What's so good about One Piece?

[ZGoten]

@isamu99:

I was quite sceptical of One Piece at first, especially since the artwork looked kind of laymanish at first. It grew on me over time however, the art style improved, and there was one moment in particular, where I realized that this is not just some series, but one of the greatest pieces of entertaining fiction. And moments like these kept coming. At this point, I can safely say that the One Piece manga is the best combination of humor, action, moral, story and adventure that I have ever read, by far. Obviously I don't want to spoil anything, but what I will promise, is that if you keep going, you will encounter such moments as well, and you will curse yourself for ever doubting the series.

You should, however, switch to the manga from a certain point onward, if you plan to start with the anime. Right now, the pace is killing it, because some guys just can't wait to stuff their bank accounts.

[kitten320]

I finally got around to start the series and am on episode 28, Sanji's arc. I honestly don't see why it is called the best shounen.

While series are not bad, they are nothing special either.

For one characters keep shouting all the time what gets a bit annoying.
Luffy could have easily finished his fight with boss captain in Sanji arc after first punch. Instead like every shounen hero he waits until the dude wakes up, gets stronger and then Luffy over comes him with power of will.

Of course there is problem with ridiculous designs.

Only Mihawk and Zoro seem decent, well actually most of main crew. Others look like retards for most part =/
The guy with shields looks lame.

I just don't know, I don't see how this is the best shounen ever.

While Bleach sucks, it was far more impressive at the start.

[bigdeal000]

Originally Posted by kitten320

I finally got around to start the series and am on episode 28, Sanji's arc. I honestly don't see why it is called the best shounen.

While series are not bad, they are nothing special either.

For one characters keep shouting all the time what gets a bit annoying.
Luffy could have easily finished his fight with boss captain in Sanji arc after first punch. Instead like every shounen hero he waits until the dude wakes up, gets stronger and then Luffy over comes him with power of will.

Of course there is problem with ridiculous designs.

Only Mihawk and Zoro seem decent, well actually most of main crew. Others look like retards for most part =/
The guy with shields looks lame.

I just don't know, I don't see how this is the best shounen ever.

While Bleach sucks, it was far more impressive at the start.

As others said, One Piece gets better and better as it progresess. Next up is the Arlong arc and that's what made many people change their opinion. But yeah, the art is just meh, now, or four hundred episodes from now

[paradox13]

Continue watching. There is a reason why One Piece is by far the best selling manga series in Japan (of all time).

[kitten320]

Well I heard that series get better in like 50 - 100 episodes, do I really have to suffer for that long?

At least Hitman only took 20 episodes to get to good stuff. Though it did fail afterwards.

Well I'm finally done with Sanji's arc, hopefully next one is better.

[mrShady]

Originally Posted by kitten320

Well I heard that series get better in like 50 - 100 episodes, do I really have to suffer for that long?

At least Hitman only took 20 episodes to get to good stuff. Though it did fail afterwards.

Well I'm finally done with Sanji's arc, hopefully next one is better.

Personally I liked the Arlong arc/Nami arc it has some pretty powerful moments and the boss fight is a great fight. So yeah I think you will enjoy it. Also after this the real story starts and things will focus more on their adventure as a crew.
The previous arcs are there to lay down the foundation and though somewhat slow it's the reason the story is still going strong after all these years (good stories need a solid background).



PS: I would give Hitman a 6.5 and OP a 9.

Spoiler for My review-ish:

+Though OP is not perfect and there are some weaker arcs, overall the story is detailed and well structured (Some things have even been foreshadowed several arcs earlier and yet fit perfectly in the main story line).

+The character are all well fleshed out and each has their own defined role within the crew while the screen time between them is generally well handled.

++The world the story is set in is vast and full of possibilities, filled with unique characters. But because we follow just the strawhats (90% of the time) the information about the world trickles in at a slow but steady pace, not revealing too much but enough to keep you reading to find out.

As with each story nothing is perfect and OP has it's own set of flaws.
-Like most manga stories out there the heroes always win and OP is the same(90% of the time).
The main character defies the odds several times with what appears to be just dumb luck, it doesn't happen all the time but enough to notice. Still since you've watched hitman you should be used to worse.

-All the characters have the infamous plot shield, the story is a Shonen so you shouldn't expect Seinen deaths to happen often, if at all. But that doesn't mean it is all predictable just that this story isn't that dark.

-While I said before that the characters all have their fair share of screen time it's not always perfect and you can get lost to what each char is up to (this is more apparent in the manga) making it necessary to reread or re-watch some scenes.

