Guide in Getting into One Piece

Written by Tamsin Orford-Williams

So, you’ve either watched Netflix’s 2023 ONE PIECE live action series and are ravenously crawling on your knees, frothing at the mouth and craving more, or you’ve finally decided to rightfully invest your life to the gospel that is One Piece. This guide will rid you of any doubts or fears when tackling the ever-growing behemoth, and reveal to you the ways of our ancestors who’ve trekked this pilgrimage.

1: Where to watch

Crunchyroll, the largest anime streaming service, has it all for free, sorted by arc. Or, if you live in the UK and are in a rush, you can now watch it on Netflix! With only four of the most recent episodes currently available, you’ll be all caught up in no time! Thank you, Netflix, for providing the absolute best.

2: Just start (with episode one)

I don’t care if you’ve come from the live action. You think it could condense 40-something episodes into eight hours? The live action did a wonderful job with what it could accomplish, but it still cut beloved scenes and strayed from the source material, which effected early characterisation of the main crew. Your understanding of characters and plot will be different from the loyal subjects who started from episode one. Trust me, this is for your own good. If you want to ascend, watch the silly moments and hear Zoro’s untroubled laughter.  

3: Quit everything (nothing else matters)

Congratulations! You’ve started. But, what’s this? Only a couple episodes per day fit into your schedule?! One Piece must be your top priority; Everything else should come second. School? You could watch 16 episodes in that time. Work? 20. Think of everything in episodes, and you’ll see the truth of your untapped potential.    

4: Don’t sleep

A day without sleep is 60 episodes. Sleep is trivial and optional. An activity for cowards, you might say.

5: Sell your soul

A necessity to achieve a fulfilling sleepless life. It’ll allow you to transcend the realms of human capability. I’ve done it. My good friends have done it. In fact, my dearest friend watched it all in one week. Imagine if that was you.

6: Forget about catching up

Future episodes don’t matter. Just watch what you’re watching, not with the goal of getting to the next, but with the goal of enjoying what’s in front of you. When the inevitability of being caught up arrives, your life will be so unbelievably empty. Everything will feel pointless, and you’ll only wish there was more, that you didn’t have to wait weekly. That you could go back and experience it all over again for the first time. Truly, it’s not long enough.

One Piece is some of the best and most loved fiction of our time, and for good reason. Every second is worth it, and you’ll want to be there when it concludes. I won’t force you if you don’t enjoy it, and I won’t say “it gets good at episode 482, honest!”, but give it time. It’s long so it’s slow, and it certainly isn’t without flaws.

My last words of valuable advice - if you even think about using One Pace, I’ll personally twist your knee caps out of their socket.

Now, set sail! The world awaits.