To give you all a sense of my love for One Piece, it is currently 2 am as I am writing this review; listening to 'Gold and Oden', my favourite OST from the show.

I jumped headfirst into One Piece as a lonely 16 year old, three years ago in 2018. With life passing by me, all I wanted was simply a friend or two to keep me company during the summertime. I remember looking up "Is One Piece for children?", always having the impression that the show was a shounen for kids. Soon enough, I found that despite how lighthearted the show appears to be, it is often a masquerade for a rich, deep and real story; a fever dream of a journey: one whose destination is the treasure of One Piece. However, this alleged pirate treasure is not what the show is about.

The show begins with a boy whom I saw myself in, Monkey D. Luffy. A young rubber man with one goal to become the King Of The Pirates. He sets out to sea on a tiny boat with no navigation skills, letting the wind take him where it pleases. Immediately the theme of freedom is introduced. To live freely is an important notion in this world - though there are those who oppose it. Luffy is persistent about recruiting crewmates who he sees as friends in his eyes. Each one is fleshed out and given a backstory to break, for the first time, the heartwarming (and arguably boring) idea of blissful, childish adventure. Some of the backstories will make you cry, others will make you laugh, some may even make you do both. This applies to every single prevalent character in One Piece - each one that holds meaning to Luffy's journey. Friendship, this is another theme. As the show continues and world begins to grow, the friendships among the crew will do too - you will feel a part of them. Because the series is so long, there is plenty of time to end up loving each person on the ship. This is where the anime hit it home for me. I found something in One Piece that I wanted so badly and for so long, a sense of having a friend. This is to say that if you're struggling with something personal, perhaps a mental challenge to live out your greatest dream, the storytelling of this show will have something to help heal you. It will have something to put a smile on your face. It's not often that a skinny rubber boy dreams of being the greatest pirate of the world after all.

Now why did I mention in the headline that the show is imperfect? To be honest with you, the anime, in terms of quality, oscillates very often. You may have very wonderful animation and well-paced episodes at the beginning of one arc, and terribly paced, terribly animated episodes in the middle of the same or another arc. One Piece can often feel like one giant filler, where new content lasts only about 10 out of 24 min per episode. This is mostly due to happen with long intros and constant recaps/flashbacks. I personally would watch One Piece on and off for 2 years before I finally caught up, having to take 3 months off from time to time due to how bad it sometimes got. But let me assure you, this was all part of the process. I took my time with the series to really get to know the world, and it paid off. The reason this show is imperfectly perfect is because despite all the sludge, when you get past each arc you will end up being in love with the journey. Oda's (the creator of One Piece) storytelling prioritizes journey over destination. This is where the most powerful theme comes in.

Nostalgia.

A feeling like no other - I'm sure you know this. You sit and ponder upon your past and occasionally miss old times. You reminisce positively on the happiness of your childhood; we all secretly do. There is something about One Piece that gives you a true sense of time. It is an inexplainable emotion... but those moments you barely remember from those first few episodes? The overwhelming feeling of nostalgia will come over you as you look back upon those times. You will feel like you have grown into and with the world. Nostalgia will flood your eyes as you reflect on how far you've gotten, and how close you may be to the end. Moments set 20 years ago in the past will genuinely feel far away, like a dream. This is the one mysterious part of One Piece that you simply cannot put into words - you have to experience it to see it. It's a wonderful feeling, not being able to understand your somber happiness.

This concludes the review of why One Piece is so close to my heart. It is a fever dream with a journey you continually hope to never end despite how imperfect it may be. But one day, it will end... and we will all cry and laugh together as it does.

So, join us on this one of a kind story if you haven't already.

Thank you for reading.