-While the story hardly has any plot holes none of it are really story breaking however you probably will frown at the introduction of a certain way to fight

Spoiler for smallish spoiler:

Haki

since it was introduced rather clumsily and inconsistently.

Any way since this is still ongoing there's no telling how the story ends, so my 9 rating is flexible and it could follow the route of the the other big three (Naruto, Bleach) and turn to crap (lowering the score).
But frankly I can't see that happening. Even the weaker OP arcs till now have set up things for later and Oda seems to have things planned out well in advance, making the story unpredictable all the time.

So read, watch and be amazed since this is a great ride for everyone who likes an adventure story with all kinds of flavors.

[ri0]

Originally Posted by mrShady

-While the story hardly has any plot holes none of it are really story breaking however you probably will frown at the introduction of a certain way to fight

Spoiler for smallish spoiler:

Haki

since it was introduced rather clumsily and inconsistently.

Spoiler:

I can't quite agree with that. Perhaps inconsistent, but not clumsy.
And I liked the inconsistency (Mantra, Garp hitting Luffy's rubber body, Rayleigh blocking Kizaru), but would rather call it foreshadowing. The explanation came at the right time (Luffy entering the NW, thus needing a level up) and was, in my eyes, executed nicely.

[mrShady]

Originally Posted by ri0

Spoiler:

I can't quite agree with that. Perhaps inconsistent, but not clumsy.
And I liked the inconsistency (Mantra, Garp hitting Luffy's rubber body, Rayleigh blocking Kizaru), but would rather call it foreshadowing. The explanation came at the right time (Luffy entering the NW, thus needing a level up) and was, in my eyes, executed nicely.

Spoiler for Off-topic story discussion:

Shanks losing an arm. Ace not knowing any Haki. Calling it mantra for no reason. Oda wasn't sure how to tackle it and it shows in the pre thriller bark arcs. So yes clumsy since he inconsistently introduced us to what is now a major aspect to the fights without having written down the exact details at the time.
I can't blame him though since OP is so vast but that doesn't mean it's not a minus.

[Hidfe]

Originally Posted by kitten320

Well I heard that series get better in like 50 - 100 episodes, do I really have to suffer for that long?

At least Hitman only took 20 episodes to get to good stuff. Though it did fail afterwards.

Well I'm finally done with Sanji's arc, hopefully next one is better.

Just stop watching. I do not know why people watch so many Episodes when they do not enjoy something. If you still don’t like the characters and the humor than One Piece is not for you. I understand people who say to keep watching because many of those people advertise One Piece as the best thing ever and while One Piece is very entertaining from the beginning it is certainly not the best thing ever from beginning. A lot of One Piece’s charm comes from the creativity, world building and character interaction and those things take time.
One Pieces humor doesn’t change and the wackiness stays the same or better said it becomes even wackier so if you really do not enjoy it then just stop. If I try to advertise One Piece to someone I usually say to watch the One Piece Special: “Episode of Nami”. If the person likes the Episode he will most likely like One Piece. If not then not.

Originally Posted by mrShady

Spoiler for Off-topic story discussion:

Shanks losing an arm. Ace not knowing any Haki. Calling it mantra for no reason. Oda wasn't sure how to tackle it and it shows in the pre thriller bark arcs. So yes clumsy since he inconsistently introduced us to what is now a major aspect to the fights without having written down the exact details at the time.
I can't blame him though since OP is so vast but that doesn't mean it's not a minus.

Spoiler for Off-topic story discussion:

Shanks losing an arm.

What about Shanks arm? I do not see any point there. You could also ask why didn’t shanks just cut off the sea kings head off given he is so strong.
The answer is that the scene was made so that he sacrifices something. This has nothing to do how strong he is. In fact we have no idea how strong he is at that point in time. We do not even know that he mastered or even awakened Haki at that point in time. It could very well be that he awakened the Color of Conqueror at exactly that point because the reaction from the sea king and the bull on which Luffy used it the first time are basically identic.

Ace not knowing any Haki.

Ace not knowing any Haki? I guess you meant that Ace was never shown to use haki. That is by the way a huge difference. Ace was only shown in one serious fight and at that time the Color of Hardening was still meant to be invisible. You have not seen ANYONE at the war of the best using haki and with that I mean blackening the skin or whatever even though it was said that all the top tiers were using it. Once again Oda probably meant it to be invisible. There are tons of clues for that. Hell even when Rayleigh explained the different colors to Luffy and blocked the huge elephant, he specially said that it is an invisible armor. He probably decided to make it somehow visible after he got millions of letters of “is that guy using haki” and he realized that he had to visualize it somehow. You can blame him for this inconsistence all you want.

