For nearly twenty-four years, it has been a title that makes the reputation of Weekly Shônen Jump. Any manga and anime fan knows his name. Its author now rises to the rank of legend… We want to talk about One Piece, of course! While this year 2021 ends in style for the license, we offer you a look back at this mythical saga that still has surprises in store for us!
A summary, for latecomers
Fortune, glory and power. One man had amassed all the riches of this world. His name? Gold Roger, King of Pirates. His last words launched men around the world on the oceans, in search of the most legendary treasure: the One Piece. The era of piracy had just begun! Years later, a reckless young boy decides to set sail and gather around him a powerful crew for this ultimate freedom. Thus begins Monkey D's eventful journey. Luffy, the man with the rubber body and the unwavering will!
One Piece: the legend is written
Twenty-four years later, Luffy has grown up, as has his crew. "Straw hat" and his companions have gone through many trials, defeated formidable opponents, known the worst sorrows. Now gathered on the island of Onigashima, in Wa country, they face one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, captain of the crew of a hundred beasts. The isolationist policy of the land of harmony begins to crack in the face of the onslaught of a most surprising alliance, between pirates, Minks, samurai and ninjas. But you can't beat the most powerful man in the world so easily… This is how Eiichiro Oda, captain of this literary epic, has kept us in suspense for nearly ten volumes. Numbers 98 and 99 plunge us into the heart of a gigantic battle taking place on several stages, where the fights are legion and the victory never run in advance. Between poignant flashbacks and monumental double pages, reversals of situation and shattering revelations, the last chapters of the cult manga leave us no second of respite. A rise in power that accompanies a strengthening of the abilities of all the characters, and in the first place the crew of Straw Hat.
Sensory identity
For those who have followed the saga since its inception, it is particularly striking to see how much the mangaka's trait and its narrative strength have strengthened. Since his first one-shots, collected in the collection Wanted!, Eiichiro Oda has indeed shown a dazzling evolution. His first plates thus show fairly simple features, where the trained eye will recognize the influence of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), with emotions strongly represented via burlesque deformations of the faces. Oda gives free rein to her overflowing imagination, through a whole gallery of colorful characters. But this does not prevent the mangaka from hitting his readers with very worked boards, whose emotional impact reaches us – sometimes to tears. This often involves hard-hitting double pages, or even mysterious or melancholic text inclusions. The identity of One Piece also passes through another sense: hearing, thanks to the animated adaptation. At the helm since the beginning, the Toei offers us a dynamic version where the original work is sublimated (despite some empty passages). And by offering the services of the brilliant Kohei Tanaka, the anime offers us an identifiable soundtrack from the first seconds. Any self-respecting fan has in mind the melody of the very first opening, We are!, and its remastered version for the thousandth episode. The same goes for the OST, whose notes punctuate the important moments: Oitsumerareta, Gold and Oden, The Very Very Strongest, Binks no Sake or even Hangeki no Noroshi, which is also found in the tenth film of the saga, Strong World… And to celebrate the hundredth volume as well as the thousandth episode, the famous Japanese group Radwimps offers us Twilight, an ode to cinematic airs.
One Piece, a transgenerational work
But what also makes the identity of a work like One Piece are the values it conveys. In line with the golden generation of shônen authors, Luffy and his companions build their strength around friendship, self-denial and surpassing oneself. These fundamental values clash with those of the antagonists encountered on the waves as on land: despotism, cowardice, hatred and terror. Yet One Piece goes far beyond that. The different levels of reading mean that each reader can apprehend the manga in his own way and according to his age. Younger readers can focus on the combat and camaraderie side, purely shônen, while older readers will find more complex analyses, which take place from an increasingly dense and mature narrative. Racism, geopolitics, corruption, but also multiple mythologies and references to world history, Eiichiro Oda unfolds in his manga a universe with multiple ramifications. Although he always defended himself by saying that he simply liked to entertain his readers… Thus, one of the strengths of One Piece is that it is a work that can be shared between everyone and by all. The nearly half a billion copies sold since the beginning of its publication are only one proof among many others! By making us go from laughter to tears, by making his readers grow at the same time as his characters, by confronting them with defeat as well as victory, the mangaka has allowed his creation to become legendary, universal and immortal.
2021: a year under the sign of the Straw Hat
The year that has just passed has undoubtedly been that of One Piece. Indeed, we were able to discover volumes 98 and 99, while Glénat editions announced the release of the hundredth volume on December 8, shortly after the publication of the 101st in Japan. A symbolic passage that commands respect and arouses admiration. In addition, we were treated to two special marathons, a few months apart. The first featured the films Z, Gold and Stampede. While the second marked the release of the thousandth episode, accompanied by the film Strong World, as well as a moving portrait of the Captain with the Straw Hat by the faithful Bartolomeo, met in Dressrosa during the Corrida Colosseum tournament. If this symbolic episode brought little evolution to the plot, it was an opportunity to pay a vibrant tribute to the Mugiwara, with a unique retrospective in the colors of each member of the crew. But the emotion that showed in the voices of the fans when the famous opening sounded was nothing compared to the fervor that seized them during the final announcement… Friends readers and spectators, already note this date in your calendars! On August 6, 2022, the next One Piece movie, titled RED ! Will the film, directed by Gorô Taniguchi, the same who, in 1998, signed the very first OAV of the saga (One Piece: Attack the pirate Gyanzack !), will it help to solve the mysteries surrounding Luffy's very first mentor, the mythical Shanks the Redhead? To find out, go to the dark rooms! These few months can be put to good use with the reading of the new chapters, which promise their share of thunderous revelations. Let's also continue to marvel at the stunning colors of the Wa no Kuni arc, which hide dark secrets. Let us seek the truth around the will of the D, let us search for the forgotten century. Let's dream again alongside Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook and Jinbe, in search of the most fabulous treasure and total freedom! And for those who are too impatient, we advise you to read the essay by Alexis Orsini, One Piece: the will of Oda. An ideal Christmas gift for any fan of the saga, which traces the journey of its brilliant creator. Beware however of spoils for those who would not be up to date in their reading / viewing! After a quarter of a century of existence, One Piece continues to surprise and move us. As the fury of Wa no Kuni's arc looks set to reach its climax, and the end draws inexorably closer, let's enjoy this already legendary work again. Until the day when we come to the inevitable conclusion, let us continue to marvel, smile and cry, so that the memory of this wonderful epic may endure for many years to come.
