It was only a matter of time...
Since Naruto is pretty lame 90% of the time and 90% of Soul Eater focuses on the students, it was only a matter of time before I was lured back into One Piece. I started episode 517 (having read the Impel Down arc and not wanted to suffer through the Mugiwara being separated) on Friday and I'm about to watch episode 557 (though I did skip the flashback episodes and some of the fight episodes that had no Mugiwara action).
And...even after being away for about 2 years...Oda still owns my soul.
I have tests coming up in less than two weeks, so this is not the time to get sucked back into such a huge universe. On the other hand, I do so much better mentally if I have something like One Piece to distract myself with. It's like a safe haven, if I wanted to get sappy. I have no idea how he does it. How there can be an adventure story of this magnitude that never gets boring or tired and that every arc has a fresh sense of enthusiasm and energy that hasn't lagged since the first page. This series genuinely makes me laugh aloud and I'm glad I live alone because I have the most ridiculous grin on my face at times when watching it. I love it. I could spend the next few paragraphs explaining the things that I love about it (Zoro and Sanji's bickering, crew members I wouldn't think I'd like--cyborg?!?, skeleton?!?--but who now have a spot in my heart, Luffy's love of adventure and utter confidence in himself, etc. etc. etc.), but that would be a bit of a waste because, y'know everything that makes up One Piece? I love it.
I'm not sure I can go back to reading the manga because, frankly, I love the colors in the anime and I love motion, especially since a lot of the Mugiwara have such dynamic fighting styles. Also, since there're nine of them now, some of the fights get a bit segmented when Oda tries to give each character their spot light. I've noticed this to some effect in the anime. Watching the fight at Conchorde Plaza is a bit annoying because each fight is so broken up. I think the best way would be to do what Oda did in Alabasta and just dedicate an episode to each character.
These are minor quibbles though. Especially when compared to every other series out there. Nothing comes close to comparing to One Piece.
And...even after being away for about 2 years...Oda still owns my soul.
I have tests coming up in less than two weeks, so this is not the time to get sucked back into such a huge universe. On the other hand, I do so much better mentally if I have something like One Piece to distract myself with. It's like a safe haven, if I wanted to get sappy. I have no idea how he does it. How there can be an adventure story of this magnitude that never gets boring or tired and that every arc has a fresh sense of enthusiasm and energy that hasn't lagged since the first page. This series genuinely makes me laugh aloud and I'm glad I live alone because I have the most ridiculous grin on my face at times when watching it. I love it. I could spend the next few paragraphs explaining the things that I love about it (Zoro and Sanji's bickering, crew members I wouldn't think I'd like--cyborg?!?, skeleton?!?--but who now have a spot in my heart, Luffy's love of adventure and utter confidence in himself, etc. etc. etc.), but that would be a bit of a waste because, y'know everything that makes up One Piece? I love it.
I'm not sure I can go back to reading the manga because, frankly, I love the colors in the anime and I love motion, especially since a lot of the Mugiwara have such dynamic fighting styles. Also, since there're nine of them now, some of the fights get a bit segmented when Oda tries to give each character their spot light. I've noticed this to some effect in the anime. Watching the fight at Conchorde Plaza is a bit annoying because each fight is so broken up. I think the best way would be to do what Oda did in Alabasta and just dedicate an episode to each character.
These are minor quibbles though. Especially when compared to every other series out there. Nothing comes close to comparing to One Piece.