Anime: One Piece

Disclaimer: I initially only saw fragments of the show on German TV and then didn't give it another thought for over a decade. I started watching it from scratch a while back, so this review does not come from a place of nostalgia. I also don't typically review (or even rate or recommend) shows that are unfinished, but I'm quite certain nobody will fault me for making this particular exception. And while I do bring up some points regarding LBGTQ issues, I am a white straight male living in central Europe. I have no horse in this race, just making (hopefully interesting) observations.

One Piece is a show that's hard to recommend to most people due to its sheer length, but that same length is also part of what makes it so incredibly good. You'll be hard-pressed to find many other long-form stories this well plotted out. Events are often set up or foreshadowed hundreds of episodes beforehand and so elegantly as to blend in seamlessly. Add in some genuine friendship, adventure, an interesting world, extraordinarily lovable characters and some of the most moving arcs in all of anime and it's easy to see why this has been such a hit for so long.

The early, often very short, story arcs can be (or seem) a bit random, but as soon as the longer arcs kick in, the story really finds its stride. One reason for the staggering length of the show even after cutting out all the filler (except the G8 arc, never skip G8) is that a huge amount of time is spent on fleshing out the world and the characters that live in it. Seemingly random characters often get flashbacks that last several episodes and repeating that on every new island obviously pads the runtime a lot. But as annoying as it is when another one of these flashbacks begins, they're almost always worth it by the end and getting to know the people living in it makes the world feel so much more real. The show also takes care to show how each major event affects the rest of the world, including the places and people from past arcs, so burning those in the viewers' memories is all the more important.

The animation quality is sadly not only inconsistent, but also pretty bad overall. On a good day it reaches just above average, and even then the show never really looks good in motion, not even by 90s standards. I'm certain that is in part due to their incredibly tight schedule, but that sadly won't raise my score any.

On the audio side however, everything is great. The voice acting is splendid and endearing as hell. The music sets the tone perfectly every time and never becomes tiring, even after hearing it for hundreds of episodes. The small jingles accompanying commercial bumpers should frankly drive me insane by now but they just make me happy every time I hear them.

What I personally found particularly interesting is that while the anime often portrays homosexuals as guys in pink tutus and takes its trans characters straight out of the Rocky Horror Picture show, they also tend to have a lot of agency in the plot and are always strong - physically as well as mentally - and an important positive force on their environment, the larger world and the story itself (unless your name is Sanji). This visually stereotypical, but tonally extremely positive portrayal of LBGTQ folk is an interesting idiosyncracy that nobody ever seems to bring up when talking about the show.

The Okama, for example, are downright respected, seen as rolemodels by some and even the protagonists find them cool. We have a character that (through someone else's devil fruit power) switches gender every other time we see them and nobody ever mentions it or bats an eye at it. Likewise, despite often overly sexualised and stereotypical character designs, we also get to see a huge variety of body types in the show as well. Overall, neither the plot nor the characters in-universe seem to care much about outward appearance. Whether a character is ugly, average, beautiful or just weird, they can be weak, strong, good, bad, neutral or, well, just weird. That's incredibly refreshing to see at all, and even more surprising in a medium and especially genre that - likely more out of laziness than any actual malice - usually only goes for pretty or ugly, the latter tending to be either bad or unimportant characters.

In this particular regard, the world of One Piece could be seen as almost utopian, as sexual identity, sexual orientation and appearance seemingly don't matter to people, outside of romantic situations. On the other hand, the slavery, racism, wars, genocides, oppressive world government, and constant threat of superpowered pirates, insane weather phenomena and kaiju-sized monsters roaming the world probably put things in perspective a little. By contrast, we only have about half of those to deal with in the real world and on average not nearly as often, so we simply have more time to get caught up in the small stuff I guess.

In any case, One Piece would be an easy 10 if not for the wonky pacing, inconsistent (and frankly often bad) animation and shitloads of filler. Despite all that, the brilliant parts far outshine the bad. I still start laughing whenever I remember Law carrying Chopper on his head or Sogeking singing his own theme song, and thinking about Robin during Enies Lobby or pratcically any major character's backstory will get me emotional practically immediately. Do not be mistaken, this is still one of the best stories the genre has to offer and it's only getting better with age.

