One Piece

I first started reading One Piece about 5 years ago and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get into the series. I will admit I fell for the classic problem at the beginning of a series with "the artwork." It drove me insane. So I dropped the series and came back to it about 2 years ago and boy am I happy I did. Once I managed to push through those first few chapters, this series dragged into depths of fandom I'd never experienced before.



Story: 10

This comedic adventure is set in a place where pirates roamed the earth. Our protagonist Luffy sets off on a journey to become the king of the pirates. Along the way he meets many people, including his motley crew, all with their own dreams; as well as countless villains with or without devil fruits (which give people special powers, but takes away their ability to swim.)

While the basis of One Piece is quite simple, the story arcs bring real-world problems into it. From discrimination and racism, to corruption and slavery - the world of One Piece has seen it all. These themes bring about a depth to this fantasy.

With these story arcs, even though they are separate tales, they all interconnect with one another throughout the series. Minor foreshadowing in one arc can lead to major plot developments later on. An attractive thing about One Piece is that there's no limit to what can happen.



Art: 9

As I said earlier, the artwork at the beginning of One Piece was hard to digest as Oda was still a "rookie." However as the story progressed the art got better - MUCH better. The fighting scenes are well done and it's fairly easy to tell what's happening during them (which is always a plus xD). What I really enjoy about the artwork is that it doesn't overuse screentones like many manga tend to do. And while this ties into the "character" section as well, I love the creativity of the character designs especially for the villains.



Characters: 9

I find that the real gem in One Piece is not always the storyline, but the characters met along the way. First we have the crew, all unique in their own respects: (I'm going to try and keep it short...no promises though)

- Luffy, the captain may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has a strong sense of determination and friendship. And if he scouts you for his crew, it's best to just give in. He'll win in the end anyway.

- Zoro, the directionally challenged swordsman is hardheaded and can probably sleep anywhere, but is loyal to Luffy. His constant snipping with Sanji is hilarious, but his sword skills are badass.

- Nami, the navigator used to be a weak link always needing saving, but this violent, sassy girl can now hold her own with the rest of the crew.

- Usopp, the lying sniper who wants to be a great man of the sea, is comedic and gets very attached to everyone. While at first he was afraid of everything, he now knows how to take care of his own fights.

- Sanji, the ship's cook is a complete ladies man. When fighting "Black Leg Sanji" only uses his legs and this guy knows how to branch off from the rest of the crew to get some major stuff done.

- Chopper, the Strawhat's doctor and human/reindeer zoan fruit user is sweet and earnest. He wants to be able to cure any disease.

- Robin, the Archaeologist. While having a difficult past, she finally found where she belongs on the crew. This level-headed girl is the logical one in a mass of hot-heads and her curiosity often gets the better of her.

- Franky, the cyborg shipwright wants to sail 1000 seas in a ship he built. His somewhat perverted nature is hilarious at times. He runs on cola and believes he is "SUUUPER" - both of which Usopp and Chopper seem to agree with. xD

- Brook - the skeletal musician who lost his shadow. This complete perv, who is always asking to see the girls' panties is not only skilled with music, but also with a sword. He brings a fun atmosphere to the crew.

Lastly we have villains. What makes One Piece really special to me is the massive amount of MEMORABLE villains. From Crocodile and Baroque Works TO Spandam and CP9 TO Doflamingo and the Doquixote Family (although that last grouping isn't my favourite.) Oda knows how to create a great villain. Although I have to say that at times they can look a little disturbing. *cough* Senor Pink *cough*

Overall, the characters are really well done. Many of the characters have quite a bit of depth, especially as we dive into their backstories.



Enjoyment: 10

I always enjoy reading One Piece and I anxiously await the release of each chapter, groaning when the series goes on break for a week and grinning when a massive plot twist or an exciting reveal happens. If that doesn't constitute enjoyment, then I don't know what does. xD



Overall: 9.5 (rounded to 10)

While every series has its faults (and One Piece is no exception), One Piece is enjoyable to read with good characters, themes, and plots. It well deserves a high rank for any adventure-lover.

Leader of the big three in Japan. Categorized as consistently getting better with every story arc that passes. Praised for its unique art style which is called both grotesque and absurdly appropriate.

Know this, its a fantastic manga. 80-90% of the people who don't read it are people who were influenced badly by the art or the horrible 4kids dub which destroyed its image or just had trouble getting past the slow beginning. But people who truly don't like the series aren't that common.

Don't judge this one quickly whatever you do. Read 100 or even 200 chapters before giving up on it. Most people start liking it after the Arlong park arc, and then completely fall in love with it after the Enies lobby arc.

Synopsis: The story is about Monkey D Luffy and his quest to become King of the Pirates by travelling the Grand Line and finding the legendary treasure known as One Piece.

Story: 9/10

Pre-grand line the story isn't really that much and was all just character development. Some very heartfelt and beautiful flashbacks to each of the crew members pasts. They had some horrible incident happen in their lives which made them outcasts, but Luffy recognizes there strength and gets them to join his crew.

When they enter the grand line its still mainly about developing new characters, but Oda starts to tie the world together a little bit. The existence of the forbidden pone-glyphs, the corrupt officials in the world government. All this starts to tie itself together in the grand line.

The story itself is also a real tear jerker. I get lumps in my throat all the time listening to them. Keeping in mind that I am an emotional robot so you will probably end up grabbing a Kleenex.

power-ups I would say are done somewhat poorly. At least the first wave of power-ups during the Enies lobby arc. I would say they are 5/5 for "cool power-ups" and 1/5 for well thought out power-ups. Oda just had them evolve out of nowhere without any foreshadowing. The next power-ups though were absolutely perfect. After the time skip, they had basically been foreshadowing the abilities and changes to the crew for the duration of the manga. Absolutely perfectly done.

