One Piece Fan Letter Episode 1 Discussion

The worst One Piece episodes I ever watched; I preferred the art style of Wano and Stampede by far

The worst One Piece episodes I ever watched; I preferred the art style of Wano and Stampede by far

@Xypheron OP fan without telling you I'm an OP fan? What does that even suppose to mean? I watch One Piece anime but I'm not a fan.

@Azuchi Apparently, anyone who doesn't consider this special episode 10/10 isn't familiar with One Piece and only watched it out of anger due to its high score, lmao. At least according to some comments in this thread, filled with toxicity and stereotypical Gen Z attitude. Makes you wonder whether One Piece fandom is really as chilled and friendly as many of its members claim themselves to be, huh.

I wouldn't worry about those comments if I were you. Just smile and walk away. I also thought the episode was a little bit too cartoonish, even going by regular OP standards. Not that it looked bad. It looked alright. It's just, it was far from some OP episodes that looked better and had better direction (and I'm not talking about the most hyped and polished ones, like the one with Luffy and Gear 5). Although, it's all a matter of taste, really.

Overdynamic animation mixed with still frames is risky in general. It may not look as good as it was supposed to in the end, simply because the intention is one thing, and the execution is another. And in my opinion, this might be the biggest con of this special episode (apologies for not showing examples; Crunchyroll doesn't allow to take screenshots, but even if it did, I guess my laziness would've caused me to not bother to pick and share them, lol). Other people can find it alright or great, which is fine. But as for me, I'm not a fan of such technique as seen in the Love Letter

But that's me. I'm glad that many people enjoyed that episode a lot. It's still a cool piece of anime.

I am going to be honest man, I've read basically every comments here and you seem to have something against One Piece fans. I initially wanted to respond to you making the claim that every females in One Piece are Nami clone, but I realized that if you couldn't tell that the main character in this special episode took a lot of inspiration from Nami and was actively trying to be like her, even dressed up and have hair color like her, you probably didn't pay that much attention to the special episode. This is further backed by what you said about One Piece isn't your cup of tea.

Not to say that there aren't some One Piece fanaticism going around, but that is every fanbase, no? Do you go around calling them out too?

On the topic of character design, I agree with @ryzxgum response, it's just artstyle and most artists have an artstyle that they are very comfortable with. When I first started watching anime, Gintama and Bleach have a same face syndrome, yet a lot of people don't seem to take issue with that as much as the "Nami clones" of One Piece, which is just weird. This "Nami clone" argument is also frequently used by One Piece fans as a way to appear objective while criticizing the series, even though it is a non issue. This notion has gotten so popularly accepted nowadays that even yourself who do not associate with the One Piece fandom know about it. There are some truth to it, but One Piece is a series where it has over a thousand characters, overlapping design is not that big of a problem, yet it is still a popular go-to for people to sneak diss One Piece, but the same people do not do it for any other series, why? Ryzxgum also did not attack other series, he was pointing out a fact of the matter.

I am going to be honest man, I've read basically every comments here and you seem to have something against One Piece fans. I initially wanted to respond to you making the claim that every females in One Piece are Nami clone, but I realized that if you couldn't tell that the main character in this special episode took a lot of inspiration from Nami and was actively trying to be like her, even dressed up and have hair color like her, you probably didn't pay that much attention to the special episode. This is further backed by what you said about One Piece isn't your cup of tea.

Not to say that there aren't some One Piece fanaticism going around, but that is every fanbase, no? Do you go around calling them out too?

On the topic of character design, I agree with @ryzxgum response, it's just artstyle and most artists have an artstyle that they are very comfortable with. When I first started watching anime, Gintama and Bleach have a same face syndrome, yet a lot of people don't seem to take issue with that as much as the "Nami clones" of One Piece, which is just weird. This "Nami clone" argument is also frequently used by One Piece fans as a way to appear objective while criticizing the series, even though it is a non issue. This notion has gotten so popularly accepted nowadays that even yourself who do not associate with the One Piece fandom know about it. There are some truth to it, but One Piece is a series where it has over a thousand characters, overlapping design is not that big of a problem, yet it is still a popular go-to for people to sneak diss One Piece, but the same people do not do it for any other series, why? Ryzxgum also did not attack other series, he was pointing out a fact of the matter.

