I love it when I'm right

[Greg]

"I'll hold my tongue on OP's success or failure in the US until it gets to Arlong. When readers see what kind of story-telling Oda really possesses and realize that he has a bigger picture, then we can say whether it's a win or lose situation."

I now present to you quotes from Naruto fanboy cauldron Toriyama World:

Same here. I'm almost tempted to look for scanlations of it. I've been realy getting into it alot recently, during the Arlong arc…but American SJ just wont cut it for me..and I don't really wanna watch the anime.

the american sj is fine for me, i cant wait to start buying the gn's. the arlong saga is so kick ass it makes me wanna know what else is gonna happen, since i dont really know. aaah i cant wait for the next sj

have they ever gotten to the grand line yet? whats so scary about this place?

I gave in and started reading the scans lol. I'm upto right after the whale part where they're gonna take Ms.Wednesday and Mr.9(?).

but dont you see that its those characters that you love that makes anything in the story interesting? if you like the characters then, thats pretty much all that matters, even though great stuff happens in the story and theres very emotional parts it all comes down to the charactes. and thats probably why i love one piece (im addicted too) its because the characters are so colorful and different from eachother. the way they play off one another makes the series so appealing. i aspire to make something great like this in the near future!

I kick ass.

[KatanaJon1.1]

And the ball begins to roll…..

[Greg]

And the ball begins to roll…..

Amen .

[joekido the Second]

Whoa! Naruto fans in America is gonna make OP popluar! YYEESSS!!!!

[CosmicDebris]

It shouldn't be a surprise, I think Arlong is what sealed the deal for many of us here too. It's a major shift in the story, and it does kick ass. I think it would be really awesome if the manga really picks up in popularity. It would help the cause for uncut DVDs as well.

Unfortunately, there still isn't any concrete evidence in OP manga sales as far as I know. Guess we won't be able to tell until all of AP is released in volumes.

[Malintex_Terek]

The fact that these guys are Naruto fans on an online forum tells me that you guys shouldn't jump the gun just yet. The best result of this is that Narutards will bash One Piece less; it's a good thing, but it's really just a start.

Now we have the real test of patience. Drum was the most taxing arc for me to read, as was Little Garden; I had the benefit of breezing through them, too. I'm guessing there's about thirty chapters spanning from Laboon through Drum; if we did gain momentum from the Arlong Arc, that momentum might be lost before we reach Alabasta. We shall see.

[funkyfunkyusopp]

I'm kinda fearing the bottom of the barrel fanboys of other fandoms coming over to this one…. compared to most animes I think OP has a fairly mature and grown u acting following.. but some Naruto fan's I've talked too...

it's good people start to see how kick ass OP is. Arlong Arc was also the one that got me into OP big time xD

[Greg]

The fact that these guys are Naruto fans on an online forum tells me that you guys shouldn't jump the gun just yet.

Oh but I think it's quite telling because they are Naruto fans on a BBS. If Naruto fans are saying such things, simply imagine what more open-minded fans are thinking.

[Atmosana99]

@funkyfunkyusopp:

it's good people start to see how kick ass OP is. Arlong Arc was also the one that got me into OP big time xD

The Kuro arc did the same for me :3 The thought of people seeing just how cool OP really is in spite of the damage 4Kids has doen makes me happy.^^

[Atmosana99]

This post is deleted!

[Devilfruitgrower]

Really? Seeing the Davy Back fights got me into it. The Whisky Peak Arc got me started. But I slowed down at the Skypia Arc because it took too long. Then I saw Aokiji and Foxy and I started reading intently again.

[Ms. Suave Debonair]

I was hooked at Arlong saga (pun was shit but was intended)..so I'm not surprised these people are getting really into it too…

[Metalvirus]

Ahh yes.. Arlong did it more me too. I saw the Kuro and Buggy arcs, skipped the Krieg arc, cuz at that time, I was a Narutard, and I thought that One Piece was boring and a whole lot slower paced than Naruto, and I was intersted in Arlong after reading his bio on some webpage. I loved the show after that. I also hooked my friend on One Piece by showing him episode 42, bacause it had comedy and action at the same time. Still, my fav. villain is Kuro.

