"Why TF should I consider watching One Piece-?" - the Review.

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##Spoiler-Free review so dww.~~~

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Writing a review on why to watch One Piece is hard.. really hard, as everyone who's watched it knows full well it's worth it, even if they really hated it at first (like me!) but they can't speak on any of why it's good, because it happens to be literally all spoilers. But I intend to make the simplest review on this possible.

So. Why should you bother watching it? Or should you even?? Gimme 5 minutes to list it out.

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#The Animation.

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Ok hear me out. The animation at the beginning of the show sucks, that is just a fact. But if you watch shows for the animation, this show will not disappoint. It improves over time. Near the recent arcs, the animation is stunning. Better than Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc, better than JJK, better than Studio Ghibli most of the time. I'm being literal.

Again, can't list many examples ;-; but here is a small example that spoils nothing, so go ahead and watch it. I can't link to the actually good parts as they're all spoilers, but it gets even better than that, on the weekly episodes.

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#The cast.
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The cast is outstanding and feels real, for an anime. The pure depth put into these characters is more than many other animes. Neither the male nor female cast are lacking.

There's far, far too much here to completely go over in a review, plus I can't really make a strong argument without spoiling things. But to list a few of the characters..

• We have Luffy, a silly but kind of dumbass guy. He is very upstanding and wants everyone to be happy.

• Sanji, a cook with a deep backstory.... oh and also a huge simp for any females in existence.

• 5 or so anime waifus that all happen to have more character depth than many other shows' protagonists.

• Zoro, an incredibly popular choice for favorite character, who is both silly and cool asf.

And hundreds more.

Deku, Tanjiro, Naturo, etc don't even compare to our main cast, in the end. The only Shounen Jump ones I can think of that can compare are Edward Elric and (ofc) Gojo Satoru. You get the idea.

So, for the kind of characters this show has? Well.. besides pirates ofc- there's samurai, detectives, dinos, idols, trans characters, cyborgs, fish-men, and dozens more kinds of characters. This is a fantasy, don't forget, but strongly set in reality too.

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#The Comedy

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This show is as adorable as it is hilarious, although it gets better overtime, too. Oda has a good sense of humor. The first time it's shown really well are the episodes with Bon Clay.

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#It has no Plarmour.
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That's right, no plot armor whatsoever, contrary to what's often said. The good guys aren't guaranteed to win any given fight. Infact this show is similar to Jojo's in that way, as characters don't even have plot armor to protect them from death. Just because someone believes in themself and their friends, doesn't mean they'll make it out alive bc of that. :>

Anything that seems to be plot armor (a decent amount tbf) is eventually explained, and not in a cheap way at all. Everything has reasons behind it, and everything is foreshadowed, too.

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#It's inspiring.
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Yes, Luffy is often stated as 'the most inspiring Shounen anime character'. This might be It doesn't seem like it could possible be at first (I couldn't stand him for a large portion of the show), but watch and you'll see what I mean.

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#The Power System.

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I will not speak on this. The power system is brilliant, though.

And not just the power system, per se, but all the systems are pretty impressive too.

And most of all,

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#The Story.

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The complete story is better than what you'd expect an anime to be able to do. This is the general consensus of everyone who's actually watched it.

"Every single arc improves upon the last"; While that may not be true literally for the story—some arcs are more exceptional than others—it is true for the animation, the pacing, etc. Also overall the story gets better and better farther you get.

And for that matter, you also can't skip any of it. It does take awhile to like it, I found the annoying factors really strong and didn't really even begin to like it until 138 episodes in or so. But this show also happens to make it far easier to watch longer animes, like it's nothing.

However, you can't really argue against it being 'One Peak' unless you watch every single arc. The development connects through everything, and seemingly minor things, brought up in the first arcs, connect deeply to things brought up in the last ones. The foreshadowing really is unparalleled. Characters and events that are shown at the beginning will show up later.

