One Piece

It is difficult to sum up the story of a series with hundreds of episodes, TV specials and movies, so I'd rather just try to tell you what it is about and why it is so incredibly good.

The series starts off with a guy named Luffy whose ultimate goal it is to become the one and only "King of all Pirates" and to find the greatest treasure in the world. The first episodes introduce him and some characters and make a lovely start that is entertaining and makes one want more. On his way Luffy meets a lot of very interesting characters who become his crew members and friends - each of them with an intense and captivating background story. Every character in this series - be it friend or foe - is either adorable, tragic, despicable or interesting at the least... no boring characters anywhere. Later on in the series, important events and story twists are often visualized or supported by huge appearances in the fabulous and unreal environments that our crew travels. This is perfectly done and helps the already epic feel of the story. I have seen 150 episodes, four movies and two specials so far and there were moments that made me cry, laugh, think and re-watch some episodes (especially 85-90) at least 30 times. You might come to the false conclusion of having a kids show here due to the presentation, but that is definitely wrong. People sometimes say about a movie or series that it is "not a life changer, but entertaining". That is definitely not the case here! I know it sounds nerdy, but this series has broadened my horizon in many ways and I recommend anyone to take the admittedly long time to get into this epic adventure. The best way to do so will be to watch the fan-subs which are as close to the original as a non Japanese will get (explanations of puns and traditions). There are of course some filler episodes in a huge project like this which won't blow you away, but that is only natural with hundreds of episodes and helps developing the characters. This show is an easy 10/10

On first glance, One Piece is not too different from other Anime series. It has hilarious, roll on the floor from laughing humor and so much action it makes you wonder if the crew ever gets tired.

But in its core, One Piece is about something else: it's about nakama. Nakama, a Japanese term generally referring to comrades, receives a completely new feeling in One Piece. Stand by your nakama, believe in them no matter what happens, no matter what anyone does or says about them. Help them in any situation, even if it means putting your own life on the line. With you nakama, you can do anything. And it is this extreme sense of comradry that makes you fall in love with the characters and wish you could be a part of the strange little group.

It also teaches how humans are allowed to have flaws; in fact, all people do: seemingly perfect Swordsman and first mate Roronoa Zoro has no sense of direction whatsoever and can easily get himself lost on any one way street, navigator Nami is absolutely crazy for money, cook Sanji loses his mind once he sees a lady.. and the list goes on and on. But despite these flaws, they continue fighting. For each other and with each other. If one crewmember can't do it, somebody else will be right there for support.

If you're looking for a funny, action-filled series whose main characters easily grow to your heart and feel like family: go for One Piece. You will not regret it!

Looking at the IMDb reviews it seemed rather strange to me that most of them (the top ones at least) were quite outdated, written in 2005-2006 actually or the reviewers had not seen more than 50 or 100 episodes. Having said that please note that i have seen 610 episodes and 2 movies(strong world, film z) as of the day I'm writing this review. I hope my review will provide you with valuable insight to the series or even convince you to watch it. I will try to be as spoiler free as possible.

It's been about a year since i started watching anime regularly and that is something I have yet to regret. I mostly enjoy short anime with less than 50 episodes that have good plot and well made characters, anime like cowboy bebop(my favorite), mushishi, ergo proxy, code geass etc. I knew about anime like OP, Naruto, Bleach even before I started watching anime but kept avoiding them even when I had seen about 50 (I must have seen over 100 now XD) other anime mainly because I thought to myself 'how can they be any good when they have that many episodes? Aren't they out of ideas yet?'. Well I might be right about Naruto and Bleach but when it comes to One Piece I couldn't be more wrong. One piece is so good, so enjoyable and it never ends which is something everyone who is watching it wants.

Talk about long introduction huh? Anyways onto the actual review now. It will be divided into 4 sectors: story, characters, art and sound, enjoyment.

STORY: Now the story at first might seem very simple and straightforward, a young boy Monkey D. Luffy (17 years old)setting out on sea on a great journey to become the Pirate King and find One Piece the biggest and greatest treasure in the OP world that was left in 'that' place by the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Before Roger was executed publicly by the marines-world government he told everyone that if they wanted OP they had to look for it and that it was all left in 'that' place and that ignited the great age of pirates. The series is divided into arcs, each featuring its very own story and setting, each island, each place the straw hat pirates (Luffy and his crew) visit is a whole different adventure with new people to meet and new circumstances. And that's one of the best things of OP, you never get bored. You are fascinated by the huge and diverse OP world and you just can't let go of it. Everything is interesting and everything is fun, Luffy and his crew never chose the easy path but they strive for adventure and excitement and they almost pass their feelings to us the viewers. That's something very rare especially in anime and OP handles that expertly. Once you have seen enough episodes you will realize that the main characters of the series, especially Luffy, don't really care about their destination, hell most of the times they don't even know where they are going at all. All that matters is that they are going somewhere interesting where they will learn new things, get stronger, meet new people and face powerful foes. Another thing worth mentioning is that the series has very few fillers (episodes that did not exist in the original story-source material-manga) unlike some other mainstream anime series(Naruto, Bleach anyone?). Also the fillers are actually not that bad, sure they are not good but many of them are OK. And that's a huge plus for an anime series.

CHARACTERS: This is where OP really shines. Each character is presented with great detail, they are all quite unique. Everyone has their own backstory explained thoroughly and we get to see why they are who they are, why each one of them has their very own ambitions and dreams. Due to their different experiences they have very different personalities and through good character development we see how they interact with each other and how they get closer to each other. We see how they become comrades and everyone is looking for each other, they become something very close to a family. That's the kind of bonds they make. Furthermore we not only see the history and personality of the straw hats but many others too like members of the marines. We see why they make the kind of choices they make. Nobody is entirely evil and nobody is purely good. Everyone has a good reason behind what they are doing and they strongly believe in their own cause, in their own justice and in their own dreams.

