So, you wanna start watching one piece, huh? I can’t say i blame you. In just about
any anime comment section around the world there’s bound to be a one piece fan breathing down your
neck telling you to watch it if you haven’t already, and I am certainly one of them. Over
the years i have often successfully converted a number of my friends, who were once the typical
‘it’s too long’ type-people, into some of the biggest fans i now know. I mean, who wouldn’t love
to watch 1000 episodes of a stretchy pirate search for a treasure? Doesn’t that plot synopsis sound
like a masterpiece already? As an anime watcher, whether you’ve just begun or have descended into
the depth of weebdom for years now, for healthy skin and long life- which i’m sure you all need-
you should just accept that one piece is never an impossibility, but instead an inevitability.
The one boss battle that you dread to face, but once you finish you realize that it was
easily one of your favorites in the entire game. Though there are lows and highs on the journey,
today I am here to do a little bit of convincing and give you the many reasons to watch One Piece,
the absolute behemoth of an anime, or if you have already fully committed and are ready to
begin hoisting the sails, my favorite parts of what will be the most memorable months of binge
watching you will ever experience. Truly. I still reminisce of the 3 months in 2017
when I watched all of One Piece up to around episode 770, the current episode at the time,
when I slept, ate, bled, cried, sweated, and sh*t One Piece. And I’m sure that you will do the same.
And here i’ll stop, because although this video is entirely about watching one piece, in no way
do i mean to equate watching one piece to reading the manga, nor will i say if either is objectively
better (i’ll leave that up to the comments of an inevitable group of salty redditers and
manga supremacists). Both are entirely different experiences, and people have different preferences
for what they want; and as someone who watched for many a month and enjoyed hundreds of episodes
including filler- yes, you heard that right I did watch the filler- and as someone who has now read
for many years, i will say that you will likely enjoy both. And with the anime, it will be a great
journey I’m sure, as long as you’re willing to bear through the occasional pitfall of any
long-running shounen and not an extremely uptight manga supremacist, that is. But that is where I
will stop with the negatives because this video is of course all about what you will LOVE about
one piece, spoiler-free with the occasional vague reference to arcs and moments that you
won’t understand if you haven’t seen the series so don’t worry. Or if you’ve already seen it,
instead of informing you of what you’ll love about one piece, I’ll take you on a blast to
the past and remind you of all the things that truly made it into the adventure of a lifetime.
And the adventure of a lifetime can only take place in a masterfully crafted world, which
through its many seas, land islands, sky islands, and underwater islands, One Piece does create with
some of the best world building in anime. A world where anything feels possible, where the sense of
adventure truly seeps out from every crevice and where 98% of anime culture corner viewers
are actually subscribed (please subscribe). One Piece begins as a very small story. We follow
Luffy on his small, wooden boat in the East Blue, one of the many small oceans of the world. He
has no connections, no reputation to his name. And slowly, but surely, we slowly garner more
crewmates as we learn the real scope of the one piece world. Moreso than many other long-running
shounen stories, one piece is all about growth and moving on. Which makes sense, considering
the story is about pirates setting sail and exploring the world in search of a great treasure.
And because the story in essence follows our crew just island hopping and finding new opportunities,
each island is memorable and distinguishable in its own way. In the 900-something,
nearly 1000 episode run of one piece so far, no island has felt similar to one before it.
Drum Island and its snowy mountaintops, Dressrosa and its dense and tropical forests, Alabasta’s
scorching deserts. The world of one piece is incredibly diverse in climate and setting of
every island Luffy steps foot on, but also, more importantly, in the characters introduced in each.
And the characters of One Piece are arguably the best part of the entire series.
Granted, the same can be said for most shounen of this type: Naruto would be
nothing without the Hidden Leaf Shinobi and the incredible villains like Pain and Tobi,
nor would Bleach be much without the devious Aizen and Ichigo. Or i mean dripigo. My bad.
But what distinguishes One Piece especially is not just the sheer size of the cast of characters, but
how well fleshed out and interesting nearly all of them are. The main crew, of course, receive their
own stories and character development. Almost all of them have tragic tales before joining the crew,
often a story that has made them naturally opposed to joining a team actually. Nami was raised as
a lone wolf among a devious group of villains trusting no one; the same can be said for Sanji,
and Robin, and Franky, but somehow this incredibly diverse and strange group of characters who have
grown up so tragically opposed to companionship, have been brought together by Luffy. The captain
of this crew. Luffy’s charisma and will to do anything and everything for his friends outclasses
just about any other anime character you can compare him to, and in a world where the old
generation pushes against him and fellow pirates looking for the One Piece clash with the crew,
Luffy shines as a symbol of rebellion and independence and freedom on the open seas.
Luffy’s moments of defending and fighting for his crew are some of the most epic in all of anime,
there is absolutely no shortage of amazing moments from these characters in one piece. They aren’t
limited to just Luffy either; Zoro’s stand in Thriller Bark, Usopp’s saving shot in Dressrosa,
Robin’s yell atop the tower of Enies Lobby, and expanding even further beyond just our crew
as well: Aokiji arriving to stop Doflamingo, Trafalgar splitting an entire island in half.
