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No. 17092
>>17067
Translation from the first videos comments:
(Direct copy/paste from about 20 comments)
Luffy: Hey, everyone! You know the manga called One Piece?
Narrator: Gigantic posters that have appeared all over stations. Gravure idols in fashion magazines. Right now, the shounen manga One Piece is causing an unprecedented boom.
(Store: The newest volume has come out today!)
N: Total sales number over 200 million, and it shows no sign of stopping.
(Store: This thing’s a monster; it’s almost selling too much.)
N: One Piece is a story of adventure and friendship, and it is snaring not only children but also adults. In this programme we examined One Piece from various angles and analyzed its secrets. What we found was the thoughts of people who sought for the bonds with others.
(Paper: Bonds with people- - -
Friendship
Platonic love)
Prof: Their bonds with each other are absolute, never betraying, connected. Everyone wants to experience this.
N: The manga that has swept over Japan, One Piece. We will find the message hidden in this hit.
1:55
Hostess: Good evening, this is クロースアップ現代. The huge hit manga, One Piece. After this subject was chosen I too have started reading it. At first glance, the story is very simple. The main character is the young boy aiming to be Pirate King, Luffy. As Luffy and his crew journey through the world they meet stronger enemies that seek to stop them, but they contimue to triumph over these enemies.
It is a story often found in entertainment, but the characters are all unique, with traumatic pasts or outcastes from society and they are all connected by strong bonds. In an age where values change and mega-hits become rarer, having started serialization in 1997, the newest volume has sold 3,800,000 copies, breaking national records for first issues and instead of slowing down it has continued to pick up speed.
Let’s look at this pie graph, showing the age groups of the buyers in a major book store (aka Kinokuniya); an important characteristic of the readers is that minors of 18 and under make up roughly a tenth. Adults mostly in their 20’s and 30’s make up the rest, 90%.
A series that a majority of readers confess they tear up at, what is it about this manga that captures the hearts of many? What does this tell us about the human heart and the truth of modern society?
3:32
L: I’m Monkey D. Luffy. The man who will become Pirate King!
N: One Piece is a story where the boy Luffy goes on an adventure to seek for a legendary treasure.
(L: It looks like that guy can use that technique too.
Zoro: Come at me!)
N: Defeating enemies who stand is their way, along with a master swordsman, heroic sniper and other nakama, they continue their journey.
(L: Gomu gomu no JET PISTOL!)
N: This seemingly simple story has captured the hearts of many.
(L: We came here to rescue Robin!)
Someone: I will become...
Boy: The Pirate King!
(Here someone, probably the mother, mutters “please do so” – lol!)
N: This Ajioka family are all One Piece fans. Figurines of the characters decorate the living room.
Mr. Ajioka: We got these from UFO catchers and snack promotion sets. We spent quite a lot of money on this.
N: On anime days the whole family gather around the TV.
The first fan was the eldest son, Takemichi.
(Mrs. Ajioka: Please, let me watch this...)
N: However his mother, Miho, was also gradually drawn into the story.
(Jimbe: Ace-san, Luffy-kun, run ahead!
Ace+Luffy: Jimbe!)
N: This day the story had reached one of its climaxes.
Overcoming all obstacles, the main character Luffy succeeds in rescuing his brother Ace, who had been taken by the enemy.
(Akainu: I will not let you brothers escape!)
N: A fearsome enemy that blocks the way. Luffy is attacked in a moment of weakness. That instant, Ace saves his little brother’s life, at the cost of his own.
Mrs. A: Familial love, brotherly love, friendship. All these feelings are so strong, when it happens I tear up, as if my heart is being squeezed.
N: In One Piece, the theme of sacrifing yourself for another and standing against impossible odds repeatedly shows up. Miho-san, wanting her children to learn this singly-mindedness, bought all volumes.
Mrs. A: The ability to bring out your all for friends and family, I want them to have this kind of unwavering heart. One Piece personifies this beautifully; I want them to be like this.
