Last month, i was having a talk with a co-worker who also has become a friend of mine. She is into anime as well but she hasn't watched the big 3 yet. In general, she preferred shorter ones as she found the ones with multiple episodes to be "hard" to watch.
So after he had some talks about long episodes anime and about the big 3 (One Piece, Naruto, Bleach), she decided to start One Piece as she likes some characters like Chopper that she has seen on the web. Ofc there are spoilers everywhere and she has already seen the latter form of Luffy but still she decided to give it a go.
Now before i say more about that i want to emphasize the fact that i started watching One Piece since i was a kid. So i basically grew up with One Piece and will always hold a Special place in my heart. For that reason, the love of One Piece and Nostalgia it brings me, along with Pokemon i am into collecting One Piece cards.
As i said, i really like One Piece and the world Oda has created and ofc the precious moments he gave us all. On the other hand, though, to be honest, having watched thousands of anime and as i grow older i find myself liking other anime way more than One Piece. In a way One Piece looks more "childish"to me than other anime. For instance, my favorite anime is HXH, considering it to have great and smarter powers and a power system, better villains, and a more serious vibe. Even though i like the plot, One Piece in total has a better one though.
So i was curious to see how One Piece will be in the eyes of a grown ass woman. Will she think the same as i do, will she drop it or will she like it?
She messaged me today and we had a call to talk about it. She is at the point where the first ship has been destroyed and the crew will go to save Robin. She said to me that she was crying all night watching it and that she loves One Piece. She likes the vibe, the universe, some of the characters and gets emotional in moments like the ones i mentioned.
After we ended the call, i took some time to think it over and realised that i felt really happy that she enjoyed it that much. It's always amazing to see a grown person feeling the same way i felt when i watched the same episodes. To add to that it's also awesome that even though she has tons of spoilers around her, something i never had as i was and still watching it from episode to episode and from chapter to chapter, she still feels joy, sorrow and such.
This means that Oda and, in general a lot of anime creators have done an awesome work that their works will leave and affect the same way, for many generations to go! It also made me feel like i am younger and watching the same episodes and the memory of my feelings came again but this time was only joy!
All images are screenshots