Canon

Canon, in terms of fictional stories, refers to what is considered to be an official part of the main storyline. In practice, it usually determines whether the material is "appropriate" for fan analyses, speculations, or discussions.

Generally, the parts of the main story contributed by the original creator—which, in the case of One Piece, are predominantly the chapters of the manga and the SBS—are considered indisputable canon. However, One Piece is a multimedia franchise, boasting many different supplementary materials such as anime and databooks; these materials rarely have much direct input from Eiichiro Oda, creating much uncertainty about whether their events and facts belong in the canon.

For the most part, Oda and his staff have not made explicit confirmations about which supplemental works are canon and which are not. The subject is thus left to fan judgments, which tend to differ even within the same community, but usually revolve around two general principles:

1. The greater Oda's input in the material, the more likely its elements qualify as canon.
2. Any non-manga material that contradicts the manga disqualifies itself from canon.

Below is a more extensive guide to how this Wiki approaches the canonicity (or lack thereof) of each One Piece media source when documenting knowledge about the series. These considerations have been made carefully, based on how each source is produced, but should not be treated as official declarations about the canonicity of a work. Unless confirmed by an official statement from Oda and his associates, they only apply to the operation of this Wiki, and have no authority in fan discussion.

Canon[]

Elements originated by these sources are treated as canonical by default, unless indicated otherwise.

Manga[]

Being the work that launched the One Piece franchise and the work creator Eiichiro Oda has most directly participated in, the manga is widely accepted as the highest source of One Piece canon. While not free of art mistakes^[1] or writing oversights,^[2] all facts introduced in the manga are considered reliable canon unless contradicted by a fact introduced later in the manga.

Zeff severing his right leg to eat, depicted only in the manga, stands as the canonical reason for his peg-leg.

"Mary Geoise," the manga's first romanization for the World Government capital, stands as the canonical spelling.

It should be noted that this Wiki, whenever possible, prioritizes the original Japanese version of the manga. Though the Viz-translated manga is faithful in most respects, it does occasionally diverge due to mistranslation^[3] or deliberate localization.^[4]

Short-Term Focused Cover Page Serials[]

Short-Term Focused Cover Page Serials (more often called "Cover stories" or "Cover arcs") tell side-stories in one-page installments, typically following antagonists or supporting characters after their initial encounters with the Straw Hats.

Though somewhat lesser-known than the manga's main storyline (as most of them have not been adapted by the anime), cover arcs are considered equally canonical. In fact, many of them have served to explain elements in the main storyline, such as Buggy's return from his first defeat, Hatchan's new career as a takoyaki chef, and CP9's survival of the Buster Call.

Monsters[]

Monsters is a one-shot manga Oda created in 1994, several years before One Piece. Initially thought to be an unrelated work, its protagonist Ryuma would later appear in the Thriller Bark Arc as a zombie; shortly after, Oda confirmed in Volume 47's SBS that this was the same Ryuma, making Monsters part of the official canon.

SBS[]

The SBS is a question-and-answer column that has been included in every tankoban volume since Volume 4. The typical column features Oda personally answering fan questions on a wide variety of topics, some concerning the world or characters of One Piece, some concerning the series' production, and some completely unrelated to either.

While directly produced by Oda in most cases, the SBS is a slightly more nebulous source of canon than the manga proper, as Oda has been known to give joke answers to even straightfoward story questions (e.g. stating that Luffy can stretch a maximum of "72 Gomu Gomu's" when a fan asked for his limit).^[5] Further blurring the issue, some of his ostensible joke answers (e.g. the Marine photographer Attach) later became actualities in the manga proper.^[6][7]

In any case, Oda's serious SBS answers still provide a significant amount of worldbuilding information—the Marine Ranks,^[8] the exact parameters of Devil Fruit users' weakness to water,^[9] and the backstory between Perona and Gecko Moria,^[10] among others—and are thus considered part of the canon unless contradicted by something in a later SBS column or the manga proper.

Databooks[]

The databooks are a set of supplementary volumes that examine the world of One Piece as an encyclopedia would. Though they mostly compile information already established in the manga, each one also contains at least a few previously-unrevealed facts, most commonly the names of minor characters, locations, and/or items.

