Why is One Piece less popular than Bleach/Naruto

[sanzo]

Originally Posted by paradox13

This problem also exists in China.

I also believe it to be the art, its hard for people to accept.

Literal translation.

Im chinese =)



Arabasta and CP9 was both awesome.

Skypeia was pretty good, whilst Thriller Bark kinda sucked shit.

Shabaody and Impel Down was both meh, great concepts but I think Oda rushed it.

The Whitebeard War arc is also great conceptually, but the execution...well I think Odas still rushing it.

Who agrees with me?

thriller bark didn't suck. the only people who say that are the ones who waited a week a chapter to get through the arc. and it only seemed bad because we had the whole water 7 and cp9 saga's beforehand, which were amazing. read it again as a whole and it's much better.

and shabondy was meh?! are you joking, that was one of the best arcs in the series.

i kinda agree with you on the wb war arc but i want to reserve judgment until the arc is compeletly over and i have a chance to read it over.

[paradox13]

and shabondy was meh?! are you joking, that was one of the best arcs in the series.

I agree that the Supernovas, Kizaru, Sentamaru and the Pacifistas were pretty epic.

I guess I just didn't like how Luffy befriended a bunch of slavers (I mean he has always been the 'good guy') and how short the arc was.

[ArtieBoy]

Originally Posted by paradox13

Who agrees with me?

Arabasta and CP9 was both awesome.

Yea i think these were great arcs

Skypeia was pretty good, whilst Thriller Bark kinda sucked shit.

I think they were both Great as well. While Arabasta and CP9 Played pretty big parts in the story telling/adventure part of One Piece, Skypeia and Thriller Bark Basically Showed adventure and gave little hints of whats to come.

Shabaody and Impel Down was both meh, great concepts but I think Oda rushed it.

I think they were good and it didn't feel rushed at all. (atleast to me) while we have manga like Fairy tail that just throws stuff at us and have pretty fast arcs and he trys to throw emotional moments at us even though we still dont know the characters to well. and 666 Satan were he rushes arcs fights and emotional moments and the series itself. but like i said b4 its just my opinion

The Whitebeard War arc is also great conceptually, but the execution...well I think Odas still rushing it.

He could of probably handled some of the situations differently but it don't feel rushed. hopefully something great comes out the end of this arc

but he has been working on the One Piece movie & manga @ the same time so maybe i guess that is why u get the feeling that its being rushed

[Kafriel]

I started loving one piece after episode 51 or so, when they entered Roguetown and met Smoker. Ever since that point, it's been a great journey for me, all arcs included. Some might say that thriller bark wasn't so good, maybe they were expecting a more dark tone to the series while Oda went for a more comical approach...

Shabaody and Impel Down was both meh, great concepts but I think Oda rushed it.

Perhaps the former arc could have gotten a lot more in it, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it rushed, and Impel down was more than enough.

[OMGnix]

i guess the skypiea is set for robin-chwannnn,
to find out another clue on what she is searching for (although she would have found out about it too in sabaody archipelago)
but then if that didnt happen she wouldnt be saying to ice-ossan that they save her soul, her dream and her heart

BTW at the thriller bark part, i wonder what the narrator said about the mysteries of florian triangle, before last part of epi 381(before they uses cup de burst)

back on the topic, hmmmm here in our place narutoshippuden is being aired, and yes also one piece but its only up to 270 or after they fell from skypiea -_- and then no more

i guess they do like ninja's more than pirates (but then the pirates of the carribean was a great hit )

[andy]

I love the ID arc luffy was rushing to save ace and it was showed that way in that arc.

Shabaody was also awesome , we saw other upcoming rookies like luffy , found out about roger , saw haki . Showing how much ass a admirals could kick. Plus oda did something no one saw coming broke the crew apart.

Going to have wait for the war to done to judge this arc but so far i really like it .

Plus OP VOl 56 just broke another record having 2.85 million copies for it first printing . The largest ever.


When all is said and done OP will be king of Shonen.

[paradox13]

I think this http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...anking-no.1-25 is interesting.

EDIT: AND this..http://apforums.net/showthread.php?t=25473

WHO SAYS OP ISNT POPULAR? =D

[ashesatdusk]

WHO SAYS OP ISNT POPULAR? =D

I think a more appropriate title for this thread is why isn't One Piece popular in the U.S.

