It would be difficult to find an anime fan who hasn't, at least once, tried to get into One Piece. Airing for nearly 25 years, the King of Shonen has nearly 1,100 episodes and counting — a daunting task for even the most committed binge-watcher. Unfortunately, many would-be One Piece fans are lost due to the immensity of the series, missing out on one of the most popular and enduring anime of all time.

With both the One Piece manga and anime currently in one of its best storylines to date, the Egghead Island arc, there's never been a better time to catch up with the series. Viewers don't have to watch every single episode, or even start with the anime. The best way to watch One Piece is to just dive right in and have fun with it, and not worry too much about how much of the Shonen voyage remains.

Updated on April 3, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: One Piece has remained atop the Shonen world since 1999, and it seems like there's still a while before the story reaches its natural conclusion. That said, it's never too late to start watching a series as extensive as One Piece, especially since it contains numerous worthwhile arcs. As such, we've updated this article with some more relevant information.

Everything to Know About One Piece

One Piece is adapted from author Eiichiro Oda's award-winning manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1997. It's a Shonen action manga aimed at a young male audience, focusing on everything readers have come to expect from this demographic: action-packed stories, exciting fight scenes, wholesome messages, the power of friendship, and more. That said, even viewers who tend to avoid Shonen shouldn't completely discount the series. There's a reason that One Piece has remained in the anime world's uppermost echelon for so long, often receiving higher praise than other classics such as Naruto and Bleach, its two rivals among the Shonen Big Three.

One Piece follows the story of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, an enthusiastic and adventurous 17-year-old who's determined to sail the world's seas and have the adventure of a lifetime. This iconic anime protagonist sets out with a bold dream of becoming the Pirate King, set against a sprawling, colorful world full of pirates, and anything else Oda can dream up. The story has a long, ever-expanding list of characters--friends and foes alike--which filter into a story that is many things, though never dull. The One Piece anime portrays the manga somewhat inconsistently, sprinkling in some unnecessary filler, frustrating pacing, and a few periods of subpar animation. Those minor issues aside, the One Piece anime is a fantastic watch.

Why You Should Watch One Piece

There's a comprehensive list of reasons why someone should get into the One Piece anime. To begin with, One Piece is a hugely influential series, not even restricted to the medium of anime. It will remain relevant for a long time to come. The series' popularity speaks to its ability to appeal to a lot of people, certainly not restricted to the young male demographic. Despite their length, the anime and manga's more recent arcs contain some of the most engrossing work One Piece has ever provided.

Reasons to watch One Piece:

• Story quality has remained the same for decades
• Has widely influenced the animanga medium
• It's great from the very first chapter/episode

Another key factor is that One Piece's plot has not dropped in quality. It's remarkable how a work of such longevity hasn't withered over its lifespan. Titans like Naruto and Bleach, which have mostly concluded (save for Bleach's unexpected "Thousand Year Blood War" adaptation), are generally criticized by fans as losing some of their narrative brilliance over time. Bleach and Naruto remain respected and enduring series, but One Piece's ability to be consistently great over multiple decades is a rare and incredible achievement in the anime industry, not just for Shonen, but all demographics.

The question isn't "when does One Piece get good?", since it is good from the very start. Rather, One Piece continues to build up momentum until it truly hits its stride around the Water 7 saga, though various One Piece fans will have their own opinion on when Eiichiro Oda's pirate adventure begins its true golden age of unrivaled Shonen greatness.

Where to Start One Piece's Anime Adventure

It might not be the best idea to start from episode one and watch the anime in its entirety, since many anime fans simply won't have the time, stamina, or patience to watch so much content like that, even if they skip the filler episodes. Many people find One Piece difficult to get into and may fear that they've missed the boat, so to speak, so here are some practical viewing tips.

The first suggestion isn't to watch the One Piece anime, but rather, to begin with the source manga. Reading the One Piece manga is the most practical gateway into One Piece, since author Eiichiro Oda's writing is fast-paced and full of action, and viewers can read a page much faster than the anime will animate it. While the manga may lack the animation and soundtrack from One Piece's anime, it's a far more fluid beginning to scaling to the One Piece summit, and of course, there's no filler or opening/outro credits to skip, either. A manga fan could easily read one volume per day, and if they kept it up daily, they could blitz through the manga's current 103 volumes in just over three months' time. For a juggernaut series like One Piece, that's actually pretty quick, far more so than the anime is.

Best One Piece Storylines:

• The Arlong Park Arc (Episodes 31-44)
• The Alabasta Arc (Episodes 92-130)
• The G-8 Filler Arc (Episodes 196-206)
• The Enies Lobby Arc (Episodes 263-312)
• The Marineford Arc (Episodes 457-489)
• The Wano Arc (Episodes 890-1085)

There are some essential arcs one shouldn't miss on screen. The "Arlong Park" anime arc, is considered by many as the part where One Piece picks up properly, hitting some early emotional highs rarely seen in the series. It's a good jumping-on point after starting on the manga and becoming acquainted with the characters. The next hundred or so episodes (excluding filler) are all very watchable. However, they can get tedious, so they might not be for everyone.

The "Enies Lobby" and "Marineford" arcs are considered the best in all of One Piece, so they are definitely worth a watch. It's in the more recent episodes that One Piece hasn't been too hot, though the "Wano Country Saga" has introduced some of the best animation to date. There is also one filler arc worth viewing, the "G-8" arc, spanning episodes 196-206. Manga loyalists should definitely make an exception for these ten beloved episodes. The key here is to not necessarily watch the entire One Piece anime, but rather, to pick and choose favorite sequences from the manga to watch on-screen, like an extended highlight reel of One Piece's best moments.

Where to Read and Watch One Piece

One of the best ways to watch One Piece is on Crunchyroll, a convenient and affordable way for most Western fans to dive right into the anime and find their favorite story arcs or scenes to watch. Funimation is also a great option to watch all the episodes, which are free until Episode 1097. Seasons 1-13 are available to stream on Netflix with a paid subscription to the streaming service. Seasons 1-11 only are currently streaming on Hulu. PlutoTV has a live-streaming One Piece channel, as well as seasons 1-16 on demand.

For the manga, Viz Media is the best bet for reading legally online. The publisher's manga scans are high quality, and new chapters are free on that platform. Interested readers can buy digital volumes at a discount price if they wish, or read the individual chapters. The Shonen Jump app is an easy way to read the One Piece manga's chapters anywhere, anytime, and the 100 chapters per day limit probably won't be an issue. Reading that much is a huge ask even for a marathon series like One Piece, and besides, fans are encouraged to pace themselves and savor the experience. One Piece isn't just a famously long manga. It has incredible quality, too, and it'll take time for all that Shonen goodness to seep into the viewer's mind.

Most recently, One Piece fans new and experienced alike can enjoy the Netflix live-action adaptation, the first truly great live-action version of any anime series. The live-action One Piece series wasn't just a bonus for longtime fans. It helped make the franchise totally mainstream in the West, paving the way for more successful live-action anime shows and movies. Anyone who's still hesitating to dive into the vast One Piece world can get a sample with Netflix's series and decide for themselves if they're ready for the anime voyage of a lifetime after that. If that wasn't enough, a second season of Netflix's live-action One Piece show is in production, which will almost certainly cover the excellent Alabasta saga.