[Brad Redfield]

Odd…I was hooked really early on. Like, pre-Buggy. :laugh:

[Greg]

Really? Seeing the Davy Back fights got me into it. The Whisky Peak Arc got me started. But I slowed down at the Skypia Arc because it took too long. Then I saw Aokiji and Foxy and I started reading intently again.

….....o_0

Did you toss the manga in a bag, shake it around and read what came out first?

[Malintex_Terek]

I'm going off topic, but I want to share how I got into OP, too. ^_^;

…

Doppleganger the olde Pokemon veteran was discussing with his contemporaries about "One Piece of Crack" and how 4Kids fudged up a killer Anime. Having read a description of OP a year prior, I decided to search "One Piece Manga" just for kicks and see what everyone was inflamed about. I was expecting Doraemon, but what I got was Dragonball!

...

In regard to the Naruto fan reaction...well, I still say this is a good thing, but I would like to wait a bit and see what happens in the future. For all we know, these guys are not the average run-of-the-mill Narutard and might just be outliers.

[Bounty1Berry]

Arlong sold it for me too; Gin's speech at the close of Baratie brought me back to see Arlong (next week :D)

Arlong rocked, Loguetown rocked, but I frankly worry the sheer length of Alabasta might be a problem. It was a year between Gomu Gomu no Giant Gavel and Gomu Gomu no Axe

[kryptonite]

_> Believe it or not, I started watching One Piece (the dub) from the end of the Buggy arc, and Rogue/Loguetown got me err- hooked on it. Yes, the dub. XD

[wintergt]

@CosmicDebris:

It shouldn't be a surprise, I think Arlong is what sealed the deal for many of us here too.

Count me in.. didn't think too highly of OP until Arlong, which had a major "wow" effect on me. Still don't know what prompted me to watch it all the way there.. but I'm ever so glad I did.

[Ao Kiji]

I guess it goes without saying,but the Arlong Saga hooked me too. I was VERY interested from the very first issue of the manga,but it started to die down after that for me.I knew the popularity of it in Japan and tried to stick with it and it had it's ups and downs as I read it in the U.S. SJ. The arcs started to get too long and during the Buggy arc I gave up on loving it and got more into Naruto because so many ppl were raving about it at that time.

After the Chunin tournie NAruto turned to trash and I decided to check out the anime ver. of OP. Downloaded one ep of Arabaster and was blown away (the UsoCho vs. Mr.4,ms mc, and the dog one). After that I went back and watched the anime and by the end of arlong was totally addicted.

So Alabastar made me give it another shot and Arlong park hooked me.

[Bloodfoot]

So the "for serious" Naruto fans are really catching on. Nice. And I guess this puts the "pirate versus ninja" fight to rest – the pirates win!

(Syrup Village was what cemented me.)

[Conekiller]

I had heard of OP a few times form random places (Toyfare mag was my first glimpse into Luffy) when SJ came out and had the OP manga in it, I decided to read it and instantly fell in love.

I faltered a bit during Baratie cus I really disliked Kreig (glorified schoolyard bully after the awesome scheming of Kuro) but Mihawk and the following Arlong cemented it for me! Arabasta blew my mind!

[d3adpool]

I'm one of those that were hooked Pre-Buggy… actually after Morgan-part I simply couldn't stop reading it. Arlong was very emotional, but I was hooked much earlier. imagines Kuro kick in Luffy's face, Jango self-hipnotizing, Romance Dawn, gigantic sized WTF over my head when I saw Going Merry for the first time,Baratie and Gin and Sanji's leaving from there

I'm glad more people are becoming hooked in OP, personally there are a couple of friends who recently started reading and I don't see a volume in my house for weeks

[TakinawaTonfa]

Yeah, I guess it goes without saying, if you're not liking the series past the Arlong arc, then I guess One Piece just isn't the title for you. The fact that these are Naruto fans talking bodes very well for us.

[Mr. Evil]

I got hooked at Arlong, but I first liked the dub. A friend of mine introduced me to the original, and I liked it way more. In the dub, I had watched up to the beginning of Arlong, and watching the original versions of Nami's flashback and the battles at Arlong Park got me hooked.

