Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

One Piece isn't a manga to be skimmed because you watch the anime, especially since the two are quite different (and that's outside of filler)...

the difference is...the anime doesn't have those bonus stories at the chapter title page outside of the first two.

that's about it

You say that like it's something minor or easily dismissed. Those cover stories are always used by Oda to set up future plot developments or to elaborate on what characters from past arcs are up to. It's a simple, yet brilliant technique. It baffles me that Toei doesn't use them as "filler", especially since most of those stories run for at least 30 chapters. Also, there's this...

How far are you in Reborn? The most recent episode I saw was episode 102 and I'm much further behind with the manga as with all manga/anime that I both read and watch.

I was on volume 16 and episode...somewhere between 40 and 50 I think?

1. No I don't easily dismiss it Mr. Angry Fan, but I always read those covers (well closer to "look at" instead of read but whatever) so it's a non-issue.
2. The first 2 ones they animated and the ratings went down for those episodes apparently. That's why they don't use them in the anime. Apparently.

I just checked (I'm nowhere near that far with the manga) and volume 16 is the start of the arc I'm currently on in the anime and as for the latter that's the varia arc. My favourite fights in that arc are Gokudera's fight, Chrome's fight and of course, the epic fight at the end of the arc with Tsuna against Xanxus. I just saw episode 103 of the anime which means I still have 100 episodes to watch but despite the anime finishing, the manga is still going. Apparently, they ended the anime because at they would've had to add loads of filler while waiting to be able to make episodes that followed the manga again and that was something the didn't want to do (AFAIK the anime has never had more than 8 filler episodes in row) but I don't see why they couldn't just give the series a break and then continue it when there are enough manga chapters to base episodes on.

rumor has it that there'll be a new anime version someday. Rumor has it, oooh, rumor has it, oooh.

btw: from what I understand there's a huge divide with fan opinions of later arcs. Either the entire future arc is the best and everything after it isn't that interesting or the future arc should have never happened and the new stuff is at least much better.

Why is it that every single English translation of One Piece keeps the Eastern-style name format of surname-first, given-name-last instead of inverting it to the Western style like other manga/anime do for their English translations? For example, we in the West should be calling them Luffy D. Monkey, Zoro Roronoa, Robin Nico, etc. [although you have to be careful with titles and nicknames, as they should still be Don Krieg and "Hawkeye" Mihawk (Dracule)]. The tendency of the series to then use so many nicknames, and having the characters preferring to refer to other characters by their given names no matter how formal the situation, just makes things even more confusing.

Normally I'd agree with you on swapping the order to Western-style, but, frankly, they sound stupid (seriously, say Luffy D. Monkey out loud and try not to cringe). Then again, I've read 666 chapters and watched 546 episodes, so I'm very used to it and having it otherwise would be quite jarring. Besides, this is a Japanese series, and I'd prefer the naming order remain like the original (after all, manga in the States isn't printed left-to-right)...

Not wanting the manga flipped is a legitimate corcern due to it being a visual concern, which usually isn't a issue for worldwide audiences. This is a translation issue, one that most other English translated manga will accomdate. For example, you don't call him Uzumaki Naruto, do you?

As for the stupid sounding names, that's just how some One Piece names are. Monkey D. Luffy is just as stupid sounding for someone not familiar with the series. Like you said, you're just used to how they're normally presented. If they were presented to you for a while in Western style, I bet you'd get used to them that way, too.

Because One Piece is not set in Europe/America, it's a fantasy world, and that's how they do naming in the One Piece world. At least that's how I think about it. Either way, it's a complete non-issue. Chances are Oda himself asked them to keep it like that. Either that, or at least they thought it sounded better, which I firmly agree with. It's not a mistake, it's a choice. So what if it goes against the grain?

And for the record, Monkey D. Luffy rolls off the freakin' tongue.

I've been reading vol. 5 of The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and they changed a lot to Endless eight (the light novels came first, then the anime, then the manga). Some of the changes make it a lot shorter as its only two chapters which is good as its nowhere near as repetitious as it is in the anime (the name is kind of redundant now though) but some of the changes seem rather pointless. Also, there are some chapters in the manga that weren't in the anime which is cool, including an odd chapter from the point of Shamisen the cat. Also, Koizumi looks even creepier than normal in some panels.

I've also been really enjoying Pandora hearts. I like how unpredictable it is and the cast is very likable. Oz is a good main character, he's kind, funny and is good at staying calm in situations and is also quite the charmer. Raven and Alice can be funny together too due to how hot tempered they can both get, which is something you wouldn't expect from Raven when you first see him.

I do call him Uzumaki Naruto, actually, but the difference there is that Naruto Uzumaki flows just as well. Like Mickeymac said, Monkey D. Luffy flows very well, unlike Luffy D. Monkey. Besides, some characters in One Piece do have names that are structured in Western-style, like Edward Newgate, Dracule Mihawk, Bartholomew Kuma, most of the Supernovae, Marshal D. Teach and so on. Not to mention the fact that most pirates are referred to by the epithet, rather than their names (Whitebeard, Hawk-Eyes, Blackbeard, etc.). Also, a lot of characters don't even have family names. Hell, only three of the Straw Hats have family names, and they're not used very often...

And no, I wouldn't get used to the names being flipped around, just like I'm not used to seeing Zoro referred to as Zolo in VIZ's printed material. Though, I fail to see how this is a translation issue; seems trivial to me...

Edward Newgate is questionable, but seeing as the others are commonly referred to as Mihawk, Kuma, and Teach (when he's not called Blackbeard), I'm pretty sure those are still meant to be their given names despite how the names appear in English and how the real Blackbeard's surname was Teech.

I've personally been thinking of the flipped names for a while now, and Luffy D. Monkey and the other names now flow just as well in my mind as the original format. You just have to get used to them, just as you would for any name in any format that includes the word "monkey."

Monkey. D Luffy sounds awesome.

It really does, and it's kinda fitting, too.

Man, I really want to watch an 80s anime, now. I'd ask for suggestions, but really, has anyone here even seen an anime that old?

OG gundam but you've probably seen that. Or the macros saga.

Actually, Gundam 0079 is 70s, but just barely. And I watched Do You Remember Love this morning (I was surprised to find the entire movie on Youtube in one big video. 0_o No way can that be legal. ) so I'm good on Macross at the moment. Still got the entire DVD set to finish, though, so I'll keep it in mind.

Also, glad to see someone else here saw Robotech/Macross. It's a great show, used to be one of my all-time faves.

I just want to point out that this post was pure gold. I can't believe I missed it before.

Yeah, I can't say I've seen a whole lot of '80s anime, at least not since the earlier days of CN when they were airing stuff like Ronin Warriors, Robotech and Voltron. Bubblegum Crisis, Macross and Fist of the North Star are all on Hulu, though, so I'm thinking I should give one of them a whirl. I feel like really should to get around to watching something other than One Piece (I just can't stop myself - loving Thriller Bark so far).

Oh, and the surname/given name order doesn't bug me at all. Then again, just like with voice acting, I tend to be fine with whatever I hear/read first.