Taking a Recommendation and Trying to Recommend One Piece

[firecrouch]

This is basically a long getting-something-trivial-off my chest thing so I don't expect much of a response, but here goes.


I'm basically checking the "Naruto" anime out because I enjoyed the episodes I saw on Cartoon Network, I'm curious about the mixed opinions of this popular series, and because this friend told me I should watch it after I told him to watch "One Piece". Mostly because my friend told me I should, that's really what started it. I thought it was only fair. So far I'm three episodes into Chunin, and so far the series has been decent. What's frustrating is that this out of a friend's recommendation, and for years I've been talking about how much I love "One Piece" and want him to watch it. He couldn't get into the art style of "One Piece", then he decides to watch it because he said he's more open-minded now and that I've been talking to him about it for a long time. He watches about the first eight episodes and told me he liked it, and that he never imagined he'd enjoy it. Then like months later again he tells me he couldn't get into the art-style, I told him it takes a while to get good, and he said that he'd give it another chance. He doesn't but that mostly has to do with being busy and other things he's interested in taking up his time. A month-and-a-half ago I was talking to him on Facebook, we were talking about anime and he was talking about how great "Naruto Shippuden" is, and mentions how he couldn't get into "One Piece". When I tell him that "One Piece" has made me cry and how I showed clips of it to another friend who cried from them despite not knowing the story, he was surprised and asked what it is that my friend and I get so enraptured with in "One Piece".

He asked me to spoil it a little bit for him so I start telling him about how the main characters have these tragic pasts that they overcome through perseverance and comradery. Then he says, "No no no, who's the villain?" So I start telling him about the antagonists and the conflicts surrounding the main characters, so I'm basically telling him stuff that I don't think encapsulates what really makes the show appealing. So again he says he'll check it out, last time I asked about it he says he hasn't had time. I see him a few nights ago and he says once again he couldn't get into the art style after only a few episodes, and I'm sure he still hadn't rewatched it. He says he has a problem with all the colors, fair enough. If you don't like the way something looks I understand that, like how some people have a hard time watching black-and-white films.

But from the conversations I've had with him, it feels like his problem with the art-style have more to do with how since it's a silly-looking show, that it will be reflected in the story itself, not necessarily thinking the drawings look bad. I say this because he seemed surprised when I told him how it's made me cry. Still, one of his beefs with anime is how they can go from wacky to serious so much, and "One Piece" certainly does that. And I can understand if he'd rather not see an action/adventure cartoon that looks like a comedy, we talked about that too.

And yet, he said he enjoyed those first few episodes. He got to around the Buggy, that's pretty much right before the series starts showing it's less silly moments. I don't know how far he got into "FMA Brotherhood" but he said he really enjoyed it more than the first "FMA". Compared to the first series, it's got way more of that wacky to serious thing going on. He criticized the show for that reason, and yet he still enjoyed it more than the first series. He enjoyed "Avatar the Last Airbender", a show he didn't think he'd get into because of out-growing Nickelodeon shows. I wouldn't say it has that wacky/serious thing going on, but there were times where the drama was at odds with the childish humor. I think a mix of comedy and drama is necessary but there were times where I felt the humor was placed inappropriately in "Avatar".

I rarely ever try to recommend "One Piece" to someone, I honestly feel this guy will enjoy it. But oh well if I can't ever convince him or he doesn't take it upon himself to check it out, his loss. I know this is a really long rant but I felt like getting it out there, and maybe I'll actually get some comments out of this.

[Demonicpoodle]

If I ever try to recommend One Piece to somebody I just show them choice episodes from Sabaody Archipelago. Hell, that got even my dad interested, and he's a total west-a-boo.
You have to show them they'll be rewarded for tackling a series this gigantic. I was hooked from the beginning of One Piece, loved the pacing. Kuro hooked me even harder, then Arlong moreso, etc.
I wish your guy would at least get to Kuro.

So... I don't think your friend would mind if you showed him a little sneak peek of the really exciting stuff. Don't show him the introduction to the Supernovas, because my jaw was dropped at that moment and I want his to be too, but the fight against the Pacifista I think he would like. The main problem with recommending One Piece is indeed the art of the initial episodes (in fact, it's pretty common on some forums to see somebody look at chapter 1 of One Piece and go "haha look at that cartoony art", then when shown something like Enies Lobby they don't even know it's the same series). They have to get past that hurdle. Then they can hang with cool cats like us.