Another thing I have been noticing about the story. Oda is actually building towards a sequel. He's left all these hints talking about things the pirate king did and they never go into much detail but Oda leaves it open to be elaborated on in a second one piece manga. Its rather epic and grand when I think about it. That he's already putting together a sequel about the original pirate king.

Art: 10/10
Original art style designed specifically to work with the pirate theme. This turns a lot of people off, but you can't possibly claim that Oda is actually bad at drawing. Looking closely at the pictures there is so much detail in every frame that you can't think that way. Oda is the Picasso of pirate manga.

wonderfully detailed backgrounds. Every frame has them. Lots of manga write off backgrounds and just focus on stunning characters, but one piece gives you both. The backgrounds are simply amazing.

Character Art is off the charts. Every character has his own style too him. All of them are completely original and unique. Even the filler characters look good. One tiny flaw is that usually the female characters are somewhat bland in that they are all knockout babes, but I don't think Oda had much of a choice there given the market, and to be honest he does sneak a lot of ugly females in the back door on occasion.

Character 10/10
Character development is pretty much covered in story and is fantastic. They introduce a character and give them a back-story and continue developing them throughout the series. For instance, Nami's would be weather or not she can overcome what the fishmen did to her village. They never drag the story of one character on either. It's rather elegant.

Enjoyment 9/10
The early story was rather poorly done in comparison with the ladder of the story and you can see the mangaka improves with every chapter. So its hard to get into and like I said before 80-90% of people who haven't read One Piece is because they gave up early on without giving it a chance to improve. IT GETS BETTER!!!!

The action is more of a brawl then a strategy game which is a matter of taste really. Its actually rather easy for Oda not to screw up given the way he's done it.

Comedy is definitely there. Every character has their own quirks which never get old. At first glance they might seem like catchphrases but they are actually much deeper than that. They each have their own funny personality and quirks which play into how they interact with each other.

Overall 9/10
There's really no good way to score One Piece because early on they would rank probably a 7/10 or an 8/10 depending on how much the show suited your tastes, but with the show getting better every season its basically jumped a point every year. By now if I was to judge it just by the last year, I would give it a 15/10... IT GOT FRIGGEN GOOD!!!!

Spoiler free review.
Story (10/10): Anyone can enjoy One Pieces story, it doesn't matter if you're a casual fan or someone who likes to analyse every little thing, you will be blown away. There are many layers to the story but it doesn't feel overwhelming because its usually so relaxed and natural you'll rarely find yourself questioning plot elements. The story is a joy to experience and there is so much to love about it.

Characters (9/10): The characters are simply brilliant, as you would expect all major characters are written extremally well, you genuienly care for them, they're goals and their happiness, espically as the vast majority come with a heartwrenching backstory. However Oda has managed to fill his world with equally as amazing minor characters that make it feel the world of One Piece is filled to the brim with interesting people no matter where you look.
Unfortunatly with this amount of characters naturally some characters (even main ones) can have a lack of screentime and not be doing much particularly after the timeskip as their main character arc has completed. However this doesn't stop them from being lovable amazing characters.

Worldbuilding (10/10): The worldbuilding is some of the best I've seen in fiction, every loction has a unique history, culture, is full of new characters, and some ones that are less connected to the world at large have their own currency and technologies. It's sad but I think I understand more about the world Oda has created than our own world.

Art (8/10): Odas art is extremally expressive and that adds wonderfully to the drama and emotions of the story and characters, the designs of locations is top notch and character designs are mostly amazing but with a couple notible exeptions. The panelling is largely very good but there are some scenes that are slightly confusing upon first reading, but those are very rare.

Enjoyment (10/10): Everything I've already talked about and some stellar comedy comes into effect when making One Piece one of the most fun to read and enjoyable manga out there, there's so much to enjoy on every level of the story, the characters are all unique and fun to read about, and the art comes in to enhance the experience.
The pacing of the manga does suffer a little at certain point but it barely detracts from the experiece.

Overall its a 10/10 from me and it's honestly my favourite piece of media out there.
If you haven't read of watched One Piece I cannot recommend it enough, if its extreme length puts you off let me just say that theres nothing rushing you, read at your own pace and enjoy it as you go.

One piece is simply a masterpiece, the story is its best characteristic I dont know when it will finish but when the time comes I, like a lot of people will get really sad even though I am sure it will have a gerat end. Eichiiro Oda is awesome. If you like misteries and a really cool way of telling a great story this is defenetly your manga. I dont know what else to say about this manga but this keeps telling me to add text so I will simply say that if so many people are “in love” with this manga you probably eill too, I am not sure why part 7 has a better score than one piece but I think that this manga has clearly less plot holes and better story telling even though part 7 is really cool. In a nutshell, read one piece!

This is my first attempt to write a review, keep in mind that my English aren't that good so...-
It'll have some minor plot spoiler i think, so beware.


Story 5/10
Ah, if you're interested in this you'll get a endless loop from most of the story as it'll keep looping from Fight>Boss Fight>Boss forced "sad" background story>Feast from the victory>and a forced "sad" farewell well it interesting in the very first chapter, but it keep going until 800 chapter which is uninteresting in my opinion. So if you're looking for a decent storyline don't waste your time on this.

Art 4/10
The art are awful and the only "decent" art are the fight and background scenes. The most AWFUL from this point is the female face, they're either had a beautiful face that every female had the same face or a gross looking face with a giant body structure.

