Manga One Piece winner's club

Discussion in 'Manga and Anime' started by wertitis, May 8, 2011.

  1. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Seriously, how does this series continue to be so amazingly awesome? Discuss, now!

    ~W
     
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  2. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Sell me on this series with your own words and opinions, as I've never seen it.

    ...Go~!
     
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  3. Bloodberry

    Bloodberry Bloody Berry
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    because it's hilarious ad stealthily serious all at once.

    and if i hear one more person pass on it because "i just don't like the art" i'm going to stab them. the art isn't really any different or worse than anything else. (RAAAAAAGGE!!)

    hell, the stuff at marine ford prolly went about half as was expected. the fighting, once it really starts, at fishman island is gonna be great. =3

    and if you're just watching the anime, mwahahahha the war is grand fun. and horrible. you will be full of giggles and rage.
     
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  4. That guy!

    That guy! Expecting Father

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    It's a feel-good anime, with various times where I literally jumped up and cheered. There's just something about the odd mix of characters in Luffy's pirate gang and how they befriend each other and work as a team.

    There is a mystery that unravels throughout the series, which leaves me wondering 'just what is this One Piece that they are searching for?'. This, tied in with the excitement of their adventure seems to pull me in. The humour is great too.
     
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  5. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    [​IMG]

    Shame on you, Matt.

    SHAME ON YOU.

    One Piece reigns supreme as the best of the "Three Kings"; the top three anime/manga series that's been in syndication for over three years (the other two being Bleach and Naruto).

    Bleach got its start by being edgy, funny, and engaging with a storyline and character progression that was satisfying to watch and/or read, but has since diminished with the overlong Hueco Mundo Arc and the random leveling up of the lead characters. Naruto started out the same with amazing visuals and a lead character that inspired the highest number of lemon fanfictions posted to the interwebs since Inu Yasha (I'm talking about Sasuke, not Naruto). Unfortunately, Naruto became stale as the progression became arbitrary and the arcs were uninspired.

    One Piece, however, is like a tiny snowball rolling down an alpine slope. When it starts, it feels small and unimpressive, but as the series progressed it gained momentum growing more and more exciting to watch, and to this day continues to wow its fanbase with wonderful arcs, clever plot twists, characters you care about who also progress logically, and the continual promise of better things to come, paid in full for nearly every arc. One Piece is the best, for a damn good reason.

    The story breaks down something like this (no real spoilers yet): A number of years back, on an earth-like planet covered in water and dotted by numerous islands, there was a pirate known as Gol D Roger. So successful was this guy, that he was called the Pirate King, the undisputed ruler of the oceans. After a long and fruitful career of high seas adventures, he was captured by the World Government and sentenced to death for his crimes. Moments before being executed, he revealed to the world that he had stored all of his treasure in one location along the equatorial parallel, an area of deadly oceans called The Grand Line. He referred to his treasure as "One Piece".

    Gol D Roger was executed, and his passing was intended to mark the end of the age of piracy. However, after revealing his boundless wealth was somewhere in the Grand Line, men and women formed up countless pirate crews and relaunched the age of piracy as they made their way into the Grand Line to search for his treasure, and the Captain who found One Piece would be crowned the new king of the pirates.

    A young man, whose name is Monkey D. Luffy, decided one day that he was going to be the next pirate king (not 'might be', or 'could possibly be' the next Pirate King, he decided that he WAS going to be the next Pirate King), and so, without a ship or a crew, set off to fulfill his dream.

    One Piece is about Luffy and his small crew he picks up along the way, sailing the oceans, moving from island to island wrecking shop, in the pursuit of One Piece.

    Of course, what's an anime without some kind of superpower element? (Don't answer that question, it's rhetorical). Scattered across the globe are fruits who imbue power to whomever eats them. By munching down on one of these fruits, called Devil's Fruits, you gain an ability or skill that sticks with you for life. You can only eat one fruit, because eating a second one kills you. Also, by consuming a Devil's Fruit you become weak and useless in water and can no longer swim. Considering that most of the planet is covered by water, this is clearly a bad thing, and a trade-off for getting an ability to help even the playing field during a fight.

