September 2020 that casting had not yet commenced.[64]

In March 2021, production started up again with showrunner Steven Maeda revealing that the series codename is Project Roger.[65] In November 2021, it was announced that the casting for the series includes Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji.[66][67] In March 2022, Netflix added Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Vincent Regan as Garp and Peter Gadiot as Shanks to the cast in recurring roles.[68]

The series was positively received by both fans and critics, and on September 15, 2023, Oda revealed that the show has been renewed for a second season.[69]

Video gamesMain article: List of One Piece video games

The One Piece franchise has been adapted into multiple video games published by subsidiaries of Bandai and later as part of Bandai Namco Entertainment. The games have been released on a variety of video game, handheld consoles, and mobile devices. The video games feature role-playing games, and fighting games, such as the titles of the Grand Battle! meta-series. The series debuted on July 19, 2000, with From TV Animation – One Piece: Become the Pirate King!.[70] Over forty games have been produced based on the franchise.[71] Additionally, One Piece characters and settings have appeared in various Shonen Jump crossover games, such as Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, J-Stars Victory VS and Jump Force.

MusicMain article: Music of One Piece

Music soundtracks have been released that are based on songs that premiered in the series. Kohei Tanaka and Shiro Hamaguchi composed the score for One Piece.[52] Various theme songs and character songs were released on a total of 51 singles. Eight compilation albums and seventeen soundtrack CDs have been released featuring songs and themes that were introduced in the series. On August 11, 2019, it was announced that the musical group Sakuramen is collaborating with Kohei Tanaka to compose music for the anime's "Wano Country" story arc.[72]

Light novels

A series of light novels was published based on the first festival film, certain episodes of the anime television series, and all but the first feature film. They feature artwork by Oda and are written by Tatsuya Hamasaki. The first of these novels, One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzak! was released on June 3, 1999.[73] One Piece: Logue Town Chapter followed on July 17, 2000, as an adaptation of the anime television series' Logue Town story arc.[74] The first feature film to be adapted was Clockwork Island Adventure on March 19, 2001.[75] The second, and so far last, light novel adaptation of an anime television series arc, One Piece: Thousand-year Dragon Legend, was published on December 25, 2001.[76] The adaptation of Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals was released on March 22, 2002, and that of Dead End Adventure on March 10, 2003.[77][78] Curse of the Sacred Sword followed on March 22, 2004, and Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island on March 14, 2005.[79][80] The light novel of The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle was released on March 6, 2006, and that of The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta on March 7, 2007.[81][82] A novel adaptation of Episodes of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom was released on February 25, 2008.[83]

Art and guidebooks

Five art books and five guidebooks for the One Piece series have been released. The first art book, One Piece: Color Walk 1, released June 2001,[84] was also released in English by Viz Media on November 8, 2005.[85] A second art book, One Piece: Color Walk 2, was released on November 4, 2003;[86] and One Piece: Color Walk 3 – Lion the third art book, was released January 5, 2006.[87] The fourth art book, subtitled Eagle, was released on March 4, 2010,[88] and One Piece: Shark, the fifth art book, was released on December 3, 2010.[89]

The first guidebook One Piece: Red – Grand Characters was released on March 2, 2002.[90] The second, One Piece: Blue – Grand Data File, followed on August 2, 2002.[91] The third guidebook, One Piece: Yellow – Grand Elements, was released on April 4, 2007,[92] and the fourth, One Piece: Green – Secret Pieces, followed on November 4, 2010.[93] An anime guidebook, One Piece: Rainbow!, was released on May 1, 2007, and covers the first eight years of the TV anime.[94]

Other media

Other One Piece media include a trading card game by Bandai called One Piece CCG and a drama CD centering on the character of Nefertari Vivi released by Avex Trax on December 26, 2002.[95][96] A Hello Kitty-inspired Chopper was used for several pieces of merchandise as a collaboration between One Piece and Hello Kitty.[97] A kabuki play inspired by One Piece, Super Kabuki II: One Piece, ran at Tokyo's Shinbashi Enbujō throughout October and November 2015.[98]

An event called "One Piece Premier Show" debuted at Universal Studios Japan in 2007.[54] The event has been held at the same location every year since 2010.[99][100] (except in 2020, when the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[100] By 2018, the event has attracted over 1 million visitors.[101] The Baratie restaurant, modeled after the restaurant of the same name in the manga, opened in June 2013 at the Fuji Television headquarters.[102] An indoor theme park located inside the Tokyo Tower called the Tokyo One Piece Tower, which includes some attractions, shops and restaurants, opened on March 13, 2015.[103]

