The Straw Hat Pirates’ Original Origins is now available to read for free, giving fans a chance to immerse themselves in One Piece’s rich lore.
North American licensor VIZ Media has made the first 12 volumes of the One Piece manga available for fans in the United States to read. Translations in Spanish, French, Chinese and many other languages are also available to a worldwide audience. “As the new series departs around the world, you can show your friends where it all started in ONE PIECE comics!” Shonen Jump was announced through X.
Season 1 of Netflix’s One Piece is about the East Blue Saga, adapting 108 chapters of the manga. The first eight episodes see Luffy gather his Nakama, setting the familiar tone of dreams and “finding the family” that Oda has always wanted, according to showrunner Mark Owens. Those 108 chapters are divided into 12 episodes, giving fans a more engaging experience along with the live-action two-episode structure. Owens previously said: “Our entire season is set up in four two-episode seasons in which we meet a new Straw Hat, get to know them and figure out where they fit into the world of Surname”. Notable differences include Garp arriving much later in the manga, a change of setting, with an overall goofier tone in the manga.
While trying to stay close to the manga, Oda and team made it clear that the live-action would be a separate entity. One Piece cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker described the amount of difficulty faced in turning that ideal into reality, saying, “I just wanted to stay true to the classic principles and small details of One Piece. which I feel will be important to the fans.” It is essential that they should not attempt to accurately copy the mood of the manga, which has been described as nearly impossible. Oda himself was initially a disbeliever, claiming that Shaolin Soccer was the first time he believed that One Piece could be adapted.
Netflix’s One Piece debuted on August 31 to rave reviews, giving new fans access to a work that’s been decades in the making. As the manga enters its final story arc, the live-action has just begun and is already receiving calls for a second season.
One Piece is available to stream via Netflix.
Source: One Piece Staff on X (formerly Twitter)
