One of the longest-running manga series One Piece has just broken another record in terms of manga sales by becoming the first-ever manga series to sell more than 500 million copies. After its publication back in 1997, it has become the fastest comic book to achieve this feat.
Already holding the title of highest selling manga series of all time, many were expecting One Piece to achieve this record pretty soon. However, it went through a lean patch for a few years. But now it’s right on track and its sales have skyrocketed due to recent developments in the series.
One Piece Manga Sales – 500 Million
500 million is a huge number and there have been very few comics/novels that have been able to achieve this feat. One Piece is the only second comic book that has surpassed this mark, Superman being the first one.
Just recently, One Piece broke the sales record of Batman and obtained the number 2 spot on the highest selling comic books of all time. Now it’s looking to dethrone Superman who is sitting at the top with the record 600 million-plus copies sold.
The way One Piece manga is going, it wouldn’t take long for it to surpass Superman either. The series has been nothing short of greatness lately. A breathtaking Wano arc has increased manga sales and as we move forward, it is just going to increase even more.
Another 100 million copies is still a long way to go, but considering the upcoming arcs of One Piece, it can certainly sell not only 600 but even more than that. It’s all just speculation at this point and we will have to wait and see what happens in the next few years.
Can One Piece Hit 1 Billion Mark?
No type of book in history has touched the 1 billion mark, at least in recorded history. If One Piece is somehow able to achieve that mark, it would be a revolutionary thing. However, chances are quite less for that to happen.
As you may know already, One Piece has been running for over 25 years now and it has achieved 500 million copies in sales. If we go by that figure, it would take another 25 years for the series to surpass the mark of 1 billion.
One Piece probably has 5-6 years left at best since things are coming to an end. The recent chapter of One Piece has just indicated that the end game is here and the manga is coming to conclusion in the next saga. Furthermore, considering the overall decline in paperback sales all around the world and people opting for digital reading, it seems unlikely for One Piece to achieve this feat.
What’s Next in One Piece
One Piece is currently on the Wano arc and after Luffy defeats Luffy and obtains Road Poneglyph, he will only need one more to reach Laugh Tale. We still don’t know about the location of the last poneglyph stone but it is generally assumed that Shanks has it.
So the next stop for Strawhats will probably be Shanks as they would’ve already fought Kaido and Big Mom by them. As for Blackbeard, he is always portrayed as the final villain so he might be the last Emperor that Luffy would face.
But it just doesn’t end there. We have many mysteries in One Piece that aren’t revealed yet. Who is Joy Boy? What happened in Void Century? Who is Imu? What is the D family? What is the origin of Devil Fruits? And biggest of them all, what is One Piece?
Do you think we will find answers to all these questions in the next 5 years? Let us know what you think in the comments. For more One Piece updates, make sure to follow us on social media. One Piece is available to read on Viz media and Mangaplus.
