One Piece

There are two responses I get, without fail, every time I try to get someone new to watch this show. "I don't like the art style" or "I've seen the dub - NO THANKS." I'm guilty of both of these myself. But if there's one thing I need to stress before even getting started on this review, it's that the 4Kids dub is NOT One Piece. For the love of god, PLEASE do not think it is. If you've suffered the misfortune of seeing some of the 4Kids episodes, just erase them from your mind and start fresh. They ... butchered it, there's really no other way to put it. They cut episodes, changed the dialogue to fit a MUCH younger and apparently far less intelligent audience (almost insultingly so), gave the characters RIDICULOUS voices, and pretty much watered down the entire series. FUNimation has done a much better job so far from what I've seen, but regardless, watching it in its original Japanese form with subtitles is really the way to go.

As for the art style, it's true, it's completely different from almost anything else I've seen. Much more "cartoonish" and maybe not what you'd expect from an anime. Despite that, you end up loving it. I wouldn't even say that you have to "get used to it" because it's not something that detracts from the rest of the series in any way. It didn't even take me two episodes before I was thoroughly enjoying it and seeing it as a fresh, new style, exciting almost and unlike anything I'd experienced before. Now, some 300+ episodes later, I can't remember ever NOT liking it, or even why I would have. Especially now with One Piece being aired in high definition, the art is crisp, clean, colorful - VERY sharp and wonderful to look at.

Now that we've got those two points out of the way...

One Piece is actually one of the best shows I've ever seen, anime or otherwise. The plot is pretty basic at first. Monkey D. Luffy has just set out on his own to find the legendary treasure 'one piece' and become Pirate King, and he's looking for a crew to sail with him. You'll find yourself falling in love with each and every new member as Luffy finds them. They're all extremely well developed, with interesting backgrounds and unique, fun personalities. They form one very quirky crew that's always discovering new adventures and somehow getting themselves into trouble as they strive to achieve their dreams. Each main story arc introduces new minor characters as well, and they're just as much fun and easy to fall in love with as the Straw Hat crew. Not one character is left out or feels like they're there for no reason. Everyone has a purpose and adds to the storyline, and one of the really cool things about One Piece is that these 'purposes' often resurface at later points in the series. No detail is left untouched, and you'll seriously be amazed by the way Oda threads together plots and characters and blends all their stories perfectly the more the series progresses.

The plot itself, though fairly straightforward at first like I said, quickly evolves into something HUGE. Much of the beginning of the series is dedicated to forming the crew and letting you get to know the characters, though it's definitely never lacking in action, but once they reach the Grand Line, you're swept up in adventure after adventure and following some of the most fantastic story arcs you'll ever watch. The battles and fights are well-paced, with the final boss fight almost always being completely EPIC. But even through the action, One Piece never quite loses it's lighthearted, humorous edge. The episodes are sprinkled with PLENTY of funny moments, never too many and never too few. There's always a wonderful balance of action and humor.

One Piece also has its fair share of heart-wrenching moments, which may take you by surprise! There are some EXTREMELY powerful scenes and episodes that kind of blindside you and leave you wondering when you became quite so emotionally attached to certain characters or other things. I've definitely found myself near tears or actually crying at more than one point. One Piece has it all - amazing characters, the never-ending yet never TOO over-the-top humor, exciting battles, fun adventures, heartbreaking moments with quick to follow touching moments. And underneath everything, there's always the theme of friendship and teamwork, of working to reach your dreams and helping those closest to you achieve theirs, of growing and maturing as a person and discovering the power within yourself to overcome obstacles of any sort, of just BEING THERE for the rest of your crew when they need you - of being NAKAMA.

In a word, One Piece is perfect. And perhaps I'm just biased, being an obviously OBSESSED fan at this point, haha, but what can I say? It's been running for 344 episodes so far and not ONCE have I wondered or hoped that it would start to reach an end. It is, simply put, amazing.

So why should you watch One Piece?

Because you're missing out on one hell of a fantastic show if you don't at least give it a try.

One Piece is by far the best shounen anime out there that I have watched.
But not all share the same views as I do, lets remedy that, shall we?

A long time ago, there live a fearsome pirate king who goes by the name of Gold D. Roger. He was able to attain everything. But alas he was captured and sentenced to execution. In the brink of death, he proclaimed that he left the great treasure, One Piece, somewhere in the Grand Line and it is for anyone to claim. This event ignited the Great Pirate Age.

In the world of One Piece, there is such ... a thing as a Devil Fruit. A devil fruit is a fruit bearing some supernatural ability and whoever devours it will get a unique ability however its origins are unknown. There are three types of Devil Fruit, Paramecia, a fruit that can materialize your body into a property. Zoan, a fruit that gives humans the ability of a certain animal, but if its an animal, it gives the ability of humans. And the last but certainly not the least Logia, is a fruit that makes the consumer manifest a certain element. But of course nothing is perfect. If you eat any of the Devil Fruit, you will be rendered immobilize when submerge in the water.

And where is our protagonist? The anime revolves around our mentally impaired boy, Monkey D. Luffy or a.k.a The Straw Hat Pirate(title came from his worn-out straw hat that he always have on). When our boy here ate a devil fruit that turns the consumer's body into rubber, he sets off to find Shanks, his pirate idol to return his straw hat as promise and find One Piece to be able to earn the title of Pirate King. Along the way he gathers all kinds of oddballs for his crew, The Straw Hat Pirates.

Now how exactly is One Piece different from the hundreds of shounen out there. Well, it isnt. It is exactly what a shounen should be. It follows the lose-train-win formula. So how is it any better? Bingo. Because it incorporates the formula into something fresh and simple.

One Piece arcs can be surprisingly good. There were even times that I was shocked at some plot twists and revelations. It has a very interesting setting as well. And what might that be? The World. The whole world is One Piece's oyster. It varies from vast, scorching deserts to cold snowy mountains, the concept of adventure here is well defined, it really makes you feel that world isnt small after all. And that my friend, is what an adventure anime should really be.

One Piece knows how to pull it off, be it comedy or serious, and believe me, One Piece knows how to be serious when it needs to be. But it never forgets its roots at the same time, and that is the emphasis of friendship and the bond of Nakama/Friends that glues the whole crew together.

Most shounen anime's suffers immensely from originality. Because of this, it is hard to distinguish characters from each other, especially in my case as I have my fair share as an otaku. And most of the characters in em lack depth and substance, its hard to remember a character when you know very little about him. But One Piece is immune from this disease. Each character of One Piece is very... say....unique that you'll find it hard to forget about them. They all have their individual motives, strengths, weakness and even quirky traits. Plus, each individual of the Straw Hat Pirate Crew has an immersing past, that'll be hard for you not to get delve into. And they all have a certain role, not one character gets overshadowed by the other. They do meaningful interactions with each other. And regardless, that each member is vastly different from each other, they all formed a formidable bond. Even the by-passing characters are memorable.

In contrast to the majority, I find the animation to be creative. Just like how the characters are different and distinguishable. Unfortunately people see it as something of a turn off, and quickly judges One Piece as something infantile. I am not going to lie. One Piece will not go beyond the borders of a shounen. It is not mature. But thats not the point here. An anime doesnt need to be ripe to be good. It just needs to be entertaining. Although I do enjoy a deep, thought-provoking anime, an anime doesnt need to be complex to be satisfying. It can be anything, as long as it offers gratification. And One Piece does.

Another potential problem is its popularity. Most people consider mainstream anime's to be somewhat of a failure because of its targeted demographic, and that is everyone. "If its able to attract toddlers, then it sucks" that seems to be case for most people. Some people neglect any anime that is able to summon countless little children in its area, thus abruptly convicting it as over-rated. Heck, some people even constantly hunts threads, just to be able to crack Narutard jokes off some newcomer. Do not judge One Piece from its fans. Judge it for what it is.

Do not be mistaken, I am not saying One Piece is for everyone. In the end, its all about taste. But if your have any hint of love for shounen surging in your veins, there is no reason for you not to watch this, not one bit.

In short, the plot is very promising, the main cast is several but well flesh out, the battles are very diverse, and engaging and the comedy doesnt get old, even after 300 episodes. But One Piece is not a masterpiece. It does not break any ground whatsoever. No matter how you see it, its still your typical shounen.

Regardless of this, the level of enjoyment I receive from One Piece is insurmountable. And sometimes thats all you need. Scratch that. Most of the time that's all you need.

In my personal opinion, One Piece is one of those animes that is easy to love and is just as easy to hate. Funnily enough, those who love One Piece love it for exactly the same reasons that others hate it; the extreme characters, zany abilities, and classic artstyle all contribute to both sides. This review's goal is neither to covince you to love One Piece, nor is it the opposite. The review merely expresses my own personal views of the series.

And by the way, this review is based upon the original Japanese version. If you have had the bad luck of viewing the 4Kids ... dubbed version, you have my heartfelt condolences. Right, well, anyway, moving on...

PLOT: The story of One Piece mostly consists of the Straw Hat Pirates traveling from island to island and having crazy adventures. Although each crewmember has a different reason for this, they all share the same goal: to reach the end of the treacherous Grand Line. Bound by this promise, they pass through unbelievable adventures. Given this pattern, you would think the plot would get boring and predictable, right? Amazingly enough, unlike shonen anime with similar plot devices, One Piece manages to become less and less predictable as its plot advances. As it advances, it also delves into serious situations. There is actually much tragedy involved with One Piece, but the show maintains a balance of comic relief as well. I've actually been driven to tears many times while watching this show, but I've laughed out loud just as many times, if not more.

