One of my gaming buddies, Grumpy0lLady, is featured gamer in this article!
At Xbox, we believe that gaming is for everyone. You hear it a lot, but it’s absolutely true. The Xbox community is at the center of everything we do, every decision we make. This month we’re recognizing the 400+ million players who make up the gaming and disability community. In their own words, we’re inviting Elle Vance, Software Engineer II for Xbox Player Services, to share their story on how being part of the gaming and disability community has impacted their life:
“I understand the world through a different perspective. Unlike most neurotypical people, who understand the world from a top-down perspective; I start with a bottom-up approach, focusing first on the details. Sometimes my perspective is advantageous in my work as a Software Engineer II, and in other areas of my life, too, as I am able to troubleshoot problems at a granular level before processing it from a broader framework which could potentially create bias in attempting to solve that problem.
I’ve worked with Xbox for 4 years and was recruited through a program for neurodiverse individuals, like myself. I am proud that I am able to be open about my autism diagnosis and that my candor has given the opportunity for others to not only understand people with autism better, but sometimes to even realize that someone they know and love, or even themselves, might experience neurodiversity, as well. I have also been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a condition that affects connective tissue in my body, which has required me to endure multiple surgeries and use mobility aids to get around. While I have felt the need to mask my disabilities at certain times, advocating for myself has supported me at work. Currently, I am able to work from home where I can be comfortable and do my best work in a predictable, quiet environment.
In my free time, I enjoy video gaming as a hobby. Recent favorites I’ve found on Xbox Game Pass include Pentiment (an RPG involving illustrated manuscripts), Hi-Fi Rush (a rhythm-based action game), and Party Animals (a multiplayer brawler game). I always play games with subtitles on, which helps me process auditory information when I am engrossed in the action. I do wish more video game developers would include autistic protagonists. Representation is important, not only so I can feel included, but so neurotypical people have more opportunities to develop empathy for people in the neurodiversity community and appreciate the strengths our unique perspectives provide.”
For this community moment, we’re excited to announce a new phase of our ongoing partnership with Special Olympics and their Gaming for Inclusion tournament! You can read more about that and how Xbox is empowering players with disabilities below:
Xbox Partners with Special Olympics for Gaming for Inclusion Esports Tournament
Since 2014, Microsoft and Special Olympics have been teaming up to empower Special Olympics athletes through technology. This partnership has evolved through the years and now includes a yearly Gaming for Inclusion tournament presented by Special Olympics, Microsoft and Xbox. This year’s Gaming for Inclusion will take place in November, with a mix of virtual and in-person events – all streamed for players and supporters to watch and join in on the fun.
On November 11, 2023, Special Olympics athletes and Unified partners will compete virtually in Rocket League for a chance to play alongside celebrity supporters of Special Olympics, including NFL athletes and WWE Superstars, in an in-person and livestreamed event in Los Angeles, CA on November 18, 2023.
“Xbox is honored to further our commitment to create inclusive gaming experiences for everyone by partnering with Special Olympics as they bring the Gaming for Inclusion esports tournament to life again this year,” says Jenn Panattoni, Head of Xbox Social Impact. “Xbox works year-round to bring intentional, inclusive practices and accessible features to everything we do—but the Gaming for Inclusion tournament provides a moment for us, along with the Special Olympics communities, to remember what gaming is all about: play.”
In addition to the upcoming tournament, in late September, Xbox hosted three of the Special Olympics athletes at the Microsoft Experience Center for a shoutcaster training. In the workshop, the athletes developed their esports commentating skills through improv sessions, guest speakers, and more—and will be putting their training to the test by shoutcasting for the November Gaming for Inclusion tournament.
