That may very well be, but if a series doesn't stand out from the pack or offer something interesting to begin with, why would I invest my money, time, and patience for a later "pay off" that is fairly obvious from the beginning from heavy handed foreshadowing and formulaic writing? Now, there are some works where the journey and the later pay off are worth it. The tedious and commonplace One Piece doesn't appear to be one of those works from my perspective. That being said, I do like my share of trashy or lackluster books, movies, art, music, etc. I have no need to inflate them beyond what they are or be outraged at those that don't enjoy them as I do. I can also separate myself from my base enjoyment of them to look at them objectively in comparison with other pieces in their genre to discuss its relative merits.
I don't mean to over inflate One Piece, nor am I angry at people not liking them. I just find comparisons to Naruto to often be unfounded, by people who know little about either series. While they do have similarities, One Piece doesn't fall into all of the same pitfalls.
Okay, what pitfalls does Naruto make that One Piece doesn't? What pitfalls does One Piece fall into? What merits does One Piece offer that Naruto and Bleach do not? What makes One Piece worth the time and money investment over those other series? Why can't One Piece be compared to another shounen manga series released in a similar time frame?
Mind if I ask what "neo" indicates? I'm supposing you mean most shounen fighting manga to come out post-Dragonball, hm?
Daryl Surat did a wonderful panel on it at Otakon. Basically, shounen fighting used to be like Fist of the North Star. Now, it's all like Dragonball/One Piece/Naruto/Bleach.
I'd suppose at this point, with how the industry in Japan has evolved (or in the eyes of many, degraded), Fist of the North Star would currently be considered Seinen, then? If so, why does that automatically rule One Piece as perishable? Just because it doesn't have the same level of adult content doesn't mean it can't be highly enjoyable. I'm not saying you should like it and read it, but I am defending the point that there are good neo-shounen fighting manga.
Try Hunter X Hunter or Yu Yu Hakusho. Though... the anime for them are more approachable, not going to lie. Hunter X Hunter is still going on, but the mangaka is so sick at this point, it's not certain he'll ever finish it and the art in the manga suffers, as where the anime keeps the quality consistent. Yu Yu Hakusho is more of an even split.
(Oh, and DragonBall, ORIGINAL DragonBall, was hilarious and awesome. Then Toriyama decided money and a consistent job were more important than quality.)
Okay, what pitfalls does Naruto make that One Piece doesn't? What pitfalls does One Piece fall into? What merits does One Piece offer that Naruto and Bleach do not? What makes One Piece worth the time and money investment over those other series? Why can't One Piece be compared to another shounen manga series released in a similar time frame?
Well, the writer of Naruto admitted that, and I'm quoting this pretty closely, he knows how the series ends, but doesn't know how he's gonna get there. The writer from One Piece, when questioned about a character in a flashback, told the reader that he didn't want to give too much away because the character was important. This was within the first 30 or so chapters of the book, I think. In the 400's, that character becomes very important. He knew what characters were going to be important in the story long before formally introducing them.
One Piece does fall into the pitfalls of long fights and techniques being learned off screen. However, it does not rely on those heavily like Naruto. The average Naruto fight scene is about twice as long as the average One Piece fight scene. All of the main character's techniques revolve around the same premise in One Piece, whereas Naruto continues to gain new power sources every 50 chapters. Seriously, how are clones, toads, spiral energy (not Gurren Lagann, mind you), and nature energy related? They're not. Luffy is a rubber man. All of his powers extend from that.
Also, flashbacks. One Piece has them sometimes. Naruto has them every episode. Enough said.
As for Bleach, I haven't seen a lot of it, so I can't comment on it as thoroughly, but there are distinct moments that stand out. Ichigo gains control of a "Hollow" form, which he is stated to be able to control for 13 seconds. Aside from being oddly specific, it's just kinda added in later when he realizes that something that happened before has given him access to these new powers. Later, after not using his Hollow form for a while, or having a serious fight in many, many episodes, Ichigo gets into a fight in which he begins to use the Hollow form for about 5 minutes. And there's no way the fight is going that quickly and being slowed down for us, because all of the dialogue takes about half the time. Unless they're talking at super speeds. The villain then remarks, "It seems you've gained more control over your power." When? How? No explanation. He just has. That is all.
