One Piece

Our Review

1,100+ episodes and still the most alive thing in animation. Eiichiro Oda’s pirate epic — Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat crew searching for the treasure that will make him King of the Pirates — looks like a children’s cartoon and is actually one of the longest, densest, most emotionally sophisticated sagas ever told. The worldbuilding (an ocean planet of islands, each with its own culture, climate, and tragedy; a world government built on an erased century of history) deepens for decades; the emotional beats (Nami’s plea for help, Robin’s “I want to live,” the Going Merry’s funeral) hit harder than most prestige drama.

The animation is inconsistent for long stretches — hence the Wano arc’s Gear 5 sequences landing as some of the most joyous animation ever aired. The live-action Netflix adaptation is genuinely great, the rare Hollywood take that understands the source. Start at East Blue, push through the early art style, and let the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc change your life.

Verdict: Watch it. The journey to One Piece is the point — the greatest long-form story in anime.