“We are thrilled that for the third year in a row Xbox and Microsoft are bringing our athletes and Unified partners together for Gaming for Inclusion. Our goal is to digitize the movement for our athletes by removing barriers and expanding our reach through digital technology. Gaming for Inclusion is a powerful example of how organizations can come together to leverage their unique strengths to meet an urgent need and provide critical platforms for people with intellectual disabilities. While oftentimes esports and gaming is a faceless activity, events like Gaming for Inclusion is innovative by showing the world that people with intellectual disabilities are leading the way when given the opportunity,” reflects Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics Inc.
The Xbox community can tune into the tournament on the official Xbox Twitch channel for a livestream of the action. Visit Special Olympics to learn more about their programs and find ways to support their work. Microsoft Rewards members in some markets can also earn points and donate them to Special Olympics to support this important work.
Gaming and Impact with Microsoft Rewards
Microsoft Rewards members in the United States and the United Kingdom can earn and donate points to organizations supporting people in the gaming and disability community with Xbox. The organizations below will be featured on console throughout October:
Special Effect– Special Effect transforms the lives of physically disabled people across the world through the innovative use of technology. At the heart of their work is their mission to maximize fun and quality of life by helping people control video games to the best of their abilities. (UK)
Warfighter Engaged– Warfighter Engaged’s mission is to improve the lives of severely wounded and disabled warfighters through custom adapted devices. They modify video game controllers, make prosthetic enhancements, recreational and other novel devices for greater independence. All adapted items are provided at no cost to the warfighter. (US)
AbleGamers– AbleGamers creates opportunities that enable play in order to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. (US)
Xbox gamers can earn Rewards points in various ways, such as playing games and completing Game Pass Quests, completing offers in the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox, and select purchases at the Microsoft Store (exclusions apply). Earn points and redeem them for real rewards. Join us today and donate through Xbox.
PLAY
Explore Games Curated by Gaming and Disability Communities at Microsoft
Celebrate the Gaming and Disability community through the power of play. Games provide us with the ability to include representation in a variety of immersive experiences that help us connect with each other and understand our differences.
During October and beyond, we are featuring games created by and reflecting the experiences of neurodiversity and people with disabilities. Available on the Microsoft Stores on Xbox and Windows, check out the Stores collection that exists year-round as part of our ongoing work to create more inclusive gaming ecosystems and elevate content that resonates with communities. For Xbox Game Pass members, check out the Xbox Game Pass Gaming & Disability community collection and the PC Game Pass Gaming & Disability community collection.
Featured titles within the collections include:
Halo Infinite (Available with Xbox Game Pass on Console, PC, and Cloud) — The character customization options in Halo Infinite provide a variety of prosthetics, including the Mjolnir power armor that was utilized to create a prosthetic sleeve design for Limbitless Solutions. 343 has been a proud partner of Limbitless Solutions for several years, a non-profit which creates 3D-printed prosthetics for children and helps train them to use their new bionic limbs.
Hi-Fi Rush (Available with Xbox Game Pass on Console, PC, and Cloud) — Follow the story of Chai, an aspiring rockstar with a disabled right arm. The story begins with Chai receiving a cybernetic limb replacement which is interrupted by a music player falling into his chest, resulting in Chai being labeled as a defect. Disability themes remain present throughout the narrative and robotic upgrades are integral to the gameplay.
Sea of Solitude (Available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Console and PC) — CEO, lead writer, and creative director of Jo-Mei Games, Cornelia Geppert, created Sea of Solitude with the idea of immersing players in traumatic relationships within the safe digital confines of a video game. The monsters in the game symbolize depression, anxiety, narcissistic personality disorder, and other disabilities, giving players the opportunity to experience empowerment through game play.
DISCOVER
Artist Danielle Taphanel Inspired by a Blooming Desert for the Xbox Logo Redesign
Xbox commissioned Danielle Taphanel, who is a disabled, non-binary, Filipino-Latino self-taught artist, to redesign this year’s Xbox logo in honor of celebrating the gaming and disability community. Danielle hopes that through their beautiful, desert-themed redesign of the Xbox logo, they can provide a perspective from the disability community that embraces games and art as sources of joy and connection. Through this design, they aimed to capture the diverse, essential, and life-positive forces of the disabled community through the lens of a desert in full bloom after it rains.
