Frequently categorized with both Bleach and Naruto as one of the Shonen Big Three, One Piece is a romantic tale of pirates, treasures ...talking reindeer, panties, flying skeletons, Takoyaki selling Octopuses, and oceans roaming with Sea Monsters the size of which can take down fleets of ships. Crazy enough for you? This is the world of One Piece.
Being categorized with Bleach and Naruto, on the surface this might strike an unfamiliar reader as another generic uncreative Shonen series; but truthfully, comparing One Piece to Bleach and Naruto would be like comparing Disney World to an elementary school playground. If these three series are the
...
big three, then One Piece would be the boss sitting on a lavish chair smoking a cigarette, while Bleach and Naruto would be the two henchmen standing side by side of the boss and nodding at everything he says.
Story:
Set during the Golden Age of Pirates, the story follows Monkey D Luffy as he sets sail with his crew to conquer the sea which is inhabited by formidable pirates who all aim to become the Pirate King, the Grand Line and claim the treasures of 'One Piece' left by the late Pirate King, Gol D Roger.
Of course the goal of being Pirate King really is just a loose objective set forward that eventually throws Luffy and his shipmates into a giant boiling pot full of problems and adventures. What's special about this story is that it takes the most run-of-the-mill concepts and turns it into something fantastic and exciting. The concept of traveling from drastically different locations after locations is filled with endlessly creative characters and creatures that sets it apart from ever being dull, as opposed to say, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle where traveling to new worlds is a borefest and you can only hope the next world is interesting, and well if it's not ...have fun reading an entire arc on that filled with recycled characters.
The main plot device used in One Piece are the Devil Fruits, which grant anyone that eats them inhuman powers though at the deadly price of sinking like an anchor in the water; here the strange irony being that this is a series about pirates constantly on water. What makes this concept actually interesting is that every fruit has a different power and no two powers are the same, and Oda's endless imagination to come up with strange and hilarious powers. Above that, what makes this concept better than say, Bankai's or Kekkei Genkai's, is that you never know how two powers match up, so the weakest Devil Fruit powers in the current arc could very well be the key factor to winning a battle in the next, in that way, none of the characters ever seem so overpowered that they can completely destroy the other characters and it certainly adds an air of suspension and excitement to the battles that you wouldn't find in something like Sasuke vs. Konohamaru.
The story of One Piece may be simple and often straight out silly at times, but if you read deep enough, you'll realize that oftentimes the stories are much deeper and well-crafted than you would think they are, from the spark of a rebellion through misunderstandings to the questioning of an unfair God, One Piece can often surprise you through the story. One of the great things about One Piece when it comes to the story is that it's unpredictable, you never know where a fight is going, what's going to happen to the characters, who's going to win and who's going to turn out to be a good guy and who's going to be a bad guy, it's this element that makes everything that happens so intriguing and an extremely fun read.
Another well-done part of the story is that the stories of the characters are all intertwined so that it doesn't seem like the only thing holding all these characters together is through the main protagonist, the main antagonist of one arc may very well know the supporting ally of the next, and that just contributes to a more interesting read. Another strong point of the story is that Oda isn't afraid to bring back old characters, be it enemies or comical side characters and villains, they aren't just cut out of the story once their arc is over, they come back, some as allies and friends, this, in a sense, really fleshes out the One Piece world and makes the reader feel that the world does not revolve around The Straw Hat Pirates, but instead, the pirates of the Grand Line, all in all, it adds a sense of dimension to the story and makes it feel not as linear as it could be in the hands of a less skilled mangaka.
But what ultimately makes the story of One Piece so grand and exciting is thanks to two major components: 1) the emotional depth, and 2), Oda's masterful storytelling. The emotional depth in this series is amazing and can oftentimes leave one speechless, from the simple departure of a character to join the Straw Hats to the rescue of a friend in need, it's not emotionally complex ...it's just plain raw emotion of wanting to be loved or the sadness of losing a friend yet it achieves such a level of pure emotion and excitement that the likes of Bleach and Naruto can only dream of achieving. Now the second component that makes One Piece great is how Oda tells the story, he can build up the story to the point where you can feel the urgency, the sense of despair, and the feeling of something great happening. He creates cliffhangers, yet never makes it irritatingly frustrating, he inserts flashbacks, yet they never feel out of place or annoying to read, and the way he builds up the fights is just, for the lack of better worlds, epic. People say Gurren Lagann is exciting, well I'd like to see those TTGL fans have a taste of what it feels as the Straw Hats infiltrate Enies Lobby or when The Eleven Supernovas gather at Sabaody Archipelago.
Combine this with the perfect blend of humor (this manga is absolutely hilarious) and the sheer creativity of Oda and you got yourself an adventure of unequaled proportions.
