On the value of friendship, loyalty, and the pursuit of dreams.
The vibe
The dream of going on a wild adventure with your friends! You meet silly creatures, face monstrous people, and overcome all obstacles.
What it does well
It sets you up emotionally, then whacks you in the gut to make you feel all the feels. If you ain't crying, you ain't paying attention. It does a great job managing and subverting your expectations. There's always some twist! And the performances are believable. I've felt real heartbreak from being invested in certain characters and their lives falling apart.
What bothers me
Please for the love of god stop it with the filler content! There are like 10 episodes in the Nico Robin arc that are essentially just flashbacks. I understand that context is important, and if you haven't been following since the beginning then this is crucial context to have, but holy shit was it annoying. The arc itself is really, really good but don't make this nerd rage with all that re-run crap.
Who it's for
Anyone who dreams of adventuring.
For fans of
Idk. Dbz, maybe??
When to watch
Any time, any day. It's excellent when you feel low, it's amazing when you are on an all-time high. No bad time to watch this show.
Come back to this when
I don't recommend rewatching because this show is LONG AS FUCK. There's almost 30 years worth of content to go through.
Rating
- Vibes: spectacular
- Rewatch odds: low
- Animation quality: low (early content) to high (later content)
- Story: all the feels
- Entertainment value: high