Japanese anime One Piece to air its 1,000th episode in 80 countries

Cartoon series, starring Monkey D Luffy, started life as a manga in 1997 and is a record seller as a comic book

Two decades after the Japanese cartoon series One Piece introduced the world to a swashbuckling pirate in a straw hat, anime fans are awaiting this weekend's release of the 1,000th episode.

One Piece first appeared in manga (comic book) form in Japan in 1997, with an anime (animated TV series) version following two years later.