One Piece

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

One Piece is an animated show that is a sort of reverse anime. Produced in America, One Piece has also been exported for broadcast in Japan.

American Version

Broadcast on Cartoon Networks "Adult Swim" block of programming, the U. S. version of One Piece is a violent, bloody and utterly realistic look at the world of pirates. The show tells the story of the crew of the pirate ship "Going Merry", who are led by the bloodthirsty Monkey D. Luffy. The so-called "Straw Hat Pirates" search the seven seas for plunder, pillaging and raping all who would dare stop them. The group is branded as terrorists by the show's fictional "Marines", who continually try and fail to stop the destructive rampage of the Straw Hats. The crew is also supposedly after a great treasure, although most One Piece viewers believe that the search is merely an expository device to keep the blood flowing.

Currently, One Piece is the highest rated television show among teenage boys, and is credited with keeping Adult Swim ahead of Spike TV and G4 in terms of total coolness among cable television networks.

Japanese Version

One Piece is also shown on Japanese television, but this version bears little resemblance to the original American version. Broadcast as a children's television show, the Japanese One Piece is a highly censored version of the American program. The show is played mostly for laughs, with all references to violence, blood, piracy and other icky things removed. Scenes are shown out of order, heavily reanimated by Japanese cartoonists, or many times left on the editing floor. Even the "Marine" protagonists have been transformed into a laughable group called "The Old Navy". As a result, One Piece in Japan has about the same fanbase as The Wiggles.