Just as the desert creates conditions of adversity in which plant life survives and thrives, so Danielle expresses that disabled people embody the resilience and necessity of shared existences. In their words, “We adapt, we are part of the ecology of our communities; like those desert plants that operate with such specialized and poetic grace, we are essential beings, full of the simple and vibrant commonality of life.”
The blooming expression of the imagery speaks to the ways in which gaming serves as a centralized, accessible, connective force of exploration, play, and imagination for disabled communities across vast spectrums. Check out more of Danielle Taphanel’s work here.
Xbox Ambassadors Feature Stories about Gaming and Disability
This year the Xbox Ambassadors Program is celebrating the Gaming and Disability Community by spotlighting individual Ambassadors on our Xbox Ambassadors Blog and Xbox Wire! We’re excited to share stories from our community about how gaming has impacted the lives of those with disabilities. Read the spotlight below to learn more about featured Ambassador Grumpy0lLady and their gaming experiences.
Spotlight on Grumpy0lLady, Xbox Ambassador
How does gaming impact your life?
About 5 years ago I got badly injured (back and neck) at work, and have been very limited on how long I can do things – such as housework. I have to stop every 10 minutes or so and gaming keeps me occupied while I have to wait to get back to what I was doing. I have been gaming for about 45 years, but now it makes up about 90% of my waking hours.
Do you have a favorite gaming memory you’d like to share with the community?
Getting that last achievement in Forza Horizon 4 – I felt invincible! That was a pretty tough completion, and very satisfying.
What specific games or franchises do you connect the most, and why?
The Dragon Age and Mass Effect series really take me away to another place. They are very easy to lose yourself in with the great stories and companions. The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Skyrim both kept me enthralled for thousands of hours. When I’m in the mood to race, the Forza Horizon series really takes the cake. Excellent gameplay and a ton of fun! Finally, Diablo II – my first PC game and first that I didn’t pump quarters into. It was the only game I played for many years. I still have all of my discs and save files from over 20 years ago! It will always have a special place in my heart.
New Gamerpics, Profile Theme, and Avatar Items for Gaming & Disability
In partnership with disability communities at Xbox, we’re introducing a new gamerpic, profile theme, avatar items, and wallpaper! Additionally, we made Champions Rise gear in partnership with Special Olympics so your avatar can gear up like the Special Olympics athletes competing in the Gaming for Inclusion tournament this November. Get your avatar items here andyour wallpaper here. Content is subject to availability by country.
You just have to admire a chart that casually purports to show every single thing in the Universe in one simple 2D plot. The chart in question is from a piece in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Physics with the understated title of "All objects and some questions".
In Fig. 2, we plot all the composite objects in the Universe: protons, atoms, life forms, asteroids, moons, planets, stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, giant voids, and the Universe itself. Humans are represented by a mass of 70 kg and a radius of 50 cm (we assume sphericity), while whales are represented by a mass of 10^5 kg and a radius of 7 m.
The "sub-Planckian unknown" and "forbidden by gravity" sections of the chart makes the "quantum uncertainty" section seem downright normal — the paper collectively calls these "unphysical regions". Lovely turns of phrase all.
But what does it all mean? My physics is too rusty to say, but I thought one of the authors' conjectures was particularly intriguing: "Our plot of all objects also seems to suggest that the Universe is a black hole." Huh, cool.
In this ASMR stop motion cooking video, a chef butchers a huge Lego salmon and prepares a salmon and rice bowl. This video is surprisingly visceral, what with the sound effects and the (Lego) blood.
Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece has been renewed for a second season.
In a message posted to the One Piece X account, series creator Eiichiro Oda shared a message with fans. Oda noted he’d spent a long time working with Netflix and Tomorrow Studios on the project, and that people seemed to be enjoying the project, which made it worth it. Oda thanked both longtime fans and new watchers. He then explained that Netflix has decided to renew the show for Season 2, though he did not specify any sort of release date or anything else. He said the scripts would take time to get ready and asked for fans to be patient. Oda also teased Tony Tony Chopper’s debut.
