Thinking about reading this series? You are obviously skeptic. No kidding. You have every right to be dead scared to even attempt One Piece. I do not blame you, not at all. Most of us did not think we would like it at first, either. In this review, I am just going to simply tackle your skepticism and that is it. If you are skeptic, it is for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Length- It is long. You may think that there is no possible way that you can follow a series this long. You may think that it could go downhill after awhile and let you down.
2. Art- The art is crazy. It is absolutely nuts, and don`t let anybody tell you otherwise. You are completely right when you think that the art is weird, because it is simply that.
3. Popularity- This is deadly popular and mainstream. Popular things often turn off one who likes intelligent anime, due to obsessive young fanbases or for other reasons.
4. Genre- You may be a seinen fan, like me, or a fan of some other random genre. Either or, One Piece looks stupid and completely childish. You are not alone- it is acceptable to assume that your chances of liking this manga are slim.

That out of the way, of course I will tell you that this manga is good. What else were you expecting? I cannot sit here and try to give you a critical review, evaluate the pros and cons, because there are no major cons. I am completely beat. If you are searching for an intelligent review that effectively lists the pros and cons of this manga, it is going to be difficult to find. Any bad things in this manga are not even worth mentioning, because they are overshadowed by the awesome. That sounds immature, but it is absolutely true. The thing about One Piece is that you either really love it, or you really hate it. Isn't it the same for everything that is unique?

Now, I will tackle the four points I made before:

1. Length- Every reader that enjoys One Piece will be begging for more at the end. Once you get into it, the chapters will fly by. This series does not let you down. It keeps improving, honestly. Even after 600 chapters, it is still fresh and interesting. It also maintains structure. Even the stupidest people would not be able to follow One Piece religiously like they have.
2. Art- Yes, it is screwed up. It takes awhile to get used to. Try to deal with it for a little awhile, because you will get used to it. Once you adapt to the strange art style, you may fall in love with it. You may find that the art is excellent at expressing both comedy and emotion.
3. Popularity- The manga has extremely high ratings, no matter where you look. Most popular things suck, I know. But my hands are tied. I do not want to be cliché and say that this is popular for a reason, but it truly does deserve its popularity. I mean, seriously, just look at it. This series is about colorful pirates. A. Rubber. Pirate. There is no way something like this could maintain high ratings and gain popularity among all ages without being good inside the book.
4. Genre- One Piece is shonen, but it is also its own genre, and I will repeat this phrase. An interesting fact is that more adults read this series than kids. I can see why. It has more than enough material for adults to enjoy. It may give you a laugh when you are feeling suicidal.

And maybe you won`t like this manga. Maybe you won`t like One Piece at all, but that is fine, because it is not for everyone. In my opinion, this manga is for anybody who is open minded to everything. Do not read it with the intention of dropping it, because you will do just that. Do not read it critically, trying to find extreme character and plot development, because this is a shonen. It does not have psychological warfare for seinen fans, or love stories for shoujo fans. Another thing that differs One Piece from other series’ is that it does not completely fall into the stereotypical shonen genre. While it is shonen, with its fights and non-stop action, it is something else entirely. I can`t even compare it to anything. It creates its own unique universe, and you will understand what I mean if you read it. And especially do not compare it to Naruto or Bleach, because One Piece is just too screwed up compared to them. While the shonen genre is generally screwed up by itself, this manga is an enhanced version of WTF. You need to be open minded to deal with it. I am calling One Piece is messed up, because it is, but it is also intelligent.

Did I just call this retarded looking manga intelligent? Now you definitely must think I am stupid, and maybe I am. Heck, you need to be a little bit insane to enjoy this series. There are many different ways to define an "intelligent series", and I call a series is intelligent when the creator puts a lot of time, research, and thought into it. A manga is intelligent when it maintains enjoyment throughout. The characters come to life, creates its own world, and the audience does not feel like they are reading the manga, but they feel like they are a part of the action. A work is especially intelligent when it goes down in history. This manga plays a significant part of Japanese culture and it has affected the lives of people around the world. Of course, there are many other definitions of an intelligent work, and One Piece will fit most, if not all, definitions. You can tell that the creator is having as much fun drawing it as we are reading it.

I may call One Piece intelligent- but remember, I am also calling it messed up. It is one of those things that is so weird that it becomes intelligent. You will not read anything else that can really relate to its craziness, because One Piece is a big gourmet dish made with insane ingredients. It looks awful, and when you first taste it, it may still be gross- but then after tasting it some more, you become starved without it.

Yes, it has a structured plot that is well planned out. Yes, it has character development. They are as multidimensional as shonen characters can possibly get. This is hard to believe at first, but One Piece is full of surprises. You will indeed end up falling in love and sympathizing with everyone. This series is highly enjoyable, and it will make you laugh. The character interaction is absoutely hysterical and you never get tired of it. Occasionally, it may even put you on an emotional rollarcoaster. Do not be afraid to enjoy this manga. If you like it, you will not regret reading it. It is not going to contaminate you. You can just stick with the manga, which is the only masterpiece in the series anyway.

It is not going to take your entire life to read it. There is no need to go on to the anime. However, you may feel the need to watch the anime, because the manga is that good. Just stop worrying, and just go try it. You may even end up finding out that, being as messed up and stupid as this manga is, it actually deals with a lot of real themes that express human nature and emotion. If you are not a shonen fan, but you are open to new things, give it a try anyway. Once you get comfortable with this strange series, you are in for one hell of a ride.