Databooks may be the most contentious source of One Piece canon; while their covers give sole attribution to Oda, fans have suggested that their contents are largely compiled by Shonen Jump editors and thus cannot stand as canon by themselves. This grew especially controversial around the early 2010s, amid debates over whether Sabo had survived the events of Chapter 588; many fans cited an entry from the databook One Piece Green: Secret Pieces as evidence of his death, only for Chapter 731 to later confirm that he had, in fact, survived.

On the other hand, Oda has been known to cite databooks as a valid source of canon on multiple occasions.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]} The general policy of this Wiki is to treat all databook facts as canon, unless contradicted by the manga, an SBS column, or a later databook. For the most recent databook, Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary, the editorial department publishes revisions for inaccurate information on the official website.^[17] The revised information is considered canon over the original print (for example, Tenguyama Hitetsu's age, which was increased to be more realistic with his true identity). Notably, the fact that information is being reviewed and revised can be then taken as further proof of credibility.

One Piece Magazine[]

The installments of One Piece Magazine are similar to databooks in that they provide supplemental information about the series and are attributed to Oda himself. They have provided information such as the appearances of multiple Devil Fruits and the size measurements of the series' largest characters. However, parts of the magazine that give information about non-canon works, such as films and live events, are not considered canon. Additionally, the novels contained in the magazines, save for novel A, are not considered canon due to being written by other people.

One Piece novel A[]

One Piece novel A, consisting of two volumes, chronicles the life of Portgas D. Ace from the start of his pirating voyage to his time as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. As stated above, One Piece novels are predominantly considered non-canon. Novel A is currently considered the sole exception, due to being confirmed as an official work supervised by Oda. Additionally, none of the information in novel A has been contradicted by other canon media.

Grand Line Times[]

This is a review of material already presented in the manga. It is considered canon. It was made by Oda, when he was ill, to help fans catch up with the series.

Non-Canon[]

Elements originated by these sources are treated as non-canonical by default, unless indicated otherwise.

Anime[]

Toei's anime version of One Piece, by far the most prominent adaptation of the manga, is correspondingly the largest source of mistaken (or debatable) canon. Though not as divergent as most other anime adaptations of long-running manga, the One Piece anime has still altered, rearranged, expanded, and occasionally removed material from virtually every section of the manga; for his part, Oda has stated that he participates little in anime production beyond supplying concept art.^[18]

Sometimes Toei can subtly foreshadow the events that are coming up in the anime (mostly due to events taking place in the manga prior). This can be seen when a ghost of the Going Merry is shown during the sea train ride, as well as after the Luffy versus Usopp duel where Toei had Zoro acting cold towards Usopp by telling Chopper not to talk about him. Fans thought that this move was out of character, but in the manga Zoro acted similarly when Luffy learned that Usopp wanted to rejoin, as Zoro viewed allowing him to rejoin as weak. In the anime, Boin Archipelago was a giant plant with the mouth in the middle, which was then later confirmed canon in the manga.

Toei has also unintentionally created some plotholes. For example, in the Warship Island Arc Zoro stated that there was nothing he could not cut, and was shown cutting chains that he claimed were steel. This is a semi-major plothole, as in the manga (and the anime) he was shown to be unable to cut steel until the Arabasta Arc during his fight with Daz Bonez. In the Davy Back Fight Arc, Chopper ate three rumble balls with no adverse effects, however it would later be established that if he eats three rumble balls he will transform into Monster Chopper. In the Diary of Koby-Meppo cover story adaption, Garp, Koby, and Helmeppo went up Reverse Mountain, but in the manga they went through the Calm Belt. Toei covered up this mistake by having Koby state that the newspaper was wrong. In the Warship Island Arc, the crew saved Ryu, an old and weakened dragon, however in the Punk Hazard Arc the crew stated that the dragon they had encountered on Punk Hazard was the first they had seen.

Fillers[]

For the purposes of this Wiki, filler refers to material that is original to the serialized TV anime. It can refer to whole episodes or arcs driven by plots not found in the manga, or to individual scenes inserted into otherwise-canon material.

As filler exists mostly for logistical reasons (e.g. preventing the anime from overtaking the manga), it cannot tangibly affect the canonical storyline. However, because the anime also presents itself as a single, serialized story, most filler tries to reconcile with canon events instead of overwriting them.

