It’s hard to know where to start with anime, and with it all laid out before you on a streaming service like Crunchyroll, even with suggestions, it can be a little intimidating. But at Fan Expo this year, an anime called One Piece seemed to be everywhere, so that looked like a good place to start.

It’s vastly entertaining, but the first series subtitled East Blue is 61 episodes long. That’s a little much to talk about for one post, so I decided to watch the first half of the first series and see how I felt about it and if I continue on from there.

To keep it short and to the point, I love it. It’s filled with adventure, it’s goofy, it invests in its characters and their emotional arcs, and is interested in telling a story. And of course, I had to watch the subtitles on. I know dubbed versions are becoming a but of an art form, but I prefer the original recordings.

We follow a young man named Luffy who dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates. He’s got some strange rubber-like abilities thanks to a ‘gum gum fruit’ he ate which gives him miraculous powers, but has taken away his ability to swim. He is setting out for the legendary stretch of ocean known as the Grand Line in search of the One Piece.

Over the course of the first thirty episodes Luffy finds himself joined by a pirate hunter, Zoro, who uses three swords, one held firmly in his teeth, a thief who steals only from pirates, Nami, a fellow pirate dreamer and but of a braggart, Usopp, and a cook with big dreams, Sanji.

But Luffy doesn’t meet them all at once, the series takes its time, setting up conflicts, filling out backstory and history, and sending us to odd locations like a floating restaurant. Along the way, Luffy will have to battle with various baddies, including clown pirates, an evil hypnotist and the terrifying Don Krieg.

But as the first thirty episodes come to a close, Nami needs some help, Zoro and Usopp have set off to help and bring her and their ship, the Merry Running back, Sanji joins Luffy on his quest to the Grand Line, and adventure awaits.

The stylized art of the anime format plays very well to this genre of story, allowing for wild and eccentric characters and designs, wild locations and creatures, and a depth of story that lets the whole world breathe.

Nothing feels rushed, battles take place over the course over a number of episodes, and all of the characters are very well realized (animated or not). There are lots of laughs to be had, and a lot of fun and adventure pulsing through it.

Despite the characters’ trappings, each of them has an emotional arc, and we get time to see each of them in their environment. And not just the main characters, we get looks at the stories for villains, and motivations for almost all of the characters, it’s really well-thought out. Yes, it’s based on the manga of the same name, but there are always translations from one format to the other, but One Piece just feels like a winner across all the boards.

I thought I would be digging into something with giant robots, and kaiju and space battles first, and there are plenty of those to be had on Crunchyroll, but One Piece is just so much fun!

If you’re like me, and unsure of where to begin but want to check out something truly entertaining, make sure you dig into One Piece on Crunchyroll. I’m setting sail for the second half of the series and the Grand Line now, and can’t wait to see what happens to Luffy and his crew next.

One Piece and a number of other amazing titles are available on Crunchyroll, check it out here.