One Piece is without a doubt something that is worthy to be called "King of Shounen," and for many great reasons. It is tough to miss since its popularity is mind blowing and growing at a rapid rate and it's everywhere. It has almost overtaken "Batman" comics, and it is not so far off anymore actually. Now, It has already set its sight on "Superman" comics, and I would say it has a perfect shot at the 1st spot too if it keeps selling like bread and butter as it has done for so many years already.

However, the popularity is justified, and it shows in the author, Oda's writing, and the executing of this superb piece of fiction. There is a lot more than what One Piece is set out to be. I will try to do my best to get that point across and much more, so you can also at the very least, get a glimpse of what I see in this manga, which I still to this day, consider my all-time favourite and not many have managed to reach the same level as this one.

Story

ne Piece starts with our main character, Monkey D. Luffy breaking out from a barrel in a certain pirate ship. He knows how to make an entrance if anything. His goal is to become one day the "pirate king" the person who has conquered all the seas, and the mysterious "Grand Line" as well. The path ahead of him will be harsh and not every day will be fun. He has set out from his village to find and build his crew, so he can set sail and start his grand adventure of taking the title of the "Pirate King." It is quite simple and straightforward and looking at it now, it does not seem to warrant all the popularity, and you probably don't have any idea how it got all that fame, in the first place.

As our crew begins to form and they start to set sail. The formula which will be most common for a while will be how the crew moves to an island, and then there will be a bad guy, they beat them up and move forward to the next island, and the same thing happens there. This is only the first phase before you get into a more complicated and complex situation, where the fun part begins. The first 100 or so chapters are what I would consider: an introduction to our character and world building to get you to know how the world works, what applies here, the government system, among other things.

Therefore, I would say huge do not even begin to describe this vast world of One Piece. Because, as you move forward, many exciting things will be revealed for the future, in the form of foreshadowing. You will get to know how scary the "Grand Line" really is, through someone talking about the many big shots over there. Alternatively, maybe if someone did see the strength differences of the different seas, it would make you excited for the future. This technique to get you interested in something Oda excels at and understand it enough, so he does not go too overboard. If you saw everything that the world has to offer, would there be any point in continuing One Piece? It would lose it's an effect, after all, if that were to be the case.

To, political drama, where the land is on the verge of falling, and you see the situation unfold dynamically, so you get to look at some remarkably new sides. A lot of world building which gets you very invested in the world and gave you a good understanding of all the components, like how the society works, all the different culture you will experience, you might even get some history lesson related to this world that might come up again at a later time.

Primarily, One Piece is a plot-driven series, the goal is already clear enough from the very beginning, but that only applies to our main character. One way to think of the latter is how every island you will get to visit in the duration of your journey is one big arc, where there are goals related to that island. For example, it could be something like overthrowing someone from the throne; a mad king who is entirely evil and does a thing in a benefit for himself and no one else. The thing is, this character will have their backstory, which might make you sympathy or hate them even more, depending on how it plays out. Moreover, another goal for any of the island could be something like, to retrieve someone back from an organization with their form of messed up justice. It is ridiculously hard to not go into spoiler territory; hopefully, this didn't give away too much.

This is just one of many scenarios and segments. One Piece takes use of, the author knows all too well how to write them out and end them. From my understanding, this is where even the aspect that is easy to hide between the actual main plot, gets a good and satisfactory ending. That's why, this one of the few manga that lacks some annoying plot holes, it has some, but there are not that many worthy enough to be called that. Furthermore, as already said, there are many different and fascinating cultures in the world. In a certain island somewhere far-far away, they use technology in the most unusual, and you might even call it a weird way. However, using the rules and logic Oda has established for any of the many islands, or even the world itself, he can give a not so intricate and fun description of how it works so you can easily understand the concept for yourself and get enchanted by their very own culture.

