Quick Look: One Piece: Unlimited World RED

Looks like anime is still for jerks.

@cloneslayer: Well, going by what Jeff said on what's on the back of the box, the Raccoon is an original character who's only in the game.

on-ime

Guys I started watching one piece after I watched this quick look, what's happening, someone save me.

oh yeah....i like the positive energy here

"Two hats!!!"

New Premium content idea for Giant Bomb: Jeff overdubs anime. His interpretation of what's happening seems to be infinitely more interesting than what's actually going on.

Dan relates everything to wrestling. I LOVE THIS GUY! *Jerry Lawler voice*

naruto, one piece, or bleach? where would i start? what if i REALLY hated myself?

I have a strange urge to play this game

I'm going to answer this relatively straightforward, 'cause I think it might possibly be amusing (to me) to do so. It also kinda depends on whether you're talkin' anime or manga. The latter is, for all three of these, generally better* (for some definition of better...I'm not a fan of any of them...I tend towards Seinen rather than Shounen**). EDIT: I should mention that I've only seen a couple of seasons of each of these as anime, and have only read, say, between 2-10 volumes of each of these as manga. And all when I was roughly 16-18 years old, so it's been 5-7 years for me. They might've improved since then.

Of the three, I disliked Naruto the most. Overly melodramatic, even for Shounen's standards, lots of filler that's even worse than the original content. I'd say go here if you want to really do some damage to yourself. (The Shipuuden series did not fix the issues I had with Naruto, before anyone tries bringing that up).

Bleach is the middle ground here. Just kinda a bland, mediocre Shounen. Maybe some interesting concepts from time to time. This might be the one to go with if you're the kind of person who thinks being boring is worse than being bad.

One Piece is legitimately alright, particularly in manga form (the anime had some...problems cross the ocean). It isn't my cup of tea (it's rare that Shounen is, nowadays), but for what it is, with the genre and demographic it's targeting, it isn't bad. So avoid this one, if you're trying to hate yourself, and take your hate out by watching anime. Or maybe this is the perfect one...because if you end up liking it, you have like 300-400 hrs of content to consume. This thing is MASSIVE.

*Partly due to all three being manga first. Transition to anime means certain things get lost in the transition, and filler tends to get added.

**Shounen = aimed at boys ages 18 and under (can't remember the starting age), Seinen = aimed at men ages 18-40. Not really tied to genre, and only somewhat tied to content. (For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Death Note are technically Shounen). It tends to be more tied to themes and concepts, as well as how they handle relationships between the characters. EDIT2: Well, technically, what determines which one it is, is what type of magazine it comes out on, or what time slot it airs in. But that's being kinda pedantic.

@ripelivejam: If you really hate yourself, I say start with Bleach. Why? As it goes on past the first major arc, you will witness one of the most mind-boggling declines in manga history. I mean, like...it gets bad. It has some really good moments still, but as a whole it's quite laughable compared to it's beginnings.

Yes! Talk more about Death Note!

one piece seems like silly fun, naturo and bleach get too up-their-own-ass serious.

Consider this an addendum to Matoyak's post: Naruto turns bad half way through, bleach is so aggressively bland that the author literally gave up drawing backgrounds for his characters to stand in within the first 200-300 chapters, and one piece has a few lows but if you're on board with the characters then it's a hell of a ride.

Fairy Tail

No matter what you think of One Piece, anime, or anything else, let's take a moment to appreciate that the doctor's name is "Tony Tony Chopper." That is the best name I've heard in a long time.

@ripelivejam: I enjoy watching Naruto. Not seen the others, but I may give One Piece a shot.

Naruto does seem more self-serious than One Piece, but it does get goofy. Re: "melodrama", yeah it does have some of that, but primarily in filler. In the main story, I personally feel the drama is earned most of the time. (a lot of messed up shit happens). But other than that, there's a lot of good action with crazy special attacks. The fights are generally not mindless; they can be quite tactical, which is fun to watch. I.e. enemy attack patterns are analysed and a strategy to defeat them is formed. I also really like the lore; the various elemental abilties, the different Village systems - their leaders and internal politics etc (something that's explored mainly in Shippuden).

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for. One Piece seems more akin to Dragon Ball Z in terms of goofy over-the-top fun, which does sound appealing.

I've never watched it. Is it... is it good? It's gotta be right? ... That dude's name was Tony Tony Chopper, so I'm guessing it's good.