ART: One Piece's art style is one of the elements that turns many people off to the series. The style is fairly old-school, remniscent of 90's shows like Dragonball Z. Then again, I guess One Piece started out in the late 90's, too, so that's to be expected. Either way, the quality of the animation steadily improves as the show moves along. The show is now broadcast in HD, and the quality simply blows me away with every new episode. But the show's animation style remains the same, just greatly improved in terms of quality. After all, with a show as crazy as One Piece, modern animation styles just wouldn't fit. I simply cannot imagine Monkey D. Luffy with eyes like Uzumaki Naruto; it simply does not work.

SOUND: I absolutely adore the music of One Piece. There are so many different kinds of situations in One Piece: happy, sad, angry, confused, funny, sleepy, scared, epic, cryptic, foreboding, intense, etcetera, etcetera. For each of these situations, there is a unique musical piece which plays in the background. What's more is that each character has their own style of music and their own theme. Whenever I hear a background song, I immediately know what's going on, and fall into the according state of mind. It happens subconsciously, and it adds to both the predictability and spontaneity of the show. If Zoro's 'epic' music begins to play, he may still lose his current battle. However, whenever I hear that music, I immediately know, "Zoro is going to dominate in this scene," regardless of whether or not he actually does.

CHARACTERS: I cannot think of enough synonyms for "incredible" to sufficiently describe One Piece's character development, so I'll just say that it's definitely SUPER!!! Ahahaha...yeah, that was a reference to the show...anyway, the characters of One Piece are one of its major selling points. In fact, it was the characters, not the story, that hooked me to this show. Each character has their own personal reason for sailing the Grand Line and for joining the Straw Hat Pirates, and this goal pushes them to new heights with each passing adventure. This goal is backed by an emotionally engrossing backstory which usually can encompass more than two episodes. I have been moved to tears by so many touching flashbacks I no longer possess enough fingers to count them all. The characters are all very personable as well, and are the one aspect of One Piece you can nearly always predict. You always know Luffy will be Luffy, and Usopp will be Usopp. Never would you expect Sanji to suddenly lash out at Nami, but you would certainly expect Nami to lash out at everyone else. Do not misunderstand me; I am not implying that the characters of One Piece are static. They are all decidedly not static. By comparing the current Luffy with the Luffy of the first few episodes, you can discern an obvious difference. The same holds true for all of the crewmembers. Yet the changes take place gradually over time, not all at once. That is my favorite part of this anime. Just like actual humans, the One Piece characters develop new traits and discard old traits, but always remain the same person they were when first introduced.

ENJOYMENT: When trying to convince my friends that they should watch One Piece (mostly so I can discuss the latest episodes with them), I inevitably have to ask myself why I personally enjoy the series. And then I am stumped. I mean, I could say all the above and people still wouldn't be satisfied. There would be people asking, "Well, why do you like that kind of plot? I saw this one show that had a different kind and I liked it." How am I supposed to respond to that!? That's the equivalent of saying, "Why do you like chocolate ice cream? I like vanilla, and it's way better." Whether you enjoy something or not all depends on how your brain is wired and your attitude when you try it. Just because I love One Piece doesn't mean you will, and just because someone hates One Piece doesn't mean I have to. Erm...I kind of got on a rant. Ehehehe...uh, yeah. So, I enjoy One Piece because of the above reasons. Is...that all I'm supposed to put here? It seems inadequate for some reason...

OVERALL: In conclusion, I find One Piece to be epic! Whether you do or don't, please don't discount it for any reason until you've actually begun watching it. While I can attest to the fact that the story doesn't really become exciting until the crew reaches the Grand Line, the material before that is still crucial to the rest of the story, and is still very enjoyable. Oh, and as a matter of precaution, DO NOT WATCH THE 4KIDS DUB! If you do, then you may very well suffer severe damage to your cerebral cortex. If you must watch the show in English, I recommend the FUNimation dub. Their DVDs contain about 13 episodes each, and are available wherever you buy your anime. I forget how much they cost...well, you can Google it if you really want to.

One Piece recounts the story of Monkey D Luffy, a young man who wishes to become the Pirate King; and the rest of the crew of the Mugiwara ('Straw Hat') Pirate crew, each of whom join the crew to realise lifelong dreams of their own.

Luffy ate a Devil's Fruit as a child, more accurately the 'Gomu Gomu' fruit (gomu means 'rubber'), thus his body took on the form of rubber, enabling him to stretch and inflate himself at will - though the downside for anybody who eats a Devil's Fruit is that they can no longer swim: something of a disadvantage for a pirate. Luffy ... is a bit of of a unique character in all of the anime series I have watched: he's not smart, but he's not stupid. Perhaps 'simple' is the best way of describing him, as he has the same thoughts and ideals no matter what the situation is, sees no reason in pretending to be something he isn't, and often has trouble adjusting his fun-loving character to act appropriately in serious circumstances. Although he is the captain of the Mugiwara Pirates, he is pretty much held in line by the rest of his crew, especially Nami. He does, however, usually get the final word.

Luffy's aim is to become Pirate King and to claim the ultimate treasure that the old and greatest Pirate King, Gol D Roger, announced at his execution was at the end of the Grand Line: the most dangerous, treacherous and feared ocean in the world. This treasure, 'One Piece', gives the series its name. It is yet unknown exactly what One Piece is, or what it does. However, with every island of the Grand Line that the crew traverse (the only way to sail the Grand Line being to hop from one island to the next) they are one stop closer to finding Gol D Roger's heritage.

The rest of the Mugiwara Crew consists of characters just as well-rounded, though still retaining their individuality. Roronoa Zoro, a green-haired 3-sword-wielding (one in each hand, one in his mouth) bounty hunter who has come to be known as 'Pirate Hunter Zoro' (though the name was neither coined nor furthered by the man himself) joins the crew in order to realise his childhood dream of becoming the best swordsman in the world, figuring the Grand Line should bring him a plethora of worthy opponents.

Nami, the navigator, is a beautiful yet intelligent orange-haired girl whose dream is to draw a map of the whole world - though her main passion is accumulating vast sums of money, usually via theft. She is generally the brains of the crew, but occasionally needs Luffy to show her that her heart is in the right place.

Usopp, a long-nosed man whose penchant for stretching the truth is made evident in pretty much every episode, wishes to follow in his father's footsteps and become a great pirate. Although he's not as strong as other members of the crew and has no specific 'special powers', his quick-thinking and ingenious-yet-comedic inventions have too often been known to save the day.

Sanji, self-professed 'Love Cook', is a talented chef from the floating restaurant Baratie, who can cook as well as he can kick - Sanji is generally characterised by his inability to resist stepping in to rescue a beautiful lady, especially Nami (even though she manipulates him simply because she knows she can). Sanji joined the crew after great persuasion in order to find All Blue, the legendary ocean where the four seas meet, and thus fish from all the seas can be found - a gourmet cook's paradise.

Tony Tony Chopper is the ship's doctor. Here's where it starts getting a little, well, let's say idiosyncratic. Chopper is a reindeer (not a tanuki, a reindeer!) who ate the 'Hito Hito' Devil's Fruit (hito means 'man'), meaning that he is not only able to talk (to both humans and animals - a skill that comes in very useful), but also walk on his hind legs, and even transform himself from cute to somewhat monstrous forms. Chopper wants to become a great doctor and help people, and eventually, after much persuasion from Luffy, sees piracy as a way to give his wish meaning and direction. An ongoing joke with Chopper is for him to shout "Doctor! We need a doctor!" whenever anybody gets injured, before realising that he's the ship's doctor, and so gets to work. Chopper is a cutesy/comedy character but also gives us plenty of reasons to take him seriously.

Finally we have Nico Robin, a woman with a mysterious past, and another with the power of a Devil's Fruit. Robin ate the 'Hana Hana' fruit (hana = 'flower'), and thus is able to grow hands from any surface - an ability which sounds pointless on paper but has saved the Mugiwaras from so much danger over the episodes that it has become almost integral to their survival. Robin is an archaeologist who joined the Mugiwaras at her own behest, as Luffy had saved her life against her will. She spends most of her time reading history books, and someday dreams of finding the 'one true history' of their world by traversing the Grand Line in search of 'lodestones', which have ancient documents inscribed on them.

Even at the early stage of introducing Luffy and watching him recruit the first few crewmates, I had fallen in love with this anime series. The first 20 or so episodes are somewhat slow-paced, as well as a little confusing, as the quirky sense of humour that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda gives the series takes a little getting used to for a gaijin. The other members of the crew don't want to join Luffy's outfit immediately, but Luffy manages to convince them that becoming a pirate with him is the best way to realise their dreams, and also helps them to tie up loose ends in their homeland before setting off under the straw hat-wearing Jolly Roger.

It's important to bear in mind that these are not your classic Western, rum-toting, eye patch-wearing, "YAAAAAARRRRR"-shouting pirates, with huge beards, peg legs and hooks for hands. That isn't to say there aren't characters who fall under these categories (except for the "YAAAAARRRR"ing), but One Piece is a world filled with intensely interesting, larger-than-life characters who bring a dimension to the anime you wouldn't have thought possible. The powers of the various enemies of the Mugiwara crew bring an almost rock-paper-scissors element to the show, as the party is often split up into groups who have to survive and meet back up with the others in order to continue their journey, some characters' expertises being more useful against certain enemies than others - although the rubberman never knows when to accept defeat!

This anime contains some of the most imaginative and out-of-this-world story arcs I've ever come across in an anime series, especially one that does not take itself too seriously. One arc sees the Mugiwaras sail up into the sky to 'Skypeia', or Sky Island, where they take on an evil God who has the power of lightning. The final 'showdown' battles can span 10 or more episodes and are, for want of a better word, epic. Simply the journey undertaken to get onto the Grand Line itself is a tale worth rewatching for its many highlights, as well as being an introduction that comforts you by subtly indicating that the future escapades of the Mugiwara crew will pique your interests further.