Adapted from Oda’s best-selling manga series of the same name, Netflix’s One Piece follows the Straw Hat Pirates on their journey to get the titular treasure, with the group’s leader Monkey D. Luffy wanting to become the “King of the Pirates.” After consuming a powerful and mysterious Devil Fruit, Luffy gains the power to elongate and stretch his limbs. He’s joined on his quest by Nami, Roronoa Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji. While there were initially doubts due to the streaming service’s bad record with live-action anime adaptations, the series received rave reviews and currently sits at an 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that the show did an excellent job of adapting Oda’s original work, which was likely due to the creator’s heavy influence over the series itself. Overall, One Piece has seemingly done quite well in viewership, as Netflix is not often so quick to renew shows, and many of its other live-action adaptations of anime have failed to make an impact.
One Piece Season 1 is available to watch on Netflix now and runs for eight episodes.
A group of students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts recently set a record for the fastest 0-62mph time with their hand-built electric car: 0.956 seconds. The 309-lb car got up to 62mph in just 40.3 feet, which is ~10 feet shorter than the width of a basketball court. The old record was 1.46 seconds, which this car just absolutely obliterated. For reference, the Tesla Plaid's 0-60 time is 1.99 seconds.
The video of their run is kind of amazing...the car is just so ludicrously quick that I started giggling when it leapt off the line.
People ask me why I ski.1 A: Because sometimes it's as insanely fun as this guy makes it look.
He. Skis. THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN. Also, if you can, pause it right after he jumps off the lift platform...the kid on the lift with his dad is like ( ﾟoﾟ).
No one has ever asked me this. No one ever asks people questions like this. "People ask me..." is a phrase writers use to create a sense of an ongoing story. It's better than "This is a cool video"...you can only use that one so many times. ↩
Jim Ray riffs on the satirical 2021 tweet about "Don't Create The Torment Nexus" with a short fiction story told as a thread on Mastodon starting: "Like seemingly everyone on this app I have plenty of opinions about the launch of The Torment Nexus, the opening of the Xthonic Gateway, and release of the arch-demon Tzaunh MAY HIS REIGN BE DARK AND ETERNAL, who has begun his foretold 10,000 years of suffering and torment. I figure now is a good time to open up a bit about my experience at the company." The skewerings in the 17 following posts call to my mind The Bug by Ellen Ullman or the Knives Out films. Ray noted, "The Call of PMthulu writes itself".
A group of high-profile streamers and social media influencers agreed to join eFuse's "Creator League", where they would lead community e-sports teams. The project was announced on September 2, and was promoted by mega-influencer MrBeast. Only days later, the project has been put on hold after some of those influencers balked once they learned blockchains were involved.
YouTuber CDawgVA publicly withdrew from the project on September 3, writing, "I was not told or made aware at any point that there was Blockchain technology and was only made aware of that information when the event went live. I was given assurances that it had nothing to do with NFT's. Given my vocal hatred of such tech, I would never agree to join had I known that."
The creator of the OTK Network, which had agreed to participate in the League, wrote: "We were told there was no NFT/crypto component but looks like that may not be the case."
Creator League issued a statement attempting to downplay its blockchain usage, emphasizing that people who purchased "Creator Passes" were not buying cryptocurrency or NFTs. "The Creator League is not an NFT project and we have never sold tokens," they insisted. "Those buyers who remain uncomfortable with the blockchain technology can request a refund," they continued.
Now, Creator League has been postponed. eFuse, the company behind it, has also just announced a 30% layoff amid company restructuring.
In November 2022, popular password management tool LastPass disclosed that hackers had stolen "password vaults" containing data belonging to more than 25 million users. Although the vaults themselves are encrypted, some experts now believe that these vaults are being cracked to enable access to crypto credentials stored within.
