ONE PIECE REVENGE REVIEW NO PLAYING AROUND VERSION BY LIL0LOONIE

“These things cannot be stopped. The ebb and flow of the ages. One’s dreams. An inherited strength of will. As long as people hunger for freedom… These things will exist” – Gol D. Roger King of the Pirates

Despite the story’s daunting length by the time I had caught up to it the only thing I was feeling was a hunger for more. Don’t let the story’s length discourage you this series, no matter how long and how full of flaws it is, is genuinely something special and I believe that anyone who calls themselves a fan of manga should at the very least try to read it. The story’s quality is a testament to the writing abilities of Oda, because despite how long it is, the story’s still written with the same amount of energy, passion and love and if anything throughout the 20+ years it has been published for (weekly) it’s only gotten better with time.

One piece’s cast of characters, despite the lack of intriguing villains before the time skip, is an overwhelmingly strong one. The characters of one piece are what I believe are the strongest point of the series, even with its colossal worldbuilding and very engaging story. This story is full of genuinely amazing characters. From characters like Sanji, who constantly sacrifices himself because he feels like a burden to others, to Whitebeard, the man who chose family over even the greatest treasure in the world. But the character I’d like to talk about the most about, the most important character and one that you cannot enjoy this story without liking, is Luffy.
Despite being a pirate, in the eyes of almost everyone outside the crew, they see him as a hero.
He embodies the very heart and soul of this story. Luffy is a character whose dream, while seeming ambitious, is one he has solely because he wants to be free to adventure with his friends. He doesn’t lust for power and if anything, if there is corrupted power, he destroys it and frees everyone held by its shackles. He never compromises on the safety and happiness of his crew, and always prioritizes them over his own dream. When someone who his crew could never hope to defeat shows up, they always bet on him to win. No matter how big the hurdle he fights tooth and nail and overcomes this. Despite how corrupt this world is Luffy stands as a beacon of hope and as someone who will eventually liberate it. But despite me saying this, Luffy does not always win. Throughout the story he has some genuinely crushing defeats, but he manages to accept them and continues to move forward, for the sake of his friends.

As for the story and world of one piece, although at times failing to meet the quality set by previous arcs, never continues to be engaging and fun. The world of one piece is one that has been thoroughly researched and the islands are all unique and interesting, it feels well thought out and real. It’s also one that I constantly moving outside of our crew. They are not the only ones fighting for their dreams and there are plenty of things going on that are completely unrelated to them. It’s a setting which genuinely feels alive and breathing. The story is full of many mysteries, which genuinely keep me guessing for what they could be. The world of one piece is vast and even only through its lore it’s still something that can keep you entertained and interested in the story (I’ve seen examples of people like this) . But as for the actual arcs, well they’re just great. Despite them at first glance seeming similar all of them present (outside of the main ones that are ever present throughout the story) they all present completely different conflicts and ideas and always feel fresh, with some of them that make our main character feel like a slightly important side character at best, in a story that for the most part is all about him. Another great part about it is flashbacks and backstories. Oda uses these very frequently, but they never feel repetitive, they’re always emotionally engaging and genuinely make you empathize with the characters in them, and I’m not ashamed to admit that through reading some of them I’ve been moved to tears.

Despite how great this story is, its biggest weakness is that there are too many main villains which feel like complete jokes and pushovers. Not all of them are, and when they aren’t the story is at its peak and is most entertaining to read, but when they are the stakes feel too low and it’s not as engaging to follow because never feel like a genuine threat compared to the other foes the crew has fought. The great thing is that this problem has not been apparent for the past 300 chapters, and I don’t think it will be for the rest of the story. And even then, some of these villains, feeling poorly characterized and just plain boring to watch, when becoming side characters, they feel MUCH more fun and fleshed out just like the rest of the cast.

In conclusion, One Piece is something that everyone owes themselves to read, full of loveable characters, with an ever-evolving and vast world and a beautiful and emotional story, even if inconsistent at times. But please read the manga over the anime, the anime is painfully slow and it’s dragged out and milked as much as possible especially during the time skip where some episodes cover literal half chapters.