Just because it's a shounen fighting manga does not automatically make it terrible. To me, and many others, it's still creative, it's still fun, and while you can totally not care for shounen fighting manga, that doesn't mean you can group them all together indescriminately and then act as if you are *right*.
>implying I said that shounen fighting manga are automatically terrible.
Furthermore, I said it's one of the best *shounen* to come out in a long time.
>implying that One Piece is not over a decade old. >implying that he has read every single shounen fighting manga that has come out in the past 12 years as to be able to make an educated personal statement.
Furthermore, I said it's one of the best *shounen* to come out in a long time. I know it doesn't stack up to Monster, Berserk, Bokurano, and many other seinen titles that are more intelligent and mature.
>implying I said anything about anything else other than three before mentioned shounen fighting manga.
as bad as Naruto and Bleach. There's a reason it's selling so incredibly well, it's unbelievably well written and drawn.
The art in One-Piece looks pretty average to me. Say whatever you want about the story, but Bleach is much better drawn.
The thing is, Oda puts so much detail into every shot while Kubo covers the bare essentials half the time. Yes, his characters often exhibit more detail, but the backgrounds are often lacking. Oda manages to pack so much more into every panel.
Okay, what pitfalls does Naruto make that One Piece doesn't? What pitfalls does One Piece fall into? What merits does One Piece offer that Naruto and Bleach do not? What makes One Piece worth the time and money investment over those other series? Why can't One Piece be compared to another shounen manga series released in a similar time frame?
First, I'm going to cover the bad of One Piece.
The beginning is slow. There's no getting past that and it is a problem with the series, it starts out with only a couple characters and things are not incredibly interesting at first. It's mostly because Oda focused on building up these characters and his world before really expanding upon the story and getting into the groove of things. Hell, as much as I think the series is fantastic, I still have trouble going back to those early episodes considering where we are in the story and how great things have gotten.
Also, the character designs, while I refuse to call them bad, are very unique. They can range from interesting, to hilarious, to downright ugly. No one in the show is particularly handsome or pretty, though the basic illusions of such are present. This is just Oda's style, however, and he has an unbelievable amount of fun with it. He does not limit himself within convention while at the same time making them endearing rather than alienating. You just have to get used to it, which took me only a few episodes.
Next, the pace. Oda has a great habit of stuffing a whole lot into every chapter, but the plot actually not progressing all that much. There is noticable plot progression and even character development between them all, but for the most part, Oda has made a point that the entire manga is "about the journey, not the destination." He wants to explore these characters and the world he created, making it epic in scale, but also daunting. It's a long, long read, and it may not be over for awhile.
Lastly? No one dies unless it's in a flashback. That's sort of an unwritten rule.
Now, the good parts?
The characters, for one. Every one of them has a real, fleshed out back story. Unlike most shounen-fighting anime nowadays which basically say "Oh he was a great fighter once but THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED and now he's here!" we get in depth looks into what make these characters who they are not long after we meet them. The characters themselves are, while not incredibly deep, are hilarious, dynamic, and tend to be the most entertaining part of the show. They all have traits that define them and help keep the show lively when the plot slows down. Unlike Bleach and Naruto, where the characters either become flat and unlikable or are pushed off screen for the more popular character to shine, One Piece's characters are all entertaining and funny. Oda writes them and their surroundings in a way that keeps them interesting and does his best not to cause the actual story to suffer. Hell, one of the biggest, most emotional scenes in the comic has two main character in an altercation, both of them are in the wrong, but you don't hate them for it. Sasuke from Naruto? Over-wrought, annoying, and un-engaging. Ichigo from Bleach? Started out as a fantastic twist on the average shounen hero and became one of the most uninteresting in the entire series. Not so with One Piece.