The Mugiwaras are to a point misunderstood as pirates - they don't plunder, rape or murder everybody they meet. In most cases, they actually help those they come across, but are still very much wanted by the Marines (the main governing body of the sea), who set huge bounties for Luffy and Zoro in order to garner help from bounty hunters, as well as the many other pirate factions sailing around.

The animation sometimes lets the show down slightly - it seems the budget for the animators seems to rise and fall depending on the importance of the arc. Some battles are brilliantly animated, such as the showdown between Luffy and Crocodile, leader of the Shichibukai, but many of the filler arcs look poor in comparison. However, this does not take anything away from the fact that One Piece is a masterpiece, with a quirky Japanese sense of humour and a narrative that can be appreciated by all, but loved only by some. My advice is to give it a try - if you're anything like me it will certainly captivate your interest, and then some.

Quick warning: stay WELL away from the 4KIDS English dub. They gutted the show, stripping it of many of its best features, and hired a voice cast that could test the sanity of anybody, be you 3 or 43. The lush orchestral musical score and lively J-pop intro has been replaced by awful faux hip-hop in order to market it to Americans, some of the blood is cut while some remains (this is NOT a gory anime by any stretch of the imagination - blood is used as more of an indicator that a fight has been going on a while), characters are renamed according to whim (Zoro is renamed Zolo, either to escape copyright infringement, give a closer transliteration from katakana, or just as an effort to be utterly, utterly lame), and there are some frankly ridiculous amendments - the one that really sticks out for me is Sanji's cigarette. Sanji likes to smoke, and he always has a cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. In the 4KIDS dub, this cigarette is replaced - in every frame - with a lollipop.

Kaizoku-Fansubs (http://www.kaizoku-fansubs.com) make by FAR the best, most comprehensive, accurate and best-looking fansubs for this show, and episodes can be downloaded by BitTorrent or by XDCC transfer via IRC (#kaizoku-fansubs on irc.rizon.net).

Ask any person on the internet what their favourite kind of warrior is and you are bound to get one of these 2 answers. Ninja or Pirate. Now we ALL know Ninja\'s are a plenty in anime. But Pirates? Try finding a anime about that!

Eiichiro Oda to the rescue!

The legendary Pirate Gol D Roger. Once acquired everything a pirate could. But before he was executed he told people he hid his treasure \"One Piece\" at the end of the Grand Line. This started the great age of pirates!

One Piece is set in the time of pirates. Even though there are references to real pirates. Bellamy, ... Alvida etc, its more of a fantasy world. And what a fantasy world it is! Weird creatures, giant monsters and people with a \"Devil Fruit\" ability. Devil Fruit grants the person who eat it unique abilities such as transforming their body, or giving them special skills. The one consequence is it takes away their ability to swim.

One of the people who ate a \"Devil Fruit\" Is the young man Luffy. Blessed with the Gomu Gomu fruit (Rubber) He is a rubber man. and he wants to be the \"Pirate King\" (The person who acquires \"One Piece\") He and his crew of weird but unique characters set of to the \"Grand Line\" to find One Piece.

Eiichiro Oda created some really amazing characters! Rorona Zoro a swordsman who uses 3 swords. Liar Usopp, Navigator and Money maniac Nami, Chef and Love freak Sanji, Reindeer misfit Chopper and more. Even though the characters seem a little bland at first after a few episodes their characters really start to shine.

Humour is a really big part of the series. You will constantly laugh your ass off at the weird and just downright funny humour this series has to offer. But its not all comedy. Heck no! Fans of action and drama will also love this series. the fights are simply incredible! with the Devil fruit users being the highlights of the series. But just like that the series can take a much darker turn. And will certainly manage to bring a tear to your eye. (Nami\'s background being one of those times DAMN YOU ARLONG!)
But it never turns into a emo fest.

Its a pretty long series (counting over 310 episodes) and even though there are some filler arcs. It just keeps getting better and better.

Well my first review, Ill try and make it a good one.

One Piece, well i gotta be honest, I didn't like it at first. I thought that the voices were stupid and that it had really no plot whatsoever. This is all thanks to 4kids making the crappiest dub ever. I stopped watching it after, ep 20 or so, but then i heard to try it again using subs. I thought nah, it might sounds really stupid, but i still tried. After episode 20 or so, I was like "WOW", this is awesome and from then on i was watching it non stop until ... episode 280 where i caught up. (yea i watched about 250+ episodes non stop) :D If you plan on watching it, watch it subbed please. Well that's enough of that. Onwards.

Story
The story is really amazing. At first i didn't find anything entertaining, but I pressed on and continued watching. The plot is really amazing. Its different from what most mangaka does, and that is power. The story is all about achieving your dreams, getting nakama(companions/friends), and overall having a grand adventure. The story is original in a sense that it gives you a feeling of ease and hilarity when reading it. I for one, have always enjoyed a chapter and in each chapter is very powerful and/or funny.

Art
Well to be honest, I find the art interesting. I mean its cool at times but then in some episodes its really crappy. Thats probably the only thing I dont like. But the fight scenes are amazing. The character design is very interesting and very original. The animation is pretty...crappy at times but that's to be expected in some animes. I mean not all of them would be amazing but there are quite a few that really have good animation. The animation for most fight scenes are really well drawn and intricate.

Sound
I have only one thought for this. JAPANESE VOICE ACTORS OWN AMERICAN VOICE ACTORS. Seriously, they sound so much better and once you hear them, your instantly hooked to them. 4kids really did the crappiest dubbing ever, and that was mainly why i stopped watching it. Also their gum gum rap( american opening) was so terrible. Thanks to Funimation for at least making an "ok" dub. But subs are still the best. Their voices mesh with the characters personality so much that it's amazing.

Character
Wow. The characters are really amazing. From the air-head captain to the greedy, money-loving navigator, it really is the most unique anime ever. They are all different characters with all different dreams that power them throughout the show. They all have alot in common, but really the biggest thing they have in common is that they all believe and support their captain, because he has saved them where they needed it the most. Every character in One Piece is different from everyone and they are all entertaining. Every episode is funny and most of the time it is Luffy that makes it funny. Luffy is pretty much the most unique character made. He is a simple minded captain who has no other thought other than one piece, his nakama, and MEAT. Yes meat, he loves meat, but if you watch it you will learn that :p

Enjoyment
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The fillers are much better than Naruto or Bleach fillers and they are alot more exciting. Again the fight scences are amazing. Every episode you will definitely laugh, because Oda-sensei (the mangaka- the one who made One Piece) is awesome. He is pretty much the most creative mangaka, and the person i definitely want to meet.

Overall
Overall, I give One Piece a 10/10, well because it is pretty much amazing. The characters are very loveable, especially Luffy. Every episode i laughed, every episode I was always at the edge of my seat. If people tell you that One Piece sucks or that its not all that great, then don't listen! The only bad thing about One Piece is that 4kids made the dub first and then ruined it in America, don't listen and just watch it. Listen to me and not them okay :D

REVIEW OF ONE OF THE BEST ANIMES (IF NOT THE BEST) EVER !!! //ONE PIECE\\ AFTER 982 EPISODES 2021

-NO SPOILERS INCLUDED-

First of all, let's get rid of the most stupid reason that someone says before starting watching One Piece.

Not watching because of too many episodes. If you want to watch anime and your only goal is to FINISH it then this anime is not for you. One Piece is made to enjoy its story, not to finish it ASAP. When you start watching it, you will get in love with the story, characters and then you will just go and watch it without stopping. ... After catching it up you would like there to be more and more episodes and you will never regret watching all 900 episodes. You don't have to finish it in like 5 months, take your time and seat and just watch when you feel like it and how much you want. As more as you are watching, you will get the point of the anime and it will be more and more interesting and enjoyable.

As regards the art style, I would like to say that art style is unique, and if you don't like it at first you will get used to it and you will see that it will just make anime better. Every anime has its own art style and that's good that they are different, imagine every anime using the same art style it would be boring. As more as you are watching it, you will just forget about it and will be a normal thing, later with a clean and fresh look will show you the story in a beautiful way!

The beginning of One Piece is very interesting. Introducing characters and story is well done. While you are watching you will get easily in love with every member of the crew and also through the story you will learn their past and you will get mindblowed. Every character has its own personality and background that is very well made and perfectly connected with the whole story and is important. One Piece has arcs, in every arc, there will be introduced new characters and every arc has tension and uncertainty. You will just wonder what will happen next and get excited. You will hype every episode and you can't wait for the next one. The feeling that you will be getting through the story and episodes will just overcome you in every way and you are going to feel so good while watching One Piece and while passing through the story with Luffy! Everything that is happening to the characters you will feel in your way and will just get connected to them like that they are someone who is important in your life and who mean a lot to you. They will become your friends and you are going to go with them on unforgettable adventures with a very interesting and unique plot and events. I can't describe how much this MASTERPIECE IS GOOD, words are not enough, you must see it yourself and will thank me later!

!!! JUST REMEMBER - ONE PIECE STORY IS UNMATCHED WITH ANY OTHER ANIME !!!

!!! One Piece has such a deep story that I haven't seen in any other anime. The whole story is done without mistake, all fights include epic moments that you will enjoy and hype, all EMOTIONAL and UNFORGETTABLE, EXTRAORDINARY moments will pierce through your heart and will stay there forever sealed, also will be giving you goosebumps. !!!

Another reason why people won't start watching one piece is because of animation.
- First of all, you cant expect old anime(from 1999) to have a good animation at the start.
- Anime of 1000 episodes cant have constantly good animation, although the animation DOES get better and better every arc, and currently ONE PIECE has one of the best animations I have EVER seen in my ENTIRE life and I am pretty sure that it will get even better without exaggeration.