Character 5/10
The character development are the same with the storyline, with forced sadness that the author write it makes me sick.

Enjoyment 5/10
Nothing to say here, just a mediocre pirate adventure.

Overall 4/10
I would like to go lower but the background art are beautiful and sometimes fascinating to look, and again Don't waste your time in this unless you like these kind of stuff, personally the one thing that keep me from reading this "Decent" manga is how the author will end the story along with One piece treasure.

Going into this show I was exited, it was back in 2008 when chapter 500 had just came out and I was hearing the hype about the work... so I decided that I was going to check this work out. That was the day.. a day I wish I could go back on because ever since then I have wanted to die. I read up to chapter 500 in a few days. Those were the worst days of my life.

Around Chapter 230, I sat there crying for hours because It was dreadful... every chapter, every page, every panel, every sentence, and every word that I read of one piece, have been the worst moments of my life. I said that I was going to drop it back then but every person in my school said, "Don't drop it it gets better, trust. It never got better. In fact it has been getting worse.

Every Single time a new chapter releases, I cry. I usually don't view the chapter a few hours until after it comes out because I am bawling my eyes out from how bad I don't want to read the weeks chapter. This has been going on since 2008, the release of the 500th chapter. These have been the worst years of my life. Ever since then I have been trying to go back in time, to get my time back form what I wasted read this awful show. But I sucked it up, I just wanted this manga to be over, I've been waiting upon waiting for 12 YEARS STRAIGHT, but it just won't end. I haven't been getting sleep lately because I just stay up late dreading the release of the next chapter.

I gave everything a 1 except for characters, and I did this for a specific reason. That reason is Zoro. Every single night since the chapter 500 I have been wanting to do unnamed things to that man, that beast.

There is something that I do enjoy in life though, and that is Naruto and Boruto. The best things I have ever read. Especially Boruto. A masterpiece if I have ever seen one myself. EVERY WORD written in the Boruto manga is a masterpiece. Boruto is the best character in all of manga and anime, nothing have ever came close to it and nothing ever will.

TDLR; I hate every page of one piece, It is the worst thing I have ever read. In conclusion. Boruto and Naruto trump this awful manga in every way

One Piece is by far the most successful of the Original big three of shonen Jump, It's become one of the most influential comic series in the world. It stands among Industry legends like Hirohiko Araki and Fujio Fujiko. While One piece doesn't have the flawless art of Tite Kubo or the Fantastic concept of Naruto it makes up for what It misses with unlimited pizazz and energy elevating it above it's contenders.

Q: Should you Read One Piece?

A: One piece is a series that takes a lot of commitment with an overwhelming amount of chapters, (over 950) While the exceedingly extreme length of the Manga may seem daunting, the more and more you read of one piece and the more you enjoy it the easier it is to read, And soon enough it becomes part of your daily routine to pick up a chapter and read it each week. Overtime long running shonen series such as one piece become a familiar backdrop in everyday life and while the length may prevent you from initially getting into the series soon it will become an everyday thing.

~Review Portion~

[Story 8/10]
"Wealth, Fame, Power" The pirate King Gol D. Roger gained all the wealth that there was in the world, on the Day of his execution he echoed the words "My Treasure if you want it you can have it I left it all I that one place" and his final words lead to a revolution, the great Pirate Era, Countless dreamers seek to find the legendary "One Piece" in order to be the next pirate king. one such Dreamer is Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy from the East Blue who ate the Gomu Gomu No Mi, a mysterious fruit named "Devil Fruit" which gives you a power in exchange for the ability to swim. The young boy set out on his journey across the great grand blue making countless friends, enemies and allies along the way.

One Piece is a series built to withstand the test of time, with a plot that could take forever to resolve does the story serve it's job well enough to make up for the almost impossible goals it sets for our character? Yes. Each new arc introduce's us to a whole new world, each island has its own culture, politics and ceremonies. this adds a lot of depth to a location. Think of it Like Morioh from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is unbreakable. Morioh is like a character in and of itself just like how each island of one piece is like it's own independent personality. While in the end we know the Straw hat pirates are gonna come on top the stakes still are high enough to question our heroes safety.

Overall the story of one piece is great, it has fantastic world building and the themes will very obvious are executed well.

[Art 10/10]
One piece's artwork accentuates Oda's fantastic worlds that he creates, each island has a a great design and are all aesthetically beautiful, One such example is Thriller Bark and Fishman Island with small little details that add so much to the world. The character designs are iconic and easily distinguishable, I could recognise almost every character from the series purely from their silhouette alone. There's a great sense of energy that flows between each panel of one piece and the way that Oda structures his panels are just phenomenal, they just flow so well together.
Art is absolutely brilliant.

[Characters 8/10]
Every character in one piece has a clear and defined personality easily separating them from each other, Luffy is Lazy, Stupid and Incredibly strong. Zoro is Badass, stern and a great leader, Nami is smart, greedy and has a love for those close to her. Each character has very easily distinguishable traits that make them easy to recognise. And overall there all just a hell of a lot of fun read on with together, There all a A jolly bunch and its impossible for me to hate anyone on the straw hat crew. the villains are Sometimes cartoonishly evil like Heath Ledgers Joker or Dio Brando and some other villains are Deep and Well thought out like Yoshikage Kira or Askellad. Villains like Buggy the clown while fun to read are plain comic relief and don't add much depth to the world, On the other hand characters like Mihawk, Akainu and Dolflamingo have layers upon layers of character each with a different motivation and backstory and all serving there role and antagonistic forces in the story. Side characters are never just one time characters, Great side characters like Trafalgar law and Jinbe are always nice to see again, and even if they aren't shown again they can be mentioned again through other people later on in the story.

