Discussion Why is One Piece also number One?

[jorped]

That is exactly the point i was making Although I dunno if it's fair to say it's the general public's fault for not understanding what it's like to live in a world that is different from the world they live in when the people living in that other world make decisions based on unfamiliar rationalizations. Since we're talking in reference to why One Piece is more popular, it goes to show how much the characters in one piece are easier for normal people to relate to without having to think outside the box....which doesn't come naturally to a majority of the "general public".

EDIT: I also wanted to add that its a matter of idealism vs pragmatism that makes a big difference in the reader's mind. It's all good in an idealistic sense to think that you can talk and wish your way out of war and violence (Naruto) or to think that if you train yourself enough you can beat any opponent or organization single-handedly (Bleach) but the reality is that pragmatically, evil must be confronted the way the strawhats don't back down against what they think is wrong: which earns them respect in the eyes of the reader; but at the same time, its not a situation where you're all powerful because you're the main character: there's a good possibility that even by the end of the series, the strawhats won't be the strongest characters in the One Piece world because to be pirate king doesn't mean to be the strongest/able to "conquer" the grand line. They just want to achieve their dream and be free... which is a universal human yearning anyone can relate to.

i agree with almost everything. Don't agree with the part when you say they won't be the most strong.
Their dreams and goals they want to achieve are impossible, if they don't.

 

[Anduren]

@jorped I guess what I meant to say was.....compared to shounen classics like the Dragonball series', Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, Naruto, etc. the strawhats don't have to be the strongest in the world to achieve their goals. i.e. Being the pirate king and his crew doesn't require that they beat all 3 admirals + fleet admiral, every shichibukai and every yonkou because to Luffy, who's dream it is to be the pirate king, becoming the pirate king means to be the most free person in the world and nothing beyond that. This dynamic relationship with the other world powers can be seen manifested in Luffy's relationships with some of those people (Shanks, Hancock, and to a lesser extent Aokiji and Smoker ). I guess I'm fairly new to the shounen world , but the only other manga I've seen a similar dynamic of a power balancing act is in Hunter X Hunter.

 

[Samui]

Yeah. For some reason people expect Luffy to stand leagues above (prime) Roger, the Yonkou, etc.

 

[White Rose]

Great plot, great art make the manga

 

[ilovemanga]

Whoa there buddy. I agree with your first two points, but I have a few problems with your third one...

First of all, there are plenty of instances of characters in One Piece surviving things that should've been impossible, just like most other shounen. For example, Whitebeard being able to fight after getting stabbed in the chest with a giant sword and having half his FACE RIPPED OFF. Not til he got shot several times after did he die. And Franky got hit by a train when he was a kid and lived through that.

And lets not forget Pell carrying a freaking nuke into the sky and somehow surviving the explosion unscathed, with no explanation.

If anything, One Piece takes the whole living through absurd injuriers things further than Bleach does. At least Bleach actually outright states that the body of a Shinigami can handle alot more punishment than a human body can.

One Piece has had its fair share of asspull powerups too....one that I'm thinking of in particular is Zoro vs Mr. 1. Zoro was getting his ass handed to him because he couldn't cut through steel, and then all of the sudden he remembers a proverb his teacher said to him and then all of the sudden he cuts through Mr. 1 like butter. Definitely an asspull. Plus, Naruto had alot of help in the fight against Pain, and Sasuke has plenty of room to gain more powers, which he did after the Pain fight anyway, so thats not an asspull really.

And One Piece isn't really into the habit of killing good guys very often, also just like most shounen.....Whitebeard and Ace were the first two good guys to die that weren't part of a flashback, and it took more than 500 chapters for that to happen. Hell, One Piece doesn't even really kill its bad guys...coupled with its art, and I don't really see One Piece being more mature than other shounens really.

1.WB is the only man who tied with the PK Gold Roger in a fight so naturally he's not easy to go down even with old age. In real life you would be dead yes. But this is one piece world, people have devil fruit powers, haki, and WB has been through many battles so of course he cant die that easily.
2. Franky was hit by the train yes ,that why his front body was damage so he has to replace with metals and use cola as his fuel .You dont call him cyborg for nothing. Again in real life it would be impossible
3.Pell is the strongest warrior in alabasta plus his devil fruit so it's understandable that he survived but it's never been shown that he survived it unscathed. If he was a normal human he would have blown to bits.
4. It only took mihawk a slash to take down mr 1 because of his swordmanship. Zoro always training since he small so i dont doubt he can pull it out during life and death situation. After 2 years training with mihawk i doubt mr1 can last long against him.

One Piece is not perfect but people love it because simply its story, vast world to explore, characters. For me the mini-arcs are unique and i dont think any other manga that have it. Charaters like coby, jango, fullbody have their own arcs even though they are minor characters and about 500 chapters later they were in the biggest war ever. Using the title page to serialize a mini arc , it's GENIUS. I cant think of any manga that make me want to read the title page.

 

[Uriel]

That is exactly the point i was making Although I dunno if it's fair to say it's the general public's fault for not understanding what it's like to live in a world that is different from the world they live in when the people living in that other world make decisions based on unfamiliar rationalizations.

Very good questions, and i kinda understand the results that come from that answers, but only if i think that NarutoUniverse is the same as ours.
Naruto World is very different from ours, and what people fail to realize is that their actions, though they might not be normal in our world they are much more normal at Naruto World.
When people fail to realize this, and start judging a manga, comparing it to our world, of course it will make a lot of things seem stupid.

Side note, that what is called "diegesis" of any fictional world. All the "rules, traditions and behaviors" that are common for the characters.
I don't know if I mention this before in this same thread (And I'm lazy to check too) but I think it's one of the most important things to look when you're trying to judge any piece of literature.
One Piece is really solid when it comes to it, and all characters reaction are coherent with the way the world is presented. It's why sometimes I've issues reading Bleach or Naruto (Even if I like them a lot) Characters not always react in the diegesis presented but in OUR diegesis which can be some times ridiculous. More if they saw a power before and are numb in front of it or likely to over react in front of it.

Notice that I'm talking about reactions and not asspulls and Deux Ex Machina.

 

[kokil]

i think it is because there isn't any inner character like inner hallow or 9 tails: when they loose there cool they start attacking allies also like some shit heads

bleach: theres only ichigo who can fight and other who are chad uriyo orihemi rukia are so weak compare to ichigo (though i kind of like inner hallow more than ichigo)

naruto: some of the characters have got interesting abilities but all are weak except shikamaru ( his brain cover up the strength department)


one piece: the whole crew is full of badass people though some of them are not people but the main point is that all 9 of them are strong

 

[ilovemanga]

i think it is because there isn't any inner character like inner hallow or 9 tails: when they loose there cool they start attacking allies also like some shit heads

bleach: theres only ichigo who can fight and other who are chad uriyo orihemi rukia are so weak compare to ichigo (though i kind of like inner hallow more than ichigo)

naruto: some of the characters have got interesting abilities but all are weak except shikamaru ( his brain cover up the strength department)


one piece: the whole crew is full of badass people though some of them are not people but the main point is that all 9 of them are strong

Only the monster trio are strong. The rest have different skills and you cant compare them but i agree with you

 

[RaveDragon]

^All members of one piece have thier different important role and all of them are required in the gang, they all are strong in thier own way and ALL the main characters have been developed and still are developing which makes them seem more realistic hence more fun ^^ Its not easy to do that and Oda does a good job as well as the fact he gives imp charcaters some past and develops the (Vivi, Kohza, recently Hodi, Otohime etc). He's even still showing character through the covers that we miss and how they are growing too >< no manga does this which makes it unique.