To expand upon the characters, another great part about One Piece is that, while their moves are often developed either on the fly or off-screen, we don't have to sit through endless chapters of them training and they never abuse the new abilities they obtain. Oda also tends not to God-mode his main characters, so no Super Saiyan Luffy, no Nine-Tailed Luffy, no Hollow-Mask or even Bankai Luffy. The most he ever gets is Gear 2nd and Gear 3rd, both of which have obvious negative effects and both of which rarely decide the outcome of his fights. Furthermore, all the characters develop along side him. Though they are not all fighters, no one gets left behind or shoved off screen in favor of another. They all get to fight, though the big baddy is, as is a trademark even outside of shounen-manga, is left to Luffy, the main character. In Naruto? All of the side characters that are not Shinigami lose almost all of their fights. Naruto does things a little bit better, but characters are still abandoned pretty badly later on in the story.
Next is the art. While both Naruto and Bleach have great promotional art and their artbooks are full of beautiful colored pieces, they both suffer in their actual manga. Naruto used to have much more detail when it started out, with an edgier, more detailed style that slowly became softer and less dynamic. Bleach as well, but to an even worse extent. One Piece? It's only gotten more beautiful and detailed as the series has gone on. Every panel has a lot going on and, unlike Kubo, if there isn't, Oda does well not to put heavy emphasis on it. Furthermore, the character designs, environments, and all-around world that Oda built is incredible.
Other than the art, the actual humor of the show, which is part of it's style, is unbelievably good. The most surprising things will happen and the reactions the characters give are not only well drawn, but well timed. Oda is on par with Toriyama in the aspect of fantastic humor and charm.
Finally, the actual story. Remember when Naruto started out as a bunch of kids in a school training to be Ninja? No? That's because everything that the series had built up was abandoned, along with many of it's characters and potential plots, to explore characters and plot threads that have quickly turned sour. Bleach? Oh, man, two giant Rescue arcs in a row? And those are the only two arcs!? And none of the characters can stay consistent, either. Instead of development, we either get plot-convenient reactions or forced behavior that makes no sense to help push the drama. And neither of them seem to have ANY idea of where the plot is going. Oda has already stated he has many ideas and plans for the series, several of which have played out as he has hinted, and has even said that characters he had to introduce later into the story, he wanted to bring in earlier on but couldn't because he wanted to restructure the story and expand more upon the arcs before them. He make come up with a lot on the fly, but he has shown time and time again that he knows where the story is going to end up and he knows how. The characters, as well, are consistent. As have their goals. They've developed, though, to be sure. One character, who had vowed at the very beginning to only follow Luffy in order to achieve his own goals, ends up offering his life much later in order for Luffy to achieve his because of all the things they'd been through.
The series has it's problems, but it's been more consistent with it's quality than either Naruto or Bleach.
I read One Piece on and off. I like the characters and the funny pirate-y story, but I do see the inherent flaws to the shonen fighting series. It would be interesting if they were to go back and re-do the series in the style of the most recent movie in which they retold an entire arc in a single movie form with all new animation.
Hey Kaiser, Welcome to the forums. It appears you've come across the forum tsundere, Nineless, just try not to take what he says seriously and you'll be fine. If you'd like, you can attempt reasoned communication but, only if you've got a lot of time spare and can read raging-nerdese at a high enough level.
I like how we're going into such depth on a show aimed primarily at twelve year olds.
I read One Piece on and off. I like the characters and the funny pirate-y story, but I do see the inherent flaws to the shonen fighting series. It would be interesting if they were to go back and re-do the series in the style of the most recent movie in which they retold an entire arc in a single movie form with all new animation.
They did. Twice now. Although one of the movies might not have been released yet, I don't remember. They did it with the Alabasta Arc, and they are either going to or have done it with Chopper's arc. Edit: The second one has been released. Also, the first one was dubbed (by FUNimation, not 4Kids, thank God.)
The thing is, Oda puts so much detail into every shot while Kubo covers the bare essentials half the time. Yes, his characters often exhibit more detail, but the backgrounds are often lacking. Oda manages to pack so much more into every panel.
