Japanese popularity of Dragon Ball vs. One Piece

[Bussani]

This doesn't apply to One piece unfortunately outside of Japan.

Well, this thread is about its Japanese popularity.

[GS7X7]

I know that 4Kids raped OP's popularity in America (and Funimation's tried to nurse it back to health) but how has OP fared in other countries outside the USA?

[JulieYBM]

I know that 4Kids raped OP's popularity in America (and Funimation's tried to nurse it back to health) but how has OP fared in other countries outside the USA?

Not very well, as the fiscal reports have led us to believe.

[Jayy]

@Bussani

I was just stating how they compare in Japan and internationally.
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Anyways, i think One piece has been cut off from most channels outside of Japan. Even with the new voice casting dub.

[Chuquita]

I did hear recently that Funi's planning to put out OP boxsets of the episodes they have dubbed (which runs I think up until shortly after Skypiea?) and that this typically means it may be a final cash grab to see if it'd be worth their while to continue dubbing further.

I've heard there are people over at Funi that really like OP, and I know they've already put out regular DVD's of what they've done so far.

[SJR]

One Piece is still on the air in Germany.

[Kingdom Heartless]

I did hear recently that Funi's planning to put out OP boxsets of the episodes they have dubbed (which runs I think up until shortly after Skypiea?) and that this typically means it may be a final cash grab to see if it'd be worth their while to continue dubbing further.

I've heard there are people over at Funi that really like OP, and I know they've already put out regular DVD's of what they've done so far.

Really? Box-sets of how many episodes?

EDIT: Never mind, I found them.

26 Episodes, huh? Guess I can finally start collecting them.

[Jayy]

4kids are still earning money somehow through the little sales of their release of the show,

So Funimation are releasing these boxsets?

Link?

I'm wanting to see if they used the cast that consists of Sonny Strait and Sabat and to see how long it goes upto. Might actually be worth buying because i only read One Piece, never trusted the anime and cannot be bothered with english subs.

[Kingdom Heartless]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W75BQU

Hopefully they continue to release the whole series like that.

[Jaetinh]

I know that 4Kids raped OP's popularity in America (and Funimation's tried to nurse it back to health) but how has OP fared in other countries outside the USA?

It's very popular in Germany according to my cousin who lives there.

[Goku100xKamehameha]

Even if we compare the TV Anime rankings for both series at its highest and "DB" wins, it still wouldn't necessary means that "DB" is more popular than "One Piece" since people can easily watch "One Piece" on the internet.

But, al least we know that "One Piece" is so popular, even the Manga panels of it were plastered all over the train stations in Japan and "One Piece" also "hijacked" all of Shuiesha's magazine, 3 months ago. Including "Playboy"( yes.. fuckin' PLAYBOY!). One Piece also currently held it's own "Dome Tour".

You should learn to fast forward.

You should learn that it would destroy the enjoyment of the show because there are filler in EVERY fucking scene in Z (well, not really every scene, but you know what I meant).

ome no kaasan@ いいや。俺はおめえの本当の母さんだ！！！

[GS7X7]

What's this about One Piece and Playboy? What happened? Did they have girls in it cosplay or have Nami pose for it?

[Goku100xKamehameha]

What's this about One Piece and Playboy? What happened? Did they have girls in it cosplay or have Nami pose for it?

The cover for the issue was a girl (I think she's the leader of AKB48/Team Dragon (or whatever the Hell it is called). The one who got the role for that filler mom in the "Kai" version of Cell arc) cosplaying as Luffy (a shot from the chest to the head in full clothing) and on the inside of it, there are 2 girls cosplaying as Nami and Zoro (Zoro wears a full clothing and Nami wears the outfit she wore in Skypiea arc) and IIRC that's it.

Also, NO NUDITY WHATSOEVER.

Now, you might be (read: yes, you are ) thinking "the Hell? Playboy without nudity?!". Well, there's an explanation for this.

In Japan, there are 2 kinds of "Playboy" magazine. One is called "Monthly Playboy" which is the regional edition of the American "Playboy" and the other one is called "Weekly Playboy". Shueisha published the 2nd one and it's also the one that got "hijacked" by "One Piece" last Feb.

The "Monthly Playboy" ceased publication with the final January 2009 issue, due to a decline in readership and it's also the one with actual porn (WTF Japan? You didn't bought the one with porn in it? ) while the "Weekly Playboy" is still on publication till now, even though it has (not sure) no porn or even nudity, only sexy.

