Official Anime/Manga Thread

[Dizcrybe]

One Piece isn't even bad, like all long running series its quality fluctuates.

 

I was talking about that BlazBlue manga when I said that; I've never read the One Piece manga.

[-Mark-]

For One Piece, I'd still strongly recommend it, BUT I'd advise you to just drop the series once you start to find it boring. Unlike what others have suggested, I'd say go for the anime. It does a good enough job of adapting the series for the first 300-odd episodes. The anime gets worse around then, but that's when the series in general starts getting worse anyway, really.

[Kuzu]

I was talking about that BlazBlue manga when I said that; I've never read the One Piece manga.

...well there's three Blazblue manga: Chemical Complex, which is mostly a retelling of the first game, Remix Heart if T&A are your thing and the latest one which is once again adapting the first game probably to coincide with the upcoming anime.

[Dizcrybe]

...well there's three Blazblue manga: Chemical Complex, which is mostly a retelling of the first game, Remix Heart if T&A are your thing and the latest one which is once again adapting the first game probably to coincide with the upcoming anime.

 

Remix Heart was the one I was talking about.

[Rinzler]

Am I the only who watched the latest Aot ep and freaking loved it!?

 

Greatn animation, lots of feels, amazing soundtrack. All of it is so god,good,good.

 

I am sad that

my waifu Petra died though.

[Tornado]

This Sword Art Online show is intriguing, though I can't pretend to know what it's about after watching one episode.

[Ristar]

Am I the only who watched the latest Aot ep and freaking loved it!?

 

Greatn animation, lots of feels, amazing soundtrack. All of it is so god,good,good.

 

 

I read the manga, but I have to admit this episode was intense. Good stuff.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Ristar

[Soniman]

This Sword Art Online show is intriguing, though I can't pretend to know what it's about after watching one episode.

 

Im not gonna go for the immediate suggestion of stop watching it, im just gonna say keep expectations very low.

[MugiMikey]

It just feels like the series is losing so much steam these last few years, and knowing that we're little over halfway just makes it pretty depressing to think how far the series stands to stagnate if it goes on for another decade.

 

Also, in regards to the art again, I swear Robin barely even looks like Robin anymore.

 

Yeah...

She really doesn't. Her eyes are now bigger, and her nose isn't as narrow anymore. She looks like Hancock in different clothing.

 

One Piece seems slow week to week but reads awesomely in Volume/tankobon format.

 

This is my opinion since forever. 

 

It is better reading more than one chapter at once, but the sad thing is One Piece is meant to be read as weekly series first and foremost. There's actually a good portion of people that just read it in WSJ only.

 

I've been thinking about getting to One Piece but I'm not really sure I want to anymore.

 

I say go for it! One Piece, as a whole, is really good. Don't let our discussions discourage you. Every series has its flaws and we are simply discussing them, is all.

 

Its still a good, if extremely lengthy, series. If you do get into it, read the manga, avoid the anime at all costs.

 

I'd say avoid the anime now. The anime started taking a turn for the worst in the Enies Lobby arc (let's say around episode 275) because the directors changed (which is also why we have 2:30 openings, no endings, and no filler arcs). I thought it was still watchable, but by the time Toei got to the Marineford arc I had to drop it.

 

 

Personally, I marathoned Thriller Bark (I basically caught up toward the end of it) and still found it pretty meh. :/

 

When I caught up, the Water Seven arc was just starting. I thought it was pretty awesome, but now I find Water Seven and Enies Lobby overrated because I feel too many people like it just for the fights. I've seen some people tell newcomers to actually start the series at Enies Lobby. The CP9 material is definitely good, but I feel some other arcs, such as Skypiea, need more love. The Skypiea arc is amazing.

[Soniman]

Oh my god yes Mugi! I fucking love Skypiea because of how much of a genuine self contained adventure it feels like (Strawhats hear about legend and they find it), lots of mythos surrounding the ark and what I found to be a pretty sweet villain as well. CP9 I like just fine, but as you said I found it slightly overrated in some places. 

[Tornado]

Im not gonna go for the immediate suggestion of stop watching it, im just gonna say keep expectations very low.

Oh boy. Is it Bleach bad, or Inuyasha bad?

[Soniman]

Im gonna go with Inuyasha bad, you'll see why if you keep watching.

[Tornado]

Well, I like Inuyasha, so I should be good.

 

 

 

I was admittedly getting the:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kecaTtDS2o
Vibes a bit, but I thought I was just overthinking things.

[-Mark-]

When I caught up, the Water Seven arc was just starting. I thought it was pretty awesome, but now I find Water Seven and Enies Lobby overrated because I feel too many people like it just for the fights. I've seen some people tell newcomers to actually start the series at Enies Lobby. The CP9 material is definitely good, but I feel some other arcs, such as Skypiea, need more love. The Skypiea arc is amazing.

 

 

The funny thing is, as much as I love the CP9 arc, I personally think the Enies Lobby part is weaker than the buildup in Water Seven.

 

Even ignoring the decline that One Piece has taken, I've always felt that the fights are by far the weakest aspect of One Piece. Oda is (read; was, IMO) great at building up characters and situations and really making you care about them, but he's never been amazing at fight scenes. Once Luffy learns Gear Second/ Third he just gets even more repetitive and less creative with things. 

 

In Water Seven, Oda did a brilliant job of initially making me absolutely despise Franky. He beat up and robbed Usopp, I remember feeling genuinely angry at him as a character at the time. Similarly, he did a brilliant job of making the CP9 members really likeable and memorable before dropping the bombshell of them being the villains. Again, I remember being genuinely shocked and saddened at the fact characters I'd really grown to like had turned out to be the bad guys. 

