What makes One Piece good-What Oda has done to make One Piece what it is

[Aaronrules380]

This thread is about what Oda has done with One Piece in order to make it as good as it is. It isn't about single moments as much it is about the general techniques, attitudes, style and other such elements that have gone in to One Piece to make it great. This is about how One Piece has been written and drawn in order to achieve its quality as well as Oda's writing style in general and the elements of One Piece's story such as its themes or settings and what they add to the story

In my opinion, there are a few major features that have allowed Oda to create such a compelling manga-The passion and soul going into it, the planning behind it, and the fact that it has a clear identity

When you read One Piece or hear an interview with Oda, you can tell how passionate he is about his work. He clearly loves what he's doing and is willing to put a lot of effort into making what he does great. Furthermore, his characters and messages resonate because of this passion- you can feel that Oda really believes strongly in the values and ideas he puts into. He allows characters to have a life of their own which is what makes people care so much about them. His what allows him to put so much emotion into events like the death of Merry. Because Oda cares so much about the death of a fictional ship, we as readers become invested

Oda's planning also allows him to maintain control of a series where the characters are so full of life. Because he knows where he wants to go with the series, having planned the ending since the beginning and major plot points long before they happened, he is able to make sure everything builds up to the big moments. This also means that even though I'm sure he has to work week to week like any other mangaka in a weekly manga, he's still able to keep things going on a set track most of the time and doesn't deal with deus ex machinas and the like as often.

Finally, Oda knows exactly what One Piece is and who he's writing it for. Oda writes strictly for the shonen demographic, and has specifically said he writes based on what he feels his 15 year old self would find cool. He isn't writing for grown men, for girls, for women. He's writing strictly for teenage guys. But I feel this devotion to a single demographic is actually what helps give One Piece such strong multiple demographic appeal. It's focused and has a strong identity instead of being all over the place by appealing to too many groups of people. By appealing to a very specific part of us, Oda draws a stronger emotional response than he might by forcing in conflicting parts for multiple demographics. He keeps a specific part of us entertained throughout, rather than making us constantly flip between the different sides of ourself

[MasterKingJC]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Demonicpoodle]

Great OP.

On his techniques, one I've noticed that puts One Piece above the fold is:

Constant danger. The hero's not going to get out of his situation unless it is logical for him to do so. Just because a hole is blown in his chest, he's not going to suddenly transform into some uber-"smexy" alter-ego that can defeat the baddie in a jiffy. No, he's going to be left on the battlefield feeling the repercussions of his actions, left in a comatose state. There's also a constant mention of death in the series, even in jokes. You'll notice Usopp talks about dying all the time in his speech. This enhances the feeling of danger, when you would think it would mitigate it. Now, hero's determination can make the difference when the difference between Luffy and his opponent isn't insurmountable; that doesn't downplay the danger, it only serves to keep the spirit of the series kindling bright.

[Aaronrules380]

@Demonicpoodle:

Great OP.

On his techniques, one I've noticed that puts One Piece above the fold is:

Constant danger. The hero's not going to get out of his situation unless it is logical for him to do so. Just because a hole is blown in his chest, he's not going to suddenly transform into some uber-"smexy" alter-ego that can defeat the baddie in a jiffy. No, he's going to be left on the battlefield feeling the repercussions of his actions, left in a comatose state. There's also a constant mention of death in the series, even in jokes. You'll notice Usopp talks about dying all the time in his speech. This enhances the feeling of danger, when you would think it would mitigate it. Now, hero's determination can make the difference when the difference between Luffy and his opponent isn't insurmountable; that doesn't downplay the danger, it only serves to keep the spirit of the series kindling bright.

Yeah, the fact that Luffy loses to opponents from time to time helps. It also helps that when it comes to the big arc fight, Luffy doesn't really pull any punches. He might improvise a big finisher, but for the most part he fights full steam from the start, so there is a lot more tension when he starts having trouble. Luffy's lack of a berserker mode that has become so common means that while he might get a second wind, he'll never get an exponential power boost in the middle of a fight

[FelRes]

The world building is the best thing Oda does. I feel like I'm more interested in seeing the details of the world they are in, and how everything connects together. I'm always wondering about a lot of stuff we see and hoping we get answers eventually. Speculation about stuff in the OP world is really fun, so I always appreciate the world Oda has created. Also, every island or other place visited has its own distinct atmosphere and flow. Different places have different personalities, so it's nice to see the vibe change with every arc or so depending on where they are and who the characters are with. I also like seeing all these different characters' stories intertwining in one way or another. You can tell Oda really puts a ton of thought into this stuff. Even when it doesn't seem like it was planned, it just works so well.

Also, his art. It's really evolved over the years, going from the cartoonish look early on to the mature look at Water 7, back to a better cartoonish style that we currently have. Plus he has obviously shown he has improved his drawing abilities - did you see Luffy's detailed foot this past chapter? Scenery is better than ever, interiors are more detailed and fun to look at, and panels are given cooler perspectives. And the character designs are amazing. It's great that he's still pooping out cool designs all over the place, even playing with new art styles(Caesar looks like he came straight out of Naruto, but it works). Only obvious thing he can improve upon is his younger female designs.

If this were years ago, I would also say characterization. He was really good at creating likable characters that I actually cared about. They are very indignant, and a lot of them have their own hopes and dreams that you want to see come true. Nowadays, characters, along with their fights and interactions, have been vastly watered down aside from a few notable exceptions, but it was really good while it lasted, and it's prolly the best aspect of the first half of the series.

[Maju]

i think the attention to detail and the way/pace this details are revealed are also part of what makes onepiece unique…

the world is very detailed and the history of this world space through several centuries...oda release infos bit by bit,and everytime something is explained,some other mistery is there to make the reader come back next week for another piece of the puzzle.

