The volume 100 of “One Piece”, a record launch for the manga in France

Published on : 12/08/2021 – 8:33 AM

With 250,000 copies in bookstores, the publication of volume 100 of the “One Piece” series, Wednesday, December 8, is the biggest launch ever seen in manga in France, according to publisher Glénat.

The Grenoble publishing house has been publishing since 2000 the cult series signed Eiichiro Oda, started in 1997 by the then a promising young designer, who has now become a legend of his art at the age of 46.

The industry behind him is now a well-oiled machine. In its original version, in Japan, this volume 100 was published in early September. And adaptation for the small screen should follow quickly.

490 million copies sold of “One Piece”

“250,000 is the draw for a Goncourt prize,” Glénat manga editor Benoît Huot told AFP.

But the comparison stops there: it is about a series, the price is lower (6.90 euros, 10.75 euros for the collector’s edition), and the readership very young. Moreover, this quarter of a million copies is almost insignificant compared to the 490 million sold, all volumes and all languages ​​combined, for nearly 25 years.

“One Piece” tells the story of pirates in search of fabulous treasure, and of a character who wants to become king of the pirates, Luffy, dressed in his famous straw hat.

The originality of the scenario, the mystery of the characters, the subtle mix of humor, fights, emotions and flashbacks ensured a worldwide success.

“The craze has grown over the course of the series. Between volumes 12 and 23 a narrative arc was set up, the Alabasta saga, which fascinated more and more readers in France. There has been a succession of events that have brought the series to become famous, including, above all, in 2008, the start of the animation on TNT “(digital terrestrial television), recalls Benoît Huot.

Eiichiro Oda has not finished telling this story, although he cannot himself say how many more books he will be releasing before he sets the final point.

With AFP