Is 'One Piece' at DBZ's level of popularity in the past?

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:05 pm

Well, is it? It’s been said that One Piece is the next DragonBall so to speak. With it’s games, movies, and not to mention the fact that Eiichiro Oda is said to be a fan of Toriyama’s DragonBall (and vise versa). So do you think One Piece is at DragonBall’s level of popularity in the past? Oh and feel free to mention how the 4Kids Dub effected this for better or worse. And yes, this is basically the Naruto thread from a few weeks ago.
-Rick

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:30 pm

I'd say, "it's getting there." One Piece and it's creator are, as we know, largely inspired by Toriyama-sensei and his work, and from what I've seen, a lot of the action and humor styles are very similar.

In term of length or "epic-ness," One Piece is in the same vein, if you ask me. Over 400 chapters, covering 5 major story arcs, and still going strong? That's commendable, at the very least. The characters and stories are consistently creative, enrapturing, and usually, funny as hell, while still having deep and dramatic plots. Even the filler in the anime is decent.

So... One Piece is still going, and if it keeps to the level of quality it has so far, then it will definitely be up there with DragonBall in terms of status and popularity.

I mean, there's a replica of the Going Merry floating in Tokyo harbor, for pete's sake.

As for 4Kids, thank God that they've dropped One Piece. They absolutely mangled it, and I hope some other, better dubbing company like FUNimation or Viz picks it up where they left off. Sadly, 4Kids' rights to the episodes they've already dubbed don't expire until 2009, I believe. If another company picks it up before then, then I hope they dub the movies or something.

Taku128 · Post by **Taku128** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:49 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:As for 4Kids, thank God that they've dropped One Piece. They absolutely mangled it, and I hope some other, better dubbing company like FUNimation or Viz picks it up where they left off. Sadly, 4Kids' rights to the episodes they've already dubbed don't expire until 2009, I believe. If another company picks it up before then, then I hope they dub the movies or something.

Actually Cartoon Network is advertizing commercials for new episodes of One Piece. I'm not so sure they're done with their travesty.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:56 pm

Taku128 wrote:
SSj Kaboom wrote:As for 4Kids, thank God that they've dropped One Piece. They absolutely mangled it, and I hope some other, better dubbing company like FUNimation or Viz picks it up where they left off. Sadly, 4Kids' rights to the episodes they've already dubbed don't expire until 2009, I believe. If another company picks it up before then, then I hope they dub the movies or something.
Actually Cartoon Network is advertizing commercials for new episodes of One Piece. I'm not so sure they're done with their travesty.

Those are just the last of the episodes they dubbed. They have indeed stopped production on dubbing the series. Here's a little ANN link Hopefully, they didn't get any farther than the Alabasta arc.

Taku128 · Post by **Taku128** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:58 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:
Taku128 wrote:
SSj Kaboom wrote:As for 4Kids, thank God that they've dropped One Piece. They absolutely mangled it, and I hope some other, better dubbing company like FUNimation or Viz picks it up where they left off. Sadly, 4Kids' rights to the episodes they've already dubbed don't expire until 2009, I believe. If another company picks it up before then, then I hope they dub the movies or something.
Actually Cartoon Network is advertizing commercials for new episodes of One Piece. I'm not so sure they're done with their travesty.
Those are just the last of the episodes they dubbed. They have indeed stopped production on dubbing the series. Here's a little ANN link Hopefully, they didn't get any farther than the Alabasta arc.

Awesome. Hope some other company gets the rights when 4kids' expire in 09.

Duo · Post by **Duo** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:15 pm

I can definately imagine Viz jumping all over that...

Anyway, I think One Piece definately deserves the popularity and will probably go down in the annals of great Anime history when all is said and done. Here's hoping a good dub comes our way in a few years.

fps_anth · Post by **fps_anth** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:51 pm

It's definately getting there. I think that One Piece really need popularity in North America to get to the level that Dragon Ball is at. It truly is an amazing anime/manga, and currently, I'm OBSESSED. It has more manga volumes than Dragon Ball, and it's still going. Ten years in August 2007 I believe.

Anyways, I'm not sure about the North American dubbing company. Dare I say it, but...perhaps...FUNimation could do a little something with it. I mean, we'll get the Japanese version on DVD with subs. That's a start. And everyone know's that it's going to be WAAAAAYYY better than the 4Kids dub, no matter how shitty a job FUNi does on it.

Here's hoping that FUNimation gives One Piece a Dragon Ball-like dub, not a Dragon Ball Z-like dub.

