New Feature! Pirate Prince's Plunder Of The Week
Yohoho! Pirate Prince here with a special announcement! Starting today, every Wednesday I'll be presenting a new manga or anime series that I think is deserving of attention. I'll be spotlighting a wide variety of genres within this popular Japanese export, as long as I think the the title is quality. While not all of anime and manga has been made into a video game, I think it is safe to say that this brand of storytelling has shaped and changed the way video games have developed. Plus, I'm totally obsessed with this stuff.
Now to kick it off, my obvious first pick: ONE PIECE!
Full piece after the jump!
One Piece is the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who has the dream of becoming the world's most powerful pirate, the Pirate King, by finding the previous bearer of that title, Gol D. Roger's treasure, One Piece. To further complicate matters, Luffy can't swim after accidentally eating a Devil's Fruit which turned him into a rubberboy. Luffy is surprisingly tough for a 17 year old skinny kid, and uses his rubbery body to fight for his unlikely crew and to achieve his dream.
The story is very well done, with many emotional and suspenseful elements that will appeal to the young as well as old, which is why it is the currently the most popular anime in Japan, and has been since it's inception in 1997. Still running (it's on Chapter 460 and still going strong) in weekly installments in the popular Weekly Shonen Jump, the only title more popular for the magazine's history has been by Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, which Oda grew up reading and worshiping.
The art is also very impressive, especially as the series has progressed, with complicated and intricate settings as well as fascinating character design and fighting scenes that seem to spring from Oda's endless wellspring of imagination. Just when you think you know what to expect from One Piece, Oda finds a way to throw your preconceptions out the window. It's a great ride and a highly recommend it. Currently being brought to the US in English through Viz Media, only the first 14 volumes have been translated, with the series running monthly in the English Shonen Jump.
I also would suggest the anime adaptation, but sadly the japanese version of the manga has yet to find a proper way to the states. The rights to the show were previously owned by 4kids, who soundly mangled the anime into a glaring and noisy ghost of the real spirit of the show, supposedly to make it more "kid-friendly". All blood and acts of violence were watered down, and characters' voices were over-the-top and irritating. In some good news, FUNimation recently acquired the rights, and it is expected that they will be releasing new, uncut DVDs of the show, as well as all new English dubs for the series, taking off where 4kids left off. Until then, I would suggest some of the lovingly done fansubs on the internet by Kaizoku Fansubs and Vegapunk.
The gaming side of One Piece has been a little sad, unfortunately, but the recent One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for the Wii looks like a genuine diamond in the rough, and it would be a crime to not bring it to the states. Tell your local congressman! Until then, go piratical! Find some adventure on the high seas, and if you get lonely, there's always a coxswain in need of some attention.
See you next week!
Pirate Prince
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 20 June 2007
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: booty, manga/anime, one piece, pirate prince, plunder of the week
I greatly encourage this weekly feature. Gambate, Paratu Prinsu!
Personally, I could of read this manga before the franchise came to our cable, even way before it's translation in the U.S. I decided not to because to tell the truth, Luffy scarred the S out of me!
Later on, when the series became worldly known is when i finally decided to put my hand on. Generally, I found this franchise very child friendly, filled with adventure and humorous. I strongly suggest parents to let kid watch the anime and ignored the bad voice acting.
So, Pirate prince... Are you gonna review Jojo's Bizarre adventure anytime soon?
Awesome. I'll be looking forward to this column on Wednesdays!
One Piece, though, I haven't gotten around to watching yet. I'm afraid to pick up another epic series, since I'm already watching Naruto and Bleach (minus the crappy filler eps).
There's a great AMV done with One Piece to the Leeeroy Jenkins clip, if you haven't seen that yet. Lipsynched perfectly and everything.