Some anime are dark and depressing, others are romantic and heart-wrenching. One Piece is a story of friendship, chasing dreams, and smiling; honestly, it is a joy to behold, to listen as Brook plays his favourite song; the music has a feeling of nostalgia. The Straw-Hats’ celebrations are always moments of sublime happiness, which is something that One Piece has always captured so well, as after such a long, hard journey, it’s only right to reflect on the adventure, and, of course, to smile.
But Brook cries instead, because his dearest Laboon has waited nearly 50 years to be reunited with him. Meanwhile, just a matter of days before, Zoro and Sanji offered to trade their lives in return for their friends. All of them were unconscious, Zoro nearly dies, and few know why. It’s a secret. Yohohoho.
I love that even though Brook is a skeleton he can still cry. And I love those moments of sublime happiness, as you aptly put it. What I wouldn’t give to attend one of the Straw Hats’ parties!
zoro the badass
luffy the king
oda the genuis
one piece for life
Wait until you get to the next mini-arc Paul, it’s AMAZING, easily beats my previous favourite; Jaya Island. But yeah, the whole finale to Thriller Bark was worth it.
@Lbrevis: Whenever Brook is eating and drinking, I’m waiting to see the food drop through his body. It never happens, though. Just one of Oda’s quirks, I guess?!
@qwertypoiuy: One Piece for life, damn right.
@Lupus Inu: I hope something happens with Ace soon, or rather, I hope Ace isn’t dead/going to die. Regardless, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
God I am so interested in watching this series. Everyone I know who has managed to get so far into the series has absolutely loved it. But the sheer amount of episodes/manga available is a little overwhelming. But I still feel like I’m missing out. You writing about it is sort of making it likely that i will.
I should just go ahead and gauntlet as much as I can before the semester starts.
Oh and last thing (because I just snuck a peek at your twitter feed thingy):
Kurozuka = action packed awesomeness.
Shikabane-hime – Dull fanservice-laden Dreck, which is shocking considering it comes from one of my most beloved studios.
I’m really digging the watercolor backgrounds in the first two pics. Awesome stuff.
And now you’re making me want to watch One Piece again! I got moderately far in the manga but I’ve decided to watch the anime instead. I’ve only seen the first 30 episodes and it’s been a while since I watched one, but that just may change today…..
@neobanzia – If it feels overwhelming, just take it slowly. Speaking as someone who didn’t start One Piece until 2006, and even then, had to spend more than a 1.5 years catching up with Japan, all I can say is that if you begin to love the story and the characters, any worries about the sheer length of the series will cease to be an issue. One Piece is a timeless adventure, consistently entertaining, and remarkably, it improves with every passing year. The last major story arc, ‘Enies Lobby’, was the best by far.
As for Shikabane-hime — I’m actually enjoying it at the moment, it’s very pulpy and exploitative, with some stylish animation and a moody ambiance. It definitely does feel generic at times, and the main characters seem to lack personality, but it is, fundamentally, an anime series about girls shooting monsters with machine guns, and that’s fine with me. I might write more about it later this week.
@Protodude – As you’ve been reading the manga, you’ll know that One Piece improves tenfold with Arlong Park/Nami’s arc, where the series’ strongest themes of friendship and adventure crescendo with Nami’s breakdown. Watch up until that point, at least. After Arlong Park, I knew I was a One Piece fan forever!
Anyway, just to echo your note on the watercolors. I actually started watching One Piece because I’d read anime blogs and oogle at the colorful images. It’s so bright and happy and refreshing.
go all around the world with such friends.
what else matter?
great guys!
great manga!