Is It Better To Watch Or Read?

When it comes to One Piece, the franchise can’t seem to miss. With a wonderful manga, a beloved anime adaptation, and now one of the only good live-action anime adaptations ever created, right now is a great time to be a fan of the series. As of now, there are so many different ways to enjoy One Piece, that almost everyone has an opportunity to find a way of viewing that they enjoy.

However, this idea of finding the best way to consume the story of One Piece has been a topic of conversation for a long time now. Mainly, since the early days of the series, fans have constantly debated between which form of One Piece is better, the anime or the manga. While in reality the decision is mainly up to preference, there are many factors that could make either the anime or manga be the best way of enjoying One Piece overall.

Related

One Piece: Why Rocks Was Stronger Than Roger, Explained

Rocks D. Xebec remains one of the most mysterious characters in the setting but his strength was legendary, even greater than Roger’s!

One Piece’s Anime And Manga Are Both Going Strong

The Anime Returns After A Long Hiatus

Currently, the One Piece manga is diving deep into the Elbaf Arc. With Chapter 1143 releasing very soon, the manga is a fair amount ahead of where the anime currently stands. Although both the anime and the manga are in One Piece’s Final Saga, a large amount of information, especially regarding the God’s Knights and the Giants, has been circulating from the manga.

On the other hand, the anime is currently nearing the end of its six-month hiatus, which left the series with 1122 episodes overall. Leaving off during the Egghead Arc, the anime isn’t too far behind where the manga is in the story of One Piece. Additionally, with the hiatus ending soon, more episodes start releasing fairly shortly. In the meantime, fans were treated to watching a rerelease of Fishman Island that set out to improve the pacing of one of One Piece’s most controversial arcs.

The Manga Is Far Better In Terms Of Pacing

The Anime Does Handle The Epic Moments Better

• The Manga Wins In Terms Of Pacing And Consistency
• The Anime Does Have Some Really Great Moments Overall

Firstly, when it comes to the differences between the manga and anime, the main concern that many fans have is pacing. While the manga is fairly well-paced, especially since reading a chapter is far faster than an episode, the anime tends to adapt one chapter per episode at this point in the anime, causing the pacing of One Piece to be extremely slow. Due to this, any fan looking for a faster reading experience that doesn’t linger too much should read the manga instead. Plus, with the manga, readers are able to control the pace at which they read, making it easier to breeze through the slower sections.

Related

One Piece: Oda Has Decided Where Zoro Vs Mihawk Will Happen

Zoro vs Mihawk is the most anticipated fight in One Piece. Oda has already decided when and where it will take place.

On the flip side, in the recent years of the One Piece anime, the entire production has received a massive boost, taking the series to new heights. Although the fights are strong in the manga, the anime fight scenes and large moments include amazing features like music and gorgeous animation in One Piece that take them to the next level. Although the anime is long for One Piece, these moments make it worth watching. This may be doubly true in the future with some poorly paced arcs receiving rereleases with better pacing overall.

The Manga Helps Fans Stay Up-To-Date And Spoiler Free

Still, a massive benefit to reading the manga, besides having a better pacing and more consistent art, even when not dealing with the major fight scenes, the manga also helps fans keep up to date with the story. For some, it can be hard to visit One Piece communities on Social Media as an anime-only viewer without seeing multiple spoilers. By reading the manga, fans can keep up to date with the current hot topics of the series.

In the end, while the anime does have very high highsof the One Piece Straw Hat Crew, sometimes the lows can feel a bit too slow and boring overall. On the other hand, the manga is a fairly consistent experience throughout, making it arguably the best way of enjoying the series. Still, each person has their own preferences, meaning while the manga may be the best way of enjoying One Piece for one person, watching the anime may be the ideal choice for another.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)