The way is also very compelling,because Oda hides clues on every page,every picture,every line of dialogue...and part of the "onepiece experience" is also go to the internet and speculate with other fans about these clues,making theories,discover other clues that we didn't notice

[Drake_Cloud]

I think one of OP's biggest strength for me, especially compared to other fighting mangas, is the lack of rigid power levels. That was my biggest problem with Dragonball–when everyone has basically identical fighting styles, the fights lose alot of their drama as they become "Who has the highest power level". One Piece has widely different fighting styles for alot of its characters, which not only helps give the plethora of characters their own identities, but also sells the idea that you need a strong set of friends to back you up as well. Story-wise, I loved Usopp taking on Perona and how it reaffirmed that strongest =/= best. It prevents even the weaker crewmembers from getting Yamcha'd out of usefullness.

If you look at the differences between say, Luffy vs Lucci and Luffy vs Enel, you can see how a variety of powers lets Oda create more interesting and volatile fights. It also makes strategy and cleverness play a much bigger role in determining who wins and who loses, which not only adds tension when the heroes do it, but also when the villains do to. It lets Oda add more believable drama involving Luffy losing without making it look impossible for him to turn it around in a rematch.

[Aaronrules380]

@FelRes:

The world building is the best thing Oda does. I feel like I'm more interested in seeing the details of the world they are in, and how everything connects together. I'm always wondering about a lot of stuff we see and hoping we get answers eventually. Speculation about stuff in the OP world is really fun, so I always appreciate the world Oda has created. Also, every island or other place visited has its own distinct atmosphere and flow. Different places have different personalities, so it's nice to see the vibe change with every arc or so depending on where they are and who the characters are with. I also like seeing all these different characters' stories intertwining in one way or another. You can tell Oda really puts a ton of thought into this stuff. Even when it doesn't seem like it was planned, it just works so well.

Also, his art. It's really evolved over the years, going from the cartoonish look early on to the mature look at Water 7, back to a better cartoonish style that we currently have. Plus he has obviously shown he has improved his drawing abilities - did you see Luffy's detailed foot this past chapter? Scenery is better than ever, interiors are more detailed and fun to look at, and panels are given cooler perspectives. And the character designs are amazing. It's great that he's still pooping out cool designs all over the place, even playing with new art styles(Caesar looks like he came straight out of Naruto, but it works). Only obvious thing he can improve upon is his younger female designs.

If this were years ago, I would also say characterization. He was really good at creating likable characters that I actually cared about. They are very indignant, and a lot of them have their own hopes and dreams that you want to see come true. Nowadays, characters, along with their fights and interactions, have been vastly watered down aside from a few notable exceptions, but it was really good while it lasted, and it's prolly the best aspect of the first half of the series.

In regards to characterization, I'd speculate that that is the result of a few things. THe first is the expanded size of the strawhat crew. With 9 crewmates, Oda has to spend more time giving them characterization and less time on side characters. Another is the shift in focus to larger players in the world. The characters who we're going to see develop from now on are most likely going to be big players more often than not. ALthough I've enjoyed many characters from recent times for how they are portrayed such as Brook, Caesar, Rayleigh, Whitebeard, Fukaboshi, and Jinbe. Another issue is that a lot of recent characters have been introduced, but haven't had time in the spotlight for more development yet such as the supernova. Most of the characters we saw during the saobondy period through the start of the timeskip were more a hint of whats to come that are going to be expanded upon later

[nonectra]

Y'know, the thing that really impresses me the most in terms of what One Piece does right is the consistency of the story, the world, and the themes that are incorporated in it. People have commented on the lack of a real power level system and I whole-heartedly agree. I love that Caesar Clown and Monet and everyone on Punk Hazard can be weaker than the SHs, and yet they're still totally dangerous and can't be taken lightly. It really builds a sense of anticipation at seeing what enemies can do and a realization that no matter how powerful the heroes get, it's still possible to hurt them.

This world that Oda's built is vibrant and it's alive and it feels like we're only getting a small picture of it, yet there's so much going on outside of our scope of knowledge. That's why so many people love the end of arcs because you get to widen your view and see what's going on.

What I've really found to be gripping has been this kind of slow build to the end of the first half of the manga, staring at the CP9 Saga. This is when the Strawhat's become globally-reknown pirates for waging war against the government and basically destroying Enies Lobby. When that arc ends, it kind of leaves the impression that it won't be long before they stand at the pinnacle of the pirate age. They took on the WG and won, man, and it was a huge victory, leaving this assumption that whatever happens, they'll be alright. And then you get introduced to Moria and for all the wasted potential there, he reaffirms what Crocodile said back in Alabasta - that the SHs are still rookies - and he goes on to say that they still can't compare to the new world. And he's right, but it's so easy to dismiss that as just big talk because he loses fairly easily. When Luffy attacks the Celestial Dragons in Sabaody, I personally felt like it was going to be another big moment for the SHs where they're big damn heroes and come out ahead. Then they don't and it's just a wonderful moment of continuity in terms of how overwhelming these Admirals and the Yonkou are. And even when Luffy is trying to save Ace, no matter what goes wrong, there's always this feeling that he can and will succeed because he's Luffy and that's what he does and, y'know, really, Impel Down and Marineford end up being almost tragic in the end as the protagonists learn that they really aren't strong at all.

And then we get the Ace/Sabo/Luffy flashback and one of the things that I love about it is how it really adds to our understanding of Luffy as a character. It's still consistent with his character and, unlike other manga, finding out about his backstory this late doesn't contradict with what we know of him. Maybe it's just me, but that moment in Enies Lobby when Luffy tells Spandem that he understands Robin's enemy very well makes so much more sense in the context of losing Sabo and how Dadan told him and Ace that what killed Sabo was the world.

Like I said, I really enjoy that consistency. After fifteen years, One Piece still has an organic world and it's themes are still the same and that's really, really impressive to me.

[valiantt]

One thing I enjoy about OP when juxtaposing it next to the other two larger shonen titles (i.e. Naruto and Bleach) is the role of Luffy within the OP universe. Unlike the other two titles, Luffy isn't a messianic figure that solves (or tries to solve) everyone's problem. His actions still cause considerable changes within the world and has a renown background (son of Dragon etc…). He still isn't the focal point in the world's happenings. There are other larger players that mold the world behind the scenes. Likewise, these players do not sit around and LET Luffy change the world (yay for background Naruto/Bleach characters that let their sole main characters do all the work). This is main reason why I thoroughly enjoy OP's chapter mini stories. Most characters (even miniscule ones) exhibit ambitions and carry them out while Luffy's story progresses (my favorites being Crocodile, Buggy and so on).