One Piece is the first-ever manga series to hold a "Dome Tour", in which events were held from March 25–27, 2011, at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka,[104][105] and from April 27 – May 1 of the same year at the Tokyo Dome.[104][106] In 2014, the first One Piece exhibition in South Korea was held at the War Memorial of Korea,[107] and the second exhibition in Hongik Daehango Art Center.[108] In 2015, a One Piece trompe-l'œil exhibition was held at the Hong Kong 3D Museum.[109][110]

One Piece on Ice: Episode of Alabaster premiered on August 11, 2023, in Yokohama, starring two-time reigning world champion Shoma Uno in the lead role of Monkey D. Luffy and junior world champion Marin Honda as Princess Vivi. Other cast members included Four Continents champion Nobunari Oda, Kazuki Tomono, Keijii Tanaka, Koshiro Shimada, and Rika Hongo.[111]

ReceptionSales

One Piece is the best-selling manga series in history; in 2012, Oricon, a Japanese company that began its own annual manga sales ranking chart in year 2008, reported that the series was the first to sell 100 million copies (the company does not report on sales figures before April 2008).[112] The series had over 300 million copies in circulation by November 2013;[113] it had over 440 million copies in circulation worldwide by May 2018;[114] 460 million copies by December 2019;[115][116] 470 million copies by April 2020;[117][118] 480 million copies in circulation in forty-three countries worldwide by February 2021.[119][120] It reached 490 million copies in print worldwide by July 2021.[121][122] By August 2022, the manga had reached 516.566 million copies in circulation worldwide.[123][124][125] By 2004, the brand's merchandise had made more than $1 billion in retail sales in Japan.[126][127]

One Piece was the best-selling manga series for eleven consecutive years from 2008 until 2018.[128] In 2019, the manga did not top the chart for the first time in twelve years, ranking second in the annual manga sales ranking with over 10.1 million copies sold,[129] although it remained as the best-selling manga by volume in its twelfth consecutive year.[130] It was the third best-selling manga series in 2020, with over 7.7 million copies sold,[131] while volumes 95–97 were the 23rd–25th best-selling manga volumes of 2020, behind the first twenty-two volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.[132] In 2021, it was the sixth best selling manga with over 7 million copies sold,[133] while volumes 98, 99, and 100 were the sixth, eighth, and ninth best-selling manga volumes, respectively.[134] It was the fourth best-selling manga series in 2022, with over 10.3 million copies sold;[135] volumes 101–104 were among the 10 best-selling manga volumes of the year.[136] It was the fifth best-selling manga series in the first half of 2023 (period between November 2022 and May 2023), with over 3.5 million copies sold,[137] while volume 105 was the best-selling manga volume from the same period; volume 104 placed nineteenth.[138] Volumes 105–107 were among the best-selling manga volumes of 2023.[139] Volume 108 was Shueisha's highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period between April 2023 and March 2024), with 3.2 million copies printed.[140]

Individual volumes of One Piece have broken publishing and sales records in Japan. In 2009, the 56th volume had a print run of 2.85 million, the highest initial print run of any manga by then.[141] The 57th volume had a print run of 3 million in 2010,[142] a record that was broken several times by subsequent volumes. The 60th volume had a first print run of 3.4 million and was the first book to sell over two million copies in its opening week on Oricon book rankings,[143][144] and later became the first book to sell over three million copies in Oricon's history.[145] In 2012, the 67th volume had an initial print run of 4.05 million, holding the record of the volume with the highest number of copies in the first print.[146] One Piece is the only manga that had an initial print of volumes of above 3 million continuously for more than ten years.[147] In May 2023, it was reported that each of the 105 volumes, published by then, had sold over 1 million copies.[148] Additionally, One Piece is the only work whose volumes have ranked first every year in Oricon's weekly comic chart existence since 2008.[149][150]

One Piece has also sold well in North America, charting on Publishers Weekly's list of best-selling comics for April/May 2007 and numerous times on The New York Times Manga Best Seller list.[151][152][153] On ICv2's list of Top 25 Manga Properties Fall 2008 for North America, which is compiled by interviews with retailers and distributors, Nielsen BookScan's Top 20 Lists of graphic novels and ICv2's own analysis of information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, One Piece came in fifteenth place.[154] It rose to second place on their Top 25 Manga Properties Q3 2010 list.[155] By August 2022, the manga has sold 2.9 million copies in print in North America (including single volumes and omnibus editions).[156]

