Some manga are popular. One Piece is something else entirely. Since July 1997 Eiichiro Oda has been telling the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a rubber-limbed boy in a straw hat who wants to become King of the Pirates, and nearly three decades later the voyage is still going. It is the best-selling manga ever made, and it has outlived most of the series that started alongside it.

It is also, by a long way, the series we see most of here at Siomic Comics. One Piece is currently the manga with the most different volumes in stock in our shop, so we thought it deserved a proper guide: where it came from, how the anime grew up beside it, the crew, the curiosities and the volumes worth hunting down. You can browse all our One Piece manga as you read.

Where One Piece came from: a childhood love of pirates

Oda has said that his fascination with pirates goes back to watching the cartoon Vicky the Viking as a child, and that it planted the idea of one day drawing a pirate manga. The bigger influence on the way he draws, though, is Akira Toriyama. Oda grew up on Dragon Ball, and you can feel it in the elastic action, the clean silhouettes and the way a serious fight can collapse into slapstick in a single panel.

Before One Piece became a series, Oda worked through a pair of short pirate stories titled Romance Dawn. When the full serialisation began in Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 22, 1997, it opened with a chapter of the same name, and the first collected volume still carries that title today.

The story, voyage by voyage

The premise is simple. Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, was executed, and his last words told the world that his treasure, the One Piece, was waiting at the end of the Grand Line. Luffy, who ate a Devil Fruit as a boy and gained a stretchy rubber body (and lost the ability to swim), sets out to find it.

What makes the series special is how far that premise stretches. The early volumes are an East Blue adventure where Luffy gathers his crew one by one. Then come the desert kingdom of Alabasta, the sky island of Skypiea, the government stronghold of Enies Lobby, the war at Marineford, a two-year time skip, Fish-Man Island, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island and the samurai land of Wano. Each arc works as a story of its own, yet Oda has been seeding mysteries since the very first volumes that are only now being answered.

The tone is the other half of the magic. One Piece can be ridiculous, with characters whose jaws drop to the floor when they are surprised, and then deliver a flashback that leaves readers in tears. Nami's plea for help in the Arlong Park arc and the fate of Luffy's brother Ace at Marineford are two moments fans still talk about decades later.

From page to screen: the One Piece anime

Toei Animation's TV series premiered on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999, and it has followed the manga ever since, which makes it one of the longest-running anime of all time. Its famous opening theme, "We Are!", is a karaoke staple in Japan.

Alongside the TV series, Toei has produced fourteen theatrical films. Some are side adventures, while the later ones, such as Strong World, Film Z, Stampede and Film Red, were made with Oda heavily involved and became huge box-office events in their own right.

In 2023 Netflix released a live-action series. Adapting a manga this beloved was always going to be risky, and much of the goodwill came from how faithfully it treated the crew's personalities and the spirit of the early arcs.

Eiichiro Oda, the man behind the map

Oda writes and draws One Piece himself, with a team of assistants handling backgrounds. Readers love his notoriously packed pages, the cover stories that run along the top of chapter title pages, and the SBS question corners in each volume where he answers (and dodges) fans' questions. He is famous for working at a punishing pace, with only short, planned breaks over almost three decades of weekly deadlines.

Why One Piece still matters

The numbers alone are staggering. One Piece holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author, and it has topped Oricon's weekly comic chart consistently since 2008. By March 2026 the series had passed 600 million copies in circulation worldwide.

Its influence is harder to measure but easy to see. Ensemble adventure manga that mix big emotional backstories with goofy humour owe a lot to Oda's template, and the Straw Hat Jolly Roger has become one of the most recognisable symbols in pop culture, turning up at protests, concerts and football grounds around the world.

Where to start reading One Piece

Start at Vol. 1, Romance Dawn. It is tempting to jump to a famous arc, but so much of One Piece's payoff depends on details planted early on. If you want a sense of whether the series is for you, read through the end of the Arlong Park arc around Vol. 11. By then you will know Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji, and you will know whether you are in for the long haul. We keep a rolling selection on our shelves, so check which One Piece volumes we have in stock.

One Piece manga & anime timeline

Key characters in One Piece

Curiosities collectors should know

"A pirate who wants to be free" is all Luffy has ever claimed to be, and almost three decades on, that simple idea still carries the biggest story in manga.

One Piece volumes worth knowing

• Vol. 1

  One Piece Vol. 1: Romance Dawn

  2009 · Viz Media

  Where it all starts. Luffy meets Zoro and Shanks's straw hat becomes the promise that drives the whole saga. Essential for any collection.

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• Vol. 9

  One Piece Vol. 9: Tears

  2006 · Viz Media

  The Arlong Park arc reaches its peak, and Nami finally asks Luffy for help. Many fans point to this as the moment they fell for the series.

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• Vol. 59

  One Piece Vol. 59

  2011 · Viz Media

  The Marineford war reaches its tragic climax. One of the most important volumes in the whole run.

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• Vol. 63

  One Piece Vol. 63

  2012 · Viz Media

  Deep in the Fish-Man Island arc, the first big adventure after the two-year time skip.

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• Vol. 105

  One Piece Vol. 105

  2024 · Viz Media

  The close of the Wano saga, as the series heads toward its final chapters.

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One Piece covers through the years

A look at the covers across the English-language run. Tap a cover to find it in our shop.

Vol. 1Vol. 5Vol. 9Vol. 13Vol. 16Vol. 20Vol. 24Vol. 28Vol. 32Vol. 36Vol. 40Vol. 43Vol. 47Vol. 51Vol. 55Vol. 59Vol. 63Vol. 67Vol. 71Vol. 74Vol. 78Vol. 82Vol. 86Vol. 90Vol. 94Vol. 98Vol. 101Vol. 105Vol. 109Vol. 112 Vol. 113

One Piece on our shelves right now

Here are some of the volumes we currently have in stock. Every copy is checked and graded before it is listed.

Vol. 17Vol. 33Vol. 71Vol. 86Vol. 107 Vol. 112

You can also browse every One Piece book we stock.

Frequently asked questions about One Piece

Condition grades on our listings follow our comic & book condition guide. Have One Piece books of your own you would like to sell? Email us at contact@siomiccomics.com. One Piece and all related characters are trademarks of Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha. Cover images are shown for reference.