The One Piece Orchestra is the live orchestral performance of the music from the popular anime series One Piece. As one of the longest running and most popular anime and manga series of all time, One Piece has amassed a staggering amount of music over its 20+ year run. But just how long would all of that iconic One Piece music be if performed back-to-back by a live orchestra? Let’s take a look at estimating the total length of the One Piece Orchestra.
Calculating the Length of the One Piece Anime
In order to estimate the total length of the One Piece Orchestra, we first need to know the length of the One Piece anime itself. As of October 2022, there have been over 1000 episodes of the One Piece anime produced. Each episode of the series is about 24 minutes long including opening and ending themes. Therefore, with over 1000 episodes at 24 minutes each, the total runtime of the One Piece anime so far is approximately:
1000 episodes x 24 minutes per episode = 24,000 minutes
Converting this to hours gives us:
24,000 minutes / 60 minutes per hour = 400 hours
So the total length of the One Piece anime up until now is around 400 hours. And this is without counting the various One Piece films and OVAs that also contain original music.
Estimating the Amount of Music in One Piece
Now that we know the total length of the One Piece anime, we can estimate the amount of music contained within it. On average, most anime series tend to have new music composed for about 30% of their total runtime. Given that the One Piece anime is currently 400 hours long, 30% of that time would equate to about 120 hours of original music.
In addition to the background musical score, each One Piece episode on average contains around 2-3 insert songs such opening themes, endings, and other featured songs. With over 1000 episodes so far, that’s at least 2000 additional minutes of insert songs, which is around 33 more hours of music.
Factoring in the movies, OVAs, and specials, let’s round up and estimate that the total amount of original music contained in the One Piece anime so far is around 150 hours.
One Piece Music Performed by an Orchestra
Now that we have an estimate of the total amount of One Piece music, we need to factor in how long it would take to perform it live with an orchestra. Most of the One Piece soundtrack is orchestral in nature as it was intended to be performed by a live orchestra.
When played at normal tempo by a professional orchestra, the average minute of orchestral music translates to around 1 minute of actual performance time. Therefore, the 150 hours of One Piece music would take an orchestra approximately 150 hours to perform.
Spread out over a typical 3-4 hour orchestral concert, it would take around 38-50 separate concerts to perform the entire One Piece orchestral soundtrack live.
Average Length of a One Piece Orchestra Concert
While it would take over 38 consecutive concerts to perform the entire One Piece soundtrack, most One Piece Orchestra concerts to date have been closer to 2-3 hours in length. This allows them to cover a sizable portion of the most popular and recognizable One Piece music.
For example, here is an approximate breakdown of the lengths of some recent One Piece Orchestra Concerts:
Concert | Length |
---|---|
One Piece Orchestra World Tour in Japan (2015) | 2 hours 45 minutes |
One Piece Orchestra World Tour in Paris (2016) | 2 hours 30 minutes |
One Piece Orchestra World Tour in Shanghai (2017) | 3 hours |
Based on this sample, the average length of a One Piece Orchestra concert tends to run between 2.5-3 hours in order to cover a wide range of the series’ most popular music.
How Many Songs Are Performed?
During those 2.5-3 hours, the One Piece Orchestra usually performs around 18-22 separate pieces. This includes both background instrumental music as well as vocal theme songs from the anime.
For example, here is a setlist from a recent 2 hour and 45 minute One Piece Orchestra concert:
Song Title | Type |
---|---|
Opening: We Are! | Theme Song |
Overtaken | Background Music |
The Very Very Very Strongest | Background Music |
Opening: Believe | Theme Song |
Luffy’s Fierce Attack | Background Music |
Gear Second | Background Music |
Ending: Memories | Theme Song |
Mother Sea | Background Music |
Gum Gum Elephant Gun | Background Music |
The Fight Continues | Background Music |
Ending: Run! Run! Run! | Theme Song |
Encore: We Are! | Theme Song |
As you can see from this example setlist, a typical One Piece Orchestra concert aims to include both upbeat theme songs that the crowd can sing along to, as well as energetic background music from impactful scenes in the anime. This provides a good balance and variety during the show.
How Long Would It Take to Perform ALL the Music?
As mentioned earlier, it would take 38-50 separate 2.5-3 hour concerts to perform the entirety of the One Piece soundtrack live. Spread out over a concert tour, it would likely take 4-6 months of performances to get through everything at that rate.
However, considering that the One Piece anime is still ongoing, the amount of music continues to increase. By the time the anime finishes its run, there will likely be over 200 hours of music in total from 1000+ episodes, 15+ movies, various games, and more.
In that case, it could take 70 or more full orchestra concerts to play the entirety of the One Piece soundscape – a true testament to its enormity!
Conclusion
To summarize, while typical One Piece Orchestra concerts cover 18-22 pieces in a 2.5-3 hour span:
- The current One Piece anime contains around 150 hours of original music.
- It would take the orchestra about 150 straight hours to perform it all.
- Spread out over full concerts, it would require 38-50 separate shows covering the current soundtrack.
- As One Piece continues, the total amount of music increases, likely reaching over 200 hours.
- Performing the entire One Piece discography could eventually take 70+ full orchestra concerts.
So while you’ll only get a taste in one night, the full One Piece Orchestra really does live up to the epic size and scope of the historic anime franchise. Let’s hope someday they’ll attempt the endeavor of performing it all – it would be a concert tour for the ages!