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ONE PIECE - WATCHING GUIDE

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WHY WATCH ONE PIECE? WHAT SETS IT APART FROM OTHER WORKS?

What Makes One Piece Special?

Think about those moments where you were with a group of friends and either someone says or does something funny that sticks out, and later on, you refer through that saying with your friends; or have a special sign among yourselves that only your group of friends understands; and this becomes the symbol of your bond between your group of friends through the years. One Piece is filled with moments like this, meaningful moments of high emotional intensity that seem life-changing. And only the ones who were there can understand.

The level of emotion in the show is quite intense, taking some of the characters almost to insanity due to despair. When characters in One Piece suffer you feel it, as well when they celebrate.

The crucial moments when the characters have to make life-changing decisions in a flash are also part of what makes this anime great. Their decisions are well explained through the dialog.

One Piece is Full of Interesting Mysteries

• There is the question about What is One Piece itself? We know is the treasure left by the Pirate King, but we can only speculate what exactly is.
• The "Missing History of the World", what exactly happened?
• Who are the people with the D? Although you won't understand this question until you are far into the story.
• Perhaps one of the more perplexing things in the story is the fact that despite the corruption in the Navy, they still have honorable people that are willing to fight even their family in order to maintain the current status quo. Why is that? Good vs Evil does not seem to be black & white in this world.
• What are the Devil Fruits? Where do they come from? Why people who eat them are unable to swim?
• Was the world always this way geographically? Or did something happened?
• There are plenty of mysteries to focus on and explore through the story, which makes it very interesting and they are full of moral questions as well with many shades of grey. And definitely, some of these mysteries also allude to parallels to real life.

Themes

The main theme is perhaps friendship, with the word 'nakama' meaning something like friends that share the same path to reach their goals (but not necessarily the same goal for all fo them). It's a special kind of bond tied to the theme of following your dreams and living your freedom.  

The story also takes you through difficult situations with themes like self-confidence, physical & mental abuse, rebellion, abuse of power, the importance of having a clear dream & the commitment to see it through, conspiracy theories, the importance to stand up for yourself and defend your convictions, selfishness seems to be a common trait of many characters both good & evil, etc. 

It talks even about the importance of history and the fact that is written by the victors. It makes an emphasis on the fact that you have to figure out things for yourself. There are many layers and comparisons to our history and different cultures that you'll have to figure out on your own. It pays special attention to archeology & the importance to learn about the history of the world.

In the end, this show is both motivational & inspirational, trying to move you to achieve your dreams.

The Intent of The Author

One Piece is a masterpiece created by Eiichiro Oda, and opposite to other large works where the story is filled with fluff in order to keep it running as long as they can, you can really tell that this author really loves his work and is having a lot of fun with it while expressing his ideas through the story & characters. He definitely has something to say and do so through this world. In One Piece is the story itself that drives the length of this epic anime.

The Writing

Think about other epic works you might have seen, perhaps The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Marvel Cinematic Universe? All these works pale in comparison in length, scope, and themes explored through the series. Perhaps the only other anime of equal quality & scope is Hunter x Hunter, which pales in length. There are other animes with more episodes like Naruto (426 Canon Episodes) & Bleach (203 Canon Episodes), but they don't cover the same scope of themes and they are stuffed with fillers, not the real story (One Piece at 931 Episodes only had 99 Fillers = 832 Canon).

There is also another thing that sets One Piece apart. In all other works, the story arcs are usually linear & self-contained, they may have a theme in place but once everything gets resolve they go into a new story. However, in One Piece the arcs are divided by the location, but the events are intrinsically connected with each other, creating a truly epic story. Some of the events that set the arc in motion might have been started hundred of episodes in advance.

For example, there is a character that appears briefly in the early episodes, he seems to be of some importance and says a few words that although we understand them, they lack significant meaning at the moment. They never mention him again until about 250 episodes later (and that is about 5 years of broadcast), then we finally know who he is and those few words are filled with unparalleled significance.

Similarly, power upgrades do not happen all of a sudden, we get hints here and there that something is happening. Without much information, you may think they were Deux Ex Machina, until we finally get an explanation of how they work around Episode 581, and then, we finally realize that we have been seeing hints for this from the very beginning of the story. They are quite cohesive and organized, in the end, it just ends up being beautiful writing!

The only other show that has been able to create an intrinsically connected story through all of its arcs is Attack on Titan. This creates a lot of rewatch value and is only when you watch it a second time that you realize how everything fits together so well. It is really worth it to have a well-planned story. Clearly Oda has planned all events in advance, he seems to have set all characters' backstories in advance, so any character can take the spotlight anytime, even if it was introduced as a minor character. A simple minion can become the focus of the next arc, and characters come back when you least expect it. Some events that might seem unimportant can be of significance in future arcs. Even minor jokes can become the foundation for an arc later on. All of these fills this world with unprecedented detail, and you can only be amazed by how everything fits together so well, especially when you consider the number of chapters & the time of broadcast. While other shows fall apart through potholes and inconsistencies in only 12 episodes. I have barely rewatched any movies & animes before I got into One Piece, but by the time of writing this guide, I'm on my 6th rewatch of the series! Sometimes I prefer to rewatch this series than to watch newer shows of lower quality.