Even If One Piece doesn't have that good animation at the start and pacing later on in the anime due to anime catching up to the manga, TRUST ME, it doesn't matter. The story, world-building, characters are almost PERFECT that you will not even bother with animation and pacing.

!!! If you don't want to begin this beautiful adventure because of some people saying that it's too long or that animation is bad, then I am sorry for you, because you don't know what are you missing !!!

Once you get into One Piece you will regret that you didn't start it earlier and you will see that these reasons are really stupid.

!!! Overall, One Piece is one MASTERPIECE !!!

GIVE IT A CHANCE, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!

I hope you will enjoy this anime as I did!
10/10

I never write reviews but I think this series deserves it.

NOTE: This is obviously not a bad-ass/cool-mysterious guy on a seemingly complex mission that is trying to mind-fuck you. This is SHOUNEN. Straight-forward and easy to understand for younger viewers and deep enough for the older. This is business as well as entertainment ei: MAINSTREAM.

Sure it has a VERY generic shounen anime base-line but it has a lot more depth to it that only a mature audience can understand. This can't be seen within the first 20 episodes; it's one of those things where you have to grin and bare with. Most likely, your efforts ... would be worthwhile.

I'll just follow the trend and comment on the sections; starting with the weakest qualities.



1. ART: (6/10)

This is a HUGE issue and it takes a lot of perseverance and patience to get used to the art style of this anime. It took me about 6 months to get used to it.
At first, everyone looked like overly-hyper, 12 year-olds being too loud and just looking at them made me want to stop. Noodle-like arms and legs, weird anatomy etc. the list goes on. But if you power through however long it takes for you to get used to the art, the characters appear as catalysts of nothing but pure emotion. This puts you in a weird, neutral position. You know that the art isn't great but you can't seem to imagine this series in any other way. Changing the art style becomes a bad idea.

The only reason why I'm giving the art style a 6/10 is because it's so damn hard to swallow. In the end, anime isn't just eye-candy, it's storytelling first and foremost and I think One Piece knows this very well.



2. SOUND: (8/10)

The sound in this series isn't bad but it isn't spectacular though it does have golden moments during heavily emotional scenes. What IS fantastic is the seiyuu's performances throughout this colossal series. They (generally) capture the essence of their characters, flaws and all. For example: The annoying idiot aspects of Luffy. Mayumi Tanaka was THE voice for Luffy. No one could fill her shoes.
The opening themes usually sets the correct tone for the series; an up-beat, "let's go on an adventure" kind of feeling. Corny? Maybe, Childish? Very, Effective? Absolutely.
For what One Piece is and what it does; the sounds in the series definitely supports. It's doesn't suit my taste in music but it's very "One Piece", which adds to the experience.



3. STORY: (10/10)

The depth of this story will surprise anyone. I had very low expectations for this series, having started years after it began airing but after watching it for a while, I truly believe that this is one of the best shounen stories to date.

Despite being from a very obvious shounen base-line, One Piece delivers fantastically. One Piece explores society in a very extreme manner; often exaggerated to enhance the hype of the moment. You can see that this is deliberate because of how everything within the story drives to one particular moment.

I don't think One Piece's story should be compared to reality because it's simply not realistic: It's not supposed to be but we can certainly compare and relate the ideas and themes within the plot.

This is a truly well thought-out plot, beautifully integrated with the characters to provide a very wholesome experience. If you sit there and watch it -searching for flaws- you will be missing the point of One Piece. If you approach it with a "What the hell but whatever, lets see how this goes" attitude, you are guaranteed to enjoy this plot more.

NOTE: Fillers are NOT stories, they fill empty spaces. That's why they're called 'fillers'. They are meant to be half-assed to buy time for the author. You can't judge a series by fillers, that just means you're stupid.



4. CHARACTER: (10/10)

First impressions are important when it comes to characters. Unfortunately, One Piece fails at this and fails pretty hard. We are introduced to a very typical hero, off to be some king of something and be the biggest, baddest man on town: in this case, the world. Then we meet a typical tough-guy/Mr. Cool. etc.
The thing that is amazing about the characters in One Piece is that though they appear very standard; they somehow manage to break their cookie-cutter mold. Each character basically has one strong quality about them but that one aspect of their character is what makes each character special.

They then develop as the story progresses; being faced with challenges each character's physical, mental and emotional state to their limits; tests their judgment and instincts. They are never perfect but it's how they work around their shortcomings and utilize their few strong aspects to survive in the hostile world of One Piece, that puts the characters of One Piece in a league of their own.

Once you get used to the whole atmosphere of this series, you will find that you won't be able to help but feel very attached to almost every character you come across.



5. ENJOYMENT: (10/10)

It's fabulous. I can't think of any other series with this much depth; in character design and the execution of the plot. There is a lot to read into in this series, people just need to take a deep breathe and allow themselves to be drowned and suffocated by it. It won't kill you I promise.



6. OVERALL: (10/10)

I obviously love this series. It's completely underrated and is constantly being flamed by 'mature viewers' that think they've actually grown up just because they watch brain-raping anime with what SEEMS like a complicated plot when it's actually just another generic anime to their related genre.

This series deserves a lot more than that. It is worth the trouble of getting used to the painful art style. It is worth credit. There IS a reason why it's popular.
We, in the Western world tend to think that it's mind-boggling to see that THIS is one of their most popular animes but I think it's our arrogance and denial that is causing this negative reaction. Apparently, anime is just pretty colors, characters with big eyes and crazy hair, and big tits or a scifi-novel with moving pictures.

One Piece is a fantastic combination of business, entertainment and art. It's obvious why this series is such a success in it's homeland. It's just tragic how a disgrace to mankind (4Kids Entertainment) got hold of this gem before it could reach a wider audience.

This is not a masterpiece; but it's pretty damn close to being one.
There is no such thing as a perfect show.

One Piece is honestly the most amazing series I have ever watched or read. The plots are well-written and hold my attention without taking themselves too seriously and adding unnecessary drama that causes me to lose interest. The characters are some of the most endearing, well-developed and likable characters and the art, while not appealing to me at first, took a grand total of TWO episodes to get used to before I found it to be incredibly unique and my favorite anime art style to date.

While this series has serious moments, it never stops being funny. Something important about the humor in ... this series is that it's ORIGINAL. None of the typical jokes that are recycled in every anime and even the serious moments I was talking about are sprinkled with clever and endearing humor that keeps me watching.

Something that is important to me in a series is the characters. If I don't like characters, chances are, I'm not going to like the series. The lead cast to One Piece has won me over in their own individual ways. There is not a single one I don't like and I seriously thought that was IMPOSSIBLE.

I could go on and on about this series but it's not my job to tell you EVERYTHING great about it! Just take my word on it!

You know what I really miss? The good ol' days of shonen anime/manga where something could have an outrageously bizarre concept with an equally bizarre universe which can be light in tone and set the stage for some grand adventures to unfold. Nowadays, it seems like most shonen anime and manga try to be all dark and edgy in order to defy those sort of preconceived notions that all shonen anime and manga is light-hearted and/or childish. While that's all fine and dandy, I can't help but feel that we're losing something special in the process of this sort of transition from light-hearted adventures to ... dark and grim tales of survival.

With the cancellation of the Hunter x Hunter anime (further compounded by the manga's hiatus), it seems like brutal survival games chock full of fan service and outrageously violent battles are all that's left of shonen series. Then enters One Piece: one of the most popular shonen anime/manga series out there which is still going strong despite being around for 15-something years. It's had a lot of ups, downs, and more than its fair share of criticism levied against it but all things considered... it's something like a breath of fresh air in this stale climate that shonen anime/manga seems to have immersed itself in as of late.

***THE CONCEPT AND SETTING***

One Piece takes place in a world completely dominated by maritime travel that's currently experiencing something known as the "Golden Age of Pirates." The "Golden Age" was brought about by the death of the so-called Pirate King, Gold Roger and his final words about where he's put his entire life's fortune. Whosoever finds Gold Roger's treasure, the eponymous "One Piece" will then become king of the pirates (or so the legend goes; I question how finding a dead man's riches will automatically make you king of all maritime bandits, but that's beside the point).

While many people might dismiss this concept as childish, this is one of the very things I love the most about One Piece. You want to know why? The reason why is that despite the simple set-up would seemingly get repetitive over a short span of time, Eiichiro Oda steps up to the plate and manages to deliver plenty of adventures that are so grand in scope that you'll have a hard time trying to keep your jaw attached to your face. The way that Oda manages to so is quite clever and something that I never really get tired of: the fact that the Grand Line (the place where the vast majority of One Piece takes place in) is pretty much a perfect canvas to unleash his creative mind.

The Grand Line is literally a place where common sense won't get you anywhere. Conventional means of navigation are impossible because each island emits its own, strong magnetic field that interferes with regular compasses. Instead, you need a special compass called a "log pose" which basically leads you to the next island and that island is completely random. In addition to that, it takes a certain amount of time for the log pose to reset itself and lead you to the next island. The log pose can change at a moment's notice, so you can't even trust the calm of the seas or the weather. On that note, weather in the Grand Line is incredibly chaotic due to the irregular magnetic field that encompasses the entire area.

On the topic of weather, every island in the Grand Line has its own climate, fauna, and such. Some islands are cloaked in perpetual winter while other islands are quite literally stuck in prehistoric times with dinosaurs and everything. Going back to the log pose, sometimes it can point you to seemingly impossible locations. Would you believe that there's an entire arc in One Piece that takes place on an island IN THE FUCKING SKY?!?! I'm not even kidding. Whenever Eiichiro Oda puts his mind to it, he really can surprise you with what he can come up with. In fact, when it comes down to the world-building, only Fullmetal Alchemist and Hunter x Hunter come close to matching it. Of course, One Piece and HxH opt for a sort of "make it up as you go along" approach while Fullmetal Alchemist is more carefully crafted.

