Manga Longer Than One Piece

One Piece is well known for being one of the greatest manga and anime franchises of all time. It is also known as one of the longest manga series of all time, with (to date) 110 volumes, and 1,135 mainline chapters (1,143 if one counts the extras). For many, One Piece is the longest story they have ever read.

However, One Piece is not even close to being one of the longest manga series ever. Manga as a medium has existed for decades, and many series have managed to stay published for just as long, if not longer. Here are some manga that are longer than One Piece.

Updated January 21, 2025 by David Heath: Few manga get to reach 100 chapters, let alone over 1,000. Most aspiring creators will likely end up with a few projects that get cut short before one catches on. Even then, their creative juices can only last so long. Akira Toriyama found himself running dry after Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Saga, and Buronson was happy to end Fist of the North Star with its leads riding into the sunset until the editors told him to keep going.

So, One Piece is one of the few standouts to maintain its momentum for as long as it has, and it’s since managed to beat some of the old entries on this list, like Abu-san. But there are still a few strips that exceed Luffy’s pirate adventures in either volumes, chapters, or both, from big names to runs largely exclusive to Japan. So, this update includes these lengthy strips, and how they’ve exceeded One Piece’s length.

24

Asari-chan

102 Volumes, 1,738 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Marumi Muroyama.
• 1978-2023.
• A slice-of-life strip about a tomboyish girl who often gets into trouble.

One Piece has Asari-chan beat in volumes, but not in chapters. It still needs 600+ more to overcome it there. Though then again, Asari-chan‘s tales weren’t epic tales of heroism on the high seas. Created by sisters Marumi and Mariko Muroyama (jointly credited under the elder sister’s name), they were simple gag strips about the different scrapes the titular character would get into at school, with her family, and more.

In other words, it was Crayon Shin-chan before Crayon Shin-chan, and it soon became one of the best-selling shojo manga strips of all time. It lasted a while too, ending regular publication in 2014. But it continued to get the odd volume up to 2023, like Asari-chan in Paris, where the sports-loving young girl would introduce her own brand of trouble to the French capital.

23

Super Radical Gag Family

103+ Volumes, 1,451+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Kenji Hamaoka.
• 1993-Present.
• The wacky, madcap antics of Kotetsu-kun and his family.

Like Asari-chan, Super Radical Gag Family has One Piece beaten in chapters, albeit only by a few hundred installments. Even then, that includes all of its different sequel series. The story is essentially the same across all of them, as Kotetsu, his family, and friends get into surreal, wacky adventures in their hometown of Urayasu, often with gross-out humor (Kotetsu kindly offers up some Chupa-Chups to his friends, who are unaware that he was storing them in his underpants).

Nonetheless, if readers wanted to keep track of the stories in order, they’d have to start with Super Radical Gag Family, which ended in 2001. Then, they move to Ganso! Super Radical Gag Family (ended in 2010), then Maido! Super Radical Gag Family (2018), before getting up to date with Appare! Super Radical Gag Family. It seems so long as there’s a rude joke or an adjective out there, there will always be a place for the manga series to go.

22

Detective Conan/Case Closed

106+ Volumes, 1,136+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Gosho Aoyama.
• 1994-Present.
• A classic “whodunnit” mystery series with an unconventional protagonist.

Detective Conan, aka Case Closed in the West, is an episodic detective mystery series about Shinichi Kudo, a teen detective turned into a child by the mysterious criminal organization he was investigating. Taking on the alias Conan Edogawa, he continues his sleuthing in a bid to track the organization down again and restore his body. Detective Conan is a massive franchise, with an anime series that is just as long as the manga and a movie franchise that releases a new entry annually.

Related

8 Best Case Closed Movies, Ranked

The Case Closed series has a few entertaining movies under its belt. Among these films, which of them prove to be the best?

Advertisement

Detective Conan is an interesting entry here as it has fewer volumes than One Piece does (106 to 110). However, it has run for longer, having been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1994 (predating One Piece by three years), and beat Luffy to the 1,000th chapter mark back in 2017, 3–4 years before One Piece. However, the two series now have the same number of chapters, with One Piece being longer if readers count its extra segments. The child detective offers a dense read, but Luffy’s adventures are beginning to offer more.

