The world's longest book 'One Piece' was published in one volume.
20The world's longest book 'One Piece' was published in one volume.
It is impossible to read the 21,450-page work. The publisher argued that he approached the manga as "sculpture material" rather than as a book.
One-volume book of One Piece, one of the most famous manga series, is on sale. The work, which has the title of the longest book in the world, is 21 thousand 450 pages. The limited edition books, produced in 50 copies, were sold out within days after their release on September 7.
One Piece, written by Eiiçiro Oda, has been published every week since 1997.
With more than 416 million copies printed to date, the manga became the Guinness Book of Records, making it the largest single-author comic book series to date.
According to the Independent's report, Eiiçiro is also sitting in the seat of the richest manga creator of all time thanks to the series. The 47-year-old writer's fortune is thought to have reached $200 million.
"NOT A BOOK, A SCULPTURE"
However, the book from France-based publisher JBE is cited as the work of Ilan Manouach. The Belgian multidisciplinary artist designed the piece by combining the Japanese digital edition of One Piece.
JBE argued that he approached the manga as "sculpture material" rather than as a book.
A JBE spokesperson said that there was no copyright infringement, arguing that the book was physically impossible to read.
On the other hand, Shueisha, the manga's publisher in Japan, stated that the book is not official:
"We don't allow them. The licensee that published One Piece in France is Glénat."