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Netflix’s Gamble on Japan’s ‘One Piece’ Manga Series Pays Off

Attendees at a One Piece fan Celebration at Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California, on Aug. 24.Photographer: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

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By Sohee Kim

September 1, 2023 at 6:23 PM UTC

Netflix Inc. is scoring social-media buzz and positive reviews for its new Japanese pirate series One Piece, released on the service Thursday.

The eight-episode adventure series is a live-action retelling of one of Japan’s biggest manga comic-book franchises. It focuses on pirates searching the seas for a fabled treasure. The comics, created by Eiichiro Oda, have sold more than 500 million copies globally since 1997. An animated TV version, introduced in 1999, is still going strong after 1,000 episodes.