The Lenght, Don't Be Afraid of so Many Episodes!

As I mention, the story is what drives the length of this anime, not the other way around, so you don't even feel it. The anime does have a slow start, you'll have to watch at least to Episode 44 in order to judge it properly, but afterward, One Piece really comes into its own and you end up binging whole arcs without noticing.

There are plenty of twists and turns that keep the story interesting & fresh. You usually can't wait to see what happens next. Personally, I have more trouble to stop watching than to keep going, I usually binge watch a few arcs.

The Pacing

One Piece is not a show that can be watched week to week, as this disrupts the pacing of the anime since it's unable to maintain momentum. You'll realize this soon enough, that you need to watch several episodes together so you can maintain the momentum of the story, this is especially true during fighting sequences. This is because the episodes usually have a long intro/outro song with an intro to the story and a recap. So you only get around 18 minutes or less of new content in each episode.

Once you catch with the current airing arc, I recommend you let it complete so you can see it in full at your own pace. I tried to watch it week to week during the Fishman Island Arc, but the level of excitement really drops a lot. I thought the arc was bad, but when I rewatch it I realize the issue was with the pacing, the story was quite good in fact. 

The Characters

One Piece does things with its characters that very few other shows attempt. Oda is no afraid to create conflict between the characters and bring them to the point of physical confrontation. For an anime that is all about friendship, this is quite unprecedented, but it's true to reality as the confrontations come due to stress and disappointments shown through the story.

Luffy may seem like you typical shounen protagonist, but at times when smarter characters come to a halt, being unable to make a decision or move forward, he always seems to know exactly what to say, to the point that he seems to me he is like Vash, a character who loves to play dumb, but there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. Nami says that he does it by instinct, but at the very least he demonstrates that despite whatever IQ he has, he does possess a high level of Emotional intelligence, empathy & creativity (especially when it comes to fighting).

Usopp, is a character with barely any redeemable qualities. He is a coward and a compulsive liar, quite unlikeable. He is aware of his shortcomings and we see him struggle constantly through the story to try to overcome them. Despite his terrible personality, the other characters accept him for who he is. His development is quite interesting and sometimes painful to watch.

The characters are not introduced all at once like in most shows. Instead, most of them receive their own arc. Sometimes they are even introduced in little bits and then they receive an arc for their development much later in the series.

Not all characters are overpowered and the ones who are, eventually meet antagonists that they have to struggle to defeat. Sometimes winning comes down to luck or external factors that could have gone either way. Coincidences create opportunities, but the protagonists have to figure out how to make them work for them and struggle to make it happen. The protagonists don't always win, and this keep you guessing what will happen in future arcs, as there is always a sense of danger.

There are great antagonists and even the evil characters are not so black & white. It's interesting to learn the reasons why they acted evilly and this may take several arcs to go full circle. Forgiveness also plays a big role in the story.

The Comedy, Goofiness & Wackiness

If I ever heard a complaint about One Piece, its that the characters are too goofy, the powers are too wacky, and the comedy is too lame!

I must admit, that I dropped the anime 3 times myself. Twice in Episode 1, which is terribly bad, but not a good representation of the anime overall. And then again when I saw Buggy. But I keep getting this anime recommended, so I finally stick to it and by Episodes 31-44, Arlong Park Arc which is Nami's Arc, I finally was able to figure out why everyone told me this show was so good. This is the point where most fans agree One Piece finally comes into its own, and that is why I recommend you watch at least up to that arc.

The goofiness has a purpose, I'll just make your life easier and say that One Piece is not a show that is concerned with looking cool. Luffy especially doesn't care about being cool or what people think about him, he just wants to be himself. It's an overall theme of the show that carries into the viewer. Despite many powers being so wacky, they are not to be underestimated, Oda always finds ways to make them believable powerful despite their looks.

If you are not watching the show because of these reasons, then perhaps you are not focusing on what is truly important, and you already fell for the author's trap (like I myself did several times, lol). The point of the show is to be willing to dream. Have you ever had to struggle to reach your dreams? Have someone ever ridicule your dreams? Or have you only dare to reach for dreams that you are sure they won't be ridiculed by anyone, limiting your possibilities? There is a whole arc dedicated to these philosophical questions and the show as a whole embodies these matters through the goofiness & wackiness of its characters & powers.

