A representative from Shueisha has confirmed that Ilan Manouach's One Piece mega volume is not a piece of official, licensed merchandise.
Speaking with The Guardian, Keita Murano, an international rights staffer for Shueisha, explained the situation, stating, "The product you mentioned is not official. We don't give permission to them. Our licensee in France which publishes One Piece is the publisher Glénat." Manouach's volume, named "OnePiece," contains all 21,450 pages of Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga series; it sits at over three feet long and weighs an impressive 38 pounds. JBE Books, another French publishing company, backed the project, and anime fans could purchase "OnePiece" from the publisher's website for 1,900 Euros (roughly $1,976). Currently, the art piece is unavailable to purchase due to selling out. At the time of writing, it is unclear if Shueisha and Glénat plan to take legal action against Manouach and/or JBE Books.
Oda's iconic ongoing One Piece manga first appeared in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1997 and has gone on to produce well-over 1,000 individual chapters so far. The story follows the dangerous but often wacky adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate captain with a dream of becoming the next King of the Pirates, and his colorful crew as they sail across the Grand Line in search of the titular hidden treasure. With over 516 million copies sold globally, One Piece is without question the best-selling manga of all time.
Purchasing Legitimate Items Supports One Piece
While the One Piece mega volume is not official merchandise, there are plenty of ways to legitimately support the franchise. Beyond buying individual volumes of Oda's manga, fans can purchase actual licensed One Piece collectibles. Recently, toy developer MegaHouse released a stunning figurine of Red-Haired Shanks and Lush launched a line of devil fruit-inspired bath bombs.
Moreover, the latest movie in the franchise, One Piece Film: Red, is playing in Japanese theaters. The plot follows the Straw Hat Pirates' adventures on the Island of Music and introduces a brand-new canonical character, Uta. A beautiful singer who wishes to combat suffering with music, she is a childhood friend of Luffy's and the estranged daughter of Shanks. Film Red has absolutely dominated the Japanese box office, having already earned over 15 billion yen (approximately $103 million) since its August premiere. Currently, it's the seventh highest-grossing anime movie of all time.
VIZ Media officially distributes the One Piece manga in the United States and the United Kingdom, and One Piece Film: Red hits Western markets beginning in October.
Source: The Guardian