Reviews

For those that were still in doubt, yes this is actual Star Trek. And this is coming from someone who's watched literally every ST series and film along with a slew of other great sci-fi material.

Unlike Discovery and Picard, this looks and feels like a genuine Star Trek story with genuine Star Trek characters. Not only that, but the production values are the best they've ever been in the franchise. And this very episode is the culmination of what has been an extremely strong first season in a franchise that is not known for its particularly good first seasons. Without sacrificing its much missed episodic format which allows for greater storytelling opportunities, this episode has a sort of gravitas and urgency to it that has characterized some of the greatest episodes in ST, and indeed, TV history (think The City on the Edge of Forever, The Best of Both Worlds, and In the Pale Moonlight). If this is only a taste of what's to come then we're certainly in for something great.

I'm writing all this since I feel it's important. If you're a senior Trekkie don't let the (fortunately) few negative reviews rambling on about wokeness (as if Star Trek wasn't politically conscious from the beginning) and bad acting (possibly one of the best cast essembles we've seen in a while) dissuade you from what has, against all odds, been a miracle of a show so far. And if you're a newcomer to the franchise then let me be the first to welcome you aboard as this is as good a place to start as any and likely the most accessible (although I'd recommend watching a few eps from the original 60s series first for a deeper understanding. Namely: The Cage, The Menagerie Pt. 1 & 2, and Balance of Terror).

My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts: "GO AND WATCH THIS SHOW NOW!"

I've loved The Orville ever since it began airing and like many others I couldn't help but compare it to previous and current Star Trek series. The lightheartedness and tasteful humor got to me, I could finally get a break from the super serious shows that seem to dominate today's TV and streaming services. But then something began to change, something I did not expect.

The Orville took us to places beyond our wildest dreams. Space stations harboring ancient civilizations, planets where time flows thousands of times faster than our own, exotic worlds with gravity that could crush humans in an instant. It was getting clearer that this show is more than meets the eye by combining poignant messages and sophistication with what many would consider unthinkable: fun. It eventually proved a point that we could indeed have the best of both worlds.

By the time season 2 started airing I already knew The Orville was something special but even I couldn't have possibly foreseen the greatness that would hit me in the face with Identity, Part 1. I told myself they can't possibly top this, the show is bound to crumble under all that ambition. After finishing the 2nd and final part I can safely say that this is in my top 5 Star Trek episodes of all time and I don't say this lightly. If this pace and ambition are maintained we could very well be witnessing TV history.

Like I say to all my friends: watch The Orville people, it is impossible that you'll regret it.

I don't watch a lot of shows and I'm really picky when it comes down to it. So you need to believe me when I say that when I started watching The Expanse I couldn't have imagined, not by a longshot, that it would develop into the bold greatness that it is. This last episode of the 3rd season was not just a good episode, it was also a promise. A promise so ambitious that I can't help but fear of the chance that we'll be disappointed. But if the show does indeed deliver and if the writers and the whole crew keep up their impeccable work then The Expanse might be the first show to truly go where none have gone before, a lifelong dream in the world of science fiction.

I won't spoil story details regarding the ending of the season but I will say that it has reached new, higher levels of storytelling and feels bigger than ever without sacrificing details or leaving things behind. The characters have a certain level of depth and authenticity to them rarely seen, especially if we consider the last few years in which mainstream commercial success takes priority above all else. The rest, cinematography, music, CGI are all in peak condition without really distracting us from what really matters: The Expanse's version of humanity and its tale across the stars.

Needless to say I am grateful to Amazon who decided to pick it up and averted what might have been the 2nd biggest TV catastrophe after the cancellation of Firefly. I only hope, and pray, that more people will give this wonderful show a chance so that it may go on and reach its rightful place at the top of the sci-fi pantheon.

Thank you for reading. Now go binge watch it.

Looking at the IMDb reviews it seemed rather strange to me that most of them (the top ones at least) were quite outdated, written in 2005-2006 actually or the reviewers had not seen more than 50 or 100 episodes. Having said that please note that i have seen 610 episodes and 2 movies(strong world, film z) as of the day I'm writing this review. I hope my review will provide you with valuable insight to the series or even convince you to watch it. I will try to be as spoiler free as possible.