In japan it already holds the title for highest selling manga within japan (earned this September). Of course some people may try to argue its due to the sheer length of the series, but given that One piece holds the title for fastest selling manga to reach 100,000,000 that doesn't hold well. I still don't think they've broken Dragon Balls Global record which is 300,000,000. That may take a long time to beat since One Piece has done poorly in the U.S., though I think it has done well in Europe which has in many respects a larger market than the U.S (Manga is extremely popular in France for example).

I do think One piece might have succeeded this time around had we a platform to launch it from like Toonami, did for Dragon Ball Z (it was taken off air a few times before its first success). Right now there is no kids platform to launch it off.

[netro]

^I think it's not only in the US. OP generally is less popular then Bleach and Naruto outside Japan. OP only leads in Japan.

I haven't read this entire thread (I'm a newbie) but I guess the main reason is that OP's fight scene are kinda lame. Ok, some hardcore OP fan might gone nuts when I said this, but really, Naruto and Bleach has far offered good fight scenes for us than OP.

OP is a battle manga, it has fight scenes too. But its super-limited to the respective abilities of the characters. Luffy always stretching, Sanji doing nothing but kicking, Zoro always using his swords, etc. I don't know, but I guess its the anime studio's fault for not making most of the fights as badass as they could. Whenever I watch OP, Naruto and Bleach, I'm always pissed on why the hell OP's animation far sucks than the others.

Outside Japan, its the anime, not the manga, which contributes a lot on the popularity of a title. After a series has proven itself to a fans via the anime, they'll seek the manga. So this means that many outside Japan has never really appreciated the anime, so why would they read the manga.

I'm an OP fan. I'll rank OP far higher than Naruto and Bleach. I like its story, its mysteries, its comedy and the interaction between the characters. Well, I will say I like the battles too, as long as I leave it to my imagination on how the battles happened (the anime sucks). But you see, my criteria on why I like OP is far from the criteria of an average person. An average person will seek series which are easy to follow. The type of stories which don't require you to constantly remember the details of previous arcs. Hell, that won't work with OP. Imagine forgetting all the things about the Ponyglyphs, ancient weapons, etc. OP is filled with many subtle hints too. These are actually the reason on why I like this series, but for many others this will be the reason on why they'll despise it. They don't like to think deep. They just want a show which can be forgotten immediately. They just want pure entertainment. Series with badass fight scenes, like Naruto and Bleach, are therefore the top choice for these people.

[paradox13]

OP is a battle manga, it has fight scenes too. But its super-limited to the respective abilities of the characters. Luffy always stretching, Sanji doing nothing but kicking, Zoro always using his swords, etc. I don't know, but I guess its the anime studio's fault for not making most of the fights as badass as they could. Whenever I watch OP, Naruto and Bleach, I'm always pissed on why the hell OP's animation far sucks than the others.

Are you fscking serious?
Have you read Bleach?

Are there anything other then swordfights in Bleach?

And doesn't Naruto only use his kage bunshin no jutsu and rasengan? Do we ever see him use anything else?

If anything, OP is one manga with less repetitive and more original fight scenes...

[SMASHERJACKSON]

Originally Posted by paradox13

Are you fscking serious?
Have you read Bleach? Seriously?

Is there anything other then swordfights in Bleach?

And doesn't Naruto only use his kage bunshin no jutsu and rasengan? Do we ever see him use anything else?

If anything, OP is one manga with less repetitive and more original fight scenes...

ichigo = getsuga tenshou!

naruto = kage bunshin followed by rasengan!

luffy = w/e he can do with his ability in the situation

also more emphasis and importance is based on the strengths and weaknesses of ppls abilities in op, which is diff from both bleach n naruto in that those 2 dont ever rly explain how powers work in comparison - also the case with non ability use in op, alot of emphasis placed on here as well in that a single punch or kick or slash etc can turn the tide of battle, not quite the case in bleach n naruto, e.g. in bleach losing limbs is like cutting ur finger nails, no biggie theyll grow back soon enough.

as for the animation, its an older anime, older eps hav crapper animation, but for along time now ive preferred op's animation, style and colouring - the luffy vs rob lucci fight is one of the grittiest fights ive seen in a shonen and shc vs oz was very well orchestrated and is an example of how op actually takes plot factors and defined character abilities in2 account during battles, elevating it from mindless spamming and big beam crazy shonen we get so often.

