One Piece manga’s record-breaking sales in France hint at the series’ unmatched global dominance

One Piece manga has once again demonstrated its unparalleled popularity, achieving sales records in France that firmly establish its supremacy on a global scale. The manga series from Eiichiro Oda has sold more than 49 million copies in France alone, and is still the unmatched number one that continues to exceed even those who rival it, in its scale and frequency.

From Japan to Europe and around the world, the adventure of the Straw Hat Pirates has remained untouchable.

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The One Piece manga has surpassed more than 49 million copies sold in France

Pew

@pewpiece

OnePiece has sold 49M+ copies in France still the undisputed #1 manga. With France’s population under 70M that’s roughly 0.7 copies per person. unreal

The legendary One Piece manga is back in the news for its remarkable sales figures in France, reaffirming its stature as a giant in the field in both France and within the comic book world as a whole.

With more than 49 million sold just in France, it's safe to say One Piece has gone beyond niche fandom into a cultural phenomenon. For a nation with a population of just under 70 million, One Piece has sold around 0.7 manga copies per person, hardly a statistic heard of in published media.

France is often thought of as the manga capital of Europe, and it has embraced Japanese culture with tremendous ardor, but One Piece's long-lasting success is on a different scale.

Luffy as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

For the past decade, the series has not only topped French manga charts, but its annual releases have created stores. People still appear to be fascinated by the series- new volumes consistently seem to outperform records and draw crowds when they are released.

With initiatives to encourage reading, like the "Culture Pass" that allows teens to spend an amount on literature in any form, including manga, the French audience is already engaging in reading manga, while the pre-existing French animated adaptation, which began airing on television in 2008, no doubt pushed this national trend.

Across the world, One Piece is the benchmark for comic and manga success. Eiichiro Oda's work has now surpassed Batman comics and is approaching Superman, totaling more than 578 million copies sold globally. This is something previously deemed highly unattainable.

Luffy has become a global phenomenon (Image via Toei Animation)

In France, its penetration goes beyond numbers. One Piece manga is as much of a fixture in bookstores and conventions as it is in pop culture discourse and collector communities. Industry commentators say such marketplace saturation has never been seen before, even in Japan, where manga originated.

The One Piece manga success story is not one of the French sales. One Piece shows the ability to break down barriers, connect readers across generations, and set sales markers that old competitors or new ones have trouble matching.

As the manga progresses into its final arc and global releases continue to energize international audiences, its success in France represents a preview of new benchmarks that will likely shift the definition of key success factors for the comic industry.

With staggering sales numbers and cultural penetration, One Piece reigns as the number one manga in France, but it has gone beyond it. One Piece is the biggest comic series in the world, and it is setting records and making history one volume at a time.

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