Viz to publish five One Piece volumes a month in 2010

One can only hope. as for the Wii game, any news on a US release of that, or will I have to get it imported?

BOT: How many Volumes of One Piece are there now anyway. (I stopped buying the GN's after v7. still read the manga in SJ though its a fun read I'll give it that.)
 
Look on the bright side. At least this will hopefully increase One Piece's popularity in America. More sales = more merchandise. More merchandise = more popularity.
 
Exactly. The fans have been clamoring for this, and even if they can't get each volume the day it hits they'll still eventually get them. Real returns probably won't be seen by Viz for at least a year or two after the speed up has begun.

This won't fail, nor will Viz drop the title.
 
I only plan on buying what I can at the time. I don't plan to buy all five at once, I plan to space them out as they're released, maybe like 1 or 2 volumes once a week or something. Gives me time to catch up and read the stories at my own pace and leisure.
 
Call me bitter or cynical... but I secretly hope they fail. Viz has been so stubborn and reluctant to give One Piece proper treatment [in the vein of Naruto and Bleach] in the past, and now all of a sudden they have a change of heart? Give me a break.

It just sounRAB like Viz is trying to whore and exploit the series, after finding out that the series has now become the most sold manga worldwide, rather than them caring about their fans and giving them what they want.
 
Well it was the most well sold manga for years now as I recall. Perhaps even before Viz picked up the manga for the start of US Shonen Jump.

They should have released it at a faster rate and had more chapters in each Jump volume but oh well... now we get a speedy release one that's even faster than Naruto's speed-up.

They haven't treated it poorly really they've just been slow about it and it took a backseat to Bleach, Death Note and Naruto which they also distributed the animes for. They did distribute the 4kiRAB version for a while so you'd think that'd be enough for them to do more with the manga but they didn't own the property outright like with those other 3 Jump manga giants so of course it got the shaft in comparison.

They are getting around to it now because Naruto is caught up and Bleach doesn't need to be. One Piece is waaaaaaaaaaay behind and they're attempting to fix that.

I admit it's not ideal for new readers but for current readers it's pretty sweet.
 
Viz's sudden interest in the series irks me a bit because of how petty they've been with the series in the past, despite its large and demanding fanbase. It's become apparent that Viz never wanted to appreciate One Piece's fanbase in the first place.

There's been more than enough fans begging for Viz to pick up the pace, and yet Viz continued to deliberately sit on the manga in spite of their requests. It seemed as though Viz as on a mission to downplay One Piece, so that it wouldn't be given the opportunity to share the spotlight with Naruto, Bleach and Death Note. I know that popularity doesn't matter, but it's been obvious that they've been playing favorites to the series they also own the anime license to, and ignoring the nuraber of sales that One Piece has generated.

And now they plan to shamelessly release five volumes a month, which not only sounRAB excessive, but reckless in today's economy. It would have been alright if Viz plans to release two-to-three volumes a month, however I get the feeling that some of the translations are going to feel rushed if they stick to their five-volumes-a-month plan.

I apologize for sounding like this, but they seriously cold have handled the series in a classier manner. This announcement sounRAB more like an attempt for them to grab more money, instead of genuinely giving the fans what they want (unlike what FUNimation has been doing).

[/rant]
 
Doesn't the fact that they're making more of an attempt to make more money off of "One Piece" show that they're actually recognizing a fanbase? I know this sounRAB blunt but your response really doesn't make sense, you're just putting a negative spin on something fans actually want and what will obviously help the series be more successful. I mean you look at the manga sales and "One Piece" always sells well but it never makes the top 10, and unlike the ones that do it's not 30 volumes behind.
 
I think it is at least valid to address the economic backlash this may cause. Retailers are going to be expected to stock five new volumes a month and retailers hate stock that just sits there. Yet it may indeed happen due to the fact that alot of folks who long asked for this can't fit buying that many each for a whole year into their current budget. Viz and the retailers won't see that, they'll just see a massive One Piece push going unanswered.
 
fans are going to have to some heavy lifting. I see it with Disney 23, the $20-plus-shipping monthly He-Man figures on mattycollector, and now this One Piece nation. If One Piece is so important to you, you will have to budget as best you can.

But here are some moneysaving tips. Join a bookstore club. Borders is free but discounts off MSRP, B&N isn't but it discounts off the lowest list price. The 5-per-month should qualify for free shipping if you buy online. And above all, Ebay is your friend. People list gift carRAB on there all the time- at a loss and sometimes with free shipping as well.
 
There's also RightStuf and their Viz/manga sales to consider as well.

EDIT: And Borders sometimes has a buy 3 get 1 free graphic novel sale.

EDIT again: Y'know, thinking about this now...there'll be one shelf entirely dedicated to One Piece and Naruto at my Borders when this is all over. :P
 
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