    As a kid, Luffy got his hands on a Gomu Gomu no Mi, or a Rubber Devil's fruit, which gave his body the property of rubber. Considering that Devil's Fruits can give people the power of the elements, earthquakes, poison and even light, rubber seems like a pretty tough break... Until you see how he uses his skill and watch how his powers evolve and grow.

    One Piece is a series about evolution of both characters and their respective skills. Not everyone on his crew has a Devil's Fruit ability, and neither do they need one. By their own rights, through either wit, skill or luck, they grow with their hopelessly optimistic captain and take on hundreds of Devil's Fruit users in competing Pirate Crews, not to mention the World Government itself, in order to find One Piece and all the glory it entails. Not only do the character's skill sets evolve, but their personalities, traits and quirks also change over the course of their journey, making all them quite engaging.

    Unlike Bleach or Naruto, the individual member's of Luffy's crew are as important as Luffy himself. Chad and Orihime, or Sakura and Hinata, are all eclipsed by Ichigo and Naruto, respectively, making their characters nearly useless. The focus is on the leads, leaving the ancillary characters impotent. In One Piece, each member of the crew can stand on their own, making very real, very pertinent influences on the storyline. They aren't there just to be saved all the time, they're there to build the story into a wonderful conglomeration of all their efforts. Usopp is a great example of a character that felt stupid and irritating at first, but blossomed into a real badass with one of the best fights in the entire series (Perona, anyone?). So engaging is the development, that even the ship they sail on becomes a character in of itself, one that you care for as the story progresses.

    In Naruto, if the lead crew has dashed through one forest, they've dashed through all the forests. In Bleach, Hueco Mundo was bland and repetitive. In One Piece, the locations are dynamic, as are the characters they encounter. Each Island is unique, filled with its own kind of dangers, with its own inhabitants who range from the merely eccentric, to the occasional outright lunatic. There's always something new and fun to see with each and every arc, preventing things from becoming stale. Also, the One Piece Anime as virtually no filler, which keeps the story line progression solid.

    Admittedly, the animation in the first few seasons is a little goofy, but it's eclipsed by the strong storyline. One Piece also starts off a little slow (the Buggy Arc is inane), but most people will agree that once you hit Usopp's or Sanji's Arc (and definitely once Nami's Arc gets into full swing) the series gets incredible. The pace ranges from funny and relaxed, to down right goofy, to heart throbbingly serious. It is a comedy that has no qualms about making you feel for the characters. It is, as That Guy expertly put it, filled "with various times where I literally jumped up and cheered".

    Finally, my favorite reason for loving this series over the other contenders, the evolution of abilities. I mentioned that characters DO grow stronger as the series progresses, which is natural in any story. However, where One Piece differs from Bleach and Naruto, is that the progression is slow and gradual. Characters slowly develop their skills, and very rarely is there is massive jump in power, seemingly overnight (as in the aforementioned series), which makes the pacing strong as stone. The ultimate enemies, the top pirate crew as well as the Admirals of the World Government, start off being obscenely powerful- after all, they are the top players on the world stage. They are the peak of the mountain by which the rest of the crew struggles to reach, and the level established by them remains the bar by which everyone else is measured. In Bleach the Captains were the strongest, then someone else was manufactured to be stronger, then someone else, and so on. The same deal with Naruto and the Hokages, who become eclipsed by characters and plot "twists" that supersede them. In One Piece, the best of the best are the Admirals, and it stays that way. Even the Shichibukai are humbled by their abilities. This means that whenever an Admiral shows up (or even a Vice Admiral, for that matter), Luffy and his crew must tread softly, or risk annihilation. Frankly, I like this. Even though different groups affiliated with other crews, or even subdivisions of the World Government's Marines, do arrive who are noticeably stronger, the Admirals remain top dog. This is exciting, because as the crew grows and fights stronger and more powerful opponents, it only makes the Admirals seem even more devastating, and builds them up as literal 'humanoid typhoons', true monsters of the Grand Line.

    Here's the AMV that got me interested enough in the series to start watching it. Maybe it will spark your curiosity, Matt, and help you sit down to give this delicious treat a try. Be warned, once you let One Piece sink its claws into you, you're going to find it hard to put back.