A report by cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs outlines how various experts have come to this conclusion after analyzing a long string of crypto thefts perpetrated against people with otherwise strong security practices. Altogether, the thefts suspected to have been enabled by the LastPass breach amount to more than $35 million.
Ryan Broderick on The Verge writes on the possible end of the Googleverse. Mentioned: Usenet, Altavista, All Your Base Are Belong To Us, Myspace, AI, the sameness of recipe sites, Blogger, Google Reader, Perez Hilton and Anil Dash. Not mentioned: Google Plus.
In a lecture given in 1924, German mathematician David Hilbert introduced the idea of the paradox of the Grand Hotel, which might help you wrap your head around the concept of infinity. (Spoiler alert: it probably won't help...that's the paradox.) In his book One Two Three... Infinity, George Gamow describes Hilbert's paradox:
Let us imagine a hotel with a finite number of rooms, and assume that all the rooms are occupied. A new guest arrives and asks for a room. "Sorry," says the proprietor, "but all the rooms are occupied." Now let us imagine a hotel with an infinite number of rooms, and all the rooms are occupied. To this hotel, too, comes a new guest and asks for a room.
"But of course!" exclaims the proprietor, and he moves the person previously occupying room N1 into room N2, the person from room N2 into room N3, the person from room N3 into room N4, and so on.... And the new customer receives room N1, which became free as the result of these transpositions.
Let us imagine now a hotel with an infinite number of rooms, all taken up, and an infinite number of new guests who come in and ask for rooms.
"Certainly, gentlemen," says the proprietor, "just wait a minute."
He moves the occupant of N1 into N2, the occupant of N2 into N4, and occupant of N3 into N6, and so on, and so on...
Now all odd-numbered rooms became free and the infinite of new guests can easily be accommodated in them.
This TED video created by Jeff Dekofsky explains that there are similar strategies for finding space in such a hotel for infinite numbers of infinite groups of people and even infinite amounts of infinite numbers of infinite groups of people (and so on, and so on...) and is very much worth watching:
Volition, the studio behind the Saints Row and Red Faction series, has been closed.
On X, Ryan T. Brown shared a report that the staff at Volition have been hit with mass layoffs, as their parent company, Embracer, has shuttered the studio. Ryan Hoss, who was a VFX Artist at Volition, also shared on X that he lost his job and that the studio has been closed. Around the time of those tweets, Volition posted an update on its LinkedIn profile confirming the news.
Volition staff on Twitter are reporting that parent company Embracer has just closed the 30-year-old studio behind Saint's Row and Red Faction, with mass layoffs #VolitionJobspic.twitter.com/cCgDa20dfM
The post reads, “The Volition team has proudly created world-class entertainment for fans around the globe for 30 years. We’ve been driven by a passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.” The post went on to say that in June, Embracer announced restructuring, which resulted in Volition’s closure effective immediately.
Originally part of Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog’s Parallax Software, Volition was founded in 1993. Over the decades, the studio had become known for such beloved franchise as Saints Rowand Red Faction. The team also developed one my personal favorite forgotten classics, Summoner, which released on the PlayStation 2 in 2000. Hearing news of such a storied studio’s closing is absolutely heartbreaking. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the closure. Currently, the hashtag #VolitonJobs is being posted on X to help those who were laid off find new work.
There are some things that humans don't need to survive anymore still hanging around on our bodies, including unnecessary arm muscles and vestigial tail bones.
Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will be out on Netflix on Sept 27. It's only 39 minutes long and stars Benedict Cumberbatch & Ralph Fiennes.
I’ve been a fan of One Piece for most of my life. It’s surreal to look back and think about how the terribly dubbed anime I used to watch on Toonami has become one of the most prolific series of all time. Even looking beyond the anime industry, One Piece is one of the best-selling book series of all time, rivaling the likes of Harry Potter. Now, the series is entering what’s being referred to as its “Final Saga,” and even after decades at the top, One Piece remains a global phenomenon.