[zachri]

I've tried recommending it to a few guys in my class (the ones that seem interested in anime)
2/5 of the ones I recommended it to actually have watched it.
well... I recommended it to 4 but then someone else was interested and watched a few dub episodes (unfortunately I think they watch the 4Kids version... idk. he seems to be enjoying it). WE got this guy into anime and I was like 'how about One Piece then?' it was hard to finally get him to try so to try and compel him... I er... I kinda showed him Apoo vs Kizaru. Seemed to do the trick because he was like 'homfg that music guy' and yeah.
1 who was already into anime said he watched the first 5 episodes and was like 'this is shit'. Oh well. His loss.
2 others who are awesome (bronies at that)... a lot harder to compel them, so I got them to at least watch None Piece. was hilarious. And then I got the main brony (he converted many) to watch Project One Piece, Project Two Piece and a few Pieces of the Week. He was like 'WTF X'D' but yeah... good times, good times...

[Znor9]

My friends only think of this

Spoiler:

when I talk about One Piece with them

[zachri]

My friends only think of this

Spoiler:

http://www.google.se/url?source=imgl...CUyzerHfiwEgoA

when I talk about One Piece with them

[/le horror]
Though those look pretty awesome and I'd wear one to slouch around in.
Already got two similar anyhow.
And they're so comfy.
One makes me look like mint choc chip icecream and the other is a teddy.

[Cyclone_Baroness]

Sometimes it takes a while a guess. I lived with some friends when I first started to watch it and they did not like it. Hell it took me forever to get used to the art style too and I didn't get hooked til after the crew entered the Grand Line. Years later I was showing them that One Piece in 6 minutes amv and a few days later they checked it out on Hulu. They are up to the end of Skypeia arc and they love it now and I'm gonna be running them through a OP table top rpg camaign.

I think that if you recommend something to a friend that had been avoiding it for years they may have already had it in their head that they wouldn't like it. So it's harder to get them to actually see what OP has to offer. I had another friend tell me he only started watching it cause he didn't want to be left out of the conversations. But he seems to have warmed up to it more. Zoro being badass and Luffy's don't give a damn attitude helped. I also made the recommendation to skip some filler episodes so that interest wouldn't wane.

[firecrouch]

Thanks for the opinions, appreciate it.

Like I said, I never recommend "One Piece" to anyone. Well rarely. Years ago I lent the the first 11 or so volumes to a friend who only knew the 4Kids dub. She was open-minded and trusted me when I told her the 4Kids dub is just a hacked-up version. She hasn't been following the series but she told me I was right about it being a great series, she even got a little teary with Nami's flashback. She never really cared for the drawing style (not that she disliked it), but to her at the end of the day it was all about the story.

My best friend, who's the guy I mentioned before that got choked up watching some clips despite not knowing the story, has only just been following the series recently. Last I talked to him about it, a few days ago, he was right at the part where the fight with Wapol is about to begin. He's not really into anime, just a casual fan, and he's always known of "One Piece" since the manga came out here. Previously he watched a few episodes here and there and read the manga on-and-off. I guess now he's just more curious between me gushing over it and word-of-mouth in general. A great way he described it to this other friend is that the anime "defies the art-style".

The friend who's the focus of this thread, the one I'm kind of frustrated with, isn't necessarily a core anime fan but he watches enough of it and understands the general animation/storytelling techniques of anime. He knows that long-running series in the vein of "Naruto", "Bleach", and "One Piece" take time to get really good. Knowing him and knowing he's got very specific and varied opinions in film storytelling, I honestly think if he watched more of it that at the very least even if he didn't like it enough to follow it, that he could still appreciate it. I forgot to mention I once showed him a clip of Luffy beating Lucci:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnz5AdLy1hA

Despite being something cool he said what he's really interested in is the story, which I'm actually happy he responded that way. He went on to say, "You know this art-style is just different, it may looks strange but 'Naruto', 'Bleach', and 'Dragonball' all have their own look. I'll give it another shot." And he just goes back-and-forth.

In terms of comparing these types of anime, and I should've been clear about this, I think he's looking at it as "more lighthearted anime" and "more serious anime". And hey, "Naruto" is less lighthearted than "One Piece", in both content and visuals. He knows I have a pre-disposition towards anime like "One Piece", "Dragonball", and "Gash Bell" as opposed to "Naruto Shippuden", "Bleach", and "Dragonball Z". But I really should explain to him that his understanding of why I like those shows is less than half of it.

So I guess I have two options as to explaining to him how he should watch the series. I could say, "Look, it gradually gets more interesting. Most fans say that by the Arlong arc they realize the series' full potential. If you don't like it by the time you get to around the 30s/40s then you can just drop it." Or as with his recommendation with "Naruto", I could just recommend starting at a certain arc and perhaps going backwards if he enjoys that arc. He prefers the more serious stuff so I guess I could also recommend Water 7. But I'd have to make sure to tell him that every each arc is a little bit different and that certain people prfer certain arcs and get into it at different points.