[Taco]

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon. As if the art and literary devices would put Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare to shame. That Oda was trained by aliens and wrote a manga that nobody can ever succeed or improve upon. This is simply because fans are blinded by their favorite parts of the manga - they adore a single feature, moment, device, character - who knows (it differs for everyone) - and uses that to block any sort of possible flaw they may come across. Speaking of flaws, most of the reasoning here in this thread is flawed. Some of you speak very subjectively while passing off your 2 cents as fact - this simply isn't the way to provide any sort of feedback or criticism.

In all honesty, I can not let these threads go by - they celebrate the successes of the manga without being fair to the other end of the spectrum, the failures, the flaws of the manga. It's simply not fair; not fair to those who haven't read it and not fair to those have and are willing to openly speak about. This thread serves an example of how fans can exaggerate their true opinion of the manga to intentionally and unfairly make others look like dwarves in comparison.

[kouch_lee]

It's your opinion and I somewhat agree with your statement that the One Piece hardcore fanbase tends to treat the manga as the biggest masterpiece ever and stuff, but. . .

1st- This is a thread to talk about what you THINK makes One Piece good, or, in other words, what makes OP special to YOU.

2nd- I could swear there're threads where people talk about what they DON'T like about OP.

3rd- . . .Was that really needed? In THIS thread?

As for to keep things on-topic, apart from many many things I love about it(some of them already stated above, like the worldbuilding), I'd like to say one of the things that make OP stand out for me is something as "little" as the cover stories. It's a little touch, a detail, but I thing it's something quite groundbreaking if I'm not mistaken, isn't it?

When, sometimes, people are MORE hyped about what we'll find in the cover arc than the chapter itself, it probably means that this little detail is actually something pretty huge.

It's also representative of what's been stated, the "passion" Oda puts into OP, to the point of using the cover page to create parallel, canon side-stories that, later on, converge with the main story. I find it of such brilliance.

[valiantt]

@Taco:

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon.

I think this can be said about most rabid fans yes? I don't see anything wrong with this thread when one is stating why One Piece is "good". It is an opinion based thread while other forums have similar ones that state why their particular serie is "good". This thread isn't titled "Why OP is better than every other serie out there". Naturally OP has its flaws so feel free to express them. But I think it wholly unnecessary to debase the contributors of this thread (as well as completely irrelevant).

Besides, I don't think anyone out there should be "hurt" or "offended" by this thread. If so, then they might need to reconsider their self worth.

[FelRes]

@Aaronrules380:

In regards to characterization, I'd speculate that that is the result of a few things. THe first is the expanded size of the strawhat crew. With 9 crewmates, Oda has to spend more time giving them characterization and less time on side characters. Another is the shift in focus to larger players in the world. The characters who we're going to see develop from now on are most likely going to be big players more often than not. ALthough I've enjoyed many characters from recent times for how they are portrayed such as Brook, Caesar, Rayleigh, Whitebeard, Fukaboshi, and Jinbe. Another issue is that a lot of recent characters have been introduced, but haven't had time in the spotlight for more development yet such as the supernova. Most of the characters we saw during the saobondy period through the start of the timeskip were more a hint of whats to come that are going to be expanded upon later

Oh, I more-or-less agree about the size of the crew affecting things. Back when it was only up to Robin, there was a really good dynamic going on. Seven main characters is usually a really good number to settle on in fantasy stories. But then a couple more crew members joined, and there's usually a bunch of allies interacting with the crew as well, which really bogs that dynamic. Makes me worried about what it will be like if a couple more characters join.

I'm alright with there being a focus on the big players. However, we get a bunch of characters introduced alongside any villain's (re)introduction - Hody's crew, Big Mom's crew, Doflamingo's crew. Plus like a million other characters from other groups. Sometimes it feels like characters are just thrown in there for the sake of being thrown in there. A lot of FI characters didn't even really do much, maybe one or two relevant things. And yeah, Sabaody was pretty much a preview of some characters. The Supernovas didn't really need to be there, but it built a lot of hype, but there's been so many hyped characters that I don't hype anymore.

@Taco:

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon. As if the art and literary devices would put Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare to shame. That Oda was trained by aliens and wrote a manga that nobody can ever succeed or improve upon. This is simply because fans are blinded by their favorite parts of the manga - they adore a single feature, moment, device, character - who knows (it differs for everyone) - and uses that to block any sort of possible flaw they may come across. Speaking of flaws, most of the reasoning here in this thread is flawed. Some of you speak very subjectively while passing off your 2 cents as fact - this simply isn't the way to provide any sort of feedback or criticism.

In all honesty, I can not let these threads go by - they celebrate the successes of the manga without being fair to the other end of the spectrum, the failures, the flaws of the manga. It's simply not fair; not fair to those who haven't read it and not fair to those have and are willing to openly speak about. This thread serves an example of how fans can exaggerate their true opinion of the manga to intentionally and unfairly make others look like dwarves in comparison.

I notice that more people are willing to speak about the lesser aspects of the series as of late. The fanboyism can be quite strong - especially on this message board since it is a message board about One Piece. On other sites I go to, you won't be lynched for admitting One Piece has seriously gone downhill after the timeskip and isn't getting much better, and you can say Sanji sucks now and people will completely agree instead of getting pissy. I've been tempted to make a thread about questioning the series' current quality, cause I could type many pages on that. It'd prolly be locked tho and idgaf enough. I just wish fanboys would stop being fanboys. I didn't think this was a thread to post about this in, but then again this thread just gives more opportunity for people to act like One Piece is god's gift to us, and that just ain't right. There's already plenty of threads to praise the series in.

[Donquixote]

That intro post was beautifully written, and I completely agree.

Oda nails depth and scale as well.