21

Shizukanaru Don-Yakuza Side Story

108 Volumes, 1,175 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Tatsuo Nitto.
• 1988-2012.
• The life and times of a man who’s an underwear designer by day, and a yakuza boss at night.

Shizukanaru Don-Yakuza Side Story was originally on this list and then taken off because One Piece outpaced its chapters. Which proved to be short-sighted as it still has more chapters than Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus. Even then, creator Tatsuo Nitta came back to the story of the silent mob boss in 2023 via its sequel, Shizukanaru Don-Another Last Chapter, which is currently 3 volumes and 28 chapters into its run. Put the two together, and it’s 111 volumes, 1,203 chapters.

Both are about Shizuya Kondo, the son of a yakuza patriarch who chose to follow a legitimate career instead of following in his father’s footsteps. But when his father is assassinated, Shizuya is left as the sole inheritor to his “family.” By this point, he had already become a fashion designer for women’s lingerie. So now he has to do his best to keep his ‘second job’ a secret from his coworkers.

20

Captain Tsubasa

110 Volumes, 1,026 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Yoichi Takahashi.
• 1981-2024.
• Classic soccer manga reaches its conclusion after 40+ years.

Without Captain Tsubasa, fans wouldn’t have Blue Lock, Ao Ashi, Days or Be Blues today. It even got some famous soccer players into the sport, like Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane. Even so, it makes for beefy reading, as Tsubasa Ozora’s journey from a football hopeful to an Olympic athlete covers 9 parts.

From the simply titled Captain Tsubasa to Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun-The Final, they form a total of 110 volumes, which is only one volume more than One Piece. Since Tsubasa’s journey finally came to an end after 43 years of publication, it won’t take long for the still-running One Piece to overcome it. It already has more chapters, but both comics had the same number of volumes at the time of this writing.

19

Nijitte Monogatari

111 Volumes, 1,276 Chapters

• Written by Kazuo Koike.
• Illustrated by Satomi Koue.
• 1978-2012.
• An Edo Period detective story by an iconic author.

Kazuo Koike is one of the most iconic names in manga, writing famous strips like Lone Wolf & Cub, Lady Snowblood, Crying Freeman, and Mad Bull 34. However, none of them ran for as long as Nijitte Monogatari. It’s not particularly well-known, with its MAL and Anime Planet pages lacking a proper synopsis for either its inaugural strip or its two sequels.

Advertisement

Related

8 Best Detective Manga With No Anime Adaptations

There are several great detective stories that have stayed in written form, like these manga detective stories that yet to have an anime adaptation.

Advertisement

It saw Fujikake Iigo and his assistant Yuzo solve cases for Tadasuke Oka, a real-life magistrate famous in Japan for being an effective judge and establishing the country’s first fire brigade. The bulk of its run was between 1978 and 2003, making up 1,254 chapters, with its sequels, Shin Nijitte Monogatari and Shin Nijitte Monogatari: Tsurujirou, beefing it up to 1,276 chapters across 111 volumes. One Piece is close to it in volume numbers but needs 141 more installments to beat its chapter count.

18

Oishinbo

111 Volumes, 1,039 Chapters

• Written by Tetsu Kariya.
• Illustrated by Akira Hanasaki.
• 1983-2014.
• A gourmet tour manga exploring the cuisine of Japan.

To commemorate his newspaper’s 100th anniversary, journalist Shiro Yamaoka is given the job of coming up with the ‘Ultimate Menu’. He’s known for being a blunt slacker, but he’s also a great cook with a well-defined palate and in-depth knowledge of food and drink. In other words, he’s a keen gourmet, or Oishinbo. So, with his partner Yuko Kurita, the two set about to discern which dishes go on the menu.

Oishinbo debuted in Big Comic Spirits and ran for 31 years, where it was put on indefinite hiatus in 2014. Its last storyline, ‘The Truth of Fukushima’, linked a spate of nosebleeds in the city with radiation from the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. While refugees from the area had suffered nosebleeds, health officials found no connection between them and radiation sickness. Kariya stood by his research, saying “I can only write the truth”, but he hasn’t been able to update Oishinbo since, leaving it at 111 volumes, just 1 more than One Piece as of this writing.

17

Haguregumo

112 Volumes, 1,039 Chapters

• Written & illustrated by George Akiyama.
• 1973-2017.
• An Edo-era comedy about a troublesome family.

