Showing First Timers One Piece

Elektrik Dynomite

There was a thread awhile ago but i can't find it so whatever

So my girlfriend is coming over to watch some movies this weekend and she said she was interested in the shows i watch. I told her about One Piece and she said thats cool. Anyway she has never watched anime before so I'm trying to fid the best way to show it to her.

Now the last couple times i tried to show my friends Funimation's One Piece it has failed to get them interested. One group I tried starting at episode 1 but they were too confused by the lack of explanation of what was going on and who Luffy was. Another group, who was more familiar with anime, i started with Movie 8, but they didn't get it either.

So now I am trying to decide between starting at three different places. One is obviously episode 1. The next is episode 4 which starts with Luffy's past, then going back to episode 1 and working from there. And finally, the second part of episode 48, which is the entire explanation of Gold Roger by Smoker and the Bartender with Luffy and his ambitions. I always thought it would be a good intro.

Anyway, any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Oh also I'll just say don't suggest the Japanese version with subs because she nor any of my other friends want to see that. sorry

Md-Martin

if i were you, i'd show her episode 4 first, skip the part with zoro luffy, nami and those buggy pirates. explain to her about how Roger was the pirate king, the strongest pirate in the world, and hid his tressure one piece at the end of the grandline. Explain the geography, the 4 oceans, grandline, redline, calm belt. Tell her this episodes takes place in the East blue, the weakes, there are corrupt government. Show her episode 4, then start at 1.

Charagon

http://stats.macroblock.net/torrents/%5BK-F%5D_One_Piece_001-010_%5BBATCH%5D.torrent

Use that

Elektrik Dynomite

What is it?

16 characters

WJMill

@Elektrik:

What is it?

It's a torrent file with the first 10 fansubbed episodes.

For me, I just gave my boyfriend a DVD of the first 24 fansubbed episodes. The friend who got me into it told me to give it a 20 episode trial run and I got hooked. But yeah I'd work with episode 4 and either work back or just explain how they got there briefly.

Elektrik Dynomite

oh. well thanks anyway, but i don't want the japanese episodes. besides i have them all on the funi dvd anyway.

so it seems that everyone so far thinks episode 4 is the way to go. just like the manga intended i suppose

Psycho_Kenshiro

I'd recommend episode 1, but starting with 4 is fine too, as long as you go back and watch 1-3.

Sure, that's how it is in the manga, but I don't really mind either way.

Elektrik Dynomite

maybe if we watch 1-4 in one sitting. that way she gets all of it.
but i guess no one suggests episode 48 right?

Psycho_Kenshiro

I guess that depends on whether you think they'll be watching the entire series. If they are, might as well start at the beginning.

I've introduced people to One Piece by showing them Movie 2, as crazy as that is.

Palochka

Personally I'd start off with Movie 4 but it's not in English yet. People seem to do pretty well with a bunch of characters thrown at them at once; that's how movies generally do it, but anime fans seem to think people can't handle a mess of characters. You don't always need to know exactly what's going on if it's as massively entertaining as Movie 4 XD

Otherwise, show her episode 4 and then skip to the Arlong Arc with a brief explanation of Luffy, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp.

MAXop-tard

spoil with the good parts( don't spoil too much), then show her episode 1. And don't, start to showthem movie 8, (you have to watch the alabasta part first before you see movie 8, wich they didn't?)

Elektrik Dynomite

Okay then what are some good parts you suggest i show that are on the funi dvds?

Gekko135

if it isn't for them, then it isn't for them.

My buddy's girlfriend thought it looked like a disney cartoon and just quietly read a book while we watched through Thriller Bark (that was where the anime was at the time). However, over time she stopped reading the book and started asking questions about what was going on. Then she started asking us when the next episode was comming out.

then we just started watching the series over with her. She's freaking hooked. And she is NOT the type of girl who likes anime at all. It was the outrageous characters that got her interested, but It was the storytelling won her over.

