One Piecing
Apr. 12th, 2004 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xparrotAlmost done watching the Arabasta arc of One Piece.
Wow. and yow. And I love this show. Intensely dramatic, wildly creative, insanely funny, often within the same 30 seconds. One minute I'm riveted, holding my breath, and the next I'm out of breath from laughing so hard.
The beginning of the Arabasta arc is filler (albeit filler with Ace, which goes a long way. Saying "I love Ace" is redundant, like saying "I breathe air". The only way you could not love Ace is if you're one to automatically dislike the chars that are meant to be loved. And even then it'd be tough, because if he doesn't win you over on sheer bad-assed-ness, there's always the narcolepsy...) But once they reach Rainbase the story goes like a rocket, and then the only problem is trying to stop watching eps. Bet you can't watch just one! Or 6 or 7...
Crocodile? Is just the best villain. --and he could so kick Gaara's pasty ninja ass, up one sand trap and down the other. I don't know what to do about Crocodile. He's not hot, he's not angsty, he's not tragically driven or compellingly psychopathic. He's just cold-blooded evil. And awesome. He's the first bad guy in One Piece that I've really liked (well, Buggy, but Buggy's hardly a villain these days.)--the others, I've enjoyed seeing them get defeated, but Crocodile was great to watch in action, with that freaky dead laugh and those horribly wicked schemes and that way way way cool power. And the fur coat. In the desert. Yeah. Well, he is a casino owner; guess he's gotta look the part.
Which isn't to say that him getting trounced wasn't every bit as satisfying as watching Arlong go down, if not more so. Incredible fight. Luffy's actually really frightening for a bit there--he can be scary when he's pissed off, and he was angry. Not to mention pretty brilliant, if completely insane, tactics. And yes, there's the trademark One Piece moments when I wasn't sure whether I should be laughing hysterically, wildly cheering Luffy on, or gasping at the sheer magnitude of those fights. Doing all three simultaneously makes one choke. My neighbors must think I'm nuts, the way I was howling.
Oda-sensei did it again, same as the Arlong saga (actually most arcs, to a certain extent)...I still don't know how to put it into words. He's got this unique way of telling a story, presenting all these ridiculous, simple, obvious elements, and building them into an intensely dramatic whole--even when so many of those parts are terrifically silly. It's what lets it be a kids' show, there's never anything too complex for little kids to understand; and yet at the same time there's enough there that the story's absorbing regardless.
...Though if one doesn't have a child's unquestioning acceptance of the bizarre, one must have an appreciation for crack. Rubber heroes and kung fu dugongs may try the patience of someone who wants their drama to be, well, dramatic.
Mr. Prince wa kakkoii~!! Oh, Sanji, you would so be my favorite character, if Luffy and Zoro didn't exist. Even if the beginning of Sanji vs. Mr.2 is one of the most pathetic fights in the history of shounen. Poor hopeless Sanji. I died laughing. Crossdressers are pretty much obligatory in anime, but Bon Clay is among the more...surreal. ("Zero-chan!") Him chasing Carue is just...there are no words. You don't really understand what weird is until you've seen a giant riding duck chased up a cliff by a pirouetting transvestite ballerina.
Was most happy to see Nami kick ass, but I was a little surprised to find myself loving Usopp as much as I did. (Chopper, we don't need to mention Chopper. Chopper is so cute it should be illegal. "Doctor! We need a doctor!" "YOU'RE the doctor!!") Nami's fight, and his and Chopper's, were both partly Usopp's victory. Though what really got me was the 'What did you say about Luffy?' Excuse me, Yamaguchi Kappei, as I fall in love with you all over again.
Best moment ever - when Usopp sends up the signal flare, and you get the shot of Zoro. With the snake. In the jungle. Miles outside of the WALLED CITY, in five minutes. I love houkouonchi. And then he ends up on the clocktower, because they told him to go north, and north is up...uh...Zoro...
And Marines! Tashigi's great. And I love Smoker. The one pairing in One Piece I actually kinda want is (the nonexistent in the fandom) Smoker/Tashigi...don't look at me like that. I'm in a kick-ass officers with their commanders mood.
--Actually that isn't the only pairing, I also think Vivi/Kohza is wonderfully inevitable. Kohza's introduction in Vivi's flashback, I confess I spent the ep going "grow up hot, grow up hot!" Was pleased not to be disappointed.