[netro]

Originally Posted by paradox13

Are you fscking serious?
Have you read Bleach? Seriously?

Is there anything other then swordfights in Bleach?

And doesn't Naruto only use his kage bunshin no jutsu and rasengan? Do we ever see him use anything else?

If anything, OP is one manga with less repetitive and more original fight scenes...

It's true that Bleach's battles are mostly sword fights. But the anime was able to put those sword fights into good action. I mean, I can clearly see the movements on how the battle is happening. Naruto's the same. It's all about the motions or the kinematics being displayed. The very detail on where the swords touches each other, the very detail on how one character moves his hands and fingers when he is about to do something. And when I said badass in my original post, what I meant are fight scenes which are good to the eye of an ordinary audience. For many people out there, they might not even know that these small details are shaping how they'll view the overall performance of a series. But after finishing an episode, those small details will make the large picture.

This isn't an issue on how original the battles are. This is an issue on how the battles were made frame by frame in the animation studio. Try to watch Naruto's Gaara vs. Lee, or Bleach's Ichigo vs Byakuya. There are so much other examples I can say. Then say an OP fight scene which for you is far better.

Well, if you actually say one, this won't still prove anything. Any OP fight scene will be good for you. You will have your reasons. But your reasons isn't shared with what the reasons an average fan has. I believe this thread is about why OP is less popular than Bleach and Naruto outside Japan. And so I am merely stating how an average fan looks at these things.

All I'm saying is how an ordinary person outside Japan sees what a good anime is and what a bad anime is. Given that I mostly read manga, and have read many titles already, I'd say I'm not ordinary. And that's why I like OP.

[paradox13]

The thing is that the earlier OP scenes were animated in the late 90s and early 2000s, before Naruto and Bleach even started. Of course the quality would b worse.

Then say an OP fight scene which for you is far better.

I think the CP9 fights, and especiallyt he Lucci v Luffy fight was way better then Ichigo v Byakuya or Gaara v Lee. The emotion conveyed and intensity portrayed in OP far surpasses that of Naruto or Bleach.

Of course, this is my opinion only.

[Bonta Kun]

I'd have agree that animation wise Bleach and Naruto may be abit better than OP but the fights in OP are just way way more entertaining than the others.
The small details may be cool and add that little something for Bleach and Naruto but the overall fights are rather "meh" for most part, not to say that OP doesn't have these "meh" fights also but the majority of them are just brilliant.

Luffy's fights are great to watch and no one can deny that, while he has a number of set moves, he does come up with some really unique new moves in battle and is very creative in how he uses his abilities, compared to Ichigo and Naruto.

I can understand why people don't like the art style but I love it, it has a great charm to it.
I have to admit tho I was abit iffy when I started out but it quickly grew on me as I just love the story.
As I've always said and something I stand by ever since I started reading OP is that it has one of the most imaginative and creative worlds in anime and manga.
I don't think I'll ever understand how anyone couldn't love the OP verse but then some people don't like cheese and only people that shouldn't like cheese is the ones allergic to it

[Vampire]

Originally Posted by SMASHERJACKSON

ichigo = getsuga tenshou!

naruto = kage bunshin followed by rasengan!

luffy = w/e he can do with his ability in the situation

also more emphasis and importance is based on the strengths and weaknesses of ppls abilities in op, which is diff from both bleach n naruto in that those 2 dont ever rly explain how powers work in comparison - also the case with non ability use in op, alot of emphasis placed on here as well in that a single punch or kick or slash etc can turn the tide of battle, not quite the case in bleach n naruto, e.g. in bleach losing limbs is like cutting ur finger nails, no biggie theyll grow back soon enough.

as for the animation, its an older anime, older eps hav crapper animation, but for along time now ive preferred op's animation, style and colouring - the luffy vs rob lucci fight is one of the grittiest fights ive seen in a shonen and shc vs oz was very well orchestrated and is an example of how op actually takes plot factors and defined character abilities in2 account during battles, elevating it from mindless spamming and big beam crazy shonen we get so often.

Are you serious? I rather have a good explanation on how my characters work in battle, versatile attacks and even a simple haki punch to finish it, than just a single laser slash, fire pew pew beams(called cero) and 4 pages saying either "I'm better than you" or "Time to get serious".

