Normally, most shounen anime are some of the most generic and downright most awful things ever created. They normally have no strategies to fights and characters win by deus ex machina, terrible world building, rushed and forgettable backstories crammed to feel sympathetic manipulation towards a character, and downright terrible and comically evil villains that make the experience of watching it a literal misery. I can name maybe even a hundred examples of shounen anime that utterly fail from these listed things. My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Demon Slayer, Bleach, most of Dragon Ball, Blue Exorcist, High School DXD, and of course Fairy Tail are literally just off the back of my mind for worst shounen.
Shounen anime are just way too easy to just recycle and use the same tropes we see constantly repeat having no originality whatsoever. It was actually at some point where I seriously wondered if a good long running show like this even existed. While I have found good shounen like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood before, a good long running show was a really hard catch to find. Better yet finding an epic tale that’s compelling which I constantly try looking for and most anime can’t even reach the bar of being passable because they have no passion put into them.
While I still haven’t seen all shounen yet like I haven’t started Yu Yu Hakusho yet, I could still easily tell you most shounen are really bad shows and that’s probably nothing new discussed in the anime community. Shounen anime easily deserve to be despised for their cheap writing and awful direction with some of the worst animated fight scenes ever actually digitalized on a computer. No exaggeration.
One Piece actually managed to surprise me some months back and I actually got really into it. No like, this is actually a really good series. I still wouldn’t call it a masterpiece and I do still believe there are a few flaws but there are definitely some strengths here that One Piece excels at and I feel like most people nowadays actually forget how great this series truly was when it took off. I haven’t seen the modern episodes and probably will not be there for a long time because I actually have a life and don’t sit around all day but maybe they are probably much worse than the classic episodes but I won’t know until I get there.
Today, I’ll be reviewing the first major arc of One Piece which is The East Blue Arc. It is also the first 61 episodes in the show which is over 900 episodes long and there’s no way I could fit all those episodes in a review like this but I’ll slowly review the whole show and begin my One Piece crusade by talking about the first arc.
One Piece succeeds with it’s storytelling because it actually feels like a real adventure watching these characters. Having them develop and change over time as they travel across the world. Have powerful backstories that feel compelling and have really fun and interesting goals I would love seeing be accomplished. Characters with real depth to them and actually touch my heart. Not only that but the techniques used in fights are actually clever and have really fun techniques used to them. Fights are won by strategies and intelligence and not horrible one punch brawls like in pretty much a huge chunk of anime.
In my opinion, One Piece sets the standard for shounen anime. Let’s just be honest. I can’t think of literally any other long running series that even compares to One Piece. I mean, most anime have no originality anyways so it’s convenient they have no thought put into them anyways. One Piece manages to be different though. It has a way of telling a story that works perfectly and honestly, anime as a whole would be way better if they were written like One Piece characters. Sadly, that’ll probably never happen because most workers in anime lack the skill or talent to match or try to beat that record so it becomes pretty sad when One Piece is the only thing that stands on top of everything else.
I’m actually really happy I finally found one thing out there I actually like. It makes me wonder why I never started watching it some years back when I started enjoying anime. I always found it to be cool but I don’t know why I never watched it until about 6 months ago. Oh well. Time flies by. But anyways, let’s get into the review.
Story + Characters:
The story of One Piece is about a teenage boy named Monkey D. Luffy who wants to sail the seas and find the one piece treasure. He does it to become The Pirate King and also one day giving his hat back to Shanks one day. Along the way, he recruits a massive crew to fight alongside him and conquer The Grand Line.
I love how unique and interesting the premise is. From just this description alone, I could just tell you that it’s a fun adventure just waiting to happen. I like imagining how I could travel the waters and fight the treasure. Can you imagine having cool powers and traveling all across the world just to find a treasure? That sounds like a lot of fun. Doesn’t it?
It’s a fun world to explore and one I enjoy being made. It’s cool being on the waters as a pirate. Nothing like Davy Jones’s Locker right guys.
