One Piece, anime wackiness meets Pirates of the Caribbean
 

While I enjoy my serious anime, there's one in particular I've taken to when i need to take a break from seriousness and drama, that being the pirate anime One Piece.

For me, I guess it was the Pirates of the Caribbean movies that got me into liking pirates for the first time since I was nine. and seeing Anime that's not set in some futuristic paradise or some woodsy type scene just caught on to me, and i think it's a bit underrated.

for those of you who don't know the story of it, it is as follows:

Fame...fortune...power...

The one man who had it all in this world was the great Pirate King, Gold Roger...whose fateful last words drove men to the sea.

"My treasure? If you want it, I will give it. All the riches in the world await the person who can but find it."

And so, brave souls set sail for the Grand Line in search of their dreams. The Great Age of Pirates had begun.

It's a pirate adventure like no other you've over seen.

Now, Monkey D. Luffy has set out on his own grand adventure. His goal, to fulfil a promise he made to his idol, the pirate Shanks, to seek out the Grand Line and find the Pirate King's treasure: One Piece. He is both blessed and cursed by having eaten of the Gum Gum fruit, known throughout the seas as the "Devil's Fruit". Though now unable to swim, his body is now able to stretch like rubber. With his newfound powers and the crew of the Going Merry at his side (famed pirate hunter Zolo, crafty pirate thief Nami, compulsive liar Usopp, and suave but kicking cook Sanji), Monkey sets out to follow in the wakes of the great pirates and write his own name in the pages of history. (trademark Absolute Anime)

well, you've got a lot of aspects of traditional anime in there. First, Luffy, Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, wacky, adventerous and tough, kinda like Lupin the 3rd to me, with the unusual power of rubber body.

Zolo, the classic samurai wielding 3 sword style (with pretty deft grace and strength)

nami, the pretty but tough navigator

Usopp, the cunning, and cowardly, Liar (if he only had a brain)

and Sanji, the loverboy cook.

what do you all think of One Piece?

Well first I'd suggest that you stop watching the terrible show that 4Kids is putting out on television. Second I'd tell you to go watch the actual unbutchered awesome show that is One Piece via fansubbers.

I did a marathon of all 280 episodes of One Piece a week or so ago. Took forever but it was great. One Piece is a pretty simple show but the characters are extremely likeable and the story is well written. I just love the world that it exists in too. The whole thing is just very entertaining.

So if you'd like to watch One Piece then here's my recommendation. Go download it from the following places. I've watched all the way up to 280 and all these groups do a perfectly fine job.

http://www.worldspace.nu/onepiece/

Get up to episode 206 from Kaizoku Fansubs, 207-209 from Hell fansubs, 210-218 from BalF, 219-249 from GeruSama, and 250 and up from ADC-Elites. =)

I really love the HDTV episodes that start from 207 and up. Every now and then they use a 4:3 raw but man the HDTV episodes really look nice.

ok
 

ok, thanks for the tip. I think I'll find the uncensored episodes. the issue is though that I've been reading the manga and only seen a few episodesof the watered down version on TV. so you're right, I will find the uncensored stuff first. thanks for the link

Oh and my bad, only up to 279 have been subbed but one off isn't far off. It was quite the marathon. Epic even!

I love One Piece too, both the manga and anime. Never seen the 4Kids dub though but their version of Rockman.EXE was horrifying. They dulled out sharp stabby weapons, renamed FireMan to TorchMan for no reason and put in the worst voices for characters. I've heard One Piece got the same treatment...

And yes, listen to AcerBandit and get yourself up to 280 NOW because the original is 100x more awesome then the dub. Plus it means your practically on par with the Japanese so you can keep up to date with the merchandise kraze if your into importing that kind of stuff :)
For the manga check out StopTazmo cause it often includes small stuff like funny side-stories and other content.

Enjoy!