Art:
The bad thing with the art is that Oda's action sequences are so fast-paced and ambitious that it often times becomes muddled and a bit too messy; it gets hard to tell what's happening in these fight scenes and it takes a bit of imagination to understand what Oda is trying to do with these fight scenes, or else they come off rather cheesy at times, such as Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Gatling or Zoro's Kiki Kyūtōryū: Ashura.
The good on the other hand outweigh the bad of the art through the creative character designs that Oda just never seems to run out of, even if it's a character that appears in one panel and may never show up again, the utmost attention is given to his/her design so they never appear out of place compared to the other crazy designs he gives his characters. From the Okama Mr. 2 to the CP9 crew, the characters are all so different in appearance, size, and demeanor, it's hard to imagine how Oda keeps up. The sheer variability of the Straw Hat crew itself is a primary example of what a creative mangaka Oda is, as opposed to the recycled designs of his peers, Kishimoto and Kubo. Be it skeleton, reindeer, cyborg or witch, anyone and everyone is a likely candidate for the Straw Hat crew.
Aside from character designs, Oda really make the scenes feel cinematic and exciting, the tension and the sheer majestic and romantic quality of the adventure of the Straw Hats would never be fantastic without Oda's use of great art, from the crew getting ready to bombard Arlong Park to the storming of Enies Lobby, the examples go on. In short, Oda really knows how to pump you up through his art.
Lastly, the exaggerated expressions sometimes are just downright hilarious. I swear I laughed my ass off for at least five minutes when Enel made that huge WTF face after confronting Luffy.
Character:
This is where One Piece is particularly strong in, and where this series shine at its greatest. One Piece's cast is colorful, hilarious, and unpredictable. Currently, the Straw Hat crew consists of a rubber man, a pirate hunting pirate, a thief, a long nosed sniper, a womanizing cook, a transforming reindeer, a "witch", a cyborg that doesn't wear pants, and a walking skeleton.
Yep.
Each character is unique, and when you throw a bunch like them together, the chemistry and interaction between the Straw Hat crew is comedic gold. And while they are almost always fooling around, each Straw Hat member has their own back stories that truly make them much deeper than what they appear to be at first. Brook is not just a joke character for variety, Nami is not just there to act like the straight man, Luffy isn't always a senseless fool, and Robin isn't just there to act like a damsel in distress (okay maybe she is ...kidding). The thing that needs to be pointed out is that the Straw Hat crew is a complex cast that is often much deeper than meets the eye.
Outside the crew, both the friends the Straw Hat meet and the villains they confront are so freshly colorful and original, it never gets boring. The Shichibukai are just a perfect example of the variety of the One Piece cast, as well as CP9 and of course, Baroque Works. I would say it's pretty hard to find another cast so distinctive and creative as One Piece's. Of course the Devil Fruits certainly help in bringing the characters to life.
Like previously mentioned, a strong point of the characters is how connected they are. The connections between characters are complex and can get pretty surprising sometimes. Who may appear as an old man could very well be friends with the former Pirate King and that whale that you saw at that mountain? Oh he's related to a guy you'll meet up with in a couple of hundred chapters. Some authors pull this kind of stuff out of nowhere (see: Kishimoto), but Oda plans out these kind of relations so intricately and carefully, you can't help but be impressed.
Are there weak points to the characters? Certainly, there's a storyline that seems awfully repeated for the female crew-members of the Straw Hats, but the scale of the story is so big, that in the end, it doesn't matter that much and that one little slip-up never seemed like a big deal to begin with.
Enjoyment:
This is the most enjoyable manga I have ever read. It's an absolute pleasure to read. Are there dull parts? At the beginning of every arc, there is always some exposition to be done, but once things enter full swing (and that is rather fast), damn, the chapters fly by in the hundreds, this is crack in manga form. If you want to know, I have spent entire days reading One Piece, that is how addicting this stuff is. With One Piece breaking records in sales in Japan, I think it speaks for itself when it comes to enjoyment.
Overall:
One Piece is my favorite manga. Period. The story is such a grand and epic adventure, with each arc topping the previous; the characters are so tear-inducingly hilarious, and the art is so cinematic and exciting, One Piece is without the doubt, the greatest Shonen manga I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and I doubt it will be topped anytime soon, if ever, as my favorite manga series. Cheers to Oda for creating this Shonen masterpiece, and may he continue to keep on going, One Piece is a manga that I love and hope to read for many many many years to come.
Yohohoho a pirate's life for me~
 Alternative TitlesJapanese: ONE PIECE More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Jul 22, 1997 to ?
