Okay, so anybody who's checked into One Piece has heard it: "One Piece is a kids show", "The artwork is terrible", "It's so stupid", etc. It was for that reason that it took me a long while before I was willing to try watching One Piece... and this wasn't a one-time case, either.
For years, anime in general was, in my eyes, silly, cartoonish, immature. I was trying to be as old as I could, and we have to face the fact that not all successful businessmen will sit down excitedly for the next episode of Naruto. What was it that got me addicted to anime but my sister's recommendation, recommended to her by a friend. My little sister and I were spending a summer dedicated to watching old Disney princess movies together to catch the hidden jokes we'd never understood, when we decided to watch Avatar (I count it as American Anime), then the Funimation dubbed Fullmetal Alchemist. After finishing FMA and FMA: Brotherhood, my sis and I continued to watch many other animes, dubbed, one after another, ranging from The Sacred Blacksmith to Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Before I knew it, I was watching shows that not long before I refused to look at from the corner of my eye.
Along the story, I watched dubbed anime until Fairy Tail. When a show is only dubbed for so many episodes, it's hard to not get into subbed, and I haven't been able to stand dubbed since. ANOTHER thing I refused before. Now I'm taking Japanese courses and picking out words while watching shows! This is important because, anybody who's looked into One Piece has heard it, the dubbed versions killed One Piece.
Now, the initial reason I got over my bias for One Piece and tried it out was because, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!, Fairy Tail came to an abrupt end. I was all caught up on Naruto, I watched too many no-name anime's to remember them all, and I was bored out of my mind. Curiosity got the better of me! Now I'm waiting for the next episode to come out, so that my life may continue for a half-hour on Saturday, and I've decided to write a list of complaints and explanations for One Piece:
1. "It's a kids show."- No, it is not. 4kids got their hands on One Piece, and among ignorant dub watchers, it may very well seem like a stupid show. After all, they tried to take a show about pirates, filled with fighting, blood, guns, swords, flashbacks of deaths, rebellions, wars, etc., and make it into a "kids-friendly" show. Watch it subbed, and you realize quickly that the correct ratings all say PG-13.
2. "The art is terrible!"- This is the same as my refusing to watch ANY anime at first. It's not that the art is terrible, but that it doesn't follow any of the traditional anime/manga styles. In other words, the art is completely original and different, which is something you come to love and enjoy the more you watch. When I first saw pictures of Luffy, I honestly thought to myself "He looks like a monkey" (his name being MONKEY D. Luffy didn't help much). Now, 606 episodes later, I'm in love with the character more than any other character before. I can't believe I almost never watched it because his ears looked funny.
3...Haha, actually, I can't think of a third complaint. ALL of the complaints I've heard are, in fact, variations of those two. If you have a problem, look back up. I'm sure you'll find the answer.
The moral of it all? One Piece is life changing and a must-watch (subbed, please). Never stop over something because it looks stupid at first. ESPECIALLY if that something has lasted 14+ years of fame and is on the top charts for sold manga and watched anime. Whether you believe it or not, chances are they're doing something right.
In one phrase: "Don't judge a monkey by his ears."
↧