THE STAFF
- Animated by studio Toei, which is very famous for shows aimed at kids and teenagers. They did a nice job for awhile in adapting the manga properly, but after the show got popular they started cutting down on the budget and thus from a point on it looks very lazy and cheap.
- Based on the only manga that was adapted by Oda Eiichirou. He has lots of good ideas and likes to tribute iconic people and symbolisms from movies and fairy tales. Of course even he was eventually driven to a corner and lost his magic touch.

PROPER MINDSET
This anime is over a decade old and is still half-way through. All the analysis will focus only on what I have watched so far, which is up to the end of the Punk Hazard arc.

One Piece was for many years unnoticed by the majority of the anime community. It began airing around the same time as Hunter X Hunter, which was the fad of the year. Even after HxH ended, One Piece still didn’t manage to make an impression because immediately then began Naruto and Bleach. Also, the American dub had so many ridiculous changes that made many to believe it is a show for 5-year olds. It took for the Big Two to enter filler mode, as well as for some dedicated fansub groups to distribute the original version of One Piece before it was noticed in the west. After that happened, it quickly climbed all the way to the top of popularity and remains there to this day. Its manga sales have also blown out of the water any other title of its era.

The reason it achieved all that is because it had a great feeling of adventure with hundreds of recurring colourful characters who are constantly appearing and disappearing from the main story, as well as a constantly expanding world full of islands, each one with its own distinctive look and society. As far as slapstick humor goes, it is also quite funny for a younger audience.

SCRIPT
The setting is quite imaginative as it seems to blend all sorts of themes and eras, with each area having its own unique features and climates. It even makes various tributes to fairy tales, real life pirates, real life actors, and historical cities. It also plays the switcheroo card in a proficient way, since by the time you get fed up with the same jokes repeating in one area, the cast is sent to another place, where you are again kept interested just to see how they will adjust there. Of course this is just a gimmick to mask the complete lack of actual development. We gradually learn more about the world but there is close to zero character growth, or a feeling they are getting closer to their objective. Heck, said objective is more of an excuse to be kept on the move than something specific and understandable. You are never let to know what the main objective, the One Piece, really is or how far it is from them at any given moment.

So like all standart shonen do, they keep their characters the same since their introduction, with the only flavour being a few character quirks, and a sad background story that is forgotten and means nothing after their introduction is over. You are prevented from getting bored by constantly introducing more characters instead of changing the older ones.

This trick, although effective, can only work for a certain amount of times before it gets old and 600 episodes is more than enough time for that to happen. The official claim is that the series will reach 1000 episodes (WUT?) and I don’t see how it can remain interesting after its problems become so apparent. The main two problems being:

1) It is long. Most of us followed it after the first 200 episodes had aired and it was fun to see in fast forward the entire journey up until that point. But after that we had to wait for each episode to air every week. It made the pacing feel slower and the story itself is also slowing down as it goes on. So I must say that the feeling I had when the show began and the one I have at the point it currently reached are miles apart. It really feels like it now drags like any other typical shonen. Also, the longer it becomes, the harder it gets for newer people to get into it. Who would be willing to watch so many episodes?

2) Lowered production values. At first, the show had a simplistic albeit likable style of animation. It improved as it went on up to a point but after that, it started to decline more and more to the point it is now worse than when it began. It feels lazy and ugly, with characters and motions looking bad.

Let me explain how my perception changed by presenting each arc individually.

