What's so good about One Piece?

[Ludrio D. Zoki]

Considering how far the story has come, I'd say episodes 1-58 WERE great, but are no longer because the current episodes are absolutely fantastic. I'd say that by Episode 230, the story becomes more addicting than narcotics, not that I do drugs mind you XD.

I mean; it starts off as an adventure story, kinda kiddy in certain perspectives, save for the language and blood. Eventually, the anime breaks the shonen barrier and flourishes into a genre which really can't be identified...
Oh, and people in the world where One Piece takes place can be fragile like us, or ridiculously strong, somtimes they look it (Bartholomew Kuma, Edward Newgate, Urouge ect.) Sometimes they look like average people (Zoro, Mihawk, Luffy, Sanji, Kid, and on)

[Ludrio D. Zoki]

(dude thats a cool sig! go kaku!)

[ronin myael]

when i first saw one piece i thought it was the most idiotic series i've ever seen. the art looked strange and the characters were too quirky for my taste. so i stopped and decided it wasn't for me. but over the years i kept hearing about how good it is and one day, someone from this forums managed to convince me to try it. so after several years since i first saw it, i picked up the manga and to my surprise, i actually loved it! i loved it even more than any series i've read or seen before.

what's so good about one piece? the writing. oda is one of those rare gems who could weave a story that's completely whimsical and yet make you believe that it's possible. his writing is not perfect, of course, but for a critical reader like me, i see very few flaws in it. his story is actually full of adventure, drama, action with very serious and heavy themes and yet he delivers it in a way that is light and refreshing. his dialogues are simple but direct. his characters are complex yet you could relate to them as if they're ordinary people. and his art designs, though initially strange-looking, are actually unique and beautiful on their own. his story might be long but it gets better with age. it starts off slow but once it picks up pace it never stops and you're in for the ride.

[AnimeToonzaiFan182]

One Piece is awesome! what's so good about one piece? the show. I love to watch the show! his story might be long but it gets better with age. it starts off slow but once it picks up pace it never stops and you're in for the ride! Sometimes they look like average people (Zoro, Mihawk, Luffy, Sanji, Kid, and on)!

[DeadBonesDooM]

I was intrested in One Piece from the episode 1.
I find it funny and entertaining.
Current episodes are so teep that they make me cry

[gaurun]

well. I'm first discover One Piece from buying volume 3 & 4(Ussop arc) and I just like it..
not stereotype character, adding some humor, and endless ending possibility... its the best!!
well, I agree with other... read/watch until arlong park arc. its the best part!!

[tetsuo69]

Originally Posted by ronin myael

when i first saw one piece i thought it was the most idiotic series i've ever seen. the art looked strange and the characters were too quirky for my taste. so i stopped and decided it wasn't for me. but over the years i kept hearing about how good it is and one day, someone from this forums managed to convince me to try it. so after several years since i first saw it, i picked up the manga and to my surprise, i actually loved it! i loved it even more than any series i've read or seen before.

what's so good about one piece? the writing. oda is one of those rare gems who could weave a story that's completely whimsical and yet make you believe that it's possible. his writing is not perfect, of course, but for a critical reader like me, i see very few flaws in it. his story is actually full of adventure, drama, action with very serious and heavy themes and yet he delivers it in a way that is light and refreshing. his dialogues are simple but direct. his characters are complex yet you could relate to them as if they're ordinary people. and his art designs, though initially strange-looking, are actually unique and beautiful on their own. his story might be long but it gets better with age. it starts off slow but once it picks up pace it never stops and you're in for the ride.

everything this user said up to date nothing beats one piece and even the fillers are good

[yakumo-chan]

if you ask me, there are other anime that has a story much better than one piece,,,

but my heart still chose one piece,,,, its epic!!!
also, the lessons in life that i've learned from one piece is the thing that I wont forget,,

no other anime can beat one piece for me,,

[solomon]

OVERALL

One Piece is great Shonen Action Adventure, with emphasis on adventure. Oda's fanciful designs and ideas seem like something out of a children's storybook, but then you have straight action movie type badassery with the fights and grandstanding.

The story is more detailed and well thought out than expected for something so light, various subplots occur in tandem even if it takes FOREVER for it to move sometimes.

The characters are fun on their own, but are best as a team, I don't think any one character towers above the rest in terms of charisma, both in the Straw Hat group and outside it.

The story is also brimming with humanity. Not just the whole, "believe in yourself and your friends and dreams will come true" or "always give 100%". One Piece stories sometimes address heavy themes like slavery, family, discrimination, hardship and prejudice and societal conflict particualry in backstories of the characters, making them seem much more real and giving the world more weight and believablity. It's kinda Tezuka-ish in a way and I think helps earn praise of people who aren't into simple shonen brawlers.

