One Piece
If you had asked me when I first heard about this show, I would have said that the show looked dumb and juvenile. And, to a certain extent, I would have been right. It is inherently silly and has some very oddball characters. Despite this, however, One Piece has managed to grow on me, becoming one of my favorite shows on Cartoon Network.
The story follows Monkey D. Luffy, an optimistic young man who dreams of becoming king of the pirates. Over the course of the show, he manages to draw together a crew through sheer tenacity. Something that really struck me, however, is that all of them have very detailed personalities and backstories, with each new addition requiring several episodes and a grand plot line before they join up.
Among Luffy’s crew are Zolo, a former pirate hunter who uses a strange three-sword fighting style; Nami, a treasure-hungry navigator; Usop, a cowardly teller of tall tales who favors the slingshot; Sanji, a flirtatious cook with dangerous feet; and Chopper, a shapeshifting reindeer who also happens to be the ship’s doctor.
The story of the show itself is adequately detailed in the intro. Gold Roger, former king of the pirates, left a riddle indicating where to find his treasure when he died. Since then, numerous pirates, including Luffy, have quested to find it and become king of the pirates themselves. This is further complicated by the Cursed Fruit, magical fruit that bestows the eater with supernatural abilities. Luffy, having eaten the Gum-Gum fruit, has the power to stretch his body like rubber. Many of the villains of the show also have strange and unique powers from eating Cursed Fruit.
To those who are still dubious, I advise giving the show a chance. It’s a detour from standard cartoons, to be sure, but it’s absolutely worth watching. I, for one, watch it every chance I get.