One Piece

Haha, the goal for this section is mostly to provide reviews for lesser-known manga, but I couldn't help but start with my favorite :D

Title: One Piece
Genres: Shonen, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Author/Artist: Eiichiro Oda
Publication: Weekly Shonen Jump
Start Date: August 4, 1997
End Date: On-going
Number of chapters at review: 484
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 484

General Overview: Luffy, a young boy, travels the world in his goal of obtaining the legendary treasure "One Piece" and becoming the Pirate King. Along the way, he forms his crew of of outlandish and memorable characters, as they each strive for their own dream. The plot turns are intense and the stakes gradually rise as the crew realizes that not everything in the world is what it seems.

Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)

http://mangahelpers.com/images/reviews/art.jpg
Art: 8
The character designs are simple, yet unique. Oda favors a more humorous style over a realistic one, but the results are well worth seeing. For a weekly shonen series, the detail level is fairly high, and remarkably consistent.

http://mangahelpers.com/images/reviews/plot.jpg
Plot: 10
After more than 10 years of publication, Oda has made his reputation as a master story-teller. Equally adept at moving his readers from laughter to tears, he has slowly developed a richly complex world, as he has moved from the small-scale to the large. The plot is unexpected, full of twists and surprises, yet nothing feels contrived or forced.

http://mangahelpers.com/images/reviews/characters.jpg
Characters: 10
One Piece has a very large cast of well-detailed, sympathetic characters. Each has a rich background that weaves well into the over-all story. These backgrounds provide excellent springboards for dynamic character development that feels very organic; there are very few "watch me monologue about how I just developed" moments, rather the characters slowly grow in a way that feels very believable.

http://mangahelpers.com/images/reviews/theme.jpg
Themes: 10
As expected from a shonen title, the themes of "friendship" and "working hard for your dreams" are well-represented in One Piece. However, they are presented as well as they have ever been done. Also, there are several other, more subtle themes present throughout the series. "Redemption", "healing from tragedy", "worthwhile sacrifice", to name a few. All are well done and consistent.

http://mangahelpers.com/images/reviews/originality.jpg
Originality: 10
While One Piece may owe a lot to Akira Toriyama for its initial inspiration, it truly stands on its own in execution. Oda-sensei has given us a world that is truly unique and refreshing.

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Overall: 10
If you haven't picked up on it by now, I love One Piece :D I could go on and on about all the things that make it great, but I just leave you with this: if you haven't read it, do yourself a huge favor and pick it up. If you can make it past the first 100 chapters without falling in love with it, I'll offer a public apology^^

Gosh, I sound like a total One Piece fanboy, don't I? I apologize, I'll try to keep the tone more objective in my future reviews, but for me, One Piece is something unique and amazing.

Spoiler: Manga's images taken from earlier chapters to avoid spoiler, generally the art improves show

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...es/Sample1.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...es/Sample2.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...es/Sample3.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...es/Sample4.jpg

Want more discussion on One Piece? Go here:
One Piece Discussion Boards

Good review, though I would have given more points at the Art :P

I agree, Onepiece should get all 10's. Well as you can see im a little biased but good review man.

A short and well-made review, that goes straight to the point.
10/10
Nothing more to say.

^^ from an objective point of view, I really can't justify giving OP a higher art score :p While I love Oda's drawing style, technically it isn't that super-amazing that would deserve a 10. 10's in any category will be pretty rare in my reviews though; 8-9 is still in the "very very good" range :D

Thanks for your feedback though, keep it coming!

You have point but I love all the colors and how they are used. You dont see many green afros or super brightly colored ships in every manga.

yes, a 10 for art would be overrated (considering some seinen series like hellsing as standart), but it's indeed enjoyable.

edit: gdupninja: something like this is considered a spoiler and well...it belongs more into the category orginality.

About the art score i'll say this much. Considering it is a weekly shounen manga it is very very good art. very unique. But yes compared to man seinen manga the art isn't all that. 8 i think is an appropriate objective score.

Great review and I agree 100% with the score~

One Piece is a masterpiece ^_^

totally agree. It's hard to judge the art in one piece. it depends on wat u like. i woulda given more because it's just so unique has a surprising amount of detail which i feel is lacking from bleach, though bleach is still kool. wat kinda art would u say deserves a 10 outta 10?

great review :D

i like one piece because the originality of the story :D ... they got a goal which is to find "One Piece" ... and to reach that they have to go through many adventures... yeah it is ordinary line story but to create such an idea called "One Piece" is no ordinary...
The plot also the best... always get the right timing...

Overall : 9.7
A must read manga , a masterpiece and the best among main stream..

Review, which inspired me to write my own on "Naruto" <3
Overall - super language, sentences, information without spoilers and so well written to maybe inpire new people to read OP = just the best review here right now <even if it's exxagerated, and not objective :p> Great review Mooncrow :D You should be a moderator of this section ^^

To the scores - I think in some aspects are too high. In my opinion, the 'plot' would have had 8,5/10 - it's really well written and all, but it doeasn't mean I love it :p And 'themes' category I would give 8/9 maybe - not something spectacular <like You said: shonen title huh xP>
Once again really good work ^^

yeah i agree Oda is a master story teller too.... :worship one piece

no question. one piece is simply amazing on a level that is beyond words. there are quite a few people i know who refuse to read it based on their distaste for the art alone (which i myself love and would give a 10) but they don't know what they're missing

As of right now I am absolutely obsessed with this series. It's fantastic and very original. The strong connection of friendship is my favorite part and I love it's mix of humor with action. It's beautiful and anyone can get into it. Oda is an amazing artist and author and I am so glad he decided to create this series. Go Straw Hats!