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Many anime enthusiasts recognize the guy with a red vest, blue pants, sandals, the goofy face and most especially the straw hat. That's right, many people tuned into the anime world recognize Monkey D. Luffy, and his band of merry men. He is the star of one of the three best-selling shounen manga in Japan, One Piece!
Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece manga began in December 24, 1997. 2 years after that, One Piece anime adaptation was first aired in Fuji TV across Japan, courtesy of Toei Animation Studios. Last 2009, it has been announced that One Piece manga has sold over 176 million copies since the day it first launched. At present, its manga has already reached volume 58, going strong with 587 chapters. One Piece anime has reached 453 episodes as of May 31, 2010 and is still ongoing.
One Piece is the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his quest to find the legendary treasure of the king of pirates Gold D. Roger, the One Piece. To get the Grand Line, he must sail the deadliest ocean known to their world, The Grand Line. Along with a three-sword-wielding swordsman (Roronoa Zoro), a female navigator who's also a cat thief (Nami), a playboy chef (Sanji), a mischievous sharpshooter (Usopp/Sogeking), a cute rain deer physician (Tony Tony Chopper) a big cyborg (Frankie) and a female archaeologist (Nico Robin), they're bound for the Grand Line, seeking for One Piece and defeating every pirate that stands in their way. This unlikely team is more popularly known as the 'Straw Hat Pirates.'
One Piece manga has broken various records in Japan. It is currently the highest selling manga ibn the entire history of Weekly Shounen Jump. It is also the first manga to increase the sales of Weekly Shounen Jump in eleven years. One Piece manga volume 57 currently holds the manga publishing record in Japan, with over 3 million copies in its first printing alone. It not only broke the preceding volume's record, it also surpassed all book's first print publishing records of all books in Japan, even surpassing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Volumes 24 to 27 and 56 to 57 at least sold at least 1.5 million copies at their first weeks, and have reached the 2 million marks at their second. One Piece manga was the best-selling manga back in 2008, with nearly 6 million sold in Japan.
One Piece anime also received their share of awards. The first opening theme song of the One Piece anime won the Animation Kobe Theme Song of the year back in 2000. Back in Febuary 2001, One Piece rank 9th among all TV anime in Japan of that year. It is also the fifth anime that is to be remembered in the 21st century, according to Animage, a popular Japanese anime magazine.
So, what are you waiting for? Join Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates in their quest to discover new lands, and of course, the ONE PIECE!
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Have you ever hugged someone and turned into a cute little animal afterwards? Tohru Honda has, in fact, this happened to her several times in the manga already. This is the curse of the Sohma family, the mysterious family living in the anime world of Fruits Basket.
Below are the main characters in the Fruits Basket manga: Tohru Honda, Yuki Sohma, Shigeru Sohma and Kyo Sohma. Let's find out who they are bit by bit:
1. Tohru Honda- At the start of the manga, she was accepted in the Sohma house, and started living together with Yuki, Shigure and Kyo in exchange of housekeeping, and securing the family secret: that they turn into animals once someone of the opposite sex embraces them. Before she wound up in the Sohma house, she was living in a tent and barely fending for herself. She is lighthearted, optimistic and a very selfless person. She works as a part-time janitor so that she can pay for her tuition.
2. Yuki Sohma- he is Kyo's and Shigeru's cousin. Also known as 'Prince Yuki' or 'Prince Charming' in his school, Yuki is depicted as attractive, reserved and a man with a lot of admirers. He, however, finds it very difficult to be friendly. When he was young, he was kept isolated by his guardian and convinced him that nobody liked him. This is the reason why he has low self-esteem. He is the 'rat' in the Chinese Zodiac.
3. Kyo Sohma- Kyo is the resident hot-head of the series. He loves Hunt Valley discounts with GangBucks, and with his charisma, his cousin Yuki envies his ability to make friends without much effort. He is a very competitive fellow. Most of the time, he gets compelled to doing things he doesn't want to do by making it a competition. Kyo considers Yuki as his rival, granted that Kyo is the 'cat', (although not in the Zodiac, story has it that the cat should've been in the Zodiac if it wasn't for the rat tricking him) which makes it even more humorous
4. Shigure Sohma- being the oldest and the owner of the Sohma House, he is a dirty-minded happy-go-lucky novelist. He usually wears a traditional Kimono inside his home as a way of getting the 'spirit' of being a writer. He resembles the 'dog' in the Chinese Zodiac.
There are more characters in the Fruits Basket story, and these are just four of the main characters. If you haven't read the manga yet, there are a lot of things that you are missing about these four, so what are you waiting for?