Only haters would rate this 3 stars to 1 star. This is a masterpiece. Felt like a 23 min movie. Loved it. Megumi Ishitani needs to direct the next OP movie.

@ToG25thBaam Excuse me, but how blind someone needs to be to not get that a girl who is Nami's fangirl would look like Nami clone on purpose, just in child form, and have similar traits to her? Memes aside, this episode had a lot of that kind of stuff. She wasn't even the only character like that.

We had a guy in the pub vouching for Zoro who had a super short haircut, just like his favorite master swordsman. On top of that, we could see him wearing a lot of green, as if, oh my oh my, it was intentional, to make a reference to Zoro's hair color. ;P

Speaking about clothes, it might be a stretch and me overthinking it, but Benevolent King of the Waves, who is a Chopper fan, and a very devoted one, wears pink ones and somewhat looks like one of the transformations coming from eating Human-Human Fruit. I mean here, of course, Monster Point form. Well if it's not Chopper who used it, lol.

The lady who appeared to be a huge Brook fan resembled Brook himself (black hair, curly haircut, dark skin). Heck, she was even relatively tall and skinny, just like Brook, if we can compare such design choices.

But no, some folks couldn't handle me being witty about a meme I heard myself from One Piece fans and which I saw being used mostly by One Piece fans. Even an echo chamber like Reddit is rather chilled when discussing the "Nami clones" meme/phenomenon/whatever. At least it used to be back when my friend linked me a chart of Nami clones, with its main post being upvoted a lot, with nice and cultural discussion taking place below it. But nope, they must not be fans, eh? Pretty silly, isn't it?

I don't have anything towards One Piece fandom in general, but some of people gatekeeping and crying over any non-glazing post or action reminded me of the part of One Piece fandom that was rather laughed at by fellow fans, rather than receiving positive reactions. Ironically, this special episode had several moments which reminded me of wholesome interactions between OP fans. Those people in the pub, talking about the Straw Hats, laughing and fooling around. Why don't go this way, when an already popular series has an episode that gets so much attention on MAL (due to its high mean score), instead of showing various people how One Piece fans are loud crybabies, and making others think that the most of its huge fanbase acts this way? If others are okay with that, then indeed, One Piece ain't that chilled as many of its members want it to be, apparently.

While I get that we are texting with each other here and our intentions might be lost, from various reasons, it is not a reason to act like a kidult angry about a random user on the Internet disagreeing with them. ;D

Yes, although I find it enjoyable to watch, when it's playing in the background to make me entertained while doing something else in the meantime, even though I find most of the arcs boring, even if entertaining at times (I don't plan to watch the remake, but hopefully they will be also covered by it; maybe I will give it a try by then, lol). My favorite ones are East Blue, Alabasta, and Wano. One Piece is not my favorite anime, not even close , so I don't like it that much, not as much as some other series. Same with having an urge to discuss it more than necessary. I don't discuss episodes or lore on the Internet, apart from my friends mentioning them in real life when we meet with each other. But it's fun to watch regardless. Do you really think that's enough to say I'm equal to folks who watch One Piece with passion and regularly, who read the manga, analyze its rich worldbuilding's nuances and details? Or that it is not enough to say that I have knowledge about this series enough to comment a special episode we're all talking about? ;p

And no, it's not further backed by anything other than me addressing the fact I'm not a huge and dedicated One Piece fan, and you and @ryzxgum being too oversensitive when facing posts that are not regular "peak masterpiece best episode". No offense.

Of course not. There are wholesome fans and toxic fans in every fandom. But when someone acts like an obnoxious jerk on the public forum, then why someone should stay silent about it, I wonder? @Azuchi met supposedly a salty One Piece fan using a stereotypical way of acting in a weird, clownish way, I commented on that situation. Don't turn 180 degrees this situation, because there was a context of it, not me randomly entering the thread to thrash One Piece enjoyers. I would have to thrash myself too, and I'm not into that kind of activities, lmao.