    Sail On - Many Lemons

    DVDs are available, but I would recommend fansubs. Kaizoku Fansubs would be a good place to start. Whatever you do, do NOT watch the 4Kids version... EVER. It takes One Piece, butchers it, changes major plot points, and steals a portion of your soul. No joke here, the 4Kids version is so awful, it single handedly tarnished One Piece's name amongst western audiences for years.

    Cheers,
    ~W
     
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  6. Phalanx

    Phalanx Long Live M2A!

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  7. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Thanks for that in-depth analysis, wert. This is stellar material and exactly the kind of stuff I look for when asking for an opinion. You've sold me. Despite the fact I've gotten numerous recommendations in the past, no one's ever gone into the depths that you have. Although, mind you, I was disillusioned having come from a foray into Bleach, and leaving disatisfied early on (towards the end of the first filler Arc as I recall). I know it's unfair to judge One Piece on the other "Kings" as you describe them, but I'm always wary when it comes to series that extend into the triple digits - they may begin wonderfully, but it isn't long before they feel stretched thin or degenerate.

    But, as I've said, you've sold me. Particularly with this paragraph:
    Character development is at the top of my fictional delights and from the sounds of it, the One Piece crew offers a great investment.

    This series is now at the top of my pile of things to see.
     
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  8. Bloodberry

    Bloodberry Bloody Berry
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    haha 3 years. Last year was the 10 year anniversary, wert =p

    Also, the filler isn't as painfully obvious OR long. (Though the stuff with Apis was a tad annoying, but really, it could easily have been worse or longer.)
    Ok, some of the filler eps are obvious. The Feudal ones are damn funny though.

    Love of god the 4kids is stupid. They edited out Ace because of tattoos (i'm assuming) yet he's got a ginormous arc about him airing atm. The VAs should feel ashamed. The funimation is....better. But i'm a sub freak so, meh.

    And some arcs look like filler (little buggy's big adventure) but actually lead up to things or just show how things have changed. Little buggy's gets him back into the arc and the rest of the buggy covers all work to getting him into the War with Whitebeard arc. The author loves playing with little things and turning them into larger ones years later. (Thriller bark has a couple, one of which popped up in impel down. am waiting on the big creppy thing to be explained later (though i have theories =3).) But if you read the manga too, the cover stories are kinda cute once they get animated. (little buggy, the separation arc)
     
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  9. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Ah, I might not have been as clear as I should have been. When I say the "Three Kings", I don't mean that title out of respect for the series listed. It just means that as far as the most popular anime titles on the market right now, Bleach, Naruto and One Piece are the biggest names, lording over all other series in the popularity contest due to their longevity. Chances are most people will immediately recognize at least one of them. Like Gundam and Slayers back in the day, they are almost household names. Whether or not people actually consider them to be as good as their reputations would suggest is another matter entirely. I mentioned three years as a base line. One Piece is older than dirt, and still shines like gold.

    People either love One Piece, or they hate it, and I've yet to see someone who watched One Piece past episode 30-ish who didn't love the series. As BB mentioned, the art style in the early series is not as solid as it should have been and a lead character who stretches his arms like a Looney Tunes character seems bizarre when taken out of context. I was turned off at first, too.

    Spoilers ahead (story line chit chat)

    Ace! I forgot about that. Yeah, his demise caught me by surprise. I did not see that coming. OP's author doesn't kill characters very often, in fact, death is rare to see, so when Ace bit the bullet (or the magma) it was a shocker. I can't watch official subs/dubs because of the retarded things they do, like edit out one of the main characters for the sake of being P.C.

    Have you seen Nami's arc in the 4Kids version? Sweet mother, that actually made me upset. They cut and pasted the whole thing to change the flashback to make it seem like Arlong just locked up Bellemere and she died in prison. That completely shattered the intent, and impact, of the author's original plan. Nami's Arc was the arc that hooked me into OP, and seeing it butchered like that left a bad taste in my mouth. They tried to replicate their success with Pokemon in One Piece. Thing was, One Piece is an adult's show and Pokemon was not, despite the misleading art style. There's guns, cleavage, cigarettes and drama, and how! Such a shame, those US companies, such a shame.

    Hey BMS, 4K!DS RAWKS!!!11

    ~W
     
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  10. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    Well, my feet are wet. I'm only about 5 in thus far, currently in the middle of Buggy the Clown.