Depth in terms of story and art. His layout pieces for location reveals (think Galley La Company's dockyard or Thriller Bark) are simply stunning. We are never treated to exactly the same scale each panel. He alternates frequently but not so hap-hazardly that it's messy/unorganized. We are treated to some stunning set pieces (Some of which are the best I've seen in ANY graphic novel) and in terms of action Oda always seems to nail the right or perfect poses and emotions for each panel. A good example of this to also include depth is when Oars Jr. lifts one of the battleships during the Battle of Marineford and you can see dozens of marines dotted (stippled) all across the page. Sheer awesomeness. I refer also to scale when discussing the story. It's massive and Oda does his best to dot the narrative with small nods, hints, riddles and more. Think of Kuro when he breaks Morgan's jaw. That was a sign that this is ONE big story, not just Luffy fighting a bad guy of the week. Oda rarely kills anyone off (Minus the known few) because I'm sure he pools them together for a chance to return down the line. Emotions speak for themselves. I have yet to cry at One Piece but I have felt goosebumps at many a scene. Every backstory accounts for this, as well as those sheer EPIC moments (The burning of the WG flag, Luffy punching out Charloss, etc). Beautifully illustrated and straight to the point when it is.

As for it's flaws. Yes they are present as with any media related product. However as previously stated this is a thread to discuss the good traits while there are (I'm sure) plenty of others to discuss the bad ones.

[kouch_lee]

@FelRes:

I notice that more people are willing to speak about the lesser aspects of the series as of late. The fanboyism can be quite strong - especially on this message board since it is a message board about One Piece. On other sites I go to, you won't be lynched for admitting One Piece has seriously gone downhill after the timeskip and isn't getting much better, and you can say Sanji sucks now and people will completely agree instead of getting pissy. I've been tempted to make a thread about questioning the series' current quality, cause I could type many pages on that. It'd prolly be locked tho and idgaf enough. I just wish fanboys would stop being fanboys. I didn't think this was a thread to post about this in, but then again this thread just gives more opportunity for people to act like One Piece is god's gift to us, and that just ain't right. There's already plenty of threads to praise the series in.

Opinion, and highly debatable. It's cool to debate that, if we can take it to another thread.

[Sick_Fool]

The fuck.

I came here expecting to read discussion about OP's good traits and there are already people shitting on this thread first page in.

@Taco

I love how you mistake delusional fans with the majority of the fanbase.

[FelRes]

@kouch_lee:

Opinion, and highly debatable. It's cool to debate that, if we can take it to another thread.

I don't even know which thread to take that to.

[Aaronrules380]

I understand that Oda has flaws as a writer and isn't perfect. We already hve threads about disappointing parts of the manga. If you want to discuss Oda's shortfalls, then just make another thread with that as the topic.

[kouch_lee]

@FelRes:

I don't even know which thread to take that to.

Most disappointing thing in One Piece

Maybe it's not the exact thread you're searching for, but it could work.

[nonectra]

@Taco:

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon. As if the art and literary devices would put Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare to shame. That Oda was trained by aliens and wrote a manga that nobody can ever succeed or improve upon. This is simply because fans are blinded by their favorite parts of the manga - they adore a single feature, moment, device, character - who knows (it differs for everyone) - and uses that to block any sort of possible flaw they may come across. Speaking of flaws, most of the reasoning here in this thread is flawed. Some of you speak very subjectively while passing off your 2 cents as fact - this simply isn't the way to provide any sort of feedback or criticism.

In all honesty, I can not let these threads go by - they celebrate the successes of the manga without being fair to the other end of the spectrum, the failures, the flaws of the manga. It's simply not fair; not fair to those who haven't read it and not fair to those have and are willing to openly speak about. This thread serves an example of how fans can exaggerate their true opinion of the manga to intentionally and unfairly make others look like dwarves in comparison.

Why can't we have a thread about what we like about the manga? There's nothing wrong with that. It is okay to celebrate the good parts of something. If you want to discuss the negatives, make a thread about criticizing it rather than bitching about how this isn't the kind of thread that you can "let go by". Tough. This isn't your thread.

Reading a manga is going to be a very subjective experience because what everyone enjoys and likes is difference. Different strokes for different folks and all that - so responses to this kind of question are going to be highly subjective. What you like, what you didn't like, that kind of thing is all about the individual and their opinion.

[The Star]

Going with the "fanboys" card in an argument in a fan forum is pretty much bad and stupid, right there with "haters gonna hate". Haha i remember the "The most disappointing thing in One Piece", aside from the occasional "Pell is alive", it just became a overall ranting thread.

[Sick_Fool]

^Agreed.

@FelRes:

I don't even know which thread to take that to.

…

@FelRes:

I've been tempted to make a thread about questioning the series' current quality, cause I could type many pages on that. It'd prolly be locked tho and idgaf enough.

What are you waiting for then?

[FelRes]

@kouch_lee:

Most disappointing thing in One Piece

Maybe it's not the exact thread you're searching for, but it could work.

That thread seems to be more about minor things, so maybe I could get away with making a thread.

@Sick_Fool:

^Agreed.

…

What are you waiting for then?

Excuse me. Did you just … me? No. Nuh-uh.

(and I'm going to sleep soon, maybe later if I'm still in the mood for this)

@The:

Going with the "fanboys" card in an argument in a fan forum is pretty much bad and stupid, right there with "haters gonna hate". Haha i remember the "The most disappointing thing in One Piece", aside from the occasional "Pell is alive", it just became a overall ranting thread.

That's exactly the kind of attitude that makes it bad and stupid.

[Jabra]

Most has been covered, and maybe I will write more later, but there is one thing that really stands out in OP:

Every character gets love, Oda never seems to forget them. And most importantly he doesn't introduce them only to get killed in the same chapter. There are many examples to back this up, but the most recent must be Brownbeards appearance. Honestly, who didn't think that he was just a simple fodder pirate who will get crushed by an uprising supernova?

That was over 100 chapters ago. And now the SH's use his transformed body as a fucking bus, because they are "too tired" to walk to the arc's villain.

