Interest
One Piece Celebrates 1,000 Chapters with 1st Worldwide Character Poll
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Publisher Shueisha celebrated 1,000 chapters of the hit manga series One Piece with the launch of its first worldwide character poll and a full-page color ad in The New York Times. The website for the poll opened on Sunday and allows participants to vote for their favorite character once per day until February 28. Participants can receive an AR (augmented reality) model of the series' popular characters and different models will be added throughout the poll's run.
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
The full-page ad for the poll will appear in The New York Times' newspaper on January 4. This is not the first time the series has made an appearance in NYT. Luffy previously appeared in the newspaper as part of the Sanoku ThanX ("300 million thanks") campaign in 2013.
Shueisha also released two commemorative videos to mark the manga's milestone and promote the poll campaign. Both videos focus on the "We Are One" slogan. Shueisha described the slogan's meaning:
What surprises await us? As countless values and ways of thought converge to create the WORLD TOP 100, which character will emerge as the one and only ichiban? To find out, we'll have to band together.
Creator Eiichiro Oda also published a letter to mark the publication of his 1,000th chapter.
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
"1000 Chapters!!
I, uh, wow...Words pretty much fail to describe the whirlwind these past 23 years have been. Literally half of my life has revolved around the almighty WEEKLY SERIALIZATION hehe. But it's not just me, Luffy and the Strawhats have navigated themselves to so many different islands and found themselves caught up in so many adventures. At this point, even I'm not sure how many lives they've touched along the way! But it's thanks to them that so many special people have entered my own life; first and foremost among them being my family. All of these people have supported me through the years and I am deeply indebted to each of them. Meanwhile, my readers have been leading their own bustling lives. There's a certain theory that exists for long-term readership in the entertainment world that states, “A given pool of readers will rotate out of a series after five years.” And so for a while now, I've avoided calling my readers, ‘fans’. It's like they say, “Pride cometh before a fall.” I convinced myself that I shouldn't get too full of myself because my readers would eventually leave the series and move on with their lives. Let me say that all of you have put me to shame for thinking such a thing. Your belief in Luffy has led me to believe in all of you, and that is what allows me to continue drawing exactly the kind of manga I want to draw. So here we are, ready to dip our toes into the final stages of the story. It's taken us a long time to reach one thousand chapters. However, it's because I've completed a thousand chapters that you must believe I'll take us to the end. The story waiting for you will defy expectations! I mean it!!
I have a favor to ask. This is for everyone with whom —by some means or another— I've managed to create a bond, in other words, the ONE PIECE FANS of the world! My story is a long one. But for just a while longer, please watch over Luffy and his crew as they continue their adventure!
January 2021 Eiichiro Oda”
This year's third and fourth and fifth and sixth combined issues of Weekly Shonen Jump will feature Luffy on the cover in what will make one combined image when placed together. Shonen Jump manga artists, including Kōhei Horikoshi, Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, Boichi, and Gege Akutami, will draw their favorite One Piece characters to appear in the cover art. Both issues will bundle extra large posters, the largest ever included in Weekly Shonen Jump.
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha
One Piece fans can expect to see the Straw Hat Pirates in more magazines outside of Weekly Shonen Jump. Shueisha is working on plans with manga magazines Ribon and Bessatsu Margaret, the women's fashion magazine MORE and its sister sports magazine Sportiva.