I guess it's a personal preference. I will say that artists with weak drawing fundamentals often make up for it by "packing more detail into each panel". Also, Kubo definitely has some pretty bare pages sometimes, but his figure drawing is excellent, and his design and composition are impeccable. The sparsity of his pages is one of his strengths. When you look at a one piece page, all that detail blends into a gray mess. When you look at a bleach page, it reads beautifully at a glance. But I'm sidetracking the conversation, so....
I think I have seen this conversation about Shounen Fighting before, but last time it wasn't about funny little comics, where people punch each other. Last time it was about these games, that massive amount of people play, where you grind things all day, you know, those mmo-games. Seriously, it is quite pointless to say that X is better than Y and Z because of A, when X,Y and Z all belong to same genre that has certain flaws that are even in the best works of the genre.
And back to the important stuff, Bokurano. I have seen the anime and read the manga, and I suggest that if you liked anime go and read the manga and other way around. And if you haven't seen neither of those, go and see/read it. First half of anime and manga are pretty similar, but at some point anime drifts to different direction. That makes anime and manga pretty different experiences.
Also manga really is more heavy and depressing than anime. Basically take a bad thing that happens to a kid in anime and think how it could be worse, that happens in manga. I don't want to go to the spoilers regarding to manga, but if you have seen the anime you will see the difference pretty fast.
And final thing. The opening theme, Uninstall is great, definitely in my top ten or even five.
Hardly - His previous post is entirely correct, apart from the bit about his being superior, Which is more to do with being dutch than anything to do with Anime or Manga.
Not everyone who disagrees with you, even if they put it in a rather abrasive fashion as Nine or Scott tend to do, is a troll. Here Endeth the lesson.
Hardly - His previous post is entirely correct, apart from the bit about his being superior, Which is more to do with being dutch than anything to do with Anime or Manga.
5 SECONDS! Well, although beaten to it, trolling isn't disagreeing. It's purposefully being wrong as to make people angry. It's a strongly held belief on these forums that I am in fact a troll, which is wrong.
It appears you've come across the forum tsundere, Nineless, just try not to take what he says seriously and you'll be fine. If you'd like, you can attempt reasoned communication but, only if you've got a lot of time spare and can read raging-nerdese at a high enough level.
As I am introduced, I shall introduce. Meet a poster much more awesome than me, who never gives up, is ever vigilant and does not live with his mother, Churba. Seriously, the dude knows everything about everything as far as I'm concerned.
EDIT: Also, it's hilarious to read how the One Piece fans continuously switch between the anime and manga media for their own love and their bashfodder.
On to Bokurano: Did anyone else want the series to continue with the surviving realities attempting to contact and combat the people in white that are using this as a power source? Don't quote this or the spoiler in white will be visible.
Don't quote this or the spoiler in white will be visible.
Or learn how to write a better spoiler by not only giving it white text, but also a white background. Sure, it's useless for your post, but every quote will have the background colour white for the spoiler text. Or just give it a black background with black text and add the class "spoiler". at least the last'll give me fancy roll-over spoilers...
As for your question, not really. Bokurano's about the kids, their lives and their world.
Hey, Kaiser? Why did you put "unique character designs" down as a bad thing?
I do refer to them as unique, but I also continue on to explain the real issue. It's not that being unique is the problem, but more that they're so unique that people may find them unappealing at first glance.
And we're done here. Thank you for trolling.
Hardly - His previous post is entirely correct, apart from the bit about his being superior, Which is more to do with being dutch than anything to do with Anime or Manga.
5 SECONDS! Well, although beaten to it, trolling isn't disagreeing. It's purposefully being wrong as to make people angry. It's a strongly held belief on these forums that I am in fact a troll, which is wrong.
Trolling, to me, can also be considered intentionally acting rude or superior in order to either undermine or provoke another person in a discussion. I show up, give my opinion, and you act like kind of a dick. So, I tried to defend my point, you continued to act like a kind of a dick, so you know what? Fine, be kind of a dick. I don't have to put up with that.
