‘One Piece’: the animation phenomenon applied to the classroom

With its more than 1,050 chapters of sleeve (comics) and 1,022 episodes of anime (animation series), one piece it has legions of followers around the world, for many of whom the work is almost a religion.

He has become the sleeve best selling in history and, since its first appearance in 1997, it has been climbing to become a mass phenomenon, breaking several records, the first in 2015 and recently in 2021.

His actor, Eichiro Odehas managed, in the 25 years that the work has been active, to unite several generations under the same flag: a pirate flag.

The plot introduces us to the journey of Monkey D. Luffy (a boy with elastic powers) to become the King of the Pirates. Throughout the numerous arcs and sagas, the young pirate will meet friends and enemies, increasing his crew to achieve his dream.

The Navy, the Government and other pirates much stronger than him will try to hunt him down, preventing him from gaining notoriety. The destiny of the rubber man to find the great treasure one piece you will be guided by your actions and your abilities.

Devil Fruits

Luffy got his powers by eating what are known as Devil Fruits (akuma no mi). These are cursed fruits: whoever eats them, automatically loses the ability to swim.

In exchange for that curse, the person obtains a certain power, becoming a user. Depending on the type of powers they grant, fruits can be of three types:

1. If the power they bestow is to turn into an animal (prehistoric, mythological or common) or a deity, they are known as Zoan fruits.

2. The fruits that grant the ability to control an element (fire, ice, light, electricity…), tangible or intangible, are Logia.

3. Finally, those that give supernatural powers, as in the case of Luffy, are called Paramecia. These, together with the Logia, are the ones that we can develop in the classroom to explain certain phenomena.

The physics behind akuma no mi

As we have indicated, Luffy is not the only one with powers in the series. Many other characters have also eaten a fruit, gaining various abilities.

In the realization of his work, Oda is documented in scientific and historical aspects to give a realism that, sometimes, is not appreciated at first.

An example of physics one piece It is the confrontation that Luffy has with a character named Enel, who has the ability to control electricity. As Luffy is made of rubber, he acts as an insulator against his enemy, causing his attacks to not affect him, while Luffy can hit him as many times as he wants, even though Enel is intangible matter.

Another classic phenomenon that we can find at various times in the work is the confrontation between fire and ice. Thanks to these clashes we can approach thermodynamics in a simple and straightforward way. The driving of heat explains how thermal energy flows from a body with a higher temperature to another with a lower temperature, until both temperatures are equal in the two bodies.

The physics and chemistry of names

Physics and chemistry are not limited to the fights between characters, but the names also influence. At one point in the play, a character named Rayleigh interacts with another character who controls light. As a result, the luminous character is rejected by Rayleigh when others were not even able to touch him.

Thanks to this epic scene we can explain in class what is known as the dispersion of light or Rayleigh scattering.

Geography and a lot of history

The examples it contains one piece to work in the physics and chemistry classroom are very numerous. Only with the previous examples we can talk about topics such as electricity, heat and wavelengths in an entertaining way, encouraging the participation of the students, with a resource that they will surely know beforehand.

But these matters are not the only ones that can be explained with the work, freeing them from part of that heaviness and aridity that characterizes them in many cases. History and geography can also be explained with one piece.

There are a large number of scenarios set in real areas of the planet such as Venice or Spain. The details become very specific: the monuments, the food or the popular folklore itself.

In the country of dressrosa, set in Spain, we can see from paella, bullfighting and flamenco dancers, to buildings such as the Sagrada Familia or the Alhambra. Without forgetting that the villain of this area is called Don Quijote.

Undoubtedly the most documented place at all levels is the country of Wano, set in the feudal japan. The characters, the environments, the gastronomy… everything is extensively detailed according to Japanese history, mythology and folklore. The designs of the buildings, the clothes and even the illustrations themselves within the series follow the foundations of Japanese culture.

one piece it is a titanic work for everything it has achieved in the last quarter of a century. And thanks to it, many subjects will be able to benefit from its application to gain the attention of students in matters of science and letters and to be able to transmit knowledge to them.