The Like/Hate Thread

[Belle Hibiki]

The beginning of One Piece is undoubtedly its weakest point. So much of what makes the series great doesn't begin in earnest until the rest of the initial main cast is assembled (Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji), the final one kicking the series off into its first non-main-cast introductory arc with episode 31 and Arlong Park. Like Dragonball, the first episodes of the series are more slapstick comedy, establishing the characters and the world that they live in, but the series quickly settles into the comedy/drama/shonen action that it's known for.

[Super Buu]

At the same time, I think it's well worth not skipping the early bits. It makes the later bits all the more epic. One Piece is about the journey, not the destination. But yeah, slow start. First time I watched it was years ago and I dismissed it, but then because I wanted something with a lot of episodes to keep me occupied, I decided to see if the hype about it getting better was true. For me, it got awesome around Sanji's arc, but most folks stay stick it out til the Arlong arc - which is undoubtedly the first 'epic' arc. Pretty much, it just gets better and better as it goes, which is something to look forward to.

I'm now completely up to date on the episodes and I've started watching the movies. It's rather nostalgic to look back at when everyone wasn't an ultimate badass. One of my favourite things about OP, especially compared to say DBZ, is how no matter how comparatively weak a character is, they never become irrelevant. It helps that folks don't get stronger exponentially (which is just a recipe for disaster, writing-wise) but it's also because every character has their weaknesses as well as strengths. Luffy and Zoro might be badasses but they're dumbasses. The weak guys are often saving the asses of the strong guys because they bring other things to the table.

[Belle Hibiki]

Oh yeah, I would not recommend skipping those early episodes at all. They're very important, not just for establishing character dynamics, but seeing where they come from makes those later Crowning Moments of Awesome even better. (If you never watched Usopp's arc, some really emotional stuff later on would probably not make quite as much sense.)

(Shit I just watched episode 17 again and I got all teary towards the end. Usopp is beautiful.)

And definitely, the fact that this is a shonen where members of the team don't become completely fucking useless is great. Even the strongest Devil Fruits have a weakness beyond the obvious sea water or kairouseki stone.

[Anzekay]

I still think one of my favorite moments was in the Arlong arc where Luffy slaps his hat on Nami's head.

*teary eyes*

[Vad]

One Piece gives me nightmares.

[Keiko Brykein]

Nightmares gives me One Piece.

I watched a few episodes of it, but that's it.

Like: Bleach - I own the first two seasons, watched like, 50 other episodes on the internetty.

Hate: Bleach - When they just abruptly stopped the storyline in Waco Mundo and were like, "yeah, will get back to that later." I watched a few episodes and got bored because I wanted to know what happened!

[Celena]

Thanks Belle and Rose, although I had no intentions of skipping the begging, seeing as I want to get to know each characters background.

[Belle Hibiki]

Bleach is so incredibly amazing through the Soul Society arc... and so disappointing afterward. Thinking about the lost potential because of Kubo's laziness makes me sad.

Y Ruler of Time of "Read Right to Left" did a two-parter of the downfall of Bleach that I really couldn't agree with more (1 and 2)

e: obviously SPOILERS. I don't think I should need to say that, but there it is.

[John Doe]

Damn you TGWTG! I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET SOME SLEEP TONIGHT!

*Watches all the things*

[Anzekay]

Hate: Bleach. Never liked it, never found it interesting, doubt I ever will.

But there's plenty of other things to read/watch so it doesn't really matter.

[John Doe]

I had read it in the library to just past the soul society arc when I was fairly young and thought it was pretty sweet. Later on, I read it online when I discovered that those things existed online. Now I can't stop reading it because I've invested too much time into it. ;__;

[Super Buu]

I started watching the anime, stopped when it was like ICHIGO IS A ROOKIE YET HE IS SUPER STRONG AND HAS THE POWER OF A MILLION BILLION DUDES HE IS THE CHOSEN ONE - glasses guy. I can take tropes, even extreme abuse of them if there's something redeeming. I just couldn't find anything.

[King B]

Hate: Bleach.

[Belle Hibiki]

Different strokes, I guess.

Spoilers for why I like the early episodes.
[spoiler]It has a slow start (like Dragonball and One Piece) but they use that time for character development that is actually pretty decent. Orihime isn't just a Tits McGee - she's a lot stronger emotionally than her bubbly, easily scared exterior would suggest. Chad being a Gentle Giant now is partially because he was not so much when he was younger, and used his size to bully people - until that reckless anger ended up bringing violence on his family. Ishida and the fate of the Quincy presented a true dilemma, and revealed some really uncomfortable things about the morality of Soul Society. Rukia somehow managed to be charming, creepy, cute, and an (occasional) total bitch - all at the same time. She starts out pretty unsympathetic, but she grew on me. (I don't think I've ever not laughed at the running gag of her chicken-scratch diagrams.) But it's the events around the attack at the graveyard, though, that make her one of my favorite characters in the series. When she was taken to Soul Society, I was invested enough in wanting to see more of her to CARE ABOUT THE OUTCOME.

Later Kubo would turn the main cast into two-dimensional one-note props and pissed all the great characterization he had put into them up the wall in favor of what felt like New Character of the Week. But through the beginning of the series to the end of the Soul Society arc? I'd say that's as good in quality (even if in a different kind of genre of story) as One Piece has ever been.[/spoiler]

[Maruset]

Delete Ichigo, nerf Aizen. You now have a great show

[John Doe]

That's like saying taking out Jar Jar Binks and Anakin would make The Phantom Menace a great movie.

[Kole T. Merr]

That's like saying taking out Jar Jar Binks and Anakin would make The Phantom Menace a great movie.

...Except that WOULD have made Phantom Menace a good movie.

[King B]

...Except that WOULD have made Phantom Menace a good movie.

George Lucas probably would've screwed it up anyway.

[Celena]

Like: The Iron Man 3 trailer. That gave me the chills. Can't wait.

[King B]

Like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5MyD1yOOOY