I know someone else that couldn't get into it because of the art-style at about 50 episodes. If he really got that far and still felt that way I think that's fair. But this other guy actually said he enjoyed those first few episodes, right before it gets to the "good part"; that's what's most frustrating. And I still think to him it's more about what the initial look of the show implies, not so much the art-style itself. He was kind of surprised when I showed him of examples of characters that don't look cartoony, he even liked Franky's character design, which is pretty cartoony.

Speaking for myself, I never assumed that much when I first saw it. First time I saw and heard of "One Piece" I thought it looked weird and different, but hey it seems interesting, it says it's the most popular thing in Japan since "Dragonball" and I'll check it out when it comes out in America. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first read it, it just reminded me of "Dragonball". As I got further along I was surprised at how emotional it is and I said, "Ohhhhh, THIS is why it's so popular." On another after note, after hearing viewership on the Hulu streaming is rising, and seeing how many people at the Anime Expo One Piece Podcast panel were just getting started with "One Piece" or haven't even read/watched it, I got this glimmer of hope that "One Piece" is slowly but surely catching on in America.

[silversatyr]

From my own experience, and it took me a while to get into One Piece, the character style is so different and whacky when compared to other well-known animes. Also, the expressions are so crazy at times that someone not used to those sort of exaggerated faces might be put off.

My first OP experience was watching an Alabasta episode (the filler one with the ship) and I thought it was one of the worst animes I'd ever seen. I seriously 'what's this shit?'-ed. Thank God I was bored a few years later and looking for a nice long manga to read (having caught up on both Bleach and Naruto at the time - before Bleach turned into Blag) and saw that OP was really long. It was a bit hard for me to get into at first but then I started to actually care about the characters (around the Baratie part - I was shocked at the whole 'eating his own leg thing' and thought it a very daring move on Oda's part) and I was hooked soon after. Since then I've been an avid fan.

Maybe give them the manga to read instead? If they're busy it's easier to put a 'book' down than a show, and it's easier to come back to. I ended up catching up to the Thriller Bark part of the manga within 2-3 days of reading...

Also, expose him to some of the awesome amvs out there, if he likes that kinda thing.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

I recommended OP so far to 6 friends and only two of them aren`t interested in it anymore.
All of them did know that iam into that for over 12 years now and so at one point or another just had to try it out.
I always said that they should start with the manga, because i still think the anime isn`t appealing at all and so am not surprised why many can`t stand it.
So i give away my volumnes to them so that they can start the series...normally i give them the first 9 volumnes and see if they get hooked or not, because when you don`t want to read on after volumne 9 it`s just not your thing.

Almost all my friends later also checked out the anime and stayed with it, because they said they like it and aren`t manga readers anyway and so check out the anime for their OP dosis.
Iam okay with that, because they aren`t hardcore fans and just want to enjoy some action here and there and that for the anime is perfectly suited.
A friend and myself are more into it and read the manga (check spoilers) and talk about it regulary, what makes the anime-watchers kind of mad, because so they get teased but they know they have to wait to see it , what gets them even more hooked.


So afterall after you convinced one friend it`s way easier to get the rest interested in it.

But ironically one of my best friends still hasn`t read it or tried it for once...even when he is the most likely person to read it,though.(reading a lot of comics and fantasy stuff unlike the rest)
He even knows some of the characters from OP because of me referring to them and stuff and maybe that`s the reason he just can`t get into it.
He`s the person who had to hear the most from me about it..i don`t know how many dozen of times a begged him to at least try it, but he always replied it can`t stand black and white(in manga) and he is also kind of loyal to his western comics, lol.
So i guess asking him to often made him resistent to try it for once, just so he can screw with me.

[FelRes]

I've gotten several people into One Piece, though I mostly got them into the manga and advised against the anime, and would just send them clips of the memorable scenes. Some people had a hard time digesting the art style, but I showed them that it does evolve over time. I'm "that guy" people I know go to when they're interested in the series. They know I love the series and talk about it a lot, though I do it in a non-fanboyish manner(seriously, this series keeps me in check).

Some people are put off by the sheer amount of episodes/chapters they'd have to go through. I recommended they read the summaries on the OP Wiki - though I'm thinking this isn't helpful now seeing as the people on that Wiki seem to feel the need to write a wall of text for every goddamn chapter wherever possible. I'll lend out my OP volumes if it's a friend irl who likes cleaner work. Showing some cool character designs has also been useful, particularly the Supernovas and Warlords, and mentioning how things and people can become important again way later. Possibly just lucky that these people got into it - a guy I dated saw how into it I was and he read the entire manga in like a week and still reads it, and another friend caught up in just a few days(like 200 chapters ago). Note that these are people who prefer western media and don't really look at anime/manga much if at all(I don't blame them).