This month sees the release of Netflix’s attempt to adapt One Piece into live-action, and to say that I am approaching it with caution is an understatement. I’m not looking at the series from a place of utter fan devotion. I understand the Netflix series needs to make sacrifices and alterations and to have astronomical expectations would only do me a disservice. After all, this is the same company that decided to give the green light to their attempts at Death Note and Cowboy Bebop. If it’s great, then I’ll be sure to give praise where it is due, but I’m not exactly holding my breath for perfection. Competency, yes, but nothing more.
It’s safe to say then that I’ve had One Piece on the brain. I’ve decided to reread the manga, which now has 103 volumes in print in the United States, and I’ve just been filled with a wave of nostalgia as I’ve done so. I can remember where I was at certain points in my life, the friends I’ve made and lost, and just how One Piece has always been there for me in some way, shape, or form. So in lieu of offering some deep analysis of what the story of One Piece is, which would take multiple columns and thousands upon thousands of words, I’d rather talk about what One Piece is to me, as a fan who has been there since the very beginning.
In 2003, my mom brought my brother and me to a local comic book store, a store called New World Manga that I still visit to this day. Back then, my brother and I really only went to pick up Yu-Gi-Oh cards, but my mom wanted me to buy a book so I wouldn’t just be spending my allowance money on some cheap piece of cardboard I’d forget about in a week. So I browsed until I saw a book I remembered seeing in a copy of my brother’s Shonen Jump magazine. The series had goofy characters with wacky powers like the cartoons I watched every Saturday morning. I picked up the first two volumes of One Piece. From the moment I read it, I knew One Piece was an adventure series unlike any other.
The premise is that a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy wants to become the greatest pirate of them all: The King of the Pirates. To do that, he needs to find the One Piece, which was hidden by former King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger. Luffy assembles his crew, sails the seas, and beats up bad guys using powers he got from eating the Gum-Gum Fruit. These powers allow him to stretch his body as if he were made of rubber.
I had never read anything like it before. Keep in mind, by this point I was still reading books with a lot of pictures in them, but American picture books always felt so static and bare. One Piece was kinetic. Each panel felt alive and full of personality, from the goofy faces Luffy and his friends would make to the frenetic and oftentimes brutal action. There was blood in this series, and it didn’t shy away from making our heroes lose. This wasn’t just a simple story where the good guy saves the day every single time. Luffy and his friends would be beaten, and they would strive to get better to overcome those odds. Needless to say, I was hooked.
I would go to the comic store every few months to grab a new volume. Even when my brother stopped playing Yu-Gi-Oh and had no reason to go anymore, I still went to get the latest volume. I watched the the anime as it aired, then read each of the chapters the episode adapted. I scoured the internet and researched stuff that I hadn’t read in those volumes, helping me develop my media literacy skills. By the time I was in middle school and the manga was reaching the end of the “Alabasta” arc, I was stunned to learn about an arc called “Water 7” and how that arc apparently was even better than “Alabasta” (and it is). But for all of my love of these adventures and brilliant moments of catharsis when Luffy defeated the villain of the arc, I didn’t really have anyone to share it with.
There are two big reasons I hypothesize why One Piece never caught on in the States in the 200os. The first of which was the abysmal 4Kids dub. To make a long story short, 4Kids was a company that released heavily censored versions of anime to fit into a children’s cartoon block. References to death were a no-go, as were guns and any form of extreme violence. It gave us some wonderful bits of absurdity, like Brock from Pokemon calling rice balls “jelly doughnuts,” Yu-Gi-Oh fabricating the Shadow Realm as a substitute for death, and One Piece having a myriad of alternations that changed character backstories, gave some lovably terrible accents, and just made the series come across as too kiddy. While Naruto and Bleach received more faithful dubs and weren’t compromised in their presentation to Western markets, One Piece was all but destroyed due to 4Kids realizing that unless the series was heavily edited, they wouldn’t be able to present it.