- The first arc is called East Blue and it is pretty much the introduction of the main cast. The main hero starts alone and along the way his core crew joins one after another, for various reasons. All that happen in roughly 50 episodes (plus 10 fillers) in which you also get all sorts of villains standing in the way of their journey. It may feel like it is slow and simple at points but the amount of time it spends on getting to like and attach each new crew member makes it all worthwhile. Very few parts feel like they were pointless action or aimless strolling; most are about the characters getting to know and trust each other. It is a fine arc as far as shonen shows go. Mark: 9/10
- The second is Baroque Works, where the crew is thrown in the midst of a grand-scaled conspiracy, set in motion by a shady organization that seems to work for the good of the world but in reality it is nothing but a bunch of heartless thugs. This arc lasts for about 70 episodes and it definitely drags the plot pointlessly at times (especially during their stroll in the desert; that part is overkill). If you take those boring parts out, this arc is also very good as we are introduced to various political and social notions of the world, and how the journey is not about dealing with random autonomous villains but with organized multinational hidden agendas. Mark: 8/10
- The third is Skypiea, where the crew is now taken on a world above the clouds. It lasts for 50 episodes (plus 20 fillers) and this time we are introduced to mostly idealistic notions that are not exactly relevant to the main story. For example, many pirates are now planning to create a new world where the sensation of a journey in order to find treasure and adventure will be obsolete. But this part is thrown to the side as the heroes pretty much beat everyone and move along. Then it is about some sort of world in the stars and weapons of mass destruction. But again nothing is shown; it is mostly hinting possible future events. Even if that is a cool foreshadowing, leaving them aside for hundreds of episodes still feels weak. Plus this arc did not introduce new crew members or sides of the world. Skypiea is pretty much isolated from the rest of the islands and it seems the people there don’t even care about the land below them. What was this entire arc about is kinda blurry. I did like the setting and the broken powers of the main villain but it is otherwise a kinda pointless arc. Mark: 7/10
- The fourth is CP9, which lasted for a wooping 90 episodes plus 30 fillers. This is where you start to clearly see the show getting tiresome, as the plot is definitely slower and the animation lazier. The themes are again about a shady organization but it is hardly as interesting as the one in the second arc. They were never mentioned before, never mentioned again, and were just there to flesh out one of the characters in a fashion that felt similar to the last part of the first arc. So in overall it was a just above average part of the show and a poor excuse to give power ups to the characters in a most lazy way. Mark 6/10
- The fifth is the Whitebeard War which is (believe it or not) 180 episodes and 20 fillers long. No matter how good a story is, this is just ridiculous. Although it spiced thing up by making the crew get separated, as well as killing important characters for the first time (yeah, it took 500 episodes for that) it still felt like a dragged to infinity plot with bad animation and lots of pointless action. They also brought most of the old secondary characters together while introducing a hundred more for a major battle. Yet the battle was boring as hell and the characters didn’t do much, so it only made it look like a poor gathering of cameos. Mark: 5/10
- The sixth is Fishman Island, which lasted for 60 episodes and no fillers. Although that makes it relatively short and full of plot, it was by far the most stupid arc yet. The villains have no appeal, their goals are stupid, the battles are lame, and the only reason this arc was made was just for the heroes to show off their new powers and to win easily against opponents who were nowhere near their level. Mark: 3/10
- Next up is Punk Hazzard and once again it is more stupid than interesting. Everything in it feels like a lamer repeat of previous arcs, and despite the characters training for several years, they still act as stupid as always. I just don’t care anymore; it lost its magic. Mark: 2/10

It is still an overall above average show but it is not like they couldn’t speed up things or have better animation. One could say they have budget problems, another may say they try to keep away from the manga, but I don’t really care about all that, since the final product is just lazy and an excuse to get pissed and go read the manga.

CAST
I definitely like the characters for their weird looks and weirder behaviours; they are very humorous and memorable. That still doesn’t hide the fact they didn’t evolve at all. And I am not talking about getting stronger or changing clothes; these don’t count as development of personality. The show doesn’t even bother killing them, no matter how injured they are. And we are talking here about a whole lot of injuries! A few days in bandages while eating meat is all it takes to be completely healed. And sure, I know, many characters die in flashbacks and two major ones died in the end of the last arc, all of which happened just because the author felt like building some drama and not because they couldn’t possibly have survived. There is absolutely no logic behind what can kill you and what can’t. Here is a rundown of the main cast and how I feel about them.

