Where to start One Piece?

Split pic of Netflix's One Piece and the cover for volume 1 of the manga

(Image credit: Viz Media/Netflix)

If you've finished Netflix's live-action One Piece adaptation and are pining for more, I've got good news for you. Indeed, there's plenty more where that came from – not from the live-action adaptation (at least not yet), but the original manga is right there waiting for you.

So, where should you start? First and foremost, while the anime is great and its own thing, it's also just an adaptation of the manga, so I'm going to focus on the latter. And the simplest possible answer for getting into reading One Piece, the original manga by creator Eiichiro Oda, is… the beginning. You start at the beginning, like any other comic or book. The only potentially complicating factor here is the fact that the manga was originally released in Japanese and then translated to release in English after the fact, so there's some publishing quirks to be aware of.

I&ntilde;aki Godoy in One Piece — (Image credit: Netflix)

Easily the most common way to actually read One Piece would be through its published volumes. If we're talking about the individual volumes, you'll start with One Piece Vol. 1: Romance Dawn. Alternatively, there's the omnibus editions combining three consecutive volumes together, which would be One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1. Depending on where you buy them, especially online, they might have slightly different names, but that's where to actually begin.

Alternatively, Shonen Jump offers a digital subscription where you can pay a flat monthly fee (roughly $3) and read 100 chapters of any manga on the service per day, including but not limited to One Piece. Given that the initial East Blue Saga is 100 chapters exactly, you could theoretically read the whole thing in a day for $3 and still have several weeks worth of reading more if you like. As of now, there's just under 1,100 chapters, so that's enough time to finish all of One Piece if you really wanted.

But there's actually an even easier way to start reading One Piece, thanks to the celebration surrounding the release of Netflix's live-action series. As part of the festivities, the first 12 volumes of One Piece have actually been made available to read for free digitally online in 21 different languages. Exactly how long they might remain free is anyone's guess, so best hop to it if that's how you want to go.

Netflix’s ONE PIECE live action series is finally here and to celebrate we’ve gathered ONE PIECE comics from around the world in one place! Volumes 1～12 containing the entire East Blue Saga are available to read in 21 languages! As the new series sets sail around the globe, you… pic.twitter.com/kLBx9BRGb6August 31, 2023

There's an argument to be made that you could, in theory, pick up with one of the later arcs, but to be frank, it's never made any sense to me. If you start in the middle somewhere, you're losing out on all the early characterization and introductions of the initial Straw Hats. If you're already committing to reading One Piece, you might as well actually read One Piece instead of just partially doing so.

It's especially important if you're coming to the One Piece franchise from the live-action Netflix adaptation. The Netflix version is effectively the first 95 chapters of One Piece with a bit of remixing and bringing forward of later details involving certain characters with some new connective tissue as well. Even if you skipped those, you'd be missing out on how it was originally done.

The final caveat I would add here is that if you're looking to stay current with One Piece, there's no better way than the aforementioned Shonen Jump subscription. New chapters release through there whenever the creator's not on hiatus, so it's the best possible way to keep on top of it. (There's also Manga Plus, but Shonen Jump is almost unquestionably the better service.)

It's easy enough to say "start at the start" when talking about One Piece, but given that it's been publishing for over 20 years at this point, there's certainly some nuance to consider. That said, hopefully the above has provided you everything you need to know about where to start with One Piece – and how to keep going once you do.

If you're done with Netflix's live-action One Piece, the manga, and the anime, you could always try out some of the other best anime that you should be watching.

Rollin is the US Managing Editor at GamesRadar+. With over 16 years of online journalism experience, Rollin has helped provide coverage of gaming and entertainment for brands like IGN, Inverse, ComicBook.com, and more. While he has approximate knowledge of many things, his work often has a focus on RPGs and animation in addition to franchises like Pokemon and Dragon Age. In his spare time, Rollin likes to import Valkyria Chronicles merch and watch anime.