As for the Naruto fans, It's good to hear that they are liking a great series. My friend(the same one who introduced me to the original OP) was a diehard Narutard, but upon watching OP, Naruto became his second favorite.

[Mr. Evil]

I got hooked at Arlong, but I first liked the dub. A friend of mine introduced me to the original, and I liked it way more. In the dub, I had watched up to the beginning of Arlong, and watching the original versions of Nami's flashback and the battles at Arlong Park got me hooked.

As for the Naruto fans, It's good to hear that they are liking a great series. My friend(the same one who introduced me to the original OP) was a diehard Narutard, but upon watching OP, Naruto became his second favorite.

[Ao Kiji]

I still dun think it's THAT big of a deal that hardcore NAruto fans like OP?
Is that like the Great Wall coming down or something?
NAruto isn't the #1 manga or anime in the U.S. and never has been.(It's highest spot was #2 in manga sales I believe) Naruto's popularity has always been through fansubs. For OP to really be a hit in the U.S. it has to be more popular with fans that actually purchase their anime and manga.

[Ao Kiji]

This post is deleted!

[Kaya-chan]

The hook for me was Shanks, and what kept me going was Usopp. I have always been a huge fan of pirates, for about… ten years now, so my best friend in high school was like "Here, read this pirate manga!" Genius girl. I saw Shanks and thought "This looks pretty dang cool." Read on and got to Usopp (and more importantly, Kaya!) and I was like "Okay. I'm in this for the long run."

That was three years ago. XD

[Greg]

I still dun think it's THAT big of a deal that hardcore NAruto fans like OP?
Is that like the Great Wall coming down or something?

Apparently you've never heard what almost all Naruto fans had to say about OP back in 2002 when both were beginning to emerge in the US. Mostly instilled by former Naruto fansubber AK of Troy who was jealous of OP's popularity. His comments rubbed off on many Naruto followers and like Mr. E of Planet Namek before him, suddenly he had an army of Naruto fans who slammed OP without even having seen it.

[CosmicDebris]

@omae:

Apparently you've never heard what almost all Naruto fans had to say about OP back in 2002 when both were beginning to emerge in the US. Mostly instilled by former Naruto fansubber AK of Troy who was jealous of OP's popularity. His comments rubbed off on many Naruto followers and like Mr. E of Planet Namek before him, suddenly he had an army of Naruto fans who slammed OP without even having seen it.

I was never aware of this. But I think the reverse is true for OP fans when you think about it, I've encountered a LOT of Naruto hate amongst OP fans for a long time.

[Bounty1Berry]

Since I hit OP first, I got steeped in Naruto hate by the fandom, mostly in the context "they hate us, so I'll hate them right back", but what I saw of it didn't really appeal to me, even before I finally actually saw chapters of it. (come on, aren't half the time the Japanese irritated that the west misinterprets history and the role of the ninja, and then we've got Kishimoto making origami out of it himself!). It didn't help that the first chapters of Naruto I saw were a huge angst-fest. (IIRC, it was about Sakura hating to do flower-arrangement…)

I sort of wish we had a word like Narutard for us though.

[Greg]

I've encountered a LOT of Naruto hate amongst OP fans for a long time.

For any hate in OP fans I don't think any of it actually stems from any single person saying:

"Naruto is an awful series."

And then a million people holding up the same idea having no idea what they're talking about. I think the REALLY angry individuals are just immature and jealous. And since they're probably kids anyway, no big deal. If someone is actually in college and feels jealous over a damn series, I'd say they need to grow up really fast. But most people my age have just come to realize, Naruto is pretty damn bland.

And I'll probably get crucified for this but I recently starting reading a few series via scanlation. Some popular series like Bleach and other JUMP titles. I've gotta say, nothing touches OP. And that is a totally unbiased opinion (no really). No other shounen adventure series I've come across has been dealt with in such minute detail, constructed early on with a purpose, opportunities for growth and development (even be it in number of attacks, or weapons, etc) connectivity of overall story and most important of all, care and love for the fans incorporated into the series. Nowhere else have I seen that kind of creative development.

