"Come aboard and bring along all your hopes and dreams!"

Before I go on, I need to say something in character as xm0123.

(ahem)

fuck you otakus who had dissuaded me from watching/reading One Piece for so long. I can understand if you don't like a series that runs too long; that's a legitimate complaint, but when your complaints are "The art isn't anime-like enough!" or "it's too kiddie-fied!" or my immortal favorite, "because it's popular with faaaaaaaaaags! (read, people who don't normally like anime/manga)" then you're just being a bunch of ungrateful assholes. ONE PIECE IS GOOD!

I have watched the first 18 episodes of the anime version thus far, and I like what I have seen so far. Before this, my only familiarity with OP was a youtube video (that's now down) that compared the 4Kids and Funimation dubs, showing the 4Kids version to have lameass music, butchered dialog, mismatched voices, and edited out violence, while the Funi version, well, I thank Funi for saving a popular anime series EVEN IF THEIR ONLY REASON FOR DOING SO IS TO FURTHER THEIR CONSPIRACY TO TURN ME INTO AN OTAKU! from the abyss of digitally erased blood, even if there isn't that much blood in the original anime. Let's go over why I like One Piece so far, shall we?

First off, the art. The first season debuted in 1999, the age . . . when anime series were still pre-digital. Wait! OP actually has pretty good animation! Sure, there's a few animation flaws, but it's not enough to detract (too much) from the action. The backgrounds are sometimes sparsely drawn, yet other times, they can be quite detailed. And the character art? I like it. Most of the characters don't look like typical anime characters. They look like . . . like people from the world of OP. Every character image is very, well, full of character. Really, I think the reason some fanboys and fangirls don't like OP's art is because there aren't a metric ton of huge-eyed girls with huge boobs, and there aren't a metric ton of "hawt" bishonen guys in it. Who needs attractiveness when you've got character!? (Then again, I can understand some people liking Zoro's looks . . .)

Second off, the actual story. It's adventurous. It's actionous. (Hey, it's my blog; I can make up words if I want to.) It's dramatic. It's comedic. It's another multi-genre work that can effectively switch genres without feeling ham-fisted, which I appreciate. The action, though, it's quite something. OP doesn't succumb to the deadly shonen cliche of power levels, I.E. the entire battle's outcome is determined only by a person's raw strength. I hate this, but you never see it in OP. So, those of you turned off by shonen action, don't worry! There's nothing like this:

"UH! OH! HE'S! POWERING! UP! I! BETTER! POWER! UP! IN! KIND! BEFORE! HIS! POWER! LEVEL! EXCEEDS! MY! OWN!"

in OP. Just so you know. Also, even though I'm only 18 episodes in, I can already tell that this series has strong characterization. Luffy is a fun-loving boy full of adventure, Zoro is a wisecracking master swordsman, Nami is a crafty yet greedy thief navigator, Usopp is completely full of himself yet can get quite dangerous when need be, et cetera. But it doesn't just end with the main heroes; the minor characters are very fleshed-out too. But what takes the cake are the villains; the villains in OP are complete bastards. No shades of grey here; these bad guys are real bad, and it is so satisfying to see them receive their comeuppance. Captain Kuro in particular is now one of my favorite anime villains of all time. As of right now, I'd say my favorite character is Zoro. Why? He can fight with a cutlass held with just his teeth! How cool is that!? It's isn't enough to have a sword in each hand, oh no; he's got a third sword in his mouth! That, and he has funny dialog.

But the best thing specifically about the anime version is its soundtrack. The soundtrack is really good. Know why? It's a full orchestra! And a well-utilized one at that. It's my belief that a full orchestra is the best kind of instrumentation to use for a soundtrack, since it is the most versatile of musical outfits. But, much like in America, most Japanese tv shows don't use full orchestras, so it's usually a treat when one does. Also, I love the opening song; it captures the mood of OP perfectly. But, even better, I like the English version of "We Are!" even more. It's my favorite English-dubbed anime theme song of all time*! And I can sing along to it!

And lastly, the acting. I've seen episodes in both English and Japanese. They both sound really good. However, I prefer the Japanese version more. Know why? I like the dialog more. The characters almost sound . . . noble, in the subs. And there's also less forced swearing. (Darn you Cartoon Network, for making Funi's dub sound more 'adult!') This isn't to say the English voice-acting is bad; quite the opposite. I like Zoro's English voice more, and I like the theme more in English. On the other hand, the dialog is better in Japanese, and the characters don't shout as much either. Hey, at least it doesn't have the out-of-place accents and forced hamming of the 4Kids dub, right? Heh heh!

So, I can't give a score just yet; I mean, I know the Straw Hats eventually consists of nine members, and I'm only at four right now! However, I like what I see, and will continue to watch when there's no Soul Eater up. So, final verdict?

There's always room for you,
If you wanna be my friend.
We are,
We are on a cruise!
We are!

*Suck it, Pokemon theme! Sure, you may've been the only salvageable thing about the first season of the 4Kids version of the Pokemon anime, but you cannot compare to the power of Vic Mignogna and pirates with hearts of gold!