MANGA;

The manga is great from a story telling perspective, Oda's work just gets bigger and grander in scope with each passing year, yet it doesn't collapse on it's self and has strong continuity. (I first witnessed his great story telling skill during the Alabaster story, my FAVORITE). However, it's never heavy and always welcoming to newcomers (relatively speaking, you'll miss out on some finer details if you don't read from the beginning though).

Art wise..................wow I am conflicted. Oda's early work was FANTASTIC. Low on texture, shading and details sure. But his designs were ALWAYS unique and crazy and fun, his layouts were dynamic and expresions and poses were very powerful much different than most shonen jump work I had seen, or manga in general. You could really see the DBZ influence as he really channeled the power of Toriyama into his drawings.

By the 200s (chapters), his work becomes more detailed. Particuarly in backgrounds. His designs are still awesome, but his pen line is kinda stratchy and not varied enough. He lost his most powerful asset, IMPACT THROUGH CLARITY. With all the effects and details and same level lines, it's hard to tell where figures end and foreground/background begins now. Layout is chaotic and poses/figures aren't quite as dynamic as they used to be. His latest work is stiff and kinda clumsy thanks to bad line choices, all he needs is an inker like they have in American comics and his stuff would be great again.

ANIME;

Voices, Music are AWESOME. Love the orchestrational soundtrack. In light of the art and clarity problems in the manga, the anime clears things up and sometimes turns up the heat on the battles, making for a much more pleasurable experience.

Admittedly for a long while the animation is frankly terrible, characters are badly drawn and movement is stiff beyond belief (think 70s shows). However, by around the 300s, during the Enies Lobby story, the animation gets better on average. A strong crop of animators show up and really up the ante on certain scenes, fights and episodes. This is magnified during the Thriller Bark, Amazon Lily, Impel Down and Marineford Showdown stories which have some fantastically animated episodes.

FILMS

Meh, par for the course, filler stories. Fun filler but filler none the less. If you're gonna watch any, start with the 4th (Dead End Adventure), a good standard OP movie, and the first to be at actual movie length. The 5th movie, (The Cursed Holy Sword) is nothing special but good for Zoro fans. Animation here isn't Ghibli but it's decent, frankly it's what the TV series SHOULD be all the time.

However, there are two must see movies IMHO.

6th Movie (Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island) is really cool, darker and moodier than the other films but just as engaging with an interesting story. Animation is FANTASTIC too. Lastly, there is the most recent (Strong World), probably the best OP film due to the story and design and main villian (although for me it's a tie with Omatsuri). Oda had a big hand in the production and design of the film along with providing the story and it shows.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make no mistake, OP ain't high art, it's shonen for godsakes. But it does everything at least a little better than it's competition and has a unique and funky style with epic story and lovable characters. It's been 15 years, but the franchise is still just as fun and engaging as ever.

[Rainbowman]

Originally Posted by solomon

OVERALL

One Piece is great Shonen Action Adventure, with emphasis on adventure. Oda's fanciful designs and ideas seem like something out of a children's storybook, but then you have straight action movie type badassery with the fights and grandstanding.

The story is more detailed and well thought out than expected for something so light, various subplots occur in tandem even if it takes FOREVER for it to move sometimes.

The characters are fun on their own, but are best as a team, I don't think any one character towers above the rest in terms of charisma, both in the Straw Hat group and outside it.

The story is also brimming with humanity. Not just the whole, "believe in yourself and your friends and dreams will come true" or "always give 100%". One Piece stories sometimes address heavy themes like slavery, family, discrimination, hardship and prejudice and societal conflict particualry in backstories of the characters, making them seem much more real and giving the world more weight and believablity. It's kinda Tezuka-ish in a way and I think helps earn praise of people who aren't into simple shonen brawlers.

Indeed that is what I like about the series. They should have cross-overs outside of Dragonball Z and Tokiro. Cross-overs that are beyond mere fanfiction. And I'm saying this because I want all kinds of media to come together as a whole.

Originally Posted by solomon

MANGA;

The manga is great from a story telling perspective, Oda's work just gets bigger and grander in scope with each passing year, yet it doesn't collapse on it's self and has strong continuity. (I first witnessed his great story telling skill during the Alabaster story, my FAVORITE). However, it's never heavy and always welcoming to newcomers (relatively speaking, you'll miss out on some finer details if you don't read from the beginning though).

Art wise..................wow I am conflicted. Oda's early work was FANTASTIC. Low on texture, shading and details sure. But his designs were ALWAYS unique and crazy and fun, his layouts were dynamic and expresions and poses were very powerful much different than most shonen jump work I had seen, or manga in general. You could really see the DBZ influence as he really channeled the power of Toriyama into his drawings.