Toei's most significant filler materials are as follows:

• Warship Island Arc: The Straw Hats help a young girl named Apis save her friend. In the manga, the Straw Hat Pirates were supposed to escape Loguetown, enter and escape the Calm Belt before going up Reverse Mountain without any interruptions, Luffy was supposed to save Usopp from the Sea King instead of Apis. During this Arc, Oda had just wrapped up the Drum Island Arc and was doing the early chapters of the Arabasta Arc. It takes place between the Loguetown Arc and the Reverse Mountain Arc.
• Post-Arabasta Arc: This arc is composed of stand alone episodes (for each of the crew members excluding Luffy and Robin). It takes place after Nico Robin joined the crew, and between the Arabasta Arc and Goat Island Arc.
• Goat Island Arc: The Straw Hats help an old man named Zenny achieve his dreams of becoming a Pirate. It takes place between the Post-Arabasta Arc and the Ruluka Island Arc.
• Ruluka Island Arc: The Straw Hats deal with the mysterious Rainbow Mist. In the manga, after Robin joined, a ship fell from the sky; in the anime that happens at the end of this arc. This, and the two previous filler arcs were made because Oda was in the early stage of the Skypiea Arc. It takes place between the Goat Island Arc and the Jaya Arc.
• G-8 Arc: The Straw Hat pirates land within the heavily fortified waters of a Marine base. In the manga, they land in open water after leaving Skypiea, Nami tries out the waver and Luffy discusses the idea of obtaining a shipwright. In the anime, it is Usopp who discusses about getting a shipwright as a repairman. It takes place between the Skypiea Arc and Long Ring Long Land Arc.
• Ocean's Dream Arc: This arc is based on a video game of the same name. It involves Robin trying to reunite the crew, who have lost their memories. It takes place between the Long Ring Long Land Arc and the Foxy's Return Arc.
• Foxy's Return Arc: This arc depicts the Straw Hat Pirates re-encountering Foxy, Porche, and Hamburg. In the anime, this led to the encounter with Aokiji. It takes place between the Ocean's Dream Arc and the Water 7 Arc
• Ice Hunter Arc: This arc chronicles the journey of the Straw Hat Pirates from Water 7, into the Florian Triangle, coming close to a winter island inhabited by the Accino Family. It takes place between the Post-Enies Lobby Arc and Thriller Bark Arc.
• Spa Island Arc: This arc chronicles the Straw Hat's stay at Spa Island, where they run into Foxy, Porche, and Hamburg. It takes place between the Thriller Bark Arc and Sabaody Archipelago Arc.
• Little East Blue Arc: The Straw Hats visit Little East Blue, an island inhabited by former East Blue residents and visitors, inspired by that sea. The Little East Blue Arc is a special arc that serves as a lead into One Piece Film: Strong World. It aired during the Impel Down Arc, and does not fit within canon, though it can be considered to take place between the Thriller Bark Arc and Sabaody Archipelago Arc since it leads into Strong World.
• Z's Ambition Arc: The Straw Hats encounter Lily Enstomach and help her save her father from the Marines and Neo Marines. The Z's Ambition Arc is a special arc that serves as a lead into One Piece Film: Z. It takes place between the Fish-Man Island Arc and Punk Hazard Arc.
• Caesar Retrieval Arc: After Caesar Clown is kidnapped, Luffy, Chopper, and Law goes to retrieve him from Breed. It takes place between the Punk Hazard Arc and Dressrosa Arc.
• Silver Mine Arc: Luffy and Bartolomeo try to escape Silver Mine after getting kidnapped by the Silver Pirate Alliance. The Silver Mine Arc is a special arc that serves as a lead into One Piece Film: Gold. It takes place between the Dressrosa Arc and Zou Arc.
• Marine Rookie Arc: The Sanji Retrieval Team is suffering from food shortage, and disembark on Fron Island to steal from the island's marine base food supply. They are then confronted by the newly arrived Captain All-Hunt Grount and his friends before escaping with the supplies, only to lose then again immediately due to their starving state. It takes place between the Zou Arc and Whole Cake Island Arc.
• Cidre Guild Arc: Luffy embarks on an island to find cola to replenish the Thousand Sunny's supply. While there, he teams up with Boa Hancock and fights the bounty hunting Cidre Guild. The Cidre Guild Arc is a special arc that serves as a lead into One Piece: Stampede. It aired in the middle of the Wano Country Arc, and does not fit within canon, though can be considered to take place after the Whole Cake Island Arc.
• Uta's Past Arc: Uta's Past Arc is a special arc that serves as a lead into One Piece Film: Red. It aired in the middle of the Wano Country Arc, and does not fit within canon, although it can be considered to take place afterwards.

