ONE PIECE-SAILING TOWARDS THE NEW WORLD (A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW)

AN ARTIST'S TAKE ON THE ONE PIECE LOGO; DESIGN BY BEA HELMKE

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda is a manga/anime series that will be remembered for ages to come, as it’s one of the greatest sagas in recent history. Hence, with a growing fanbase for it here at CCA, taking a moment to stop and look back at it’s origins is a sensible course of action to assist in the start of many-a-fans’ journeys through the world of One Piece. As a whole, I’d rate One Piece a 10/10 due to the strength of the emotions it evokes through it’s storytelling, and the scale of each of its peaks.

The world of One Piece is incredibly well developed, and it’s geography is essential to it’s plot. The planet is split into four seas, North Blue, South Blue, East Blue, and West Blue. 

The way they’re split is through the Red Line, a stretch of land going all the way across the world that contains the only entrance to the Grand Line, the other line separating the four seas. The Grand Line is a stretch of ocean going around the world that can’t be entered from the sides, due to the stretches of sea without waves or winds that are filled with giant sea monsters on it’s either side. It’s an extremely dangerous ocean in comparison to the other four, with standard navigation being impossible due to the unpredictable nature of the weather and waves of it all. The Grand Line is split in two by the Red Line, with the part you can enter being called the Grand Line, and the second half being referred to as the New World for how few can make it there, and how important it is to the politics of the world. With that baseline explanation out of the way, we can truly dive into this review!

The “East Blue” is where the Straw Hat Crew first sets sail, and where we are introduced to a little bit of backstory for Luffy, a determined, carefree, and impulsive pirate captain seeking to become the Pirate King by reaching the end of the Grand Line. This arc goes through meeting four characters integral to the plot, Zoro, a bounty hunter determined to become the world’s greatest swordsman, Nami, a navigator seeking to chart out all of the world’s seas, Usopp, a sniper working to become a brave warrior of the sea, and Sanji, a cook looking for the All Blue, an ocean with fish from every sea. The “East Blue” is fairly tame and has a calm pace, but it picks up near the end and builds momentum for the crew’s entry to the Grand Line. This arc is wonderful at showcasing the crew’s determination to seek out their dreams, as well as the strength of the crew’s loyalty to one another, despite how short of a time they’ve spent sailing together. This arc gets a 6/10, not because it’s bad, but because of how it holds up in comparison to the rest of the arcs I’ll be covering. 

MONKEY D. LUFFY; DESIGN BY BEA HELMKE

The “Alabasta” arc is the first major storyline taking place within the Grand Line, and introduces important characters such as Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Nosferatu Vivi, and Portgas D Ace. “Alabasta” takes the theme of friendship and runs away with it, with characters making timeless bonds, and reaching a climax that perfectly encapsulates the strength of the bonds formed throughout it. As a whole this arc gets an 8/10 for laying important groundwork that comes into play later on, as well as the touching scenarios each character is sent through.

“Skypiea” is a fantastic arc, with foreshadowing galore and wonderful themes of dreams and not giving in to those saying to give up. It used to be that people would suggest skipping it, but as a viewer who’d never considered that, I can say my experience has only been better for it. Of course, One Piece as a whole is slow-paced if you’re watching the anime and not reading the manga, and “Skypiea” suffers from this the same as the rest of it. 

Despite this, the details bring this arc to life and the payoff is well worth the wait. A 7/10 is awarded to this arc for it’s fantastic forethought and impressive messaging.

“Water 7” and “Enies Lobby” are lumped together due to being one long, continuous story arc despite being split down the middle by many categorizations. This is, as far as pre timeskip goes, the best that One Piece has to offer. For an arc that starts off fairly unassuming, it contains the greatest emotional impact of any other storyline thus far. Each event only increases the investment in this story, and the extreme lengths of loyalty that the Straw Hats show are unrivaled by any other. Plus, it introduces one of my personal favorite characters, Franky. For all this and more, the “Water 7”-“Enies Lobby” duo nets itself the only 10/10 to be found here.

“Thriller Bark” feels rough going into it after such a spectacular feat of storytelling, but the way it makes you feel around one character in specific is unlike any other. This character is new to this arc, with Brook’s story shaking me to the bone. All around “Thriller Bark” is a bit of a vacation in terms of perfection, but it’s impact isn’t lessened for it. The stakes remain high and the payoff immaculate as always. “Thriller Bark” scores itself a 5/10, for as good as it feels at the end it suffers from that same slow pacing, and takes it’s sweet time getting you invested. Afterwards, once it sinks it’s hooks, however, it’s yet another piece of wonderful storytelling.

“Sabaody,” “Impel Down,” and “Summit War” are intertwined in that same way as “Water 7” and “Enies Lobby,” yet it manages to somehow hold even higher stakes and greater emotional impact in an almost impossible accomplishment of storytelling. This arc takes a step away from focusing on most of the main crew, and takes the time to introduce a number of other integral characters for what comes after. This arc gives quite a punch in the gut in terms of emotional impact, alongside stakes higher than anything else thus far. It nets in a score of 9/10 thanks to the expansion of the world, cast, relationships, and overarching storyline.

One Piece is a work of art, and a pinnacle of storytelling. Each adaptation has different pros and cons, with the live action having brilliant setwork and casting, the anime bringing it to motion for the first time, and the manga being filled with tidbits that don’t get adapted anywhere else, as well as being the origin point for every other media. So long as it’s One Piece, I doubt there’s anything that would make me regret interacting with it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s wormed it’s way into my heart and taken me over from within. I hope everyone can get a chance to see all the ways One Piece shines!