In France, One Piece has been the best-selling manga since 2011,[157] with over 31.80 million copies sold by August 2022.[158] The manga is very popular in the country, where its sales alone represent 8.5% of the French manga market by 2021.[159] The first volume had sold more than 1 million copies in France by July 2021.[160] The 100th volume had one of the biggest initial prints ever for a manga in the French market, selling 131,270 copies in just three days, the best-selling manga volume in a week in the country.[161][162] The manga sold 6,011,536 copies in 2021.[163] This amount represents almost 20% of the total sales in the country; almost one in five volumes of the series was sold in the year.[164]

In Italy, One Piece had 18 million copies in circulation by April 2021.[165] which represents around 22.5% of the series market outside Japan.[166] In September 2021, the limited edition of the ninety-eighth volume ranked first in the best-selling books weekly ranking, making it the first time that a manga reaches that achievement.[167]

In Germany, One Piece is the second best-selling manga behind Dragon Ball. The manga had sold 6.7 million copies in the country.[168]

Critical response

Allen Divers of Anime News Network comments in 2003 that the art style One Piece employs "initially seems very cartoonish with much of the character designs showing more North American influence than that from its Japanese origins", adding that the "artwork and settings come across as timeless in their presentation". He also notes that the influence of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) shines through in Oda's style of writing with its "huge epic battles punctuated by a lot of humor" and that, in One Piece, he "manages to share a rich tale without getting bogged down by overly complicated plots".[169] Rebecca Silverman of the same site stated that one of the series' strengths is to "blend action, humor, and heavy fare together" and praised the art, but stated that the panels could get too crowded for easy reading.[170] The website activeAnime describes the artwork in One Piece as "wonderfully quirky and full of expression".[171] Mario Vuk from Splash Comics commented that Oda's "pleasantly bright and dynamic" art style suits the story's "funny and exciting" atmosphere.[172] Isaiah Colbert of Kotaku called One Piece a "masterpiece", highlighting Oda's character writing, world-building and the balance between "fun and serious subject matter".[173] Dale Bashir of IGN wrote that One Piece is more about the world-building, adventuring, and the meaning of freedom instead of the "usual shonen battling" from series like Dragon Ball and Naruto. Bashir concluded: "While not everyone would want to go so far for a franchise that isn't even finished yet, trust me when I say that it is definitely worth it."[174]

EX Media lauds Oda's art for its "crispy" monochrome pictures, "great use of subtle shade changes" on color pages, "sometimes exquisite" use of angles, and for its consistency.[175] Shaenon K. Garrity, who at some point edited the series for English Shonen Jump, said that, while doing so, her amazement over Oda's craft grew steadily. She states that "he has a natural, playful mastery of the often restrictive weekly-manga format," notes that "interesting things [are] going on deep in the narrative structure," and recommends "sticking through to the later volumes to see just how crazy and Peter Max-y the art gets".[176] Mania Entertainment writer Jarred Pine commented: "One Piece is a fun adventure story, with an ensemble cast that is continuing to develop, with great action and character drama." He praised Oda's artwork as "imaginative and creative" and commented that "Oda's imagination just oozes all of the panels [sic]". He also noted that "Oda's panel work [...] features a lot of interesting perspectives and direction, especially during the explosive action sequences which are always a blast".[177]

In March 2021, Mobile Suit Gundam's creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino, said in his interview that One Piece is the "only manga to trust". He praised the manga, commenting: "Still, we are working in the same studio and I saw storyboards near the photocopier. Unlike mine, those storyboards are good. But, you know, among the popular manga there is manga with very beautiful art and manga with bad art, but interesting nonetheless. And I don't trust manga with very beautiful art unless it is One Piece.[178]

After the release of the hundredth volume, Weekly Shonen Jump's editor-in-chief, Hiroyuki Nakano, explained how One Piece changed the history of manga and the way of making it. Nakano said that Weekly Shonen Jump is "a game of weekly popularity", and before One Piece, he aimed for something "interesting this week without thinking about the next"; however, the series reached overwhelming popularity due to its style that involves a story concept and detailed hints, adding that the series had a huge impact on other series. Nakano lauded Oda for his "overwhelming passion, talent and power" and his "unwavering will" to deliver a story to boys and girls, adding that he goes far beyond the reader's expectations, with the belief in "don't fool the reader" and "there is something interesting ahead of it".[179]

