"ONE PIECE" Resumes Serialization After a Month's Hiatus(4week-break), Digital Edition Released in the 55th Anniversary Issue of Weekly Shonen Jump
The manga series "ONE PIECE," which had been on hiatus(stop of serialization) since June 19 due to manga-writer Eiichiro Oda's eye surgery, resumed serialization in the 33rd issue of the digital edition of "Weekly Shonen Jump," released on the 17th.
The manga can be read on "Shonen Jump+" and "Zeburakku," and the print edition will be released on the 18th (with some regions releasing on the 17th due to distribution reasons). Furthermore, the same issue commemorates the 55th anniversary of the founding of "Weekly Shonen Jump".
Regarding the circumstances of the hiatus, on June 6, an announcement was made on the official Twitter account of the series stating, "'ONE PIECE' will be on hiatus from Weekly Shonen Jump issues 29 to 32 due to Oda-sensei's eye surgery".
Oda's handwritten manga illustration was also posted, with him apologizing and expressing his sincere desire for the surgery, saying;
"Yes, I'm sorry!! I'll be taking a four-week break! (Jump issues 29, 30, 31, and 32) Well, I'm saying many things and I wanna say 'Wahoo!' in the final chapter of ONE PIECE. But seriously, I really want to undergo (the eye) surgery no matter what.”, he claimed.
“I'll be having a surgery that will make me shoots beams from my eyes!!" he humorously wrote his thoughts on the manga-syle illustration.
Also, he revealed his medical condition by saying, "Even if I joke around (about my eyes and everything), it will make everyone worry more, but recently, there are many people with double vision, right? HAHA!! I have a severe 'astigmatism.' Things appear blurry to me." This was how Oda stated his health with the comical and full-color ONE PIECE illustration.
Continuing, he mentioned, "This has been causing hindrance to my work. I've been discussing it with the editor-in-chief since last year. So, I'll go get it done! He said, 'Go ahead!' I'll come back with improved eyesight!" He also appealed to fans, saying, "I'll be able to shoot beams now. Please give me some time."
"ONE PIECE," which began serialization in "Weekly Shonen Jump" on July 22, 1997, is a maritime adventure filled with the romance of searching for the "One Piece," a great treasure left behind by the legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. The protagonist is Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who ate the Devil Fruit "Gomu Gomu no Mi" and gained the ability to stretch his body like rubber. He forms a crew called the Straw Hat Pirates and embarks on a grand story to become the Pirate King.
With a cumulative worldwide circulation of over 510 million copies, this popular series has been airing as a TV anime since 1999. The animated film "ONE PIECE FILM RED," released in 2022, became a social phenomenon, surpassing 19.7 billion yen in domestic box office revenue and 31.9 billion yen in global box office revenue.