[Demonicpoodle]

@Taco:

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon. As if the art and literary devices would put Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare to shame. That Oda was trained by aliens and wrote a manga that nobody can ever succeed or improve upon. This is simply because fans are blinded by their favorite parts of the manga - they adore a single feature, moment, device, character - who knows (it differs for everyone) - and uses that to block any sort of possible flaw they may come across. Speaking of flaws, most of the reasoning here in this thread is flawed. Some of you speak very subjectively while passing off your 2 cents as fact - this simply isn't the way to provide any sort of feedback or criticism.

In all honesty, I can not let these threads go by - they celebrate the successes of the manga without being fair to the other end of the spectrum, the failures, the flaws of the manga. It's simply not fair; not fair to those who haven't read it and not fair to those have and are willing to openly speak about. This thread serves an example of how fans can exaggerate their true opinion of the manga to intentionally and unfairly make others look like dwarves in comparison.

I don't understand how this is what makes One Piece good.
And you said yourself you're even really enjoying Punk Hazard now; why the cynicism in this thread? We have plenty of threads for what you're talking about, but it is common in every single fanbase known to man to ignore flaws in your favorite series. Whether we're talking A Song of Ice and Fire, Hajime No Ippo, The Dark Knight, Twilight… It doesn't matter. People, surprisingly enough, would rather enjoy their series instead of picking it apart.

I just don't even have the time to pick it apart anymore, I just choose to enjoy this high-caliber series. I don't find any reason that I need to satisfy the people like you who have this tunnel-vision scope of the fanbase and refuse to change it. I would much rather be gaining more experience with manga, movies, books, etc. And I'm doing that everyday. I'm even very consciously trying to find series better than One Piece. It hasn't been easy. So, I'm not just sitting smugly in my little cozy chair thinking "One Piece is the best ever!" I'm actively trying to find series better than it. I still haven't, by any means.

Anyway, this is a thread to celebrate the successes of the manga, it's already been pointed out where you can go to tear it apart on this One Piece fan forum while you're currently really enjoying Punk Hazard.

[Urouge]

Hmm. Simply put, I think what makes OP as good and popular as it is is simply the fact that it handles so many things well. To summarize, I'd say the attention to detail, planning, world building, and balancing a large cast of characters and large number of plot threads all play a part. Details are everything from backgrounds which are little more than eye candy to things like Robin using actual names of the crew after Enies Lobby. A lot of little details can go a long way. The level of planning is typically quite good, but not perfect. Oda likes to have a conclusion in mind that he works toward reaching, rather than the other way around. He also does a good job at slowly giving us pieces that build towards that conclusion, and is great at foreshadowing. For world building, OP has a very large and diverse world that seems to hit on everything while still adhering to its own set of rules. One of my favorite moments was the reveal of Little Garden, and discovering the world would include things like giants and dinosaurs. Characters are a large part of the success of a shonen manga. Oda gives us a huge cast and develops a lot of them as he goes. Arguments can be made that a lot of them are shallow or cliched, which is true to a degree, but cliches are fine if they're executed well. Luffy's a great main character who acts as the emotional center, and I personally love the fact that he's fairly morally ambiguous as a pirate. The large number of plot threads speak for themselves, and they mostly get tied up neatly. Sometimes a little too neatly, but whatever.

Yet, binding all of these things together is simple execution. Oda can make us laugh out loud, cry honest tears, put us on the edge of our seats in anticipation, and make our heads swim with possibilities of what's to come. I also find his fights to be mostly interesting and engaging. I think he does all of these things quite well. He'd really have something if he could master the use of themes. I wasn't particularly impressed with how he dealt with racism, for example.

Honestly, there are similar threads that were made in the past that I could merge this one with, but I'm too lazy to dig them up. It's not a new idea, but it's fun to revisit from time to time.

As for anyone who's complaining about this thread, get over it. I have no idea why anyone would think people should be negative on a series in a thread devoted to the positives. And I certainly don't see anyone claiming that Oda is superior to Shakespeare. "Oh, you like this aspect, which must mean that you think it's the greatest thing ever and without equal, and therefore you're all dumb" is the kind of garbage I'm taking from Taco's little rant. To think we don't complain about the things we don't like is asinine. You can find a ton of diatribes about why Fishman Island failed to live up to expectations, for example. I wrote a thesis about why Hody was a poor villain myself. That stuff is just meant for other threads.

[Kingdomkey]

@FelRes:

I notice that more people are willing to speak about the lesser aspects of the series as of late. The fanboyism can be quite strong - especially on this message board since it is a message board about One Piece. On other sites I go to, you won't be lynched for admitting One Piece has seriously gone downhill after the timeskip and isn't getting much better, and you can say Sanji sucks now and people will completely agree instead of getting pissy. I've been tempted to make a thread about questioning the series' current quality, cause I could type many pages on that. It'd prolly be locked tho and idgaf enough. I just wish fanboys would stop being fanboys. I didn't think this was a thread to post about this in, but then again this thread just gives more opportunity for people to act like One Piece is god's gift to us, and that just ain't right. There's already plenty of threads to praise the series in.

Do it. It would make a very interesting read for me, because in a way I agree but I don't quite know how to put it into words

[The Laughing Man]

One thing that drew me to One Piece is the setting, the theme: Pirates (with superpowers).

Plenty of manga and anime series have knights, ninjas and the like, but One Piece uses one of those…offbeat themes, and manages to tell a pretty engaging story with it.

[Demonicpoodle]

I'll post one last thing on the matter because it's a driving issue that pops up time and time again.

Just because you think something is good, you are not automatically correct. Just because you think something is bad, you are not automatically correct.

People who call something bad think it's a truistic notion and that only they see the light while all the other, less visionary people do not. They think they're some unique little snowflake who is exempt from counter-arguments, and boy, do they freak out when those peasants who actually enjoy the thing in question raise their hands in protest. They sometimes even–very ironically, I might add--ignore the counterarguments... similar to their perceived vision of the supposed fanboys ignoring counterarguments.