[Enjoyment + Overall 9/10]
One piece is gripping and fun and always has a lot of flare and energy that just pulls me into each new chapter of the series. With some great art and fantastic energy, alongside awesome characters one piece is one of the defining manga series of the century and will continue to be one of the best manga ever until it's eventual end.

At the current time of writing this review, I would say i am about 1/3 of the way into the Water 7 arc. But, I will do my bet to keep it entirely spoiler free. except for maybe minor spoilers.

Ok, before going into the One Piece manga I had already seen up unto the Dressrosa arc in the anime when it was airing. However, due to the anime's poor pacing I stopped watching and washed my hands of One Piece and all the experiences I had with the show thus far. But, as of maybe 2-3 months ago, due to the my friend telling me how One Piece was the best piece of fiction to ever be created as well as his constant nagging, I sucked it up and started the manga. The beginning was enjoyable. I was having nostalgic memories of all the fun i originally had with the series. But, the nostalgia I felt with the series only lasted but so long. It was then replaced with my boredom that I had trying to drag through the series. This was only made worse with my friend constantly telling me it gets better in *insert arc*. First it was baratie, then arlong, then drum island, then alabasta, now its enies lobby. But that is not to say One piece is all boring there were some things I enjoyed. I liked the straw hats for the most part especially Robin. I enjoyed the skypia arc all the way through. The worldbuilding and the mystery of the poneglyfs is one of the main reasons I will continue reading the series, that and the friend I don't want to let down. So, I came to say that the only reason to read this series is because you want to. If a OP fan recommends it to you and you aren't to sure try not to feed into the false sense of hype that they give you. For example, the one time I did bring my boredom to light my friend instantly trashed every manga, anime, tv show I ever watched just to say why One piece will be the best thing ever. Read it on your time or else you will be very disappointed. But there is also a chance you will enjoy it with the hype.

Ps: I didn't write about the art but it is amazing and the paneling is also magnificent and it makes it easy to read and understand. Fights sometimes can be convoluted but most of the time its perfect. Character designs are also great.

To end it, there are many reasons to like the show, but with all the constant praise and worship it gets its easy to expect the peak. However, my experience so far can be described in one word: Meh. I will never put this as one of my favorites but if you love it I see where you are coming from and completely respect your opinion.
(sorry, I think I wrote more of a rant or a review, but im not used to giving my opinion on topics.)

Now the best selling manga of all time, One Piece is the tale of a man named Luffy who is gonna become king of the pirates. In face of this long-running manga, that summary does many injustices; in essence, One Piece is a story of the Strawhat Pirates setting out to follow their dreams. This overview is going to be a bit long, but hang tight with me and I'll give you as much of an comprehensive overview as I can on this monster of a series.

My criticisms of the manga are as follows: as the manga goes on, the skinnier women get less and less room to have organs while their breasts seem to increase in mass. It's not as if the author, Oda Eiichiro, is incapable of diversity, either. Oda has shown to take risks when drawing male characters, giving them a wider choice of physical design. There is also the problem with white-washing, which is much more obvious in the anime than the manga, but present nonetheless.

On the other hand of the spectrum, what One Piece does good, it does REALLY GOOD. There are many fine details of plot and characters that are continuously woven into the story; a little "throw-away" character to help start the manga series you don't think you'll ever see again? JUST KIDDING, they're back and they're doing stuff! Oda does not forget his characters, unlike some authors (looking at you, Kubo Tite). Speaking of characters, there are MANY, of many different moralities, aspirations, and identities. I've seen some people complain that there are too many characters in One Piece, but I feel that it is justified as: 1) the characters are traveling from island to island, and it makes sense to meet more people and 2) this large cast is HANDLED WELL. Unlike in other series such as Bleach or Dragon Ball where the notable characters are so large in number that sometimes their own authors forget their names, One Piece is able to establish characters well and balance the ones that will appear again and those that shall not.

One of the best parts of One Piece, however, is its sincerity. One of the reasons I can not bother myself with series like Fairy Tail is because many of its preachings ring hollow, almost out of obligation. Even as it embodies many shounen tropes, One Piece doesn't feel like it is shoving token lessons down my throat. Perhaps it's because the main characters are not totally "goody two-shoes"; they aren't going to save the world because "that's what you should do", they do things because "they want to". Sometimes that means beating up a whole town of bounty hunters and stealing their stuff, sometimes that means saving a group of children from a mad scientist--even if it is disadvantageous to them and they will get nothing out of it.

One Piece, with all it's flaws and perfections, is a lot of fun. Interwoven with a clear sense of adventure and mystery; lessons of strong friendship, love, and following your dreams; as well as very real discussions of politics and corruption, racism and other forms of discrimination, the nature of revenge, and even slavery! This is a big series with many aspects, and though long, it is worth every chapter.

If you like creative and fantastical worlds, elements of whimsy as well as an shounen spark of adventure, One Piece has much to offer you.