It's been about a year since i started watching anime regularly and that is something I have yet to regret. I mostly enjoy short anime with less than 50 episodes that have good plot and well made characters, anime like cowboy bebop(my favorite), mushishi, ergo proxy, code geass etc. I knew about anime like OP, Naruto, Bleach even before I started watching anime but kept avoiding them even when I had seen about 50 (I must have seen over 100 now XD) other anime mainly because I thought to myself 'how can they be any good when they have that many episodes? Aren't they out of ideas yet?'. Well I might be right about Naruto and Bleach but when it comes to One Piece I couldn't be more wrong. One piece is so good, so enjoyable and it never ends which is something everyone who is watching it wants.

Talk about long introduction huh? Anyways onto the actual review now. It will be divided into 4 sectors: story, characters, art and sound, enjoyment.

STORY: Now the story at first might seem very simple and straightforward, a young boy Monkey D. Luffy (17 years old)setting out on sea on a great journey to become the Pirate King and find One Piece the biggest and greatest treasure in the OP world that was left in 'that' place by the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Before Roger was executed publicly by the marines-world government he told everyone that if they wanted OP they had to look for it and that it was all left in 'that' place and that ignited the great age of pirates. The series is divided into arcs, each featuring its very own story and setting, each island, each place the straw hat pirates (Luffy and his crew) visit is a whole different adventure with new people to meet and new circumstances. And that's one of the best things of OP, you never get bored. You are fascinated by the huge and diverse OP world and you just can't let go of it. Everything is interesting and everything is fun, Luffy and his crew never chose the easy path but they strive for adventure and excitement and they almost pass their feelings to us the viewers. That's something very rare especially in anime and OP handles that expertly. Once you have seen enough episodes you will realize that the main characters of the series, especially Luffy, don't really care about their destination, hell most of the times they don't even know where they are going at all. All that matters is that they are going somewhere interesting where they will learn new things, get stronger, meet new people and face powerful foes. Another thing worth mentioning is that the series has very few fillers (episodes that did not exist in the original story-source material-manga) unlike some other mainstream anime series(Naruto, Bleach anyone?). Also the fillers are actually not that bad, sure they are not good but many of them are OK. And that's a huge plus for an anime series.

CHARACTERS: This is where OP really shines. Each character is presented with great detail, they are all quite unique. Everyone has their own backstory explained thoroughly and we get to see why they are who they are, why each one of them has their very own ambitions and dreams. Due to their different experiences they have very different personalities and through good character development we see how they interact with each other and how they get closer to each other. We see how they become comrades and everyone is looking for each other, they become something very close to a family. That's the kind of bonds they make. Furthermore we not only see the history and personality of the straw hats but many others too like members of the marines. We see why they make the kind of choices they make. Nobody is entirely evil and nobody is purely good. Everyone has a good reason behind what they are doing and they strongly believe in their own cause, in their own justice and in their own dreams.

ART AND SOUND: One Piece also excels in this sector with beautiful and vivid animation. The sceneries look alive and all different from each other with their very own characteristics. The characters are illustrated masterfully and each character looks a lot different from each other (that's a huge plus in anime). The sound department also did a great job especially with the voice actors, I'm always talking about the original Japanese (don't you dare see the English dub),who fit really well into their respective characters. The music, for me at least, is very catchy and actually really well made. However that depends on personal taste, if you are not really into this kind of karaoke-Japanese style of music you might not like it. Nevertheless OP really has some of the greatest music themes I have heard in an anime.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT: One Piece is one of the most, if not the most enjoyable and diverse anime series you can find. It really excels in pretty much every field there is. It is the only anime series, or any series, I have seen with that many episodes and yet manages to stay that good(and believe me, have I seen a lot). I recommend OP to anyone with enough time and hunger for adventure. If you have not decided whether to watch it or not just watch 10 episodes and see for yourself if you want continue or not (oh you will want to continue). Trust me and you won't regret it, just like I did.

And yep that's the end of it fellas. If you enjoyed my review and found it useful please upvote so others can see it.

2021 update: I've been on the fence about deleting this since it's so poorly written, I was 17 at the time of writing and not a native speaker, and my opinion on one piece and anime in general has changed dramatically for the worse. But I figured I might as well leave it be since people seem to like it and it serves as a kind of snapshot of my 17 year old self whose input other hopeful 16 and 17 year adventurers out there might find helpful.