This post contains spoilers for One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is widely believed to be the greatest shonen manga series of all time. Not only does it have an unbelievably large fan base, but it is also the best-selling manga of all time. Based on the latest available data, the One Piece manga has sold over 500 million copies, making it the only title to achieve this milestone.
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While the manga is phenomenal, the anime is a different story. The last couple of arcs have been incredible, but that's not always been the case. In fact, one could make a case that Toei Animation actually ruined the One Piece anime.
The One Piece Anime Has Horrible Pacing
- The One Piece anime has abysmal pacing
- Toei Animation has been responsible for the failure
The One Piece anime has been airing since 1999, and since then, it has released over 1100 episodes, which is an insanely high number. Such a massive number can easily deter potential viewers from watching the One Piece anime, especially in the current era where an anime season has 20–30 episodes at max.
So, how did One Piece end up with more than 1100 episodes? The answer is quite simple. It was due to the choice that Toei Animation made, resulting in the anime being so slow and dragged out. The pacing was fine until the anime reached the Loguetown part of the East Blue Saga. Some episodes covered just 10 pages, which made the episodes agonizing to watch.
The One Piece Anime's Quality Went Down With Time
Unfortunately, things continued to worsen over time, which led even avid fans to despise One Piece. For instance, Oda covered the entire Dressrosa arc in 102 chapters, while the anime took 118 episodes to do the same. The Whole Cake Island arc has 78 chapters, and Toei somehow took 95 episodes to cover the same.
Even Wano, which many fans consider to be better than other arcs, has the same issue. In the manga, the Wano Country arc was finished in 149 chapters, while the anime required 191 episodes to complete. The Egghead arc, which is the most recent one, has 68 episodes, and they have been adapted into 70 episodes. After a bit of calculation, it's clear that Toei Animation adapted almost one chapter into an episode.
One Piece: When Does The Pacing Slow Down, Explained
Being One Piece's main problem, many fans wonder when the pacing of the anime really gets bad.
New-Generation Anime Have Mastered The Art
But it falls short of the standard maintained by some of the better anime released in the last few years. Solo Leveling, for example, covered 110 chapters in just 25 episodes, which is why anime fans fell in love with the series. The episodes had excellent pacing, so the audience didn't feel that they were watching paint dry. Gachiakuta is another example of an anime adaptation done right. The first season had 24 episodes, and they covered 87 chapters. Viewers were delighted with the adaptation, and they praised it on every social networking site.
By taking the slow approach, Toei Animation ruined the One Piece anime. There is no doubt that the story is phenomenal, and the action sequences are amazing, which is why fans haven't been enraged by it. Unfortunately, the Elbaf arc isn't going to be any different, as it has been confirmed that the anime will retain the pace of one chapter per episode.
The One Piece Remake Needs To Happen Soon
Not long ago, it was confirmed that the One Piece remake would be produced by Wit Studio, which previously worked on titles like Spy x Family, Vinland Saga, and Attack on Titan. While some fans may think it is unnecessary, there is absolutely no question that One Piece needs to be remade.
The president of Wit Studio, George Wada, revealed that there were two reasons for the One Piece remake. He said one of them was the old 4:3 format. In the 90s, the format may have been acceptable, but it is outdated now. Secondly, the studio intends to improve the abysmal pacing. By fixing these two issues, Wit Studio will make the One Piece anime more palatable to viewers.
Unfortunately, the studio has not shared a release date for the project, which suggests that the production is far from over. Wit Studio may have its hands full with other projects, which is why it is running behind schedule. The studio has shared new character designs for the Straw Hats and those of different islands. Hopefully, an update will be shared on the next One Piece Day.
One Piece
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
Cast
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Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