Movies, Specials, and OVAs[]

Apart from the TV anime, Toei has also produced many standalone films and specials under the One Piece license. These typically make little effort to reconcile with the manga's or the TV anime's current storylines beyond the Straw Hats' membership, and are thus not regarded as canonical.

• Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack is the first anime in a movie form created in 1998 one year before Toei took rights to create the series based on the manga. Only Luffy, Zoro and Nami are in it, since it released when One Piece was in the Syrup Village Arc, which is why Usopp did not appear. Ganzack, a villain with crab-like armor and hidden weapons, was a basic concept for Don Krieg. This OVA is officially disqualified from being canon as to what Oda said on Chapter 36’s SBS: “It's an original story that Luffy, Zoro and Nami appear in, unrelated to the One Piece story.”
• Movie 1 takes place in the East Blue, just before Sanji is introduced.
• Movie 2 takes place between the Loguetown Arc and the Warship Island Arc. While it could be considered canon with Ace and Vivi having a cameo appearance in the credits, their color schemes are different from those shown in the manga, and later the anime.
• Movie 3 has Tony Tony Chopper in it, but cannot occur as part of canon since neither Nefertari Vivi (who was there when he joined) nor Nico Robin (who joined the crew immediately after leaving Arabasta and Vivi) feature.
• Movie 4 takes place after Arabasta, with the confrontation between the antagonist Gasparde and Luffy being similar to the confrontation between Crocodile and Luffy (including Luffy screaming Gasparde's name like he did with Crocodile, and coating his hands with powder to fight Gasparde like he used blood to fight Crocodile).
• Movie 5 takes place while the series is in Skypiea.
• Movie 6 is similar to the Davy Back Fight, only that the setting is darker, and the events bigger.
• Movie 7 is supposed to take place before Water 7. Although there are machines in the movie, Oda later added Karakuri Island to the canon storyline, although the only mechanics on this island are the Automata created by Moonwatcher. While this movie is not to be considered canon, it shows Luffy activating Gear 2 unwittingly, creating a possible explanation for the origin of the technique.
• Movie 8 is supposed to take place during Arabasta Arc but many aspects are changed. Ace, Rainbase, the Marines, and Mr. 3 do not appear in the movie, making it different from the canon Arabasta Arc.
• Movie 9 is a remake of the Drum Island Arc, but Vivi is not in it, Robin and Franky make an appearance, and Wapol has an older brother and new subordinates. It is dramatically different from the canon events that occurred at Drum Island. However, the revised 2014 edition adds an additional scene which retroactively makes it a dream that a post-timeskip Chopper experienced while on board the Thousand Sunny after the crew has reunited, setting the movie sometime after the Fish-Man Island Arc but before the Punk Hazard Arc.
• Movie 10 takes place on Merveille. It takes place between the Thriller Bark Arc and Sabaody Archipelago Arc, because Brook has joined the crew and it occurs before the crew is separated. As it is the only movie directly written by Oda, its canonical status is somewhat more ambiguous; see "Partial/Ambiguous" below for details.
• Movie 11 takes place between Thriller Bark Arc and Sabaody Archipelago Arc, because Brook has joined the crew and it occurs before the crew is separated.
• Movie 12 takes place at various locations in the New World and is the first movie set there. It occurs at some point between the anime-only Z's Ambition Arc and the Punk Hazard Arc because the crew has entered the New World but Law has not accompanied them yet.
• Movie 13 takes place after the Dressrosa Arc and before the Zou Arc. This is because it is mentioned Luffy defeated Donquixote Doflamingo and Sabo obtained Ace's Mera Mera no Mi. This cannot fit into canon because in the Dressrosa Arc, part of the Straw Hats departed to Zou. However, in the movie, the entire crew is present, with the exception of Trafalgar Law and Caesar Clown's accompaniment.
• Movie 14 takes place after the Whole Cake Island Arc and before the Wano Country Arc, as Morgans mentions Luffy to be the "Fifth Emperor" and the Seven Warlords of the Sea system still exists. However, it does not fit into canon as the Straw Hats are all together in the movie, and they do not reunite prior to the Wano Country Arc in canon. Additionally, the Kid Pirates are actively operating in the movie while they are in the Beasts Pirates' custody at this point in the manga, and Killer still has his old appearance.
• Movie 15 can be considered to take place after the Wano Country Arc, as Jinbe is with the crew; however, Luffy is still referred to as the "Fifth Emperor" and Big Mom is shown to be alive and still in power. Although the film does not fit in the canon timeline and is considered non-canon, it does have canon elements which are covered in the "Partial/Ambiguous" section below.