[ashesatdusk]

I haven't read this entire thread (I'm a newbie) but I guess the main reason is that OP's fight scene are kinda lame. Ok, some hardcore OP fan might gone nuts when I said this, but really, Naruto and Bleach has far offered good fight scenes for us than OP.

The major reason one piece probably isn't successful in the U.S. is the art style, then its content. The art style is archaic and will be a turn off because in the American audience doesn't associate it with shonen manga/anime (spiky hair and pointy eyes). Naruto and Bleach in this sense can be described as more conventional shonen manga. Furthermore the art style makes the characters just sometimes look silly (which they are), when someone first tried to introduce me to OP in 2005, I refused and assumed it was a waste of time based off Luffy's face. I didn't pick it up again until 2007 when 2 different room mates highly recommended it.

Naruto and bleach are ninja's and swords so they can appeal more easily to wider American audiences, particularly the younger 8-13 year old crowd. One piece in contrast is about a guy made from rubber who wants to sail the world and accomplish a seemingly impossible dream. This is almost an essential ingredient for anime/manga to have mainstream success in the U.S where there is a mentality that cartoons and comics are for. The older 15-30 year old is more of a niche market.

The last major reason OP isn't successful is its hard to get into at first. The first 30 episodes and 75 chapters are more or less sort of slow and lazy. In contrast bleach and Naruto are action packed from very early on. Bleach enters its first major arc before the 20th episode. While the first few episodes luffy and Zoro are just drifting on sea. The bottom line is for foreign audiences One piece has to win over the reader, where as someone who likes shonen manga could immediately pick up bleach and naruto end enjoy it. Of course the rewards of taking a chance on OP are far greater. I mean watching naruto chase sasuke/anikin skywalker around the globe can only be considered a quality plot line for so long.

[SMASHERJACKSON]

Originally Posted by Vampire

Are you serious? I rather have a good explanation on how my characters work in battle, versatile attacks and even a simple haki punch to finish it, than just a single laser slash, fire pew pew beams(called cero) and 4 pages saying either "I'm better than you" or "Time to get serious".

*woosh* i hear the sound of something flying over your head.

[winters89]

Personally, I think it is whether the media presented is manga or anime.

Still remember the time when my local kids channel was airing OP, I really couldn't concentrate or understand what was going on. But after I stumbled on the first few books of Op in the library, I was hooked onto it that I went and collected the entire manga series over the next month or so, even searching high and low for those chapters that are already out of print. Maybe the issue is pacing, can't be sure though.

[ashesatdusk]

Originally Posted by winters89

Personally, I think it is whether the media presented is manga or anime.

Still remember the time when my local kids channel was airing OP, I really couldn't concentrate or understand what was going on. But after I stumbled on the first few books of Op in the library, I was hooked onto it that I went and collected the entire manga series over the next month or so, even searching high and low for those chapters that are already out of print. Maybe the issue is pacing, can't be sure though.

Well that is a big factor as well. Not the pacing, but the whole handling of the One Piece english release was one of the worst affairs in Anime history. Had it been handled well it may have been much more popular in the U.S. The Anime came out in america 2004, when anime was at its peak mainstream popularity. Unfortunately it was more or less butchered to the point no one over the age of 10 could find any real appeal in the series, and the dubbing was terrible. Given that anime at the time was far more mainstream than manga in the U.S. I think that could have a detrimental impact on its success.


That being said the official numbers for 2009 in japan put One Piece as selling as much as Naruto and Bleach did combined. That figure was matched both in total sales for the year and average sales per volume. So I think its hard to make an argument anymore that one piece is less popular than naruto and bleach. I would be surprised if Naruto and Bleach on global sales match One Piece's figures in japan, given how many volumes its sold there.

[ArtieBoy]

Originally Posted by Vampire

Are you serious? I rather have a good explanation on how my characters work in battle, versatile attacks and even a simple haki punch to finish it, than just a single laser slash, fire pew pew beams(called cero) and 4 pages saying either "I'm better than you" or "Time to get serious".

Luffy just started using Haki and he hasn't even mastered it yet.
We don't need explanations On how Luffy stretches his body. I much rather see a creative fight in one piece then the same redundant stuff in naruto done over and over. same goes for bleach