The Internet Is Getting Emotional Over One Piece’s 20th Anniversary

Today, One Piece fans from around the world are coming together to celebrate all things pirate. It was twenty years ago today that Weekly Shonen Jump began serializing Eiichiro Oda’s iconic series, and his Straw Hat Pirates are still sailing the seas today. So, naturally, fans have a lot of emotions about the franchise’s milestone.

Created in July 1997, One Piece has collected a staggering number of manga chapters and anime episodes. The long-running series has over 800 chapters to its name, and One Piece continues to roll out new stories under Oda’s watch. As for its anime, One Piece is still being produced under Toei Animation, and the show has one lengthy history as well. The anime has 800 episodes under its belt, leaving One Piece to collect a total of 19 seasons.

One Piece has become a cultural pillar for Japanese anime fans, and the series’ ever-growing reach makes it a shonen staple. The franchise follows a young boy named Monkey D. Luffy as the eccentric boy chases his dream of being his world’s Pirate King. Luffy, along with his steadfast Straw Hat crew, have spent decades getting into swashbuckling skirmishes. So, today, the gang gets to enjoy a deserved celebration.

You can check out some of the most touching reactions to One Piece‘s anniversary in the slides below. If you want to sing Luffy’s praises as well, then you can hit us up on Twitter @ComicBook or @MeganPetersCB to give the pirate crew a shout out.

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When it comes to One Piece, fandom is family. The community that has grown around the franchise is a tight-knit one, and it has been running for more than a decade now. New and old fans alike are welcome to join the fandom’s ranks, so there is never a bad time to get into Oda’ story.

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When it comes to popular manga and anime, fans shouldn’t come to expect an expiration date. Series like Bleach went on for years, and other popular titles like Naruto never seem to run out of sequel ideas. One Piece has a long life ahead of it, so fans should get ready to celebrate more anniversaries in the coming years.

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One Piece is more than a good series; It’s a lifestyle for some. Oda has become an inspiration for countless artists over the years, and Monkey D. Luffy is the role model for millions of fans worldwide. So, yes, it has been a ride.

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One day, Oda will have to end One Piece, but that time is not now. The creator has told fans he’s only just halfway finished with the series, so the Straw Hat Pirate crew has lots of adventures left ahead of them.

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There are few – if any – series from Japan which live on One Piece‘s level. The fame Oda’s frachise has both abroad and domestically ranks it up there with iconic Marvel and DC comics. Just, let’s hope Hollywood foregoes any live-action adapations of One Piece until it gets its anime schtick together.

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Viz Media’s synopsis for One Piece can be read below:

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber—at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, Luffy sets off in search of the One Piece, said to be the greatest treasure in the world…

UP NEXT: Eiichiro Oda Approves Of Fan-Made One Piece Hentai

Eiichiro Oda began his manga career in 1992 at the age of 17, when his one-shot cowboy manga Wanted! won second place in the coveted Tezuka manga awards. Oda went on to work as an assistant to some of the biggest manga artists in the industry, including Nobuhiro Watsuki, before winning the Hop Step Award for new artists. His pirate adventure One Piece, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1997, quickly became one of the most popular manga in Japan.