Among the undisputed titans of the anime and manga industry, if you ask the majority of fans of these mediums, will likely tell you that One Piece reigns among the best, most popular, and most important to the overall industry. Even while, at least among the fan base, the anime is generally regarded as the weaker way to experience the series, it still is a solid anime adaptation. Meanwhile, the manga is hailed as some of the best series even among the likes of Berserk and Vagabond.
Whichever way someone chooses to dive into this series, chances are high that they will find their next high-quality fix. Having said that, there are still discussions as to which is the optimal way to consume this series. As mentioned, there is a general consensus on which is better, but here let's go over five things the manga does better and five the anime does better.
10 Manga: Oda's Art At The Absolute Best
Perhaps one of the most noticeable--if not then the most noticeable--factors in immediate favor of the One Piece manga is the level of quality in the artwork. Eiichiro Oda is not only a talented storyteller in the manga department, he also illustrates his own work. This only makes experiencing the series even more impressive. As a result, the manga is arguably the best and intended way to see Oda's artwork.
There is an incredible level of attention to detail in every panel and, while it is not drawn in the same style as other incredibly drawn manga like the aforementioned Berserk or Vagabond, the whimsical art style of One Piece is distinct, memorable, and high quality.
9 Anime: The Most Emotionally Impactful Moments Are Brought To Life
A particularly important strength of the anime for One Piece is the--admittedly obvious--fact that thanks to the power of animation, the most emotionally resonant moments are brought to life. Of course, this means that only as far as the anime has picked up from the manga's story.
Regardless, with the anime spanning, as of now, over 900 episodes there are a solid amount of the biggest moments the manga has introduced animated, voiced, and colored for fans to enjoy. Even fans who largely stuck with the manga could find themselves watching the anime to see how their favorite scenes were adapted.
8 Manga: More Expressiveness In The Characters
While this also ties into how manga author Eiichiro Oda illustrates his characters and the world they inhabit and travel, it is nonetheless an important and specific advantage the manga has over the anime. This also speaks volumes about the level of talent that Oda is drawing out of himself when he is working on each chapter. While this isn't a knock on the anime, Oda's work is arguably more expressive.
Characters in this series are known for their exaggerated expressions particularly when they are reacting to something crazy. And, by extension, seeing these scenes in the manga convey more emotion.
7 Anime: The Vibrancy In The Coloring
Another clear asset that the One Piece anime has over the manga--and one that at least most anime have over their manga counterparts--is the level of vibrancy in the use of color. As every fan of the series knows, and even those who have just seen clips and screenshots of the series, One Piece is actually a very colorful and vibrant world.
This even applies to the designs of the actual characters themselves as well. For that reason alone, it would be worth it to experience watching the anime adaptation.
6 Manga: No Filler
As any anime, and by extension, manga fan knows, filler, at the very least, has the potential to be the worst part of the content in a series. While not all filler episodes in anime are necessarily "bad," (My Hero Academia has generally done a good job with its minimal filler content) it is the general consensus that they are usually not good at best.
While the One Piece anime does not have as much filler as, say, Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, fans probably will be at least a bit bummed out when they do have to deal with it. So, naturally, reading the manga avoids all filler.
5 Anime: Voice Acting "Completes" The Characters
Obviously, one of the "faults" of reading any written work is that you cannot physically hear any of character dialogue or sound effects going on the scenes. Therefore, one of the assets of any anime adaptation and, by extension, any adaptation of a written work is that you will finally get to hear what your favorite characters sound like.
This might seem like a fairly minimal factor, but to some this could be a deciding feature that could sway people into the anime. In a way, getting to finally hear the voices of the characters you read about, in addition to seeing them in color and animated, completes the overall image of the character.
4 Manga: Avoids Pacing Issues Of The Anime
Somewhat affected by the filler factor as discussed earlier, the issue of pacing goes a bit beyond just that in terms of the One Piece anime. In addition to straightforward filler episodes occasionally breaking up the progression of the main story, the anime goes at a much slower pace than the manga. At some point in the advancement of the anime, the episodes typically began covering a chapter per episode with each episode being--as expected--roughly 22 minutes.
Therefore, reading the manga becomes a much quicker experience. And, in a series like One Piece, which spans over 900 chapters in the manga and episodes in the anime, time is a crucial factor, especially those who are just now looking to get into the series.
3 Anime: Sound Effects And Music Add To The Experience
The overall experience and tone established in the anime, in this case the sound, since it is an actual animated adaptation of the still scenes that make up the manga, is clearly a big enough reason why fans would choose to flock to the One Piece anime as opposed to the written and illustrated source material. The sound effects and the music especially are great mood-setters for each scene of the anime.
In fight scenes, sound effects can make each hit land with more weight and overall impact. Meanwhile, the music does a great job to set the tone and the general atmosphere for a scene, whether it is action, more emotional, or a mix of both.
2 Manga: The Bonus Panels
A particularly fun thing that Eiichiro Oda enjoys to do in the manga for One Piece is to add at the cover page for the start of each chapter a bonus panel telling the story of some of the characters that the Straw Hats have met in the past. These panels are, of course, canon to the overall story and, like a lot of the main story, are fun and comical, but that is not the best thing about these panels.
The bonus panels, at least for the most part, become relevant to the main story later on. For example, after the conclusion to the encounter Luffy, Zoro, and Nami had with Buggy, you get bonus panels telling the story of their exploits in the meantime and he and his crew reenter the main story later on.
1 Anime: The Movies Are Great Starting Points
This might be a bit of a technicality as this entry is not referring to the One Piece anime TV series, but rather the anime films. However, they have proven, especially among established fans, to be of great enjoyment. While they are, unfortunately, non-canon to the main story that is told in the manga and the majority of the TV anime series, they are particularly good for people who want to get into the series.
The anime films do a great job of introducing the cast and giving newcomers a feel for what the tone of the overall franchise is.