Calling it mantra for no reason.

Mantra being called Mantra has a very good reason and that is a world building one. They also call Earth Vearth and so on. They are a mostly isolated population so they invent words for what they do not know the name of. Even on the blue sea haki is barely known. So when someone discovers a super power they do not know the name of, they name it. In fact Black Beard mentioned haki before they left for Skypia. His exact words were: “I thought 30 Million were low for someone with that kind of haki but 100 Million?”

Oda wasn't sure how to tackle it and it shows in the pre thriller bark arcs

Do you really believe that someone like Oda hadn’t planned out Haki at the very least at the moment since he introduced the first logia Smoker? Haki was probably something planed from even before he even started writing. I am quite certain of it.

[mrShady]

Spoiler for Off-topic story discussion:

Originally Posted by Hidfe

What about Shanks arm? I do not see any point there. You could also ask why didn’t shanks just cut off the sea kings head off given he is so strong.
The answer is that the scene was made so that he sacrifices something. This has nothing to do how strong he is. In fact we have no idea how strong he is at that point in time. We do not even know that he mastered or even awakened Haki at that point in time. It could very well be that he awakened the Color of Conqueror at exactly that point because the reaction from the sea king and the bull on which Luffy used it the first time are basically identic.

Shanks was already an emperor by that time (remember Whitebeards and Mihawks comments about his missing arm). I understand why Oda wrote it so he would lose something but that doesn't excuse the fact that he didn't scare the beast away before attacking (by using kings haki) or used armament haki to negate the damage.
It's inconsistent, especially after seeing Rayleigh swim across the calm belt with all those beast x times the size of the one in east blue

Originally Posted by Hidfe

Ace not knowing any Haki? I guess you meant that Ace was never shown to use haki. That is by the way a huge difference. Ace was only shown in one serious fight and at that time the Color of Hardening was still meant to be invisible. You have not seen ANYONE at the war of the best using haki and with that I mean blackening the skin or whatever even though it was said that all the top tiers were using it. Once again Oda probably meant it to be invisible. There are tons of clues for that. Hell even when Rayleigh explained the different colors to Luffy and blocked the huge elephant, he specially said that it is an invisible armor. He probably decided to make it somehow visible after he got millions of letters of “is that guy using haki” and he realized that he had to visualize it somehow. You can blame him for this inconsistence all you want.

Let me restate that. Ace was never seen using Haki except in a flashback (after haki was introduced) of him using king's haki. And just because it was invisible before (which is proof that the whole Haki concept wasn't thought out until Amazon Lily and perfected in the NW) doesn't mean people didn't comment on it when it was used in the war.

Originally Posted by Hidfe

Mantra being called Mantra has a very good reason and that is a world building one. They also call Earth Vearth and so on. They are a mostly isolated population so they invent words for what they do not know the name of. Even on the blue sea haki is barely known. So when someone discovers a super power they do not know the name of, they name it. In fact Black Beard mentioned haki before they left for Skypia. His exact words were: “I thought 30 Million were low for someone with that kind of haki but 100 Million?”

There is no reason other then Oda retconning it. Luffy asked about mantra during his training and Raileigh had an explanation ready, it fit but that doesn't excuse the differences between the observation Haki we know now and how it was on Skypiea. Apparently people are born with Mantra and Enel could amplify it with his DF. However now we know everyone can use Haki but you need training for it (why else would we need a time skip). We also know that the difference in haki strength is only dependent on how much effort someone puts in to the specific type of Haki. The only mystery is how Enel could use electricity to amplify his Mantra, it doesn't really fit with what we know (observation Haki foresees someones intent and that has nothing to do with electricity).

Originally Posted by Hidfe

Do you really believe that someone like Oda hadn’t planned out Haki at the very least at the moment since he introduced the first logia Smoker? Haki was probably something planed from even before he even started writing. I am quite certain of it.

I never said he hadn't though of Haki just that he wasn't sure how it worked and looked until the Amazon Lily arc, which is what I meant by Haki being inconsistent and clumsy written.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

First of all, you guys don't need to use spoiler tags in this thread (it doesn't say anime-only).

Pre-skip, either Oda hadn't fully worked out the mechanics of Haki, or he didn't want to confuse the readers by showing any blackening effects. But you can be certain that Haki was conceived from the very beginning of the story. There were subtle hints and indications of it prior to Rayleigh's explanation of how it works. And it was obvious that there had to be something in place to counteract logia users, otherwise they would be completely invincible (sans their elemental weakness). Oda definitely had that mentality/concept in mind early on.

