ONE PIECE Surpasses 600 Million Copies Worldwide as Volume 114 Launches Secret Seabed Project Revealing the Truth Behind the Legendary Treasure

The global manga phenomenon ONE PIECE has surpassed 600 million copies in circulation worldwide with the release of Volume 114 on March 4. According to the announcement, total worldwide circulation has exceeded 600 million copies, including more than 450 million in Japan and over 150 million overseas.

When Volume 103 was released in August 2022, the series had reached 510 million copies. In the three years and seven months since then, circulation has grown by an additional 90 million copies, further solidifying its status as one of the best selling manga series in history.

Eiichiro Oda Writes the Secret of ONE PIECE for the First Time

For years, readers have asked the ultimate question: What is ONE PIECE? It has long been said that the answer was decided from the very beginning when serialization started in 1997. Now, for the first time, creator Eiichiro Oda has written down the secret of ONE PIECE and protagonist Monkey D. Luffy on a single sheet of paper as part of a special project.

The sheet was torn in half. A life size reproduction of the upper half, which reads “What is ONE PIECE and who is Monkey D. Luffy,” was published as a newspaper advertisement in the morning editions of The Asahi Shimbun and The Yomiuri Shimbun on March 4.

The lower half, containing the full truth, has been placed inside a treasure chest and submerged on the ocean floor. It will remain there until the story concludes and is scheduled to be revealed after the series finale.

The released video documenting the project was supervised by researchers from SIP, Japan’s Cabinet Office Strategic Innovation Promotion Program Phase 3, and JAMSTEC, the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology. The team carefully examined installation, retrieval, and filming methods with full consideration for environmental protection and potential impacts on marine ecosystems. All objects placed on the seabed are intended to be recovered.

Second Global Character Popularity Poll WT100 Announced

Starting March 4, the second global ONE PIECE character popularity poll titled WT100 World Top 100 has officially begun. The first poll was held in 2021 to commemorate the 1000th chapter of the manga, making this the first global poll in approximately five years.

A total of 1,560 characters are eligible for voting, and fans from countries and regions around the world can participate. Beginning March 16, regional weekly Top 5 rankings will be released every Monday at 12:00 AM.

Votes can be submitted through the official WT100 special website, the ONE PIECE BASE app, or by postcard. Postcard voting requires attaching a voting ticket included with Volume 114, with paper editions of Weekly Shonen Jump issues released from March 9 to June 11, or with the April issue of Saikyo Jump released on March 4.

Final results will be announced at ONE PIECE DAY ’26, scheduled for August 2026. Characters ranking highly in the poll will receive newly drawn illustrations by Eiichiro Oda and are expected to appear across various media including anime, games, and merchandise.

About ONE PIECE

ONE PIECE began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump on July 22, 1997. The story follows Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who gains rubber like abilities after eating the Devil Fruit known as the Gum Gum Fruit. Luffy forms the Straw Hat Pirates and sets out on a grand maritime adventure to find the legendary treasure left behind by the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, known as the One Piece.

With over 600 million copies in circulation worldwide, the franchise remains a global powerhouse. The television anime has been airing since 1999. The 2022 theatrical release ONE PIECE FILM RED surpassed 20.34 billion yen at the Japanese box office, approximately 129.14 million US dollars based on an exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 157.5 yen, becoming a major cultural phenomenon.

The television anime ONE PIECE Elbaf Arc is scheduled to begin broadcasting in April.

Source : ORICON NEWS