Vent: A guy at the convention tried to convince me the 'One Piece' anime is better without the music

I was at Anime Expo in Los Angeles last year, just hanging out in a food court area. This dude, wearing a full Zoro cosplay, sat down next to me and started talking. He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'You know, the true way to watch it is with the sound off, so you can focus on Oda's panel composition.' He was completely serious. I just stared at my overpriced ramen for a solid ten seconds. Has anyone else run into a take so wild it just stuck with you?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_anthony2mo ago

Pointing at the ramen is the only real response to that. Honestly, the music is what makes scenes like Luffy putting his hat on Nami work. Without "Overtaken" playing, it's just a guy giving someone a hat.

scott.miles2mo ago

...and that's EXACTLY why I tell people to invest in a decent soundbar. You can have the best Blu-ray player in the world but if your TV's built-in speakers sound like a tin can, you're missing half the experience. I've walked into so many living rooms where someone's got a 4K setup and they're listening through a speaker that's literally smaller than my phone. For One Piece especially, those Uta concert scenes hit different when you can actually feel the bass. Do yourself a favor and grab something used off Facebook Marketplace for fifty bucks.

jamiew532mo ago

That might be the weirdest anime take I've ever heard. The music is half the emotional punch of the big moments. I would have just pointed at my ramen too, completely lost for words.