General & Others Why has One Piece failed so miserably in the West?
- Thread starter Shiroyru
- Start date
Did you watch the anime…? 
Gaara vs. Lee is still dated by animation standards, that goes for anything that’s more than 5-10 years old. Technology develops rather quickly!
Gaara vs. Lee is still dated by animation standards, that goes for anything that’s more than 5-10 years old. Technology develops rather quickly!
I dont know about manga because rarely anyone reads them here but anime is popular and watched by many kids ( including me when I was kid). Most popular animes were : Pokemon , DBZ , Yugioh ( huge popularity because of collecting cards part ) , Beyblade , Naruto.
Rest of them are not very popular or even shown on our tv channels .
I got into one piece last may because I simply wanted to collect another manga after completing Berserk deluxe editions . I decided to go with one piece because I knew it was the best selling manga and I saw you can collect first 90 volumes easily thanks to 4 box sets. I am waiting for volumes 96 and recent 104 to have whole collection. I read it 2 times and I enjoyed both Berserk and One piece and I plan to re - read it more times so I have no desire to collect another manga because gaming is my biggest passion and it took me 2 months to re -read one piece and in that time I did not touch my PS5 or Nintendo Switch.
Rest of them are not very popular or even shown on our tv channels .
I got into one piece last may because I simply wanted to collect another manga after completing Berserk deluxe editions . I decided to go with one piece because I knew it was the best selling manga and I saw you can collect first 90 volumes easily thanks to 4 box sets. I am waiting for volumes 96 and recent 104 to have whole collection. I read it 2 times and I enjoyed both Berserk and One piece and I plan to re - read it more times so I have no desire to collect another manga because gaming is my biggest passion and it took me 2 months to re -read one piece and in that time I did not touch my PS5 or Nintendo Switch.
To long for alot of the west. Dbz was in alot of our childhood and Naruto in alot of our teenage years. Op got a a bad deal with a terrible 4kids animation then when it actually received a proper animation it had seasons worth of episodes alot of people didn't want to marathon. That's only become a bigger problem as we crossed 1000 episodes so even more people don't want to start it.
People dislike One Piece because it's "cringe" or childish. Number 1 reason.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/2000121-anime-and-manga-other-titles/78721948?page=4
That's pretty bad given that Naruto Anime ended 7 years ago and manga ended almost 10 years ago
I disagree. I think the peak was Konoha Crush but even the Akatsuki arcs were better than One Piece. Was Doflamingo really a better villain than Pain? I predict that Naruto's war arc will still be better than One Piece's final arc: Jinchuriki Kaiju Beasts >Neptune, Hashirama Cells > Green Blood, Edo Tensei > Pacifista, Susanoo & Sage of the Six Paths > Gear 5, Madera > Imu, Stealing eyes > Haki etc.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/2000121-anime-and-manga-other-titles/78721948?page=4
That's pretty bad given that Naruto Anime ended 7 years ago and manga ended almost 10 years ago
I disagree. I think the peak was Konoha Crush but even the Akatsuki arcs were better than One Piece. Was Doflamingo really a better villain than Pain? I predict that Naruto's war arc will still be better than One Piece's final arc: Jinchuriki Kaiju Beasts >Neptune, Hashirama Cells > Green Blood, Edo Tensei > Pacifista, Susanoo & Sage of the Six Paths > Gear 5, Madera > Imu, Stealing eyes > Haki etc.
Naruto started way stronger, most of the really memorable arcs are some of the first ones.
Bleach also had a slow start like one piece, but it don't take long for the Soul Society arc to get your attention.
early OP is wayyyy too slow, "it gets better in X arc" is a thing well documented and true, I don't think OP reach its first consistent peak until Alabasta, while having some really strong moments before it.
Bleach also had a slow start like one piece, but it don't take long for the Soul Society arc to get your attention.
early OP is wayyyy too slow, "it gets better in X arc" is a thing well documented and true, I don't think OP reach its first consistent peak until Alabasta, while having some really strong moments before it.
"Failed" is a pretty strong word. "Underperformed" might be a better descriptor. Series that failed in the US would be ones like Captain Tsubasa or Saint Seiya. Both are huge in Japan (and LatAm) but never gained any traction in the US.
One Piece is very popular in the US. Why else would it have gotten a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade? One Piece is undoubtedly mainstream at this point, but it lags behind some other series like Dragon Ball and Naruto. The early American distribution of One Piece by 4kids stunted the series' appeal during the initial 2000's anime boom. Viz's slow distribution doesn't get talked about enough. Up until 2010, they were waaaaaaaay behind the tankobon releases, which certainly stagnated overseas readership. The 2010s anime boom has propelled One Piece's overseas popularity, but the effects of the initially poor distribution still linger.