"My treasure? If you want it, you can have it...Search for it! I left everything in the world there."--Just with these words from The Pirate King, the world ushered in the pirate age.
Set in the Great Pirate Era story follows the Monkey D. Luffy as he sets out for the greatest adventure after saying- "Kaizoku Ou ni Ore wa naru" or I am going to become the Pirate King. To do so, he has to find the treasure called 'One Piece', left by Gold Roger (Pirate King) at a certain place. One Piece is easy to follow. Art improves over time, and it's great when you get used to it because it fits the premise and story.
For any story, longer the series drags on, it becomes extremely easy to lose sight of the goals of the things that were important to the story, but that's not the case with One Piece.
There is a certain constant level of entertainment in every chapter where the chapters are always improving, which shows the brilliant and well thought writing Oda has done and the aspect where most other stories fail to deliver. The development for certain things starts well in advance (even hundreds of chapters before), leaving subtle hints about some event which all clicks together when it happens. Nothing introduced to the narrative of One Piece is without value, and this value is ever-expanding. Things don't just appear in one arc only to disappear in the story that follows but are well used to their entire potential even later on in the story, which is the genius why people can continuously come up with new theories about the story. Things that appeared whimsical at some point become beautiful pieces of foreshadowing when they connect.
The comic relief is well-executed, and some constant gags associated with particular characters do not fail to deliver us a good laugh, even 980 chapters deep into the story.

There are a lot of things people have already talked about regarding One Piece which I won't get into in this review, but I wish to lay down the facts that are brilliant and not much talked-

Characters-
This to me is the strongest forte of One Piece! It is not possible to have a good story without good characters. No matter how good the plot, you can't have a good story without good characters since at the end of the day, characters of the story are what people are going to relate to and enjoy the story from. One Piece is a story which has given special attention to all its characters. Oda is a master of this most crucial element of fiction- Characters.
The characters in One Piece are so well done that you can almost feel each one of them come to life, all of them being extremely easy to relate to- be it the Main Characters or Antagonists and even a lot of side and minor characters.
One Piece has a hell lot of characters, which makes it very easy for any story to lose sight of the reason behind introducing them and not giving them proper development they deserve. This leads to the characters feeling 'hollow'. But, that is not the case with Oda's Masterpiece, even side characters who might have had a little impact are given due respect. Hell you will even feel connected to the ships in the story. Amazingly, some characters will develop an image in your mind well before showing their face in the story.
The concept of Nakama used in One Piece is like the very embodiment of friendship--or Comrade. This is the technique used by Oda to bring out 100% potential of a character—developed so well that now it is like a reference for new stories to copy from forever. It is complicated to describe how the characters, even though ever-evolving and developing, are still the same good old characters at their hearts, which you came across very early on in the story.

Perception-
Another thing which has been done near to perfection in One Piece is Perception. Perception of People, Perception of Organisations, Perception of Titles, Perception of Weapons, Perception of Islands and Perception of One Piece itself.
Perception is something that affects not only the readers but also the characters in the story. The narrative uses perception as an incredibly fantastic tool and uses it to make people believe certain things. The designations of people in Marines, the titles and bounties of pirates, all add up to how you perceive certain things vs. how they are in reality.
Take Pirate King for example. Probably the biggest title that series has to offer for an individual and the end goal of Luffy. The meaning of Pirate King as perceived by the people of the world, the different pirates aspiring to become pirate king, and our Protagonist Monkey D. Luffy are all worlds apart.
Even the character of the man who actually became pirate king- Gold Roger whose stature is laid out in a way that makes you ponder upon how this person would have been and forces you to have an image in your mind regarding how a Pirate King should be. But when the character is actually shown no matter what kind of perception you might have had for him, the character built by Oda for him is so well done that you immediately admit that that's how he should be.

Re-read Value-
A good story is one in which the value of previous chapters and arcs increases when you go deeper into the story, and One Piece is a perfect example of such storytelling.
It astonishes me how the East Blue arc means so much now than it meant back when it was my first time reading it. Let alone the East Blue, just reading Romance Dawn (the first chapter of One Piece) proves how good of a mangaka Oda is. Those 50 pages of Romance Dawn have so much value now, which is impossible to think of in the first time reading. He set up so much in just that one chapter that the things laid down in it are still the theme of the story. I can't even think of a One Piece without Romance Dawn at this point. This is also why I believe that One Piece is a story that needs to be read at least twice.

Newspapers-
It is very easy to overlook the importance of Newspapers in One Piece, which is the source of information to the general masses and how greatly they can impact the world. The news spread by them reaches almost everyone on the planet and hence an incredibly amazing exploit that Oda doesn't shy away from using, to have a lot of critical interactions in the story.

Bounties-
Bounty System in One Piece is an integral part of the story and plays a massive role in building suspense. One Piece being a manga about "lawless" pirates, uses bounties to create an amazing amount interest in the story by making us continuously look forward to and constantly speculate upcoming bounties of people and current unknown bounties. Bounty of a pirate signifies their impact on the world. It's amazing how a piece of information so readily available to the people living in the world of One Piece would be something you would be dying to know.

Massive Parties-
What's being a pirate without enjoying life, the crew enjoys their time together by partying a lot. At the end of each arc, you have a big party to look forward to, which, when it happens, brings so much joy that it is tough to put it into words.
Those parties make all the effort up to that moment worthwhile.

Geography-
Geography in One Piece is very well developed. The planet is unique and will certainly make you ponder more about the kind of geography it has. Also, the way different islands are located and how you travel between them is a unique and well thought out thing. The way climate and seas play a role in traveling is also an essential factor. Even the way the journey of the pirates sailing through the waters is greatly affected by geography.
All in all, you must look forward to the geography the world of One Piece has to offer.

Overall, it is funny how One Piece mostly gets hate from people who have not read it. Building upon that fact, I do agree that story might seem slow to people at the start because of which I urge anyone who picks up this masterpiece to at least read up to Arlong Arc, which is where the story really picks up and sets off. It does take some patience, but it will pay back a billion times more. No fiction of whatever media comes even close to what One Piece has to offer. It is truly an Epic that I am thankful to be alive to read.