Anyone with minimal knowledge about the manga industry, or even professional art, is aware of such things. It's normal. Design similarities, distinctive style... Claiming that noticing it it is anything close to a complex element that regular people can't notice is ridiculous. As if someone was happy from noticing that green grass is green. Lacking basic knowledge about the medium you're consuming is alright, but it shouldn't be anyone else's problem when participating in a discussion about technical nuances. Unless we want to bark at ourselves and use our delusions as weapons. Then, my friend, I'm out. I don't like that kind of "discussions" reeking of media illiteracy and arguing for the sake of arguing. :|

You can see people fooling around about "Dragon Ball face template" or "typical Bleach face", by the way. Sousou no Frieren is one of the latest examples of said witty attitude ("their faces all look the same"). I heard about "Nami clones" meme first from One Piece fans and I rarely saw them making a big deal outta it. That's why I was surprised to see that kind of reaction in this thread. I guess "the One Piece is real" stuff is also awful, and One Piece fans who started the trend are fake fans dissing their presumably favorite series, eh? Or maybe the team working on One Pace also consists of fans "dissing One Piece", simply because they edit the animated adaptation to make it closer to the manga, mostly in terms of pacing? After all, many of us, me included, started their adventure with One Piece long ago by watching those sometimes dragged on episodes. It of course sounds dumb, but think about it: if most of people wanted to be oversensitive to what every random writes on the Internet, we would have a massive shitstorm over every little detail.

So you're saying that crude and hostile behavior, mixed with a meme frequently used by One Piece fanatics to thrash other series, is better than me making a little joke in a polite way, referring to a meme that's popular both among OP fans and haters? Interesting. I should've read this part first before writing anything above, but whatever. I see your attitude is similar to the person whose behavior you've just commended, even if you are more polite in conveying your thoughts.

That's it from me. I guess we won't convince each other in any way, so no need to further clog this thread with making a fuss over a totally insignificant thing. "We are not on Reddit", as some people would've said, lol.

Have a nice day, both you and @ryzxgum. ;) We might have disagreed, but for sure One Piece is more or less special for us. Even if perhaps in different ways, hehe.

@ToG25thBaam Excuse me, but how blind someone needs to be to not get that a girl who is Nami's fangirl would look like Nami clone on purpose, just in child form, and have similar traits to her? Memes aside, this episode had a lot of that kind of stuff. She wasn't even the only character like that.

We had a guy in the pub vouching for Zoro who had a super short haircut, just like his favorite master swordsman. On top of that, we could see him wearing a lot of green, as if, oh my oh my, it was intentional, to make a reference to Zoro's hair color. ;P

Speaking about clothes, it might be a stretch and me overthinking it, but Benevolent King of the Waves, who is a Chopper fan, and a very devoted one, wears pink ones and somewhat looks like one of the transformations coming from eating Human-Human Fruit. I mean here, of course, Monster Point form. Well if it's not Chopper who used it, lol.

The lady who appeared to be a huge Brook fan resembled Brook himself (black hair, curly haircut, dark skin). Heck, she was even relatively tall and skinny, just like Brook, if we can compare such design choices.

But no, some folks couldn't handle me being witty about a meme I heard myself from One Piece fans and which I saw being used mostly by One Piece fans. Even an echo chamber like Reddit is rather chilled when discussing the "Nami clones" meme/phenomenon/whatever. At least it used to be back when my friend linked me a chart of Nami clones, with its main post being upvoted a lot, with nice and cultural discussion taking place below it. But nope, they must not be fans, eh? Pretty silly, isn't it?

I don't have anything towards One Piece fandom in general, but some of people gatekeeping and crying over any non-glazing post or action reminded me of the part of One Piece fandom that was rather laughed at by fellow fans, rather than receiving positive reactions. Ironically, this special episode had several moments which reminded me of wholesome interactions between OP fans. Those people in the pub, talking about the Straw Hats, laughing and fooling around. Why don't go this way, when an already popular series has an episode that gets so much attention on MAL (due to its high mean score), instead of showing various people how One Piece fans are loud crybabies, and making others think that the most of its huge fanbase acts this way? If others are okay with that, then indeed, One Piece ain't that chilled as many of its members want it to be, apparently.