- Luffy is the captain, the stereotypical shonen protagonist who just goes on no matter what happens. The thing that makes him funny is how he is a complete retard who never thinks but just acts based on his moral values. And that is also what makes him so irrirtating because you can never talk seriously to this guy. He will just sleep or eat while you talk and then will do exactly what you were trying to warn him not to do. He has no touch with his surrounds and walks about autistically, which makes him funny but also obnoxious from a point on. Especially after the major time skip, he acts even more stupid than before, which contradicts all he is supposed to have learned, as well as the grief of the loved person he lost forever.
- Zoro is the swordsman and has the most elaborate background and philosophy. He is just trying to be the best swordsman in the world but the reasons who drive him to be as such are pointed out all the time in a significan way. I find nothing bad in him; he was handled nicely. Every arc has a part where he is evaluation his skills and vows to improve further. It is no secret that he is the best character of the whole show because of it.
- Nami is the navigator and the burglar of the bunch. She was interesting during the first arc while her drama was still fresh and a bit afterwards for being the only one who knew how to navigate in the red zone properly. Afterwards her role just didn’t matter. She is just there mostly for fan service, as her clothes gradually get smaller and her boobs grow larger. She is also supposed to be the voice of reason and guidance in the crew but all that mean nothing when herself gets greedy and does stupid things all the time. I don’t care about her anymore; she became obnoxious too.
- Usopp is the sniper and someone who tries to do important things without lying. He is mostly there as a comic relief but occationally gets surrounded by drama; which is cool. His best phase was when he defended their first ship and even clashed wth the rest of the team about it, leading him to create a hidden persona. After that though he reverted to the same scared idiot he always was. Despite the numerous battles and training he hasn’t become any braver at all.
- Sanji is the cook and someone who tries to find an ocean full of fish to cook. He doesn’t have much to do as an individual besides running after women or arguing with Zoro. They hardly focused on him and despite the attempt to make him some sort of a tranny as part of his development, he still reverted back to a womanizer idiot.
- Chopper is the doctor and also a reindeer who wants to find his own identity. His drama is weak as it is hardly mentioned after his introduction, so he just becomes another comic relief and the cute mascot of the team.
- Robin is the archaeologist and a sort of an information pool, explaining to the rest what they are going to meet up ahead. Her drama during her capture was cool, even if it was basically a rehash of Nami’s past. She is a sort of mother figure to the crew but she is otherwise doesn’t do much other than being lazy, reading books, and occationally showing some bare skin.
- Franky is the shipwright who wants to… um… He doesn’t have a goal. He is just a robotic parody, plus a deviant for running around in tight pants. A hardly interesting character.
- Brook is the musician who also doesn’t have a goal, other than being a creepy skeleton doing really lame puns and wanting to see women’s underwear. Also hardly interesting.

So basically you are watching this show just for Zoro to do some bushido thinking once every 50 episodes. The anime is focused almost entirely on personality gimmicks rather characterization. This is of course still a shonen series and it still is to its core immature and unrealistic and one should never try to reason it too much. But it also lasted for 600 episodes and it will last for a lot more, which eventually is more than enough to tire anyone’s interest about the frozen still characters. Especially when it is NOT as interesting or as fast as it began. Not that they are as unwatchable as the cast in Naruto or Bleach; but gets closer to them with each passing episode.

LEGACY
Popularity is a very flimsy thing and usually full of stuff that make no sense. For example, there is this consensus that the first 50 episodes of the show are very boring, advised to be skipped and start immediately from the second arc. I have no idea why they believe that; for a perpetual on-going shonen series One Piece’s initial part is fine and in fact the best arc of them all. The same popularity also claims that the show becomes awesome from the CP9 arc and that it is advised to begin watching from that point onwards. I again never understood that; since for me that is the part where production values and pacing started to drop significantly.

So please don’t pay attention to what the brainless fanboys of this show say, since the only thing they managed to do was to destroy its credibility with their stupid claims. I used to be a huge fan of the show while the other two of the Big Three were still far more popular. I felt proud to be part of those who did their best to prove its more than obvious superiority over those two. But after we succedded at that, I stopped being a fan, because the majority of its fandom are now tards of the same and worse volume of the other two series, and they typically refuse to admit the series is getting worse. To them, it is getting better with each passing minute; which is of course a lie.

I admit that in overall it is still far more enjoyable and well thought of that any other perpetual on-going shonen ever made into anime. Also, despite all I said about the slow progression, for a perpetual on-going shonen series it still has to the most part the fastest pace and the least amount of filler episodes. So in case you want to marathon it, you will suffer less than with the rest of them.

Its action is full of wacky ideas and interesting choreography and each island is like a world of its own. What kids won’t like that? But I am not going to spam 10s all over the place because it is not perfect and I don’t enjoy it as much as I did. It lost a lot of its magic along the way.

But hey, it is still the best example of a good long-running series despite its mishaps and I do consider it worthy of mentioning in my Nostalgia series. So there you go; have fun while it lasts (and boy does it last a lot).

And now for some excused scorings.

