Everything you need to know about One Piece before watching the Netflix show
Like its rubber protagonist, One Piece is a media franchise that can bend and stretch every which way. Created by manga artist Eiichiro Oda, One Piece portrays a young boy named Luffy and his band of goofy pirates on their quest for a mystical treasure called the One Piece. It started as a serialized comic in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1997. Fast forward over 25 years, and the series is still ongoing, with 1,000 chapters published and over 100 volumes. Since its inception, the series has received a popular anime adaptation, multiple feature film adaptations, several video games, and now a live-action series from Netflix.
One Piece is a cultural force both enormous and niche at the same time. Its sheer size has almost served as its own form of fortified naval gates that push some away — even longtime anime fans. Now, with the Netflix live-action series coming out on Aug. 31, those interested in the series will get a new entry point. A fresh start, if you will. But what is One Piece exactly, and why is it so popular? Here is the cultural phenomenon known as One Piece, explained.
One Piece is a manga and anime series that follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy with a dream to become the greatest pirate in the world. As a child, he eats a mystical plant called a Devil Fruit that grants him the power to stretch like rubber. The series starts as Luffy ventures out into the world for the first time and starts to amass a crew of pirates. The main group grows over time but starts with the founding members of Luffy, Nami the navigator, and a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro (localized as Zolo in some Western versions of comic). Eventually, Luffy and his crew become known as the Straw Hat Pirates, and his posse undertakes a series of
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