By the 200s (chapters), his work becomes more detailed. Particuarly in backgrounds. His designs are still awesome, but his pen line is kinda stratchy and not varied enough. He lost his most powerful asset, IMPACT THROUGH CLARITY. With all the effects and details and same level lines, it's hard to tell where figures end and foreground/background begins now. Layout is chaotic and poses/figures aren't quite as dynamic as they used to be. His latest work is stiff and kinda clumsy thanks to bad line choices, all he needs is an inker like they have in American comics and his stuff would be great again.

Story-wise, quite good. Although there were times I get insulted that my favorite character isn't strong enough for certain situations. For those wondering who my favorite character is will have to find out for themselves.

Art wise, very interesting. This kind of artwork should be introduced to the DC and Marvel universes.

Originally Posted by solomon

ANIME;

Voices, Music are AWESOME. Love the orchestrational soundtrack. In light of the art and clarity problems in the manga, the anime clears things up and sometimes turns up the heat on the battles, making for a much more pleasurable experience.

Admittedly for a long while the animation is frankly terrible, characters are badly drawn and movement is stiff beyond belief (think 70s shows). However, by around the 300s, during the Enies Lobby story, the animation gets better on average. A strong crop of animators show up and really up the ante on certain scenes, fights and episodes. This is magnified during the Thriller Bark, Amazon Lily, Impel Down and Marineford Showdown stories which have some fantastically animated episodes.

I shall take your word for it.

Originally Posted by solomon

FILMS

Meh, par for the course, filler stories. Fun filler but filler none the less. If you're gonna watch any, start with the 4th (Dead End Adventure), a good standard OP movie, and the first to be at actual movie length. The 5th movie, (The Cursed Holy Sword) is nothing special but good for Zoro fans. Animation here isn't Ghibli but it's decent, frankly it's what the TV series SHOULD be all the time.

However, there are two must see movies IMHO.

6th Movie (Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island) is really cool, darker and moodier than the other films but just as engaging with an interesting story. Animation is FANTASTIC too. Lastly, there is the most recent (Strong World), probably the best OP film due to the story and design and main villian (although for me it's a tie with Omatsuri). Oda had a big hand in the production and design of the film along with providing the story and it shows.

Fillers they may be, I could place where each movie takes place in the main story. There ought to be a movie more darker than the 6th that would be worthy of Fangoria magazine.

Another category that should be added are video games which also have original characters such as Blyue with the Mini Mini no Mi.

Originally Posted by solomon

Make no mistake, OP ain't high art, it's shonen for godsakes. But it does everything at least a little better than it's competition and has a unique and funky style with epic story and lovable characters. It's been 15 years, but the franchise is still just as fun and engaging as ever.

Speaking of which, any word on the next season series coming to the U.S. that involve CP9?

[ronin myael]

Originally Posted by solomon

OVERALLMake no mistake, OP ain't high art, it's shonen for godsakes. But it does everything at least a little better than it's competition and has a unique and funky style with epic story and lovable characters. It's been 15 years, but the franchise is still just as fun and engaging as ever.

damn right! it's by far the best shonen series i've ever encountered.

[solomon]

For me the best shonen series I ever saw was FMA, it SURPASSED shonen.

One Piece stays within Shonen bounds but hits all its points effectively and with panache. The thing will probably hit 100 books.

[ronin myael]

Originally Posted by solomon

For me the best shonen series I ever saw was FMA, it SURPASSED shonen.

One Piece stays within Shonen bounds but hits all its points effectively and with panache. The thing will probably hit 100 books.

hmmm...i've never really considered fma as shonen. probably because it's not a shonen jump series. but yeah, fma is one of the best series i've ever read as well. i guess i was really talking about the weekly shonen jump series, one piece reigns supreme among them all in my book.

[Undertaker]

Shonen JUMP isn't the only Shonen magazines, though it is the most popular and action-oriented. There are at least 10 other shonen magazines (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly/quarterly) most notable are Weekly Shonen Sunday from Shogakukan, Weekly Shōnen Magazine from Kodansha, Ace series from Kadokawa, and Monthly Shonen Gangan from Squre-Enix.


FMA is a shonen because it is serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan from Squre-Enix. Personally I still like OP more but I do agree that the story of FMA is borderline shonen and at first glance is more incline to most Seinen story, though at its core it is still a Shonen.


But in addition to Oda's control of his story, and the way see seems to be able to control his reader's emotion at well, I love the chaotic nature of his art. As wacky and crowded it is, not many shonen artist has the control of the panel as he does and the way he fill his panel seem closer to current Seinen action and older (80's) shonen action. I love the way how his art seems to jump out of the panel compare to Bleach (past couple year) and Naruto (after time skip). Might be because of my age, but I find other Shonen Action lack the soul (for lack of better term) in it art after a while but somehow OP kept it going for 13 years.