[Tomatosoup]

@Demonicpoodle:

I'll post one last thing on the matter because it's a driving issue that pops up time and time again.

Just because you think something is good, you are not automatically correct. Just because you think something is bad, you are not automatically correct.

People who call something bad think it's a truistic notion and that only they see the light while all the other, less visionary people do not. They think they're some unique little snowflake who is exempt from counter-arguments, and boy, do they freak out when those peasants who actually enjoy the thing in question raise their hands in protest. They sometimes even–very ironically, I might add--ignore the counterarguments... similar to their perceived vision of the supposed fanboys ignoring counterarguments.

I think you just described most audiophiles. As for contributing to this thread, I think I'll echo that Oda gives thought to the development of all characters, not just the main ones.

[MetaMario]

Excellent opening post. This was my favorite part:

@Aaronrules380:

Oda writes strictly for the shonen demographic, and has specifically said he writes based on what he feels his 15 year old self would find cool. He isn't writing for grown men, for girls, for women. He's writing strictly for teenage guys. But I feel this devotion to a single demographic is actually what helps give One Piece such strong multiple demographic appeal. It's focused and has a strong identity instead of being all over the place by appealing to too many groups of people. By appealing to a very specific part of us, Oda draws a stronger emotional response than he might by forcing in conflicting parts for multiple demographics. He keeps a specific part of us entertained throughout, rather than making us constantly flip between the different sides of ourself

That being said…...gosh, what can I add? Hasn't it all been said already? Oda has great control over the story so that it flows naturally, he makes you emotionally invested even in the most minor of characters (Merry, Bellemere, Hiriuluk, etc.), and overall the guy just loves writing and drawing One Piece.

[beck26]

i like one piece, well, its my favorite anime/manga since yu yu hakushu and case closed…i never really followed a manga that much again until one piece...i wouldnt say oda is the shakespeare of the manga, but i can confidently tell you i consider him the andy warhol of manga.

he just makes really out of this world art...especially when "beautiful anime" is popular. thats what makes one piece as what it is in my opinion.

unique and enticing. it drove away from the norm of manga art. some considered it ugly, but i found it refreshing.

the art: beautifully weird.
the story: interesting and consistent
the characters: lively and distinguishable. plus there are no extremes (no extreme powerful guys, no extreme good or evil)
the concept: new and inventive.

its a teen manga but the detail oda put in the story is much deeper than that imo. and most of all, this is the kind of manga that gets me excited even when there's no fight, because you can feel the characters' emotions, you can kinda relate to their aspirations, some characters are funny as hell....and well, luffy, how could hate the guy....he's not my favorite character but he is a one-of-a-kind character...he's not the common main character you will find: simpleton, impulsive, clumsy, slow-minded but he got a big heart, a main character that actually connects to the readers...not like a hero who always steamrolls an enemy, always do good deeds, is the best in everything. that's not luffy, he is not perfect that's why i like his character. plus his design is really simple. LOL

one of the best lines in one piece and aside from "will and dreams" is what makes one piece fun to watch and read:

Luffy: Of course I don't know anything about swords, you moron!
Luffy: I can't navigate!
Luffy: I can't cook!
Luffy: I can't even lie!Usopp: Oi.Luffy: I know I need friends to help me if I want to get ahead in life!

^^^ this. one piece is about friendship and oda delivers it without being corny.

[DarkFalcon]

I'll try to point some things, that I think make One Piece good (most, if not all has been mentioned previously in this thread):

• care that Oda puts into creating characters, even minor ones, that appear just for the moment, they are each very unique and distinguishable, although they are often played on archetypes to give them some new colors and light that makes them non-standard
• world creating - each island is different. They are not only having different fantastic technology and scenery (including architecture and fashion), each island is shown to have its own set of social and political problems it give them the feeling of being fantastic as well as so much like real world at the same time. And there is the fact that they are shown to part of one world.
• the fact, that, although vast majority of action revolves around main characters, it's clearly shown, that what happens to them is not the only thing that happens in the world and that there are other important things happening.
• issues of morality and ethics.
• well planned plot.
• comedy, parody, joke.
• It may seem strange, but: frugal style of telling the story. Oda just doesn't need much place to tell volumes about characters and the world. Situations he shows have just much meaning. Also usually we don't have useless panels.
• the fact that it is visible that this guy just have fun writing and drawing the story.
• unique art style. no matter which part of One Piece you take, there is nothing that visually looks like One Piece. And it goes for designs as well as for perspective.
• the fact that author isn't enforcing ethics upon readers.
• a lot of cultural references to just about everything (to the pint that ornaments on giants helmets come from archaeological catalogs).
• One Piece is epic romance. In fact it's probably most romantic thing I've ever read.

That should have covered main points.
On more personal note: I love how I, since quite early in the story, yearn to be part of the crew. I was almost 21 when I started reading One Piece, and I had thought that the phase when I want to be part of favourite tale is years past behind me. And there is the fact, that as a child I fantasize about many things shown in the story, so it gave me feeling that it's written specially for me. I also like to play in psychological reconstructions of characters and philosophical reconstructions of ideas standing both behind… well everything (don't look at me like that I went to study philosophy to satisfy my weird urges) and with One Piece I have just so much to work out.

In fact I'm aware that Oda makes some mistakes, and that the story has some shortcomings, but they are just not so important to me.

I may or may not have come across better stories than One Piece - problem is the story I find on similar lever are just too different to compare like that. However I've never come across tale that I've enjoyed more.

