One Piece: I don't get it

[Gatx]

Basically it's what it says, I don't get it. Of Jump's "Big Three," as I like to call them, I keep hearing that One Piece is the best but I've always been wary of starting it. For one, it's been around for a ridiculously long time, so it'll be a long and arduous task to catch up.

But anyway I finally decided to start the manga a couple days ago and I've already seen the 4kids abysmal translation of the first couple chapters where he goes around recruiting people, so it's been kind of a slug and I have to say that right now I absolutely HATE Luffy. He is like the most extreme example of a shonen manga lead I've ever seen. He's sooo optimistic and idealistic, and just lacks any and all semblance of subtlety, even more so than other main characters.

So yeah, does it get better? Does he get involved in more emotionally weighty storylines or develop a deeper personality?

[mitamaking]

I imagine you are in America, so go here http://www.hulu.com/watch/74418/one-...es#s-p61-so-i0

Now watch, listen, see those small plot points, they will be payed off, all of them. Nothing is wasted in One Piece, like a character, they will almost certainly be back.

It is an investment, and this is coming from a Narutard, but this is the one I suggest getting into of the big 3.

[Dophanes "D!" Raosuke]

Yes

well i belive you have to lower you IQ level to undestand it or to be a nobay that can see that without geting bored

[Dophanes "D!" Raosuke]

Originally Posted by Cheflelouch well i belive you have to lower you IQ level to undestand it or to be a nobay that can see that without geting bored

Shenanigans

[homie_jiraiya]

By big three I assume you refer to naruto bleach an one piece they are all very entertaining and enriching in their own way but only if you watch the subtitled versions

Originally Posted by homie_jiraiya By big three I assume you refer to naruto bleach an one piece they are all very entertaining and enriching in their own way but only if you watch the subtitled versions

I can't stand any of the three, although my youngest son does enjoy both One Piece and Naruto.

[sasukeuzi]

i think maybe its ppl with a low IQ who enjoy One Piece lol. it starts out pretty soft if u ask me, but i started on One Piece when i was 8/9 years old. It starts out soft but slowly builds up into something that that the other two in the Big 3 aren't. It's also surprising that the average reader of One Piece in Japan is more on the age 50+ side, or so i heard

[SoulArbiter]

Originally Posted by moonhawk81 I can't stand any of the three...

I'm kind of in the same boat. I couldn't get myself to want to stick around to continue watching any of them. I guess their appeal was lost on me...

[Zaane]

mmm well to be honest starting up one piece at this poing would be VERY taxing it can get pretty good after they finaly get into the Grand Line but will have a few parts where it just seems to drag and quite a few parts that seem utterly pointless...Luffy changes bit by bit but its never really extreame enough to be noticeable his character idea seems to be solely shaped around blind optimism, being goofy, and well...his own low IQ

I completely disagree with all the coments about having to have a low IQ to enjoy One piece...I mean plenty of people enjoy MLP and PSG but you dont see me calling them out for low IQ

all in all I like both Naruto and One Piece (hate bleach tho...stupid vampires) and I think both are worth watching (well without the fillers...) and reading one of the bigger differences I see between naruto and one piece is that One Piece has more or longer fights and better fillers while Naruto has more talking or shorter fights and just.....UGH fillers

Edit: lol rainbow

[Kibs]

Originally Posted by SoulArbiter I'm kind of in the same boat. I couldn't get myself to want to stick around to continue watching any of them. I guess their appeal was lost on me...

you kind of outgrow an anime/manga that starts in your childhood and continues to not improve into your 20's

[OnePieceGeek]

I know Luffy has very unsubtle shonen traits, but the series is really good, it jumps around from goofy to serious, and it's pretty good at it, the funny moments are pretty damn funny, and serious moments are pretty awesome.

Shame on you for watching the 4Kids dub though!

Anywho...yeah, it's a bit of a cokie-cutter shonen from time to time, but it's story is far better than the stories of the other two 'big three' and the anime doesn't come up with a filler arc every three episodes *cough* *cough* NARUTO *cough* *cough*

[Bargain Gamer]

Honestly I just read the manga. Unfortunately for these long running series the quality of the anime is just too inconsistent for me to deal with. And while I feel like I'm reading Naruto more out of a sense of obligation at this point than anything else, I still enjoy One Piece and Bleach has its occasional moment. My suggestion would be to try out the manga and avoid the anime if possible, but that's just me.

I've been watching for some time now and I have noticed that the story does have a lot more going for it unlike bleach which I still love there are a lot of plot changes that I really didn't see coming unlike bleach which has a lot of things which I can predict 3 or 4 episodes before it even happens.

[Bigrob8917]

I agree that One Piece is really hard to come into, but it has its moments. *spoiler alert*

 

I'm just going to name a few of the more awesome moments in One Piece. For instance, the fight luffy vs lucci is one of the better fights I have seen in manga/anime! The build-up to that fight is quite intense. To be honest, the whole arc with CP9 is just great! Or if we look at Alabasta(I think in the English version it is called Arabasta) arc, the fight between Zoro and Mr. 1 is also really cool! And don't forget Smoker <3!

*spoiler alert cancelled* Even thou the things previously mentioned doesn't come early in the manga/anime, One Piece is still worthwhile watching.

[MidnightDevont]

I dodged One Piece as long as i could until i found myself watching it all in one sitting, minus the fillers. I'd previous to watching it, read and watched Bleach and Naruto. I find now that i find One Piece the most enjoyable of the 3.

Bleach has in my opinion the best art, but perhaps the weakest story. ignoring it's awful filler arcs in the anime, the manga has been on a downward spiral for some time. As i girl, i find much of Kubo's character portral for females to be highly offensive. Not to mention the overall qaulity of writing has gone down considerably from the start of the manga. Even Ichigo isn't much of an interesting character anymore.

Naruto has both decent art and story, i'm not a huge fan of it. it seems a little out there at times. The Donzo arc put me off in particular and i haven't been able to follow it well ever since.

This Brings me to One Piece, which has improved greatly in art since it's beginning. however the proportions are still kind of strange and can be off putting, however i would stand strong to say that this manga has the strongest story and characters, nothing seems stupid or out of place and while long the plot seems to be progressing in a much better way then either of the other two.
Also his portrayal of characters is much better, His woman are strong and independent and not clingy useless damsels in distress. Even in the arcs that they are featured in as possible damsels, their characters still seem strong. The other thing i like about One Piece, which is the same thing i enjoy in my favorite manga Death Note. The Grey Area.
We all know pirates are supposed to be bad guys, even the characters know it. Yet often you see the pirates {with some exceptions} of One Piece acting as the heroes of the people fighting against a corrupted government. However, at the same time, you get brief glimpses into the lives of people who live in fear of pirates and revere the government. so you can't help but question, who is the right side in all of this?

That's how i really ended up feeling about the 'big three' after giving each of them a chance^^.