Video Games[]

None of the various One Piece video games published under Bandai has ever been suggested to hold any kind of canon status, regardless of whether they directly adapt canonical storylines or use original stories (which, much like Toei's films and specials, rarely try to accommodate the current manga/anime storyline). The more prominent original-story games include:

• One Piece: Ocean's Dream!: Which features Noko with the Nemu Nemu no Mi.
• One Piece: Round the Land: Which features Blyue with the Mini Mini no Mi.
• One Piece: Great Hidden Treasure of the Nanatsu Islands: Which features Simon with the Pasa Pasa no Mi.
• One Piece: Unlimited Adventure: Which features Popora and the Evil Guardian.
• One Piece: Unlimited Cruise: Which features Gaburi and the Doom Guardian.
• One Piece: Unlimited World Red: Which features Patrick Redfield with the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire and Pato with the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Bake-danuki.
• One Piece: World Seeker: Which features a large number of original characters who reside on Jail Island, from the occupying Marines led by Isaac to the citizens led by Jeanne.
• One Piece Odyssey: Which features a large number of original characters that reside in various canon locations, such as the Arabasta Kingdom and Dressrosa.

More subtly, games may offer original information related to canonical events, abilities, and backstories (Grand Battle! Rush!, for instance, contains a dialog suggesting that Shanks and Zeff are old friends). Regardless of whether these actually contradict canon, they are considered non-canonical by default.

(Interestingly, due to their independent production, video games may sometimes include manga elements not present in the anime, particularly from the cover arcs and SBS.)

Live-Action Series[]

The live-action One Piece is an independent adaptation of the series, developed by Shueisha and American production venture Tomorrow Studios with Oda serving as an executive producer. Because it is intended as an adaptation of the original manga story, all plot changes and everything else exclusive to the live-action series are considered non-canon.

Live Shows[]

There have been a variety of real-world One Piece events in Japan that have original plots and characters. Major events include:

• The One Piece Premier Show, an annual stage show at Universal Studios Japan in which the characters are portrayed by human actors. There is a new plot each year.
• One Piece Live Attraction, a stage show at Tokyo One Piece Tower that has currently undergone four iterations, each with unique plots.
• One Piece x Kyoto, an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the series which contained an art exhibit depicting a story of the Straw Hat Pirates in Wano Country. The climactic scene was drawn by Oda.

The plots created by these live events have little to no connection to Oda or the manga storyline, with the story of One Piece x Kyoto actively contradicting the manga.

One-Shots[]

Numerous One Piece one-shots have been written by various authors, including Oda himself. The only one considered canon is Monsters, as explained in the "Canon" section above. One of the most famous one-shots is Cross Epoch, a crossover comic that features the Dragon Ball and One Piece cast. Since it does not have anything to do with canon, fans do not consider it canonical. Other one-shots do feature events related to canon material, such as Nami vs. Kalifa and Vivi's Adventure, but it has never been stated that they are canonical.

Spin-Offs[]

One Piece has many spin-off series, none of which are considered canonical. While some of these spin-offs try to align themselves with canon material, none have been written by Oda.

• One Piece Party: An episodic gag manga that sometimes ignores canon material to prioritize gags.
• Chin Piece: A gag manga taking place in the world of One Piece. The series takes place mostly in original locations, and so does not frequently explicitly contradict canon material.
• Shokugeki no Sanji: A series of one-shots focusing on Sanji.
• Fischer's x One Piece - Search for the 7 Treasures: A series focusing on the Fischer's YouTube group having been transported to a modified version of the One Piece world.
• One Piece episode A: An adaptation of the canon novel, One Piece novel A. As an adaptation, it changes various aspects of the story, dropping the second volume of the novel entirely.

