Being the #4 most popular manga on MAL and the #1 in Japan itself, it's hard to really summarize what One Piece is in a single sentence. But if I had to, I would simply say that it absolutely deserves its spot. I can think of no other kind of story that should be the number one in all of Japan. It is a national epic. If you are a westerner, count yourself fortunate to be removed from the constant merchandise (akin to how ubiquitous Star Wars merchandise is in the West) You can just enjoy this downright masterpiece without any baggage.

There's so many wonderful things about the series that it's hard to know where to begin. How about the art, which has been controversial? Take it from me, an artist: Oda is a genius. Drawing a comic is not easy: before you even start you need simple iconic characters. You need an aesthetic. You need to design the world and draw it constantly. And then you have to draw it over and over, in different poses and angles. And then design new characters, etc. Other artists, peter out, quit, or phone it in and it shows. But Oda has been drawing for 23 years and he seems to be getting better and more excited. The world is drawn in more and more detail, Oda designs a billion new unique characters, everything is a new aesthetic.

You can tell some artists like to show much work they did (your Miuras and Muratas) while others prefer simplicity (like Azuma, and Togashi used to have a very loose sketchy style) Oda manages to keep a perfect balance. You can tell how much effort went into each page because it's chock full of detail, yet it all keeps a very loose sketchy style, as if it was scribbled in a single go. There are manga chapters made in a month that don't hold a candle to what Oda does in a week. By far the most striking thing about the art is the TEXTURE. When a character wears leather, you see its sheen. When something explodes it's not a puffy white cartoon star like in other manga, it's a black cloud with fire just like a real explosion. All this in black and white too! When was the last time you saw lava look as good as it did in One Piece?

The story too is a thing of wonder. It's famous for its consistency. A lot of serialized manga hook you with a strong premise and then lose their focus after a while (see: Naruto), or get repetitive with how it keeps yanking your chain over and over (see: My Balls(the manga)). A casual reader of One Piece can start at any arc and find a dense, thought through story, with a detailed world and a backstory that ties everything into a fitting picture. But the committed reader who reads the whole thing start to finish is enthralled with ANOTHER overarching plot layered on top of that. It's a spectacular juggling act. I would personally complain that Oda is a little slow, but still, hardly anyone else can do this.

But no one walks away from a One Piece arc without saying how much they wanted to cry afterwards. This series is high on emotion. Oda has a natural sense of story-telling that always leaves each scene with an emotional take-away, whether it's laughing at a joke, ogling at scenery (or breasts) or grinding your teeth at the evil that a villain does. And when Oda wants to, he will make you bawl, if nothing else from how perfectly he times the reveal. Such an emotional simplistic series may lead one to think that, philosophically, One Piece slouches, but its simplicity is its philosophy. One Piece oozes with the joy of being alive. To exist. The most natural and simple good there is. What other series would have a big feast after every arc? It's the romantic freedom that people admire of the pagans, who trusted their natural instincts.

If you have time to read this review, you have time to read One Piece.