ANIME         MARK

One of the shonen greats! One Piece! So let's start with the plot. The anime is set in the universe where pirates rule the seas and are constantly challenged by world powers, notably The Marines or the World Government. It all started when the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger was publicly executed and heralded a final message. "My treasure? If you want it, you can have it. Seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place!" Having been the most powerful and well known pirate, Roger had accumulated amazing wealth and fortunes during his journeys. His final words sparked a whole new generation of wannabe pirates to set sail in search of the greatest treasure, the One Piece. It follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy who is set on becoming the next king of the pirates and his endeavours to establish a strong crew.

So what do I think of the series? Well, having watched all 710 episodes (as of the 25/09/2015), I can say it somewhat drags you in an will leave you wanting more with most episodes ending on cliff hangers. However, it is a slow burn at best. The creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has told fans there will be many many more episodes and arcs to come and I would expect somewhere near the 1000 mark. The plot is thick with mythical legends, character developing back stories and awesome fight scenes. The animation is unique in a sense, but it won't win any awards for the quality of art, but it is still very good! Additionally, there are plenty of tear jerking moments and scenes that will give you the shivers...too many to mention in fact.

The characters you will encounter along the One Piece journey are so varying in variety and each is individually unique. Luffy's second in charge, swordsmen Roronoa Zoro is one of the most badass characters in the series. The rest of his crew including Sanji the cook, Nami the navigator, Usopp the sniper, Robin the historian, Chopper the doctor, Brook the musician and Franky the cyborg, each play a critical role in The Straw Hat Pirates' adventure.