'One Piece' celebrates 20th year; announces 10 major projects for 2017

“One Piece” has been around for quite some time already, and it is good to see that this anime is still as exciting as ever. The manga turned anime will be turning 20 this year, and the franchise will have some treats for its fans that have stuck with it for all those years. This pirate themed series by Eiichiro Oda is one of Japan’s biggest cultural showcases of all time. Now that it is turning 20, it will be getting some huge projects to culminate such an achievement.

The new plans for “One Piece” were announced by Shueisha in its 31st issue of Weekly Shonen Jump. There, it was announced that ten projects will be created to honour the achievement of Oda’s Straw Hat Pirates. There have been no details released for now, but Weekly Shonen Jump is expected to announce more in July 15.

As “One Piece” celebrates a very important milestone, it wants to share this with all the people who made this possible, writes Comicbook.com. They are set to honour the legacy of Luffy and crew in a grand way. The anime is set to have an anniversary special, and this extended episode will surely make all of the fans of the Straw Hat Pirates shed a tear.

“One Piece” will be getting a two-hour special on August 26, 2017. This episode will be titled “One Piece Episode of East Blue: Luffy and His 4 Crewmates’ Big Adventure.” This anniversary episode will feature an entirely different story and will take viewers back through Luffy and his crew as each member joined the Thousand Sunny.

Other than this, a few anniversary events for “One Piece” have already been announced. This means that fans and followers of the show can mark their calendars as early as now. The anime will mark its 20th anniversary in July 22, so Shueisha will release a commemorative issue of Weekly Shonnen Jump to celebrate. It has also been announced that there will also be another surprise l on the same date, but no details have been revealed yet.

“One Piece” has reached great heights from the humble beginnings of Eiichiro Oda, who began his manga career in 1992 when he was just 17. His one-shot cowboy manga Wanted! won second place in the well renowned Tezuka manga awards. Oda’s career would flourish and doors would open for him to work as assistant to some of the biggest manga artists. “One Piece” debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 and quickly rose to be an icon in Japan.