Vivi gets special mention for being a princess in distress who wasn't annoying. I never loved Vivi quite as much as the crew, but I always liked her. Oda-sensei does not pull punches when it comes to the girls; they might not have the insane fighting prowess of the male heroes, but they're just as strong and they endure just as much. And the "tatakai wa yamete kudasai!" is among the most gut-wrenching moments in the whole show. That's two for two now with female heroines undergoing immense angst that has nothing to do with romance (not counting Kohza; that's friendship more than love, and it's hardly what was driving Vivi anyway)
Haven't quite finished watching it; my DVDs end with ep 126, and I've been unable to download 127. I have 128-130 raw; if anyone can help me get hold of 127 I'll owe you my soul, or at least a fic...judging by the manga scans that's a damn cute ep. Definitely a rental when I get to Japan. One of the advantages of a super-long show like this is that they're free to take a few episodes to deal with the aftermath of the victories, and I've always been enamoured of the stories that happen after the climax. Especially when it concerns the crew interacting and being their terribly silly selves...the feast. And the laughter. And the baths and Zoro (who really should go around wearing nothing more often, because even with the scars...mmmmmmm) washing Chopper's back and it is a miracle indeed that I didn't fall over and die from TEH ABSOLUTE CUTE.
...Zoro also got a v.sexy shot on his wanted poster.
But once I watch the final eps, then I won't have any more OP to watch for a while, and that will be tragic. The trouble with One Piece isn't that it's gearing up to take on Dragonball in series length (tho' without the 40-episode long fights); it's that 126 episodes are *not enough*...
Wow. and yow. And I love this show. Intensely dramatic, wildly creative, insanely funny, often within the same 30 seconds. One minute I'm riveted, holding my breath, and the next I'm out of breath from laughing so hard.
The beginning of the Arabasta arc is filler (albeit filler with Ace, which goes a long way. Saying "I love Ace" is redundant, like saying "I breathe air". The only way you could not love Ace is if you're one to automatically dislike the chars that are meant to be loved. And even then it'd be tough, because if he doesn't win you over on sheer bad-assed-ness, there's always the narcolepsy...) But once they reach Rainbase the story goes like a rocket, and then the only problem is trying to stop watching eps. Bet you can't watch just one! Or 6 or 7...
Crocodile? Is just the best villain. --and he could so kick Gaara's pasty ninja ass, up one sand trap and down the other. I don't know what to do about Crocodile. He's not hot, he's not angsty, he's not tragically driven or compellingly psychopathic. He's just cold-blooded evil. And awesome. He's the first bad guy in One Piece that I've really liked (well, Buggy, but Buggy's hardly a villain these days.)--the others, I've enjoyed seeing them get defeated, but Crocodile was great to watch in action, with that freaky dead laugh and those horribly wicked schemes and that way way way cool power. And the fur coat. In the desert. Yeah. Well, he is a casino owner; guess he's gotta look the part.
Which isn't to say that him getting trounced wasn't every bit as satisfying as watching Arlong go down, if not more so. Incredible fight. Luffy's actually really frightening for a bit there--he can be scary when he's pissed off, and he was angry. Not to mention pretty brilliant, if completely insane, tactics. And yes, there's the trademark One Piece moments when I wasn't sure whether I should be laughing hysterically, wildly cheering Luffy on, or gasping at the sheer magnitude of those fights. Doing all three simultaneously makes one choke. My neighbors must think I'm nuts, the way I was howling.
Oda-sensei did it again, same as the Arlong saga (actually most arcs, to a certain extent)...I still don't know how to put it into words. He's got this unique way of telling a story, presenting all these ridiculous, simple, obvious elements, and building them into an intensely dramatic whole--even when so many of those parts are terrifically silly. It's what lets it be a kids' show, there's never anything too complex for little kids to understand; and yet at the same time there's enough there that the story's absorbing regardless.
...Though if one doesn't have a child's unquestioning acceptance of the bizarre, one must have an appreciation for crack. Rubber heroes and kung fu dugongs may try the patience of someone who wants their drama to be, well, dramatic.
Mr. Prince wa kakkoii~!! Oh, Sanji, you would so be my favorite character, if Luffy and Zoro didn't exist. Even if the beginning of Sanji vs. Mr.2 is one of the most pathetic fights in the history of shounen. Poor hopeless Sanji. I died laughing. Crossdressers are pretty much obligatory in anime, but Bon Clay is among the more...surreal. ("Zero-chan!") Him chasing Carue is just...there are no words. You don't really understand what weird is until you've seen a giant riding duck chased up a cliff by a pirouetting transvestite ballerina.
