One Piece Season 1 Part 1: First Voyage DVD Set (Who's Buying It?)

[Shift]

For those of you who don't yet know, FUNimation is the current English producer of the Eiichiro Oda's One Piece anime, going on 10 years in Japan, and PREVIOUSLY airing on Cartoon Network. Their first DVDs of the show are not, however, from the 3rd season that USED to be shown on CN. Nor are they the, ahem, "creatively remastered" 4Kids episodes. No, the DVD's in this set are the bona-fide, unaltered, uncut, true as true can be versions of the first 13 episodes of the series many have come to love so much, and in my humble opinion, rightly-so.

The set includes both the English dub and the original (and finally LEGAL) Japanese version with optional subtitles. Spread across 2 disks (don't worry too much, just think Fruits Basket) in a single case, the cover boasts exclusive artwork apparently created just for this release. The episodes themselves start from Luffy's first big fight with Alvida through the tussle with Buggy the Clown, includes his past in eating the rubber-power-giving Gum-Gum Fruit, and leads up through the partial Kuro arc. It also has him meet up with hiw first potential crewmates: Zoro (yes, Zoro) the 3-sword wielding pirate hunter, Nami the navigating thief, and Usopp, the tall-tale-telling sharp-shooter. Their goal? Travel to the Grand Line and claim the great treasure One Piece!

Some of you may be longtime fans, and some of you may not be. But if you want to support a franchise that contains everything from action and a grand adventure to natural comedy to insightful and thought-provoking drama, not to mention a cast of characters that all receive moments to shine, this is one series you ought to check out

The price? $50, the same as your standard Naruto set. However, some places like Wal-Mart and sites like DiscountDVD.com should be cheaper, around $30-$40 most likely. Why am I so adamant about this? Well, for those who've been watching the new season on CN, you may have noticed it suddenly disappeared. For whatever reason, CN pulled it in favor of Bakugan, Blue Dragon and Samurai Jack reruns. In buying the DVD, you may just be able to help a certain channel see the value in keeping the show on the line-up.

And so, if you're a fan of the dub on CN who wants to help give them incentive to continue it there, if you're a fan of the original who wants to have legal subtitled copies at long last, if you're a supporter of FUNi in general and just wanna show 'em some love, or if you want to finally start on one of the great shonen stories of our time, I urge to see about buying this set.

http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/main/

This thread will also serve as the talkback. So talk! ...back.

 

[Sketch]

The first episodes of the series? I thought they couldn't redo them until 4kids license ran out. .-.

Regardless, I will buy this~<3

 

[Adamant]

Wow, thanks for the tip. I just placed my order.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Can't wait to get my hands on this. I think I might have to pre-order today to save.

The first episodes of the series? I thought they couldn't redo them until 4kids license ran out. .-.

Regardless, I will buy this~<3

4Kids lost the rights before FUNi even got them.

The issue was that Viz had licensed the home video rights, and still had those for the first 143 episodes. Presumably Viz's rights have either run out, or FUNi cut a deal with them.

 

[Jnoo]

If I'm reading that right, this is Funi redoing the old episodes, right?

If so, you can gurantee I'm buying this in a heartbeat. =)

 

[Adamant]

Yeah, it's the first 13 episodes. The set will take us halfway through the Captain Kuro arc.

 

[Joey]

This seems like a good deal. I mean I always think $50 for 13 episodes is absurd, but I buy Naruto for unfathomable reasons so I might as well grab this and check it out, as I've been interested in it for awhile. (Who doesn't love pirates?) Maybe not right away as I've got a few other series to catch up on, but I'll pick it up for sure.

 

[Dogasu]

I'm definitely picking this set up, but I won't be able to do it until the next time I head back to the States.

The third set is the one I'm really looking to since it'll contain the start of the Arlong arc, which is the arc that made me give up any hope that the 4Kids dub would ever be watchable.

 

[Sketch]

I just ordered mine~

This will be good~<3

 

[bell02+]

Lol, I kind of wish I read this before I voted. Since it's on sale, I'm definitely buying it now.

Is that really the official word on One Piece and Cartoon Network? I was sure that they were probably pulling it while new episodes are dubbed, as that would be a very cartoon network thing to do. To replace it with Blue Dragon would be horrible (The show's not great in any language)... but I'm sure Microsoft is sponsoring the show, hoping to give the series a second wind some place.

I'm still confident for a return in the summer, but I guess I don't know. Cartoon Network has been acting like they have money troubles lately.

 

[Trainer-c]

I am buying this for sure. I can hardly wait.

 

[Adamant]

Is that really the official word on One Piece and Cartoon Network?

No. CN is supposedly juggling various series around until they come up with something that works. FUNi themselves have said the TV dub of OP is not cancelled.

 

[Sketch]

No. CN is supposedly juggling various series around until they come up with something that works. FUNi themselves have said the TV dub of OP is not cancelled.

Well then. What they need to do is stop playing freaking Goosebumps and give Toonami that 8 PM hour. >_<

 

[Shift]

Just an update, the RightStuf deal has ended, so it'll just be sold at the retail price now. Places like Wal-Mart and DiscountDVD should be selling it cheaper, though.

 

[Dogasu]

Well then. What they need to do is stop playing freaking Goosebumps and give Toonami that 8 PM hour. >_<

Tell people to stop giving Goosebumps better ratings than Toonami.

 

[bell02+]

I'm not sure if they are still airing goosebumps. I think they are back on their regular scheduled stuff. (Out of Jimmy's Head, George of the Jungle, cartoon network original stuff)

 

[Satoshi-chan]

Tell people to stop giving Goosebumps better ratings than Toonami.

Wow, something is very wrong with this world if Goosebumps is getting better ratings than Toonami. What kinda crack are the CN watchers smoking?

 

[Dark Chromium Dragonite]

Not only do I not support this dub (nor particularly any part of the One Piece anime), but I support/endorse/encourage anime piracy, so there's no way I'd ever buy this.

Don't get me wrong, I love the manga (more than many would think) but the anime is an abomination against mankind.

 

[Satoshi-chan]

I disagree with that myself, I really love the anime, and I fully support the Funimation dub 100%. Funi treats their anime much better than 4kids could ever treat a show.

 

[Dark Chromium Dragonite]

The anime is ridiculously low quality compared with other anime made right now; I'm not talking about Naruto or Bleach, but stuff like D-Gray Man and Gintama put OP to shame. Let's not talk about Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann and Soul Eater, which are on another planet of quality.

Reasons for the LQ anime is because it was never intended to sell well on DVDs, it's basically a long commercial to promote the merchandise. At least 4Kids was smart enough to realize this and market OP to death while it could, FUNimation can't make anything off of the pitiful DVD sales. The fact that an OP DVD is selling for the same price as Haruhi is heresy.

OP getting kicked off of Cartoon Network after even less time than 4Kids while getting worse ratings tells me that One Piece inherently has little appeal in America, it was never going to be a huge hit no matter how well it was debut. It's a cult show at best.

I did not approve FUNimation acquiring the rights to OP because I knew it was going to be a financial bomb. I own stock in FUNimation Productions, and I've seen a 200% drop in the stock value since September 2007, when OP began airing. I'm not pleased.