Haguregumo is a historical comedy that follows the life of Kumo, his wife Kame, and their two children. The family is known for being slackers, with Kumo standing out as an incorrigible womanizer. The manga chronicles their many misadventures and hijinks against the backdrop of feudal-era Edo. It’s a surprisingly light affair compared to Akiyama’s other historical strip, Asura, which scandalized readers at the time with its depictions of murder and cannibalism. It’s like finding out the guy behind House of 1,000 Corpses made a Munsters movie.

The series ran in Big Comic Original for 44 years, where its chapter count was exceeded by its volume count, reaching 112 volumes before its end in 2017. The series was popular during its time, receiving an anime in 1978, and a movie in 1982. But its fame has largely been limited to Japan, with few people outside the country being all that familiar with it.

16

Tsuribaka Nisshi

114+ Volumes, 1,079+ Chapters

• Written by Juzou Yamasaki.
• Illustrated by Kenichi Kitami.
• 1979-Present.
• A guy escapes the drudgery of work through a love for fishing.

Running in Big Comic Original since 1979, Tsuribaka Nisshi (‘Diary of a Fishing Nut’) is another simple slice-of-life comedy that hit big in Japan but didn’t catch on internationally. It’s about Densuke ‘Hama-chan’ Hamasaki, an unambitious salaryman who doesn’t care about rocketing up the career ladder. He’d rather relax, preferably by going fishing, as there’s more to life than money and plans.

3:48

Advertisement

Related

5 Best Fishing Games of All Time, Ranked

Fishing is an all-time-great recreational pastime, and these are some of the best games to recapture that magic without leaving the couch.

Advertisement

It doesn’t do much to impress his wife, Michiko, or his supervisor, Kazuo. But he cements his place at Suzuki Construction when he befriends Ichinosuke ‘Su-San’ Suzuki, the CEO of his workplace and a keen fisherman himself. It’s a humble comic that’s managed to produce over 114 volumes and is still running today. One Piece is likely to catch up, but as it’s winding down, Tsuribaka Nisshi could outlive it by taking life at its own pace, as Hama-chan does.

15

Mahjong Hiryu Densetsu: Tenpai

116 Volumes, 1,142 Chapters

• Written by Tomoshi Kuga.
• Illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi.
• 1999-2022.
• A story of a mahjong player’s path to becoming a legend.

Mahjong Hiryu Densetsu: Tenpai, or just Tenpai for short, follows the story of Shun Okimoto, who dreams of being a professional mahjong player. As he wanders through Shinjuku looking for new places to play, he meets a variety of mahjong players who challenge his ability and skill at the game. The series ran in Weekly Manga Goraku for 25 years, concluding with 116 volumes in 2022.

Mahjong manga and anime don’t tend to be too popular outside Asia, and some Yakuza/Like a Dragon players, but they are quite lucrative within the continent. Alongside Tenpai, some big names in the subgenre include Akagi, by the same creator as Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor, and The Legend of Koizumi, where the (then-) Prime Minister of Japan challenges world leaders past and present to the tile-based game.

14

Kobo, The Li’l Rascal

116+ Volumes, 13,780+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Masashi Ueda.
• 1982-Present.
• A 4-koma manga about a young and energetic boy.

Kobo, The Li’l Rascal is a 4-koma manga that ran in a newspaper much like comic strips like Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes. It follows the adventures of the young Kobo Tabata and his various family members and friends. Since it’s a rather simple premise, it’s easy to understand how a series like this could last for over forty years.

Kobo initially ran in Japan’s top newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, until 2003, publishing 60 volumes of manga during its run there. It later transferred to the publisher Houbunsha, which began publishing the manga in volumes. So far, the manga’s 4-panel chapters, while immense in numbers, have amounted to 116 volumes, with more to come in the future.

13

Onihei Hankacho

123+ Volumes, 347+ Chapters

• Arranged by Sentaro Kubota; original novels by Shotaro Ikenami.
• Illustrated by Takao Saito.
• 1993-Present.
• A manga adaptation of a historical novel series about an Edo-era detective.