 

Sod the fights, that was when the arc started to go downhill a bit in my opinion, mostly because for each character, most of their fights are pretty much the same. The funeral of the Going Merry is probably still my favourite moment in One Piece, the whole thing was just built up to really well over the last couple of arcs. 

 

One Piece just feels like it's lost its spark, to me. Water Seven/ Enies Lobby and CP9 in general was the last time I felt emotionally invested in the series at all. Something about the writing just feels like it's been missing that ever since. In fact, that's probably the last time One Piece made me cry, which says a lot about the quality of writing since, too. Drum Island, Alabasta, Skypiea and CP9 (and a lot in between) had various degrees of heart-wrenching moments in them, and whilst arcs since have tried, they've just felt shallow, empty and in many cases forced. I just couldn't empathise with Brook and wanting to reunite with Laboon in the same way I could with events in previous arcs. 

[Strong Bad]

Is there seriously ONE thread for such a massive topic? x_x

Am I the only who watched the latest Aot ep and freaking loved it!?

 

Greatn animation, lots of feels, amazing soundtrack. All of it is so god,good,good.

 

I am sad that

my waifu Petra died though.

Attack on Cliffhangers keeps destroying me every week. Ughhh it's soo good. Mikasa OP.

[Dizcrybe]

Curse reading these posts through Yahoo Mail. Went and done spoiled myself by accident I did.

[Supaidaman]

Well, I like Inuyasha, so I should be good.

 

 

 

I was admittedly getting the:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kecaTtDS2o

Vibes a bit, but I thought I was just overthinking things.

I kinda liked Inuyasha too but I hated SAO.

 

The only episode I really enjoyed was the first one, from there on it only gets worse. I don't even know how I managed to watch this series to the end.

[MugiMikey]

 

Even ignoring the decline that One Piece has taken, I've always felt that the fights are by far the weakest aspect of One Piece. Oda is (read; was, IMO) great at building up characters and situations and really making you care about them, but he's never been amazing at fight scenes. Once Luffy learns Gear Second/ Third he just gets even more repetitive and less creative with things. 

Yeah, this is something I forgot to mention earlier. The fighting is one of the last reasons I read One Piece. I like it for its characters and story. I know a lot of people that just like One Piece for the fighting and hate it when there's just "blah blah blah talking blah blah blah plot." It's a pretty shallow reason to like One Piece. The fighting has become more repetitive lately, yeah, especially thanks to Gear Second and Third. Oh, and haki. Now, all of a sudden, it's like everyone and their brother uses it to some degree and it's essential if you want to succeed in the New World. I know it was foreshadowed in chapter 1 and in Skypiea, but it, too, seems like a retcon. I don't know. I just wish it wasn't so overused. I liked it better when Luffy used it in doses here and there on accident.

Back in the day, if you asked a One Piece fan if the series was going to have a timeskip or receive a power equivalent to ki/chakra/whathaveyou, they'd look at you like you were crazy.

[Yoko/葉子]

I'm considering getting back into One Piece since I only saw it on the old Toonami and 4Kids. Is there a lot of humor? (besides the silly art style)

[Soniman]

I dont get the fighting complaints personally, even if Luffy uses Gear 2nd or 3rd frequently I basically thought his rubber properties guaranteed that we wouldn't see it be used the same way usually. I usually have problems with some of them lasting to long, but they always found a decent way to mix things up...or at least i thought, apparently they're the worst part. lol.

[TrueBlue]

Vee voices so many of my favorite characters, Noel, Homura, Cecilia, etc. I want to meet her one day. They're releasing the madoka magna's Ringo if you want an official copy of it. I read scans but I feel more comfortable reading them in a physical book.

 

Edit: Plus I think the previous Madoka manga releases sold good so they're releasing the alternative story manga too.

 

Funnily enough I actually saw copies of Oriko and Kazumi in my local Waterstones. I don't think I'd ever give a good explanation if my family ever saw me with them, but eh. Maybe when I'm back at uni. Besides, there was a recent announcement that more manga spin-offs will be made, so I'm in no rush.

[Kuzu]

Remix Heart was the one I was talking about.

...You poor soul.

 

I dont get the fighting complaints personally, even if Luffy uses Gear 2nd or 3rd frequently I basically thought his rubber properties guaranteed that we wouldn't see it be used the same way usually. I usually have problems with some of them lasting to long, but they always found a decent way to mix things up...or at least i thought, apparently they're the worst part. lol.

 

The problem with One Piece fights is that they tend to get pretty formulaic after a while; particularly the fights that the Monster Trio have. After the Arlong arc, you could almost always guess who those three would fight. Luffy fights the main villain, Zoro got the swordsman or any equivalent, and Sanji got the physical fighter.

 

And this persisted for a LOOONG time, and still does to an extent. I don't the fights are entertaining to watch in their own right, but they tend to get pretty stale.

[Soniman]

In that case I do see what you mean, I do wish they could change that up actually, like have Zoro take out the main villain and have Sanji go up against the swordsman type villain, and give Usopp the strong guy to fight so he could be more inventive with how he battles.

[Dejimon11]

Oh my god yes Mugi! I fucking love Skypiea because of how much of a genuine self contained adventure it feels like (Strawhats hear about legend and they find it), lots of mythos surrounding the ark and what I found to be a pretty sweet villain as well. CP9 I like just fine, but as you said I found it slightly overrated in some places.

Skypiea is where I gave up on one piece. After the bitter taste alabaster left in my month(it when on for too long) I wasn't motivated to watch skypiea

[#AR]

On a non-OP related subject, tonight I started watching Baccano! So far I'm confused, but captivated. I'm kinda getting some Tarantino-esque vibes from it. The intro song's pretty kick-ass though.