I know (it makes me cry on the inside) what you mean. Most of the great games based on mangas or anime tend to stay in Japan. I would LOVE to see a new Berserk game (played both previous games) by From, but even if they did do it chances are it would only be released in Japan. Same goes for a Sidonia no Kishi, Kill la Kill or Gurren Lagann.

The weirdest thing for me is the fact that Trigger is owned (or at least works) at Kodansha, which last I checked is also a games publisher. So, I have no idea why they haven't tried to capitalize on Kill la Kill's popularity by releasing a game.

Oh, I would also love to see Biomega get a game too, but I don't think that will ever happen (I'm crying on the inside again, dammit).

Jeff's already aware of Gurren Lagann. I have no idea what he thought of it though.

The pinnacle of overdubs. Boxcutta style, baby!

If people wanna get in on some anime they might actually not hate then your check list should consist of:

Desert Punk - basically Fallout as a comedy anime, lead character is a lovable asshole, english dub is amazing.

Cromartie Highschool - entirely male cast, teenagers who all look like 25 year old street thugs, fucking infinite hilarity. Freddy Mercury, a Gorilla and a robot that looks like a garbage can are reoccurring characters. English dub is amazing.

Cowboy Bebop - chances are you or a friend already saw it and no its not over-hyped, just fucking watch it and be sad nothing else as good has come along yet. Although the same directors latest series Space Dandy (sci fi action parody comedy) is pretty fantastic. English dub is amazing.

Ghost in the Shell - several movies and two series, all worthwhile. If somehow you're unaware of it, its a sci-fi action drama, complex themes, good writing, great characters, a far more realistic art style than most anime Can be pretentious at times but is really just a good cop show only animated. If you like Deus Ex or cyberpunk in general this franchise is made for you.

Attack on Titan and Kill la Kill as well of course but eh better to just let people go in to those blind since the internet kinda spoils the fuck out of them already since they're the two big deals of recent years.

Huh, guess I'm more a fan of seinen if it includes anime like Ghost in the Shell, Welcome to the NHK, anything Satoshi Kon, Akira, Berserk, Hellsing, Monster, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bepop, 5cm Per Second. I've realised my favourite anime fall under that label.

Wow, I saw 6 pages of comments and thought it would be arguing about Jeff and Dan and their dislike for anime, was awesome to see it's just people talking and discussing about Anime and making recommendations for beginners.

Awesome. Also great QL.

They've got their adolescent audience's best wishes in mind.

This, for me, is the reason I've lost most interest in anime and manga over the last 10 years. Yotsuba and Azumanga Daioh are cool but that's about it, and it seems like the moe thing has just completely taken over. At least now Shinichiro Watanbe is back to deliver us from that nonsense, after his prolonged absence.

@sydlanel said:

As someone who already knew Dan from Game Informer's replay stuff I'd say that it's probably just that him and Jeff are pretty freaking similar. A little too similar, honestly. I love Jeff but he has some pretty extreme opinions that are verging on trolling and if there's not someone there to argue against it I get frustrated, lol. I really miss Patrick in the regard. Vinny too. Now there is literally nobody in that office that likes anime, for instance. But Dan will defend Yoshi's Island to his grave, so there's that.

This reminds me of a Naruto game I had for the 360, the name escapes me but that was super fun, if this game plays out like that game than I am sure I will enjoy it. Plan on getting it for my Vita.

Man you guys being down on all anime is making me sad. But god I love One Piece.

Is One Piece a really elaborate joke that eventually spun out of control?

Also it looks kind of interesting.

Man, I don't know, that dragon looked pretty chill, why'd you have to punch him in the neck so much?

Wouldn't anyone who is into wrestling find the exact same appeal in most anime? It seems to me the appeal of both is exaggeration and "badassery." Likewise, the main criticism against both is that they sometimes take themselves too seriously, which their respective audiences are obviously willing to see past. I'm asking as someone with minimal understanding of both these phenomena. Is Jeff a hypocrite? A bigot? A RACIST?

One Piece will never end will it? How many episodes are there? 1000?

@tbk: And on top of that the writer just said he thinks he can ride it out for another 10 years, so lol. That being said out of the major shonens out right now one piece is definitely one of the better ones.

I thought you were exaggerating, but not by much as it turns out. Wow. I stopped watching OP (and anime in general) back in high school right after the desert kingdom stuff, around mid 100s episode.

Dan's great!

huh. my impression is that Dan's general excitement and positivity is just infectious. Vinny had the exact same effect on Jeff and others, and it has never felt awkward. so far i have found all of Dan's quicklooks to be the exact opposite of forced. they seem completely natural, and Jeff certainly makes negative remarks, but Dan is just good at making the best of the negative. :)

I knew absolutely nothing about One Piece before this QL. This game looks surprisingly fun. Also, Dan fits right in with the crew. They all just sound invigorated.

