ONE PIECE: A Thousand Worth of Gold in the Seas

More than just adventures of ragtag pirates, reality, which weighs heavily on morality
and values, is paralleled in the world of One Piece in the most enigmatic way.

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Ever since main character Monkey D. Luffy yelled his dream of becoming the King
of the Pirates on national Japanese television in 1999, One Piece cemented itself as
one of the best anime and has become one of the classics in the world of Japanese
animation. It is an adaptation of the manga of the same name created by Eiichiro Oda
and is serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump. The TV series is produced by
Toei Animation with over 997 episodes aired on Fuji TV. One Piece has been
consistent with its popularity being one of the top five animated shows in television
viewership. 

The series revolves around Luffy, a pirate who seeks to become the king of the pirates
by finding the One Piece. This can only be achieved after locating the treasure left by
executed pirate king Gol D. Roger. Throughout his journey, Luffy formed his ragtag
group of a pirate crew called the Straw Hat Pirates. This includes Zoro, Nami, Usopp,
Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jimbe. Along the way, they encounter
different challenges from other pirates, bounty hunters, and the marines of the world
government. With his crewmates, Luffy hops from island to island finding clues on
his way to the One Piece with great freedom and adventure hoping that one day, they
can achieve all their dreams altogether.

Airing for already 22 years, One Piece will achieve another milestone with its 1000th
episode scheduled to air this month. This achievement is deserving of recognition
especially to Oda being an author of vision and everyone who is involved in creating
the series into what it is today— loved by millions and anticipated by many. One
Piece is more than just enigmatic— it is mystifying. 

Embrace of Mother Sea

One thing that One Piece is most laud upon for is its massive and excellent world-
building. That is expected for how long it has been running, many parts of its universe
are introduced and discussed but at the same time, not every nook and cranny is
revealed— many are still mysteries that put its viewers at the edge of their seats.
There are Sky Islands, an island on top of a living elephant, land of sweets, land of
merfolks, a ship that is so big it can be considered as an island, and so much more
beyond your imagination. At first, it may seem overwhelming with its gigantic world
due to its almost a thousand episodes but as you wander through the journey of the
show, it is very intriguing and interesting that will leave you wanting more.
Stories in One Piece are more than just tales being told. These are warmth, horror, and
reality formed into an animatic play open to many people of any demographics. You
will laugh, cry, cheer, get angry, and frustrated for various reasons— because of
ships, because of the crew, because of the hero and its anti-hero alike. Oda is a
maestro and his magnum opus of a piece is the way he makes you care for that
specific part of his story that he wanted you to care about. What makes the story it is,
aside from its story progression, is its animation. Starting from the normal 90’s anime
nostalgic way of animation to the current modern and sleek art style, the story is very
much alive. The background songs and voice acting lets you witness what One Piece
is. There are various setbacks in the anime such as its pacing because of its weekly
slot and at most, its shaky animation in the earlier arcs. But through the years of One
Piece airing, it is consistent in giving out the episode-by-episode quality. 

Very, Very, Strongest

Writing a good main character is hard and writing many good side characters that
would not overshadow the main ones is the next level. One Piece has both and not
only that, even those who are supposed to be villains are so well written that the
emotions they invoke from the watcher are pure and genuine ones. Morality is not in
binary oppositions - no one is good and bad. Luffy, the hero of the story, is a pirate
who is bad in the eyes of the marines. The marines, who are on the good side, are the
antithesis to Luffy’s desires. This show lets the audience judge for themselves, for
them to weigh the characters with no definite scale in morality, values, and even
power and strength. 

Because of this, even with the massive amount of characters where names are even
hard to memorize, they still pull you into their worlds and backstories. Here are the
crew, introduced one by one who you wouldn't care about because they are not Luffy,
just side characters. But One Piece wouldn't let you do that. They are Luffy’s crew,
the ship is part of the crew, and in this journey, YOU are part of the crew too. That's
the bond between the show and the watcher that is built for you, the audience, to stay
until the end.

Aim for One Piece

The greatest mystery in the anime world right now would be One Piece itself. Despite
the long adventures, our crew is still clueless about what the One Piece is. The cruise
is still ongoing and therefore, the emotions and sentiments over the story and the
characters we’ve met and will meet along the way are still unending. With its
upcoming 1000th episode, One Piece is an adventure within adventures. The journey
of the watcher is a roller coaster but imagine this— a roller coaster built in the middle
of the sea with train cabins as carriages. The absurdity that One Piece possesses is a
parallel world of the absurd reality that we live in. If you still haven’t watched or
caught up to One Piece, then this is your sign: Go ride that ship and join our crew in
accompanying Luffy in becoming the King of the Pirates!