Nathaniel Clark – A&E Editor 

nuc5002@psu.edu

I want to start my article with a question: Is the “One Piece” even real? Memes aside, does the creator of “One Piece” even know what Luffy and the long list of recurring side characters have been searching for over the past 25 YEARS? I know that they are after one man’s treasure, but is it even going to be worth it in the end? All these characters have spent their entire lives looking for one singular item, how can someone even craft a satisfactory ending with that much build-up? 

This question has had me thinking recently as “One Piece” is not the only show that comes to mind when I think of long-running series. These shows include, but are not limited to, “The Simpsons,” “Law & Order,” “NCIS,” and we cannot forget “Grey’s Anatomy.” While I could discuss endlessly why I believe some of these shows are still around, I want to mainly focus on “One Piece” and “Grey’s” for this article. I decided to separate these two from the rest because I feel like they have something in common that is not shared with the rest. That connective tissue is an underlying, continuative narrative. 

While shows like “The Simpsons” and “NCIS” have been going on for decades, their ability to do so makes sense on a logistical level. You can start these shows where you want and jump around seasons because they are not telling a continuous story. Both shows have a premise that every episode sticks to. This ability to jump around is not the case for “One Piece” and “Grey’s.” While I am coming from an outside perspective on both programs, I understand that these shows have been telling the same story throughout their whole runs. They may have narrative arcs, but they are both still leading down the same path which they started upon. 

In my opinion, that sort of long-form storytelling would bore me to absolute death. Even if we see changes in character dynamics and relationships, does any of that matter in the grand scheme of the plot? How are the characters moving forward if the story has been stagnant? As these questions filled my mind, I realized that I was looking at these shows in the wrong manner. I should not directly focus on the analysis of the program, but rather on the show’s overall fanbase.

What makes fans care about a show that has been running this long? I understand that they likely have a favorite character, but what do they even get in the grand scheme of things when they sit down to watch every episode? For example, “One Piece” is currently sitting at over 1000 episodes. What is there to even gain by watching every single one? 

That is when it hit me. It was not that these shows were good. Rather, it was the amount of effort that people put in that kept them going. Let’s say, for example, you are a “One Piece” fan. You have watched every single episode and tune in every week to see the further adventures of Luffy and his pirate crew. In my mind, you would likely be tired of watching this much of a program, but you are still hooked. Why is that? Here is my theory: people who watch this many episodes of a show expect that their efforts will be rewarded by the show’s conclusion.

This is not me saying that “One Piece” will have an epic conclusion. It will likely be very mediocre, but the fans will take whatever they can get their hands on in reward for watching the show for this long. They put in the effort to watch the program and they plan to see it through, no matter what said ending entails.