It's really hard to explain what makes "One Piece" so good. Even to another Anime fan. Especially outside of Japan, Anime has a certain "look" of which "One Piece" really doesn't fit. On top of that there are many genres of anime and many standards that are common that "One Piece" doesn't fit either. It's not about 1 guy being chased by 3~10 girls. It's not about mechs. It's not hi-tech. Yes, I know anime is varied but there certain things that are common enough that something like "One Piece" that is outside the norm is harder to grasp.

Another issue with One Piece is it's huge long story. 280+ episodes at this point and all of them build on each other.

It takes 4~5 episodes to get under your skin but once in it's nearly impossible to stop watching.

What makes it so good is it's about passion and goals. The story is about a group of pirates. At first you think they are just a bunch of criminals, I mean hey, that's what "pirates" are in real life. But, in the context of One Piece, "pirates" are people who will risk everything, even their own lives for their dreams. And so, each of the characters has a dream and each of them has at one time or another decided risking their life for their dream was worth their chosen course.

It's this feature that IMO distinguishes "One Piece" from most other anime. It looks silly and in fact lots of it is but deep down there are the dreams of the characters and how each of them support each other. The basis of each person's dreams are the most heart wrenching stories ever.

For many people just looking at the first few episodes are hard to get into so I'm going to give a spoiler because you NEED to give it try and maybe this will help you stick it out and see that it is different.

{spoiler}

In the first 35 episodes there is a character, Nami, who is a super skilled thief. She steals everything and she has no allegiance. She will even steal from her friends. She's cute and easy to like but you wonder, why is she so single minded that she could even steal from her friends.

Then you find out. Years ago, she was found as an abandoned child by a female soldier. This soldier had basically given up living having been badly hurt in a battle but just after the battle while she lay there dying she heard the cry of baby and a little girl. She vowed then and there to save those girls and braved her way across the sea back to her home town barely making it there alive.

When she gets there the towns people are shocked that she would consider adopting these girls. (Japanese do NOT adopt and Japanese frown on single mothers) Being a strong minded soldier she tells the town to shove off, she's going to take care of these girls no matter what they say.

It's a happy family but very poor and one day Nami takes a book from the bookstore without paying. When she gets caught her mother scolds her big time and Nami shouts out how her Mom is not her real Mom and how she wishes she wasn't part of this family but a family with more money that could afford things.

Well, you can imagine how the Mom takes it. This Mom who has risked everything for Nami. Her life, the scorn of the town, everything. She tells Nami to leave. Nami is like 5 years old at this point.

Nami goes and talks to the town's Mayor who tells her how her Mom found Nami and how their bonds are stronger than any other family's bonds. Nami realizes how childish she was being and heads home to see her Mom.

That very day, bad Pirates with super hero like strength show up and take over the town. They demand they be paid $1k a month per person as tribute or be killed. Everyone pays but of course Nami and her family don't have the money.

At first the town tries to hide the Nami and her sister but Nami being so upset for having the previous argument with her Mom runs home anyway just in time to see her Mom getting brutally beaten up by the bad guys. They have her on the ground and are stomping her arm into mush to blood curdling screams.

At first her Mom denies the children are hers hoping to save them since she doesn't have enough money to pay for herself and her 2 children but in the end because of her love and pride she can't deny they are hers and sacrifices her life so she can pay for her daughters. She is killed right in front of Nami and the rest of the town as proof the bad guys are serious.

The next thing you know Nami has joined the bad guys and everyone is like "how could you join them after what they did". Nami plays it cool like she is an uncaring bitch of a girl that could care less about her mom or the town because she knows any other stance and the town won't let her do what she must do. In secret she tells her sister that she has made a deal. If she can pay $1 million the bad guys say they will let her buy the town's freedom.

And now you know why she has become the world's best thief and why she will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. It's the only way she can rescure the town from these evil men and save the place and town she loves so dearly.

{end spoiler}

Now tell me, have you ever seen another anime with a story that intense? And that's just one of many character's back stories. Now you know why One Piece rocks and why it's fans are so adamant.

Back to reviewing:

Animation: "Anime: the art of telling a story with as little animation as possible". One Piece uses computers with hand drawn scans and often they do simple CG effects using those scans. The animation for this series works but it's not going to win any awards. At the same time it's well beyond something like Sailor Moon.

Sound: The score is near perfect. The composer has made some of the most heart rousing music ever and when you hear those parts you can't help but leap to the edge of your seat.

At the same time while I don't really care about the title or ending songs I suppose some people do. They change at least once a seasons so there are about 10 different opening and ending songs since the series has been running for 8 years now. Some are better than others.