I see critics of OP saying things like, "Skypiea was a long and useless arc.", and yet we know that somehow in the history of the world, Shandia played a huge part in what led up to the Empty Century. Actually if you really sit down and think hard, the ONLY arc that has absolutely no connection to the overall story are many of the events during the DBF. You could argue that Ao Kiji showing up was important, which it was, but that could have happened anywhere. Now think about that. DBF was just barely over a complete volume in length. The rest of OP has all been a huge part of the overall story. MANY other series have countless diversions and run off into the middle of la-la-land while the authors either struggle to hold onto the story or drown out an audience with uncessary details. Every time I pick up another series I am shocked and amazed at what Oda has accomplished thus far.

If someone as opinionated (bastardly) as myself can flip through (soon) 41 volumes of work and only find dissapointment in a few chapters (Buster Call) it says a thing or two.

[CosmicDebris]

You were dissapointed by Buster Call? I guess after all the "OMG BUSTER CALL" talk, it wasn't anything spectacular in terms of what we saw, but it still was a horrific genocide.

Anyway….I haven't read Bleach or Naruto, I've only seen a few episodes of Naruto, so I don't feel I could really give any kind of opinion. I just know One Piece is awesome.:biggrin:

[Greg]

If I go into why I wasn't exactly pleased with the whole BC thing (except everything and anything related to Sauro who was a terribly intriguing character from start to finish) it will piss off a certain member for voicing my one serious negative opinion of the series so it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. Suffice to say, it wasn't his best work but if you're not hooked onto the series after reading 41 volumes then you really need to reconsider your priorities ^O^

[COWMAKAZE]

The whole OP vs Naruto thing has never been an issue in my mind. I've taken a class or two on making a comic, and half of that class was character and plot creation. That class has made me analyze and strip every story I read or see down to the bone, thinking about it from the creator's point of view. That coupled with learning about "What makes a story" in my Language Arts class and writing a few myself has caused me to see OP as more "high-brow" than Naruto.

Now, before I get slammed, I must say that "high-brow" was the wrong choice of words - I just couldn't think of any other way to state it, so let me defend myself. I've found that there are three things inherent in every great story:

1. Uniqueness

2. A Purpose

3. Believeable characters

4. You can't even begin to describe the uniqueness of OP in words. Devil Fruit are so insanely unique just on their own, and that's not the half of it. The big three of uniqueness in OP are: Chopper, Franky, and Lasoo. You do not get much more unique than a reindeer that ate human fruit, a cyborg that runs on soda, and a gun that happens to be a dog, too. This is only skimming the surface, too - the places, the people, the attacks (who can forget Gomu Gomu no Baka?), EVERYTHING are like a drug addict's crazy acid trip! Keep in mind as well that this is probably the first pirate manga ever created, so even just the premise is unique.

Whereas Naruto… has ninjas? I can't claim I'm a master, but I've played the games and am not impressed. There's not much to say - the fights are hard to read because they're what they are, and that whole story is about fights. The most unique characters don't even show up too often: Choji comes to mind immediately. I'll give in that Sharingan is unique, but just not very enticing to me.

2. OP stated its purpose in chaper one or two. Ever since we have done nothing but move towards that purpose - OP will eventually end, that is the sad truth. However, the ride to there is filled with all the elements that make a great story - foreshadowing is probably the most used and mastyerfully used by Oda. Naruto has a purpose, true, but has Naruto ever gotten closer to being the Hokage? Not really. Its plot is driven forward by mindless fights. The great thing about OP as opposed to other shounen is that the fights are cool, but not necessary. Take the fights away from Naruto, and it has no point. Without fights, OP is still an epic - we have so many things to learn (The Blank 100 years, what is One Piece, what is the world government hiding from us, etc.). We knew from the start of the Oddessey(sp) that it would end with the hero getting home, and that story really defines the epic. If manga were more respected by adults and the like, OP would probably make its way down in history as a legendary epic.