While I get that we are texting with each other here and our intentions might be lost, from various reasons, it is not a reason to act like a kidult angry about a random user on the Internet disagreeing with them. ;D

Yes, although I find it enjoyable to watch, when it's playing in the background to make me entertained while doing something else in the meantime, even though I find most of the arcs boring, even if entertaining at times (I don't plan to watch the remake, but hopefully they will be also covered by it; maybe I will give it a try by then, lol). My favorite ones are East Blue, Alabasta, and Wano. One Piece is not my favorite anime, not even close , so I don't like it that much, not as much as some other series. Same with having an urge to discuss it more than necessary. I don't discuss episodes or lore on the Internet, apart from my friends mentioning them in real life when we meet with each other. But it's fun to watch regardless. Do you really think that's enough to say I'm equal to folks who watch One Piece with passion and regularly, who read the manga, analyze its rich worldbuilding's nuances and details? Or that it is not enough to say that I have knowledge about this series enough to comment a special episode we're all talking about? ;p

And no, it's not further backed by anything other than me addressing the fact I'm not a huge and dedicated One Piece fan, and you and @ryzxgum being too oversensitive when facing posts that are not regular "peak masterpiece best episode". No offense.

Of course not. There are wholesome fans and toxic fans in every fandom. But when someone acts like an obnoxious jerk on the public forum, then why someone should stay silent about it, I wonder? @Azuchi met supposedly a salty One Piece fan using a stereotypical way of acting in a weird, clownish way, I commented on that situation. Don't turn 180 degrees this situation, because there was a context of it, not me randomly entering the thread to thrash One Piece enjoyers. I would have to thrash myself too, and I'm not into that kind of activities, lmao.

Anyone with minimal knowledge about the manga industry, or even professional art, is aware of such things. It's normal. Design similarities, distinctive style... Claiming that noticing it it is anything close to a complex element that regular people can't notice is ridiculous. As if someone was happy from noticing that green grass is green. Lacking basic knowledge about the medium you're consuming is alright, but it shouldn't be anyone else's problem when participating in a discussion about technical nuances. Unless we want to bark at ourselves and use our delusions as weapons. Then, my friend, I'm out. I don't like that kind of "discussions" reeking of media illiteracy and arguing for the sake of arguing. :|

You can see people fooling around about "Dragon Ball face template" or "typical Bleach face", by the way. Sousou no Frieren is one of the latest examples of said witty attitude ("their faces all look the same"). I heard about "Nami clones" meme first from One Piece fans and I rarely saw them making a big deal outta it. That's why I was surprised to see that kind of reaction in this thread. I guess "the One Piece is real" stuff is also awful, and One Piece fans who started the trend are fake fans dissing their presumably favorite series, eh? Or maybe the team working on One Pace also consists of fans "dissing One Piece", simply because they edit the animated adaptation to make it closer to the manga, mostly in terms of pacing? After all, many of us, me included, started their adventure with One Piece long ago by watching those sometimes dragged on episodes. It of course sounds dumb, but think about it: if most of people wanted to be oversensitive to what every random writes on the Internet, we would have a massive shitstorm over every little detail.

So you're saying that crude and hostile behavior, mixed with a meme frequently used by One Piece fanatics to thrash other series, is better than me making a little joke in a polite way, referring to a meme that's popular both among OP fans and haters? Interesting. I should've read this part first before writing anything above, but whatever. I see your attitude is similar to the person whose behavior you've just commended, even if you are more polite in conveying your thoughts.

That's it from me. I guess we won't convince each other in any way, so no need to further clog this thread with making a fuss over a totally insignificant thing. "We are not on Reddit", as some people would've said, lol.

Have a nice day, both you and @ryzxgum. ;) We might have disagreed, but for sure One Piece is more or less special for us. Even if perhaps in different ways, hehe.

WHAT A MASTERPIECE!!!!
Seeing the events unravel from the perspective of other characters and especially civilians and marines is so freaking cool.
The comedy, emotions, directing and cinema in this special episode were unreal, truly a beautiful work of art.