By being the bigger dick and basically accusing me of having said a variety of things I never said and that are completely irrelevant to my post. At least I'm being truthful when being an asshole. Whether one acts like a dick or not matters nothing with what's being said, merely the tone. Which, frankly, is irrelevant to the message. As for your personal definition of 'trolling', let's try to communicate if I use my personal definition of words. It'll probably lead to major misunderstandings, with me apologizing and you taking it like the heaviest insults you've ever witnessed! Yes, let's try that next time, we'd get somewhere then.
I don't have to put up with that.
So you'll just act indignant while claiming to be innocent, because really, you are innocent. In your personal world.
Thank you for your time, now please get the fuck out.
By being the bigger dick and basically accusing me of having said a variety of things I never said and that are completely irrelevant to my post.
But I always thought that bigger dickery was a good thing?! There goes the only e-peen criteria I ever knew!
Either way, why are we even discussing the merits of One Piece? Bokurano is already such a relatively unknown show, the fact that it's being overtaken by something as popular as One Piece is kinda saddening. One Piece discussion can be found anywhere. Bokurano discussion is much harder to come by. Someone bring up a point we can discuss, and FAST.
By being the bigger dick and basically accusing me of having said a variety of things I never said and that are completely irrelevant to my post.
Alright, I apologize. I reacted too defensively to your post and using personal definitions of terms isn't good for anyone. I'm sorry for causing drama.
You have all made me apologize many times. Only now has someone told me to stop. Although his post contradicts what I've been told by other forumites..
You don't have to apologize just because someone disagrees with you. Or because something's been posted before. Or even because you said something that turned into a big argument. You really only have to apologize for being a dick. I don't think you've ever been a dick on this forum.
You don't have to apologize just because someone disagrees with you. Or because something's been posted before. Or even because you said something that turned into a big argument. You really only have to apologize for being a dick. I don't think you've ever been a dick on this forum.
Well, there was that time I got super angry at people attacking my beliefs when I was trying to be civil, and I sorta implied (or stated) that by being scientific someone ignored emotions and kindness. That was kind of a dick move. I apologize for that, if I haven't already.
You have all made me apologize many times. Only now has someone told me to stop. Although his post contradicts what I've been told by other forumites..
Well, I don't think I've made you, but if I have, sorry about that, because this statement
I don't think you've ever been a dick on this forum.
as far as I'm concerned, is absolutely true.
Also, I can't remember what my first post was, but I'm pretty sure I was apologizing for something here within a few hours of posting it.
No one's made me apologize, per se...But I have been made to feel that what I said was stupid, or wrong, or out of place, and that I was mistaken in posting. I don't think it was intentional, but...Yeah... It's okay though. Let's just leave it be and move on.
Comments
Try Hunter X Hunter or Yu Yu Hakusho. Though... the anime for them are more approachable, not going to lie. Hunter X Hunter is still going on, but the mangaka is so sick at this point, it's not certain he'll ever finish it and the art in the manga suffers, as where the anime keeps the quality consistent. Yu Yu Hakusho is more of an even split.
(Oh, and DragonBall, ORIGINAL DragonBall, was hilarious and awesome. Then Toriyama decided money and a consistent job were more important than quality.)
The writer from One Piece, when questioned about a character in a flashback, told the reader that he didn't want to give too much away because the character was important. This was within the first 30 or so chapters of the book, I think. In the 400's, that character becomes very important. He knew what characters were going to be important in the story long before formally introducing them.
One Piece does fall into the pitfalls of long fights and techniques being learned off screen. However, it does not rely on those heavily like Naruto. The average Naruto fight scene is about twice as long as the average One Piece fight scene. All of the main character's techniques revolve around the same premise in One Piece, whereas Naruto continues to gain new power sources every 50 chapters. Seriously, how are clones, toads, spiral energy (not Gurren Lagann, mind you), and nature energy related? They're not. Luffy is a rubber man. All of his powers extend from that.
Also, flashbacks. One Piece has them sometimes. Naruto has them every episode. Enough said.
