'One Piece' exhibit to drop anchor in Shanghai

In thrilling news for local fans of high seas adventure manga “One Piece,” an exhibition — Hello, ONE PIECE — sets sail from Shanghai Himalayas Museum on June 1.

The exhibition will contain about 200 illustrations and paintings, including the first public display of a picture Eiichiro Oda created to commemorate the 300 millionth copy.

Oda has become the No. 1 manga artist in Japan. A stalwart of “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine for 22 years, “One Piece” has now sold more than 450 million copies around the world, a record for the most copies of the same comic book series by a single author.

From the very beginning, “One Piece” was the most popular feature of magazine “Weekly Shonen Jump,” occupying the cover all year round.

A large number of beautifully colored illustrations by Oda are on show in “Hello, ONE PIECE” arranged in chronological order. One after another, the crucial plot events of the past 22 years unfold slowly before visitors’ eyes.

Ti Gong

Central to the exhibit is a full-scale reconstruction of Oda’s original studio. All the tools and materials on show were actually used by Oda, and are positioned exactly as they were when he was working with them. It is almost as if he was still behind his desk.

The show contains original storyboards of six classic editions of “One Piece,” and fans of the manga can see original “Jump” manuscripts, previously only available to the magazine’s editors.

The three-month exhibition is the only one among many “One Piece” exhibitions around the world that allows visitors to take photos and record videos.

Produced by the executive committee of “Hello, ONE PIECE,” the exhibition is organized by China Friendship Art Exchange Association.

Official ticketing channels are: Yongle tickets.com, Maoyan, and “Hello, ONE PIECE” official exhibition at Youzan market.