Though I have noticed that One Piece isn't getting the same push other series are. At mosts bookstores or comic shops that carry manga, display space is probably going to be allocated for series like MHA, JJK, or CSM, since those are the ones that resonate more with a teenage audience. One Piece is an eclectic mix of very goofy and violent tones that isn't as easy to market to a general audience, especially teenagers, as other shonen. The length of the series is also off putting to many who are interested in reading, and the anime's pacing dissuades the larger anime viewing audience.
One Piece is very popular in the US. Why else would it have gotten a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade? One Piece is undoubtedly mainstream at this point, but it lags behind some other series like Dragon Ball and Naruto. The early American distribution of One Piece by 4kids stunted the series' appeal during the initial 2000's anime boom. Viz's slow distribution doesn't get talked about enough. Up until 2010, they were waaaaaaaay behind the tankobon releases, which certainly stagnated overseas readership. The 2010s anime boom has propelled One Piece's overseas popularity, but the effects of the initially poor distribution still linger.
Though I have noticed that One Piece isn't getting the same push other series are. At mosts bookstores or comic shops that carry manga, display space is probably going to be allocated for series like MHA, JJK, or CSM, since those are the ones that resonate more with a teenage audience. One Piece is an eclectic mix of very goofy and violent tones that isn't as easy to market to a general audience, especially teenagers, as other shonen. The length of the series is also off putting to many who are interested in reading, and the anime's pacing dissuades the larger anime viewing audience.
In my personal experience, Shippuden was a drag... mostly. The only four (?) arcs I genuinely liked were the Gaara rescue mission, Team 10/7 vs. Hidan/Kakuzu, Jiraya vs. Pain (the best arc of the series, IMO) and Sasuke vs. Itachi (I don't remember if it's 3 or 4 arcs and I don't remember their names). Looking back at it, even Pain vs. Konoha was somewhat silly ("Talk no Jutsu" saves the day). The rest was a pain in the ass.
One Piece has MUCH better worldbuilding (Naruto pales in this area), better characters (most of Naruto's shinobis get the cold shoulder after Sasuke rescue arc, some basically just turn into cheerleaders, even protagonists... and, not less important, no character development outside of a few exceptions), better consistency (post-skip kinda messes it up for OP, but Naruto is inconsistent as hell), etc. The only thing that Naruto has going for it is, IMO, the pacing (which isn't great by any means, One Piece is just awful). The fights were better until a certain point, then power creep screwed over.
If we'll compare One Piece and Naruto, we should compare Pain's invasion to Enies Lobby, as both are at the same chapter range. IMO, Enies Lobby wipes the floor with Pain vs. Konoha, although Lucci is a simple villain in a character standpoint. Since you mentioned it, even Dressrosa is better (btw, I prefer pre-skip and Dressrosa is the best "long" arc of post-skip, IMO) and DoFlamingo is a better written character than Pain in my view. If we count all the arcs so far, none of One Piece's arcs were uninteresting for me, contrary to Naruto.
One Piece has MUCH better worldbuilding (Naruto pales in this area), better characters (most of Naruto's shinobis get the cold shoulder after Sasuke rescue arc, some basically just turn into cheerleaders, even protagonists... and, not less important, no character development outside of a few exceptions), better consistency (post-skip kinda messes it up for OP, but Naruto is inconsistent as hell), etc. The only thing that Naruto has going for it is, IMO, the pacing (which isn't great by any means, One Piece is just awful). The fights were better until a certain point, then power creep screwed over.
If we'll compare One Piece and Naruto, we should compare Pain's invasion to Enies Lobby, as both are at the same chapter range. IMO, Enies Lobby wipes the floor with Pain vs. Konoha, although Lucci is a simple villain in a character standpoint. Since you mentioned it, even Dressrosa is better (btw, I prefer pre-skip and Dressrosa is the best "long" arc of post-skip, IMO) and DoFlamingo is a better written character than Pain in my view. If we count all the arcs so far, none of One Piece's arcs were uninteresting for me, contrary to Naruto.
Depends on whether you define world-building as quantity or quality. OP wins on quantity but quality is similar. I could nitpick all sorts of issues but instead I'll focus on my top 2 or 3.
