To commemorate the release of the latest 109th volume of the popular manga "ONE PIECE" by Eiichiro Oda, which is currently being serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha), on July 4th, a special collaboration movie with the hit song "HERO" by rock band "Mr.Children", "ONE PIECE x Mr.Children "HERO" ~Your Ally~" was released on the "ONE PIECE" official YouTube channel. This is the first time in about 15 years that the band has collaborated with "ONE PIECE" since they performed the theme song "fanfare" for the 2009 animated film "ONE PIECE FILM STRONG WORLD".
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The latest volume 109 depicts the brutal past of former Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma and the "parent-child" story of Kuma and Jewelry Bonney. The song "HERO" is a hit song by Mr.Children released in December 2002, and the lyrics match surprisingly well with Bartholomew Kuma's life, so a collaboration movie was made.
"ONE PIECE" is a manga that depicts the adventures of Luffy, a young man with a straw hat whose limbs can stretch like rubber, as he and his companions set out on an adventure across the open seas in an attempt to become the King of the Pirates. It began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997.
The first volume of the comic was released in December 1997, and the 57th volume, released in March 2010, recorded the highest first print run in the history of Japanese publishing with an initial print run of approximately 3 million copies, which has remained at approximately 3 million copies to this day. The 67th volume, released in August 2012, broke the previous record with an initial print run of approximately 4.05 million copies. The total number of copies of the comic printed worldwide has exceeded 510 million as of August 2022. The total number of copies printed in Japan is over 410 million. Overseas, it is distributed in 60 countries and regions, with a total print run of over 100 million copies.
The TV anime series produced by Toei Animation began airing on Fuji TV in 1999, and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2024. There is also buzz about the possibility of a re-animation of "THE ONE PIECE" with completely new footage from the first episode of the original manga.
In August 2023, a Hollywood live-action version of the series began streaming on Netflix and gained popularity. A second season of the live-action series has also been announced.