This is a show that invites you to keep an open mind to the possibilities & to let your imagination wander. It couldn't do this if it were serious all the time. In fact, in the initial setting, most characters think that "Devil Fruit Powers" are a myth and except for Luffy, there is some sense of reality. Then the show slowly takes you into a journey that demands more and more of your imagination, to the point that by the time they enter the most important sea of this world, The Grand Line, the anime states through the dialog "This is a sea where everything is possible!", a clear invitation to open yourself to the possibilities, and perhaps to find & regain your inner child, to let your imagination free, from a time where you didn't know your limits, you didn't know what was myth & what is real, and you just wanted to explore the world.

Oda has a great sense of humor and while not every joke succeeds, eventually, the jokes take you by surprise and you find yourself laughing more and more.

Additionally, there are lots of references to pop culture, historical figures (especially pirates), fairy tails, works of literature, etc. They are however just a reference, and they are often not what you expect, but these also help to keep an interest in the story, mostly in a comedic sense.

The Animation

This is definitely one of the weaker aspects of the anime. Toei Animation is rather famous for only doing long-running shows with average animation to the time of its release, probably to keep it within budget. This is especially true of the motion which is mostly panned static frames. The quality of the animation increases during the fights but not all the time. Thankfully this anime is driven by the story and not dependent on the animation alone, the complete opposite of other shows that succeed by "the rule of cool". The quality of the graphics is good when it matters but varies depending on the importance of the scenes.

The Sound

The background music is usually a good choice that helps create the mood of the story, it may be repetitive at times but I never found it annoying. The intros & outros vary constantly but only a few are memorable, mostly in the early arcs. There are some songs created for the show itself, sang by the crew, which are of good quality and appropriate for sailors.

NOT EVERYTHING IS PERFECT

The animation certainly isn't perfect, sometimes the jokes do not work, you won't like all characters, and some are really annoying.

There is a character introduced later in the story clearly to replace another one who was removed, in my opinion, this happened more likely due to pressure from editors/producers rather than what Oda wanted to do with the story. This is perhaps one of the major blemishes on a story that up to that point was really well-planned. But this clearly shows signs of being introduced rather forcibly just to compensate.

Fan service was introduced after the Timeskip, One Piece really didn't need that and it rarely uses it for the first 516 Episodes! So perhaps more pressure from editors/producers? Personally I think this deteriorates and distracts from the story.

There was a change in directors after the Punk Hazard Arc. Instead of focusing on the philosophical aspects of the show during fights, where they used to contrast the convictions & points of view of the characters' fighting; the new directors have placed more focus on the action of the fighting sequences, making them extremely long but far less exciting. They kind of lack the sense of danger they had before, in part due to adding too much mediocre comedy filler placed between the fights that just disrupt the pacing. They also seem to try to lighten the tone of the show overall, when it should be getting darker and more serious due to the point the story is in.

Despite all these blemishes, when you consider what this anime has accomplished over the years, the number of episodes, and especially when compared to what other animes are currently doing, I can only consider One Piece a Masterpiece. By the time of this writing, I have recently earned the badge of Life on Anime: 2 Years, and except for some classics, I have seen everything worth watching from 1960-2020, I can honestly say that One Piece has remained my favorite anime of all time, followed closely by Attack on Titan.

Do yourself a favor and give yourself a chance to experience this amazing story!

MORE REASONS TO WATCH ONE PIECE

Why is One Piece so popular?

Why You Should be Watching ‘One Piece’

Here's Why You Should Finally Give One Piece A Chance

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DUB vs. SUB & SPECIAL EDITION

• I strongly recommend you watch the sub for this anime as it's far superior and more importantly, uncensored.
  • The Special Edition in 16:9 HD Format (Currently in Netflix & Crunchyroll), is also available in subs, but is slightly censored, removing some blood and projectile weapons. These changes are minimal, but is still censorship that takes away from the full experience. 
• There are at least 2 Dubs for this anime:
  • 4Kids which is highly censored to the point of absurdity and was not able to continue the series due to this censorship. Avoid this version like the plague.
  • Funimation Dub, which is good quality, and if you need/want to watch the dub you should make sure its this one. For this dub, there is also the original version in 4:3 TV Format and the Special Edition in 16:9 HD Format (Currently in Netflix). I'm not sure about the original, but at least the Special Edition is slightly censored, removing some blood and projectile weapons. These changes are minimal, but is still censorship that takes away from the full experience. I found this dub acceptable, I use it sometimes when rewatching the show.

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MOVIES & SPECIALS

All movies & specials are non-canon, just a stand-alone side story, not related to the main series. They embody the same themes & feel of the series in a short story. Sometimes the main TV Series fillers & specials are related to the movies and these instances are marked below.

The movies & specials are organized on the watching guide in a way to avoid spoilers for the main TV Series, however, I recommend you watch them only after you catch up with the current arc. This will be best to maintain the pacing of the main story and ensure you avoid any spoilers.

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ONE PIECE - WATCHING GUIDE

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