Story: I don't know another anime with a better story. At the same time they do often drag things out so I can't say the story is a 10. There are also super heart touching moments where some characters die and it's amazing and then 3 episodes later those same characters that were killed are seen recovering somewhere. I robs the earlier scenes of their impact. That's why I can't give it a 10.

Character: The characters are so varied and amazing. From the main characters to all the amazing people they encounter. There has never been a more creative anime EVER. Characters who cna split their body. Characters that have springs for legs. Characters made of smoke, fire, sand, rubber. Monkey characters that go treasure diving. God's army, an army of angels, this show has basically unlimited characters and each one is unique.

On top of which is all the character development mentioned above. I really can't think of another anime in this league.

Value: What can I say, I've been watching this for 5 years now and it's still an ongoing series even at 280 episodes. It doesn't repeat. It's not the same thing over and over like some long series. At the same time if value means purchase value well I don't think you can buy it in the states with good subtitles and unedited. Either you get the really crappy Hong Kong versions or the edited into crap US versions. Seek out the originals.

I would also say that with it's serial nature and always ending on a cliff hanger I've watched certain arcs several times over. I've watched the Nami arc probably 4 times. The Chopper arc twice, the Crocodile arc twice, the Skypia arc twice. If I just turn on one episode it's very hard to stop until the next major conflict resolution

Enjoyment: I've watched some great anime but of all the anime I've ever watched none of them have come close to pulling my heart strings the way One Piece has. Both sad heart strings and glad ones. I mentioned the sad stuff above but just as well there are triumphant section where you will want to dance on the ceiling they are so joyful.

Introduction:
Since I have some spare time left, I’ve decided to rewrite my review and to adjust a better rating. The previous one had an average rating of an nine.

General:
To start with the general view. This animé sets place in the pirate world, the world where the oceans are the mightiest element of all. This show is all about entertainment, watch it with no expectation and eventually you will like it soon or later.

Animation (7/10):
I consider this as the weakest point of One Piece, but on the other hand the animation is also unique. Animation can be done either quite wacky or simply cool. One Piece mainly emphasizes on the jokes and humor around, so it means that it have to be drawn weird, lame and stupid. Rated for that I would give a ten, but from a global and more objective view it isn’t worth more than an seven.

Sound (7.5/10):
Vivafruit said that the opening song is one of the lamest ever made. I really need to disagree with him. It’s one of the few opening songs that I really liked and watched several time. Along with the catchy beat it starts with a quick summary and exactly at the point where narrator says “And thus began the great Era or the Pirates” the image will swiftly preview a few of the crew members. Nicely done and not to mention the top notch lyrics, it seemed like the song was exclusively made for this anime only.

Now for the anime itself. I have all the soundtracks here and it’s not bad, neither good. Although I must say that the seiyuu's did a terrific job. Luffy sounds like a honest, fun, but dumb brat. Sanji which can switch his voice easily is also amusing.

Story (8/10):
I’ve seen till episode 198 and it’s still interesting. Unlike other anime show, the fillers here isn’t that bad, since most of it is based on their usually pranks with or on each other. Furthermore, their adventures feels like a child’s book, very fictive and epic. Something where you can say, this author got lots of fantasy. Amazing story telling!

Characters (9.5/10):
These people are the stars of the show. The rich personality along with the wacky animation can do magic. Each of them is unique, although still predictable. But nevertheless it doesn’t feel repeated. How they bring retarded, sarcastic or insipid jokes to the public is tiptop (Good usage of the environment and story)

Value (5.5/10):
With the price for each DVD these nowadays, I hardly can imagine that someone would buy all those episodes. Not a great value to be honest, but it’s okay to save it on your data DVD.

Enjoyment: (10/10)
This couldn’t be better. Besides Azumanga, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, School Rumble, Genshiken and Great Teacher Onizuka this is one of the best comedy anime I have ever seen in my entire life.

Recommendation:
The beginning is slow and lots of people need to get used to the animation. But in my opinion, it’s worth to get through it. If you still don’t like it after episode 40, then dump it.