[mrShady]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

First of all, you guys don't need to use spoiler tags in this thread (it doesn't say anime-only).

Pre-skip, either Oda hadn't fully worked out the mechanics of Haki, or he didn't want to confuse the readers by showing any blackening effects. But you can be certain that Haki was conceived from the very beginning of the story. There were subtle hints and indications of it prior to Rayleigh's explanation of how it works. And it was obvious that there had to be something in place to counteract logia users, otherwise they would be completely invincible (sans their elemental weakness). Oda definitely had that mentality/concept in mind early on.

It's a thread for people interested in picking up One Piece. If I just go spoil all what is to come I might be ruining their experience.
So personally I find spoiler tags to be a proper way to go about especially if we are going off topic any way.

And for the last time I never disagreed on Oda including Haki since the beginning, just that he did it inconsistently and clumsy over the course of the series (probably because he hadn't worked it out yet).

On-topic:
Just read One Piece and have fun doing it.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

^ The topic is titled "what's so good about One Piece", which can encompass a plethora of things to talk about. There's nothing indicating it's for newcomers to the series only. Newcomers are to enter this thread at their own risk. Again, there's no "anime-only" in the thread title.

Originally Posted by mrShady

And for the last time I never disagreed on Oda including Haki since the beginning, just that he did it inconsistently and clumsy over the course of the series (probably because he hadn't worked it out yet).

But there's nothing inconsistent nor clumsy with the Haki usage thus far.

[GreyZone]

Originally Posted by Hidfe

Just stop watching. I do not know why people watch so many Episodes when they do not enjoy something. If you still don’t like the characters and the humor than One Piece is not for you. I understand people who say to keep watching because many of those people advertise One Piece as the best thing ever and while One Piece is very entertaining from the beginning it is certainly not the best thing ever from beginning.

I still remember that I used to absolutely hate the artstyle and was not interested in the series. But my brother convinced me to give it a try and after watching 'til the beginning of Grand Line, I got used to the art style already, without me noticing it myself.

[mrShady]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

^ The topic is titled "what's so good about One Piece", which can encompass a plethora of things to talk about. There's nothing indicating it's for newcomers to the series only. Newcomers are to enter this thread at their own risk. Again, there's no "anime-only" in the thread title.

Of course it's not for newcomers only but that doesn't mean we can't be a little more discreet about it. Either way it's not for us to decide but the moderators and unless they say otherwise I don't see any wrong in me using spoiler tags.

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

But there's nothing inconsistent nor clumsy with the Haki usage thus far.

Then that's your opinion and I don't agree with it. I gave several reasons as to why I feel that way and if you don't agree with that then refute them as much as you want.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by mrShady

Then that's your opinion and I don't agree with it. I gave several reasons as to why I feel that way and if you don't agree with that then refute them as much as you want.

The problem is that your points/reasons aren't indicative of inconsistencies/retcons.

[mrShady]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

The problem is that your points/reasons aren't indicative of inconsistencies/retcons.

Spoiler for Still think it's necessary to tag:

Then please enlighten me because my points about the differences between Skypiea's Mantra and observation haki clearly indicate a retcon.
Shanks not using any haki to save his arm is clearly an inconsistency, why because the guy is able to split the sky with his spirit alone but couldn't save his arm from a swimming insect, an emperor of the new world (who doesn't have a DF) was unable to fight off a fish. Please tell me how this could not be inconsistent with what we now know about the emperors and the current version of haki.
The recent color changes when using haki is another inconsistency, or did I miss something in the marineford war?

The only point you can refute me on is if Ace ever used haki, we've hardly seen him fight making it impossible to truly tell.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by mrShady

Spoiler for Still think it's necessary to tag:

Then please enlighten me because my points about the differences between Skypiea's Mantra and observation haki clearly indicate a retcon.
Shanks not using any haki to save his arm is clearly an inconsistency, why because the guy is able to split the sky with his spirit alone but couldn't save his arm from a swimming insect, an emperor of the new world (who doesn't have a DF) was unable to fight off a fish. Please tell me how this could not be inconsistent with what we now know about the emperors and the current version of haki.
The recent color changes when using haki is another inconsistency, or did I miss something in the marineford war?

The only point you can refute me on is if Ace ever used haki, we've hardly seen him fight making it impossible to truly tell.