ART AND SOUND: One Piece also excels in this sector with beautiful and vivid animation. The sceneries look alive and all different from each other with their very own characteristics. The characters are illustrated masterfully and each character looks a lot different from each other (that's a huge plus in anime). The sound department also did a great job especially with the voice actors, I'm always talking about the original Japanese (don't you dare see the English dub),who fit really well into their respective characters. The music, for me at least, is very catchy and actually really well made. However that depends on personal taste, if you are not really into this kind of karaoke-Japanese style of music you might not like it. Nevertheless OP really has some of the greatest music themes I have heard in an anime.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT: One Piece is one of the most, if not the most enjoyable and diverse anime series you can find. It really excels in pretty much every field there is. It is the only anime series, or any series, I have seen with that many episodes and yet manages to stay that good(and believe me, have I seen a lot). I recommend OP to anyone with enough time and hunger for adventure. If you have not decided whether to watch it or not just watch 10 episodes and see for yourself if you want continue or not (oh you will want to continue). Trust me and you won't regret it, just like I did.

And yep that's the end of it fellas. If you enjoyed my review and found it useful please upvote so others can see it.

2021 update: I've been on the fence about deleting this since it's so poorly written, I was 17 at the time of writing and not a native speaker, and my opinion on one piece and anime in general has changed dramatically for the worse. But I figured I might as well leave it be since people seem to like it and it serves as a kind of snapshot of my 17 year old self whose input other hopeful 16 and 17 year adventurers out there might find helpful.

One piece holds a Guinness world record for it's Manga with 100million copy sales across the world. One piece recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary which started it's legacy in 1999 by the creator eiichiro oda. It is set in a beautiful yet harsh world where pirates raise their flags high Expressing their freedom and sail the waters in the search of the grand treasure "One Piece" left behind by the Pirate King Gol d. Roger which marks the beginning Of "the great pirate era." While the marines fend off pirates in order to protect civilians with their own sense of justice. The ruling system has it's very own dark side which strives the pirates to struggle and fight against it for their freedom. The story follows an ambitious and high spirited young boy Monkey d. Luffy who aims to become the "King of Pirates" by conquering the seas and finding one piece. As he ventures on his quest he makes many allies with never ending bonds and stumbles across enemies, kicking their ass for good and more importantly his crewmates who swore their loyalty to him as their captain and work hard to make their dreams come true. The crew starts their journey in the grand line, the toughest seas that are feared by everyone which only Gol d. Roger was managed to conquer. The Grand line is described as hell and as a nightmare for every pirate which the crew rocks in as the "Strawhat Pirates" named after their captain's hat. One piece has the best adventures, high action, drama and comedy that you can ask for. The bonds and relations between the characters are well built in such a way that if you follow them close enough you are sure to wet your tissues. With beautiful seas, islands and breath taking stunts, nerve wracking epic battles, loads of laughter, great openings and ending tracks and addictive OST's you will never want to miss this out anymore. I am sure you will be loving the crew while they progress towards their goal. Finally One Piece is a best source for inspiration and motivation, the theme of "never give up on your dreams no matter what the cost is" gets the good expression here. Every character of one piece whether it be protagonists or antagonists have their own believes, sense of justice and vision of the world for which they fight for putting them on high stakes. If you want to change your approach or view towards the world then you must watch one piece. It can be undoubtedly crowned as Best of the best shounen series. Their adventures still continue as they unfold various mysteries and cruel fates. At the end of the day don't expect the crew to be all kind, gentle and selfless, they're PIRATES after all

I've followed this series for going on 15 years and it never fails to amaze me. From the characters to the world building, the details are everything here. Until almost 500 episodes in, I honestly forgot about the One Piece, because there is so much more going on. The emotional impact of each saga, and the naturally feel good vibe of this series can probably cure depression (I know it cured mine).

At first glance, I like many others, skipped over this series because of the animation and overall goofiness that seemed to engulf it. I couldn't have made a bigger mistake. Don't be fooled, just like the real world, this world shows a coloful fun facade, but there is a much darker reality that lies underneath. The world is a very cruel and unfair place, but that can't deter you from achieving your dream and exploring all it has to offer.

The main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, embodies the human spirit as much as any character in fiction, and just like his rubber ability, he always bends but never breaks. His fiery passion and indomitable spirit to become "King of the Pirates" inspires those around him, and his fun loving, free spirited personality and compassion for his crew make him an excellent leader.

The crew itself are full of different personalities and I almost guarantee that you'll relate to at least one of them. Each bringing their own strengths to the crew. As a fan of the original Dragon Ball, I loved the teamwork aspect and sadly, it's something that didn't carry over as well to DBZ, but was somewhat redeemed in Super. By which I mean, there was a point where Goku and Vegeta vastly surpassed everyone else. Whereas in One Piece, Luffy is the Goku of this series, but no one survives in this world alone and strength comes in all different forms, not just raw power. The strongest crew will find the One Piece, not the strongest person.

Eiichiro Oda and his team have been producing chapter after chapter almost every week for over 22 years. The love and detail he puts into everything is noteworthy, and the anime should receive recognition for the voice acting and excellent score, despite how some people feel about the animation and pacing. It's still better than most.

Whether you decide to read the manga, watch the anime or both, take your time and enjoy one of the greatest adventure series ever made.