Awards and accolades

One Piece was nominated for the 23rd Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1999.[180] It was a finalist for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize three times in a row from 2000 to 2002,[181][182][183] with the highest number of fan nominations in the first two years.[184] The manga was nominated for Favorite Manga Series in Nickelodeon Magazine's 2009 Comics Awards.[185] In 2012, the series won the 41st Japan Cartoonists Association Award Grand Prize, alongside Kimuchi Yokoyama's Neko Darake.[186] In 2014, the series received the 18th Yomiuri Advertising Award's Golden Medal.[187] It also won the 34th Newspaper Advertising Award in the Advertising category[188] and the 67th Advertising Dentsu Award in Newspaper Advertising Planning category.[189]

The forty-sixth volume of One Piece was the best manga of 2007, according to the Oricon's Japanese Book of the Year Action Committee.[190] The series was chosen as one of the best continuing manga for all ages/teens in 2011 by critics from About.com, Anime News Network, and ComicsAlliance.[191] The series has ranked on the "Book of the Year" list from Media Factory's Da Vinci magazine, where professional book reviewers, bookstore employees, and Da Vinci readers participate; it ranked fifth in 2011;[192] second in 2012;[193] third in 2013;[194] second in 2014, 2015 and 2016;[195][196][197] third in 2017 and 2018;[198][199] second in 2019;[200] third in 2020 and 2021;[201][202] second in 2022;[203] third in 2023;[204] and fourteenth in 2024.[205] It ranked eighth in the 2023 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers.[206]

The German translation of the manga won the Sondermann Award in the international manga category in 2005. The series received the award for the forty-fourth volume in 2008[207] and the forty-eighth volume in 2009.[208] One Piece won the AnimeLand's Anime & Manga 19th Grand Prix for the "Best Classic Shōnen" category in 2012.[209][210]

In a poll conducted by Oricon in 2008 about "the most moving (touching) manga ever", One Piece ranked first in both male and female categories.[211] In another 2008 poll by Oricon, Japanese teenagers voted it the most interesting manga.[212] On Tencent's anime and manga web portal, One Piece ranked first in a poll of "must-read manga for the younger generation in China".[213] In a poll conducted by eBookJapan in 2014 about "manga that children want to read" for "Children's Reading Day" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the series also ranked first.[214]

On June 15, 2015, it was announced that Eiichiro Oda and One Piece had set the Guinness World Record for "The most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author" with 320,866,000 copies printed worldwide by December 2014;[215] it updated the record on August 4, 2022, when it reached over 500 million copies in circulation worldwide in both print and digital copies (416,566,000 in Japan and 100 million copies in 60 countries and territories outside of Japan).[125] The series ranked fourth on the first annual Tsutaya Comic Awards' All-Time Best Section in 2017.[216] In 2021, TV Asahi announced the results of its "Manga General Election" poll in which 150,000 people voted for their "Most Favorite Manga", One Piece ranked first on the list.[217][218]

In 2014, the "One Piece Premiere Summer" event received the "Best Overall Production" award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.[219]

Cultural impact

As part of an effort to help Kumamoto Prefecture recover from the 2016 earthquakes, Oda helped set up 10 statues of the Straw Hat Pirates around the prefecture. Luffy was the first statue to be unveiled in front of the Kumamoto Prefectural Government Office on November 30, 2018. Jinbe was the last statue, unveiled at Sumiyoshi Kaigan Park on July 23, 2022.[220][221]

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Greek athlete Miltiadis Tentoglou performed a "Gear Second" pose before winning a gold medal in the men's long jump competition.[222] A gene in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) was named "Baramicin", partly taking inspiration from the One Piece character Buggy. The gene encodes a protein that is split up into multiple parts.[223] A testate amoeba genus was named Alabasta, partly in reference to the One Piece Kingdom of Alabasta, also known as the Kingdom of Sand, a desert kingdom located on Sandy Island in the Paradise region.[224]

Bleach (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese anime television series based on Tite Kubo's original manga series Bleach. It was produced by Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2012, spanning 366 episodes. The story follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. In addition to adapting the manga series it is based on, the anime periodically includes original self-contained storylines and characters not found in the source material.

Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime in March 2006. Bleach was broadcast in the United States on Adult Swim from September 2006 to November 2014.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, a sequel series covering the manga's final story arc, also animated by Pierrot (by studio Pierrot for the first two parts and by Pierrot Films for the third part) and directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, aired its first 13-episode cours on TV Tokyo from October to December 2022. The second 13-episode cours aired from July to September 2023. The third 14-episode cours aired from October to December 2024. The fourth cours was announced after the end of the third cours.