A rather important part of One Piece's universe is the existence of the so-called "Devil Fruits." Whosoever devours one of these strange fruits will be given great power at the expense of their ability to swim. It should be noted that throughout the entirety of One Piece (thus far), there is absolutely NO explanation behind the mechanics of Devil Fruits and their effects on humans. Some people will undoubtedly take umbrage with this, but I don't. One of the things that irritate me the most when it comes down to shonen anime and manga in recent years is the fact that there's always NEEDS to be an explanation to EVERY SINGLE THING.

Don't get me wrong, there's always going to be shit that will need explaining, but I find it infuriating whenever there has to be some sort of pseudo-scientific explanation given for practically EVERYTHING that happens to our characters whenever they gain/use a superpower. In One Piece, the Devil Fruit superpowers are indeed important but they're not the overall focus of the plot. I suppose you can consider the Devil Fruit powers to be analogous to Nen from Hunter x Hunter or chakra from Naruto if you need something you can compare it to (even then, it's not quite like those two). Another thing to note is that no two Devil Fruits will bestow the exact same power.

***THE STORY***

One of the biggest problems that the One Piece anime suffers from is a VERY slow start. Like most shonen series, the story of One Piece is told arcs. The first 61 or so episodes encompass what I like to call the "East Blue" arc (which comprises of several smaller sub-arcs). Basically, it's where Luffy is recruiting his crew and the various adventures that follow suit. By the end of Episode 31, the final crew member joins and the team is ready to set sail to the Grand Line... although that's not quite the case. After Sanji joins the team, Nami briefly defects as we go into an arc that dives into her own back-story before she returns and becomes a permanent fixture of the Straw Hat pirates.

It's not that these episodes are bad or anything, but I just got done telling you all this amazing shit that happens in the previous section and yet none of that shit actually goes down until AFTER these episodes. Well... to be fair, these episodes were produced well over a decade ago when the manga itself was still rather young. I suppose it's like Phantom Blood from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in the sense that it at least provides us with the foundation for these grand adventures to unfold. At the same time, I can't help but feel like Toei Animation could've at least skipped over some of the more superfluous stuff from the manga. Whatever, it's too late to do anything about that now.

Aside from that, the story of One Piece is pretty damn good. For a series that's been going on for well over 15 years, it's surprising as to how consistent the overall story quality remains across the board. Yes, there are points where the storytelling takes a downturn, but this generally happens in filler arcs and whenever there's some excruciating padding in an episode to stretch out the chapters (more in the next section). Of course, there are also moments whenever you can tell that Oda didn't quite bring his A-game to the table in a particular arc. Yes, a man like Eiichiro Oda can also suffer from dry spells where his storytelling isn't quite up-to-par with what he usually brings to the table. He IS human, after all.

Considering that One Piece is a shonen series, it's no surprise that themes of friendship and loyalty are quite prominent. What's more is that in a vein similar to "classic" shonen series like Dragon Ball, it's going to be a tale of adventure that is rather light in tone (for the most part). Does this mean that One Piece is automatically childish garbage? HELL TO THE FUCKING NO. Surprisingly enough, One Piece is fairly capable of taking itself seriously when the time comes for it to do so and what's more is that friendship/loyalty will ALWAYS be themes no matter what since those are hallmarks of the genre. No sense in complaining about something that's part of the course, you know...

The overall arc structure of One Piece is fairly predictable, but that's not an inherently bad thing since it does offer a degree of consistency with the storytelling. The basic formula generally goes like this: the Straw Hats land on an island -> residents of the island hate them -> the Straw Hats meet the island's bad guy(s) -> they beat the bad guys -> residents of the island now love the Straw Hats. Keep in mind that this is simply the framework for an arc and the way an arc actually plays out may very well end up surprising you. This goes back to One Piece's greatest strength: giving us amazing adventures that are so grand in scope to the point where you can't look away from the screen for a moment.

***THE FILLER***

Surprisingly enough, Toei Animation did a relatively good job of remaining filler-free in a series as long as One Piece (roughly 98 episodes). It also helps that most of the filler arcs tend to be rather short (typically 2-5 episodes) across 670 episodes. It also helps that a good portion of them basically got their origins from ideas that Eiichiro Oda wanted to put in the manga but couldn't for various reasons. But does that mean they're worth watching? Well... I suppose you can go ahead and sit through the filler but the G8, Ice Hunter, and Ocean's Dream arcs are the only ones that I consider worth watching since the other filler arcs tend to be more hit/miss.

Going back to how Toei Animation mostly managed to subvert filler, it was through adaptation expansion. Eiichiro Oda is a guy who packs quite a lot of detail into his stories, so it's easy for writers to expand upon concepts he brought up but didn't quite flesh out. Unfortunately, Toei Animation has this nasty habit of taking things too far. While the adaptation expansion was good enough that occasionally bordered on great in the first half of the anime, the latter half of the series (Episode 405-onward) is where Toei Animation's adaptation expansion takes a downward turn for the worse.

After the Sabaody arc, Toei Animation decided to up and scrap the idea for filler episodes entirely and instead adapt the chapters at a 1:1 ratio. Considering the fact that not every chapter will have ~20 minutes' worth of stuff to adapt, Toei Animation had to improvise and they did so by means of VERY excruciating padding. It REALLY got ridiculous in the Marineford arc where you're basically panning over shots of the crew and have to put up with Buggy's pitiful attempts at comedy. It even got to a point where they showed one character looking for milk before going back to a fight. Now with that said, it DOES get better and it's really noticeable after the time skip but it's too little, too late by that point since the time skip is fairly recent (around episode 515?).

***THE CHARACTERS***

Considering the fact that One Piece has been going on for 15+ years, it's no surprise that there would be a LOT of characters. A good deal of them show up later on in the show/manga's run, but the vast majority of them are more or less just there for one arc before the focus of the story shifts to the next arc. Surprisingly enough though, even characters that have been around for just one arc were fairly well-developed and rather likeable like Dr. Kureha whose only appearance is in the Drum Island arc. There are certain characters who stick around with the Straw Hats for more than one arc (i.e. Vivi), but they're few and far between. Despite that, they receive more than enough screen time to the point where you feel like something's missing once the time comes for them to depart.

For the vast majority of One Piece, we're stuck with the Straw Hat pirates: a rag-tag bunch of misfits with their own share of issues that also have such large bounties on their heads that rival Vash the Stampede's. The leader of the Straw Hats is none other than the rubbery Monkey D. Luffy. For lack of better words, Luffy is well... an idiot. What's more is that he's a gluttonous idiot in a vein similar to Goku or Naruto but thankfully he's not THAT extreme. A good benchmark as to how much you'll like Luffy is how well you can tolerate his airhead behaviour since it does get rather ridiculous at times. Regardless, he's got quite a few good traits to back him up and without Luffy, there would be no adventure, which would fucking SUCK.

My favourite character would definitely have to be a tie between Roronoa Zoro (the swordsman) and Sanji (the chef). Why? Well... it's a combination of cool factor AND the fact that they play off of each other (and Luffy) rather well. I just can't get enough of their constant snark toward one another, nor can I ever get enough of Zoro's santoryu (3-sword style) or Sanji's ridiculously powerful kicks. That's not to say that the rest of the Straw Hats are forgettable, boring, or whatever because that is NOT the case at all. What I love most about the Straw Hats is that despite the predominant focus on Luffy, each member receives a good amount of development and time to shine on-screen.

Of course, what are protagonists without their villains? Suffice it to say, Eiichiro Oda's creativity leads to us having quite a lot of interesting villains. Some of them are fucking AWESOME (like Enel in the Skypiea arc) while others are well... lame and stupid (like Buggy in the Orange Town arc). Honestly, this is something you'll have to put up with over the course of One Piece. You think that a limitless well of creativity is free? Oh fuck no! While Eiichiro Oda manages to hit the mark 95% of the time, there are moments where you have to put up with some of his ideas for villains that aren't stupid in an awesome way but are instead just well... stupid (ref: Buggy). Thankfully, arc villains aren't the only ones that the Straw Hats have to deal with.

Considering the fact that the Grand Line is so vast in scope, there are a LOT of threats that the Straw Hats have to put up with, two of which being the Marines and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The Marines are essentially your maritime police force which deals with pirates while the Seven Warlords are essentially government-sanctioned pirates. In exchange for a cut of the treasure that the Seven Warlords find, the government allows them to basically pick off smaller pirate ships that try to traverse through the Grand Line. Whenever an arc deals with one of the Seven Warlords, there's no doubt that it will be intense.

***THE ART AND ANIMATION***

If the seemingly childish concept, Luffy's stupidity, or the sheer length won't repulse you, chances are that the artwork will make or break your overall experience. Personally, I feel like Eiichiro Oda's artwork has quite a unique charm to it. What I love most about it is that there isn't a single anime/manga series out there that has this exact art style (and before you say anything, Fairy Tail does NOT count). I can understand why some people wouldn't like it since it's rather cartoony and most shonen series nowadays tend to have realistic character designs. Regardless, Hunter x Hunter has a similar "cartoony" art style and yet people praise the everliving Christ out of it so if you're gonna talk smack about One Piece's artwork but not levy the same criticism against Hunter x Hunter, you're too stupid for words.