One Piece is GOAT. Period.

I think I gave it a fair run, I got deep in the Skypiea arc but I just stopped caring so had to drop it. It's a shame because it did have moments where it intrigued me like the whole seven pirate gods and world government but the Straw Hats get distracted and go off on these side adventures and they sometimes last hundreds of pages.

The majority of the arcs have the same structure where Luffy goes to a new town or island, beats up the local villain and moves on. A couple of arcs did this differently and were the better ones but it just wasn't enough, repetitive stop-starts kept killing momentum before it could build up.

Don't expect a HunterXHunter where it switches the genre and tone in each arc because it doesn't happen, not in the first 250 chapters anyway and everything blurs together, the exception being the Alabastor arc which had a different setting, structure and the only intimidating villain at that point in the story.

The characters have cool designs and I did grow attached to them but they were way too overpowered and got out of scuffles far too easily without any losses. I don't think a single named character died so it was hard to feel any tension during fight scenes because I knew everything would turn out just fine.

For me One Piece is a manga that had a promising setting and premise but it never gets fully capitalised on. A shame because it's loved by so many others, I think it could have been much better if the mangaka didn't drag the story out so much and took more risks in his story telling rather than taking the safe options.

Objectively, One Piece is not the best manga. It has it's own sets of problems such as the base structures of arcs being repeated and the characters not being developed. It has a problem killing off characters. The art is decent, not extremely good. However it is still one of the best manga to ever exist. One Piece fleshes out it's world beautifully, with each setting being unique and interesting. The world is alive and breathing and doesn't remain stagnant until the main protagonist does something. The main characters, the Straw Hats, are amazing characters. Seeing the unbreakable bond of trust between them never ceases to amaze me. They do not have drastic changes in character writing throughout the course of the story, because One Piece is an epic about how the Straw Hats are changing the world. In my personal experience, One Piece bought about a spark of adventure and exploration to me. It shows the world is a vast place, and is often beautiful but tragic. The world of One Piece is much darker than it appears to be. Every Straw Hat has their moment to shine and is well written. Often plot points from hundreds of chapters earlier are still bought upon to the current chapter. Seeing the Straw Hats grow from a crew weak and powerless to being one of the strongest crews is amazing. One Piece is often criticized of dragging along but the best flashback and depth of One Piece happened in the 967th chapter. The amount of work, dedication and passion Oda has put in One Piece is truly exceptional and shows at the climax of every arc. It has it's own themes of inherited will which are simply beautiful. No other series has ever reached the high that One Piece has. The Water 7 Arc, Marineford,Whole Cake Island and Wano Arcs are good enought to be shows rated at least a 9/10 individually. Oda loves fleshing out the world and it's wacky designs, it's creative powers and it has the most mysteries present in a series. To me, One Piece's journey is a magical one and the day that it ends will be a tragic one.

I don't even remember what life was like without one piece, and I can't imagine what I would do if it doesn't exist (which will be a significant problem in 5 years). That's how good this series is; it has the power to grip you and never let go, because the story is so well told that it makes you desperate to see what's going to happen.

Pros:

The artwork is incredible, and the designs of everything are extremely divers; from islands in bubbles under the ocean, to raging islands that are bombarded by lightning 24/7, to cloud cities in the sky, One Piece feels like a wonderland (filled with the stinky sweat of pirates and the harshness of monarchal governments).

The story itself may very well be the greatest ever told, as the plot is told in a way that twists planned out, 5, or maybe even 10, years prior unfold often and constantly shock you as you read on the toilet (or bidet, if that's what you prefer).

Part of the stories greatness involves the depth of the characters; one piece feels like a living, breathing universe where everything makes sense, and there's very few inconsistency, which is impressive given that Oda has to actively keep track of hundreds of characters that are playing a role within the manga.

Cons:

One of a select few series that I won't place any cons. I guess a single, glaring con could be Oda's perversion, but if you don't care about author's personal lives, and don't plan on reading question corners, then you'll be all set (living pervert free for the rest of your days).

it's good manga but it's not the best.

the main characters most of them are bad especially the protagonist and most the crew you feel like child while watching them.

shabondy arc was the best imo Introducing characters was amazing and the fight every thing that happened in this arc was amazing.

marinford arc before watching the sires this is the most arc i was excited to watch it's amazing arc but it's not the best.

the big mom arc it was trash and how luffy won against kata he got beat up the whole fight and won just cuz he remember he's training with riley.

foxy arc i still don't why i watch this garbage.

would i recommend this sires ? it depends if you like long manga/anime i'll say watch it but if you like more short manga don't if you like them both like me don't watch it .

There is a reason that One Piece is the top-selling manga of all time. There is a reason that no other manga is even close. There is a reason that people are willing to follow the story for 20+ years. One Piece is that good. The story is good, the characters are great. There is humor and drama. Sadness and joy. Tension and comic-relief. One Piece can really get you invested and make you feel some powerful emotions.

To start, the world-building in One Piece is unparalleled. The world-building is woven intricately into the story and even details like the geography of the world itself influence the way the story plays out. The people, animals, powers, the nature; pretty much anything in One Piece is so fantastical that it keeps the story fun and always leaves you imagining the possibilities of what might exist in such a world. It really makes the story come to life.

Character development is also very good. One of the reasons the manga is so long is that Oda really takes his time to highlight each character. When so many characters (and it's a lot) are given depth and explored, it makes the story feel very alive. Even independent of the main story that we see, the characters in One Piece are always acting and have on their own individual goals and worldviews. It's amazing how many independent storylines intersect when different characters eventually come together.