1. Revolutionary Army is completely incompatible with JoyJoy. The idea underneath a revolution is that the history is UNWRITTEN and that your actions matter! There is no savior and if you want society to change then you must put in the work to change the minds of people around you and lead a rebellion that otherthrows the ruling class. In contrast the idea behind a chosen one and destiny (will of d, inherent will) is that the future IS written and your actions are futile if you're not the chosen one (e.g. Gol D. Roger). I think these two concepts are completely incompatible and if Oda wanted a story about a revolution then Sabo should have been the MC.
2. The world feels like a theme park or like Kingdom Hearts rather than a real world. a) Each island has a gimmick (eg. alice in wonderland WCI) but they feel isolated and don't feel like they're interconnected with each other. Events happen at 1 Island and the rest of the world is unchanged, similar to KH. b) Additionally, there is no consistently: magic is in the form of devil fruits and haki (ki, chakra) and then there is also advanced science. The characters include: gaints, gaint snail ships, moon people, gods, fishfolk, aristocracy, etc.
I could go on and point out other issues like retcons, e.g. Shanks and Buggy should already know the secret of One Piece or Shanks should have had haki to protect his arm but I think these issues are obvious.
As for comparing Doffy with Pain, I did that because both arcs are past the halfway point of each story. Pain wanted to save the world by causing everyone to feel pain. I disagree with his ideology but it was memorable. Meanwhile Doffy was reduced to an incompetant spoiled child. Both fights had dues ex power ups (sage mode, gear 4) and both were only useful for 1 fight before being replaced (jinchuriki/sage of six paths, future sight haki) and both had the gimmick of destroying the entire town/island. But the pain fight was more interesting because he had different bodies and doffy had a birdcage so even on the decline Naruto was at least as good or maybe even better than One Piece.
1. Revolutionary Army is completely incompatible with JoyJoy. The idea underneath a revolution is that the history is UNWRITTEN and that your actions matter! There is no savior and if you want society to change then you must put in the work to change the minds of people around you and lead a rebellion that otherthrows the ruling class. In contrast the idea behind a chosen one and destiny (will of d, inherent will) is that the future IS written and your actions are futile if you're not the chosen one (e.g. Gol D. Roger). I think these two concepts are completely incompatible and if Oda wanted a story about a revolution then Sabo should have been the MC.
2. The world feels like a theme park or like Kingdom Hearts rather than a real world. a) Each island has a gimmick (eg. alice in wonderland WCI) but they feel isolated and don't feel like they're interconnected with each other. Events happen at 1 Island and the rest of the world is unchanged, similar to KH. b) Additionally, there is no consistently: magic is in the form of devil fruits and haki (ki, chakra) and then there is also advanced science. The characters include: gaints, gaint snail ships, moon people, gods, fishfolk, aristocracy, etc.
I could go on and point out other issues like retcons, e.g. Shanks and Buggy should already know the secret of One Piece or Shanks should have had haki to protect his arm but I think these issues are obvious.
As for comparing Doffy with Pain, I did that because both arcs are past the halfway point of each story. Pain wanted to save the world by causing everyone to feel pain. I disagree with his ideology but it was memorable. Meanwhile Doffy was reduced to an incompetant spoiled child. Both fights had dues ex power ups (sage mode, gear 4) and both were only useful for 1 fight before being replaced (jinchuriki/sage of six paths, future sight haki) and both had the gimmick of destroying the entire town/island. But the pain fight was more interesting because he had different bodies and doffy had a birdcage so even on the decline Naruto was at least as good or maybe even better than One Piece.
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C
Saint seiya SUCKS, extremely dated with dogshit fight choreography.
Bleach has a LOT of flaws, specially on it's plot, but you can't deny the influence and hype it has.
How many shows can stay a single decade without releasing little to anything while still keeping up a huge fanbase?
JJK is pretty much a bleach ripoff to the extent where the author copies the panel by panel.
Not to mention the most interesting and creative power system in shonen alongside naruto's.
One piece, as you said, excels at narrative and story writing which is where both naruto and bleach disgracefully failed.
A show where women have little to no importance, always in mini clothes with gay characters always as the butt of the joke is aimed for the "woke" crowd? Hahahaha
Bleach has a LOT of flaws, specially on it's plot, but you can't deny the influence and hype it has.
How many shows can stay a single decade without releasing little to anything while still keeping up a huge fanbase?
JJK is pretty much a bleach ripoff to the extent where the author copies the panel by panel.
Not to mention the most interesting and creative power system in shonen alongside naruto's.
One piece, as you said, excels at narrative and story writing which is where both naruto and bleach disgracefully failed.
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A show where women have little to no importance, always in mini clothes with gay characters always as the butt of the joke is aimed for the "woke" crowd? Hahahaha
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