This is my first review so I’ll try cover everything I can think of! And this review will be 100% spoiler free (I’m prone to spoilers myself…)
NOTE: I watch the FUNimation dub.
Story: If your looking for an anime with a solid plotline your watching the wrong anime. The main point of the series is finding the treasure left by the infamous pirate Gol D. Rogers, the One Piece. However where I am at the moment this has been interrupted by a side mission to help someone, and I’m guessing this is how the story will continue. (Note: I know NONE of the story past where I am now, I don’t read the manga or watch the sub) Despite the randomness of story it’s still brilliant and extremely entertaining, which, let’s face it, is the main point of a story. As for the pirate aspect of the story…I have no interest in pirates (another reason why I put it off), but to be honest Luffy’s crew is not your average pirate crew…to say the least XD
Art: Okay, so THIS is what put me off the series for so long, and looking back at that now I feel slightly embarrassed…I really love the art now! It’s different, unique I guess you might say, which is exactly why I liked anime such as Soul Eater. When I was deciding on whether to watch One Piece or not, I kept coming across forums and people saying “Don’t worry the art improves after a while.” I’ve seen a bit of the “improved” art and to be honest I think I prefer the old one, but that’s just a personal preference I guess. Anyway, anyone reading this DO NOT do what I did and not watch the series because of the art, because you will regret it! XD
Characters: What can I say? Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of this show is the characters. Where I am in the series, there are 6 members in the crew, each one as different as the next. This variety of characters is one of the strongest points of the series. There is BOUND to be someone in the crew that you will love. As for the main protagonist, he’s just as idiotic and loveable as so many other main shounen characters. In fact, he’s probably more idiotic and loveable than all of them combined! You only have to say the name Monkey D. Luffy and I’ll start laughing! To be honest, this show is worth watching just for Luffy…well, him and Zoro maybe ^^”
Sound: I’ve loved all the opening and ending songs so far, and I particularly love how FUNimation dubs them using voice actors (Vic Mignogna singing the first opening definitely helped me to keep watching, not that I really needed any help…) As for the music in the show, I don’t notice it that often, but when I do, it’s very fitting and works well with whatever is happening at the time. Off the top of my head I can think of one example of a song that plays at sad moments and really helps set the mood, it’s a beautiful piece of music.
Enjoyment: This anime is perhaps one of THE best anime in relation to enjoyment. I haven’t found myself being bored once. The other day I found myself watching an episode and when I was finished I realised nothing had happened in it…and I was still so entertained by it! It didn’t fail at one moment to keep my attention. The fights are also brilliant and don’t tend to drag too much (in fact they may be a little short XD) To be honest, there are few other shows that have made me laugh as much as One Piece.
Overall, this anime is a MUST SEE! And what’s brilliant about it is despite it being a mainstream, long running shounen, it has practically no fillers! (And even when it does I find it really hard to differentiate between them and the canon story) Sure, the story drags at points but that’s to be expected from an anime like this, and unlike other series, I don’t notice the drag as much. It’s just too entertaining for that! XD
I would give this series a 9 but looking over my review the only flaw I can find is it drags a little…however I’m not sure about giving it a 10 because of this…so I guess I’ll have to give it a score of 9.5!