Part 1: Arc 1 (Eps. 1-4)
The first episode actually does a good job of introducing me to the series.
You start off with a boy named Coby who is working on a ship under the command of Alvida who believes that she’s the fairest of the sea. Fortunately to say, she really isn’t but she actually reappears again and she actually does look way less ugly due to the power of Devil Fruits later on. Alvida normally spends her time harassing her crew into saying she’s way prettier than she actually is though because in the first episode, she’s really fat and ugly.
A little later, you meet our main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy. He pops out of a barrel and talks with Coby about his situation. It’s explained that two years ago that Alvida captured him and made him forced as one of her crew. When Luffy confronts Alvida for the first time, he goes over and actually says “Who’s this ugly hag?” to Coby.
I really like how they created a situation in the first episode and were able to create comedy off of it. Not only does it show that Luffy actually has a real personality we could latch with but it’s also clever that the show actually can have creative punchlines with it’s jokes. In this case, Luffy takes in that Alvida is a bully who harasses people and makes fun of her calling her fat and ugly.
The joke works because the punchline comes from Alvida being a bully and making fun of her is a good way to give some depth to jokes and characters.
We also get a strong impression of Luffy’s character because we can tell that even though he could be a bit goofy at times, he’s actually a much smarter character than you would think he is and that’s how we know he actually has a personality. He actually has depth to his character and I appreciate giving him a fresh start to work with his character development.
The episode ends where Luffy fights and beats Alvida using his devil fruit power which is using rubber arms to punch things. The only thing in this episode that might annoy people that I can think of is probably some of the dialogue. Personally, I think when people say Gum Gum, that kind of sounds a little stupid but at least they use the names meaningfully when they are supposed to be the fruits name. Gum Gum referring to the rubber powers Luffy has.
Also, the fact that Luffy actually has a strong personality is also a reason why I like it when he wins battles. It gives us a reason to actually care about him beating his enemies.
All of this is good and this is only the first episode. I gotta say, One Piece really holds up after a while which is also why I think despite a few flaws it has, it’s definitely way better than most shounen anime without question.
It actually gets even better throughout the next few episodes.
During the second episode is where we get introduced to a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro. He’s a pirate hunter and feared for his reputation for killing folk with his tough 3 sword style. He was captured by the marines and was tried to be executed by the mischievous Captain Morgan.
Captain Morgan is known across town to torture his own people and sentence them to death including torturing his own son Helmeppo who is a town bully who uses his father’s name to get what he wants from people.
What makes this all interesting is that Zoro’s goal is to become the greatest swordsman to ever live.
We know that Luffy will probably need a ton of crew mates to focus on his goal to become The Pirate King and a great swordsman is definitely an important thing to have as one of your guards. I think it’s actually really smart that he thinks about who would be his swordsman and takes it upon Roronoa Zoro to join his crew and have fun on a big adventure.
I also think that it’s really cool that Zoro’s own goal is to become the greatest swordsman and we even get to fully learn and understand why he wants to be that. Besides, what’s not cool about being a swordsman? I would totally love to be able to slice a mountain in half and then learn how to do vorpal strikes. It’s a really cool goal to have.
The biggest reason why I love the fights in this anime is really because instead of lame fights where characters are just magically overpowered and win every fight because the writers have not a single brain cell, I like how One Piece becomes strategic with its fights. The battles are fun to watch because they actually have depth to them and there’s thinking put into them.
Let’s examine the fight between Luffy + Zoro Vs. Captain Morgan.
Notice how Luffy is standing right in front of Morgan to peel his eyes away? This is a distraction to allow Zoro to slice him down and defeat him.
When I first saw this, I was actually pretty impressed. This is actually a clever strategy. They use a distraction to find a weak spot. This is actually way different from your typical shounen garbage where they use friendship power ups or other power ups to just win every fight to push the plot forward.
There’s actual depth put into them and it makes it interesting to watch. Now if only there were more anime that actually did that. I wouldn’t even be on Reddit actually. Who knows?
