What Makes One Piece So Darn Popular In Japan

[Luxio2k8]

Maybe someone can help me better understand this because honestly I don’t get it. What is it that makes One Piece so popular in Japan? In the U.S. and elsewhere it’s more in the line of another anime that has a small yet loyal following, but that isn’t the case in Japan where the manga has been running for 12 years and counting, and the anime has air over 400 episodes for the past 10 years (plus 9 movies, if I remember correctly).

From what I understanding from the story, it’s about pirates who have superpowers by eating something called, “Cursed Fruit”, and that One Piece is the legendary treasure that the characters in the story are seeking.

Understand that I’m not a fan of the series, but even when I may not be a fan of a practically franchise, I usually can understand what makes it so appealing to that franchises fans, but One Piece isn’t one of those.

So what is it that has made One Piece so appealing to the Japanese audience because I really don’t see what has made it such a HUGE Franchise in Japan?

If anyone can help me out, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bell02+]

Well, if you read it you would be able to tell why it is so popular. I mean, why is Harry Potter so popular? It's just about a bunch of Wizards in a School that can't hold onto its teaching staff so well!

One Piece does have that wonder and whimsy in that its a full created world, but really if you read it; it would be clear as to why it is so popular. (Also it isn't like it started out super popular right off the bat) It's also in weekly Jump, that helps with it being noticed as well.

I think One Piece really only has a small fallowing in the US (There seemed to be comparably more fans in other countries than English speaking ones), but that fallowing itself has grown enough to let the books rank in the top 20 graphic novel charts in the US.