Onihei Hankacho is an adaptation of a series of novels originally written by Shotaro Ikenami about Heizo Hasegawa, a former hoodlum who became the head of an agency investigating arson and theft in the Edo era. The novels were adapted into various mediums, including 5 different TV series, 2 movies, and plenty of stage plays. Oh, and a manga by Sentaro Kubota and Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito.

Related

Advertisement

10 Best Historical Manga Without Anime

These manga, set in different periods throughout Earth’s history, deserve their own animated adaptations.

Onihei Hankacho‘s manga debuted in 1993, and it continues to be published to this day with over 122 volumes under its belt. The manga adapts the novels faithfully, but it also includes original stories incorporating other Ikenami works, like Executer Maru. Even though both Kubota and Saito have since passed away, the strip has continued under Hisazumi Ohara and Saito Production.

12

Edomae No Shun

126+ Volumes, 1,283+ Chapters

• Written by Mori Tsukumo.
• Illustrated by Terushi Sato.
• 1999-Present.
• A story about a young sushi chef inheriting his father’s shop.

Edomae no Shun follows the life of Shun Yanagiba, a young sushi chef who has just inherited his family’s sushi shop from his father. Determined to make his family proud, Shun begins selling his sushi to the public, working on his cooking skills all the while. Cooking manga is popular, like Food Wars and Yakitate Japan, but Edomae no Shun is more humble and grounded compared to Food Wars‘ dramatic cook-offs and fanservice.

Like Tenpai, this sushi-making manga began running in Weekly Manga Goraku in 1999 and has managed to notch over 126 volumes over its 26-year run. Though it is relatively unknown outside Japan, it did receive a two-season live-action drama adaptation, with Kenta Suga from the Always: Sunset on Third Street movies in the lead role.

11

Senri no Michi mo

134 Volumes, 693 Chapters

• Written by Ippo Ohara.
• Illustrated by Satoshi Watanabe.
• 1989-2022.
• A sports tale following a high school graduate as he tries to become a national golfer.

For a strip that ran for 23 years, and still has 24 more volumes than One Piece, information about Senri no Michi mo (“The Thousand-Mile Journey”) is hard to come by online (at least in English). Only Anilist gave it a synopsis, where it describes high school graduate Ryo Sakamoto seeking to become a professional golfer and rise to the top of the sport. Maybe its focus on golf was too niche, given it’s a quiet, slow-paced sport that doesn’t offer as much bombast as, say, boxing or football.

Nonetheless, it kept golf manga fans going for decades as it captured the drama of the sport both on and off the course. The title is unique too, as it comes from a proverb: “senri no michi mo ippo kara” (“the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”). It’s also not the only manga to take its title from the proverb, as Hajime no Ippo (“The First Step”) began its own lengthy journey in the same year as Senri no Michi Mo.

10

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

136+ Volumes, 977+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.
• 1987-Present.
• A supernatural story following the Joestar family and their encounters with bizarre powers and foes.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is easily the most well-known multipart manga series out there, with the many adventures of the Joestar family exciting fans of the strange and supernatural. The series began in 1987 in Weekly Shōnen Jump with the very first part of the series, Phantom Blood. It was followed by several successful sequels, with Stardust Crusaders launching the series into stardom with the introduction of Stands, which are essentially people’s souls given form and superpowers.

Related

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Every Part, Ranked By Length

Advertisement

Each new part of JoJo’s features a new cast and story, but they are also all wildly different when it comes to their length too.

The series ran in Shōnen Jump until partway through its soft reboot, Steel Ball Run, where its gradually maturing content and longer chapters warranted a move to Ultra Jump, Shueisha’s seinen magazine for older readers. Thanks to its switching settings and characters, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has managed 136 volumes, with more to come thanks to its 9th and latest part, The JoJoLands, where Jodio Joestar comes across special lava rocks that attract wealth. 38 years later the series still gets as bizarre as its title suggests.

9

Hajime No Ippo

142+ Volumes, 1,479+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by George Morikawa.
• 1989-Present.
• The story of Ippo Makunouchi’s journey through the world of boxing.

Hajime no Ippo is one of the most iconic boxing manga series of all time, following Ippo Makunouchi as he transforms from a frail young boy to a powerful boxer. The series is known for its impactful action scenes and intense boxing matches, illustrated with surreal imagery that carries the power and drama that bouts in the sweet science can offer.