Plot[edit]See also: List of Bleach characters

The series adapts Kubo's manga with the main story arcs and introduces anime exclusive ones. In Karakura Town, high school student Ichigo Kurosaki becomes a substitute Soul Reaper (死神, Shinigami, literally, "Death God"), when Rukia Kuchiki risks her life to protect him from a Hollow who attacks Ichigo's twin younger sisters. Although initially reluctant to accept his responsibility, he takes her place, and during this time they discover that a few classmates are spiritually aware and have their own powers: Quincy survivor Uryū Ishida uses spiritual particles, Orihime Inoue has a group of protective spirits called Shun Shun Rikka and Yasutora Sado ("Chad") has strength equal to the Hollows encased in his arm.

When Rukia is sentenced to death for transgressions in the human world and sent to the Soul Society, Ichigo meets Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin, the duo of exiled Soul Reapers. They allow him and his friends to save Rukia. After this, it is revealed that ex-squad captain Sōsuke Aizen framed Rukia for the crime and has been illegally experimenting on Soul Reapers and Hollows. Aizen plans to conquer the Soul Society by using the Hōgyoku, a legendary powerful substance turning Hollows into half Soul Reapers. After faking his death and his reappearance caused a fight with some people, Aizen escapes into Hueco Mundo, the realm of Hollows, and later kidnaps Orihime as she is instrumental in creating the Oken, a power that will allow him to kill the Soul King, the ruler of the Soul Society.

After being trained by the Vizards, other exiled Soul Reapers and the victims of Aizen's experiment, Ichigo and his friends travel into Hueco Mundo. Facing a group of Arrancars, who are Hollows given Soul Reaper abilities, led by an elite group known as the Espadas, which are composed of ten Arrancars with exemplary strength. Espadas serve as commanders in Aizen's army and each has the factions of weaker Arrancars. Along with Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, the Espada as a group possess comparable strength to Soul Reaper captains. After rescuing Orihime, Aizen reveals her kidnapping was a distraction to allow him to take Karakura Town, as its spiritual energy is what is needed for the Oken. After being trained by his father Isshin, another exiled Soul Reaper, Ichigo sacrifices his power to seal Aizen away when the Hōgyoku rejects its master, and the Soul Reapers defeat the Espadas.

Months later, Chad and the members reveal themselves as Fullbringers in a group called Xcution. They can give up their powers to restore other ones and they plan on doing so for Ichigo, who uses the power of Fullbringer. However, it is all a ruse by their leader Kugo Ginjo, a Fullbringer and former Substitute Soul Reaper, to extract his powers and empower all of them. Ichigo has his Soul Reaper powers restored, when he gains his trust from the Soul Society. After helping other Soul Reapers defeat Ginjo's team, Ichigo resumes his duty as an official Substitute Soul Reaper.

Several anime exclusive story arcs are introduced during the series. The first arc focuses on the Bount, a group of spiritual humans who are immortal longer by stealing souls. Their leader, Jin Kariya, seeks to destroy the Soul Society in revenge. However, Ichigo and his allies defeat them. The second arc focuses on Shūsuke Amagai, a Soul Reaper captain replacing Ichimaru. Amagai seeks revenge against Captain Yamamoto for the death of his father and uses the clan's forbidden experiment. However, Amagai realizes his mistake and kills himself. The third arc features the evil Zanpakutō spirit Muramasa, who turns itself and other ones into spiritual beings to take revenge on the Soul Society for imprisoning its master Kōga Kuchiki. After succeeding, he is double-crossed and transforms into a monstrous creature that Ichigo defeats, but after Muramasa reveals the intention was to have Soul Reapers and Zanpakutō communicate on equal terms. The fourth and final arc features an event in which Kagerōza Inaba creates modified copies of all Soul Reapers in Reigai bodies. He attempts to fuse with Nozomi Kujō into an original being Ōko Yushima. However, Nozomi sacrifices herself to defeat Inaba and Ichigo loses his power.

Casting[edit]Japanese[edit]

Ichigo's voice actor, Masakazu Morita, tried to re-create the mood that he felt when he read the manga and imagined hearing the dialogue. In an interview with Elicia O'Reilly of the Japan Foundation, Morita said that to get into character, he would say a line that epitomizes that character.[3]

English[edit]

