The swashbuckling adventures of Luffy and his crew to find the legendary One Piece is a tale that has become beloved by fans across the globe, especially due to how perfectly author Eichiiro Oda has managed to balance a lighthearted and jovial tone with very serious themes and characters, making for a captivating adventure that has become alegendary series in the world of anime and manga.
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There’s no denying that when it comes toanime that follow a group of pirateslooking to get their hands on valuable treasure of some kind, no series has become quite as popular asOne Piece, but that isn’t to suggest that there aren’t pirate anime shows out there that are still worth watching, because there certainly are.
The artwork, humor, and long-term storytelling inOne Pieceare all incredibly unique to that series, but plenty of shows have still put their own fresh take on the classic pirate story, resulting in wonderful adventures spanning across the glistening ocean or the vast depths of space that allOne Piecefans need to check out for themselves.
8Fena: Pirate Princess
Having been trapped on a mysterious island since she was young, Fena very much assumedthat her miserable lifewould not consist of anything more than abiding by her captors, but when two old acquaintances from Fena’s past help her escape just as she is about to be forced into a wedding, the three manage to escape into the vast open sea without any plans or money.
As the crew continue to travel and learn more about one another, Fena comes to find out that her late father took on a final journey out at sea in the hopes of finding a land known as “Eden”. What ensues is a fun and uplifting adventure that moves at a breakneck pace, with new members joining the crew every few episodes who help to keep the story fresh and exciting.
7Sol Bianca: The Legacy
Inspired by the original two-volume Japanese OVA series of the same name that released in 1990,Sol Bianca: The Legacyfollows a group of space pirates aboard the Sol Bianca who stumble upon a young girl called May hiding on their ship. Once the girl states that her missing parents are somewhere on Earth,April and the gangembark on a mission to explore the now forgotten planet, and run into some seriously unexpected revelations along the way.
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Despite being set in space, the comradery between the Sol Bianca crew and their opportunistic attitudes mimics those early days ofOne Piecewhen the crew were still figuring out the world around them, and the combination between 3D and 2D animation really helps the bigger scenes of the show pop out of the screen.
6Cobra The Animation
Cobra had grown tired of being a space pirate, and so he decided to surgically alter his face and erase his own memories in order to live a normal life without all the death and chaos that comes with exploring deep space, but after two years of retirement, his memories gradually start coming back to him.
As time passes, Cobra remembers his life-long hatred for the Space Pirate Guild as he and his companion Lady Armaroid resume their adventurous life, thwarting the Guild every chance that they get. Despite the crew being much smaller than many pirate-themed anime,Cobrahassome incredible humorand a few truly stunning fight scenes that help bring the animation to life.
5Queen Emeraldas
Queen Emeraldasdoesn’t have the fun-loving crew or whacky character designs thatOne Piecedoes, but what it does share is a very deep appreciation for pirate history and symbolism, with there being many references to old pirate folklore that make the four-episode long miniseries an incredibly enjoyable watch.
The high-speed adventure is full of intense action scenes that all have that visually stunning late 90s flare to them, along with a few slower and more introspective moments that really help to flesh out Emeralda as a character, becoming someone a lot more engaging and complex by the end of the show.
4Bodacious Space Pirates
While traveling along with the Straw hats while they explore a brand-new island is certainly fun and enjoyable, one of the best parts ofOne Pieceis when fans get to see how exactly the chess-pieces are moving in the rest of the world, and how each of the many factions are reacting to ongoing events.
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For those who love this political-intrigue side ofOne Piece,Bodacious Space Piratesis packed full of it, with there being plenty of smaller cogs that help turn the much bigger machine that drives the story forward. It’s not all serious though since themain protagonist Marikais actually a regular high-school student who is thrust into the position of commanding her deceased father’s ship and crew which creates a nice contrast to even out the slightly darker elements of the story.
3Coyote Ragtime Show
There are actually many similarities betweenCoyote Ragtime ShowandOne Piece, with perhaps the biggest one being that the entire story revolves around finding a hidden piece of treasure that is rumored to be of extremely high value. The story follows Mister, a space “coyote” who breaks out of jail ten days before his scheduled release date in order to seek out Franka who had been placed under his care after her father died. Franka’s father was the one who stashed away the treasure which prompts Mister, Franka, and a few of their compatriots to set out to secure the riches for themselves.
The comradery between the crew is really what shines here, with each of the characters having incredibly different personalities that usually get along, but at times, can also fall into conflict. As the team race to reach the inheritance while also avoiding Android Assassins and two deadly federal detectives who are hot on their tail, it results in anincredibly frantic storythat never lets its foot of the gas.
2Black Lagoon
Black Lagoontakes a slightly more matureand darker tone thanOne Piecewith blood being shed in almost every episode, but it also provides a slightly different view on the life of a pirate, specifically how some people will use it as an escape from the mundanity of regular life.
Nowhere is this theme more apparent than with the main protagonist Rock who is a Japanese businessman who eventually decides to join a group of pirates, pursuing a lifestyle that he was taught to hate when he was a part of civilization.Black Lagoonis ultimately all about a group of people committing fairly unethical acts as pirates who try to find comfort in one another which provides a unique contrast toOne Piecein a way that makes it especially intriguing.
1Outlaw Star
A huge part of the appeal ofOne Piece, besides the incredible fights and gigantic world, is the cast of characters, more specifically the Straw Hats who all share an extremely strong bond and devotion to one another that makes exploring the world with them so much fun. However, they are still very different people with different ideals, and this means they can often clash which helps make the crew feel very real and natural.
Outlaw Starcaptures this kind of grouprelationship perfectly, with Gene and his crew of misfits feeling like a real group of friends who quickly realize just how serious being a pirate can really be. While the primary plot line of the show is to find the “Galactic Leyline” treasure, there’s actually a lot of time dedicated to just seeing the gang hang out with one another which really helps to make them feel like a makeshift group who are slowly developing a bond in a similar way to Luffy and his crew in the early episodes ofOne Piece.
