Few series in the world command as much creative energy as One Piece. Eiichiro Oda’s epic saga has inspired not only millions of fans worldwide but also countless side projects, adaptations, and playful reinterpretations. Among them stands one of the most lighthearted and unusual: Koisuru One Piece, a parody spin-off that has quietly carved out its own niche in the larger One Piece universe. After taking a short break, the manga has resumed serialization on Shōnen Jump+, much to the delight of fans who crave a lighter, comedic alternative to the main story.
What makes Koisuru One Piece so fascinating is how it takes the heart of Oda’s universe—its characters, its energy, its passion—and reframes it through the lens of everyday high school life. Instead of swashbuckling pirates and globe-spanning adventures, we are treated to classrooms, after-school clubs, and the awkward charm of teenagers who love One Piece as much as real-world readers do. It is both a parody and a celebration, blurring the line between fandom and fiction in ways few other spin-offs have attempted.
The Premise: A School Club Dedicated to One Piece
At its core, Koisuru One Piece is a slice-of-life comedy about high school students who form a club devoted to their love of Oda’s world. Rather than retelling canonical arcs or rewriting famous battles, the series asks a simple but brilliant question: What if a group of modern-day teens treated One Piece as the center of their school lives?
The characters are named after Straw Hat Pirates and carry exaggerated versions of their personalities into this school setting. You have a “Luffy” figure who is reckless and cheerful, a “Zoro” who always dozes off during meetings, a “Nami” who manages the group’s finances, and so on. It is instantly familiar but framed in a way that allows for playful exaggeration. The humor comes not just from parodying the original traits, but from seeing them transplanted into mundane, relatable situations like cultural festivals, exams, and after-school antics.
The manga thrives on affectionate references. A classroom seating chart may mimic the Thousand Sunny’s deck. A school trip turns into a faux “Grand Line voyage.” Even casual conversations between characters are laced with sly winks to the audience—catchphrases, iconic poses, or over-the-top emotional beats that remind readers of the source material. It is a parody, yes, but one crafted with love.
The Creator: Daiki Ihara’s Playful Vision
The brain behind Koisuru One Piece is Daiki Ihara, a manga artist who clearly understands the pulse of fandom. Ihara approaches the project not as someone poking fun from the outside, but as a fan standing shoulder-to-shoulder with readers. His style blends clean, simple art with exaggerated comedic beats, leaning into parody without undermining the respect audiences have for the Straw Hats.
In interviews, Ihara has emphasized that the goal of the series is not to rewrite One Piece but to reflect the joy that fans experience when sharing it with one another. That distinction is important. Whereas some parodies take a more satirical or critical edge, Koisuru One Piece functions more like a love letter, gently poking fun while amplifying what makes the original so enduring.
The choice of setting—a high school—was also deliberate. Japanese youth culture has long celebrated school clubs as places where hobbies, fandoms, and friendships can flourish. By putting the Straw Hat spirit in a school club, Ihara anchors the story in a space that every Japanese reader (and many international fans, thanks to the popularity of school-based anime) can immediately recognize.
Serialization on Shōnen Jump+
The fact that Koisuru One Piece is serialized on Shōnen Jump+ gives it a unique position within the One Piece family. Unlike the mainline manga, which runs in Weekly Shōnen Jump and demands a relentless production schedule, the digital platform allows for more flexibility, shorter chapters, and experimental storytelling.
This flexibility is why Koisuru One Piece can play with formats in ways the main story cannot. Chapters may be shorter, punchlines tighter, and arcs designed for quick laughs rather than years of buildup. At the same time, Shōnen Jump+ provides wide accessibility, ensuring that fans around the world can enjoy it legally and easily.
The short break in serialization earlier this year worried some readers, who feared the project might quietly end. Its return reassured fans that the parody still has a place in the broader Jump lineup. The new chapters promise to double down on the humor and deepen the silly dynamics between the student Straw Hats.
From Page to Screen: Social Media Shorts
One of the most striking aspects of Koisuru One Piece is how quickly it leapt beyond the page. In early 2025, the series released short anime adaptations on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. These brief episodes were not meant to compete with the main anime’s epic arcs; rather, they embraced the fast, punchy format of social media to capture the same spirit as the manga’s gags.