You even have your own "World Government" system which is not so simple and runs deeper than you might think. There might or not be people working and controlling them from the shadows, and who knows, there might be someone else who controls even them. One Piece has its society, land, and it is twisted and not easy to understand. There are people in this world who thinks they are fit to be called "gods” and think of themselves so highly that they don even breath the same air as the other humans. These nobles think they transcend normal human and the way they are cared for is incomparable and quite unfair to everyone else in the world.

To go even further, One Piece also goes into some very serious territory and does an impeccable job of portraying each of them. You will see everything from slavery, racism, the underworld and some very severe and dark secret which will make you feel all kinds of different emotions at once. To put it very simply, while One Piece is focused around teen and up, it goes into some seriously messed up stuff and should not be taken lightly. It's not merely for children; you will get hurt thinking that way. The later parts get quite dark, and you might start questioning if you are watching or reading the same thing.

Moving on, this world has a power, or rather the fruit which gives the user the ability to fight with many strange ways but eating something like that will make you lose a knowledge which is very crucial for a pirate and should not be dismissed lightly if you have the chance. The concept is simple enough, you eat the fruit and gain powers which can form you into an animal, maybe make you able to become invisible, or even soar high through the skies. Make bullets pass through you without you getting hurt, control the very nature itself, break the world apart and unbalance the entire ecosystem itself.

Also, you can get the ability to control one of the four elements themselves. However, there is even more to this mystic fruit called devil fruit — alternatively, something more unusual like controlling smoke. Moreover, you have another power which let the non-ability user bypass the defense mechanism some of these ability gives you. I won't go too deep in, because I could easily spoil some significant parts. What you need to know, is no one will be impossible to beat if you put these powers to use.

Even more, if you somehow combine this ability with your very own devil fruit. The combinations are endless. As long as you can imagine anything is possible in the world of One Piece. Nothing seems off, because we do get an explanation when we least expect it. Oda does an excellent job of covering all the potential plot holes.

Do not think One Piece ends at the main character goal, it's a lot more, and hopefully, this made that clear enough to get you somewhat a simple understanding what you can expect if you dive this excellent manga.

Art

The art is unique and quite different from the other you might have seen before. It's weird and epic all at once. Oda can take on many forms with his art and manipulate it; however, he sees fit. Each character is different; there is no similarity, it is like another author drew them. I have seen some absurd and hilarious, character design from this mangaka, but at the same time, I also got hold of some experience of some quite badass and amazing designs. You can tell, he loves drawing and writing, it shows so clearly in his work and every panel always feels superbly detailed and well managed. Oda has one of my favorite art styles, just like the author of Tower of God, Siu, it is unique and his very own.

Depending on the situation, Oda can accurately change the art style just enough to satisfy the vibe you should be feeling in the moment. His facial expression is always on-point and never manages to do not give me chills if the situation calls for it or makes me all sad or angry if necessary. It is one a kind style he is using, and he is utilizing it amazingly well and not cutting any corners while doing so. He deserves all the respect and attention because he shows it clearly, he justifies for it.

Characters

Characters are not different either; there are some very unusual and bizarre ones out there. Moreover, the same goes for the opposite of the spectrum. One Piece boasts an insanely large cast of characters; you don't have just the crew, there is a lot more. Even the one that seems unnecessary gets their time to shine and show off their value. All of the characters are also unique with their quirky personality.

As stated previously, the first 100 or so chapters are to give characterization and growth to our characters, or even development if need be. You will see the backstory of every member of the crew at some point in time, so it's not like you won't understand them fully. Oda will make sure you get the best of it, and not disappoint you when the time is precise. For me no backstory fell short, I always had emotions welling up in me as I was watching or reading it unfold. You can go from hating a character to loving him or her in a matter of moments, and of course, the same is true for the other way.

The side characters themselves are also fun and make the journey more entertaining; each new island will have you get introduced to the original cast who you will be following for the time being — learning about their flaws and good points and so forth. Even the less critical background character get some focus from time to time. Nothing goes unnoticed by Oda; he makes sure to notice everyone.