Demographic:
Shounen
Serialization:
Shounen Jump (Weekly) Authors:
Oda, Eiichiro (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #42 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #3
Members: 619,827
Favorites: 117,529 Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 202 / 219
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Feb 15, 2010
Frequently categorized with both Bleach and Naruto as one of the Shonen Big Three, One Piece is a romantic tale of pirates, treasures ...talking reindeer, panties, flying skeletons, Takoyaki selling Octopuses, and oceans roaming with Sea Monsters the size of which can take down fleets of ships. Crazy enough for you? This is the world of One Piece.
Being categorized with Bleach and Naruto, on the surface this might strike an unfamiliar reader as another generic uncreative Shonen series; but truthfully, comparing One Piece to Bleach and Naruto would be like comparing Disney World to an elementary school playground. If these three series are the ... 
Mar 6, 2008
The key of success for many shounen anime is usually how well the anime is adapted from the manga. So when people are disappointed with the results of the anime, they usually resort to simply just reading the manga and follow the storyline through that. One Piece is a result of one of the few rare cases out there where the anime adaptation has followed the manga almost tooth and nail, with pretty much nothing lost within the translation between the two. With the anime receiving high review results here on MAL, I decided to take a closer look at the manga,
...
Mar 15, 2015 Not Recommended Funny  Preliminary
(400/? chp)
One Piece is the most overrated piece of fiction I’ve ever read. It’s mostly about a roaming crew of do-gooder clichés that travel the high seas. Each character has a dream (which they will never achieve because this cash cow will never end) and of course a tragic backstory to go with it. One Piece is somehow popular while having the worst character designs in anime, includes countless scenes of characters sobbing like crybabies, and will drag on to the point no one will care anymore. Honestly, if you want a shonen that doesn’t insult your intelligence and make you feel like you’re reading something
...
May 25, 2019
One Piece is in my opinion not only a great manga but also one of the greatest pieces of written fiction of all time. Its 22 years and ongoing run is nothing short of incredible. During its run several cultural phenomena of old rose and concluded, some beginning side by side with One Piece and others only beginning their journey to the top as the next big hit. And I can say without a shadow of doubt that nothing will top One Piece for as long as it is in publication, the stories are only getting grander in scale and the decades old mysteries of
...
Jun 23, 2009
STORY: 2/10
One piece is a shonen manga so I went in not expecting much story-wise, and I got what i was expecting. I just have to point out something first. This is a manga about pirates. They sail the high seas looking for treasure, fame, and fortune. They steal and they kill to get what they want, when they want. That's why they're pirates. But NEVER in the whole manga do they go searching for treasure except for one peice. They don't kill and they don't steal. So i'm sorry, in my mind they're not pirates. This is also one of those manga where nobody ... 
Jun 14, 2011
Thinking about reading this series? You are obviously skeptic. No kidding. You have every right to be dead scared to even attempt One Piece. I do not blame you, not at all. Most of us did not think we would like it at first, either. In this review, I am just going to simply tackle your skepticism and that is it. If you are skeptic, it is for one or more of the following reasons:
1. Length- It is long. You may think that there is no possible way that you can follow a series this long. You may think that it could go downhill after ... 
Dec 5, 2013
One Piece is a monument in the manga/anime world. There is not another work that can be named that is so loved, so large, and so acclaimed.
For all that, though, the sensation lingers that maybe its faults have been washed from view by the massive wave of hype and adoration surrounding it. I have read One Piece, to the at-the-time current chapter, at least three times. It was always a struggle to maintain focus and interest. Several flaws continuously added upon themselves, until they drowned out my view. This review attempts to address the many faults of the manga, from the most objective point of ... 
Jun 1, 2008
The best long series shonen manga by a miles,
STORY : - the world of one piece is epic, it has lot of side & twist : 1. WG aka world government : Navy(fleet Admiral, Admiral, Vice Admiral,etc) , CP9 (CIA Like), 5 Gorousei(5 elder), World Nobles 2. shicibukai (7 god of pirate, this pirate work for WG but has own separated agenda) 3. 4 yonkou (4 pirate that rules over half of the grand line) 4. the revolutionary that free country from WG 5. rookies pirates, other pirate(foxy pirate, etc) ... 
Jun 21, 2011
One Piece has officially hit its halfway mark, spanning from August 1997 - September of 2010. Yes, it has gone on for more than a decade, and it's only at its halfway mark. There will be some questions that will arise from those curious about One Piece from this little tidbit, but they'll be addressed. Anyway, I feel that since One Piece has its confirmed "first half" done, it deserves another review.
One Piece. The first thought that entered my mind when I hit the "Write a Review" button is "...where do I even begin?" This is a VERY difficult series to review, because you cannot ...
May 19, 2010
One Piece... is just one decades long shonen battling series among others. Who likes what best and others not that much is a matter of opinion but saying that One Piece somehow objectively shines above all others is just masqueraded fanboyism.