She's now on the cruise like the rest of us.

As for you… i dunno. It really seems like they don't get it. Showing battle scenes might help. but i always say to start from the beginning.

Elektrik Dynomite

okay well i may be showing my guy friends one piece again, but i want to show them the best episode because they all know the general plot and characters. my girlfriend isn't coming over for a while, but i think i'll start at episode 1 with her

i need to pick a dubbed couple episodes that will really hook them. But i can't think of any really good ones that funi released so far. Im between the fight with ghin and the filler episodes in lougetown (they show off each character pretty well, i especially like ussops episode with Daddy)

Geo D. Pierce

Arlong Park arc is freakin awesome

brookfanatic

This post is deleted!

Ao Kiji

Now the last couple times i tried to show my friends Funimation's One Piece it has failed to get them interested. One group I tried starting at episode 1 but they were too confused by the lack of explanation of what was going on and who Luffy was.

Are you serious? He's a guy who can stretch, who's a pirate! The explain it in the episode and…and...JAPANESE PRESCHOOLERS GET IT!
Wow...

I'd also recommend the Japanese version, but if they refuse to watch it, maybe you should just give up?

skeletonbrook

i agree i watched ep 1 before reading the manga and had no trouble understanding what was foing on and not every ones gona like one piece mabey u shuld just forget about geting your freindsinto it

DarkShinobi

Arlong, thats how I got my girl into One Piece.

tigerlilly

Arlong, thats how I got my girl into One Piece.

Your girl has great taste, Arlong is just irresistibel!
The Arlong-arc I mean!

It had a villain who you could love to hate.
And Nami's flashback is still in my top tree of saddest One piece moments.
For me that arc was THE moment where I really got into OP.
Force them to watch till there. If they still don't like it consider them a lost cause.

Palochka

@tigerlilly:

And Nami's flashback is still in my top tree of saddest One piece moments.
For me that arc was THE moment where I really got into OP.
Force them to watch till there. If they still don't like it consider them a lost cause.

I…I'm a lost cause?

People with a lot of stigma against the show from bad experiences or other negative forces (like myself) will resist to the bitter core for as long as possible. It was Drum Island that broke me down and I still had to be kicked along through a bit of Alabasta but now it's my favorite thing.

Real friends force their friends to watch One Piece until they unconditionally love it. It's so endearing; it won't take long as long as they've never heard of it before. The Arlong Arc should snag most people unless they're elitist pigs.

Elektrik Dynomite

I think Arlong is my best bet. I'll have to try it when they come over.

But whenever i say "lets watch one piece" or something, they are all like no way that show is wierd/dumb. This is because half of them only know 4kids version, and the other half just don't understand anime and don't really like the cartoony look. But All of them do know what One Piece in general is. They know its about pirates with crazy powers that fight each other, or at least, that's what they think it is, which isn't completely wrong.

anyway, how do i make them watch it without them refusing. i need to like disguise it and say something like "oh do you wanna watch homestar runner and bobobo?" (which they all love for some reason) but then sneak in the one piece disc. any ideas?

dragonfrost

@Elektrik:

I think Arlong is my best bet. I'll have to try it when they come over.

But whenever i say "lets watch one piece" or something, they are all like no way that show is wierd/dumb. This is because half of them only know 4kids version, and the other half just don't understand anime and don't really like the cartoony look. But All of them do know what One Piece in general is. They know its about pirates with crazy powers that fight each other, or at least, that's what they think it is, which isn't completely wrong.

anyway, how do i make them watch it without them refusing. i need to like disguise it and say something like "oh do you wanna watch homestar runner and bobobo?" (which they all love for some reason) but then sneak in the one piece disc. any ideas?

all my plans require the watching the subs, but if you only have the funi dvds you could skip to the jaya arc to get them hooked and once they are you can start from ep 1.

