Arab readers can now follow the Japanese manga series “One Piece” officially in their own language for the first time. Manga Arabia, a Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) company, has published more than 100 chapters in Arabic on its digital apps.

The launch stems from the company's partnerships with leading Japanese publishers, chief among them Shueisha, and its plan to bring international titles to Arabic while also producing original Arab works and backing creative talent in the region.

Dr. Essam Bukhary, Manga Arabia's general manager and editor-in-chief, said the company has spent recent years building direct relationships with major Japanese publishers. He called the release an important step given the series' global reach and long history with Arab readers, adding that official releases protect both the quality of the work and the author's rights.

Production manager Noura Al-Jumaili said the Arabic edition went through direct translation, review, proofreading and lettering of the dialogue to fit the story, in order to keep the original's identity intact.

Manga Arabia's apps have passed 13 million downloads, reaching users in more than 190 countries, and more than 23 million copies of its print magazines have been distributed since the company was founded.

Written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda, “One Piece” started in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. It has sold over 600 million copies worldwide — more than 450 million in Japan and over 150 million elsewhere — and has been published in more than 60 countries and regions. It holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published of a comic series by a single author, first set in 2015 and confirmed again in 2022.