Popverse's top stories of the day

• Crunchyroll, who closed their digital manga distribution service in 2023, are set to launch new manga reading app in 2025
• Watch Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy reunite to talk NBC's Hannibal from NYCC 2024
• Severance tl;dr: Everything you need to know about Apple TV's scifi thriller

With over 1000 episodes, 15 movies, and a live-action adaptation so good it gave hope to anime fans around the world, One Piece is a pop culture force to be reckoned with. However, that is a lot of material to get through if you want to get caught up on Eiichiro Oda’s iconic work. We get it – you’re busy and there is so much other stuff to catch up on, but you still want to know what is happening in One Piece.

That is what we’re here for, friends. Think of this as your cheat sheet to help you understand the basics of everything One Piece. If you want to be able to understand the numerous memes and reaction images from the One Piece anime and manga without spending a lifetime getting caught up, this is what you need to know.

The Pitch: What is One Piece?

Back on July 22, 1997, the first chapter of One Piece appeared in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. Since then, over 1100 chapters have been written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda, following the journey of Monkey D. Luffy as he captains his pirate ship to track down the fabled treasure of Gol D. Roger and become King of the Pirates. He sails the Grand Line, a strip of ocean that hides the most dangerous currents and countless other pirates searching for the treasure.

Simple, right? Well, that simple adventure has become one of the most enduring manga, with new chapters coming out nearly every week. Luffy’s story includes tragedy, defiance, and a world that is full of constant surprises.

The Backstory: How did Luffy and his crew get started in One Piece?

After the first chapter was published, new chapters of One Piece were released almost every week for the next… well, they’re still going we are writing this guide. The first hundred or so chapters focus on Monkey D. Luffy assembling a crew and getting his own ship so he can set sail for the Grand Line, a strip of ocean that runs around the globe and is considered the most dangerous place to set sail.

Like most of the more powerful characters in One Piece, Luffy has eaten a Devil Fruit. These mythical fruits give strange powers to those who eat them. In Luffy’s case, he gained the power of the Gum Gum Fruit. It allowed him to stretch his body to fantastic proportions, making him difficult to hurt and giving him an almost endless array of attacks to use against his enemies. Despite his power, Luffy remains a kind, enthusiastic young man who is dedicated completely to the idea of protecting the innocent and helping them achieve their dreams.

Like any good Shonen protagonist, Luffy’s Gum Gum powers have changed over the years. He began to unlock new modes, called Gears, to take on more powerful enemies, culminating with his ridiculous and cartoonish Gear 5 form. Along the way, Luffy has become one of the most recognizable anime characters on the planet. He looms high over the showfloor of New York Comic Con and soars high above the Big Apple in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Over the years, his crew has grown and he is now one of the most wanted pirates in the world, but it is always Luffy at the heart of One Piece.

With Luffy at its heart, One Piece has become a fully-fledged media empire. A long-running anime adaptation has been airing since 1999, which has spawned multiple movies and video games. The anime is so successful that Netflix is remaking it – before it has even had a chance to end! That is on top of the live-action One Piece adaptation on Netflix that became a surprise hit when it first aired in 2023.

The Essential: What is the one key One Piece arc to understand the story?

Unlike Western comics, One Piece has always been written and drawn by one person – Eiichiro Oda. As such, all 1000+ chapters of the manga or episodes of the anime can be considered one long story. However, we can suggest reading up through the Arlong Park arc to decide if the series is for you. That is 95 chapters, which sounds like a lot but they are only 19 pages each so they go quickly. Arlong Park is, in our opinion, the moment when you get a full grasp of who Luffy is and what his character arc is about. This is the arc where One Piece stops being just a jokey adventure manga and shows that Oda is capable of creating a story with real heart.

Many of the arcs that follow are better, but if you reach the end of Arlong Park and aren’t hooked on One Piece, it is probably never going to be for you.

The Takeaway: Why does One Piece stand out?

There are countless reasons why One Piece is one of the most popular anime on the planet. It is something we’ve asked around about over the years, in fact. Part of it is Oda’s writing, which manages to be big and epic one moment and then heartfelt and deeply moving the next. The characters are memorable and unique – chances are there will be at least one Straw Hat pirate that is right up your street.

We think that Sonny Strait, who has been voicing Usopp in the English dub of One Piece for years, put it best when he said “One Piece is like a clown show. It’s like, all these clowns, but you’re required as an actor to play the most serious scene you’ve ever done in your career… as a clown. It’s amazing.” There is so much One Piece to read and watch that there is always going to be something in there for you. The adventure. The heroics. The defiant stand against tyranny at all costs. What’s not to love?

Extra credit question #1: Where can I watch all of One Piece?

That is the big question, right? If you want to get into the One Piece anime, then Crunchyroll is your best destination. In most territories, it has both the Japanese and English dubs of One Piece to watch. If you’re in the UK, then the English dub is available for free on BBC iPlayer while the Japanese dub is on Crunchyroll.

Extra credit question #2: Is One Piece appropriate for 12-year-olds?

This kind of question is always going to depend on your 12-year-old, but we’d say that One Piece might be a bit violent for some people in that age bracket. While most of the fights in the manga and anime are more cartoonish than violent, there is some light gore and pretty constant peril to deal with. While many of the female characters have exaggerated, sexualized designs, there is very little sex or even romance in One Piece that would be inappropriate for a pre-teen.

Basically, if they can handle a Marvel movie, they can probably handle One Piece.

Extra credit question #3: Why did Netflix skip 500 episodes of One Piece?

While you can see some of the One Piece anime on Netflix (depending on where you live), the streamer doesn’t have the full library of over 1100 episodes. This is not because those episodes aren’t important – many characters from the first half continue to be important parts of the story later on. Rather, it is because of the difficulty in securing the streaming rights to One Piece. Toei, the studio that makes the anime, has a long relationship with Crunchyroll. That means the streamer is the only place to watch the entire One Piece series in the US.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"