Why YOU should start watching One Piece!

1. The Plot

Although One piece might seem like a pretty hard watch because of how much episodes there are, the plot really makes up for it. One piece is an anime that revolves around the protagonist, Luffy. His goal is to claim the title of Pirtate King by finding the legendary tresure known as "One Piece. To achive this goal, he recuits people to join his crew and with each of them having their own goals and dreams in mind, they head of to an adventure into the sea. One Piece is also known for their well constructed arcs, whenther its the Skyapia Arc, a journey to a floating island in the sky or the strugges of the Wano Country during the Wano Arc, each and every one has their own tone and setting which makes it feel unique while also weaving these sepreate arcs/journeys together. Within the anime, you will get to see lots and lots of things progress and it will never get boring! (except the Skyapia Arc... I droped this anime for a month because of it..) In addtion to all these amazing plots and side stories, the creator of One Piece, Oda, planned many aspects of the whole anime out which made many foreshadowings. For example, characters like Monkey D Luffy and Gold D Rogers both have a "D" in their name. This was introduced to us, readers, as the "Will of D". Despie how this whole concept wasnt brought up much in the beginning of the show, it was later then discovered that characters with the initial "D" all play a big role of shaping the world around them.

2. Epic world building

The world building of One Piece is vast and diverse. Its made with different types of sea, islands, and regions / countries with its own distinctive culture and landscape. The Grand Line for example is a dangerous and mysterious sea located in the middle of the first half, where luffy starts his journey and the second half, the New World, a treacherous, unpredictable sea where only the strongest pirates can survive.

As said before, each of the various regions or countries all have their own unique cultures and traditions. Take Fishman Island for example, an underwater civilization where humans are looked down upon. The historical concept to all this was that long ago, Fish-Men, a powerful proud race of half fish half humans were oppressed and taken as slaves by humans. Many Fish-Mens were captured and was brought to the surface world in the process and were discriminated by humans because of their appearance. This legacy of slavery, discrimination, and hatred left a deep scar on the Fish-Men community which they could never fully recover from. Fish men Island and our world has many similarities too, both depicting racial inequality and the consequences of discrimination. Fish-men and mermaids are depicted as being victims of racism for their appearance, physical differences, and cultural practices. Despite their inherent abilities and strengths, fish-men have been oppressed for generations by humans, particularly due to the actions of pirates and the world’s ruling powers. This is similar to real-world struggles faced by black people, Indigenous peoples, refugees, and other groups of people, who have been discriminated against, enslaved, and subjected to violence throughout history. The historical trauma of these groups often persists in the form of systemic racism, economic inequality, and social stigmas that continue to impact the lives of people today.

3. Innovative Combat and Powers

In One Piece, the power system includes devil fruits, haki, and fighting styles. Devil fruits are a type of magical fruit and when consumed, the user can obtain some sort of power. These fruits are categorized as either Paramecia, Zoan, or Logia.

Paramecia type devil fruits grants the user the ability to produce or manipulate substances, forces, or even their own body. These fruits are most commonly seen throughout the series as most devil fruit users have it. A few examples of a Paramecia type Devil Fruit could be, Luffy's Gum Gum Fruit (gomu gomu no mi), turning his entire body into rubber, Buggy's Chop Chop Fruit (bara bara no mi), allowing him to split his body into seperate pieces and moving/manipulating it at the same time, and also Blackbeard's Dark Dark Fruit (Yami Yami no Mi), letting him control darkness and nullifying other Devil Fruit powers. Zoan Type Devil Fruits are a type where when eaten, the user can turn into an animal, hybrid, or even a mythical creature which has its own special name, Mythical Zoan types or an ancient animal. also known as Ancient Zoan Types. For instance, Chopper's Human Human Fruit is a perfect example. The Human Human fruit which suggests that it turns you into a human, was eaten by a reindeer named Chopper. After eating it, he became a hybrid of human and reindeer, being able to speak the same language as humans while still looking like a reindeer. The last type of Devil Fruits are the Logia types. These fruits give the user the power to transform into, create, and control a natural substance such as fire, seen in the Flame Flame fruit possessed by Ace, Luffy's brother.

Haki is another power system One Piece includes. Haki is a mysterious spiritual power that people in One Piece eventually learns. Unlike Devil fruits, Haki is someting you have learn to awaken it rather than consuming and magically gaining its power. This is also sorted in three categories with Conquerer's Haki being rarer than the other two, Observation Haki and Armament Haki. Conqueror’s Haki is often portrayed as an extension of the user’s dominance and leadership as it allows the user to assert their will over others, knocking out weak-willed opponents with a wave of energy. Observation Haki allows users to sense the presence of others and even predict their movements and some advanced users can even sense emotions or “future sight” to predict an opponent’s next move. Armament Haki allows the user to harden their body or an object they carry, making them more durable and being able to hit Logia type Devil fruit Users who are usually immune to weapons.

The last component of One Piece's power system are fighting styles. Most characteres all have their own styles like Zoro for example. His style is the Three Sword Style, which is a unique swordsmenship style including three swords. A sword for each hand and one for his mouth. Another example is Sanji and his Black Leg style which revolves around powerful and rapid kicks. What makes this an intresting style is that while he strengthens his legs, he avoids using hands while in combat. His use of Diable Jambe, where he surrounds his legs with flames to increase his attack power, is also a creative element added on to his fighting technique.