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Despite receiving a bad reputation, the One Piece anime has begun to redeem itself over the last few years, especially in the Wano arc. Although problems with pacing are still fully present in the contemporary series, it is understood to be something which is present due to One Piece being a weekly anime.
Almost every other major criticism of the One Piece anime, however, has been addressed or improved upon in one way or another in recent years. While there are many reasons why the manga is superior, the One Piece anime makes a compelling case for both manga enthusiasts and those new to the series to check it out.
Here are five reasons why the One Piece manga is superior, and five more reasons to watch the anime.
No filler arcs, 4 other reasons why One Piece’s manga is king
1) Better pacing
As mentioned above, one of the major problems with One Piece’s anime is the pacing of the episodes. While this is to be expected from a weekly anime that has been airing nonstop for 23 years, the snail-like pace of less than a full chapter per episode is at times frustrating.
Thankfully, the manga is far more suitably paced than the animation. Almost every chapter contains a major development or plot information, making the experience of reading each chapter far more gratifying than watching an anime episode.
2) More consistent releases
While neither the anime nor manga have experienced any truly long-term hiatuses (many weeks or more), the manga is more frequent with the releases, thus rolling out more chapters routinely. When author Eiichiro Oda is ill, the manga will take a three-week hiatus at most, with an approximately 3:1 ratio of chapter weeks to break weeks otherwise.
Meanwhile, the anime will take longer breaks (weeks) than the manga. While these are never lengthy (excluding the recent Toei Animation ransomware attack), these will consist of one week breaks followed by recap episodes. They’re not incredibly frustrating, but when combined with pacing issues, the manga is undoubtedly more consistent overall.
3) No filler arcs
One of the greatest edge that the One Piece manga has over the anime is that every scene in the manga is canon. There are no filler arcs in the source material. The anime has invented these storylines as a means of giving the manga time to publish more chapters.
While there are one or two gems of filler arcs/episodes in the series’ anime, a vast majority are underwhelming and unnecessary. Although necessary to minimize pacing issues as much as possible, the best option would be to not include them at all, which is exactly what the manga does.
4) Story as author originally envisioned it
Similarly, one major advantage to any manga in general, not just One Piece, when compared to the anime is that the manga is the story as the author originally envisioned it. While many mangaka will work with anime production teams to ensure their process is an accurate adaptation, there can still be corners cut, leaving authors upset.
Tite Kubo’s Bleach is a perfect example of this, with him previously expressing displeasure with Studio Pierrot in their adaptation of his magnum opus. The manga, meanwhile, is exactly how he wanted his series to be, with no interference from outside forces such as adaptation teams or broadcasting companies.
5) Up to date with latest developments
Finally, especially in a story like One Piece, being up to date with the latest and greatest developments cannot be understated. Eiichiro Oda's shonen series is one of the world's biggest franchises. Reading the manga allows fans to be up to date on what is happening in the story as it happens, rather than waiting for the anime to catch up. This factor alone should be enough to persuade fans to switch to manga.
High quality animation, 4 other reasons why fans should give One Piece anime a try
1) Official soundtrack
One of the biggest highlights of the One Piece anime series is undoubtedly the official soundtrack. The series features one of the best soundtrack selections in anime, with many scenes receiving high praise for their OST pairing within the fandom.
While some may dismiss this as a minor feature of the anime, it makes a huge difference. Fans cite the OST pairings as a crucial cause for the success of some of the anime's most lauded scenes.
2) Anime-only scenes
Although confusingly named, anime-only scenes are much different from filler scenes or arcs in the One Piece anime. Typically, anime-only sequences are ones that are recognized as canon despite being absent from the original material. This is usually done to elaborate on specific moments or to add information that was cut from the source material.
They are usually added on the recommendation and advice of the series' original author, in this instance Eiichiro Oda. Although initially controversial, the anime has demonstrated that these distinctive moments complement rather than detract from the story and series.
3) High quality animation
The animation quality in the One Piece anime has been incredibly fantastic, especially in the series' most recent episodes. Many fans agree that the weekly anime series is producing movie-quality animation on a weekly basis, which is an incredible feat for any series, let alone a weekly one.
While the entire series does not fall into this category, there are some older scenes that are of comparable caliber. All of these high-quality moments, on the other hand, provide a compelling case for watching the anime.
4) Emotional moments enhanced
The voice actors in the One Piece anime are exceptionally excellent at expressing the full variety of emotions that each member of the series experiences during their voyages. The series has so many instances of love, loss, happiness and misery.
Though the edge is obviously given to Japanese voice actors (VAs) in both Japanese and English, the actor's performances are exceptionally well done and portray these feelings flawlessly. They heightened several of the series' most poignant scenes, including Ace's and the Going Merry's deaths.
5) Bridging gap between manga panels
Finally, one significant benefit of watching the One Piece anime has to do with their unceasing effort to bridge the spaces between panels. Specific events not displayed in between said panels are frequently a source of dispute among fans, who argue about what happened and how it played out.
One such instance occurred in the source material for Episode 1017, which dealt with Zoro's attack on Kaido. Moments like these, which flesh out how individual moments and events unfold, make watching the anime worthwhile, even if simply to see these specific moments.
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