3. There is a system to making a realistic character. The basic foundation of that system is that a character in a story should have all the intracacies as a real person. The truth of the matter is, people get mad, they laugh, and they cry. Every character in OP is realistic in this fashion - the only characters possibly devoid of the crying part are villains, for the sheer reason that making a realistic character is so the audience can relate to them, share their feelings. Croc would never cry and we hate him for it, because he's an icy cold bastard that replaces tears with anger. Simultaneously, though, we respect him, because he is cunning and ruthless. However, place Crocodile as the main character and this ship is SUNK. We couldn't relate with him. It would be uninteresting because that part of our mind telling us to give half a crap about him because he is, in a way, us, is no longer there. Usopp is a huge example of this. He's an average guy on a ship with superhumans, and we love him because he fights and works his way to be on par with them.

Then there's Naruto. Naruto himself is a basic Goku clone - Stupid, but when fighting starts he's cunning. Luffy has never been cunning in his life, and he's only serious during fights if you hurt his friends. Naruto flips a nonexistant switch and poof! He's a badass. So many of Naruto's characters are cookie-cutter archetypes - Jiraya is a dirty old man, Sasuke is the badass, Gaara is the emotionless robot, etc. They are not realistic people at all, but rather one-sided, two dimensional cardboard cutouts of people.

Whew. That was a long rant, so I'll go down to my final points. The number one proof that OP is always great and always is an incredible story? Around these forums, and everywhere else for that matter, everyone trusts Oda. Whenever he does something we find odd or we don't like, we always just say, "Oda will think of something great."

I'm very excited that these Naruto fans are finally starting to realize that good story is not just explosions and punches.

[Deblas]

I don't have any hate towards Naruto. Actually, I was a huge fan of it. Thought it was the best anime I've seen (it was my first sub).

Really, I got into One Piece when I saw the first two dubbed episodes in Toonami. ^^; Since I knew how to use bittorent, I decided to watch it as a anime to kill time until the new episode of Naruto came out. After I watched the first 10 episodes I was hooked. I couldn't stop. After I was done with K-F's batches, I quickly turned to the manga. It was just so awesome! I lost complete interest in Naruto after I started watching One Piece. I only just recently started reading the Naruto manga again.

[Myoti]

applauds COWMAKAZE

I still can't understand why someone wouldn't like this series.

When I first saw the previes (on 4Kids), I thought it was some wierd pirate rip-off and that the "stretching" was just some wierd visual effect.
Then I actually saw it, and I was actually interested (especially seeing that he actually WAS rubber).

The Kuro Arc got me REALLY interested in it, but at the time I was leaning more towards some other series (namely Shaman King).

Eventually, right after seeing the Arlong Arc, I discovered the truth and happened upon some manga scans, and… I couldn't believe how incredible it was. I read everything the MSN scans had in school (I was lucky enough to have two computer classes at the time).

When I went back to Naruto scan, it was more like "eh, kinda cool", but it didn't have that same unique feel as One Piece did.

It's a genious epic, that gets sadly pushed aside in our foolish nation. Put we shall triumph! XD

[Sanji Of Straw]

Well this is how I got hooked on one piece.

I started out watching only dubs, Dragonball, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh etc. And I thought they were the greatest thing in the world. But I was beginning to lose interest in most anime. It was just rehashes of what had already happened. Then one summer I saw a add on 4kids that advertised one piece. I thought, "What the hell is this? Pirates? Weird drawing style? No. Not for me" But I don't judge things like that, so I watched a few episodes. I was hooked. Looking back on that I wanna slap myself for liking the dub.

I went to the internet to find a good site where I could learn about the original version. And I came across arlong park. I read up and I thought the original sounded even better. So I went to buy the manga, this is where I truly fell in love with the series. During this I had now way I could get the subs, I had no highspeed. Now that I have it I'm almost done with everything Kaizoku and Gerusama has done.

Like I said, if I could go back in time I would slap myself for liking the dub and saying the art sucked. Now that I have seen the subs and read the manga, I hate 4kids. The only reason I watch the dub today is to get a laugh out of the edits they do, although that might make me mad later.