As for Bleach, I haven't seen a lot of it, so I can't comment on it as thoroughly, but there are distinct moments that stand out. Ichigo gains control of a "Hollow" form, which he is stated to be able to control for 13 seconds. Aside from being oddly specific, it's just kinda added in later when he realizes that something that happened before has given him access to these new powers. Later, after not using his Hollow form for a while, or having a serious fight in many, many episodes, Ichigo gets into a fight in which he begins to use the Hollow form for about 5 minutes. And there's no way the fight is going that quickly and being slowed down for us, because all of the dialogue takes about half the time. Unless they're talking at super speeds. The villain then remarks, "It seems you've gained more control over your power." When? How? No explanation. He just has. That is all.
>implying that he has read every single shounen fighting manga that has come out in the past 12 years as to be able to make an educated personal statement. >implying I said anything about anything else other than three before mentioned shounen fighting manga. >implying I'm superior. I told you that too few people have seen it.
The beginning is slow. There's no getting past that and it is a problem with the series, it starts out with only a couple characters and things are not incredibly interesting at first. It's mostly because Oda focused on building up these characters and his world before really expanding upon the story and getting into the groove of things. Hell, as much as I think the series is fantastic, I still have trouble going back to those early episodes considering where we are in the story and how great things have gotten.
Also, the character designs, while I refuse to call them bad, are very unique. They can range from interesting, to hilarious, to downright ugly. No one in the show is particularly handsome or pretty, though the basic illusions of such are present. This is just Oda's style, however, and he has an unbelievable amount of fun with it. He does not limit himself within convention while at the same time making them endearing rather than alienating. You just have to get used to it, which took me only a few episodes.
Next, the pace. Oda has a great habit of stuffing a whole lot into every chapter, but the plot actually not progressing all that much. There is noticable plot progression and even character development between them all, but for the most part, Oda has made a point that the entire manga is "about the journey, not the destination." He wants to explore these characters and the world he created, making it epic in scale, but also daunting. It's a long, long read, and it may not be over for awhile.
Lastly? No one dies unless it's in a flashback. That's sort of an unwritten rule.
Now, the good parts?
The characters, for one. Every one of them has a real, fleshed out back story. Unlike most shounen-fighting anime nowadays which basically say "Oh he was a great fighter once but THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED and now he's here!" we get in depth looks into what make these characters who they are not long after we meet them. The characters themselves are, while not incredibly deep, are hilarious, dynamic, and tend to be the most entertaining part of the show. They all have traits that define them and help keep the show lively when the plot slows down. Unlike Bleach and Naruto, where the characters either become flat and unlikable or are pushed off screen for the more popular character to shine, One Piece's characters are all entertaining and funny. Oda writes them and their surroundings in a way that keeps them interesting and does his best not to cause the actual story to suffer. Hell, one of the biggest, most emotional scenes in the comic has two main character in an altercation, both of them are in the wrong, but you don't hate them for it. Sasuke from Naruto? Over-wrought, annoying, and un-engaging. Ichigo from Bleach? Started out as a fantastic twist on the average shounen hero and became one of the most uninteresting in the entire series. Not so with One Piece.
To expand upon the characters, another great part about One Piece is that, while their moves are often developed either on the fly or off-screen, we don't have to sit through endless chapters of them training and they never abuse the new abilities they obtain. Oda also tends not to God-mode his main characters, so no Super Saiyan Luffy, no Nine-Tailed Luffy, no Hollow-Mask or even Bankai Luffy. The most he ever gets is Gear 2nd and Gear 3rd, both of which have obvious negative effects and both of which rarely decide the outcome of his fights. Furthermore, all the characters develop along side him. Though they are not all fighters, no one gets left behind or shoved off screen in favor of another. They all get to fight, though the big baddy is, as is a trademark even outside of shounen-manga, is left to Luffy, the main character. In Naruto? All of the side characters that are not Shinigami lose almost all of their fights. Naruto does things a little bit better, but characters are still abandoned pretty badly later on in the story.