[JulieYBM]

Luffy was on the cover a a crapton of Japanese magazines a few months ago, including PlayBoy. Merchandise was advertised inside as usual but there wasn't really any content to speak of. Basically, One Piece is just about everywhere in Japan. While not everyone watches the anime, a good two million copies of each new volume sell in the first week on shevels. Huge orders are called in and at 3.8 million units printed a volume it has long broken its own and even Harry Potter's printing records. It has the most copies of its series in-print than any other comic (and probably books in general), even though Dragon Ball and Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kôen Mae Hashutsujo. Again, it's bigger than Dragon Ball.

In fact, here is all of news articles on ANN about it. That'll give you a good idea how popular it is.

[Savage68]

I know that 4Kids raped OP's popularity in America (and Funimation's tried to nurse it back to health)

That ship set sail a looong time ago. Lots of "raped" anime dubbed by 4Kids has gone on to be popular in the US. FUNimation has been dubbing One Piece for how many years, now? At this point, it's obvious that America is more interested in animango more like DBZ and the rest of the world wants animango closer to Dragon Ball.

[Eddie]

@JulieYBM While you bring up many good points, I can't help but question whether or not "popularity" of any one thing can truly be determined in that manner. The manga sales are, without question, a good measure of success. However, is the fact that One Piece is everywhere and has a great deal of merchandise really the best indicator of an unquantifiable thing like "popularity"? I'm well aware of the One Piece phenomenon, but I'm not sure that financial success has to equal "most popular thing ever". The idea that something is "popular" because it's everwhere is also a bit questionable to me.

Sales figures are, of course, the ultimate way in which financial success is measured. When it comes to money, all that matters is the bottom line. Can the feelings of a person really be measured in yen spent, though? As both a consumer and a fanboy, I can tell you with absolute confidence that I don't necessarily spend the most money on things I love. For example, Cowboy Bebop is an incredible anime. I think it's a very well made series, and I'm a proud owner of both the DVD episode set and the movie. I've spent less than $50 on it, though. I have a bit of an interest in Rosario + Vampire. I find it enjoyable, however I wouldn't put it on Cowboy Bebop's level. Nowhere near it, for that matter. That being said, I've spent over $90 on Rosario + Vampire. Looking at my receipts, a manga/anime distributor might say, "Ah! This guy's a big fan of Rosario + Vampire!" I'm really not, though. It just happens to release in a more expensive product that requires more purchases.

Now for the idea that popularity can be measured by presence. I don't really know how accurate that is, though. It's easy to say "Everyone knows One Piece, therefore it's the most popular thing in Japan," but the concept is actually pretty vague. Is it? Back in 2007, I went to Japan. To be honest, I saw just as much DB merchandise as I did One Piece, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. There's something that I saw in a helluva lot more places than any JUMP series. One thing that dominated the stores, had its face plastered all over buildings, and somehow managed to have its merchandise at a few shrines and the fish market. I'm talking about that damn Hello Kitty thing. Let's move on to something from the US. Remember Trolls? Those goofy looking freaks that had hair resembling Vegeta with a bad dye job? Those things were everywhere at one time. You'd have had a difficult time not seeing them when I was little. Does that make them more "popular" than a great deal of other iconic things? I'm not so sure. Is something automatically popular by simply being merchandisable?

In closing, I just want to make it clear that I think One Piece is a great series. I don't really care which series is more popular. They're both cool. I just wanted to comment on the topic of popularity itself. Can we really measure it? Financial success can be analyzed with a reasonable amount of accuracy, but can we truly know the personal feelings of every individual? What is popularity, really? Is it a measure of money spent, or is it a measure of the feelings in the hearts of the fanbase?

[Saimaroimaru]

4kids are still earning money somehow through the little sales of their release of the show,

So Funimation are releasing these boxsets?

Link?

I'm wanting to see if they used the cast that consists of Sonny Strait and Sabat and to see how long it goes upto. Might actually be worth buying because i only read One Piece, never trusted the anime and cannot be bothered with english subs.

With them filling for bankruptcy and getting into trouble over Yugioh, I doubt they are making much, especially over the Chaotic fiasco.

On toy DB, I think the problem is that DB paved the way for mangas like One Piece so it couldn't had made as much money/sales numbers as One Piece who is seen as it successor. Now with the field buttered up, its much more easier to sell and make more money, like a second test doing better than the first.

[Kingdom Heartless]

What's this about trouble with Yu-Gi-Oh?

[Saimaroimaru]

What's this about trouble with Yu-Gi-Oh?

Making back room deals for more money.

[Dr. Casey]

I wonder if Oda's still full of pep or if he's getting old.

Fwiw, over 10 or so years ago a figure was floated around in news articles about DB of "3 billion" worldwide in DB sales.

Oda's only 36 (January 1st 1975), so he's not even remotely old at all, though of course I wouldn't be surprised if he was starting to get burned out after 14 years of writing One Piece. He would have to really love the story not to be.

Damn, I just realized that Oda was only 22 when he started the series. Never realized he was that much of a kid.