Like someone said, One Piece is unique. Along with that I love the series because of the Story, characters and art. Oda really is a mastermind. I don't think that he really meant for there to be one main character, like in other series. What I think is that he meant for every member of the crew to be a main character. Proof of this is that why they may usually work together for a common goal, they each care the most about their own ambitions. By having such different personalities most every person can relate to one member of the Strawhats.

Now about narutards >_>.
At my school, there is a anime club composed of about….40 members. Now. Roughly 35 of them are hard core Narutards. Even having nicknames for themselves (that are even used by teachers) such as Gaara-sama. Now these people like few types of anime. The kinds they like are violent and suggestive, and...Naruto. I talked to them about one piece once and this is literally what they said.

"One Piece, that series sucks. I mean...that farmer/pirate guy hasn't even gone through puberty."

"The art style doesn't even look real. It's horrible"

"Naruto has much better characters and a story line."

"The fights in Naruto have much more meaning than they do in one piece."

I tried telling them otherwise but they said I was a idiot for not liking it. Altogether I just avoid them now. And hopefully they'll see the Arlong arc and come back and find me.

Meh...least I have these boards to talk about one piece at.

[meethz]

i was sold the minute luffy planted that knife on his face. yes, you heard me. i was hooked since PAGE ONE.

[Dragon Warrior Steve]

Can I get a "Hellz Yeah?"

[ritsu]

CHEERS! thats great! XD .. sorry Naruto fans.. but I hate this manga.. >:D lalalalal ~~ did I say something?…..ah .. well,, at first.. I was a big fan of it BUT now I hate it XDD; and some of the fans made me hate it more -_-;

[jadiesama]

@Dragon:

Can I get a "Hellz Yeah?"

HELLZ FUCKING YEAH

[Greg]

Just my opinion, but OP started off pretty bland. It wasn't anything special until Luffy began to surround himself with a lovable cast of characters, Oda began to play off of fan comments and the direction of the series was clearly established. Just my unbiased opinion again after having read many a manga. Compared to a lot of other work, OP seemed set to be the next great DB clone until it found its heart and rose above pratically everything else.

[CosmicDebris]

@omae:

Just my opinion, but OP started off pretty bland. It wasn't anything special until Luffy began to surround himself with a lovable cast of characters, Oda began to play off of fan comments and the direction of the series was clearly established. Just my unbiased opinion again after having read many a manga. Compared to a lot of other work, OP seemed set to be the next great DB clone until it found its heart and rose above pratically everything else.

I agree, I didn't really find anything special about it until around Arlong Park, which as it has already been established, was a big turning point in the story. The characters have great chemistry.

[Bounty1Berry]

I'll admit I joined the anime at the end of Baratie, but IMO, it wasn't that he found the heart, it's the NOSE. Kuro arc is when the differences really appear.

Morgan arc was a dead stereotypical villian – power-mad, devoid of logic and compassion.

Buggy was exciting, but he came off to me as a pirate recast of the Joker from Batman with slight effort; I'd expect it played better to an original audience which didn't see the deranged clown in cartoons all their life. If you're gonna have a clown, Mohji and Cabaji's natures just fall from there. Finally, the action is pretty beat-em-up. I'd have loved to learn more about Cabaji, for example, or why Mohji has such a gift for animals.

In Kuro we see things where it isn't just following a theme to its logical conclusion. Jango for one, the strange patheticness of Usopp, redeemed by his past, and the ties between Usopp and Kaya.

[CosmicDebris]

I've said it many times, but I was about to stop watching fansubs before Usopp made his appearance. I would not be here if not for Usopp. XD But that's just me.

[Greg]

Usopp actually made me want to stop reading. seriously. But later on (again in Arlong) where we saw that Oda was not simply satisfied with characters that reacted the SAME way in every situation, that's when I started to love the guy and see how wrong I really was.

[KamenRiderNeko]

@omae:

I see critics of OP saying things like, "Skypiea was a long and useless arc.", and yet we know that somehow in the history of the world, Shandia played a huge part in what led up to the Empty Century. Actually if you really sit down and think hard, the ONLY arc that has absolutely no connection to the overall story are many of the events during the DBF. You could argue that Ao Kiji showing up was important, which it was, but that could have happened anywhere. Now think about that. DBF was just barely over a complete volume in length. The rest of OP has all been a huge part of the overall story. MANY other series have countless diversions and run off into the middle of la-la-land while the authors either struggle to hold onto the story or drown out an audience with uncessary details. Every time I pick up another series I am shocked and amazed at what Oda has accomplished thus far.