Spoiler for Haki:

No, there are no differences between Skypiea's mantra and observation haki. Both anticipate an opponent's intent/actions, thereby facilitating evasion and counteraction. With the Goro Goro no Mi, Enel can pick up electromagnetic waves, allowing him to overhear conversations and everything around him: this extended the range of his Mantra to cover roughly all of Skypiea. Not an inconsistency nor retcon in the slightest. That's merely an augmentation that's feasible because of his DF, which we know is possible. Another example is Jozu. His armament haki can augment his already near-impenetrable diamond defense.

The problem right off the bat with your Shanks assessment is that you're assuming he was an emperor back then when in fact we don't know when he became one. No, the remark Whitebeard made about the duels between Hawkeye and Shanks and the surprise from everyone about how he lost his arm doesn't prove anything. You're merely making an inference. Furthermore, that incident was 12 years ago, and Shanks is in his prime right now. That being said, it's obvious Shanks wasn't as powerful back then, meaning he was inferior in virtually every way back then. Also, he BET his arm on the new era; it was a symbolic moment that had nothing to do with individual strength (as already pointed out by Hidfe).

I already addressed the blackening of armament haki. Oda may have decided to refrain from showing that pre-skip so as to avoid confusing the readers prior to Rayleigh's explanation. So while technically, appearance-wise, that's an inconsistency, it was deliberate/intentional on Oda's part.

There's no confirmation on whether or not Ace used CoO and/or CoA. But we know for certain he had CoC, which doesn't retcon anything. That was merely a revelation (and a plausible one too).

[Vajra]

I started on One Piece during the Alabasta/Baroque Works arc while it was in the US monthly Shonen Jump. I ended up skipping to the Saobody Arc and liking it so much that I jumped to the beginning and read from the very start.

[mrShady]

Spoiler for Haki:

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

No, there are no differences between Skypiea's mantra and observation haki. Both anticipate an opponent's intent/actions, thereby facilitating evasion and counteraction. With the Goro Goro no Mi, Enel can pick up electromagnetic waves, allowing him to overhear conversations and everything around him: this extended the range of his Mantra to cover roughly all of Skypiea. Not an inconsistency nor retcon in the slightest. That's merely an augmentation that's feasible because of his DF, which we know is possible. Another example is Jozu. His armament haki can augment his already near-impenetrable diamond defense.

The difference is not only in Enel enhancing his mantra to pick up electromagnetic waves (which is literally upgrading haki where as in Jozu's case he just added another layer of defense on his existing one. There's no indication that Jozu gained any such upgrades, or of any other haki user).
The problem is with that kid who knew mantra (I can't remember her name). She was born with a high level of observation haki while we were told by Rayleigh that you have to train that skill.
Now you can just say she's special like other individuals in the story but that's just a cop out since we've yet to see anyone else being born with any type of Haki (even kings haki has to be "unlocked").

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

The problem right off the bat with your Shanks assessment is that you're assuming he was an emperor back then when in fact we don't know when he became one. No, the remark Whitebeard made about the duels between Hawkeye and Shanks and the surprise from everyone about how he lost his arm doesn't prove anything. You're merely making an inference. Furthermore, that incident was 12 years ago, and Shanks is in his prime right now. That being said, it's obvious Shanks wasn't as powerful back then, meaning he was inferior in virtually every way back then. Also, he BET his arm on the new era; it was a symbolic moment that had nothing to do with individual strength (as already pointed out by Hidfe).

Everything points to him being a major player (notice the 3 scars) who should at the minimum be able to protect himself from such a sea monster (don't forget that Luffy KO-ed that monster when he left the island). So even if it was symbolic it's freaking ridiculous and not consistent with what we know, symbolism be damned.

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

I already addressed the blackening of armament haki. Oda may have decided to refrain from showing that pre-skip so as to avoid confusing the readers prior to Rayleigh's explanation. So while technically, appearance-wise, that's an inconsistency, it was deliberate/intentional on Oda's part.

You make it appear like Oda is some sort of writing god.... He's not, he makes mistakes everyone does. Why can't you accept an inconsistency when it's right in your face?
He might never have wanted Haki to be visible but he changed his mind, what's wrong with that explanation? It fits a whole lot better then him deliberately planning an inconsistency not to confuse readers (it does the opposite really).

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

There's no confirmation on whether or not Ace used CoO and/or CoA. But we know for certain he had CoC, which doesn't retcon anything. That was merely a revelation (and a plausible one too).

That whole flashback sequence is a mess, it was there to shoehorn Sabo in the story. But I agree nothing points to Ace not knowing any haki and him knowing kings haki makes perfect sense.