If you are wondering if One Piece is worth the time, the answer is a resounding yes! The more you read, the more you will want to read. I've only met a handful of people that didn't like it and many more (including myself) consider it their favorite manga / anime of all time. Personally, I would say the only downside is that sometimes the ecchi humor can be a little over the top and the character designs are sometimes a little egregious. But never once has that taken away from my enjoyment of one piece.

I think there is something for everyone in One Piece and it's definitely worth the read.

I'm very sorry to have put 5 to probably one of the biggest cornerstone of shonen history, these are my motivations tho

One Piece starts off as one of the greatest shonen ever written, the characters are good even if cliches and the story stretches over tens of volumes and kilometers in a pirate world where the greatest thing to be found it's not the one piece but the freedom for yourself and your friends and companions.

One Piece stays great for very long arguably it stays very important even after the time skip (let's say that Rufy challenging Big Mom in Fisherman Island it's a great ending of the good part of the manga), it is very well drawn in the beginning at least concerning the page layout and how the visual narration take place (in the beginning some of the fighting may resemble Toriyama's awesome fighting in the first volumes of DragonBall).

the first part of One Piece it's probably a 10 not because it's the best written manga over there but it sure is an emotional well thought and incredibly important one, the second part of One Piece is probably a 1 that's why i put the 5 star rating, now i'll (very shortly) talk about what's wrong with these new chapters.

Oda seems to have completely forgotten of what made the first part good, he can't draw anymore, he relies on splash pages where something big happens and he just fills them with close shots of the characters usually reacting to this event, he tries to fool the reader with fake deaths and repent in like 2 chapters where the character involved is still fresh and strong, no drama anymore, at least no real drama, only pathetic one like the social and political background of let's say Dressrosa or Wano, nothing comparable to Nami's background story or Sanji or the first meeting with Zoro, or let's say the time he rescues Nico Robin. Not only this he also tries to slow down a manga that has already reached almost 1000 chapters adding useless and shitty chapters no one cares about on maybe some secondary characters doing nothing. He still is able to do something good (the mini saga of the reverie or the flashback with Gol D. Roger) but he just cares in stretching the bore out of us.

I don't know what happened if it's an editorial choice based on the sales of the manga or if he doesn't want to let go a great opera that's going around for years but please Oda let's take us back to the freer man in the whole see and to that promise between Ace, Rufy and Sabo

One Piece was one of the Big Three anime at the time that I was just not excited about. Naruto was so extremely popular in the west that I felt I had to watch it. And Bleach drew me in because of how sleek it looked compared to other animes at the time. Seeing the length of the show intimidated me, so I opted to read it.

It was an overall great decision. I love the story and I love the characters.

I will say though that it took a long time to slog through the beginning. I can rate the story a 10 now because, in retrospect, it was brilliant to see how everything came together in this absolute beast of a tale, but it was difficult having to putter through villains and conflicts I didn't find compelling. I would say that certain parts of the beginning are a weak spot for me in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, the world-building is brilliant. The world of One Piece feels like it's breathing. It's full of diversity in design, culture, and people. There is so much care put into each destination they reach, full of people who have their own ambitions and desires separate from the main crew. There are things that are beyond Luffy and there are things that Luffy jumpstarts himself, as is life.

I love the characters as individuals. Some quirks are annoying, but each character is fleshed out and lovable. I care about these people achieving their dreams. Each and every one of them. I wish the Strawhats would interact with each other more though and with different crewmates. I understand that One Piece had a large world with a large cast in a plot-driven narrative, but I still have my desires to see the Strawhats just be together, at the forefront.

Overall, a solid 10.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

This series is where it all began for me. The "Romance Dawn" if you will. I remember starting the fifth grade back in 2007, I hit it off real quickly with this one boy in my class. We had loads of things in common and were constantly sharing new interests. One thing we didn't share was his love anime and manga. This wasn't because I didn't like it, rather I just hadn't experienced it yet. One day he shoved One Piece volumes 1-3 in my backpack and told that I would love it. And love it I did. I read through all 13 novels available at the time in a flash. I read and re-read them while I waited for the next to be released. In me grew a love for manga and anime of all sorts, it was like junk food (I feel like many of you would agree). Incidentally, One Piece was, and still is, my favorite manga of all-time.

But enough about me, on to the actual review! I promise that this will be a completely objective review. I think I will start with what is great about this manga, as it vastly outweighs it's flaws.

The most important part of any story is, well, the story! One piece tells a grand tale of adventuring pirates all searching for the ultimate treasure. In a story like this, the world is absolutely massive, and Eiichiro Oda handles it so well. Every new place our characters travel they are faced with trials and tribulations. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. You never know. Each story arc is unique in setting and character development. There are new problems to solve or maybe another pirate warlord to defeat. Either way it feels pretty fresh every time. And it is all very memorable, I can’t think of a single time I felt that a chapter was just filler-garbage.

At the core of the story is its wonderful characters. All of them have their quirks, but they are not defined by these, which unfortunately happens very often in manga. This makes them feel very real. For example, the main character, Monkey D. Luffy, at face value, seems to be just a lovable idiot. But underneath this is a shocking deep, passionate person who looks out for his friends at all costs. For Luffy there are no truly sad goodbyes, everyone has a purpose and a plan so as their friend, he lets them go. The characters are what I love the most I think, you can connect with them so closely on different levels and they never get boring.