[Aaronrules380]

So another thing that I think makes One Piece so appealing to us is its main theme: The ideas of freedom and what it entails. This is present in many ways, from the most literal anti-slavery meanings to being free to do what you want to being free from harmful values that we're burdened with. Fishmen Island for example, was about racism, but if you look at how it was presented, you can see that it wasn't so much that you always have to be free from prejudices. Fishing tiger, for example, couldn't overcome his prejudices. Fishman Island was about not burdening future generations by forcing our prejudices, our biases, and our values on them. Which leads to a bigger idea of what freedom means to Oda- the ability to forge your own path and define your own set of values. This can be seen with how Oda handles the idea of justice- the most "good" of the marines like smoker, garp, and Aokiji form their own values and morals based on what they believe is right. Aokiji in particular used to be a lot more agressive and bound to society's views on justice until he realized the damage this caused. Absolute justice isn't bad just because of how extreme the actions it promotes are, but also because it is too rigid and unyielding. Its extremism is a direct result of its black and white nature. Its the result of blindly following societal values without understanding that things are more complicated than the broad generalizations society acts on.
Freedom in One Piece is very closely connected to the idea of dreams. If you have to forge your own path, then dreams are what is used to help you decide on what path to choose. Because one piece is about forging your own values and not about blindly following society, this is reflected in that all of the strawhat's dreams are based on their passions and relationships rather than just getting power, money, or goods. The strawhats clearly don't hate or even dislike these things, but they all have something that to them is more important. Luffy's goal is to be pirate king, but only because he thinks that'll put him in a position to be free and that the journey to becoming it will be fun. Zoro wants to be the greatest swordsmen because of a promise to a friend and because of his pride.
These values are so resonant with us because they are very human ideas, and because in our modern societies we often feel deprived of freedom. People work jobs they hate to get money rather than following their passions. Hell, some people don't know what their passions are because they never had the time or encouragement to explore what they wanted to do in life.
As a final note I have to say that very little of this was probably intentional on Oda's part. If you told Oda my statements, he'd probably say I was taking the series to seriously. A lot of this is probably just unconsciously put into the work because its what Oda believes and that bleeds into his writing style

[DarkFalcon]

@Aaronrules380:

So another thing that I think makes One Piece so appealing to us is its main theme: The ideas of freedom and what it entails. This is present in many ways, from the most literal anti-slavery meanings to being free to do what you want to being free from harmful values that we're burdened with. Fishmen Island for example, was about racism, but if you look at how it was presented, you can see that it wasn't so much that you always have to be free from prejudices. Fishing tiger, for example, couldn't overcome his prejudices. Fishman Island was about not burdening future generations by forcing our prejudices, our biases, and our values on them. Which leads to a bigger idea of what freedom means to Oda- the ability to forge your own path and define your own set of values. This can be seen with how Oda handles the idea of justice- the most "good" of the marines like smoker, garp, and Aokiji form their own values and morals based on what they believe is right. Aokiji in particular used to be a lot more agressive and bound to society's views on justice until he realized the damage this caused. Absolute justice isn't bad just because of how extreme the actions it promotes are, but also because it is too rigid and unyielding. Its extremism is a direct result of its black and white nature. Its the result of blindly following societal values without understanding that things are more complicated than the broad generalizations society acts on.
Freedom in One Piece is very closely connected to the idea of dreams. If you have to forge your own path, then dreams are what is used to help you decide on what path to choose. Because one piece is about forging your own values and not about blindly following society, this is reflected in that all of the strawhat's dreams are based on their passions and relationships rather than just getting power, money, or goods. The strawhats clearly don't hate or even dislike these things, but they all have something that to them is more important. Luffy's goal is to be pirate king, but only because he thinks that'll put him in a position to be free and that the journey to becoming it will be fun. Zoro wants to be the greatest swordsmen because of a promise to a friend and because of his pride.
These values are so resonant with us because they are very human ideas, and because in our modern societies we often feel deprived of freedom. People work jobs they hate to get money rather than following their passions. Hell, some people don't know what their passions are because they never had the time or encouragement to explore what they wanted to do in life.
As a final note I have to say that very little of this was probably intentional on Oda's part. If you told Oda my statements, he'd probably say I was taking the series to seriously. A lot of this is probably just unconsciously put into the work because its what Oda believes and that bleeds into his writing style

First I must comment how great I think your post is. But for the last part, I think, that Oda consciously dwells on ides of freedom in his story, as it has been stated few times by character themselves. Of he may have put in the story some things unaware of it significance, but for most part he knows the implications of thins he is writing. If you'd ask him, he would probably use different words to describe the ideas he is putting in the story, but essentially meaning would be the same. I agree that the story reflects authors deeper views, he might at the beginning putting unconsciously in the tale, but if have changed over the years (at the beginning he might have been putting in the story ideas he deemed important without fully conceptualizing them, that doesn't mean he put them all ther unintentionally) . Oda is human too, with times he becomes more aware of his own ideas as the rest of us (at least those of us, who haven't forfeit reflexive thinking).

[BingBang]

Whats the point of this Thread? All the threads talk about how good is One Piece….

[Dryish]

@BingBang:

Whats the point of this Thread? All the threads talk about how good is One Piece….

Read the opening post, my good man. You're making yourself look silly.

[Hisoga]

OP has especially strong villains, driven by a sense of duty, pride, or ambition which aren't as simple as pure evil, AND they are usually strangely empathetic (Akoji and the Fleet Admiral strike me as particular examples).

not mine but i find it a very interesting comment.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Taco:

My biggest problem with a majority of the One Piece fanbase is how much they overrate the manga and the author alike. How they act like the manga is a work of art sent by god. As if flaws don't exist and nothing can be improved upon. As if the art and literary devices would put Leonardo da Vinci and Shakespeare to shame. That Oda was trained by aliens and wrote a manga that nobody can ever succeed or improve upon. This is simply because fans are blinded by their favorite parts of the manga - they adore a single feature, moment, device, character - who knows (it differs for everyone) - and uses that to block any sort of possible flaw they may come across. Speaking of flaws, most of the reasoning here in this thread is flawed. Some of you speak very subjectively while passing off your 2 cents as fact - this simply isn't the way to provide any sort of feedback or criticism.

In all honesty, I can not let these threads go by - they celebrate the successes of the manga without being fair to the other end of the spectrum, the failures, the flaws of the manga. It's simply not fair; not fair to those who haven't read it and not fair to those have and are willing to openly speak about. This thread serves an example of how fans can exaggerate their true opinion of the manga to intentionally and unfairly make others look like dwarves in comparison.

you are in APforum.. i don't understand how can you say that.. this is a place where One Piece been love and critics so much..