@COWMAKAZE:

Whew. That was a long rant, so I'll go down to my final points. The number one proof that OP is always great and always is an incredible story? Around these forums, and everywhere else for that matter, everyone trusts Oda. Whenever he does something we find odd or we don't like, we always just say, "Oda will think of something great."

I'm very excited that these Naruto fans are finally starting to realize that good story is not just explosions and punches.

I applaud you both. I read all of your posts, but I didn't want to quote the entire thing ^^

I know most people think that One Piece was pretty bland at first, heck I actually started liking Naruto when I got my first issue of Shonen Jump. I guess cuz it was a new series, so I gave it a shot. I did glance at One Piece and I remember saying that the style was really weird… but for some reason, I kept reading it.

Now I am still a fan of Toriyama and Dragon Ball. So Oda's strange style kinda grew on me just like Toriyama's did. I think I started to like it right around when Zoro was introduced. Its funny, because at the time, I had no idea this was a long series or that Zoro was going to join Luffy. Then I got a little more intruiged, because this supposed "dangerous pirate hunter" is going to partner up with this kid who wants to be the Pirate King. Then, of course, I found myself really thinking that Zoro was really cute without the bandana... (though, I gotta be honest. He looked like a kid compared to the sexy man that he is now O.O)

I really did love the Arlong arc, it is still one of my faves. me and my husband were pretty much hooked by then. He started watching the HK subs with me since the beginning and liked it about as much as I did. And he doesn't really care for anime or manga. Its kinda funny because for a while, when we were waiting to get the drum island episodes, we started reading the manga and he got to water 7 way before i did! But we're both caught up now n__n

So yeah. I guess that's how I got into One Piece. I bought the first manga that viz put out (BEFORE they changed Zoro to Zolo >.>...) and then I finally got to read the first chapter, which I found really funny at the time, and shocking as well with Luffy stabbing himself! XD

So in the end... I found Naruto to be quite boring after reading One Piece. I just... couldn't get into it anymore because Oda had much more to offer than Kishimoto did. And I've loved pirates more than ninjas since I was a kid.

ok, didn't mean to ramble, sorry!

[COWMAKAZE]

@Sanji:

"The art style doesn't even look real. It's horrible"

I understand that this is not Sanji of Straw's argument, so please keep in mind this is by no means directed toward him. I just happened to use his post to quote.

This argument burns me up in so many ways it's astonishing. I can't stand anyone that says this, and it drives me absolutely bonkers. I don't even know where to start.

OK, I lied. I do know where to start. I'll get back to the uniqueness argument. It was Shigeru Miyamoto who said something along the lines of if everyone is striving to make the best graphics, eventually everything will look the same. Then he made Windwaker, which I didn't particularly like, but that is beside the point. If manga writing skill was only in how well you could draw, it would begin a cycle of social evolution in which the only mangaka that survive in their buisness are those that draw exactly what the world looks like. But then where is uniqueness? There is none - it's the same rehash over and over again. That's why I love Oda's art style, and always have. It's so unique, almost like an American cartoon. Whereas Naruto really looks like everything else, with the exact same art as, say, Yu-Gi-Oh or even Bleach (don't get me wrong, I kind of like Bleach, just not its artstyle).

Another mangaka that acheived this goal with all this uniqueness was Akira Toriyama. However, Oda is in a different league, but Toriyama's influence on him is visibly huge. Oda is Akira Toriyama 2.0.

Crap, I went off on a completely unrelated tangent. So sorry. But back to the OP's art argument, I am probably not the best person to be giving his opinion on the matter, considering back when I started playing the games with a Japanese friend of mine I had no idea it was anime. Hell, if I did I would have shunned it, definitely - back then I was under the impression that that stuff was for little kids, like Power Rangers. It was the artstyle that saved OP for me, so I'm probably a little biased in my affection.