We also meet who’s actually one of my favorite characters ever Nami who’s a thief and works her way around men to get what she wants. She was trying to infiltrate a marine base and she caught attention when she read about Captain Buggy and the large bounty on his head. She’s also someone who hates pirates and that’s explained in probably the greatest arc ever written in the history of fiction.
Nami is like the pearl of the ocean to me. A diamond in water.
Getting back to Luffy, we actually get a real reason why he even wants to become the king of pirates.
In Episode 4, it shows him as a kid and he meets a man named Captain Shanks. We also get a good insight into where his powers came from when he made the mistake of opening a chest and eating a Devil Fruit. Shanks calls him an idiot and tries stating that Luffy has no idea what he probably just did to himself.
I also want to mention that it’s pretty cool that there’s also a stake to all the fights in One Piece because it’s also brought up that people who eat Devil Fruits are no longer able to swim. It creates tension and the show also remembers well to stay true to it’s own world logic which makes it a believable setup.
We’re able to tell that Shanks is a cool person based on his own character.
When it’s himself, he doesn’t care about being beat up. He just shakes it off and laughs at it. However if you hurt his friends, that’s when he’s strong and he’s a very powerful man too. He taught Luffy to always care about the ones you respect and I think that’s really nice.
That’s the biggest reason why I like Shanks and we even get to see more insight into his character as the series progresses which is something I never thought an anime would actually have at this point. Stuff like this is how I managed to stay with anime this long and it continues to be apart and grow with me the more I find great stories like this.
He also saves Luffy from a monster and gives him his hat as a token.
We learn that Luffy wants to be Pirate King not because he just wants to, but because he wanted to become a better pirate than Shanks was. That’s how you know where his feelings come from as a pirate. It’s to live up to his morals as a human being and I think that’s really cool and powerful.
Just from these 4 episodes, you can already tell that these characters are going to be on an actual epic adventure. They all have their own diverse goals and ideas. Because they actually have multiple sides to their personality, they actually have a lot of depth to their character and that’s where I start to fall in love with the story.
There’s an actual story being told here and you can tell because there’s actually a coherent storyline. I understand perfectly that these characters are going into The Grand Line to find a treasure and each for their own reasons. It’s incredible to see how these people have so much depth to them finding a treasure.
This is how good One Piece is already and this is actually only the first 4 episodes. Imagine how good the rest of the show is. Whatever critic is saying this show is boring has no idea what they are talking about. Just saying it like it is. This is the most epic adventure I’ve ever seen in my life.
Part 2: Arc 2 (Eps. 5-8)
Already we have another great positive and we’re on the fifth episode. I love the consistent flow and depth of arcs together.
We get by seeing how they are sailing to each and every single different island that there’s always something new for them to accomplish. I love seeing how each and every single location feels different and we get to learn about the people and the history of the place and the situation happening there to be resolved.
It just shows you how much great depth is actually put into the show to make it interesting. We get full coverage of everything happening and each and every single location they travel towards contributes to their journey and makes it exciting to see what they get into next.
Here they run into a town run by a mayor who watches a dog guarding a shop.
I like how you learn about how the owner of that shop had a close relationship with the dog and he died from an illness. I think it adds depth to why we should respect this dogs feelings towards this shop.
On that note during the fifth episode, they encounter another pirate named Captain Buggy of The Buggy Pirates. Buggy is trying to invade and cause trouble in town by wasting it.
Nami tries to works for Buggy to gain money. Now I believe it’s time I talk about why I believe Nami is such a complex character that it’s actually ridiculous.
You can tell from her character that even though she can act really bad at times by selling people out or forcing them to make money for her, she’s actually a kind person and you’d notice she respects how Luffy actually treasure his hat which Shanks gave him and the fact they also even flashback to those moments with Shanks just adds a ton of substance to all of it and the more I’m in love with it by each scene that happens.