NOTHING is clear cut. There's no possible 'black-and-white' way to look at things in One Piece. The story is, at parts, told from different perspectives. You have to judge for yourself what is to blame, who are the antagonists and who are the protagonists (besides Luffy ofc). This adds to the complexity and depth of it, like all adult shows, except to a higher degree.

The story is deeply attaching and emotional, too, the farther you get into it. Don't be fooled by the beginning. The Webtoon Tower of God is considered the 'Korean One Piece' just because it comes kinda close in creating a similar story (not that close if you've seen everything One Piece has to offer). Imagine any of the most solid animes you've seen, but instead of one country / world, there's a few dozen, very diverse and equally expanded upon. This universe has better worldbuilding & foreshadowing than the entire CLAMP universe, although not more complex.

On a side note: One Piece incorporates everything into itself. As for the cultures in the story, it blends dozens of cultures, which may sound weird at first but it's done brilliantly. There's Greek/Roman and Norse mythologies just thrown in there. There's dozens of references to Western music artists? (Oda seems to look up to the west just like most animes do :D) And famous western figures. There's Christian elements in there (it's not disrespectful tho). And far more, I'm only aware of some.

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#Short version: ~~~
The worldbuilding and the storytelling are both beyond 10/10.

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#"Anything One Piece does not have??"

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Romance. If you came here for romance or gorgeous bishounen design, get back to Webtoons. But that doesn't mean there isn't any mention of romance, but it's just for the plot or the comedy. There are incredibly deep, almost intimate bonds, though.

This show has it's own aesthetic, and it's not bishounen / bishoujo, and it sticks to it. One Piece is always somewhat silly, yet it's still good. Fight me.

And of course all genres it's not, won't be here.

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#"Outright flaws, though?"
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Yeah, the beginning is the biggest one. The first arcs may feel tedious because of the pacing and the annoying characters. In fact the first arcs, although necessary, don't really showcase everything the show has to offer.

And then ofc there's the fandom, but not all of them are cringe. Many are, including those who watch just the very beginning arcs and praise it as if it's something insanely emotional and enlightening that it's not. But plenty of the community is just heartwarming and chill, too. But in any case, rating an anime based on the community isn't accurate so.

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#"I've been spoiled soo,,"
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Me too, and a whole lot of the fans tbh. Still very worth it, the spoiled parts are still decently impactful, and even if you were spoiled, it doesn't change that you need the entire story to get the beauty of it. You need the context for One Piece, so half-watching it (or being spoiled on it, too) won't really work.

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#"Too long bro. yawn"
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Fair enough. If you're a casual anime watcher who has no trouble watching seasonal shows, it's really not too long, but if you just can't get yourself to watch it, or if you don't have the time, or if you think 1000+ episodes/chapters is too much for an amazing story, especially with a pretty slow start, that's valid.

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#"Age range ?"
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Teens and up.
Why?

The beginning is fine for kids but this is not a kids show. There are scenes of torture, of anguish, experiments, and the WCI arc is just slightly creepy on it's own. But teens should generally be fine. Plus it takes awhile to get to the less appropriate parts, so.

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#Filler?
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Yea you can skip it. There's one very exceptional one, starting at episode 220, but you can skip all the dull fillers and crossover episodes just fine.

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#Conclusion !!~~~

In short, this show is likely a good investment of your time, if you have the interest in such animes. ^^ Of course it's not without its flaws, but they aren't many and they're not the ones it's commonly said to have.

I do recommend the anime over the manga, but only because of the lovely soundtrack, openings, endings, and the later animation. If you still prefer the manga, go for it ofc. The show (aside from filler and the art detail at first) is almost an identical copy of the manga, which is quite impressive considering most adaptions these days if you think about it.

And for what it's worth, I suggest watching it in the Sub, as the va's are stunning. But either way works.

As a previous One Piece hater, I really have no regrets rating this 100/100.

(Also, if you have any suggestions on how to improve this review, pls let me know ^^ i would love any feedback on the review, too, tbh)

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