Omake Features[]

Most of the comics Oda drew in the omake have nothing to do with the canon, despite the fact that Oda drew them. The comics often humorously feature the One Piece cast in different roles and different situations which are standalone stories. However, the only omake which could occur in continuity is Report Time, which chronicles the Straw Hat crew's eating habits during the first parts of their voyage, up to Sanji joining, but it is unconfirmed if it actually is.

Oda's Involvement[]

Oda has occasionally been involved in non-canon material:

• Oda wrote the story for One Piece Film: Strong World and was executive producer for One Piece Film: Z and One Piece Film: Gold.
• Oda has designed many anime-only characters for Toei (anime) and Bandai (video games).
  • Oda provided character designs for the first OVA characters. Sketches of these can be found in one of the early volumes.^[19]
  • The character Musshuru was created by Oda for the 9th One Piece movie as Wapol's brother.^[20] Due to many of the other changes in the story, including the inclusion of Robin and Franky to the story of the discovery and joining of Tony Tony Chopper, it cannot be considered canon in the continuity.
  • Oda has also designed other non-canon characters such as Accino,^[21]

Partial/Arguable[]

Non-Serial Cover Pages[]

The majority of the manga's Cover Pages are non-serial; instead, they depict various characters (most often the Straw Hat Pirates) in context-free scenarios with no dialogue whatsoever. As a result, they are almost never regarded as having any weight on the main storyline; by the same token, however, they almost never openly contradict the main storyline (at most occasionally depicting technology that does not appear to exist in the world proper).^[22]

In any case, it is generally assumed that all cover pages are (even if conceptualized via fan submissions) drawn solely by Oda, and correspondingly represent the design elements he intends as canonical. For this reason, cover-page art is sometimes used as a basis for canonical name spellings and color schemes, especially those never confirmed by the main storyline.

Novels[]

Similar to Toei's films and specials, Shueisha has published a number of standalone novels under the One Piece license. Their canonical status is somewhat more debatable, and fall across two categories.

Adaptations[]

Every One Piece theatrical film—in addition to Production I.G's one-off OVA and the 3D2Y special—has received a tie-in novelization, generally held to be equally non-canonical. More ambiguous, however, is Tatsuya Hamazaki's 2000 novelization of the Loguetown Arc—to date the only known prose publication directly adapting the manga, and one of a very few to feature illustrations from Eiichiro Oda.

Story-wise, the novel is most notable for introducing Daddy Masterson and his daughter Carol, along with the North Blue goggles that Usopp wears throughout the Straw Hats' Grand Line adventures. This material (later adapted as Episode 50 of the anime) is often assumed to have happened "off-screen" in the manga, based on an SBS where Oda confirmed that Chapter 98 was originally meant to show Usopp buying the goggles, but cut the scene due to page-length limits; however, it should be noted this SBS says nothing about the Mastersons, or that the goggles would have been attached to any wider story.^[23]

To date, the Mastersons have not been referenced in any databook or supplementary work, and it remains unknown if they are canonical, or even if they were in fact Oda's creations. The same applies to all the other elements introduced in the novel (such as the fortune-teller who declares that Luffy has a "conqueror's countenance" (覇王の相, Haō no sō^?)),^[24] with the exception of Billy the Orca Killer, whose sword Yamaoroshi was listed in One Piece Magazine's catalog of Meito.^[25]

(A related rumor states that Oda had removed "many" would-be canon stories from the Loguetown Arc so the Straw Hats could enter the Grand Line by Chapter 100. This, at best, remains an inference with no official confirmation.)

Original[]

From 2017 on, Shueisha has also published several novels featuring original stories (almost all initially serialized in One Piece Magazine), which frequently add new details to canonical characters, settings, and events:

• Novel A, which chronicles Portgas D. Ace's early career leading the Spade Pirates, and his initial meeting with the Whitebeard Pirates.
• Novel Straw Hat Stories, which examines each of the first nine Straw Hats through the eyes of various bystanders.
• Novel Law, which chronicles Trafalgar Law's founding of the Heart Pirates.
  • Novel Law: The Hour of Kikoku, which covers the early days of the Heart Pirates.
• Novel HEROINES, which depicts various incidents in the lives of Nami, Nico Robin, Nefertari Vivi, and Perona, among other female characters.
• Novel ZORO, which chronicles Zoro's life before he joined the Straw Hat Pirates.