Of course... there is one little gripe I have with the art style and that is the fan service. Seriously... One Piece's fan service is something that I can never quite get accustomed to despite having watched the anime AND read the manga for well over 6-7 years. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't find huge tits on top of a skinny waist and lanky limbs to be that attractive. If that weren't bad enough, post-timeskip Nami's outfit is essentially a bikini-top and low-riding pants. Come on, Oda! You expect me to believe that Nami just went through a growth spurt? Don't lie, she paid Chopper to give her a boob job and you know it. Same goes for Nico as well! But, I digress. While I can certainly complain about it all I want, the fan service isn't as bad as OTHER popular shonen series (i.e. Akame ga Kill, Fairy Tail).

As for the actual animation itself, it pains me to say that Toei Animation doesn't really have that good of a track record when it comes down to animation quality because they have this nasty habit of producing several long-running anime series alongside one another as they're airing while rotating between animation teams that tend to vary wildly in terms of quality. There's a tendency to go off model every few episodes and it's actually gotten a lot sloppier in the more recent episodes with character proportioning changing at the drop of a hat (let's hope that these animation errors get fixed in an upcoming Blu-ray release or something).

The first 206 episodes were more or less par for the course from Toei Animation. There was a lot of good, a good deal of penny pinching along the way, fights were decently animated but nothing worth getting excited over, etc. Episode 207 is when the show makes the switch to HD and a 16:9 resolution and from that point forward, the animation became more fluid and the artwork became a lot cleaner as it ditched some of the line effects and such that it used in the earlier episodes. A general rule of thumb I use is that if an episode I'm watching on Funimation's website has been dubbed, I'll watch the dub instead because dubbed anime generally uses the footage AFTER it's been cleaned up of most of its off-model errors.

***THE SOUNDTRACK***

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot about One Piece's OST that really caught the fancy of my ears which is quite bizarre since there's usually one or two pieces of BGM that would stand out to my ears while watching. The OP/ED themes are fair enough, and I do have a fondness for a few of them (although I forget their numbers and I'm WAY too lazy to look them up at this point). I will say this though: Skypiea had some pretty damn good BGM even though I couldn't remember any specific tracks that stood out.

***THE DUBS***

If you've ever done a basic Google search on One Piece, you'll probably find out that it had a rather turbulent distribution history here in the USA. It was initially picked up by 4Kids Entertainment and was aired on FOX during Saturday mornings (only to eventually air on Toonami during Saturday nights). Unfortunately, 4Kids has this nasty habit of editing the anime they license WAY past the point of compliance with FCC guidelines. For a full list of 4Kids edits, you can Google it. Most One Piece fans will urge you to stay away from the dub and honestly... I can't really blame them for that (especially now, since Funimation has been distributing One Piece for damn near 7 years and their dub is significantly better).

But if we were to take away the content edits that 4Kids was responsible for and focus solely on the actual dubbing, you'd be quite surprised. The actual dubbing isn't quite bad and if you want a real surprise, Marc Diraison (the voice of Guts in the English dub of Berserk) voices Roronoa Zoro in the 4Kids dub of One Piece. It's no stretch of the imagination to think that he's my favourite performance in the entire dub. Erica Schroeder, the voice of Luffy did a fair enough job in her role but some of her lines came off as a bit forced and unnatural (although I blame the ADR director for that, since the woman really is a talented voice actress).

As for the Funimation dub, I'd have to say that it's pretty damn good stuff. It's common to hear dub haters say that Colleen Clinkenbeard as Luffy and Brina Palencia as Tony Tony Chopper make their ears bleed, but that judgement is really left up to you. Both Clinkenbeard and Palencia do a great job with the roles they've been given, but I will concede that they can get rather irritating at times (of course, I blame the characters since their voices can be grating in the Japanese dub too). However, my favourite performances would definitely have to be Luci Christian as Nami and Christopher Sabat as Zoro (although I wish that Marc Diraison was still Zoro's voice actor because Guts). It's nice to hear Luci Christian's regular voice and Christopher Sabat not being a large ham and I wish more Funi dubs would play them straight rather than having Christian and Sabat doing exaggerated roles.

***ANIME VS. MANGA/HOW TO WATCH***

When it comes down to anime vs. manga, the manga always wins hands-down for one simple reason: lack of padding. Were it not for Toei Animation's overuse of padding, I'd heartily recommend the anime over the manga since it does have quite a lot going for it. However, it should be noted that you can alternate between the anime and the manga so that you don't have to plough through 760+ chapters or spend 6 months trying to catch up to the One Piece anime. Thankfully, the One Piece wikia can tell you what chapter(s) the episode you're watching is adapting and vice-versa.

Rather than sitting through the first 61 episodes, what I recommend is reading the first 100 or so chapters from the manga (it's not as much as it sounds, trust me) and then moving over to the anime at Episode 62. If you ever feel like an episode is dragging on in pace, look up the episode on the One Piece wikia and see what chapter(s) it's adapting, then go ahead and read the corresponding chapter so you don't have to sit through 20+ minutes of something that you could easily read in less than 3-4 minutes. If you feel like the chapter you're reading is confusing or whatever, look it up on the One Piece wiki and then watch the corresponding episode. It's as simple as that, really. What made you think you had to sit through all 670+ episodes to begin with? The manga does exist for a reason.

***FINAL THOUGHTS***

On the whole, One Piece is a very interesting beast to tackle. I like to imagine One Piece as the boss of the Big 3 with Naruto and Bleach standing by its side as its bumbling and incompetent henchmen. While the sheer episode count and turbulent distribution history may put you off from watching it, don't let that scare you. Whereas Studio Pierrot only began adapting Naruto and Bleach in 2005, One Piece has been going on since 1999 so of course there's going to be a stark difference in terms of episode count. For a series that's been going on for 15 years and counting with no end in sight any time soon, it's amazing as to how Eiichiro Oda is able to keep up this level of creativity. Are there low points? Of course, but thankfully they aren't THAT low and are instead very brief. Don't buy into the hate against this series since it's actually quite lovely.

***ALTERNATE ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS***

1) Hunter x Hunter (2011)
- The bonds between Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio are similar to the bonds shared between the Straw Hat pirates and what's more is that they both take place in bizarre worlds where fanciful occupations set the stage for tales of grand adventures just waiting to unfold.

2) InuYasha
- Both InuYasha and One Piece are more about the journey rather than the destination itself. Both shows comprise of large arcs that are split up between many smaller, easy-to-watch sub-arcs and standalone episodes. Both shows also put a lot of emphasis on friendship and trust (although InuYasha does so for different reasons; it IS a partially romantic story, after all).

One Piece is definitely a must-watch anime series if anyone is looking for an amazing series with tons of character development, an intricate and engrossing story, very emotional moments, character companionship, some amazing fight scenes, as well as a lot of comedic moments. This anime has been in the top 10 in Japan for a long time, and for good reason. Right from the get go, the anime introduces you to Monkey D. Luffy, our protagonist of the anime, as well as a few more of his crew that will be sailing the Grand Line with him.

Each character that ultimately ... ends up joining the Strawhat pirates all have a big dream that they want to follow, and usually, that is the reason as to why they join to crew. It's amazing to see how everyone's dream is tied together and Oda has woven it almost flawlessly. Each character also has their strengths and weaknesses which come into play throughout the entire anime.

If you haven't tried One Piece, I urge you to give this show a try. If you're not used to its animation, please, don't let that be the sole reason that you don't watch this show. In time, you'll grow to love the animation, and as the series goes on, the animation just gets better and more crisper than before.

One of the best anime i have ever seen, at points its not as interesting as other anime, but over all it is amazing.


One Piece is an anime about pirates and dreams.. but mostly about dreams.

Monkey D Luffy is a character that everyone has to love, he\'s the captain with the strongest dream and love of his crew, but he doesn\'t really act like a captain at all, instead of ordering everyone around, he\'s always just trying to have fun. He loves food, but expecially meat, its supprising how much he can eat. (WATCH THE ANIME!) He can stretch because he is made ... of rubber and his dream is to become the Pirate King.

Roronoa Zoro is the firstmate and swordsman, he always carries around his 3 katana and he seems to care more about them than people. He loves his sake and has a good drink when ever possible, but like a true pirate, he never gets drunk. His dream is to become the best swordsman ever.

Usopp is a sharpshooter and total liar. He often calls himself the captain. Can\'t really think of much to say that makes sense if you havnt watched the anime. His dream is to become a true man of the sea.

Nami is the navigator who will suddenly change course for money. She takes control of the ship when Luffy is negleting his job and tells them to get a move on. Without Nami, everyone would be always arguing and they wouldn\'t be going anywhere (until Luffy grew up and started acting like a captain). Her dream is to draw a map of the world.

Sanji is the cook. But watch out if you are a girl because he\'ll soon be running after you. He always runs after girls when he\'s not busy (generally, but he sometimes does when he is..). He cooks the best food around and is always inproving, but he favouratises the girls when he\'s cooking and gives them the nicest things. His dream is to find All Blue, (WATCH THE ANIME!).

Tony Tony Chopper is the doctor, he\'s a reindeer who joins the crew. He can become a human, but he always keeps his blue nose. He\'s a really good doctor and a funny and cute character. (WATCH THE ANIME!)

Finnally, Robin, She\'s an archieologist who used to be their enemy. When Luffy saved her when she just wanted to die and had nothing to live for, she joined the crew. Recently, something strange happened to them (WATCH THE ANIME!). She wants to find the rio poneglyph. (WATCH THE ANIME!)

It is a very long series and no one wants it to end any time soon. It never gets boring and the characters are all perfectly made.

