Manga Longer Than One Piece

Key Takeaways

• One Piece is not one of the longest manga series ever, as many others surpass it in volumes and chapters.
• Detective Conan, Captain Tsubasa, and other manga have more volumes and chapters than One Piece.
• Golgo 13 is currently the largest manga by volume count, with 214+ volumes spanning 56 years.

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) 109 volumes, and 1,128 mainline chapters (1,136 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 October 14, 2024 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 and Shizukanaru Don. 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 list has been updated to include them, remove One Piece’s fallen opponents, and update the old entries still standing.

20 Detective Conan/Case Closed

105+ Volumes, 1,133+ 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.

Detective Conan is an interesting entry here as it has fewer volumes than One Piece does (105 to 108). However, it has run for longer, having been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since 1994 (predating One Piece by three years), and has more chapters than One Piece does. It beat Luffy to the 1,000th chapter mark back in 2017, 3–4 years before One Piece. The pirate strip offers a hefty read, but the child detective’s cases are denser to go through.

19 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.

18 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.

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 277 more installments to beat its chapter count.

17 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 2 more than One Piece as of this writing.

16 Haguregumo

112 Volumes, 1,039 Chapters

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

Haguregumois 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.

15 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.

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.

14 Mahjong Hiryu Densetsu: Tenpai

116+ Volumes, 1,142+ Chapters

• Written by Tomoshi Kuga
• Illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi
• 1999-Present
• 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 has been running in Weekly Manga Goraku for 25 years and counting now and is currently up to 116 volumes.

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.

13 Kobo, The Li’l Rascal

115+ Volumes, 13,608+ 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 115 volumes, with more to come in the future.

12 Onihei Hankacho

122+ 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.

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.

11 Edomae No Shun

124+ Volumes, 1,265+ 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 124 volumes over its 25-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.

10 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

135+ Volumes, 973 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.

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 135 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. 37 years later the series still gets as bizarre as its title suggests.

9 Hajime No Ippo

141+ Volumes, 1,472+ 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 141 chapters 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

149+ Volumes, 1,122 Chapters

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

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 149 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 kidnaped 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

170+ Volumes, 1,695+ 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 39+ 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.

4 Minami No Teio

179+ Volumes, 1,628 Chapters

• Written by Dai Tennoji
• Illustrated by Rikiya Go
• 1992-Present
• A gangster manga about a ruthless loan shark

From the heartwarming tale of Cooking Papa comes the harder, grimmer Minami no Teio. The manga follows Ginjirou Manda, a loan shark who works with multiple yakuza families in Osaka. He charges a cutthroat interest rate of 10% more every 10 days, totaling 365% each year. His persistence in getting his money back has earned him the nickname of Demon of Minami, the business district that he operates in.

Nonetheless, Manda’s ways of getting his money back from his slippery clients have been serialized in Weekly Manga Goraku since 1992 and has amassed nearly 180 volumes of manga to date. On top of that, it has two prequel manga and a bundle of live-action movies. Yet it only has one anime: a 2-episode OVA that came out a year into the manga’s run.

3 KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

201 Volumes, 1,960 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Osamu Akimoto
• 1976-2016
• A legendary gag manga series about a money-grubbing police officer

Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo (This Is The Police Box in Front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward), thankfully shortened to KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops is a gag manga that follows Kankichi Ryotsu (also known as “Ryo-san”), a middle-aged cop who is always trying to find some way to make money fast. Despite its rather simple structure, KochiKame is a cultural touchstone in Japan and is one of the best-selling manga of all time.

KochiKame ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump for 40 years, closing off in 2016, making it the magazine’s longest-running strip. While its conclusion means that One Piece could theoretically overtake it, it would have to double its current volume count to beat KochiKame‘s impressive total of 201 volumes.

2 Dokaben

205 Volumes, 1,814 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Shinji Mizushima
• 1972-2018
• A story of a former judoka becoming a high school baseball player

Could a judo grappler and his buddies transition successfully to a different sport like baseball? They’re two sports that favor different abilities and body types, but Taro Yamada and his friends manage to make it work in Dokaben. Its kinetic art style and storytelling made it one of the most influential sports manga around, getting Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue into drawing. The original series ran in Weekly Shōnen Champion for 9 years and totaled 48 volumes.

The series was followed up with Dai Koshien, where Yamada and his team made it to Japan’s prestigious high school baseball championship. It ran for 26 volumes and was followed by the 52-volume Dokaben Professional Baseball, the 45-volume Dokaben Superstars, and the 34-volume Dokaben Dream Tournament. Put all together, the series adds up to 205 volumes of baseball-based fun.

1 Golgo 13

214+ Volumes, 585 Chapters

• Written & Illustrated by Takao Saito (1968-2021), and Saito Production (2021-Present)
• 1968-Present
• The thrilling and exciting adventures of a legendary assassin and hitman

The cult classic Golgo 13 is a series centered around the titular assassin Duke ‘Golgo 13’ Togo, and the many jobs he undergoes. He’s an enigmatic character, as no one knows his real name, his background, or who he really is. Not even the readers. All that people know, within and outside the manga, is that he gets the job done, and he never meets his clients upfront. That is unless they try to cross him.

Golgo 13 has been running in Big Comic for 56 years, producing 214 volumes thus far. Saito feared the strip would end with him when he fell terminally ill, so he made arrangements for his company, Saito Production, to continue the manga after his death. How long it’ll run without him is up in the air, but it’s likely to remain the largest manga by volume count for years to come.