If you haven’t watched teh show, you won’t get what I’m saying; but if you watch it,
I’m sure you will instantly recognize these moments and get shivers thinking back. The list
goes on and on, because one piece gives every character their moment to shine and show off.
Minor characters, who you never thought of after they disappeared in one arc,
will reappear in a moments notice, and some of the initially lamest characters will grow into
possibly one of your favorites. Yes, I’m talking about Coby in both of those scenarios.
There are allies, who side with Luffy after witnessing his charisma and want to do good for
the world, and enemies, who would do anything to see him dead, and those with a purpose
entirely separate from his, and this ambiguity of goals of characters in one piece is one of
the best parts. I recommend watching this video, if you want a bit more depth into that topic.
But of course, what are good characters, great moments, without a great OST to accompany them?
A must of any one of the Big 3 anime is an iconic soundtrack,
and I personally believe that One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach all have arguably equally
unrivalled OSTs. This is one aspect I must give to all of them. From sorrow and sadness in naruto-
to aizen’s theme in Bleach
-to the many in One Piece that I’m sure are playing right now in the background
of this very video. And what One Piece excels in soundtrack-wise,
as it does with both characters and the world itself, what I’ve mentioned before,
is truly the variety. After watching the entirety of One Piece, every fan surely has
a gaping hole in their heart. But once you hear that music, whether it is emotional, or epic,
or adventurous, you are always reminded of the good ol days and adventures of Luffy and his crew.
I haven’t watched the anime in years, but every time I hear these songs I am reminded of the past.
The nostalgia I have for one piece, or any one of the big 3 for that matter, is truly one of
the best gifts that anime has ever given to me. There is always at least one iconic song for
just about each mood. Not to mention many of the openings are among anime’s most iconic, of course;
the very first opening always makes me feel like a little kid again, and the water 7 opening
gives me warm fuzzy feelings that i can’t really describe. However, its very possible you might go
through all of one piece without listening to any one opening more even than a single time.
Not because they’re bad, in fact its the opposite; most are amazing. But you might not watch any of
them because of the curse any and all one piece watchers experience; the curse of binge watching.
Because among the many anime I have ever watched, One Piece is surely the most bingeable of them
all. Everyone complains about how long one piece is, but you come to realize that once you begin
one piece it does NOT feel that long. Because you’ll find yourself watching episode upon episode
every single day to the point where you see the sun set and rise in what felt like the short time
you’ve been watching Luffy just beat up another pirate. At some point in One Piece, around halfway
through the show, including opening, ending, and the recap of the arc thus far, episodes can be as
short as 17-18 minutes which… is very dangerous. A feat that I always keep in my little book
is the day I watched 46 episodes of one of one piece’s best arcs, marineford, in a single day.
Are you thinking “no I can’t do THAT much…” “i’m not much of a binger…” if you aren’t already,
one piece will do this to you. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Because it doesn’t get more bingeworthy than
one piece. With 18 minute episodes, it’s almost begging you to watch another.
And now after what has been probably over 10-15 minutes of nonstop praise of one piece,
you’re thinking: well, what’s the bad part then? What’s the catch? Well, there is none-
I’m joking of course, as there are certain pitfalls that one piece falls to. One piece
is actually surprisingly good about keeping filler to a minimum at only 10% of the total show being
filler, especially notable considering just how long of a show it is. But the reason filler is
so small is partially due to the pacing of the show, especially post-timeskip one piece which…
takes its time with these arcs. Granted the arcs ARE long even in the manga, and a lot happens
but yeah it does get stretched out sometimes. Plus animation has its weak points, something that
actually people can’t really complain about anymore simply because of how amazing
wano has done at completely redesigning the anime visually and doing it consistently.
So yes, there are parts that you might struggle to get through when binging through one piece.
I won’t deny it. I’m not a blind idiot, I’d like to think I know what I’m talking about.
I even took a week long break during the Punk Hazard arc in the midst of my prime binging days,
because i think my body hit the complete limits of the feeble human frame at that
point and needed a recharge that only god, eiichiro oda himself, could cure.
But i firmly believe that the journey that one piece takes you on in this anime
is one that, even if it has its ups and downs, will leave you with countless memories and moments
you can never forget. The kinds of scenes you want to show to your kids when you get older
and you’re watching it together because its the series is still not over when you’re an old man,
whether its because the scenes require a whole box of tissues just to get through
without tears completely blinding you or because they are so unbelievably hype
that you momentarily forget that you’re just watching a stretchy pirate fight on a screen.
One piece is the adventure of a lifetime, not just for Luffy and his crew,
but for the viewer as well. And to return to the question posed in the title of this video:
So, now you wanna watch one piece? I might just start rewatching right now. Let’s go babyyyyy