Excellent storytelling, amazing characters, and overall just a good plot.

One Piece is a show I avoided for a while due to the length of the series. I highly regret not watching it sooner as I would've been caught up by now without a doubt, but I'm happy I started and I still have plenty of time to catch up.
I do understand how people may find it hard to get into One Piece, for starters it's one of the longest if not the longest shonen anime out there, exceeding over 980 episodes at the time of typing this, nearly at 1000. The episode count is a big factor as to why people back out of watching One Piece and it's completely acceptable as some people simply don't have the time. There are also other factors such as the pacing not being the best, once again as it's nearly 1000 episodes, you can expect some choppy pacing or long and/or boring arcs (personally this was a rare occurrence for me, though I can't speak for everyone), which can lead to an average person to just dropping the series since they don't necessarily want to watch something boring, also giving them a bad impression.

On the flip-side, I can confidently say I was one of those people for a long time, not wanting to watch all because of the length. I highly regret not starting when I was recommended by a friend, it truly is an amazing show. I find myself staying up all night watching episodes seeing the troubles our protagonist(s) face while on their journey. I enjoy the worldbuilding aspect as there's always so much more than what you can see going on. Several things are currently airing that was foreshadowed as early as some of the first arcs, which I find incredible. The attention to detail and plot makes the anime stand out in that standard, I've personally rarely found any plot holes, instead, I find myself remembering something that happened 150+ episodes ago and realizing how important and relevant it is now. Instances like that occur more than you'd think and it's amazing in my opinion.

The protagonist characters we're introduced to make it very easy to stick along with the story and follow them on their adventure, whether it'd be their jokes, interesting character development, or the grueling fights amongst their adventure, nearly all of it is entertaining and I find my self watching dozens of episodes without even realizing it. We're given a permanent cast that everyone can enjoy and laugh at, even in dark times.

As for my personal opinion on One Piece, I love it. I've said this countless times though I wish I started it sooner, now I'm behind and all my friends are miles ahead if not already caught up. I love the character development and watching our protagonists grow both mentally and physically whilst enduring multiple hardships across hundreds of episodes, the fights are amazing and so is the world-building + plot. I cannot emphasize how many times I've stayed up to as late as 5 AM grinding an arc waiting to see how it ends, experiencing multiple twists and turns while the story continues.

At the end of the day, One Piece is not perfect, but it is without a doubt enjoyable for anyone who loves shonen. If you've been pondering about starting One Piece, this is your call to action, go watch. I promise it's not a waste of time as I too used to be someone who always thought it was a weird anime and too long for my liking, though now I'm the complete opposite.