I truly believe she’s really in love with Luffy and she has a lot of respect for him and she hides it by being playful with her friends. This is because Nami actually has a real personality and I could really get used to her character.
I also think she’s a very intelligent thief as her skills with playing men are top notch and later on we even get to see where all her skills come from. Because of her really bad behavior with people, she’s able to manipulate and steal without even a second thought which shows she has efficient skill and talent and this isn’t even her only talent.
She’s also an excellent navigator being able to draw and scale maps with every location she goes to. It even adds to Luffy’s character with being smart enough to find a great navigator so that way they could keep track of every single location they travel from. They even explain how she used her talent since she was a kid and how she grew up with it.
I’m actually just scratching the surface with how great of a character Nami is. She has so much depth and character that I could actually write an entire novel about how much I love everything about her. We’ll even get back to her more down below as we dissect her backstory.
One thing I actually find cool about Buggy is that his power enabled him not to be able to be chopped. I think the power scaling here is also incredible as it creates stakes perfectly when Luffy is a man not able to be shot.
Because the powers are scaled perfectly, the fights are a ton of fun to watch.
I also loved the fight with Zoro Vs. this swordsman when you get to see Zoro’s three sword technique. I think it’s an awesome technique because it’s actually really thoughtful and really creative. Can you imagination wielding three swords? That would be cool and we even learn how he even mastered that skill to begin with.
The only downside with Buggy is that I don’t think he really had a reason to betray Captain Shanks and Luffy even calls him out for it. I think it’s really cool that we get more insight into Shanks as a character but I feel like Buggy just felt weak when Shanks saved his life and it’s kind of lame.
They could have given more effort to why Buggy betrayed Shanks but that’s just me.
I liked seeing Luffy kicking him in the balls though. I thought it was a cool strategy that Luffy came up with after Buggy tore up his hat basically calling Buggy a dork and then another cool strategy was tying his body up so Buggy was basically screwed and Luffy sent him flying in the air with a good ol punch.
After that, another really satisfying good conclusion was Nami finally joining Luffy’s team and what they accomplished.
I feel like what they accomplished there was saving these people. They were in trouble and they were saved from Buggy’s mayhem. I feel like each location they travel to, something is done and then they move on. Each location contributes to an overall longer story with each arc. They even flash back to them throughout the adventure.
I also felt really happy when Nami joined their team because it meant that they would travel together. They would go out and see the world out there. It’s a journey that builds together with each passing moment.
This tells me that real effort went into each arc being satisfying. It’s actually amazing that someone was able to come up with so much detail in just a short amount of time.
Part 3: Arc 3 (Eps. 9-17)
The next arc we get to is where we finally meet Usopp. This takes place in a village named Syrup Village.
To start off, I think it’s really cool to see the characters land in the new location. It shows how they are progressing through each area by traveling together and adds substance to their overall voyage.
We see Usopp playing around with these kids pretending to be a pirate. I actually do like this because it gives us detail to that Usopp actually has a connection to these people and why we should care. However, I actually do think that he’s one of the weaker characters in my opinion.
That’s because his goal as a character is actually kind of weak really. It feels like when he tries to be Pirate King, it just feels silly. It like they just kind of copied the idea with Luffy being the pirate king.
His character just isn’t really that interesting to me and I feel like they could of given more depth to him. I do like that he’s searching for his father though.
That’s not to say I dislike this arc though. There is one really cool thing I absolutely love about this arc. It’s the villain.
His name is Captain Kuro of The Black Cat Pirates and he’s one of the coolest frigging characters I’ve ever seen in my life. To tie his character up nicely, he’s a brilliant evil mastermind.
I loved seeing his plan and how he literally spent three years disguising himself as a butler to one day show his true colors and wipe out everyone involved with him to not only steal Kaya’s fortune but mainly to erase his own identity. It’s so well formulated that it’s incredible.
To think for once a villain could actually be this interesting and be one of the first enemies in the entire show. It’s actually incredible.
