One Piece is the talk of the hour. While it never lost any momentum, the extension of its influence to the live-action universe on Netflix has definitely increased the series’ popularity in the West. Many who were initially daunted by One Piece‘s length found the live-action adaptation a more concise entry point.
In addition to finally introducing millions of people to this story, the live-action adaptation achieved exactly what it intended: it made people want to watch the anime and read the original manga. Fans of the live-action sought the best way to continue or begin the story from its very first episode and chapter, hoping to indulge in its brilliance. However, they naturally found themselves overwhelmed by the information available online, and one user came up with a controversial suggestion.
The post by SoulKingLives on Twitter/X immediately gained traction with hundreds of bookmarks from enthusiastic fans, but even more pronounced were the criticisms raised in response to the post. In general, the consensus among critics seems to revolve around the issue of fillers and their contribution to enriching the story, since they are omitted in the One Pace alternative. Many defenders argue that, for fans seeking a faster-paced experience, the manga is a superior option to the summarized One Piece fan-creation.
While it is true that nothing beats the original manga, as someone who used to vehemently deny reading manga and for this reason took years to watch One Piece (while skipping most of the fillers), One Pace would have surely been a welcoming alternative. After all, the anime’s pacing is questionable, with its numerous filler episodes and scenes hogging screen time.
On the flip side, manga is not a medium that many Western viewers are familiar with, posing various challenges for newcomers. Consequently, many people started turning to One Pace, a concise and shortened version of One Piece, comprised of only canon moments from the manga, following the original story’s timeline.
Nonetheless, One Pace is not the perfect choice. It has quite a few problems – especially surrounding its first arc adaptations. Some users feel that it seems to have a fast-forwarded pace, and it cuts down scenes abruptly. Still, it does fix several of the anime’s problems surrounding pacing, as many other Twitter users would point out, thus reigniting the long-standing debate about which is the better choice for new fans: One Piece or One Pace.
All in all, every single opinion is valid. The anime offers a more thorough version of the story, adding bonding moments between the Straw Hats and plenty of gags; while One Pace is a good alternative if you’re hoping to skip the numerous filler moments that ultimately save up quite a lot of time. In the end, watching One Piece is about the journey, and if you want to truly get immersed in the story, my advice is: to read the manga.