Story? It is stupid IMHO. The main hero Luffy just one day decides without any real reason that he's gonna become the KING OF PIRATES and be the person to find the mythical treasure One Piece that countless others have tried in the past and present. Yes he has a special power, but so do many others and I'm sure he couldn't be fully unaware ... 
May 2, 2009
One Piece is an astounding series. It has well developed characters with personalities all their own, fantasmic action and adventure portrayed in a believable format, and a sense of off the wall humor which leaves the masses laughing and gasping for air.
However, along with these beautifully defined characteristics, it does something which other mangas, and most comics in general, fail to do. It captures real human emotion. The adventures the characters partake in and the personal struggles they go through are ones which any person can relate to. While we may not stretch like rubber, fight with swords, or sprout extra appendages- we all have lost a ... 
Jan 29, 2009
Overall :
Ok, before thinking my rating is outrageous, it's true. This is by far the best manga I've ever come across...well Shonen manga that is. The way Oda turns pirates into such an interesting story is amazing. The characters are given personalities that are so unique, you'd love each of them with a different reason! I have absolutely NO idea why I didn't pick up this manga long ago! Story : Oh~ The story is kinda repetitive at the beginning. But as you read, you realize that it is not NEAR repetitive. It has all these other mysteries surrounding the main plot, sometimes you are just ... 
Jul 4, 2010
One Piece is an outstanding manga by perhaps the greatest mangaka in Japan right now, Eiichiro Oda.
Story: 10/10 When I first checked this thing out, the story seemed immature and poorly done, not to mention far too goofy. However I was soon corrected; it's none of the above. Luffy wants to be pirate king, but his main goal isn't that at all: It's to have as many adventures as he possibly can. This is interesting, because unlike Naruto he does not wish to be the leader to get respect or anything silly like that. Luffy doesn't care about respect or appearances, which makes him a rather unique ... 
Oct 21, 2023 Not Recommended Funny Preliminary
(1080/? chp)
Have you ever wanted to sit down and read 1000+ chapters of a meandering and middling Shonen Battle manga?
No really, do you really want to spend countless hours reading chapters and even more waiting for said chapters? Because, ONE PIECE by Eiichiro Oda will surely satisfy this desire. Characters: More than 1000 chapters in and there isn't really any significant changes to characters in terms of personality or they way they conduct themselves. They remain static or in some cases actually degenerate in quality, just look at Usopp, Chopper, and Nami after the timeskip LMAO Luffy is still a dumbass and doesn't learn from his past journey or mistakes ... 
Mar 20, 2012
It's said to be the greatest manga, all the elements you love in a series is all in the greatest treasure in the world, One Piece, left by a legendary pirate mangaka named Eiichiro Oda. Ever since 1997, the new era of manga began, competing to take the number one spot of Shonen Jump, so far, none has yet to step a foot in it's path.
Once I did, I asked myself why didn't I pick the series up earlier. I truly feel that this is the best Shonen series ever made if we were to review it objectively. Anyway, to the actual review: One Piece initially ... 
Mar 4, 2009
It sucks that this anime has a horrible reputation in America, thanks to Funimation or whatever the hell company. It must be the worst victim of dubbing and change.
Amazingly this anime is my second favorite ever. It's amazing how you can have such a kickass story line for sooo long..and it just keeps getting better and better. The animation is colorful and optimistic along with the characters and story. I could read this anime until I was 100. Go read this manga now. You are completely missing out on the fun if you haven't read it already. YEAH YOU. 
Apr 26, 2016
Spoilers: I reveal the name of the crew members.
One Piece is the story of a boy named Monkey D. Luffy and on his journey to become the "Pirate King" and find the One Piece, which is the treasure left behind by Gol D. Rogers. Let me start out by saying I used to really like OP and was a big time fan, and as of the recent updates my passion for it has really declined over the years. Pros: 1) The setting - The world of OP is vast and filled with pretty much anything and everything possible. Fishmen, Mermaids, Giants, animal people, etc. Anyone ... 
Dec 2, 2009
Yo! When do you think people die? When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? NO! When they are ravaged by sn incurable disease? NO! When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom? NO! It's when they are forgotten. One Piece is a legend. Eichiro Oda I think is a person not meant to be a mere human, just like Vincent van Gogh. hehehe. It's not boring like Naruto and Bleach which are full of blabbering, no fun at all. One Piece combines comedy, drama and adventure in an unpredictable way. But sad to say, it is rank
...
Sep 27, 2010
If you could you have everything the world had to offer, would you aspire to it? With the dying words of the late Pirate King, Gold Roger, every pirate in the world set sail for the Grand Line searching for the infamous treasure he left behind, One Piece.
Here enters in the protagonist of our story, Monkey D. Luffy, a 17 year old boy who dreams of nothing more than become Pirate King himself. Thanks to the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he gained the power to stretch his body to amazing lengths and become rubber. In this, he also became forever unable ... |
