The One Piece Anime Is Now a Must-Watch – Even for Manga-Only Fans

While fans agree that the One Piece manga is as good as it's ever been, the anime has also been knocking it out of the park as it reaches the climax of the Wano arc. This is thanks to not only a noteworthy shift in the anime's direction and animation, but also coloring, lightning and general pacing since the start of Wano. Those elements have left us with what is, without question, the best-looking arc out of the One Piece anime so far, and viewers can't stop gushing over just how good things have gotten lately.

Produced by Toei Animation (Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Digimon), the One Piece anime has been a solid adaption of Eiichiro Oda's shonen manga masterpiece. That being said, the anime has had some high highs and some low lows. Arcs like Water 7, Enies Lobby and Sabaody did not pull any punches, including Luffy literally punching Saint Charlos. The image of him breaking down in tears after losing his crew still sticks in a lot of fans' minds, too. Unfortunately, Dressrosa was a low point for the anime, with some of the most gruelingly slow pacing and shoddy animation in the entire series.

Despite those low points, however, the anime has always had a killer soundtrack and exceptional voice talent to fall back on, which has brought sound and music to the series in ways the manga obviously never could. As much as we love Brook's backstory in the manga, "Bink's Sake" would not hit as hard without the anime's rendition of this bittersweet farewell.

That being said, the level of quality that the anime is delivering in the Wano arc at the moment feels unreal, with Episode 982 being the best recent example. Framing the introduction of Onigashima as if it were a high-energy music video from a concert rave works so well. In addition, the clashing of the Straw Hats' glasses as they decide to wait to celebrate Jimbei's official inclusion in the crew until after they beat Kaido feels like something out of a dream as all the color, light and animation come together perfectly.

The fact that this is still a weekly anime production is, frankly, wild. The increased quality is thanks to series director, Tatsuya Nagamine, who reportedly worked to improved production conditions for animators after directing Dragon Ball Super: Broly. We also have Megumi Ishitani to thank for this most recent episode as director. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Megumi Ishitani also directed the incredible Episode 957, which featured the conclusion of Revery and the nullification of the Seven Warlords. Not only does Megumi Ishitani understand One Piece's emotional backbone, but her skill as a director makes those emotions shine through in every creative and calculated camera move, cut and cinematic shot.

If you're a manga reader who's still unconvinced of the level of quality of the anime right now, just look at the top-rated episodes on One Piece's IMDb page. Out of the 10 highest-rated episodes, seven of them are all from the Wano arc. And if that's not enough, just watch the anime for yourself. With the Onigashima raid on the horizon, there's no better time to jump in.