Shueisha Launches Worldwide Character Contest for 1,000 Chapters of One Piece

By Sean Aitchison

Today, One Piece celebrates the release of its 1,000th chapter, a milestone that comes after almost 23 years of publication in Weekly Shonen Jump. Following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate with the dream of finding Gol D. Roger’s treasure, the One Piece, and becoming the next Pirate King, the series has taken off over the years to become one of the most popular and beloved franchises of all time!

In celebration of One Piece Chapter 1,000’s release, Shonen Jump parent company Shueisha Inc. has launched “World Top 100,” the first One Piece worldwide character popularity poll! You can vote online right now for your favorite character or by mailing in post-cards. Details can be found on the website linked above.

The idea is simple: find out the top 100 most popular characters in One Piece and unite fans across the world—all under a slogan that combines One Piece with the name of its first anime opening theme, “We Are!”

RELATED: Celebrating 1,000 Chapters of One Piece 

Fans can vote once a day starting today, January 3, all the way through February 28, and will be allotted one vote per day until the contest ends. Voters will be rewarded with a random augmented reality character model for mobile camera apps, and will help contribute to the largest and most widespread character popularity poll in One Piece history! 

On the web page, fans will also find two commemorative videos: a commercial showcasing the characters featured in the “World Top 100” poll, and a trailer for the One Piece 1000 Logs project, a film looking back on the 1,000 chapters of One Piece.

The release of chapter 1,000 and the launch of “WT100” also come with an exclusive Weekly Shonen Jump cover art featuring other mangaka drawing their characters alongside One Piece characters, a special letter from Eiichiro Oda himself and volumes 1-71 of One Piece available for free on the Shonen Jump+ and ZEBRACK apps for a limited time.

Are you excited for the continued celebration of 1,000 chapters of One Piece? Share this post and let us know! And stay tuned to Funimation for the latest on all things anime, this season and beyond.