One Piece Anime: Everything You Need To Know To Start Watching The Series

So, you decided to start watching "One Piece." That means you've either listened to that one friend who obsessively preaches the gospel of Eiichiro Oda's masterpiece, gotten caught in the hype of one of the all-time best-selling mangas, or you're doubtful that Netflix's live-action "One Piece" adaptation will cover the whole story Just don't let any naysayers persuade you from not embarking upon this wonderful pirate adventure.

What's that? You don't want to follow our "One Piece" watch order and want to jump right into the next episode with only the necessary context to follow the story from there? Well, that is a mighty task! But you're in luck, because "One Piece" happens to be on hiatus until April 5, 2026. That means you still have about two months from the time of writing to prepare before you start watching this anime live.

It is, as you'd imagine, quite hard to summarize the previous 1,155 episodes of the "One Piece" anime in a single article, much less even attempt to do justice to their many story arcs and characters both big and small. How does one even begin to write about the show's dramatic character development, tonal shifts, big lore reveals, humor, and all the weird little things that make this series the beloved anime that it is? 

Well, it might be a foolish endeavor, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. Here are all the important things you need to know if you want to start watching "One Piece." Obviously, there will be heavy spoilers ahead for the entire story so far.

So, what is "One Piece" even about? A story about pirates at its core, the show follows Monkey D. Luffy (more on him later) and his friends as they set sail to find a legendary treasure called the One Piece, which was left behind by Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates. It's also set in a world populated by humans and all sorts of fantastical races, like fish-men, merfolk, giants, animal people, aasimar-like people with wings who emanate fire from their body, and more. This world mainly consists of two oceans divided by a massive continental mountain range called the Red Line, with a vast ocean route wrapping around the planet perpendicular to the Red Line known as the Grand Line.

The world of "One Piece" is one full of fantastical elements, most notably the Devil Fruits. Along with the mysterious Haki, these are the greatest source of power in this universe. Said to taste horrible, Devil Fruits are supernatural fruits that grant their consumer incredible powers at the cost of not being able to swim. These powers vary great, allowing folks to transform into something as powerful as a literal god or something as silly as a jacket.

Meanwhile, the tensions between pirates and the World Government drives the story in "One Piece." And while there are many media illiterate fans who would tell you this show is not political, they couldn't be more wrong. Beneath its simple premise of a group of pirate friends embarking upon an adventure to find a legendary treasure, this is a story of an authoritarian regime that oppresses its people, supports slavery, commits countless genocides (and other atrocities), and fights anyone and anything that opposes it (be they pirates or revolutionaries).

Monkey D. Luffy is, quite simply, the protagonist of "One Piece." His dream? To follow in Gol D. Roger's footsteps and become King of the Pirates.

Luffy is no ordinary kid, though. Like many anime protagonists, he's a big ol' nepo baby. Luffy's father is Monkey D. Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, aka the "World's Worst Criminal." Luffy's grandfather, on the other hand, is Monkey D. Garp, known as "Garp the Fist" and the "Hero of the Marines."

This is partly why Luffy's exploits have become famous just two years into his career as a pirate. In that short time, he's gained worldwide infamy, defeated three of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, bested the World Government's secret police (the Cipher Pol), punched a World Noble in the face (an act considered to be the ultimate sin), caused the annihilation of the World Government's courthouse island of Enies Lobby and declared war on the Government itself (causing a mass breakout at the impenetrable prison of Impel Down), defeated one of the Four Emperors, and even held his own while fighting the Five Elders (the Highest Authorities of the World Government).

Luffy is also a member of the Clan of D, who are said to be the "Natural Enemy of God" and tend to oppose the World Government. Many powerful and influential characters in the anime similarly have the middle initial D, which is surely no coincidence.

Lastly, even Luffy's power is unusual. Devil Fruits initially appeared to allow him to turn his body into rubber, but they actually let him become the Sun God Nika. He's basically one of the strongest anime characters ever.

Unless you're fine with being incredibly lost, hell no. But if you still wish to try, here's a brief summary of where "One Piece" currently is narrative-wise.

The show's most recent story arc revealed that "One Piece" is really just the latest chapter in a tale that began 800 years ago. Back then, there was a great war fought between a highly advanced Great Kingdom and an alliance of 20 kingdoms. The Great Kingdom had incredibly advanced technology that included an "Iron Giant"-esque robot, along with devastating ancient weapons that almost destroyed the world. Indeed, these weapons caused sea levels to rise by 200 meters, sinking most of the former continents beneath the ocean and leaving only scattered islands.

One of the key players in the war was Joy Boy, who's considered the first pirate in history and the previous user of Luffy's Devil Fruit. Joy Boy is the man who left behind the One Piece treasure on the island of Laugh Tale, and his defeat 800 years ago led to the rise of the World Government. We also now know that the world is still sinking, in no small part due to the continued existence and usage of the ancient weapons (which Joy Boy himself preserved for future generations).

Again, all of this information has been kept secret for centuries and just barely came to light on "One Piece," causing the World Government's true leader, Imu, to unleash the mighty Knights of God. Now, the race to Laugh Tale (the mythical island that hides the One Piece) is on. According to the world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk, the fate of everything will be decided by whoever claims the One Piece.

Yes, "One Piece" is one of the longest anime ever made, but that is a feature, not a bug. The length of the journey is part of what makes "One Piece" worthy of its legendary reputation. Eiichiro Oda has crafted an intricately connected story that's been continuously published for nearly 30 years and constantly calls back to itself.

To be sure, Oda excels at finding even the smallest character to bring back or paying off a joke 20 years in the making on "One Piece." The same thing applies to worldbuilding, as "One Piece" grows organically with each story arc, expanding the scope of its narrative significantly and introducing new elements. Sure, you might be able to follow the basic plot at any given time, as each arc is relatively self-contained, but you'd also be missing out on three decades' worth of context, emotional moments, character development, and plot points — that is, the stuff that actually make these arcs work as well as they do.

So, yeah, I get it: You want to jump aboard the hype train while everyone is talking about "One Piece" and try to follow it along from this point forward. But to jump ahead in the show like this would be to go against the very core of what "One Piece" and Luffy are. After all, Luffy firmly and proudly yells at his crewmates when they try asking Gol D. Roger's right-hand man, Rayleigh, about the One Piece. Be like Luffy, have some patience, and enjoy the ride.