Where to begin!?
One Piece is a very adventurous story. Never in one place for too long the story is full fun and unusual things.
One Piece is about a rather childish 17 year old boy (Monkey D. Luffy) who aspires to reach his dreams of becoming Pirate King and keeping the promises he's made. Meeting many a friend along the way the story progresses through many story arcs that build the personality and integrity of each character.
The first friend and crew member he makes is his ever faithful First Mate (Zoro) who also has a dream to achieve.
I am not going to explain every ... character. That would take too long and it would spoil some of the fun. The best way to understand this anime is to watch it.
One Piece is a really good story, perfect for anyone who likes pirate stories. Though a very long and yet unfinished story thus far, I find it to be very enjoyable. The comedy is some of the best I have seen in any anime.
I recommend watching in its original japanese with english subtitles (preferably fan-subbed). The dubbed version by 4kids entertainment is TERRIBLE! They have also stopped dubbing it anyway. Funimation has taken over dubbing One Piece in English and has done a far better job.
As far as fansub groups go, I recommend Kaizoku-Fansubs, Vegapunk and Instantz Noob Production.
Kaizoku-fansubs (K-F)started subbing the series from the beginning and they are still subbing it today with flying colors. They are the way to go for most of the available episodes. The other groups have what goes after the episodes K-F has done so far.
Good luck finding and downloading without any problems. Torrent is the easiest way to get them. Otherwise you can get them from IRC.
This is my favorite anime above all so...
Enjoy the show!

The premise is simple enough. The main character seeks to become the pirate king by finding a treasure called One Piece (you wonder where they come up with these English names ..) and starts by assembling a crew. The pattern then becomes sailing from island to island, finding problematic villains and sending them packing, gathering crew members, and meeting people.

I had high expectations of One Piece. As one of the most popular and best-selling manga stories in Japan at the time (and still is) and of the shounen genre that I am fond of, I expected nothing less. So when ... Kaizoku-fansubs first started releasing good quality fansubs in 2003 (as compared to the HK rips, where calling the subtitles English is generous), I decided to give the series a shot.

I was disappointed.

As I began watching One Piece, it wasn’t as though I didn’t like the series at all. It was watchable. Generally enjoyable. It just failed to meet the expectations I had. That was probably the problem.

I continued to watch the series on and off, with the early main characters (Luffy and Zoro) growing on me slowly, and Usopp knocking down my interest a bit. I started warming up to the series during Sanji’s arc. Finally, Nami’s arc sealed the deal. For those familiar with her arc, which I still feel is the best of the crew’s back stories, I can say there were multiple, very memorable moments. The feelings were real. I cried for the first time while watching this series. I cared very much for the characters, and for what happened to them. I went from lukewarm to obsessed about One Piece.

Its been over 5 years since then, and I still consider One Piece to be one of my favorite stories, both the manga and anime adaptations. I think One Piece achieves something very rare in its genre. This isn’t something that I felt all along, but as I’ve examined why I continue to love One Piece, it’s a theory that I think helps to explain it. Shounen series in general place a heavy emphasis on fighting. It defines the genre. Of course, there are reasons the characters fight, and those reasons can often result in long expositions and flashbacks (in the middle of fights, unfortunately). One Piece is no different. How One Piece is different is that the fighting is truly a means to an end, not because you know it should be, but because it really is (with many other series, the fighting is usually why we’re watching, whatever else the story might say). Often, the aftermath and outcomes of the fights are far more rewarding and what one looks forward to, rather than the fights themselves. A subtle difference, but it makes all the difference in setting One Piece apart from most shounen series.

One Piece is at its most heartwarming in the aftermath of the battles, and in exploring its characters. It is most enjoyable when it focuses on the antics of the characters as they explore the places they go and generally get themselves into situations. The interactions between the crew members have spawned tons of hilarious exchanges and scenarios, many which are simply priceless. One Piece’s main characters, the Straw Hat pirates, are molded after common cliches, yet, as with better stories, make those cliches their own and find a way to be quirkier. The characters, one and all, can be unabashedly silly yet transition convincingly to deadly serious. No transition is greater than with Luffy, the main character. Although he appears goofy and simple, his attitude is better described as fun-loving and child-like, with an innate fascination of the world, new things, and exploration. He isn’t dumb; rather he ignores typical adult concerns and conventions because they just don’t interest him. Yet we understand what matters to him. So when those things are threatened, his seriousness is wholly believable, even if it’s in direct contrast with his usual demeanor. And when he is serious, he can only be described as incredibly cool ^_^

Remarkably, One Piece manages to balance a genuine lightheartedness through its humor and exuberance, with the gravity of the battles and hardships. That lightheartedness is missing from most shounen series. Other series have humor but there is joy in One Piece, which is apparently more difficult to create. Not to say that this necessarily makes a good story, but it is unique and I’ve seldom encountered other shounen series that exude the same fun and silliness, even as it packs on fights, special powers, and bigger and badder enemies.

I should note that One Piece lacks some of what I consider to be vital elements of a good story, most notably character development and growth, and real tension (i.e., death is possible). I’ll skip the last, since most series aren’t going to kill off their main characters, but I've not missed the other things, yet. First and foremost, One Piece is a lot of fun. It's a story that inspires imagination, and a desire to explore and see new things. It consistently makes me smile. And while real tension may be lacking, it doesn't lack for touching or heartbreaking storylines. One Piece is an amazing ride. Not for everyone, perhaps, but if themes of friendship, dreams, and exploration, wrapped in a fun package not afraid to be silly, with a healthy dash of fighting, appeals to you, what are you waiting for?

One Piece, is truly one of my favourite Anime and Manga. Although, in the beggining it took me some time to warm up to it.

Story
The first part of the series begins by introducing each character as they join the main crew. It didn't really seem that interesting to me at first, but since a friend of mine was watching it with me I decided to continue it. After the beggining of the Arabasta Arc I began to love the series more and more after every Arc. The mixture of Action, Adventure, Comedy, Politics are all given in a smooth and enjoyable pace. Also, the story ... gives the viewers some important messages concerning friendship and how people should not give up on what they believe.

Art
The art is really good for a long running series, especially after the High Definition enhancement. It might seem pretty different in the beginning after adapting from Oda Eiichiro-san's art from the manga. I'm not saying it's perfect but it truly is interesting.

Sound
The Openings and Endings used in the show can sometimes become addictive, you might find yourself in the middle of the road humming the new Opening theme (At least I do some times :P). The background music is also fitting for the series adding some new tracks in later episodes but I don't think they're anything special.

Characters
The one thing that makes One Piece one of the top series are the characters. Each and every one of them has a different personality both funny and serious and all with a tearjerking past. Furthermore, all of them get equal attention and spotlight.

Enjoyment
As I said before, the more I continue the series the more I enjoy it. It's really continuing on at a good pace, exploring different genres (e.x. The Thriller Bark Arc)

Overall,
One Piece has been entertaining from every aspect. From it's hilarious comedy to it's Epic battles. If you have time or are interested in watching a long running series (and I'm sure it has a lot more to go) them don't hesitate to begin watching One Piece, you won't regret it!!

Story:

The story is awesome, the best ever made probably.
Eiichiro Oda (the mangaka) is a genius of all geniuses, he come up with all this awesome stuff and make an amazing story!

Art:

The animation is not very good to begin with, but it is become better afterwards.
But what could you expect, the first episodes is old!
But the animation now is amazing, especielly if you use Vegapunks HD HQ version!
...
Sound:

One Piece have an amazing soundtrack that is working out very nicely with whats happening at the moment it is played. One of the best OST ever if you ask me.

Character:

Can't come up with another show with so good characters as there is in One Piece. They're all amazing, funny and you kind of get to know them yourself.

Enjoyment:

The enjoyment is on top everytime you watch a One Piece episode.
You're sitting there, watching amazing fights, funny crazyness (mostly by Luffy, Usopp and a little from Chopper). You see very good friendship and some touching scenes. On top of this you got amazing animation, soundtrack and the best story ever made.

Overall:

Really don't know what to write here, other than that this show is the best ever made in my opinion. If you think it is a bit too long you should just try some episodes or one of the movies, after that you can't go back and you end up watching all the episodes! Have fun! ;)

At first I was a bit skeptical to watch this but once I got more and more into the story I just couldn't stop watching. Sure there is a ton of episodes but I find it well worth it to watch it all. The concept behind the whole story is very emotional. I felt every possible emotion the characters portrayed in One Piece. I even laughed so hard and shed a few tears. If One Piece doesn't want to make you go out become a pirate yourself or simply follow your dreams no matter what, then I don't know what will!

Well I thought it was a good idea for me to wright a review for my favorite anime and seeing as how I am a major fan of it I might over rate it but I will try to control this. :D

Story: The story is about a boy named Monkey D Luffy he wants to become the greatest pirate and claim the title King of The Pirates. Now I will be honist here the first couple of episodes are not nearly as good as they are now, but hey he gets better soon. The story dosent pick up till Luffy gets four other crew members ... and the Fifth story arc (they are short atfirst). The fifth story is what made me love Op it has everything a person could want, humor, action, plot, emotion. Then after this point in the series it just gets better and is why it is one of the top anime/manga\'s of this day and age.

Animation: The animation is a little differnt. I guess you could say it kinda looks like its a cartoon/anime and the characters can look kinda goofy sometimes but it does fit the setting of the show. I gave it a 8 even though I love how it looks.

Sound: OMG some of the best music ever it is amazing. The sound tracks to OP is outstanding, that is the only way to describe it. (why they took it out of the english version and replaced it with rap still makes me wonder)

Enjoyment: There is only a few other things that I enjoy more that watching OP. Including every above plus it has very good movies and fillers. I will actualy watch One Piece\'s fillers and enjoy them, thats how good they are.

Overall: I would say check out this anime no matter what.

"It has 700++ episodes"
"This show is for kids"
"This show sucks"
ETC

*Contains heavy spoiler*

Are what most people who don't watch One Piece would say. This is because they are just simply overwhelmed by the number of episodes. There are also people who claimed to have watch the show but it still sucks, so I asked a simple question what was their impression on Nami's backstory and they were unable to answer which is a solid proof that they didn't even watch more than 25 episodes. Three years ago, I was a hater of this series but after I saw the manga sales list, I was surprised to ... see that the manga sale is so overwhelming so I decided to start watching it and now I am here.