(Paper: Do you read One Piece? – Yes
What is your favourite line in One Piece? – I wanna live (Robin, Enies Lobby)
What do you like about One Piece, what makes it different from other manga? – the nakama are passionate, they get stronger, you can read it without thinking too much)
7:15
N: For this, this programme held a questionnaire with 1000 people. Written there was the people’s wish for deep ties with other people.
(Paper: The heart to care about others
Strong bonds)
Female high school student, 18: I had times when I lost confidence and hurt my friends. Watching Luffy care so much for his nakama, I realized just how precious friends are.
Male office worker, 44: Even Ussop and Chopper, who have small wills and fighting skills, can, stand up to the enemy for their friend’s sake. Being simply strong isn’t everything.
8:11
There is a researcher who tries to untangle One Piece from the view of strong ties with others. Professor Yuki Yasuda, who specializes in internet theory.
(Papers: the characters are all grouped as core group, allies, marines, rookies, shichibukai, etc)
She points out that there one set characteristic in Luffy, the main character’s bonds with his nakama.
UNWAVERING TRUST
Prof. Y: Overcoming each adventure together, their bonds evolve ever thicker, stronger, never to break. This is what makes it interesting.
N: Tied together with strong bonds, Luffy and his nakama. There a new nakama joins. For example, the woman called Robin joins the crew for certain reasons. Later, an enemy strikes at Robin’s weakness and forces her to betray the others. However, Luffy and the others carry on their unwavering trust in Robin. They defeat the enemy and take Robin back.
Through this, their bonds in each other become thicker and stronger. Repeating similar situations, Luffy’s net of bonds spread out wider.
Prof. Y feels that it is this unwavering trust that captures the hearts of the readers.
Prof. Y: People are drawn to the idea of absolute bonds, and yet in reality they can’t manage it.
10:22
N: A story about the bonds that are gradually disappearing in society, One Piece. The creator, Eiichiro Oda rarely appears to the media and is cloaked in mysteries.
This time we managed to get into Oda-san’s atelier. That desk was hemmed in with bookshelves, and was in the corner of a room where no outside light fell. Other than a weekly day of rest, he spends 20 hours a day here, immersed in drawing his work.
Collected on the bookshelves were works on chivalrous men, the collected works of director Kurosawa, and other famous works of Japanese movies.
When we requested an interview with Oda-san, we were left a single illustration.
L: No interviews!
N: Oda-san stubbornly dislikes any media coverage; however there is a man who succeeded in just that. Studio Ghibli’s Toshio Suzuki-san. He is a famous producer who has supported Hayao Miyazaki (director of Studio Ghibli) from the shadows for many years. Two years ago Suzuki-san invited Oda-san to a radio interview, and held a conversation with him.
S: When I first read One Piece the first thing that popped in my head was that it was all about gallantry, to put it bluntly.
O: I love it.
S: So you like those things.
O: I imaged Seven Samurai when writing One Piece.
S: I thought so!
N: To save farmers suffering from bandits, seven men risk their lives and fight, the Kurosawa masterpiece, Seven Samurai. If it is to save a friend, no matter what or who the enemy might be, Luffy and his friends will stand steady and fight. The roots of this were in a past masterpiece.
O: I mean, Jinginai Time...
S: Have you watched Zatouichi?
O: I’ve watched it; I think I’ve watched all of Zatouichi.
I have an interest in works that made their era. I hope to express the Japanese soul.
N: Suzuki-san feels that the essence of the old Japanese soul that appeared in countless masterpieces of the past is also expressed in One Piece.
S: Ken Takatsura-san, Kouji Tsuruta-san. All the old movies have the same message.
Doing something for other people, that is more important than something for yourself, even if extreme cases doing so leads to your death.
Modern society...all they think about is themselves. They don’t think much about others. It’s interesting that a manga like this is supported by many in this age.
N: Sometimes One Piece will change people’s way of living.
(Ibaraki, Kashima)
-end-
I'm an amatuer at this, so please overlook any mistakes.
-ziammy
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