That was undeniably a major roadblock that set me back. Here I was liking this show people called childish, while the real teenagers would talk exclusively about Naruto. The other shoe dropped when we reached 2010. Because of the glacial release schedule of Shonen Jump and Viz Media at the time, One Piece in the West was leagues behind what was happening in Japan. So in late 2009, the publisher announced a major push to catch up to Japan, and in six months, they would be publish 30 volumes of One Piece. I could keep up when it was one volume released every three months, but the rate Viz was going at was impossible for me to keep up with. I was in high school and between buying games and saving up, I couldn’t justify spending $300 on One Piece volumes, so I dropped the series for most of high school. I was content to have my memories of One Piece be the 4Kids dub and leave it as a permanent fixture of my childhood.
A friend of mine later told me about fansubs. I couldn’t tell you the site, it’s probably defunct now, but he said I could read all of One Piece there for free, and they even had chapters that weren’t published yet. I read everything I could over the course of a winter break just so I could catch up to the Japanese release schedule and follow along from there. I decided to buy those 30ish volumes whenever I had the chance, opting to go for single volumes instead of the 3-in-1s so I could have a vivid and lively shelf. In college, I continued to read One Piece as each volume came out and slowly but surely filled in the wholes of my collection, all the while recommending the series to my friends. No one would take me up on it, though my roommate and I struck a deal that when One Piece ended, I would loan him every single volume of the manga for him to read as long as he didn’t engage with the series until then. He agreed, and that deal is still alive to this day.
The only person who took me up on my offer to get into One Piece was the woman I’m currently dating. When we were first talking, she was interested in getting into anime and didn’t know where to start. Me, being the sadistic fellow I am, recommended that she should watch One Piece. It was the pandemic, after all, and there wasn’t really much to watch. She wanted to watch a long show to pass the time, and by that point, it was approaching 1,000 episodes, so why not? It met her criteria. And so she did. She watched every single episode over the course of six months, all to make sure she could watch the 1,000th episode as it aired. Why? Because it aired on her birthday, and she wanted to celebrate with One Piece.
Now, whenever I recommend One Piece to a person, I always provide them with the means to access it. I’ve recommended it to multiple people now who have either watched it from my Crunchyroll account or read the volumes I loaned them, and they all have loved it. Without the asterisks of the 4Kids dub and being relatively on par with the Japanese releases, One Piece is more accessible than ever. It’s still a mammoth of a task to sell someone on dedicating months, if not years, of their lives, to catching up to a fantasy series that has been ongoing since the ’90s and shows very little sign of ending any time soon. Theoretically, though, it’s easier now than ever now to sell your soul to Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece.
But that’s one of the most beautiful things about the series — it’s always there. I’ve lived in several countries, held down numerous jobs, wrote for several different outlets, and One Piece has always been constant. It hasn’t defined my life, but it has been an element that factored into my upbringing. I wouldn’t be into anime today if it wasn’t for One Piece piquing my interest all of those years ago. Even though I can’t remember concretely, it was also probably influential in helping shape my reading abilities and gave me the wide vocabulary I have now.
I’m happy now that One Piece has become one of the defining pillars of the anime industry. While other series have seen their stars rise and fall, One Piece continues to shine. Hell, One Piece recently broke Crunchyroll because of the debut of Luffy’s Gear 5 power-up. One Piece just elicits joy in those who experience it. The world is massive, and I wish when I was growing up I had the communities today to discuss the latest chapters or episodes, but I don’t regret not having them. I still was able to find enjoyment in Luffy’s epic journey to become the greatest pirate in the world, and I’ll be there to see the final panel when it’s all over. One can hope that the Netflix series will be able to encourage more people to get into the series, but if not, then I’ll still keep recommending the manga to newcomers. Why mess with perfection?
(@Toadsanime) August 31, 2023