Of these, none were written by Eiichiro Oda, and only novel A is known to have involved any direct contribution from him (specifically, concept art for Masked Deuce, Isuka, and several other characters).^{[Note 1]} Pending further announcements from Shueisha (or analyses on whether the stories contradict any facts established in the manga), this wiki's current policy is to treat novel A as canonical, and the others as non-canonical.

One Piece Film: Strong World[]

The anime's tenth theatrical film, Strong World, is to date the only film directly written by Eiichiro Oda. This fact was greatly publicized in its promotional materials; allegedly, a few even stated that Oda considered it part of the manga storyline. Fourteen and a half years later, Oda would speak more directly on Strong World's canonicity and was rather ambivalent, saying it could be "forcefully" incorporated into the main story but that he did not want it to be obligatory to watch.^[28]

As a whole, Strong World is among the films most conciliatory with the manga storyline, fitting into the several-day gap between the Thriller Bark Arc and the Sabaody Archipelago Arc.^[29] However, none of its plot developments have ever been referenced in the manga, even in passing; in fact, fans have cited several inconsistencies with the manga, particularly in its battle scenes, which ignore that Zoro's Thriller Bark wounds were serious enough to be reopened by similar exertions on Sabaody^[30] and Brook had stated the battle against the Flying Fish Riders was his first as a Straw Hat.^[31]

Further muddling the issue, the film's main antagonist Shiki is considered part of the canon. In addition to being conceptualized and designed entirely by Oda—with an entire special chapter of the manga tying his backstory into that of Gold Roger and many other characters—he was referenced in the manga proper during the Impel Down Arc, almost a year before the movie's release.^[32] Since then, the manga has firmly established him as a member of the Rocks Pirates^[33] and tied him to the historical God Valley Incident; ultimately, he would make a full appearance during the Egghead Arc.^[34] Still, all of these appearances have thus far been confined to flashbacks, offering no evidence of his whereabouts in the present storyline and not contradicting the events depicted in Chapter 0, which is otherwise considered canon.

A few other elements of the movie, such as Indigo and the island of Merveille (including some of its animals), are also considered canonical due to their appearances in Chapter 0. The plant Daft Green has also been indirectly implied as canonical, as the Post-War Arc depicted a non-toxic variant on Rusukaina.^[35]

In One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World, which collects information from the manga like other databooks, among Shiki's relationships the Straw Hat Pirates are shown as his enemies, as a connection to the events in the film.

Finally, it should be noted that the anime-original Little East Blue Arc, despite being designed as a prologue to Strong World, is generally not considered canonical, as no aspect of its plot (which ends with Shiki not even knowing of the Straw Hats' involvement) has ever been referenced by the film or the manga.

One Piece Film: Red[]

One Piece Film: Red has drawn discussion regarding its canonicity due to it heavily featuring Shanks and revealing new information about him. Oda was less involved with this film compared to Strong World, serving as a general producer and supervisor. However, he did personally write and draw several pieces of information regarding the film and its characters in promotional material.

Currently, we consider the events of Film Red proper to be non-canon, however Uta as a character and certain information regarding her and Shanks is considered canon due to coming from promotional material attributed to Oda himself.

• Uta has appeared in the manga proper, as a silhouette in Chapter 1055. Additionally, she has appeared in the Uta's Special 1-Page Manga which was written and drawn by Oda. Thus, she is much like Shiki in that both are canon characters, but their actions in the films starring them are considered non-canon.
• The information contained in Volume 4000000000, particularly regarding canon characters, is considered canon due to being attributed to Oda.
• The events of Uta's Past Arc are not considered canon due to being anime filler. Uta's Special 1-Page Manga does show that Uta visited Foosha Village with the Red Hair Pirates, but the scenes exclusive to the anime are non-canon.

Given that distribution of Volume 4000000000 is limited, especially outside of Japan, information sourced from it must be handled very carefully. Our approach to Film Red and its related material is subject to change pending the discovery of new information or official clarification regarding officiality and/or canonicity.

Trivia[]

• To date, only one character has been known to originate in non-canon material and later "advance" to canon through a manga appearance: "Crescent-Moon" Gally, who was created for Romance Dawn, Version 1 but later included at the end of the Whole Cake Island Arc.

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• TV Tropes on Canon
  • TV Tropes on Adaptation Displacement, a perennial source of mistaken (or ambiguous) canon
• Fanlore Wiki on Canon

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