Written by Jacob Flores, Staff Writer
When the subject of “What’s the greatest anime of all time”, shows such as Naruto , Dragon Ball, Bleach, or even Cowboy Bebop may come to mind, there is only one anime that has shown the limits and creativity of animation and story telling as a whole. One Piece.
One Piece, an animated series and manga by Eiichiro Oda, is an anime that has been running for the past 25 years, with more than 1000 episodes and is still in production as of reading this. One Piece (in short summary) is a series that tells the story of a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, who is a quirky, energetic, and passionate character that seeks the goal of becoming “ king of the pirates” and finding “ the one piece” while gathering a diverse group of crew mates and fighting to earn their title throughout the sea. Many little factors and events that are main to One Piece are things such as “ the great pirate era” which is the mass rush to find the legendary pirate “Gol D. Rogers” treasure, Devil Fruits which are unique “god like” abilities that come to be the main focus later on in the story of One Piece as a whole, “pirates vs marines” which is the lifestyles or “paths” that people choose to side with throughout the story’s progression, and “time skip” which is an indication of a time skip period of 4 years in the shows universe. In 1997, Eiichiro Oda published the first manga of One Piece, which was followed by Immediate success, later putting the idea to make an animated series out of the successful reception.
In 1999, Toei Animations started production on “The One Piece Anime” and released their first episode on October 20th, 1999. With fans and new viewers liking the animated series that was becoming more popular than the manga itself, One piece had a specific difference in animation and storytelling that made it “ stick out” from all the other shows. The anime was a story that brought topics such as love, death, sadness, and hope into consideration while also knowing the right time to bring out the true imagination and brilliant minds of the people who were working on the show at the time. Many moments have brought tears of sadness, joy, or confusion to many people showing that One Piece as a whole was not just some funny joke of a show, it was an engaging or life changing series. Another way One Piece was different was the fact that many of the characters or mainly “The Straw Hat Crew” were relatable emotionally and had deeper backstories to further prove their stance in the anime. Oda states “Your belief in Luffy has led me to believe in all of you, and that is what allows me to continue drawing exactly the kind of manga I want to draw.” The animation for the anime is also known as being a one of a kind art style, with big white eyes, wide expressions, and bright vibrant colors. Each character has a unique look or trait that makes them different from the rest by visual representation, for example whether that being an upbeat human boy or a living talking skeleton. Although One Piece’s art style has changed drastically throughout the decade, it’s shown the difference of “ a unique art style that is different from the rest” to a more “ freedom in creativity that can show the limits and boundaries of animation itself.”
In 2023 One Piece got a live action adaptation by Netflix, which has grown to be one of the most watched tv series of all time, beating shows such as Wednesday in viewership and becoming the most watched show in 2023. The show has also seen major popularity due to the new form of Monkey D. Luffy’s devil fruit power “ Gear 5”, which has been the main build up of the series for the past 10 years and became a major influence to this generation as a sort of idol. The anime has even seen public appearances with the most recent event occurring of “ Straw Hat Luffy” appearing in the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As of the making of this article, One piece as a manga, animated series, and live action series is still in production making it one of the longest running animes and series of all time. Only time will tell what One Piece will become in the future, but there is one quote that will always be the main focus of the journey: “ I’m not gonna rule anything, It’s the freest person in this sea who’s the King of the Pirates ”- Monkey D. Luffy.