    Luffy's relentless optimism was an initial annoyance, but that annoyance has passed as I got used to it. I think it's more because it got overshadowed by the pink haired kid.

    I'd say there's more bizarre things going on than just a single rubber man and things are definitely over the top as far as silliness goes. Zoro can skillfully swing a sword with his mouth? Buggy can split his body in pieces?

    As it's certainly not to be taken seriously, these fantastic elements are right at home, but I can see where it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

    I can only imagine - I saw Fox's Escaflowne back in the day and then watched the original years later. Ugh.
     
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  11. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Luffy's optimism gets offset by his crew which actively works to keep him in line. Chopper and Usopp work the humor angle, and they can he hit or miss at first. The dichotomy between Zoro and Sanji is good for humor as well.

    Still, as the series progresses, Luffy's enthusiastic optimism becomes an endearing trait. Things will be going down, someone is in trouble, and if Luffy intercedes he will be literally calling down the thunder, placing himself and his crew in mortal danger, and Luffy will intercede anyway. His problem is that he actually cares as much about his crew as he does random strangers, and will go to death's door just put things right. It's always a pleasure watching a bad guy, who thinks he's untouchable, get turned to hamburger because Luffy just doesn't care about the consequences. He knows what the right thing to do is, and does it anyway.

    As I said, the buggy arc is inane. I wasn't thrilled with Zoro's introduction arc either. Sanji's arc is pretty good, if not a little goofy at times, and Usopp's arc gets better towards the end. Nami's arc becomes devastatingly sober, and I found myself looking towards Luffy's idiotic optimism to provide contrast to the heavy events, which it does well, and provided me with intriguing counter balance.

    Zoro's signature is holding the blade in his mouth, and it goes into detail why he does that. I think it looks pretty damn cool when he pulls it out. You know Zoro is getting serious when he dons the bandana.

    ~W
     
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  12. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Status report, Mr. Matt!

    ~W
     
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  13. BakaMattSu

    BakaMattSu ^__^
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    About a dozen in now. Usopp's arc hasn't been particularly enthralling for me, so it has been a slower pace. Believe it or not, as wacky as the Buggy arc was, I'm preferring it so far - it just seems the whole Boy Who Cried Wolf retelling is stretching out longer than it needs to be. Usopp also hasn't grown on me yet, so his amount of spotlight due to it being his introduction arc isn't helping me move along. My One Piece viewing has also taken third place at the moment behind A Game of Thrones as it comes out and a Bluray copy of the Firefly series (no, I hadn't seen it yet) someone at work lent me.

    Captain Kuro has finally taken out his claws, so I'm hoping things pick up from here.
     
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  14. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Yup, I told you it would be a little slow out the gate, don't worry about it. Usopp took a while for me to warm up to him as well. He's irritating until he decides to stop being an ass and gets his act together. Things will pick up in about 15 or so episodes. He's still laying the groundwork.

    Buggy's arc was just there to be goofy. I've never really been a fan of him.

    ~W
     
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  15. Basher

    Basher Mad Writing Skillz

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    I hated Buggy. He gets more and more annoying as he appears in the series.

    Looks like I have some catch up to do on this one. 20 chapters behind.
     
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  16. Bloodberry

    Bloodberry Bloody Berry
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    buggy is there because he has his uses later on. hubby loves him, i'm rather "eh" on him. it took until the ussop's fight at the beginning of water 7 before i was willing to be okay with him. he has his moments but is just more the annoying friend you tune out a lot.

    hehe boy who cried wolf. just makes me think of the story in the enis lobby stuff. the hubby and i love the water 7/enis lobby arc. i think you might too, matt. though it's a loooong way off for you atm.

    though there are moments in thiller bark that rule. (the negativity jokoes, the zombies, Brook, nightmare luffy =D)
     
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  17. wertitis

    wertitis Proud Mary keep on burnin'

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    Yes, It too until Water 7 for me to warm up to Usopp as well, but he's gotten pretty badass over time. I think he was the biggest surprise for me.

    Water 7/Enis Lobby is by far the best arc, probably only second to the great faceoff at the bubble island prior to Impel Down.

    Thriller Bark was meh, and the final fight was bothersome for me. I think it took way too long. Still, Brooks was cool, as was the whole shadow trick thingy.

    ~W
     
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