“Gomu Gomu no…”
You’ve probably heard this phrase from One Piece’s main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy. Created by Eiichiro Oda, the Japanese anime television series follows the story of a teenage boy and his adventures together with a crew called Straw Hat Pirates. He explores the Grand Line to find the “One Piece” and become the next Pirate King. With more than 800 episodes and 20 seasons, One Piece is one of the most popular and highest-grossing anime shows worldwide.
Last June 15, the creator of the series made an announcement that surely thrilled fans and fellow manga artists.
According to One Piece’s official Twitter account, Oda decided to temporarily waive the anime’s copyright to allow fans to create and sell their artworks inspired by Luffy’s pirate crew. The deal is to sell their products through Japan’s mobile messaging platform, LINE only.
Moreover, SoraNews24 reported that Oda penned a handwritten message that says:
“Hey, did you hear? It’s OK for you to draw and sell your own One Piece character line stamps! Of course, all the money is yours to keep!!”
尾田先生の作ったLINEスタンプを公開!!
ニュース｜尾田先生からのらくがき到着！みんなで『ONE PIECE』のLINEスタンプを作ろう！ #onepiece https://t.co/SMm6KCbQez pic.twitter.com/YNgjkP63Op
— ONE PIECE.com(ワンピース) (@OPcom_info) June 15, 2020
In 2015, there’s a group of four unnamed Chinese men living in Japan who were arrested because of illegal use and piracy of One Piece. But this week, everyone, including professional manga artists, can showcase their talents on drawing characters and stamps from the series.
Whether you’re a pro or not, Oda encourages fans to participate together with their parents, kids, or friends because he’s also looking forward to purchasing some fans’ works.
Another rule to remember is that your artwork should be original—meaning, tracing isn’t allowed and will be considered “inappropriate”. You should have at least produced eight stamps before you can sell them since LINE stamps are sold in collections.
The copyright-free status will only last for one year, which means you still have plenty of time to create more drawings.
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