And not to mention the guy's brain is a gold mind filled with new designs and ideas. Everytime the SH gets to a new place, I'm always in awe and amazed as they are at the sight of view. From Arabasta to Skypiea to Water 7 to Shaobody, even Little Garden, Drum Island, Amazon Lily looks freakin' awesome. And tha't not even mention the characters, as weird as they may be sometime, everyone of them is unique and distinct.

But serious, it is incredible the way Oda able to keep expanding his world and has yet to lost control of it. Too many time you see artist expand his setting and world only for it to fail apart completely or cause once great series to fell into mediocrity (or worse), yet Oda has find a way to keep everything in control, at least so far and that by itself is incredible. And toss in his ability to seemly toy with reader's emotion at well, sometime I can stop but wonder what kind of mangaka he could be if ever decide to so more Seinen type stuff and not confine himself to Shonen rules, not that there is anything wrong with Shonen.

[namihoogirl]

I got shanks, probably suits me best out of all of them. Last quiz I did I got Ace

[ronin myael]

Originally Posted by Undertaker

Shonen JUMP isn't the only Shonen magazines, though it is the most popular and action-oriented. There are at least 10 other shonen magazines (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly/quarterly) most notable are Weekly Shonen Sunday from Shogakukan, Weekly Shōnen Magazine from Kodansha, Ace series from Kadokawa, and Monthly Shonen Gangan from Squre-Enix.

FMA is a shonen because it is serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan from Squre-Enix. Personally I still like OP more but I do agree that the story of FMA is borderline shonen and at first glance is more incline to most Seinen story, though at its core it is still a Shonen.


But in addition to Oda's control of his story, and the way see seems to be able to control his reader's emotion at well, I love the chaotic nature of his art. As wacky and crowded it is, not many shonen artist has the control of the panel as he does and the way he fill his panel seem closer to current Seinen action and older (80's) shonen action. I love the way how his art seems to jump out of the panel compare to Bleach (past couple year) and Naruto (after time skip). Might be because of my age, but I find other Shonen Action lack the soul (for lack of better term) in it art after a while but somehow OP kept it going for 13 years.

And not to mention the guy's brain is a gold mind filled with new designs and ideas. Everytime the SH gets to a new place, I'm always in awe and amazed as they are at the sight of view. From Arabasta to Skypiea to Water 7 to Shaobody, even Little Garden, Drum Island, Amazon Lily looks freakin' awesome. And tha't not even mention the characters, as weird as they may be sometime, everyone of them is unique and distinct.

But serious, it is incredible the way Oda able to keep expanding his world and has yet to lost control of it. Too many time you see artist expand his setting and world only for it to fail apart completely or cause once great series to fell into mediocrity (or worse), yet Oda has find a way to keep everything in control, at least so far and that by itself is incredible. And toss in his ability to seemly toy with reader's emotion at well, sometime I can stop but wonder what kind of mangaka he could be if ever decide to so more Seinen type stuff and not confine himself to Shonen rules, not that there is anything wrong with Shonen.

yes, i realized that but fma didn't feel like a shonen series to me but even if it did, as much as i loved the series, one piece still surpassed it as far as epicness is concerned. arakawa is a brilliant manga-ka, possibly the most creative female manga author in japan's history, but oda's writing is still more magical and imaginative to me. there's no question that fma and one piece are two of my all-time favorites but right now, one piece reigns supreme to me for all the reasons you mentioned.

[DawnEmperor]

As much as I enjoy One Piece (currently it's my favorite along with Medaka Box), it does follow a lot of Shonen conventions. It can be a matter of taste; sometimes One Piece may be too over the top or silly for some people. Because it's such an expansive plot, it can be hard to sit through all the way. Some sagas are admittedly more interesting than others.

For me, the characters became a lot more likable as the series went on. While they retain their silly flaws, they do grow as the story goes on. Oda really makes the world come alive with the various historical and mythological references. The animals of the One Piece world are all eccentric. There are some twists which hold you to the story, and I think it's better than the other two of the Big Three.

[BaKaBaKaOtaKu]

what so good about one piece you ask?

EVERYTHING. nuff said.

[Kallen4life]

I like the DFs (esp logia) and the bigger picture - WG, marines, admirals, void century, weapons, Will of D .. also Shichibukai

bad guys usually don't dissapoint

[Slayerx]

One thing i like about one piece is that it has revelations that are actually capable of surprising me. Seriously, with most other shounens like Bleach, narutop and a lot of the odler ones, there haven't been that many surprises. Sure they'll reveal something i did not know, but reveal just gets a real "meh" reaction from me; the reveal is either not that epic, or i just plain don't care about what's being revealed. With One piece however, some of the reveals throughout the series have been able to floor me; I get a real "Holy Shit!" reaction"... and that's why I never read one piece spoilers, so i never have a chance of spoiling a good surprise... unlike Naruto and bleach where i know any surprise they deliver will not be all that surprising.