Jun 27, 2018
This is the first review I have written on the website. I would like to start off by saying that there may be light SPOILERS in the review so if you do not want anything ruined, read with care. As I am writing this review, I have seen 557 episodes.
Coming into the show, the only long running shounen that I had seen was Naruto. I loved watching Naruto grow through the years as I aged. When I was young I loved watching this 12 year old ninja refuse to give up his dream of being Hokage even when everyone told him it wouldn't happen.
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As I aged, so did Naruto. One Piece is a show that I was a little unsure about since it has very little filler compared to Naruto. The time commitment through the 800+ episodes is much longer than Naruto. Naruto and One Piece are very different shows, however. Naruto is focused on the adventures in and around the hidden leaf village and it does not stray too far from that area. That leads me into my next topic.
After making it through some of the early arcs, I really found out what makes this show so lovable. The world building is done wonderfully. You can actually trace on a map of the world where the characters adventure to and the history that it builds is one that the writer does an excellent job of using.
There are characters in the show that you might think of as throw away in similar shows. Not in One Piece. I think the best example of this in the show is Bon Clay. He is used as a villain very early in the show and is absent for hundreds of episodes before reappearing as one of my favorite characters in the show. Every characters you meet could hold importance later down the line. The writer does a great job taking advantage of this great world building and history to make the story interesting.
The main cast of characters is wonderful as well. I found myself annoyed with Usopp through many of the early arcs as he had very little worth in the crew. It was hard to love his character. This is true for both the audience and himself. Through the shows run time, his goal is to face his fears and become a brave warrior of the sea. Watching him grow in strength from liar to sniper king to post timeskip helped me to gain more respect for him. Sanji and Zoro are the captains right and left hand men who always come through in a pinch. Both of these characters have their own unique traits that run through the show and always manage to make me smile. The rest of the crew helps to make one of the most lovable casts I have seen in a while, which is good because you have 800 episodes to spend with them! I would say more but talking about some of the other crew members may spoil different parts of the show.
Luffy is one of my favorite characters in shounen. I like him as much if not more than our lord and savior Naruto. Luffy may be a goofy, energetic and impulsive leader, but when it comes to his friends, he will do everything in his power to fight for them. Luffy isn't a great leader because of he is wise nor is he a great leader due to his strength. He is a great leader because everyone who he leads knows he will have their back. Time and time again he shows his resolve and it is this resolve to be a good friend that gives him the strength that he gets through the show. That and his dream of becoming king of the pirates.
The show has a bunch of extremely unique abilities that make the fights unpredictable and interesting. The devil fruit powers in the show can be anything making each new obstacle that the crew must overcome more fun to watch. There were certain times where I wondered how Luffy would ever manage to beat some of the baddies. I think this is where Naruto and One Piece split the most. Naruto got to the point near the end where it was one giant explosion bomb after another. Whoever made the bigger bomb was usually big daddy boi. Watching Luffy learn about the world of pirates on the grand line was just as exciting for him as it was for me because I never really knew what was coming next.
I would like to note that if you are looking for a serious anime, this one might not be for you. This is not to say that there aren't any scenes where Luffy is serious. This said, One Piece does a great job of making the serious bits hold a tone that is appropriate for the scene.
Overall, I love One Piece. The animation suffers in some points and it can feel like the show is moving slowly during a lot of the early material especially, but what we have is an amazing adventure with a great cast of characters that will make you feel as though you are a member of the Straw Hat crew yourself. I would recommend the show to anyone who can handle the long run time that it has or anyone who likes some enjoyable and creative fighting. Through it's flaws, One Piece is one of my favorite animes to date and I can't wait to see where the rest of my adventure with the Straw Hat Pirates takes me.
Thanks for taking the time to read my reivew!
*edit: I have finished the Doflamingo arc at this point. The show definitely drops in quality towards the later parts, but there is a lot to love about it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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