Very few villains possess the charisma and talent this guy has and he spent three years pretending to care for this girl.
It’s shown really nicely that he did this extremely well. I mean, he pretended to do things for the villagers so nobody would be suspicious of him. He gave Kaya medicine when she was sick. He also kicked out any intruders that seemed like a threat to her.
To think this guy had that much talent to deceive people. It’s truly fascinating that a villain is like that and he did it to steal a fortune of money killing her.
Now if only all villains in anime were like that too. Anime would be a much better medium if every villain was written exactly like he was. We’re also just getting started too.
He’s also one of the most fun characters I’ve ever watched.
I found it really fun when I watched him toy with his minions like playthings. When The Meowban Brothers would appear, I found it hilarious when he just caged them like insects with both his pussyfoot technique and his really cool looking claws. Watching him do this was so fun that I was actually just laughing and it was pure entertainment for me.
His backstory is also really compelling when you learn about him trying to get away from the marines. It really gave a lot of great insight into his genius plan of robbery and what he was really trying to accomplish. Once killing everyone too, he would finally be free to walk the Earth without anyone looking for him.
That’s such a genius plan it’s ridiculous. Now try thinking of another villain with that much depth. There aren’t a lot and I’ll tell you that.
He’s talented, charismatic, intelligent, and fun. What more could you want from a villain? Captain Kuro is one of the greatest villains in anime history and I really got into One Piece watching him. I became really interested with what other characters they were going to go up against.
I also found Captain Jango to be kind of funny.
I like how the anime is aware of how weird he is and makes fun of him. His power is also cool when he hypnotizes people and makes them stronger. It makes me aware if hypnosis actually works like that.
The conclusion was a little weird though.
I kind of don’t see how Merry survived being sliced apart like that from Kuro. Is it me or is that a little weird?
I still thought it was cool seeing they tried to leave the village behind without telling anyone that of what happened. It felt like they were trying to be humble without being a hero but Kaya being the only person to learn the truth about it.
I also feel like defeating Captain Kuro felt nice when Luffy called him out with his crew mates and I believe from this that the friendship in this actually has real meaning because they actually respect one another. It was also a good strategy that Kuro was getting tired from his Out Of The Back attack which allowed Luffy to capture him in one spot paying attention.
It was still a nice solid conclusion and one I appreciate before heading to the next island. I thought it was cool seeing them leave by keeping a solid secret from Syrup Village.
Part 4: Arc 4 (Eps. 18-30)
The next arc is what is referred to as The Baratie Arc. In this arc, they travel to a restaurant to fill their bellies.
In this arc, you meet another character by the name of Sanji.
Sanji is also in my opinion an excellent character because of how much you learn about his attachment to his own restaurant. He’s also an excellent chef and I think it’s cool that Luffy gains a chef on board his ship.
I found it really compelling that most of his character comes from his strong relationship with the restaurants owner Red Foot Zeff. You learn from the fact that he saved Sanji and gave him food when he was starving that that was what made him the person he is now.
Sanji is a gentleman who thinks of others and is willing to serve food to help people such is what he does with this one guy who gets kicked out of his restaurant because he has no money. You need money to be able to pay for things and I think it’s really thoughtful that Sanji is helping this poor man live by giving him a plate of food to eat.
I also think that while it is a little annoying with how he acts towards women, I feel like it’s just him trying to act goofy and be silly and not being a perverted jerkoff like in a huge majority of other anime.
Sanji is a well written character because I respect his actions and beliefs towards helping people. It’s interesting to see how he became what he became by working in a restaurant serving food giving his ability to cook well.
There is one filler episode where they meet a strange guy who’s trapped in a chest and I will admit, it’s actually the worst episode in this arc. Not much is really put into this episode really.
This is also actually the arc where you learn Zoro’s backstory too actually.
I really liked learning about this girl named Kuina and how they were sword rivals. Kuina would always win but I loved how competitive they were against each other. I also loved that they also respected and actually became friends with each other.
