One Piece dethrones influential shonen title to become Toei Animation’s biggest anime in 2024
Welcome to the great pirate era.
Eiichiro Oda’s beloved pirate adventure,One Piece, has become the highest-grossing franchise for Toei Animation.
In fiscal year 2024, from July 30, 2025 to July 20, 2025, the One Pieceanimeraked in over JP¥22.2 billion yen (roughly US$140 million), thanks to sales from various sources.
This includes revenue from licensing the series within Japan, overseas film screenings, and international licensing deals.
This impressive achievement puts the One Piece anime ahead of another long-running Toei Animation classic, Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ball. Both series are part of the popular shonen genre, targeting a young male demographic.
One Piece anime surpasses Dragon Ball as Toei Animation’s top-selling franchise for fiscal year 2024
While Akira’s work held the top spot for sales at Toei Animation for seven years straight, the company’sfiscal year 2024 reportshows a shift.
The franchise brought in roughly JP¥19 billion yen (US$121 million), falling behind One Piece for the first time.
This could be due to a quieter year for Dragon Ball. No new anime series have been announced, and the latest series, Dragon Ball Super, ended in 2018.
However, fans can look forward to new content in 2024 with theDragon Ball Daimaanime series and theDragon Ball Sparking Zerovideo game.
One Piece, on the other hand, has had a banner year. The anime continues with the excitingEgghead Arc, while a brand new movie,One Piece Film: Red, premiered globally in 2023.
The series’ highly anticipatedlive-action adaptationalso debuted on Netflix in 2023 with a well-received first season.
These factors all contributed to One Piece’s impressive sales figures.
Both anime shows are titans of the shonen genre, produced by the animation powerhouse Toei Animation.
One Piece, penned by Eiichiro Oda, followsMonkey D. Luffy, a rubber-bodied pirate, on his quest for the legendary treasure “One Piece” and the title of Pirate King.
The vast world is filled with fantastical islands, uniquedevil fruitpowers, and a rich tapestry of characters Luffy befriends and battles on his grand adventure.
Dragon Ball, created bythe late Akira Toriyama, started as a comedic martial arts adventure.
It follows Goku, a martial artist with a monkey tail, on his quest to become the strongest fighter.
Goku encounters friends, foes, and powerful beings as he trains, competes in martial arts tournaments, and protects Earth from intergalactic threats.
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