Thread by @aizenika56

"Should I start One Piece?"
if you have ever thought about this question, then give this thread a read, at most it'll take 5 minutes
I'll try to explain what makes One Piece so worth it and why you should start, keeping spoilers to a minimum.
#ONEPIECE

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, with its individual chapters compiled into 105 tankōbon volumes as of March 2023.

As of today, there are 1084 manga chapters and 1062 anime episodes. Seeing such a huge number of episodes/chapters, it's definitely daunting to even think about starting it. But the length of the series has it's own charm. It is like a time capsule, and you can look back and

realise that you also grow with the characters.

The basic premise of the story is about pirates. The pirate king, Gold Roger left his ultimate treasure called the 'One Piece' hidden somewhere and as he was about to get executed, asked people to look for it, ultimately starting a global treasure hunt.

Many people say that One Piece gets 'good' around episode 37/38, or some even go as to say around episode 250.
Don't let this trick you, it's great from chapter 1 honestly. The artstyle is genuinely charming imo, and the story kicks off a great start.

It's more than 400 chapters in that we even get to know what it means for Luffy to be the pirate king. Eiichiro Oda uses a lot of troupes, and twists and turns them to give a surreal reading experience. His great storytelling is one of the strongest points of the series.

One Piece explores themes such as justice, freedom, dreams, and a lot of dark ones too such as slavery, racism, corruption, oppression and human experimentation.
Personally, i think that One Piece is one of the best to do it when it comes to exploring found family and freedom.

It has something for literally everyone. If you want action, adventure, comedy, drama, mystery, politics, you have it all. Everyone can learn and appreciate one or the other elements of One Piece. Be it Zoro's unwavering loyalty, Sanji's chivalrous nature, Luffy's righteousness,

You will definitely find something for yourself. And trust me, when One Piece fans say that those 1000+ episodes/chapters aren't enough, they are not lying.

One of the things i personally like it a lot is One Piece's portrayal of characters who'd be a part of the LGBTQ community in our world.
Ivankov, Bon Clay, Yamato and Kiku are all really well written, beloved and amazing characters.
Bon Clay is one of the best characters that

the series has to offer.
If you don't want to be bothered by the filler and experience One Piece for it's best, check out One Pace, a fan-made project that cuts down on a lot of filled, reducing the watch time by almost 40%. Or if you want an even faster way, read the manga.

Start from chapter 1, and don't look back. Whichever way you start, be it the anime, One Pace or the manga, remember it's about enjoying the journey. Because when you will catch up, you can look back and appreciate all the foreshadowing, world building, character development and

you'll realise how worth it was it to invest the time.
One Piece has been ongoing for almost 25 years now, and is still as beloved today, or even more, than it was 10-15 years ago.
Doesn't a question come in your mind, that how can a series go on for this long and still

have a loyal fanbase and such popularity, and claims that there have been no decline in the quality? Go and check it for yourself!
After all, it's one of the Big 3 for a reason.

That's all, thanks for reading. I hope you'll start One Piece soon, and enjoy it. I do not lie, and a lot others can back up the claim, that it's the greatest adventure story ever told.