Studio City, Los Angeles-based Studiopolis was hired to dub the anime. The English-language cast was assembled from experienced industry actors that have dozens of roles in other anime series, films and video games. Originally, Johnny Yong Bosch, Ichigo's English voice actor, found pronouncing the names of the characters to be difficult and tried to emulate the deep gruff voice of Ichigo.[4] Bosch acknowledges that the directorial control was loosened as the work progressed; stating around episode 10, as he was guided into the role of Ichigo and the growth of the character.[4] Bosch noted that the long scenes of screaming and panting—in particular, the scene in episode 18—have nearly made him pass out.[4] Stephanie Sheh noticed the difference in the tone of her Orihime voice in the English adaptation and described it as being higher-pitched and "innocent-sounding".[4] The English dub producers wanted to make Orihime sound tough and comedic, but not "ditzy". She relates to her character's unusual creations for food.[4] Derek Stephen Prince likes to play Uryu because he is the black sheep of the cast and he is a complex character.[4] Throughout the production, Prince acknowledges his role as the English voice actor of Shino Aburame from Naruto and sets them apart by taking a Clint Eastwood tone for Uryu.[4]

For the voicework, one of the challenges was stating Japanese phrases while maintaining pronunciation and inflection.[4] The duality of the story was hard to keep up with, and the cast had to juggle the challenges of performing under the different lifestyles of the characters.[4] The voice actors often made suggestions for the scenes that differ from the approved script and results in rewriting and additional takes that were put into the dub.[4]

Production[edit]

Noriyuki Abe was chosen as director of the series while Masashi Sogo [ja] acted as head writer for episodes 1–212. Tsuyoshi Kida was the head writer for episodes 230–265. Kento Shimoyama held the title of head writer for episodes 17–366. Masashi Kudō provided the character designs, occasionally providing key animation or acting as an animation supervisor himself.

The music of Bleach was composed by Shirō Sagisu. Sagisu's musical score for the television series was released in four-CD sets. Four additional CDs were released for the music composed for the four Bleach animated films.

During the production and broadcast of the first 167 episodes, the screen size was in 4:3; episodes 168 through 366 were produced and broadcast in 16:9 widescreen.

In a 2009 interview, Kubo and Kudō discussed the original story for the anime adaptation, Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale, with Kubo expressing that he desired to borrow events and concepts within it for the manga. Kubo also revealed that his art style varied in the production of the work and only became cemented after the airing of the anime. He acknowledged that his art style has changed as a result of his work and gave an example that he no longer draws hair growing from behind the ears of characters.[5]

On October 5, 2024, Aniplex released an animated video to celebrate the anime series' 20th anniversary. The video features climactic scenes from the series, animated in the new Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime style.[6][7]

Music[edit]Main article: List of Bleach soundtracks

The soundtrack of Bleach, composed by Shirō Sagisu, was released in four volumes and an anniversary box set. A series of character song albums, the "Bleach Beat Collection" albums, and best-of albums composed of the theme songs were released, all by Sony Music Entertainment Japan.[8]

Five volumes of Bleach Soundtracks have been released. Bleach Original Soundtrack 1 has twenty five songs, released on May 18, 2005.[9] Bleach Original Soundtrack 2 has twenty three songs covering up to episode 64 of the Bount Arc and was released on August 8, 2006.[10] Bleach Original Soundtrack 3 has twenty seven songs and was released on November 5, 2008.[11] Bleach Original Soundtrack 4 was the fourth and final album that has thirty songs, and was released on December 16, 2009.[12] The fifth anniversary box set was released on July 29, 2009, with a CD including 21 previously unreleased songs.[13]

The Bleach Beat Collections is a set of CDs published by Sony Music featuring recordings by the original Japanese voice actors that provide a look at the personalities of the characters they play, as well as the voice actors themselves. The first CD was released on June 22, 2005, twenty-one volumes followed across four named sets called Sessions.[14]

A number of additional collections have been released. Two volumes were released as "The Best", with each volume containing twenty four songs each on two discs; the first volume released March 21, 2007, and the second one on March 18, 2009.[15][16] The "Bleach Breathless Collection" contains six releases featuring five tracks of the individual Soul Reaper. The six volumes feature Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Toshiro, Shuhei and Byakuya, respectively. Three Radio DJCD Bleach 'B' Station season CD sets, each containing six volumes, have been released in Japan.[17]

Broadcast and release[edit]Main article: List of Bleach episodes

Bleach premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on October 5, 2004.[18] The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe, and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and studio Pierrot.[19] It ran for 366 episodes, finishing on March 27, 2012.[20] 88 DVD compilations were released by Aniplex in Japan from February 2, 2005, to January 23, 2013.[h]

Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video and merchandising rights to the Bleach anime from TV Tokyo Corporation, and Shueisha on March 15, 2006.[37] Viz Media had later licensed its individual Bleach merchandising rights to several different companies.[38] In North America, the series first premiered on Canada's YTV channel in the Bionix programming block on September 9, 2006.[39] Cartoon Network's Adult Swim began airing Bleach in the United States on September 10, 2006.[40][41] Adult Swim stopped broadcasting episodes of the English adaptation on October 13, 2007, after airing the first 52 episodes of the series. It was replaced with another Viz Media series, Death Note, to provide Studiopolis more time to dub additional episodes of Bleach.[42] The series resumed airing on March 2, 2008,[43] but went back on hiatus on November 21, 2009, after the 167th episode. The series returned to the block with new episodes on August 28, 2010, replacing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.[44] The anime joined the relaunched Toonami anime block, when it returned to Adult Swim on May 27, 2012.[45] The series ended on November 2, 2014,[46] and continued airing reruns on Adult Swim until February 1, 2015.[47]

Viz Media had released the first 135 episodes on 32 DVD compilations of the English adaptation of the anime from November 28, 2006, to September 21, 2010,[48][49] and released the entire series on 26 box sets from October 6, 2008, to September 29, 2015.[50][51] In July 2016, Viz Media announced the uncut Blu-ray box-set release of the series.[52] The 366 episodes were collected in thirteen sets, released from July 19, 2016,[53] to December 7, 2021.[54]

In the United Kingdom, Bleach premiered on AnimeCentral on September 13, 2007, with episodes airing weekly.[55] The English dubbed version of Bleach premiered on Animax Asia on December 18, 2009,[56] with the first 52 episodes; the "season 2" premiered on March 18, 2011,[57] this time with the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

Thousand-Year Blood War[edit]Main article: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

In March 2020, Weekly Shōnen Jump and "Bleach 20th Anniversary Project & Tite Kubo New Project Presentation" livestream announced that the manga's last story arc, "Thousand-Year Blood War", would receive an anime project.[58] In November 2021, it was announced that the anime project would be a television series, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (BLEACH 千年血戦篇, Burīchi Sennen Kessen-hen). The trailer and visual for the series were revealed at the Jump Festa '22 on December 18, 2021.[59][60] Tomohisa Taguchi replaced Noriyuki Abe as the series director at studio Pierrot. Taguchi is also overseeing the series scripts alongside Masaki Hiramatsu; Masashi Kudo returned as the character designer and Shirō Sagisu returned to compose the music.[61][62] An advanced screening of the first two episodes was held in Tokyo on September 11, 2022.[63] The series will run for four cours with breaks in between.[64][65] It premiered on TV Tokyo on October 11, 2022,[64][65][i] and the first 13-episodes cours, subtitled The Blood Warfare, finished on December 27 of the same year.[66][j] The second 13-episode cours, The Separation, was broadcast from July 8 to September 30, 2023.[67][68][k] The third 14-episode cours, The Conflict, produced by Pierrot's second studio Pierrot Films,[70] was broadcast from October 5 to December 28, 2024.[71][l] The fourth and final cours, The Calamity, was announced after the third cours finale.[73]

Viz Media held the North American premiere at the New York Comic Con on October 8, 2022, ahead of the simulcast of the anime.[74] The series is streamed on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ internationally (excluding Asian territories, in which Medialink retained the rights and airs the series on Ani-One Asia YouTube channel with the Ultra membership scheme).[75][76]

Other media[edit]

All four films based on the manga series were directed by Noriyuki Abe. They feature an original plotline along with original characters designed by Tite Kubo, which is contrary to the normal practice for anime-based films, as the original author usually has little creative involvement.[77] The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, was released in Japan on December 16, 2006, and had a limited release in North America in June 2008.[78][79] The second film, Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, was released on December 22, 2007.[80] The third film, Bleach: Fade to Black, was released on December 13, 2008. The fourth and final film, Bleach: Hell Verse, was released on December 4, 2010.[81]

In March 2010, Warner Bros. (outside Japan) confirmed that it was in talks to create a live action film adaptation of the series. Peter Segal and Michael Ewing had been lined up to produce the film.[82] In 2012, Dan Mazeau was added as a screenwriter for the project, and Masi Oka joined as producer.[83]

A live action film adaptation of the same name produced by Warner Bros.[84] directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Sota Fukushi was released in Japan on July 20, 2018.[85]

Aniplex released thirteen drama CDs featuring the original voice actors from the series; these drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.[86]