But even with a good plot and characters, what is a story if it is not enjoyable? One Piece is a fun and ofttimes, absolutely insane story. It can leave you in stitches or it will make sob like a baby. It is a well-crafted roller coaster of emotions and plots. No matter how old you are, no matter what kind of manga you like, you WILL enjoy One Piece.

Now to the bad. There is not much about One Piece that is truly bad, but nothing is without flaws. I feel like my points are nitpicky things that don’t really hurt the story.

The artwork in One Piece is normally really great. It is generally clean and simple. But occasionally the fighting scenes can get very messy and it can be a bit difficult to tell what is going on. Also worth noting, there is a lot of visual humor and the mouths especially can get very crazy looking, I can see where this would put some people off. It put me off until I got used to it.

The story can sometimes feel a little repetitive. But I feel this is very understandable, last I heard, this story is meant to take up 100 novels (if you bought the whole series new it would cost you around $1300!) so this inevitable. Although, Oda does a really great job of spacing out the similar story lines, so this is not incredibly noticeable.

Overall, One Piece is a great story and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great series!



Also worth noting: the anime follows the manga series pretty perfectly, so if you are more a watcher than a reader, you will miss out on almost nothing.

When i think about one piece, only one word comes to my mind, "wow". i started my journey as an otaku only last year and my first anime was naruto. since then i have watched an awful lot of anime. my friends kept suggesting one piece to me but i was always afraid to pick it up because of its sheer length. But when the pandemic started, i thought it was a good time to pick up on one piece and boy am i glad i did.

Story : (10/10)

The story starts off with a simple goal, Monkey D. Luffy wants to be the Pirate King. As the story progresses, we see that the story which started off with one clear goal in mind, starts blooming into so much more. Its not simply a story about how Luffy becomes the Pirate King. The World of One Piece is so big that the Straw Hat Pirates form only a small part of it. So many events take place simultaneously which have no relation to the SH pirates whatsoever. But they eventually go on to connect and give us one of the best arcs in shounen anime ever.
You would think that such a long running series will deteroriate with time but its the exact opposite for one piece. The manga just keeps getting better and better with every chapter. Now 982 chapters down and I still feel the same. Its such an engaging story that once you get serious about one piece, you can literally breeze through the chapters without feeling anything. And like me, once you catch up with it, you keep wanting more and more.

Characters : (10/10)

Oh man, what can i say about the characters in one piece ? Lets start with the SH pirates. Every character on that ship has such a varied personality and deep rooted back sories that its just plain crazy. Not a single character feels out of place. Every character is important and each one of them have their own individual goals aside from making their captain the Pirate King. Its mesmerizing to follow their progress as they get closer and closer to fulfilling their goals. Their interactions with each other will surely have you laughing every time. Aside from the main cast, Oda goes all out in his characters. At certain points, you start feeling sympathy even for the villains in One Piece. The antagonists in one piece are not villains just for the sake of being evil. They each have their own unique ambitions and goals and Oda explains beautifully why they turned out how they turned out. For example, one the greatest antagonists in One Piece had almost 5-6 chapters of backstory.

Art : (10/10)

I admit the art in One Piece is unique, to say the least. I was reluctant at first but when you start getting used to it, you start to realise that its not at all bad. They seem comical at first but that's not at all the case. One Piece made me cry so many times. The emotions that Oda draws out in his characters are just a sight to behold. They are funny when they have to be, sad when necessary and serious when need be. At the very least, the art style is not something that should keep you from reading one piece.

Enjoyment : (10/10)

Do I enjoy One Piece ? Heck yeah ! I love one piece. I have re read so many chapters of past arcs. I have watched the anime as well. I have watched the movies too. But I just can't get enough of One Piece.

Overall : (10/10)

One Piece is a journey, a journey of a lifetime. So just sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Given how popular the series is, I really expected more from it.

Thus far 250+ chapters in, the story arcs is very much like sitcom episodes in that everything resets in the end: every visited island are so remote and alien from one other that the events in previous arcs don't make any sort of satisfying connection with future arcs. you get a new crewmember joining each arc, but every member remains relatively stagnant and unchanged with each arc (happy-go-lucky idiot captain remains happy-go-lucky idiot, directionally-challenged swordsman..., money grubbing navigator..., casanova wanabe chef..., etc). The long-nosed sniper apparently becomes competent later on, but I'm not one to slog through another 250 chapters on the off-chance it actually becomes enjoyable. The author is really good at creating backstories for each of the crewmembers but doesn't do a good job in developing them as the story progresses, thus making each section of their journey feel insignificant and boring. Reading through One Piece also makes one realize the difference between giving character personality and depth, with giving the characters tropes (see above) for running gags.

For a shonen series, the fights are really boring and uninteresting, some of the main cast are already established to be ridiculously strong from the get-go without the readers experiencing satisfaction from their rise to power, and their battles are won through brute force and ass-pulled techniques rather than any interesting strategizing; While fights of the weaker members are mostly played for jokes, bumbling their way into victory. The most interesting fight so far is probably the one involving Luffy using moisture from his blood to fight the sand-fruit guy, but the fight itself was pretty meh outside of that concept. I also read forward to the end of the Skypiea Arc, and making Luffy immune to Enel's lightning attack because "rubber" is in my opinion anticlimactic, lazy, and stupid writing.

The artwork was something I tolerated while experiencing the story rather than something I embraced and enjoyed on its own. Given the popularity of the series, it is probably an acquired taste, not that I am able to enjoy it 250+ chapters in.

Frankly I regretted spending so much time trying to catch the hype in this series, and it for me serves as a lesson that just because something is popular, it doesn't mean that it is actually good.