One Piece-themed wedding, winning a yearly contest to become the 'knowledge king', and a toilet plastered with pages from the manga, are just some of the examples of fan dedication to author Eiichiro Oda's work
Japanese manga series "One Piece" fan Shohei Sato reads a copy of the comics in his house in Tokyo.. Photography Philip Fong / AFP
Shohei Sato's devotion to the pirate manga "One Piece" culminated in a wedding themed on the series, and he's not the only superfan obsessed with its intricate plots and swashbuckling characters.
The Japanese comic-book saga began 25 years ago and is one of the biggest-selling mangas of all time, with more than 500 million copies sold globally.
It follows straw hat-wearing Monkey D. Luffy and his team as they hunt for treasure, and has grown into a sprawling cultural franchise—now riding even greater waves of popularity thanks to a new hit film and an upcoming live-action Netflix series.
Since childhood, 29-year-old Sato estimates he has spent "well over 10 million yen ($67,000 at current rates), if not 20 million" amassing merchandise and crisscrossing Japan to attend "One Piece" events.