Considered the heir to the Dragon Ball Franchise by many people, One Piece is one of the most popular shounen anime ever made. One Piece is considered a phenomenon in terms of its penetration and impact on the Japanese market and worldwide. Everyone knows about the anime or at least has heard about it, owing to its long duration.
The series has gone over to produce more than one thousand episodes since its inception in 1999. One Piece is adapted from the weekly manga written by Eiichiro Oda. The anime is produced by Toei Animation, an anime studio known for its production of Dragon Ball as well.
On June 8th, 4Kids Entertainment acquired the license to release One Piece in North America. It was broadcasted on multiple channels like Cartoon Network and Toonami in the US. Although it is criticized for its long length of running, One Piece deserves to be watched once because of its deep yet simple lore. The characters of One Piece come from various different backgrounds and have a myriad of backstories.
Our main character, Monkey D. Luffy, is an ambitious boy who wishes to be the Pirate King someday. One day, Luffy ate the Gum-Gum fruit, which resulted in his body acquiring the properties of rubber, extending and twisting, and stretching in any way.
Luffy is joined by Zoro, a swordsman who yields three swords in combat. He is known as the Pirate Hunter because he hunted down the heads of pirates for bounty. His crew further expands as Nami and Usopp join them. Nami specializes in robbing pirates. Through acts of deception, she has stolen numerous treasures from pirates.
Although she did not wish to be a pirate, owing to her backstory, she joined forces with Luffy because of one motive: treasure. Usopp is the crew’s sharpshooter. He is known for his precision in handling any kind of weapon. His father is part of Shank’s crew, the man Luffy looks up to as a role model. He teamed up with Luffy’s crew because he wanted to meet his father someday.
One Piece: Plot Summary
One Piece revolves around the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate who wishes to become the Pirate King someday. Along with his crew, he dreams of finding the ‘One Piece,’ a legendary treasure hidden by Gol D. Roger. The story depicts Luffy, who eats the Devil’s fruit and gains an ability that makes his body rubber-like.
Inspired by his role model, Shanks, he embarks on a voyage to discover the ‘One Piece’ and become the greatest pirate of all time. On his adventurous pursuits, he has to face the fierce seas and their hidden dangers and fight powerful foes like the Marines, who are aiming to destroy the league of pirates and put an end to their banditry.
They also have to face rival pirates and bandits. Together, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami have fun adventures where they beat up bad guys and find bounty. They sail the Grand Line in search of the island of Laugh Tale, which shelters the ‘One Piece.’ Alongside his crew, Luffy wishes to make a legend out of his name and create his own legendary chronicle.
Also read: Sanji’s Awakening In One Piece Episode 1053 Explained!
One Piece review: The World-Building
The one constant feature which makes One Piece so special is its world-building. Eiichiro Oda’s world-building throughout the anime has been extraordinary. The story revolves around pirates sailing through turbulent waters and fighting people. To capture the true essence of that, a dynamic and expansive world needs to be created.
Oda does a brilliant job at combining cartography and spatial awareness, amalgamating into what is truly the essence of One Piece, an elaborate world. The islands, vast landscapes, political structures, and seas are a very integral part of the anime series. Oda ensures that each island is distinct and unique in nature with a variety of historical semblances.
One Piece’s immersive and regality come from the exploration of the Grand Line, where the power systems and the balance of power are depicted. Part of the reason why the world-building of One Piece is so excellent is because of the uniqueness of each island.
Every island has its history and cultural differences, and conflicts. For instance, Skypiea island houses culture as well as a unique system of technology that is necessary for everyday domestic use as well as for combat. There are much more sky islands with distinctive and deeper histories and societies. With every individual island, we delve into a unique fantasy world of creativity.
We get an in-depth look at how people live there, the constraints of the island, the advancements and issues within the island, and the nuances of how the society works. The individuality of each island combined with Oda’s graphic designs is magnificent.
However, in the global macro setting, each island is intricately linked to the globe. As the stories proceed, we get to know how older islands are interlinked with others. The fact that Oda even incorporated distinct clothing throughout the seas and islands is brilliant.
Additionally, Oda dives deep into the realm of historical themes in his world-building. Themes of discrimination and human trafficking are looked into in the Sabaody Archipelago arc. Every arc in One Piece looks into something grim and reflects on it. Over the two decades that One Piece has been ongoing, we get to see a lot of intricate world-building.