Misinterpretted the title. Thought Japan or America was gonna do a cross-over (PotC & OnePiece). Whew =I

The manga doesn't stick well with me. Maybe the anime is more entertaining... But isn't it largely filler or wanders off from the manga?

the manga is definetely better, more graphic and serious at most points. although around here, they don't play One Piece that much, but I wouldn't doubt the 4Kids stuff is too tame for the rest of us

One Piece is awesome, but the 4Kids version, as everyone agrees, is horrible. I mean, even if everything else was perfect (which it's totally not), what they did to Sanji would be enough not to watch it. I mean, aside from the whole cigarette/lollipop thing, his American voice actor almost literally sounds like an ape.

In the case of One Piece, I think the anime is a lot better than the manga. It's pretty much a perfect transistion to animation. And the amazing soundtrack, consistently good animation, and the best voice actors ever pretty much make it that way. There are scenes in the manga that just lose everything without the music or voice actors. Well, that's just what I think anyways. There is barely any filler, and most of the filler is pretty decent for filler standards, there was like only 1 filler arc that sucked.

I'm probably the biggest One Piece fanboy on this forum, and marathoed this faster than Acer. I just decided one day to try it man, this is like my favorite anime now-a-days.

I'll just pop in to say that yes, One Piece is quite wonderful and anyone who isn't watching it for whatever ridiculously stupid excuse they come up with are missing out in one of the most fun shows ever.

The anime has its share of filler, but overall it's a highly entertaining adaptation of an awesome manga and the music is quite top notch. Special mention to the absolutely terrific voice actors who've really made the characters.

Also, the brutal rape of the series done by 4Kids is still horrifying to see in this day and age. It's the kind of stuff people want to see with morbid curiosity or when they simply don't know better. It saddens me to think there are people who watch the raped version and then go "I watched a few eps of One Piece. It sucked.", not realizing it's not actually One Piece they saw.

Yeah, I only watch One Piece on TV when I'm really bored and b/c I'm easily amused. It's terribleness makes me laugh tremendously.. It's amazing the amount of effort they put forth to ruin the show though. It could be used elsewhere like oh I don't know maybe making original shows instead. The work to remove Sanji's cigarette smoke and to replace it with a lollipop when it's a close-up of his mouth talking alone could be used to fund a new animated series.

One Piece really IS a masterpiece.

The Arabasta Arc was the best thing IMO that I've seen in any anime so far, it was just perfect.
And a big pro for One Piece is the cleverness of the fights in the show. No fight resembles the other, Oda really catches me off-guard everytime when the characters show their moves, although you might think, you've seen everything. Unlike DBZ with "my power level is higher than yours" or Bleach with "HA, my fuckin' reiatsu is bigger, I'm gonna pwn you!!!!11", One Piece manages to keep the fights interesting.

Also it has a great soundtrack and superb voice acting.

Unfortunately I see bad things coming, as the anime practically caught up with the manga... too bad.

im a big fan but im only on episode 125 but i will catch up in time
on the topic i went to wiki about one piece and it said the creator has the idea of the ending already
where the current episodes are at does it seem like its ending or we are years off?

I personally think we're years off. After the current events taking place in the anime it's going to open up a huge chain of events and they still haven't gone to the pirate council to meet up with Ace. Also, just looking at the world they probably have traveled maybe a fifth of the grand line is what I'm guessing, I'm probably wrong. Anyway I still see One Piece going on for at least a year or two. But, I'm sure whatever ending he comes up with will be excellent I just don't see it coming soon.

Actually, I remember reading a interview with Oda a long while ago. There he mentioned that we're around 1/4 of the whole story... and that was at episode 200+ so it's going to be pretty epic :)

I think One Piece has got to be one of the best (lengthy) mangas I've ever read. Most mangas teeter and decline after the first couple of arcs, but One Piece really pumps the gas into every arc. I never really bothered to watch the anime since I'm more of a manga-holic, but so far the manga is definitely top notch. The art itself lends itself to humor, and it is totally not cliched, unlike the majority of manga I see out there. Oda has this special blend of humor and yet emotional seriousness, especialy dealing with character development and event situations. If anything, I really enjoy the character relationships within each other. Each character has his/her own personality, although simple, but at the same time readers like me can over-analyze them in ways even Oda probably didn't mean for them to be.