The popularity of the anime series[87] resulted in the series of rock musicals, jointly produced by studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. There have been five musicals produced which covered portions of the Substitute and Soul Society arcs, as well as three additional performances known as "Live Bankai Shows" which did not follow the Bleach plotline. The initial performance run of the Bleach musical was from August 17–28, 2005 at the Space Zero Tokyo center in Shinjuku.[88][89][90] The musicals are directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura and music composed by playwright Shoichi Tama. The songs are completely original and not taken from the anime soundtrack. Key actors in the series include Tatsuya Isaka as Ichigo Kurosaki, Miki Satō as Rukia Kuchiki and Eiji Moriyama as Renji Abarai.[91]

Reception[edit]Sales and ratings[edit]

The Bleach anime has been featured various times in the top ten from the Japanese TV Ranking.[92][93][94] DVDs have also had good sales having commonly appeared in the Japanese DVD Ranking.[95][96] In a 2005 Internet poll by TV Asahi, the anime was ranked as Japan's 27th favorite anime program.[97] In the following year, it was ranked as the seventh favorite program.[98] In February 2009, it ranked as the ninth most viewed animated show from Hulu.[99]

Critical response[edit]

Anime News Network's Carlo Santos praised the anime adaptation, describing it as "...one incredibly entertaining anime that will grab you and refuse to let go."[100] Animefringe's Maria Lin liked the varied and distinct characters, and how well they handle the responsibilities increasing powers give them. She also complimented the series for its attention to details, well paced script, and balance of seriousness and comedy. In summary, she notes "Bleach the anime deserves its popularity. It has something for everyone: the supernatural, comedy, action and a little bit of romance, all tied together with excellent animation and a very enthusiastic sounding bunch of voice actors."[101] Adam Arseneau of DVD Verdict, felt Bleach was a "show that only gets better with age" and was "surprisingly well-rounded and appealing" with well-developed characters and pacing.[102]

Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood praising the anime for perfectly capturing "the excitement, the caustic humour and supernatural intrigue" of the original manga.[103] She felt that the series "does a wonderful job of building on its continuity to provide increasingly tense and layered episodes involving not only Ichigo and Rukia, but the secondary characters as well".[104] She also praised the series for its striking visual effects, intriguing plot and its "brilliant blend of action, off the wall comedy."[105][106] In reviewing the series for DVD Talk, Don Houston felt the characters surpassed the usual anime typicals and liked "the mixture of darker material with the comedic".[107] Another fellow reviewer John Sinnott felt series starts out as a boring "monster-of-the-week program" that becomes more epic as the stories build and the characters are fleshed out.[108]

Otaku USA's Joseph Luster wrote that "the storylines are consistently dramatic without hammering it home too heavily, the characters manage comic relief that's not as eye rolling as one would expect, and the action (in classic fighting series form) has only gotten more ridiculous over the years; in a good way, of course".[109] Mania.com's Chris Beveridge describes the series as "Bleach is a solid entry into the Shōnen Jump line up, this is a very easy recommendation to make if you're looking for something in this genre".[110] Bryce Coulter from the same website praised the series for its plot twists and "the quirky and amusing characters".[111][112]

Von Feigenblatt notes that "in terms of demographics, Bleach appeals to a narrower international audience than Naruto due to the higher complexity of its plot as well as due to the religious aspects of the story."[113] Louis Kemner of CBR said that the anime has "one of the most interesting and flexible combat systems" in anime and says this makes for some "stunning action scenes."[114] Kemner also said that the series had "a wide and colorful cast of characters."[115]

Accolades[edit]

The Bleach anime was nominated in the 2007 America Anime Awards in the fields of "best manga", "best actor", "best DVD package design", and "best theme", but failed to win any awards.[116][117] The anime's Thousand-Year Blood War – The Separation was nominated for "best action", while Ichigo Kurosaki's English voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch, was nominated in the "best voice artist performance" category at the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2024.[118]

Thousand-Year Blood War[edit]Main article: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

Other media[edit]

A live action film adaptation of the same name produced by Warner Bros.[84] directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Sota Fukushi was released in Japan on July 20, 2018.[85]

Aniplex released thirteen drama CDs featuring the original voice actors from the series; these drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.[86]

Reception[edit]Sales and ratings[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Accolades[edit]

Thousand-Year Blood War[edit]Main article: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

Other media[edit]

A live action film adaptation of the same name produced by Warner Bros.[84] directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Sota Fukushi was released in Japan on July 20, 2018.[85]

Aniplex released thirteen drama CDs featuring the original voice actors from the series; these drama CDs have only been included as part of the DVD releases.[86]

Reception[edit]Sales and ratings[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Accolades[edit]

One Piece's Strongest Villain

Volume 1

Chapter 1 - Skip this