@suicidepacmen: oh my...

dude it's pretty good

@assinass said:

Not much of a surprise. Though technically Welcome to the NHK is Shounen. It ran in Shōnen Ace. That fact is going to make NHK do a good job of being one of the best examples of something that breaks from the very point I'm about to make. Go figure.

Generally, Seinen deals with topics in a more mature, adult-oriented manner...as they are aiming at a more mature audience.* Shounen/Shōnen tends to deal in absolutes - Good vs Evil. Love is pure, and mostly chaste. It tends to be grandiose - the world/universe is at stake. If you beat your enemy, xe might very well become your friend. If people die, they tend to be either the bad guy, or they die very heroically, achieving something. In a Seinen, someone can just die...having achieved nothing. Or worse. Shounen rarely deal with mental issues, or more mentally focused conflicts. It's mostly physical conflict. All of this is perfectly fine. A LOT of people like it, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Then there are the Seinen-like Shounen. These cover a similar area as western Young Adult novels tend to. They are introducing the younger audience to more mature themes. Evangelion, Death Note, Attack on Titan...these are all technically Shounen. But they deal in shades of grey, touching topics that most/some Shounen wouldn't touch with a meme-infested 9001 foot pole. AoT/SnK has a chapter that reveals the main character helped his adopted sister kill two men who were going to sell her and her mom into sexual slavery. She had watched them accidentally kill her mom...she was something like 9 years old. This isn't something most Shounen will deal with...and even AoT kind of doesn't deal with it too directly. It definitely has an impact on her character, and there are hints at it affecting her much more than just a desire to be strong, but it doesn't dwell in it. A Seinen likely would, and would deal with her mental state about it. And then there's something like Eureka 7...the only show Adult Swim had to air TWO graphic content warnings on for every episode past the halfway mark due to the sheer violence in them...and it's a Shounen that focuses on Environmentalism and the concept of love between two very different races.

Seinen will deal much more in the psychological aspects of things. Monster, as you mention, has comparatively little fighting or physical violence...but is entirely about the psychological damage these two kids dealt with due to the brainwashing of one of them under a particular psychopath. (I would actually highly recommend checking out anything by Naoki Urasawa, mangaka of Monster. Pluto is particularly good, especially if you have any knowledge of Astro Boy, though you don't need that to enjoy it). Phantom: Requiem for a Phantom deals with the psychological trauma that comes from being a hit-man, as well as dealing with issues of brainwashing. There is violence, but the violence isn't the main draw...it's the emotions violence can bring out that Seinen is interested in. They will also handle character relationships and love in more realistic ways: with arguments, fights, angry makeup sex, questions about whether to have children or not, what have you.

One of the things people don't get about anime and manga is that it has a WIDE demographic, and that the ones that tend to come over to the West are the ones aimed at children...because those are the ones that sell well here, because the West associates cartoons and other symbol-based arts (ie: non-realistic styles) with children. Most people don't get that there is a HUGE market of stuff aimed at adults, with adult themes and adult sensibilities.

*And I need to emphasize the strength of the "generally" statement. There are exceptions ALL over the place due to the sheer volume of how much manga and anime exist...and there are exceptions within very Shounen manga and anime itself. Even Naruto has its moments. I'm grossly oversimplifying things here. Also apparently making a HUGE wall of text. Dear lord.

@voidoid said:

I think he (and all of the Giant Bomb crew, really) play it up a bit for the camera.

I could possibly see Jeff getting into FLCL, as well. Seems like it might possibly be his kind of insanity.

Also, @courage_wolf / @seikenfreak Steins;Gate is based on a "real event", but only very loosely. It was also originally a Light Novel, iirc, and had a dating sim...though I'm uncertain at which of those came first...or if they were maybe one and the same. ~shrug~

As someone whose a big fan of One Piece (mainly only read the manga haven't watched the anime in years) watching people react to being exposed to it for the first time is hilarious. Them trying to piece shit together is awesome especially since this game is set so far into the story.

I would watch this anime but there are so many episodes. When I was in Highschool I had time to watch all of Naruto and Shiputon, but now I'm too busy. Sad cause this show looks bananas

Frick, I'm pretty hyped about getting back into One Piece now (probably my favorite anime of all time). And I'm contemplating buying this game though I probably won't have the time to play it.

Just got to the part discussing water in games...if only they knew! I was kinda hoping for a game over when he jumped in.