It turns out that Kuina really wasn’t destined for great swordsmanship as women are typically weaker people then men are. Because of this, she trained really hard to prove people wrong.
I actually felt really sad when Kuina died because it felt like her and Zoro were actually close friends. I felt bad that Zoro had to live with knowing his friend was gone now.
Him training was also how he managed to master having 3 swords with him. That technique was from training and not just an ability he knows out of thin air. It’s really cool how an anime is interesting enough to give a fully fleshed out backstory that not only shows why he wants to become the greatest swordsman but also dynamically shows how he mastered his techniques.
Wow, a shounen anime actually does that? I never thought I’d see the day.
One of my favorite episodes was also when you met Hawkeye Mihawk who’s actually the world’s strongest swordsman. When Zoro and him fought, it was one of my favorite moments when Hawkeye beat him.
It was a sign that both Zoro was a worthy opponent and that he needed to work harder to achieve his ultimate goal.
The way how One Piece sets up each character is so well written because it all contributes to the same thing. They enter The Grand Line and go their quest to find the one piece treasure. That’s ultimately where everything leads after Luffy assembles his crew together.
One Piece is so dynamic in several different ways and it makes the story special when everything leads to a big giant adventure that changes their lives.
This episode and in the middle of when a man named Don Krieg is traveling conquering as much land as possible.
It was kind of cool to see how even though this one guy was loyal to Don Krieg and his pirate crew, he was loyal to Sanji for taking care of him. That my friend is some incredible writing right there.
After Don Krieg invaded The Baratie, he made himself starve only to manipulate Sanji and the rest of the restaurant to fill his own and his armies stomach to invade and destroy the restaurant to make it just empty space.
I actually thought Don Krieg was one of the weaker villains in my opinion.
To me, he’s just a jerk that pigs off of other people to get what he wants. I didn’t find him as interesting as Captain Kuro was with his intellect.
I did think his power was pretty cool though. It’s a suit of armor that fires bombs and other projectiles at people. I can see how he made his way with that armor built on him.
I did think it was cool to see how Sanji was at unease with leaving his restaurant behind. I mean, he basically grew up living on that little spot there. Of course it’s difficult for him.
It was also nice to see that he was finally willing to leave once he realized his passion for cooking food and helping people. By then, he joined Luffy’s crew and they sailed off.
It was a nice solid conclusion with a man willing to cook for his friends. It was another great way to introduce another great character.
Part 5: Arc 5 (Eps. 31-44)
So now, we finally get to one of the greatest arcs ever written finally. This is The Arlong Park Arc. To be honest, this arc is so beautifully written it’s actually ridiculous.
We start off with how Nami is is really distressed and that she stole the ship back to Cacoyashi Village as it was shown in the previous arc that it became an issue when she found a wanted poster with a fishman named Arlong.
As it turns out, Nami was trying to protect them this whole time by fleeing away from them.
This in my opinion is already incredible because it really shows how much she loves her friends really.
She’s willing to disappear so that Arlong never comes after anyone again. She’s strong enough to carry a burden to protect her friends and people.
It’s actually so beautiful that I’m at a loss for words.
Already, I feel sad for Nami because look at this. You could already tell the amount of pain she went through just from these actions.
Next, we actually get to her backstory. Honestly, I actually shattered tears from this.
We learn that Nami was a brat that cared about her money when she was a kid. She lived with her sister Nojiko and her mother Bellemere. After a cop told her a story about Bellemere, she felt sorry and returned home.
Not only does this make is care deeply about Nami but it also made me really love Bellemere also.
We learn when she was a teenager she was also the same brat like Nami. She left stubbornly later and became a marine. Once she found two orphans, she decided to take care of them. Them being Nojiko and Nami.
Bellemere is also one really tough frigging chic too man.
When Arlong took over, he forced the entire village to pay 100,000 Berries just to live. He does this because he believes that fishmen are a superior race to mankind so basically racism. When it seemed like everyone paid their money, he notices one last house. That being Bellemere’s house which is a concern because she’s actually really poor.
