Because of the sheer scale of One Piece parts of this review may feel incomplete or vague. It is on purpose. If I were to go anymore in depth than I am it will start getting into the territory of spoilers.
*Note that my review for this is most likely highly biased as this is my favorite anime by far.
Plot/Premise +
By this point One Piece has been going for about 15 years and most people who watch anime probably know what the premise of One Piece is by this point. There is a vast treasure hidden by the late pirate king Gol D. Roger. Moments before his execution he tells the audience that it is theirs if they just manage to find it. 20 years later people are still looking and it is thought to lie somewhere in the Grand Line, a notoriously dangerous strip of sea that is almost entirely unpredictable. The story follows Luffy as he gathers a crew and goes into the Grand Line in search of this legendary treasure.
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| Pre-Grand Line Crew |
Now, despite the premise right off the bat seeming pretty shallow it leaves room for an immense world to be created and thus more underlying plot that is not just a part of the overall theme, but a story in itself. Though most of the story arcs follow certain guidelines, they are all pretty unique. Because of this it gives the story a lot of potential.
Characters +
Due to the long a drawn out nature of the show it gives it plenty time to go into all the important characters and give them enough depth to make you attached to them. It can help give you insight as to why certain characters act a certain way or to simply let you get to know them better.
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| Present Crew |
Action scenes really depend on the individual. Personally I really like the fight scenes. Because of the unique abilities of the Devil Fruit users along with the power called Haki, the fights can be rather interesting to watch and see how the mixtures of powers comes out.
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| Punched Back Into The Manga |
Unlike a lot of other anime, One Piece does really give the main crew OP(over-powered) status simply because they are the main characters. It is constantly stated withing the show that they are very weak compared to anyone who really matters in the world. Sure they win a lot, but they lose a ton as well.
Animation/Art -
Due to it being rather old when the story starts off with an art style that is very dated. This combined with the authors unique art style turns people away at first. It did the same for me. Many people don't seem to like how things are proportioned on the characters, the color variation, or even that it looks rather childish.
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| I still think it looks cool |
Personally I like the art, but that was only after watching it and getting used to the art. Before I first started I didn't like the look of it. It didn't look refined. It just plain looked silly. I find that this is seems to be true for many people.
Music -
My grade for this is simply for the opening and closing themes. I find that they are a little too upbeat. I am normally a pretty optimistic guy, but even for me they feel too cheery. I like the songs themselves, it is just that most of the time they don't even reflect the mood of the show as a whole. It can bring you out of it when you have a cheery opening and then something super serious is going on in the show.
Sound Tracks +
The soundtracks are essentially perfect. They almost always do the scene that they are trying to augment justice and will almost never damage the scene and make it feel out of place.
Overall
I give it a personal 10/10 because in my eyes it is essentially perfect in everyway. Most of my negative notes were simply my initial reaction, but as I was eased into it over the course of watching it seven times I found that I really liked what I used to hate. Yes, even the music.
Next Time
I don't know, Bleach maybe? I'd be surprised if I even did one next week at this rate and when I finally did get around to it my mood might be favoring something else.