I personallly started with water 7 arc and the i went to ep 1 and went from there.

I was going to say show the one piece humor stuff on youtube first but that all clips that are done with subs

Silver R. Bolt

Someone should do a PSA like video on Youtube, for you guys who have trouble hooking friends.

I got my ex girlfriend into it by showing her the first 3 episodes. But also how're your describing the series?

The best bet is something like, its a story with a simple premise but within the story there's a lot of heart. As long as your ready for an adventure that as long as you don't take it too seriously can be a lot of fun.

pritesh

Always cracks me up. Never gets boring.

A very good W7/EL AMV. (One of the best IMO)

First is in subs.

skeletonbrook

wait so your freinds like bobobob bo but think one piece is stupid and kidy

Curls

@Elektrik:

Anyway, any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Oh also I'll just say don't suggest the Japanese version with subs because she nor any of my other friends want to see that. sorry

Then you will never get anyone interested =[ the dub is so terrible i wouldn't watch it even if it was the only one piece availible and i love one piece.

I found that making someone watch the first 5-10 eps works quite well, i MADE my brother watch the first few eps of Bleach, Death note, D.Gray Man and One piece but he didn't like One piece or D.Gray Man.

Not exactly what you want to hear when your trying to convince someone to watch it XD what put my brother off mainly was the fact that there is almost 400 episodes plus he likes alot of sword fights and for some reason has like a shinigami fetish or something (Btw he was very against anime he couldn't stand it now he can barely wait a week for the bleach eps)

Anyway just try getting them to watch the Jap version, it only makes it better just like i wouldn't expect someone to want to watch an english/american show with a japanese dub for example, it just wouldn't feel/sound right.

OmerMe

I got a friend of mine to watch One Piece after I told him a few things about the latest manga chapters at the time (Amazon Lily), told him about the crew and they're powers, and sent him a video of some of the One Piece laughs and told him Ryuma has Brook's shadow and he asked me something that I don't remember and I said "should I spoil it or do you want to watch it on your own?", so he started watching the anime and he got to episode 200+ in about 2 weeks, now he's waiting for his computer to be fixed so he can continue. xD

that's a lot more than 16 characters o:

Elektrik Dynomite

Since when did people not love the funimation dub? These isn't anything wrong with it. I mean it was suckish when it started in the Skypia arc, but the Uncut dvds are amazing!

Either way it doesn't matter because my friends want to watch the english version, not the subs. But one of my friends watches stuff with subtitles on, even though its in english already. So we will watch the english version, but with the japanese subs on anyway, just so you know

SympathyX

got my gf into it from watching from the start

Sai-chan

I told my friend to start reading it and she did and now she loves it. :D However, she still likes Naruto better.

Demon Rin

@Elektrik:

Since when did people not love the funimation dub? These isn't anything wrong with it. I mean it was suckish when it started in the Skypia arc, but the Uncut dvds are amazing!

Either way it doesn't matter because my friends want to watch the english version, not the subs. But one of my friends watches stuff with subtitles on, even though its in english already. So we will watch the english version, but with the japanese subs on anyway, just so you know

I really don't understand it myself.
I mean, criticism I understand, but I've seen people say the FUNi version is either "Just as Bad" or "Only slightly better" than the 4kids Dub, and that baffles me completely.

Yonkou3

Link an element of one piece to another anime they already enjoy. For example my friends like typical shonen shit like uber power ups and epic fights with little or no substance. Hence they all love bleach and dbz. So when they wouldn't watch the beginning i started dropping tid bits about Enenies lobby and how gear 2 was the greatest power up ever. I also made the comparison that luffy was faster than rock lee, which they HAD to dispute but in order to do so they had to watch. The rest is history. If your friend likes humor (Like boobooboo) throw some longring isle or thriller bark info into ur convo. If they liek drama drop hints at crocidle. Whatever you need. Leave em WANTING to watch it so when they sit down they'll pay attention.