Jun 4, 2011
I created an account just so that I could write this review. I started watching One Piece four or five years ago, and still find myself moved by this amazing series.
I have seen and enjoyed many anime, from Gintama, to Death Note, to Legend of Galactic Heroes, to Trigun, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, a plethora of Gundams, and many others. One Piece has something that none of them have. In fact, One Piece has something that perhaps no other form of motion picture entertainment today has: rock-solid, consistently good writing. Good writing is hard to find, but good writing that can stay
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consistent and true to a massive overarching storyline through 500+ episodes?
At first glance, One Piece presents itself as superficial, formulaic, light-hearted fun, but then it catches you off-guard with its depth of character, its surprising plot twists, its amazingly complicated and well-developed world, and its wisdom into the desires of the human heart. It lulls you into thinking you've figured it out, and then surprises you yet again. Plot threads left dangling for hundreds of episodes suddenly become significant again and seamlessly weave themselves back into the storyline, and you realize that you are viewing a grandly designed epic that is genuinely designed to span years.
I have seen far too many shows that start off great, and then reach a point where the author or writers start floundering around and basically start just making the plot up as they go along.
*Cough*Cough*Bleach*Cough*Naruto*Cough*LOST,DEAR GOD LOST*Cough.
Not so with One Piece. Every story arc fits into place in a larger tapestry of the main plotline, and does so in some amazingly imaginative ways.
In terms of artwork, One Piece certainly can be strange, but overall it contains some of the most original and fantastic locations and character designs you will ever see, anywhere. In terms of animation, it does occasionally suffer from the fluctuating quality levels that most long-running series have.
The pacing is good, in general, although there are a few times where it feels like certain events are dragged out a bit longer than necessary, although it never reaches Dragonball Z-like proportions. Many of the of the arcs feel like they slow down right before the big conclusion, but in a way this only heightens the emotion at the conclusion of each arc. And believe me, every arc has a powerful climax.
The music is fantastic, although noticeably repeated. It's difficult to have original music for 500 episodes, after all, and it's only to be expected. Many of the tunes are very catchy, though, and I love how main characters are associated with particular themes in true Wagnerian fashion.
The characters are the best part of the show, and I would rate this anime higher than 10 for character if possible. They are all fantastically written, both amusing and bad-ass, and tremendously consistent in personality. The Japanese voice acting for them is also utterly perfect, and while I admit some other anime dubs are decent, I highly recommend watching this one in the original language.
One Piece never fails to move me emotionally, and always in a positive way, leaving me feeling better about life in general. Paraphrasing something Luffy said once, "As long as you are alive, something good can happen to you." I started watching this show with my friends years ago, and I will treasure that time spent, both as a reminder of some good times I shared, and because One Piece is simply an amazing journey.
- Happy Sailing
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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