As must as I would love to rave about One Piece, the easiest thing I can say is: GO READ IT.

it was the manga that started me off, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. still collecting them all today

The english adaptation of the manga is actually pretty good. The only thing that bothers me is the "Gum-gum" stuff. I bought them all just because, even though I read it all before and seen the anime form.

As for the length, they aren't even half way a cross the Grand Line, so we still got a long ways to go. Right now, we are probably around like 40-45% done, that's my guess anyways. Every arc from here on out is going to, or should be at least, compeltely badass. I'm really hoping we get to see Blackbeard/Ace next, those fights are going to be fucking EPIC.

I was unsure about this anime, but I decided to give it a shot, and I love it. Made it to episode 19 after 3 nights. On a roll and I plan to go all the way with it.

Btw, does anyone have an idea why Kaizoku Fansubs cuts the next episode preview at the end of each episode? They do it every time and it bothered me extremely when I decided to catch up using other groups and found out... I missed so much :(
I always like watching previews since they usually contain jokes or funny conversations.

hmm... I'm on an anime torrent site where someone just uploaded eps 1-206 in a batch file... I avoided it cause its huge (45gigs) and I always thought it was a kids anime... it seems like I might have been wrong though... I'm 21, do you think I'd still like it?

At it's core, One Piece is a kids anime (SHONEN LOL). But that doesn't mean adults or older teens or whatever can't enjoy it. Even in Japan, OP has a huge following with the college kids, I guess since they grew up with OP but still. And most of the people that I know that love One Piece are usually in their low twenties, so yeah, I think you'd like it. I haven't really seen anyone say that they don't like it, no matter what age, unless they are just basing their judgement on the 4kids version.

ok I guess I'll DL a few eps and see how I like it. I like Naruto now and that isn't really aimed at adults. I watched the first 90 eps or so within a week about 2 months ago, but then I moved and haven't really watched it since. I'm not big on starting a new anime series in the middle of another one, but since both aren't finished yet, I guess I don't have a choice.

I'm 21 and I like it. You decide.

Good storytelling is for all ages.
I'm also 21 (I began with 18) and this show doesn't stop to amaze me.

Thanks for the tip, guys.

This thread has made me download the series. I must say, it's very entertaining so far.

Glad I didn't let the butchered dub ruin my expectations.

I was loving this show back in the day, but I completely forgot what episode I was up to. >_< The Arlong/Nami story was amazing, and emotional though. The scene where:



is forever burned in the back of my mind.

I REALLY HATE how 4kids butchered Zorro's background story...

That's a little more reassuring (though I was already going to start downloading it anyway, it's good to see that people my age like it.) I'm in the middle of getting the first 20 epidoes. Now that my ISP has worked the kinks out of their system, it should take a few hours. Thanks for the advice!

One piece is the best manga i've seen. I liked the character design,
the whole world and some techniques. I really had fun while watching.
The relationships between character are perfect. I can't expect what will happens in the next ep so i never get bored with it.
I became a fan of one piece and i can hardly wait for the next eps so i'm watching films, specials etc.

Ah yes, just a little "warning". Personally, I thought that the first 10 episodes are just mediocre. Up until 20 it's ok. But when you hear the name "Arlong" for the first time in the series... be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster :D
This is, where all OP watchers become real fans of the series.

Thanks for that info... I might not have continued if the first 20 didn't grasp me... I'll download up till 40 before I start getting into it then. Now I just have to find some time to watch it.

Acer convinced me to watch this, a while back. He sent me the first 6 episodes or so, but I was already hooked by episode 1. I downloaded the rest from K-F and watched them all in quick succession. Currently I don't watch the anime (the Skypiea arc bores me and I don't want to get other subbers), but I keep up with Null's releases of the manga.

This is, I suppose, the best shounen action series that I've ever seen. In most series, especially ones as long as One Piece, it often feels like the action drags a bit and the story just meanders. With OP, even the fillers still feel kind of worthwhile. And the longevity of the series only helps it, really, as you begin to feel close and connected to each member of the crew. The Alabasta arc with Vivi and the current one in Water Seven have been particularly good at the character development.

I know some people get turned off by the character design -- and yes, Luffy does have a really big grin -- but if you can get over that, you're in for a good time.