I mean, Bellemere lost but the fact she was still tough enough to knock Arlong down and have a gun to his mouth is pretty frigging strong dude. I mean regular fishmen are like 10 times as strong as human already. Arlong is 10 frigging times as strong as fishmen. That’s 100 times as strong as humans.
I think that alone should actually tell you how strong this chic is. The fact that Arlong’s flick didn’t send her flying into a volcano should tell you she’s one tough frigging girl.
Bellemere is also a very strong and powerful mother too.
I think the fact she goes to all these depths just to protect her children actually makes me cry like a baby. Because she didn’t have enough money to save all 3 of each other, instead of letting each other live by tricking Arlong, she was instead willing to die calling these kids her family.
To be honest, I think that this scene is actually probably the saddest scene I’ve ever seen in any fictional work or medium. No exaggeration.
I love her because she’s a very strong woman. She’s willing to risk anything for her kids and I think real adults can learn from her actions. She’s relatable, she’s strong, intelligent, beautiful, caring, mature, and very deep and powerful. I mean, just look at what she said about her family.
It manages to also stick with me because she ties towards Nami’s character as well also feeling like a person relatable to her as well. Everything I said and only in the span of 2 episodes.
Do I even need to go further with this? I would actually marry a girl like her in real life if had the chance. She’s a powerful woman.
I also think Arlong is a cool villain from also being a great manipulator.
He sent the navy over just so that way Nami would never fulfill a promise they made 8 years ago about 100 Million Berries. It was a deal so Nami could free her village and Arlong created an obstacle for her. Interestingly, he never really betrayed their promise as 100 Million Berries was a deal he never forgot. He just has other tricks up his sleeve which gives an interesting insight into his own depth of character.
The only episode I didn’t care for was when Zoro fought Hatchin The Octopus.
I thought it was slow and it dragged out a little bit. I mean, it wasn’t awful. It was just slow and I wanted to see the real fight begin.
The actual fight against Arlong only adds to why I think Nami is one of the best characters ever written.
Just look at her past in that room being a navigator. Arlong treating her like crap. I think all the things here made her who she is now.
I see from her past and everything that went wrong that it created who she is now. She’s a powerful person working to be there for people and a real bad side to her that brings charm. To me it really shows who she is as a person. She’s not just selfish and greedy. She’s a caring person who sacrifices anything for people.
If that’s not deep that I don’t know what is.
This makes Luffy mad and he knocks Arlong down his own building. The building collapses after destroying it and everyone worries who survived after one of the most epic fights ever put on television.
This creates the most powerful moment in the whole show.
Luffy survives and he screams “Nami!!! You’re my friend!!!”.
This was so powerful I actually started balling. This meant that for the first time in a long time, someone cared for her. I love literally every second of it because there’s so much deep emotion being put into one scene. He’s basically saying he care about her deeply.
I actually wondered by this point if this was actually the greatest anime ever made. No joke. Could something be possibly better than Neon Genesis Evangelion? Is that even possible?
This arc is absolutely beautiful. From the writing to the direction to the score, everything hits perfectly and it actually makes me sad watching. The characters are filled with depth and emotion beyond the beacon of heaven.
Now, if only all anime could be like this. Yeah, I know right?
After Arlong’s defeated, they rebuild the village and Nami pays one last visit to Bellemere’s grave and sets off again. Now, I’m happier than ever before now with my girl Nami joining permanently with The Straw Hat Pirates.
A beautiful conclusion to a legendary arc. I’ll never forget how this arc was beautiful creating Nami’s arc perfectly.
Part 6: Arc 6 (Eps. 45-53)
So now in the next arc, they finally reach a place called Loguetown. This place was when a man named Gold Roger was executed.
Meanwhile also because Luffy became a threat to the marines, he is now officially a wanted criminal. He is wanted for the price of 30 Million Berries.