Sorta related - I did fail to get an anime-only fan to get into the manga. He said he had skipped the flashbacks and was in it for the adventure stuff. He is up the the current episodes and still has no idea about stuff like Robin's background and who Sabo is. He skipped out on Otohime and Tiger. He... believed a random fan-made Ace wanted poster that was clearly not real, it didn't even have Ace's bounty and it was like 5 billion... I don't even know what to say about that.

Oh, and the "One Piece in 6 minutes" AMV does wonders to get people interested. It's impossible to not like that one.

[city_lights31]

I don't know how I pulled it off but somehow I got my best friend hooked. I didn't even recommend it all that much, I mean I love One Piece more than anything but my friends all have a pretty varied taste in stuff so I wasn't all that confident that any of them would really like it. I had already been into it for a few years and told them bits of how it is here and there but I never pushed the issue or forced the conversation. One day my friend started getting more into anime and sent me a text saying something about how much he loved the first episode of One Piece. In a couple of months he caught up and now it is something we can talk about together.

Funny enough I have another story with another one of my best friends that parallels that one ^^ perfectly...just instead of One Piece it's Doctor Who.

Maybe give them the manga to read instead? If they're busy it's easier to put a 'book' down than a show, and it's easier to come back to. I ended up catching up to the Thriller Bark part of the manga within 2-3 days of reading...

This is ridiculous. How could you even enjoy what you're reading when you move at such a pace? Whenever I re-read the series it takes well over a month (in the area of two months really.) 3 days is madness.

...but he always replied it can`t stand black and white(in manga) and he is also kind of loyal to his western comics, lol.

Has to be said. The feud between western comic culture and manga culture is the stupidest thing ever. Sorry, pet peeve.

[Shinkai]

To be honest, it took me a while also to like One Piece because it looked, well, different. I became addicted to it once I got into Arlong arc. I dunno, it seems that if you try to keep an open mind and if you give this series a chance, you'll eventually like it. My sister and two of my friends got into One Piece even if I have never really spoken about it to them. They just knew I loved the series and they watched it out of curiosity. Maybe you can tell your friend that he doesn't need to rush OP because the number of chapters/episodes are huge, because I've noticed that some of my friends were somewhat intimidated by OP's length. He'll appreciate the series better if he takes one arc at a time. He doesn't need to marathon it though. ;)

[zachri]

Maybe give them the manga to read instead? If they're busy it's easier to put a 'book' down than a show, and it's easier to come back to. I ended up catching up to the Thriller Bark part of the manga within 2-3 days of reading...

Pft that was me with the anime.
Then I hit Thriller Bark and at the time, the anime was still in Thriller Bark, so I moved onto the manga and am damn glad I did <3

[Demonicpoodle]

Firecrouch, ehhh I know this sounds kinda shady, but it's worked for me. Why not do "trade-offs"? "All right, if you read/watch X number of OP episodes/chaps, I'll r/w X # of Naruto eps/chaps." It's a totally fair deal.

Has to be said. The feud between western comic culture and manga culture is the stupidest thing ever. Sorry, pet peeve.

I always like your posts but this one hit the nail on the head. The concept of "loyalty" in something such as consuming entertainment is... dumb. My manga's feelings ain't gonna get hurt if I go read another one, or a western comic. In relationships loyalty is obviously valued... but I just don't see why people have to bring it into stuff like that. I wanna maximize my enjoyment, thank you, not be stuck in the tunnel-visioned mindset of "You can enjoy this aspect of culture and only this aspect!!!"

[silversatyr]

This is ridiculous. How could you even enjoy what you're reading when you move at such a pace? Whenever I re-read the series it takes well over a month (in the area of two months really.) 3 days is madness.

I'm a fast reader (read the last Harry Potter book in 5 hours when I first got it) and was laid up at the time, so I had something of an OP marathon. Granted, the last few times I've reread it I took my time, but the first time I got so caught up with the characters and story that I literally couldn't put it down.

[dgtb1994]

On another after note, after hearing viewership on the Hulu streaming is rising, and seeing how many people at the Anime Expo One Piece Podcast panel were just getting started with "One Piece" or haven't even read/watched it, I got this glimmer of hope that "One Piece" is slowly but surely catching on in America.

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that viewership on Hulu is rising?

[Galaxy 9000]

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that viewership on Hulu is rising?

It was in a thread on this forum. Someone said that One Piece has gone up to rank 20 on Hulu's most popular.

[firecrouch]

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear that viewership on Hulu is rising?

A Toei Animation rep told me at Anime Expo.