Summary
Every person who has made the plunge intoOne Piecewill agree that the series is indeed worth sitting through all of its thousand episodes, but as the online discourse around the series grows, spoilers continue to become more and more unavoidable. However, as someone whowatched the series knowing every major spoilerthere was to know, I can vouch thatOne Piecealways has surprises in store that make the long journey worth it.
As someone who’d watched primarily shoujo as a child,One Piecewas one of the first big shōnen anime I watched. At the time, I had just begun delving into shōnen with anime popular at the time, likeJujutsu Kaisen,and while I had heard ofOne Piece,I knew close to nothing about the series. In came my first ever gig as a writer, and I was forced to learn as much as I could about the series seemingly overnight as part of the assignment.
Fortunately, every person who hasn’t seenOne Piecehas a friend in their lives who has and will jump at the thought of talking about it and that is exactly who I approached to brief me on the series that has spanned two decades in two hours. From the East Blue Saga to every single opponent Luffy faced in the Grand Line and every one of Luffy’s power-ups, I learned every single detail of the Straw Hats' journey up until Wano, and even then, I still found myself surprisingly enjoying the series when I eventually sat down to watch it.
It Took Me Over 30 Years to Embrace Shojo and Josei Anime, So Don’t Make the Same Mistake
Anime and manga have a massive world of stories to tell, so it’s best to slip out of the comfort zone.
One Piece Is Still Enjoyable Even With Spoilers
One Piece’s Emotional Core and World-building Always Exceed Expectations
While many that go into the series blind often fall in love with it after seeingChouchou’s backstoryor Luffy helping Nami at Arlong Park, I found myself waiting to simply get through the East Blue Saga, as I knew what grand adventures lay ahead. Still, the initial episodes hold the most nostalgia and I found myself defending the early 90s style animation and charming character designs.
That said, the first thing that truly made me fall in love with the series wasEiichiro Oda’s world-building. While it has been a couple of years since I first watched the Alabasta Arc, I can still remember the pure joy I felt seeing the adorable kungfu dugongs being trained by Luffy and the Supersonic Duck Squadron led by Karoo. Cute animals were the last thing I expected from an action-adventure series aimed at young boys, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Another thing that caught me off guard was justhow emotionalOne Piececould get. The earliest instance I remember being brought to tears was during Chopper’s backstory and that would not be the last time the series would make me cry. Robin’s backstory was certainly the last straw, which combined with the entertaining chaos of the arc, meant I was completely hooked by the time Enies Lobby rolled around. Even though I had been spoiled,One Piece’s backstories never failed to toy with my emotions,which only goes to show just how beautifully written they are.
One Piece Has Many Shocking Twists That Even Spoilers Can’t Ruin
While moments like the revelation of Luffy’s Gears andAce’s tragic deathcertainly hold plenty of shock value, they arenot fundamental to enjoyingOne Piece. Knowing what all of Luffy’s Gears were and how they worked did not make their eventual introduction any less exciting, even in the case of Gear Five.
Even though I had overheard spoilers about Gear Five, it simply sounded so ridiculous that I thought there was no way it could be real until I eventually caught up to the manga, which only made it all the more shocking.
The same goes forOne Piece’semotional twists. I knew all along Ace was going to die at Marineford, but that did not make it hurt any less, nor did it take away from seeing Luffy’s pain at the loss or how he rediscovered hope when he remembered he still had his friends to protect. Even thedeath of the Going Merryended up being much more heartbreaking than I could’ve ever imagined.
Spoilers could never capture the gravity of the revelation that the Minks were indeed hiding Raizo all along, and there are simply too many similar examples throughoutOne Piecethat are too long to list.
Overall, as cliché as it sounds,One Pieceis indeed all about the journey, and what a roller coaster of a journey it was. I only wish I had discoveredOne Piecesooner and there is nothing in the world I wouldn’t give to be able to watch it again for the first time, even with spoilers.
One Piece
Cast
The One Piece anime began in 1999 and follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy with rubber-like abilities, as he embarks on a journey to find the legendary treasure “One Piece.” Inspired by the pirate Shanks, Luffy aims to become the King of the Pirates, accompanied by a diverse crew.