Next is the art. While both Naruto and Bleach have great promotional art and their artbooks are full of beautiful colored pieces, they both suffer in their actual manga. Naruto used to have much more detail when it started out, with an edgier, more detailed style that slowly became softer and less dynamic. Bleach as well, but to an even worse extent. One Piece? It's only gotten more beautiful and detailed as the series has gone on. Every panel has a lot going on and, unlike Kubo, if there isn't, Oda does well not to put heavy emphasis on it. Furthermore, the character designs, environments, and all-around world that Oda built is incredible.
Other than the art, the actual humor of the show, which is part of it's style, is unbelievably good. The most surprising things will happen and the reactions the characters give are not only well drawn, but well timed. Oda is on par with Toriyama in the aspect of fantastic humor and charm.
Finally, the actual story. Remember when Naruto started out as a bunch of kids in a school training to be Ninja? No? That's because everything that the series had built up was abandoned, along with many of it's characters and potential plots, to explore characters and plot threads that have quickly turned sour. Bleach? Oh, man, two giant Rescue arcs in a row? And those are the only two arcs!? And none of the characters can stay consistent, either. Instead of development, we either get plot-convenient reactions or forced behavior that makes no sense to help push the drama. And neither of them seem to have ANY idea of where the plot is going. Oda has already stated he has many ideas and plans for the series, several of which have played out as he has hinted, and has even said that characters he had to introduce later into the story, he wanted to bring in earlier on but couldn't because he wanted to restructure the story and expand more upon the arcs before them. He make come up with a lot on the fly, but he has shown time and time again that he knows where the story is going to end up and he knows how. The characters, as well, are consistent. As have their goals. They've developed, though, to be sure. One character, who had vowed at the very beginning to only follow Luffy in order to achieve his own goals, ends up offering his life much later in order for Luffy to achieve his because of all the things they'd been through.
The series has it's problems, but it's been more consistent with it's quality than either Naruto or Bleach. And we're done here. Thank you for trolling.
It appears you've come across the forum tsundere, Nineless, just try not to take what he says seriously and you'll be fine. If you'd like, you can attempt reasoned communication but, only if you've got a lot of time spare and can read raging-nerdese at a high enough level.
I like how we're going into such depth on a show aimed primarily at twelve year olds.
Edit: The second one has been released. Also, the first one was dubbed (by FUNimation, not 4Kids, thank God.)
And back to the important stuff, Bokurano. I have seen the anime and read the manga, and I suggest that if you liked anime go and read the manga and other way around. And if you haven't seen neither of those, go and see/read it. First half of anime and manga are pretty similar, but at some point anime drifts to different direction. That makes anime and manga pretty different experiences.
Also manga really is more heavy and depressing than anime. Basically take a bad thing that happens to a kid in anime and think how it could be worse, that happens in manga. I don't want to go to the spoilers regarding to manga, but if you have seen the anime you will see the difference pretty fast.
And final thing. The opening theme, Uninstall is great, definitely in my top ten or even five.
Not everyone who disagrees with you, even if they put it in a rather abrasive fashion as Nine or Scott tend to do, is a troll. Here Endeth the lesson.
EDIT: Also, it's hilarious to read how the One Piece fans continuously switch between the anime and manga media for their own love and their bashfodder.
Did anyone else want the series to continue with the surviving realities attempting to contact and combat the people in white that are using this as a power source?
Don't quote this or the spoiler in white will be visible.
As for your question, not really. Bokurano's about the kids, their lives and their world.
Thank you for your time, now please get the fuck out.
Either way, why are we even discussing the merits of One Piece? Bokurano is already such a relatively unknown show, the fact that it's being overtaken by something as popular as One Piece is kinda saddening. One Piece discussion can be found anywhere. Bokurano discussion is much harder to come by. Someone bring up a point we can discuss, and FAST.
(I had to apologize for my very first post!)
Also, I can't remember what my first post was, but I'm pretty sure I was apologizing for something here within a few hours of posting it.
It's okay though. Let's just leave it be and move on.