Was most happy to see Nami kick ass, but I was a little surprised to find myself loving Usopp as much as I did. (Chopper, we don't need to mention Chopper. Chopper is so cute it should be illegal. "Doctor! We need a doctor!" "YOU'RE the doctor!!") Nami's fight, and his and Chopper's, were both partly Usopp's victory. Though what really got me was the 'What did you say about Luffy?' Excuse me, Yamaguchi Kappei, as I fall in love with you all over again.
Best moment ever - when Usopp sends up the signal flare, and you get the shot of Zoro. With the snake. In the jungle. Miles outside of the WALLED CITY, in five minutes. I love houkouonchi. And then he ends up on the clocktower, because they told him to go north, and north is up...uh...Zoro...
And Marines! Tashigi's great. And I love Smoker. The one pairing in One Piece I actually kinda want is (the nonexistent in the fandom) Smoker/Tashigi...don't look at me like that. I'm in a kick-ass officers with their commanders mood.
--Actually that isn't the only pairing, I also think Vivi/Kohza is wonderfully inevitable. Kohza's introduction in Vivi's flashback, I confess I spent the ep going "grow up hot, grow up hot!" Was pleased not to be disappointed.
Vivi gets special mention for being a princess in distress who wasn't annoying. I never loved Vivi quite as much as the crew, but I always liked her. Oda-sensei does not pull punches when it comes to the girls; they might not have the insane fighting prowess of the male heroes, but they're just as strong and they endure just as much. And the "tatakai wa yamete kudasai!" is among the most gut-wrenching moments in the whole show. That's two for two now with female heroines undergoing immense angst that has nothing to do with romance (not counting Kohza; that's friendship more than love, and it's hardly what was driving Vivi anyway)
Haven't quite finished watching it; my DVDs end with ep 126, and I've been unable to download 127. I have 128-130 raw; if anyone can help me get hold of 127 I'll owe you my soul, or at least a fic...judging by the manga scans that's a damn cute ep. Definitely a rental when I get to Japan. One of the advantages of a super-long show like this is that they're free to take a few episodes to deal with the aftermath of the victories, and I've always been enamoured of the stories that happen after the climax. Especially when it concerns the crew interacting and being their terribly silly selves...the feast. And the laughter. And the baths and Zoro (who really should go around wearing nothing more often, because even with the scars...mmmmmmm) washing Chopper's back and it is a miracle indeed that I didn't fall over and die from TEH ABSOLUTE CUTE.
...Zoro also got a v.sexy shot on his wanted poster.
But once I watch the final eps, then I won't have any more OP to watch for a while, and that will be tragic. The trouble with One Piece isn't that it's gearing up to take on Dragonball in series length (tho' without the 40-episode long fights); it's that 126 episodes are *not enough*...
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-12 02:00 pm (UTC)Thank you, that was all. ^^;;;
no subject
Date: 2004-04-12 09:15 pm (UTC)Where are you getting your episodes from, btw? Hong Kong dvds? I heard the translations are pretty atrocious in that. :O
Ace rocks. :D He is among my top favorites. (Sanji, Usopp, Ace, in that order. Not that the others are far behind.)
no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 11:54 am (UTC)Hope it doesn't sound strange if I say I'm glad Usopp's someone's fave - he deserves it! ^_^ Luffy & Zoro are my own, but by such a small margin it might as well not count...it's so hard to pick faves in OP! and Ace...yah. He rocks, plain and simple...
no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 06:03 pm (UTC)... OMG I love your icon.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-13 04:22 pm (UTC). . . you see, I have up to book 22 of the manga at the moment. In French. But I can't pimp that to most of my friends. Though it is totally and utterly marvellous. (Book 22 finishes with them about to tackle the clocktower and facing off against Miss Fathers Day and Mr 7, and Luffy fighting Crocodile, and the tomb collapsing, and Tashigi having ordered the Marines to assist them, and . . .
. . . I too think Tashigi and Smoker are marvellous, btw. But they _all_ are, dammit.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-17 07:18 am (UTC)If you can d/l thru Bittorrent or MIRC, I HIGHLY recommend K-F's fansubs: http://www.kaizoku-fansubs.com/
Overall they're some of the best subs I've seen, better than many pro jobs. (their site has an unfortunately tendency to go down a lot, but it seems to be up now and hopefully is gonna be fixed soon...)
The anime itself is awesome; other than the occasional dumb filler, it's a great adaption, and the major seiyuu are fantastic.
And yes. Oda-sensei has more absolutely loveable chars (major & minor) per square inch than just about any series I know. I've never had all six of the main chars be my favorite char before...