Many people consider One Piece a miracle. And miracles are weird. I if would have to describe what type of manga One Piece is, I will say that it is an adventure-driven manga with character –driven tendencies.
The story follows a young man named Monkey D. Luffy: a cheerful, friendly, simple yet impulsive boy who dreams about becoming the Pirate King by finding the titular treasure. The plot is quite typical nowadays, but as far as I know, One Piece was the first one who used the “to be king” premise. After the first arc (East Blue), is easy to notice that Oda is not looking to tell us a great story ( something that still he does), but he is looking to draw us into a fantastic journey. In fact, the whole looking for the treasure is just an excuse for adventure. But, if you got sucked up into that adventure, you would definitively love it.
A common complaint about One Piece is that the concept of pirates isn’t faithful to the one in our world. But every other shonen does that. The initial concept, in this case “pirates”, is just the substance for the story. Oda isn’t looking to show us a crew of evildoers ruining everything they come into. Instead, he emphasizes the latter said with themes like dreams, freedom, friendship and what a true treasure is.
The tone of One Piece is what makes it so weird, great and unique. One Piece is pretty silly. But this silliness is what allows One Piece to incorporate various genres. It goes from drama to comedy, and vice-versa. And it goes from situations that move you to the point of tears or make laugh until you can’t breathe, and vice-versa.
The last paragraph also applies to the characters. Many of the characters designs and personalities are weird. In fact, it is common for EVERY character to have a quirk. But that what make them distinguished and creative. A bonus that One Piece has is that every secondary o tertiary characters could make a comeback in future chapters. And they are usually re-used in sudden and creative ways. Now, let’s proceed with the main characters. It is interesting to note that Luffy is the most archetypical from the crew, given that the other members hardly fall into common anime/manga character archetypes. From the beginning a varied cast is given: a badass swordsman, a greedy navigator, a coward and liar sniper and a perverted cook.
The most notable flaw of One Piece is the pacing. Sometimes the plot develops too fast, and suddenly this development begins to drag out. Many people are complaining right now about this problem in present arcs, but it seems that they forgot this pacing issue was always there. Other “problem” is that most arcs have the same structure: the crew arrives, someone is trouble, they kick some butts, etc. Yet, each arc manages to differentiate from each other so well, despite the last thing said.
Other potential "problem" is that some arcs, at first sight, don’t SEEM to be related to the plot. But Oda show us things for future purposes. In other words, some arcs exist solely to introduce characters or concepts that will later be developed in the story. This is another point that people seems to have forgotten.
The reason I give One Piece a 10, even though I acknowledge its flaws, is due to Oda who has stated he purposely dragged out his work because he liked it so much. And this passion is something that can be perceived by the way he has handled things along these 15 years. I'm still surprised how he has able to keep things fresh and have kept a very good level of quality in writing. Perhaps not a masterpiece, but definitely above the common shonen standard.
I would really like to recommend this to anyone. But I know many people wouldn’t handle it because of the length. So, if you have a lot of spare time and want some adventure, go on. If you are passing through a difficult situation and you feel exhausted from everything around you, I implore you to read One Piece. Is good for the mood.
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