Japanese Animation may be just the answer to our dire circumstances such as unemployment, no real friendships, and the need to treat life as an adventure.
'One Piece', a manga by Eiichiro Oda, features the "protagonist Monkey D. Luffy whose body has the elasticity of rubber" from eating a Devil Fruit called "gum gum". Luffy has one main mission: To be king of the pirates. Along the way he meets an interesting crew of people. A girl who is a clever thief, a superb cook with long legs, a man who loves to tell stories, and a master swordsman. They all have a past which is explored more fully in subsequent episodes.
What makes 'One Piece' so popular to those young and old could be its major premises:
Friendship
Loyalty
Faith
Japanese anime typically has some feudal themes in it, some action, maybe a bit of romance. However a story about pirates who actually are good and fight for one another no matter what is certainly needed today.
According to The Mainichi Times,
"(The 'One Piece' characters) greatly value their ties to each other, as is evident from the way they always respond to each other's calls for help," says Yuki Yasuda, a professor of social system design at Kansai University and the author of the book, "Luffy no nakamaryoku" (Luffy and His Capacity for Friendship)."
These characters all rely on Luffy's steadfast faith that he will find the One Piece( a treasure piece left by a great pirate before he died) and hope that someday their problems will go alway- just as long they can get to the Grand Line in one piece.
If you are an adult then this animation is deifnitely for you as well. The bonds of friendship and loyalty stretches ibeyond any age group, and with our lives so dependent upon nature, jobs, and human relationships its a nice idea to kick back, put in One Piece and watch as Luffy and his crew struggle and fight for what is right and no one is left behind.
If you like this review, perhaps you'd like to get 'One Piece for yourself? If you are in the Norfolk, Va area you can find animation at these places:
Target
1245 N Military Hwy
Norfolk, VA 23502
(757) 461-9369
Also try other sites like Amazon.com or AnimationShops.com
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