Duo · Post by **Duo** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:34 pm

fps_anth wrote:It's definately getting there. I think that One Piece really need popularity in North America to get to the level that Dragon Ball is at. It truly is an amazing anime/manga, and currently, I'm OBSESSED. It has more manga volumes than Dragon Ball, and it's still going. Ten years in August 2007 I believe.

Anyways, I'm not sure about the North American dubbing company. Dare I say it, but...perhaps...FUNimation could do a little something with it. I mean, we'll get the Japanese version on DVD with subs. That's a start. And everyone know's that it's going to be WAAAAAYYY better than the 4Kids dub, no matter how shitty a job FUNi does on it.

Here's hoping that FUNimation gives One Piece a Dragon Ball-like dub, not a Dragon Ball Z-like dub.

Well, the only thing FUNi ever screwed up was Dragonball Z. Every other Anime they do comes out great, so OP would have a 95% chance of being amazing. Plus, for the crossovers, they could have some consistnecy with the Z cast, even if the english cast isn't exactly everyones favorite.

Kirbopher · Post by **Kirbopher** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:28 pm

As far as in Japan goes, it's the second best seller next to Kochikame. Over here, however, absolutely not. I think those reasons would be obvious to us all.

mAcChaos · Post by **mAcChaos** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:36 pm

Is it popular in South America? Dragonball has always been huge there.

chibi_goten · Post by **chibi_goten** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:38 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote: I mean, there's a replica of the Going Merry floating in Tokyo harbor, for pete's sake.

I just had to find it. One Piece is actually really good, I wasn't sure but I stuck with the manga like I was advised to do and it is funny, and has aspects of Dragonball in it. In England though, One Piece is just slightly under the popularity of what Dragonball was in it's peak, though I would say it's getting there.

Mystic Jack · Post by **Mystic Jack** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:56 pm

I wouldn't say it has Dragon Ball's popularity yet. It will definitely reach it in time, I'm assuming. It's kind of being brought down in Australian shores, (because that's we're I'm the most familiar in anime) because of the 4kids dub, and Japanese lovers like me just seek the DVD's. *shrugs* At least in Australia, One Piece is still going strong!

*blows trumpet horn of victory*

Chuquita · Post by **Chuquita** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:57 pm

Does the replica actually function as an actual ship?

Payne222 · Post by **Payne222** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:58 pm

It depends on where you're talking about. If you're referring to Japan, then...
Heck yes!
But America on the other hand...
"You mean that gay kids show?" (Typical responce) ... (-_-)

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:07 pm

Chuquita wrote:Does the replica actually function as an actual ship?

It does. It's used for promotional things, I believe.

It's a lot bigger than the Merry, though. It's closer to the Thousand Sunny, their new ship, in size.

fps_anth · Post by **fps_anth** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 5:16 pm

Ok then. I'm going to Japan. I don't think I'll be able to sleep knowing that there is a real Going Merry in Japan. I am SOOO going on that and taking pictures of myself. That is FUCKING AWESOME.

Brad Redfield · Post by **Brad Redfield** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:35 pm

SSj Kaboom, that's a gigantic spoiler you have in your post.

As for OP's popularity compared to DB: In Japan it already rivals DB. It's always in the top 10 ratings wise for the anime and its one of Jump's best selling series. (Volume 24 was Japan's highest selling book of all time untill Harry Potter book 6 came out.)

However in America, OP is nowhere near what DBZ used to be thanks to the idiotic handling of the anime by 4Kids. The series fared much worse than the original Saban/FUNi dub of DBZ let's leave it at that. (At least that dub had good voice acting, OP only had one good VA.) I believe if OP had gotten a good dub it would be rivaling and competing with Naruto in ratings and popularity...hey, at least VIZ didn't screw up the manga.

SonGokuGT · Post by **SonGokuGT** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:54 pm

What it really comes down to... In Japan, I think it's pretty much on par with Dragonball. As far as Dragonball's international appeal... One Piece can't touch it!

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:59 pm

Brad Redfield wrote:SSj Kaboom, that's a gigantic spoiler you have in your post.

Oh, sorry. I knew it was a little spoilerish, but I didn't think it'd be that big a deal. It's not like I revealed anything about the story, or anything.

Super Sonic · Post by **Super Sonic** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 7:06 pm

The only anime property of 4Kids that was close to DBZ's popularity in the US (not counting Pokemon) was Yu-Gi-Oh.

Kanzenshuu

Is 'One Piece' at DBZ's level of popularity in the past?

Is 'One Piece' at DBZ's level of popularity in the past?

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