I personally find it really enjoyable that we actually get to see where Gold Roger was executed. We get to see the people and the whole place unfold before us.
I also really enjoy the fact we even get to see previous characters again.
This arc reintroduces Buggy and Alvida working together to get revenge on Luffy. They form a plan to have Luffy executed on the same exact platform Gold Roger was executed which I also like because it’s reminiscent of that moment.
They even explain how Alvida manages to look hot now after eating a devil fruit. Heck yeah dude.
In the middle of this we’re introduced to Tashigi who’s a nerd working for the marines who is obsessed with swords. After Zoro meets her in a shop he recognizes she looks a lot similar to Kuina. They become enemies after Tashigi realizes it’s Zoro and he spares Tashigi’s life because of his past trauma.
I love this moment in particular because it’s Zoro being troubled because of his past.
Unfortunately, there are some silly moments that bring this arc down a bit still.
There’s this one weird moment where the lion in Buggy’s crew becomes captain until Buggy is figured out to be alive.
It just feels a bit silly. In my opinion while this arc is still strong, it does suffer just a little bit but not too much. It still focuses well on the main story.
After defeating Buggy again, Luffy faces off against Captain Smoker in the marines.
Luffy was no match for Smokers ability to turn his body into smoke so they make a run for it and escape. They go on a boat and sail away. Not a bad strategy when you’re in trouble.
Now this arc concludes a bit weirdly but more of that down below.
Part 7: Arc 7 (Eps. 54-61)
After escaping Smoker, we enter the first filler arc in the story.
In this arc, Luffy helps a dragon find his home.
To be honest, this was the only part of The East Blue Saga that wasn’t that great in my opinion. To be fair, it’s strong conclusion still manages to put it together nicely so it’s still not that bad either.
I didn’t care about the fat guy chasing the dragons. I thought it was silly and kind of stupid.
There’s just not much to this arc really.
I was happy though when it lead them in the right direction finally entering The Grand Line.
So despite still just being filler, it still manages to stand strong because it never goes too far away from the main story.
It’s this sort of structure that makes One Piece work as a story.
It’s an adventure story. That’s what One Piece is about. It’s a good series because they travel across several different locations. In a long running series like this, you need multiple different locations with a diverse cast of characters and One Piece nails this perfectly. Because each character is fully developed and have their own unique personalities, it creates a diverse cast of characters. Because the powers are scaled perfectly, the fights work.
The world in One Piece is beautiful. That’s why One Piece is such a good series. Really, how could it not be considered the greatest long running series? I think it is and I’m glad I’m finally really into it.
Soundtrack:
I actually really like the soundtrack in this series.
I love the first opening being cool showing Gold Roger and then the second opening was pretty okay too.
The first ending theme is one of my favorite ending themes of all time. The second one was still decent but wasn’t as good as the first one.
I think the OST does a good job of adding atmosphere during moments in the story. I like the music during confrontation scenes the most.
Art + Animation:
Most of the art actually is pretty decent.
I love Captain Kuro’s design. The five swords on his fingers look awesome. His design is my favorite in the whole series.
My favorite location during the whole arc is Arlong Park. I love how cool the tower looks and the atmosphere feels so aquatic there.
The animation is a mixed bag here. Sometimes it’s solid and sometimes it’s not. That’s probably still no surprise since this was still made by Toei Animation.
The animation was a little cheap during the fight against Hatchin The Octopus.
Conclusion:
Overall, this is a good series. The characters are filled with depth and personality and I love them. The world building‘s great. The flow of arcs is solid. Finally, the story is phenomenal. Personally, I think this is a great arc that introduces the series. I’m glad I finally found a great epic story for once.
That’s why my final rating for One Piece (East Blue) is an 8/10 (Excellent).
Tell me what you think of One Piece below. Can’t wait for more awesome reviews and have a great day.
Submitted December 08, 2019 at 06:30AM by Jack-Fitch https://ift.tt/2Yu5cAg
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