Hajime no Ippo started its run in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 1989 and has continued to run uninterrupted ever since. It’s currently up to 142 volumes and still has more tales to tell. After all, Ippo has yet to get his win back from the almighty Ricardo Martinez. But it even holds up outside the ring, as the manga has covered the lives of Ippo’s friends and frenemies, how close their careers have come to being ended, and how some managed to get back into fighting shape.

8

Kinnikuman

143+ Volumes, 1,472+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Yudetamago.
• 1979-1987 (original), 1997-2011 (Kinnikuman 2), 2011-Present (revival).
• A wrestling space opera that reaches the heights of comedy.

The comedic cosmic wrestling series known as Kinnikuman has quite a bizarre publication history. The original series ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1979 to 1987, accumulating 36 volumes of manga. Yudetamago then created Kinnikuman II (aka Ultimate Muscle), which was published in Weekly Playboy for 14 years, including its sequel, The Ultimate Choujin Tag Arc. Both series together managed 57 volumes.

Then Yudetamago returned to the original Kinnikuman with the Perfect Origin arc in Shu Play News, adding 50 more volumes and counting to the muscleman’s legacy. Reading through it in full, from its beginning as an Ultraman parody to Kinnikuman’s son taking over the grappling in Ultimate Muscle, to the original grappler’s return, requires powering through over 143 volumes.

7

Silver Fang/Weed

150+ Volumes, 1,130+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi.
• 1983-Present.
• A series of stories about courageous dogs.

The Silver Fang series has its own tricky run, as the original strip saw Gin, an Akita Inu leave his master to join a pack of wild dogs and amass a force big enough to defeat their deadly rival, the mighty bear Akakabuto. The manga ran from 1983 to 1987 in Weekly Shōnen Jump and reached 18 volumes before going dormant.

Related

10 Most Iconic Anime Pets

These anime pets are iconic. Here’s why.

Advertisement

Then, in 1999, it received a sequel series called Weed, which ran in Weekly Manga Goraku. Telling the story of Gin’s son Weed as he searches for his missing father, the manga ran for 60 volumes and 500 chapters until 2009. From there, the focus moved to Weed’s puppy, Orion, and his siblings Bellatrix, Rigel, and Sirius, then to Silver Fang: The Last Wars, where Akakabuto’s son Monsoon seeks his revenge. The latest story follows a new character, Noah, running his pack of pooches. In total, this canine compilation has over 150 volumes and counting.

6

Baki The Grappler

151+ Volumes, 1,333+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki
• 1991-Present
• A brilliant and brutal manga featuring the most bizarre martial arts feats to date

Another extremely popular combat sports manga, Baki the Grappler has made its name from its incredibly violent fights and the absurd feats the characters are capable of. Like the time Baki kidnapped President ‘George Bosch’ to get arrested and fight a rival in prison. Most people today know it from the Baki Hanma Netflix series, but it has nevertheless managed to maintain a strong cult following since its debut in 1991.

The original Baki the Grappler ran from 1991 to 1999, with its sequel following immediately afterward. All in all, five sequels to the original series, from just plain Baki to Baki Rahen, have been published in Weekly Shōnen Champion, giving the series a gargantuan total of 151 volumes. Only time will tell if his daughter Paru, like Baki, will overcome her father in manga via her Beastars and Beast Complex strips.

5

Cooking Papa

171+ Volumes, 1,702+ Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Tochi Ueyama.
• 1985-Present.
• A slice of life cooking manga about a family man’s culinary skills.

Cooking Papa is about the life of Kazumi Araiwa, who is both a working husband and an excellent cook, though he doesn’t want his co-workers to learn about it. They think his wife Nijiko is the master chef of the family, even though she can’t prepare any meals. The series focuses on the dishes he cooks for his family and himself, be they classic Japanese offerings or international delicacies. It was popular for challenging social norms, as Araiwa is a giant manly man doing something 1980s Japan (or indeed the rest of the world at the time) considered effeminate.

The manga has been running in the magazine Morning for 40+ years, having released over 170 volumes of cooking content since. The series is fairly popular in Japan, having spawned a 151-episode anime series and a live-action drama as well. Ueyama has considered ending the strip a few times, but each time he finds he has more stories to tell, so it’s got more volumes to come.