On TikTok, clips of the parody high school “Luffy” charging into the classroom with wild declarations went viral. On YouTube, compilations of the shorts racked up hundreds of thousands of views from fans eager for lighthearted content. Instagram reels featuring the parody Nami scolding her clubmates for mismanaging snack money became memes within the fandom.
The success of these shorts highlights an important truth: Koisuru One Piece is not just about parodying Oda’s world. It is about creating content that matches the rhythms of today’s fan culture. In a time when much of fandom lives online, in clips, memes, and shareable jokes, the parody spin-off thrives as part of that ecosystem.
Why Fans Love It
What makes Koisuru One Piece resonate with fans is not simply the humor, but the way it reflects fandom itself. Readers see themselves in the students who obsess over One Piece, quote their favorite lines, and argue about the smallest details. In many ways, the parody functions as a mirror, showing fans their own enthusiasm through the safe distance of fiction.
The spin-off also provides a release valve. The main One Piece manga is known for its heavy themes, shocking twists, and emotional arcs that can span years. Koisuru One Piece offers the opposite: bite-sized comedy, cheerful exaggeration, and lighthearted fun. It allows fans to take a breath between heavy chapters while still staying within the One Piece universe.
Additionally, the parody fosters inclusivity. Because the setting is so relatable, even casual fans can enjoy it without needing deep knowledge of every plotline. A high school comedy with exaggerated personalities is easy to follow, and the references act like rewards for those who know more. This layered approach ensures that both longtime veterans and newcomers can laugh together.
The Role of Spin-Offs in Expanding the One Piece Universe
Koisuru One Piece also serves as a reminder of how broad the One Piece universe has become. Beyond the main manga and anime, there are novels, video games, card games, live-action adaptations, and other spin-offs like One Piece Party or Heroines. Each contributes something different.
Whereas Heroines shines a spotlight on female characters and One Piece Party retells the story in super-deformed, comedic form, Koisuru One Piece stands out for its self-referential parody. It does not exist within the same world as the Straw Hats; rather, it exists in our world, a space where the Straw Hats are beloved fiction. In doing so, it blurs the boundary between the One Piece universe and the fandom that sustains it.
This kind of spin-off plays an important role in keeping a franchise vibrant. It prevents the brand from feeling overly serious or inaccessible by reminding fans that joy and laughter are as central to One Piece as epic battles and legendary mysteries.
What the Future Holds
Now that serialization has resumed, fans are eager to see what arcs or gags Koisuru One Piece will tackle next. Cultural festivals, beach trips, and test-prep sessions all stand as fertile ground for parody. With the shorts gaining traction on social media, there is also speculation that more animated content could follow, perhaps even longer specials if the demand is strong enough.
There is also the question of how far the parody can go in referencing current arcs of the main manga. One Piece is in the middle of some of its heaviest storylines, with revelations about ancient history and world-shaking battles. Fans wonder if Koisuru One Piece will lampoon these developments or stick to broader, timeless jokes about the Straw Hats’ personalities.
Whatever direction it takes, the key is that the series has a place. In a sea of serious theories, power-scaling debates, and lore analysis, it reminds the fandom that sometimes the best way to honor a beloved series is to laugh with it.
Conclusion: Laughing With the Straw Hats
The return of Koisuru One Piece on Shōnen Jump+ is more than just the resumption of a small parody manga. It is a celebration of what makes One Piece so culturally powerful: its ability to inspire creativity across formats, genres, and tones.
By reframing the Straw Hats as high school students in a fan club, Daiki Ihara has created something that feels fresh yet deeply familiar. Its playful humor, social media shorts, and affectionate parody resonate because they reflect how fans themselves interact with One Piece. They gather in groups, share jokes, argue passionately, and carry their love into every corner of their lives.
In many ways, Koisuru One Piece is the fandom made manifest on the page. It does not replace Oda’s epic or compete with it. Instead, it stands beside it, laughing, celebrating, and reminding us that the spirit of adventure can be found not only on the Grand Line but also in the everyday joys of being a fan.
As the parody continues its run, fans can look forward to more gags, more playful nods, and more opportunities to see the Straw Hats through a lens of lighthearted fun. It proves that One Piece is not just a story we read—it is a world we live in, a community we share, and sometimes, a joke we all laugh at together.