----

Quick view:

Animation: Not bad at all, just extremely funny (7).
Sound: Pleasant, although one of the best seiyuu crew and that makes this show so lively (7.5).
Story: Like a fairytale, just what you can expect (8/10).
Characters: Couldn’t be better if you ask me (9.5/10).
Value: Only if you have a money tree (5.5/10).
Enjoyment: Once you like it, you won’t regret it (10/10)

+ An original and almost unused theme
+ Great characters and voice actors
+ Superb montage and script

- The animation could be done better in terms of details, but I’m glad that they didn’t change the style
- It’s long running anime, which makes it had for some people with not that many time

Animation

The animation of One Piece is not one of its highest points to award praise. Although the animation isn't bad and is polished throughout the series, it could be better. Specifically the first episode's villain detracted me from the anime and would detract others. However, the animation makes characters seem more lovable and cute. Over time, I've come to appreciate and like the animation. However, it isn't perfect. Also, the earlier episodes' backgrounds were of poor quality. Therefore, there is inconsistency in animation but as it is ever-improving and the animation isn't bad, I give it an 8.

Sound

The sound in One Piece is perfectly placed, unlike what others may say. Unlike titles which "spam" music to fulfil emotions, One Piece does it through character responses - therefore it isn't needed. I specifically like most of the openings and endings, which all seem to explain or sum up a aprt of One Piece, and the inspirational battle music. However, there is a lack of background music and there is no argument in that there could be "better" music. One Piece has some magnificent scores which are simple and to the effect. The music allows a tear to trickle down an eye and is so versatile in use.

Story

The story in One Piece is what attracts me the most. The story is incredibly deep and all characters have a well built and explained past. They all have specific aims and there characters and growth are documented well within the piece. One Piece keeps track of old characters also and doesn't let them be forgotten as filler-characters. The story is what makes One Piece so great. It brings forward the heart wrenching scenes. The stories are well synergised with characters for near-perfect responses.

Character

Great character development throughout the anime. The backstories help explain why the characters react to what. No character is two-dimensional and their interaction with eachother is amazing. I specifically like how characters grow but not so much to the effect they're lose - they stay true to their essence.

Value

Although One Piece can lack repetitive value, this is only because of the sheer size of the anime. Value of anime wise, its great. There isn't a moment where I would've not wanted to watch One Piece, apart from the filler arcs.

Enjoyment

I've enjoyed the series thoroughly. Comedy is well placed and the familirisation with characters helps aid the enjoyment factor.

A note, I'm not a One Piece "fanboy". I used to ridicule One Piece of how I thought the anime was too childish, the animators couldn't draw and it was a sketchy version of Naruto. However, I was IGNORANT and wrong. One Piece is much more and gives so much more.

In conclusion, I could drop odd marks off One Piece for very little things but the main point is, One Piece has a strong plot with amazing characters which outweight most of the discrediting factors of the show.

This review is based on the first 257 episodes.
The adventure of Luffy, who wants to become the greatest pirate and his companions each with his or her grand dreams. The anime is first and foremost adventure, with emotional backstories added. You won't find much romance, vengeance, world-saving, etc. in here. The epic story telling and inspiring characters is what makes the anime shine.

Animation:
While many people find fault with the animation, due to the huge eyes and silly looking characters, I feel it fits perfectly with the adventure themed anime. The weird people Luffy encounters across the seas shows the creativity of the author and the silly looks and fighting style fits with the light tone of the anime and adds to the comedy aspects.

Sound:
There are some great OPs and EDs which can be expected of all such long runnning shows, but the background scores are especially nice, espeically the score for determination and the epical one.

Story:
While some of the fillers and even manga arcs are pretty pointless, the major epic main arcs are all intriguing. The end result is predictable as almost no one dies in one piece, but getting there is filled with surprises and emotional flashbacks. The story is mostly light hearted. Main characters don't really have dark sides they must confront. They are on a happy go lucky follow your dream cruise.

Character:
All of the main characters have their own recruitment arc, and sometimes even more. So they are well developed. I especially likes Nami and Sanji's back stories, while could care less about Usopp. Subsequant character development is lacking, but the good basis and the sheer time they had to interact with each other makes up for it. Luffy's straight forward personality is addictive and serves in binding together his crew.

Value:
Although this anime is well done and tells a great story with great characters, it's not a must-see. It tells a story of adventure filled with emotions but is based on a light setting with comedy and silly twists and fights. Less serious than even Naruto and without a hint of romance, this series is clearly not for everyone. However, for those that like this type of anime, the rewatch value, especially of the character's arcs is high.