Funny that you say that, was actually after episode 20 that I totally lost interest in the show, how it's gone so far is beyond me -.-

which character do you think is best. for me, it's still Luffy, corny but powerful

My favorite is Captain Kuro for the villains and Sanji for the heroes.

I've never heard it explained any better than saying the first 10-20 episodes are mediocre. I didn't really get into it until the Kuro battle, and then after that I got hooked. I've only really watched up through the Alabasta period (Crocodile battle was awesome), and am getting to the Enel (Eneru) period in the clouds.

Awesome series overall, I'm personally more of an 80s-90s Anime guy myself (the best being 1995-2000) but this one is a great one that spans into the newer age of anime that seems to be plagued with token romance series...

Arlong's Arc was really good. Very bloody and emotional, but fell victim to the "main-hero-is-unavailable-until-the-very-last-second" disease.

I had JUST finished the dragon arc, which was a bit subpar. Right now they've been on the grand line for a few episodes and I'm on the Baroque arc right now, which is turning out pretty well. Luffy's rage toward Zoro after that "certain event" when they were at Whisky seemed a bit out of place though. Luffy doesn't seem the type to go into a blind rage and completely ignore what his own friend has to say.

Still, I'm on a roll. I was in the middle of another anime before watching this and I had some more episodes to dwnload and finish, but One Piece completely took over, and for good reason.

However, during a quick trip to wiki, I discovered a spoiler on accident about Usopp that pissed me off.



But as far as favorite character, mine is Luffy. Villain is definately Buggy the Clown. I'm glad he keeps coming back.

Just finished the Davey Back arc, it was awesome and truly something One Piece again after G-8 and Skypiea. I was really impressed at how Oda kept it interesting with all those crazy and funny twists. Currently i'm at the filler where the kid steals their memories. The cool thing is that it's actually based upon story in One Piece: Oceans Dream for the PSX :D

And yeah, I learned my lesson about 500 times to never check wiki for anything unless I already know everything about it.

yeah, it's hard to bewlieve wiki is not always accurate hm?

Just saw episode 285

Oda doesn't write the story of the fillers. the studio does them :P

manga spoiler

Which chapter are you talking about? I don't remember that part.

Last week's or the week before. I believe we didn't get a chapter at all. Hopefully this week we will.

well, book 13 of the manga comes out soon, I believe January 7

If you're going to talk about manga chapters, at least take the time to specify which chapter (like 432) you're talking about... Not all of us who read the manga follow the quickest scanlator (sup null).

One Piece effin' rocks. :B I've been into it since March 2006, when I started watching fansubs. I wasn't so eager to read the manga though, because most of the scanslations are just friggin' poor quality(I guess I have higher expectations from the good-to-great quality of scantrans I read in the past), but a few months ago I started reading the raws at 413(working knowledge+quickie translations), so now I'm addicted to that. I enjoy both, but I like the anime a bit more, because when I get to awesome parts in the manga I say to myself, "Man, this is gonna look SO awesome in the anime."

I like everyone on the crew, but The Great Captain Usopp is my favorite character. :3

Anyone up to par with the manga? Ch. 432 is the latest I've caught up with:



I can't quite pick an absolute favorite character, but I know Luffy rounds out to the top, and then Sanji. Sanji just has those weird quirky qualities that makes him bad ass, at the same time, a stupid whipped boy.

I'm up to 436, thanks to a French group. =D

Possible spoilers for those not up to 432:

As for what's coming up next... I'll just say it looks very exciting, and I can hardly hold my breath.

I've found out online that another group was translating One Piece, Jinchuuriki (sp?). They've been doing recent Naruto but I think they dropped. They are up to 439, but I'm loyal to Null, who're up to 434.

About 434

434


EDIT: also, I couldn't get my hands on any Jinchuuriki releases, but I came across another French group who are up to 440. =D

I just recently started watching the anime. I just watched 298 episodes and the 6 movies in two and a half weeks, now I'm just disappointed that I have to wait for new ones to come out like everyone else. What day do the new episodes usually get subbed?

Well, the anime is pretty close to the manga right now. Goodness, it really seems like this manga/anime will probably go on for a couple more years. The One Piece world is so big!

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