Why One Piece is Worth Watching

Despite being one of the most revered anime of all time, One Piece still repels skeptics due to its massive volume of episodes. As a big fan of One Piece myself, it has always been difficult trying to convince my friends to finally start watching the show. However, I too was one of those skeptics who hesitated to start watching it because of how many episodes it has.

So what made me finally start it, and what kept me going when I finally did? The answer actually goes hand and hand with the show's content itself.

As an adventure story on the grandest of scales, One Piece challenges viewers to toss aside this idea of watching a show just to complete it.

But if you're not watching a series with the goal of finishing it, then what's the point?

The point of watching a high volume show like One Piece goes back to that old saying that "It's about the journey, not the destination." I am definitely paraphrasing, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Like many anime, One Piece is broken up into arcs; each containing its own plotline that contributes to the overall story. At first, I was watching each arc with the idea that I just had to finish this current one to get to the next one. In doing this, I was feeding into the typical idea that I was watching a show to simply complete it.

However, I eventually realized that, if I kept up this mindset the entire time I was watching the show, I don't think I will ever fully enjoy it. It almost became like how we feel at the beginning of the work week when we think, "I just have to make it to Friday." The difference is that, you fail to truly enjoy and appreciate everything that you are watching while you work towards getting to the next arc.

Therefore, I made the decision to enjoy what I was watching while I was watching it and to stop treating my One Piece viewing like it was a task I had to complete to move on to the next one.

Once I had done this, my entire experience of watching One Piece had finally changed. I was more invested in the story, the characters, the world building, and everything in between. One Piece creator, Eiichiro Oda, has proven to be a master at storytelling and world building, and it's something that you can't truly appreciate unless you learn to take a seat and enjoy the ride.

Now, another critique you will hear about One Piece is that it suffers from pacing issues. Unfortunately, this is not something I can determine for you, since the pace in which this show moves may be subjective to each viewer.

However, I rarely felt like there were pacing issues anywhere in the story. Sure, there are some arcs that last much longer than others (the Wano arc contains 197 episodes), but perhaps I was just enjoying the story so much that I didn't feel like the pacing was ever getting worse.

The only thing that I think may cause people to say this is the fact that One Piece can sometimes be flashback-heavy. In a long arc like Dressrosa, there is one flashback in particular that gets pretty repetitive, as it is shown in several episodes as a refresher as to how the characters got to where they are now.

Thankfully, if you really need to, you can always skip through these flashbacks when they come up.

Aside from addressing the criticism, I could tell you all about what makes One Piece so great, but I think that is something you should discover for yourself.

If you were to ask me a year ago if I would ever consider watching One Piece, I would say absolutely not. I'd say it's too long and I just can't imagine it would be worth my time.

Now, over a year after finally starting it, I am glad I finally went for it because, as said in the show, it really was the adventure of a lifetime.

And an adventure that still continues!