One Piece is a story about Monkey D Luffy and his companions, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Brook travelling the whole world in order to achieve their own dreams.

Story 10/10

The story started with an epic entrance. I have never seen any character enter the scene which such way. At first, it made people think that Coby was the main character because he was heavily focused on, but once Coby discovered a barrel, Luffy just suddenly came out of it while shouting "that was a nice nap!", I was stunned because it was hilarious yet a brilliant way for a character to make an appearance.

At first, I thought it might just be a simple adventure, but it managed to capture my attention because different island had different uniqueness!
Oda is very creative! It's fun to see they are travelling around, discovering mysteries.

Talking about mysteries, One Piece has this "Void Century" mysteries which is that 800 years ago, there were a period of 100 years where there were simply no record and the government stopped people from finding the full history. They would go to the point of eliminating every single innocent citizen just because of knowing this history. The only for someone to know the Void Century, one must know how to read Poneglyph. Robin was the last person to be able to read the Poneglyph and she was being chased for 20 years ever since she was an eight year old girl.

One Piece consisted many tearjerking moments. E.g Bellemere's death, Doctor Hiluluk's death, story about Montblanc Cricket, Going Merry's final moment, Ace's death, Whitebeard's death, Corazon's death.

Animation 1/10

Toei is lazy as fuck

Sound 10/10

I don't really care about sound but One Piece has some good OSTs.

Character 10/10

-Character development-

The first character development started with Coby. He was a coward, but after he saw Luffy's determination, Coby fought his own cowardice and tried to achieve his own dream.

The second character development was Zoro. He was not afraid of dying when he faced off the world's strongest swordsman. Zoro later acknowledged that he was a weakling thus he strove on becoming stronger.

The third character development was Usopp. Despite he he himself knew that Kaya knew he was lying, he still lied to Kaya in order for her to relieve her boredom due to Kaya's condition that she couldn't live her life freely, Usopp started lying because of his late mother. He tried to cheer his mother by shouting "pirates are coming" because his dad, Yassop was a pirate.

The fourth character development was Nami. It was revealed that her past was so sad. When she was ten, her step mother, Bellemere, was murdered right in front of her eyes. It was due to that Bellemere didn't have any money to pay to the pirates who invaded their hometown. Bellemere, despite having the chance to just say she lived alone in the house, chose to admit that she had daughter because of her believe that she would never say she didn't have a family. This showed that Bellemere rather die than to disowned her stepdaughters. The story didn't end there, Nami, being a genius girl who was able to draw a perfect map despite being a ten year old girl was forced to work for the pirate that killed her mother figure. The pirate wanted her talent. They made a deal that if she can pay him 1 million Beli (1 million Yen = 8135 USD) they would leave the village. For eight years, Nami stored up to 700 K like Arlong's slave. But Arlong betrayed her.

I can go on but these are some proofs to show that One Piece does have lots of character developments.


Enjoyment 10/10

With a good and entertaining storyline, of course the enjoyment will be there.

Overall 10/10

Story

For series of this length, there’s a fairly intriguing piece of conjecture that I occasionally enjoy trotting around. According to the theory, no matter how awesome the original premise, no matter how charming the cast of characters, no matter how competent the studio, every long series will tank after about 75 episodes. As evidence, a myriad of lengthy anime can be cited that begin excellently and then slowly degenerate into recycled material and filler. Kenshin was excellent until some genius decided to deviate from the manga. Kodomo no Omocha was brilliant until the series drowned itself in the utterly craptastic New York arc. Naruto was ... actually fairly fun until Gaara and his whiny, sniveling flashbacks slowed the series down to a monotonous crawl. Prince of Tennis, Slam Dunk, Galaxy Angel... I could rant on this phenomenon for hours, and probably will someday.
Of course, my theory has an annoying, irrefutable, and ultimately fatal hole in its logic. Even when I’m at my most eloquent, I inevitably find myself forced to tag “…except One Piece” onto the end of every sentence. According to the hypothesis, the series should have died off episodes upon episodes ago, and yet continues to succeed well beyond any possible expectations. Just as other shows of similar length are running out of creative steam and tormenting their fans with shamelessly shitty schlock, One Piece draws from a seemingly infinite well of creativity to deliver time and time again. Put simply, One Piece seems almost limitless in its capacity for entertainment.
Granted, the storyline is not without its weak moments. There are scattered filler episodes that really don’t belong, and the dragon puzzle arc is some of the most boring material that I’ve ever willingly watched. However, although during these moments the show seems like it might finally go the way of Inuyasha, the creators always bounce back to deliver more of what everyone loves. The Arabasta arc, which has just recently concluded, is one of the best segments of the entire series.
This fact alone leads to the inevitable question of what separates the show from lesser works. What makes the series as good as it is? Why has the series succeeded where so many others have failed? Essentially, what is driving the show to remain so engaging for such a ridiculous amount of time?
The answer, I believe, draws not from what the story is about, but how the story is approached. With fight scenes, simplistic humor, and the ever-present emphasis on the importance of friendship, the anime contains many of the expected trappings of the shounen genre. However, a characteristic seemingly unique to One Piece is the distinct air of genuineness that the show seems to permeate.
With other shows of similar length, I’m often struck by the distinct feeling that the show has exactly one thing on its mind: money. Oftentimes, an anime with an established audience will simply stop coming up with new material, and start recycling what they’ve already made. In this creative void, the show will rigorously follow its formula beyond any semblance of what is entertaining. Thus, the studio is able to pump every possible cent from its cash cow until nothing is left but the lifeless husk of what the show used to be. At this point, ratings dip, and the studio cancels it at a completely arbitrary point, neglecting even the slightest of closure and basically spitting in their fans’ faces.
With One Piece, however, the feeling is crucially different. While watching the anime, one gets the impression that Eiichiro Oda, the author of the original manga, was focused not on money, but something much more substantial: having fun. Every element of the storyline, from the delightfully absurd jokes to the most serious of plot points, seems to be there because the manga creator enjoyed putting them there. This, I believe, is the reason why One Piece has remained fresh for so long. For some unfathomable reason, the creator enjoys pumping out volume after volume of golden material. Furthermore, as opposed to many other manga to anime conversions, the studio is actually faithful with its material. The result is a storyline that, despite some inevitable inconsistency, is one of the best of its kind: an unnaturally enjoyable romp across the seas of a thoroughly original world.


Animation

Animation, while fairly nice, is not completely free of the penny-pinching shortcuts that typically plague shows of this length. Backgrounds are often rather ugly and hastily drawn, and anything drawn at a distance tends to be a little too oversimplified. The show also sports some truly ugly character designs that take a good deal of time to get used to, and a good deal longer to actually appreciate.
The fight scenes are almost certainly the highlight of the animation, which seem to involve a lot more money than the rest of the show. The action is usually very well timed, and character movements are suitably lithe and convincing (and by that, I mean as convincing as a person made of rubber could possibly be). A lot of fight scenes in other anime tend to overuse repeated footage, but One Piece doesn’t seem to have this problem.
Overall, One Piece’s visuals are pleasant, but certainly not groundbreaking.


Music

Music starts out on a fairly shitty note, with one of the lamest OP’s I’ve heard that I can remember. After the first episodes, the anime begins to cycle through the opening and ending songs at a fairly quick pace, and soon there are too many of them to actually keep track of. However, just about every song is a fairly mediocre J-Pop track, and none of them are actually good enough to really get excited over.
Background music doesn’t really stand out, but never becomes noticeably repetitive or distracting, either. Voice acting tends to be fairly good, although there are exceptions to this (in particular, that one dog from the Buggy arc comes to mind).


Characters

Love them or hate them, few people would disagree with the statement that each and every character of One Piece is decidedly unique. From the bizarre character designs to the off-kilter personalities to the extensive back-stories, there isn’t a whole lot here that can be seen somewhere else.
The question of actual appeal, however, is a slightly different issue. For the actual protagonists, many, many people (including myself) are going to have an initially difficult time liking characters like Usopp. Also, a good deal of the supporting cast in the early episodes has the tendency to be excruciatingly annoying (Buggy the Clown, Kobe, Guy in the Box).
However, whether the show is actually improving at development or whether it simply takes time to grow to like some of the more pathetic characters, this is becoming much less of an issue than what I’ve previously made it out to be. Amazingly enough, I’m beginning to like Usopp as a character, and for the recent Arabasta arc, there wasn’t a single character that I wasn’t fond of.
Furthermore, the characters that happen to be above-average for the show tend to be downright excellent. If there are people in this world that are immune to the charms of characters like Sanji, Luffy, or Nami, then I haven’t met them yet. Each one of these has an immensely compelling back-story and a loveable and distinctive personality. Also, each can be amazingly funny when played off of the rest of the cast.
My one possible complaint would lie with Vivi, who seems a little dull at times; there just doesnt seem to be anything interesting about her personality. However, this could easily be just because she’s not quite as original and wacky as the rest of the crew. As a whole, the characters are an ultimately endearing bunch, especially if one chooses to overlook the weaknesses of some of the more minor characters.


Overall

Do I believe that One Piece will last forever? Surely not. All great things, even ones that initially seem infinitely robust, must eventually come to an end. I’m sure there will come a time whereOne Piece will either cease to be entertaining or simply cease production.
However, even if One Piece begins to suck from the very moment that I finish writing this review, the sheer length of quality episodes that have been released already easily elevate the series to far beyond most anime can dream of. Besides, if the Arabasta arc is any indication, One Piece looks as though it will remain entertaining for a good deal longer.