The antagonist is one of the best I've seen and very well written and executed. Of course, there will be some who is not so amusing or does not hit off well. I have gone from hating one of the worst enemies to enjoying them and their character and can't have enough of them. Also, no, this is not restricted by one or two foes, but a lot more than you can count. There are so many antagonists I want to see again; I want to experience development or even get them the critical role if it's a possibility for Oda. For the most part, their goal is understandable and don't feel wishy-washy, so it's easy to come to like them.

Although, I will not deny there are some cruel and messed up people I hate with a passion from by bottom of the heart and wish to nothing but death and misfortune upon them. This goes for both the good and the so-called wrong side. Overall, though, One Piece has a fantastic cast of characters which you can't help but love and find yourself getting attached.

The Negative

Like any other long-running series, if you dive into One Piece, you have to understand it's very slow paced and quite so; since it had made people drop it before it got to the excellent stuff. Not everyone will have time to sit down watch or even read over 800+ on-going chapters or, especially episodes. I would say if you don't feel any attachment by the third arc, you can drop it there, of course, to truly understand the popularity you will have to go on reading for a very long time. Which not everyone can do, and even if you did you might find yourself figuring out that this series is not for you.

Despite being a shounen, it's not the same as "Dragon Ball" franchise or even "Naruto" in some cases. If you are looking for amazing fights, then One Piece is not for you. It has a lot more than simple battle maniac guys going at it each other. It has a story which runs deep and can get quite complicated in the long run. Although, being a shounen and all, One Piece does have some great fights further down the road and a lot of them to boot. However, in the case of the shounen mentioned above, it's not quite like them, and the battle is not the main focus.

Adding on, the cast of character will get development and growth. That said, it will not be very apparent, and the process will be prolonged for the future to come. Oda has mentioned before he is afraid that people will begin to dislike these great characters he has built if he were to change them just ever so slightly. Some "fans" even complained when they saw abnormal behavior from some of them.

All said and done, nothing of these can be regarded as "negative" if you take time to think about it. They are only obstacles that depend on peoples and their expectations. My advice as with any media or literature would be to go in completely blind, anime or manga alike and make your judgment instead of relying on everyone else. Because despite my best effort to draw out the picture the fans see when One Piece in focus, not everyone will feel the same. I hope this manages to at least, grab some attention to possibly new fans.

Conclusion

It's apparent that I've been saying this a lot in recent times, but One Piece is easily something that should be given a chance at one point in your life. It has one of the best plot-driven stories I have seen. So along with large and amazingly well executed and written characters, including some great antagonist/villain.

This review is just a brief description of what you can get if you decide to dive in. The only want to truly understand something is to form your judgment and go from there. The world building is vast and is clear from the very start; it's one of the best in its class. Not many manga or anime has this kind of fantastic world that is ever expanding. The only other one that is on the same line or more is "Tower of God," beyond that; I have no idea of anything else that stands on the same wavelength as these two. If anything, Hunter x Hunter is close, in any case.

Whether you prefer the anime or manga, both are amazing and have their advantages and disadvantages. The anime adaptation is spot-on until the early 500s where it starts degrading in quality, and the pacing becomes painfully slow. However, before then it's a great adaptation and having seen and read both, you can't go wrong with either of them.

If you prefer to pace yourself and want solid cannon content, no filler, then read the manga and set your own pace; it's quite easy to catch up if you read it then you might think, even if the amount of chapter is a lot.
In the case of anime, you have much time on your hand, there is no hindrance in your life at the moment, and you generally prefer it because of the bonus anime brings, and you don't care about pacing or any other hindering components. Then watch it. That's all you need to decide which path you want to take.

I hope this manga review capture some attention to potential new fans. So I hope you have a great time with One Piece as I did. It's my all-time favorite, so I won't deny I have some bias toward it. My opinion is not a fact; it's simply my own opinion and my experience as I went on reading this excellent piece of fiction. To this day, it's still on-going, and things are heating up quite nicely in the recent arc of the manga, I am very excited about the future and can't wait for more. Let's dive into this together, in this modern-day masterpiece of a shounen and one superbly written and executed story.

Overall Scores

Story: 10/10
World Building: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Art: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10