Characters
One Piece’s greatest strength lies in the characters, their backstories, and their progress. While Luffy is the main protagonist, the anime does not shun away from showing the progression of the whole crew, also known as the Straw Hat Pirates.
However, in the two decades that the anime has been airing, the character development has been gradual and slow. For example, Usopp’s character progression from that of a lying coward to a significant member of the crew shows how the writing is very detailed, piquing the curiosity of readers and spectators.
While the main crew is well-written individually, the main appeal comes when the Straw Hats Pirates are seen as a complete unit. In One Piece, what defines a pirate is someone who shreds off the constraints and limits of society and creates their own life of liberty and individuality.
Hence, when the Straw Hats Pirates are seen as a whole group, the true appeal comes when we realize that everyone wishes to share in these ideologies of individuality, friends who have each other’s backs and help in fostering better identities and cooperation. The theme of camaraderie rings throughout the series as the crew continually grows and progresses.
Even the pages created by Oda show the crew having a fun time together, indulging in harmless entertainment and just being themselves. They love being with each other and exploring the world. Each character’s backstory is so devastating because they have lost someone important in the world that they feel destroyed from within.
The Straw Hats crew signifies that they can rediscover their true selves again, which is a very endearing concept. While Oda does a brilliant job of creating a sweet, emotional story, he also makes compelling villains who create dread within the audience, like Donquixote Doflamingo.
He has a very tragic backstory which results in him losing faith in the world and becoming an embittered antagonist that Luffy and the others have to face. The best part is that none of the main cast feels unnecessary. Everyone has an integral part to play. They all have important roles as more arcs are introduced.
Pacing
While One Piece has fewer filler episodes compared to anime like Naruto and Dragon Ball, the pacing is still quite shaky in the series. While the characters are given recognition and are well-balanced in the series, there are episodes that stretch unnecessarily. The biggest issue I can find in the series is that the recaps are torturously long.
Sometimes, they go on for more than ten minutes which really creates a sense of monotony among the watchers. The pacing feels poor because the anime does not take the opportunity to elaborate on the themes which have not been covered.
It should not tell the audience something they already know. Every shot of the anime should convey something new to the audience and the story; otherwise, it proves that the story-telling is a failure. Not engaging in the plot of the show is a waste. One Piece hence feels very dragged sometimes due to its anime purgatory.
Humor
One Piece, in terms of popularity, is a fast-growing anime. One of its major fallouts lies in the fact that the humor in the anime might not resonate with a lot of the audience. Firstly, Oda makes a lot of jokes which are heavily dependent on Japanese.
But in the dub, it loses its essence. Also, the anime is targeted towards a young audience which could also mean that sometimes, humor and its usage are wasted on older audiences.
One Piece: What Makes It So Special?
For me, One Piece is not about finding the legendary ‘One Piece’ or how the plot eventually unravels and concludes. For me, it is the chance to indulge in anime over and over again. The intricate storytelling, magnificent world-building, and emotionality attached to this anime, for me, is profound.
It is one of the reasons why I would come back for this anime because it is an anime that is, in terms of fantasy, so creative and beautiful. I would come back for the characters as they grow, fight, and struggle throughout the series.
Even though a lot of people criticize the anime for its longevity and poor pacing, the anime is so intricately written, with every island interlaced with the global world, that the story needs to be narrated gradually. The two decades of its airing really did justice to the One Piece world and the uniqueness of the islands in it. Every place on the island is given the recognition it deserves.
The story is something anyone could get lost in because Oda creates a mysterious environment in every arc. We get a glimpse of the ‘Void Century’ in the series, an era in the One Piece lore which has no historical records creating an atmosphere of mysteriousness and curiosity.
Our Verdict
As a shounen anime, One Piece really shines out. Even though the aesthetics of the anime feels a little rusty, the story-telling and the characters, the emotional attachment of the crew to each other, and the entertainment in One Piece really does justice to the anime. Even though it requires a lot of commitment and energy to get into the anime, it is worth a shot.
It is considered one of the ‘Big Three’ anime for a reason. You will see yourself get attached to the characters, and as someone who grew up watching the anime, it feels great and refreshing to see them progress amidst times of difficulty. It is also an escape for me from reality, where I can indulge in the anime and its narrative.
The anime is also known for its adventures and quests. You will not feel that the arcs are repetitive because Oda (who has been thinking about the plot of One Piece years before it was aired) has ensured that every island is distinct and that every character, even with their flaws, grows.
Our Rating: ⭐ (4.6/5).