[Demonicpoodle]

I think Oda's general work ethic is exhibited in Rayleigh's comment about Roger: "Whether he was in a fight, partying, or laughing, that man always did it to the fullest."

I think creating model characters as an author helps to keep you on the right track, especially when you're making a story as massive as One Piece. The more series I read from authors who work a lot, I always notice that those particular series always have a character that always remarks on how to go 110% at all times. They probably need this character to keep their work ethic in check. It could also be the case that Oda's using determination and all that stuff to rectify the NEET/hikikomori situation in Japan, like a lot of authors seem to be doing. You'll notice there's a lot of "GO OUTSIDE" and "DO STUFF" in manga today.

So, for making a story and massive and consistent/increasing in quality in One Piece, it helps Oda to have model citizens among his cast. Not exactly in that they always do the right thing (Luffy released a ton of criminals unto the world), but that they are hard-working.

[STP_PS]

I want to say it in BIG WORDS!!!

CLIFFHANGERS

QUESTIONS RAISED. There are always more questions than answers revealed which always leaves me at the edge of my seat.

[sanji499]

@STP_PS:

I want to say it in BIG WORDS!!!

CLIFFHANGERS

QUESTIONS RAISED. There are always more questions than answers revealed which always leaves me at the edge of my seat.

Totally agree, its what keeps the reader going and ask for more and filled with some great easter eggs or foreshadowing.
For instance, the fact that Luffy lost Ace's vivre card before rescuing him was a huge hint about Ace's death because it would imply that Luffy would not need the card anymore to find his brother in the near future.

[CaptainKid]

I could write a 20 page paper on this but I'll stick to 5 points

1. weird characters that make their back story more important simply because they put you off by their looks
2. creating a universe and style that grows on the reader/viewer
3. unique system marines/WG/pirates/yonkou/shichibukai that is different from other shonen and connects to real life
4. real world problems that are present in the manga (slightly different from #3), overpowering government, the horror of war, what makes good vs evil, the definition of family, discrimination, self worth/value
5. hinting at things that will happen and future things but making it very intriguing, what are DFs, what is One Piece, the void century and what it entails, Blackbeard Pirates vs Strawhats, Luffy meeting Shanks again, ect (we know somethings about these like the Rio Poneglyph holds the key to the void century, 3 types of DF, Luffy is faaar weaker than Blackbeard but still has to beat him by the end of the series)

Like I said i could go on but I won't, loving the series (did NOT like Davy Back fights, but even with FI's lackluster villain hate for hatred's sake was interesting and representing some form of real life discrimination). I can't wait to see the series as a whole, seeing the end of One Piece is probably in my top 100 things to do in life.

–---Read the bitching in this thread and had to add this on. I LOOOOVE One Piece and I also LOOOVED Naruto just as much and when the series went downhill I like it less and complained more about (though I still enjoy it). People saying One Piece has gone down are the problem with this world... WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. No my problem isn't people not liking One Piece anymore it's inevitable it will happen. But people who think it's cool to dislike a series after it's gotten popularity not after it's actually declined. FI wasn't a great arc, but the series has had slower arcs and bad arcs (Davy Back imho). I just can't stand this One Piece is cool now it sucks, that goes for any series. Anyone who says FI was bad I can debate but they have a valid point. But the series is going along greatly and I can't help but feel people are starting to get onto the One Piece is popular because it sucks train. The same happened to Naruto long before it actually went down hill (after Jiraiya's death). I honestly don't get how a series goes 100 or so chapters without 8 of the main characters then they return and now the series is bad. Sorry for the rant just had to throw my 2cents in.

[SSJLuffy]

One of the things that makes One Piece special to me, is the fact that it still feels fresh. And oddly enough for being the longest series out of the Big 3, its the only one that doesn't feel like its dragging.

[Carnage]

I am, as a reader, can really feel how much love Oda feels for his characters. Even the most random Sidecharacters, get developement or a backstory. Even many chapter after their arc.
Or the fact that Oda surprises us. Best example is Garp. Random Chrarcter appears. My reaction was "meeeh…ok". An ass full of Chapters later "OMG hes Luffy Grandpa!!!!!"
Oda created an unique world. I can really imagine how it would be living in the op worl, because every aspect of live was explored in the Manga. for example the phonesnails (idk how you call them in english).

The Secrets!!!!!

There werde times in my life, where the only happy moment of the week was wednesday, when the new chapters are out. Ant thats because i love one Piece. If I would get cancer, the hardest thing to accept for me would be that i would not know the ending of one piece. I love it so much, I even got a tattoo of Laws logo!

[beck26]

@Carnage:

I am, as a reader, can really feel how much love Oda feels for his characters. Even the most random Sidecharacters, get developement or a backstory. Even many chapter after their arc.
Or the fact that Oda surprises us. Best example is Garp. Random Chrarcter appears. My reaction was "meeeh…ok". An ass full of Chapters later "OMG hes Luffy Grandpa!!!!!"
Oda created an unique world. I can really imagine how it would be living in the op worl, because every aspect of live was explored in the Manga. for example the phonesnails (idk how you call them in english).

The Secrets!!!!!

There werde times in my life, where the only happy moment of the week was wednesday, when the new chapters are out. Ant thats because i love one Piece. If I would get cancer, the hardest thing to accept for me would be that i would not know the ending of one piece. I love it so much, I even got a tattoo of Laws logo!

hahaha wow!!! i got a strawhats jolly roger on my back (just a little one). true story LOL.

[Strelok]

@beck26:

hahaha wow!!! i got a strawhats jolly roger on my back (just a little one). true story LOL.

Pics or it didn't happen. :ninja:

[beck26]

LOL…ok...i also got ryu and ken in each side of the fist and a kokeshi samurai in my forearm ill upload the pics when i got free time.

[Strelok]

I would tattoo the Sun Pirates roger if I ever decide to make something like this. :ninja:

[Money and Spades]

Definitely get a New Fishman Pirate logo tattoo