4Kids dub A piece known for its overly childish tune, but this quality is what makes its title song so great. Of course, like many aspects of the 4Kids dub, the opening called “The Pirate Rap” sounds pretty bad. But in the end, it got so bad that it was actually good.
Unfortunately, most of the other parts of the 4Kids One Piece dub are terrible. The company tried to make the anime suitable for American children by downplaying the violence and censoring some adult themes. While this approach is consistent with other shows like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon (even if fans also complain about those dubs), it doesn’t fit well with One Piece’s convoluted themes and convoluted story. This led to the 4Kids dub being shown widely and ending with One Piece’s Alabasta on a surprisingly dark note. However, the 4Kids dub wasn’t all bad as it blessed One Piece fans with the existence of Pirate Rap.
One Piece’s pirate rap is silly and simple, making it great
Pirate Rap is written and performed by Shawn Conrad, who has previous rapping experience with The Notorious BIG and Jay-Z. Although it opens similarly to the Japanese opening, with the dub depicting the execution of Gol D. Roger and the beginning of the Great Age of Pirates. However, after that, the rap begins to describe the different Straw Hat groups and their One Piece search goals. It also explains Luffy’s Devil Fruit powers, simply saying “He took a bite of gum”. The rap may not fully describe the range of all the characters and their quirks, but it goes through them all in a compelling way, letting the viewer know which one it is.
While many fans may have problems with the rap’s simple synopsis of the characters and story, for a new viewer, watching a random episode on Saturday morning, that might be the case. can be very useful. One Piece has been praised for its intricate stories and masterful handling of its large cast of characters, but this can easily confuse new viewers on first viewing, especially if they are children. . The One Piece rap helps solve that problem, packing as much information as possible into a brief and engaging intro that kids will remember.
Perhaps it was its charisma that made rap the iconic it is today. Love it or hate it, the rap has had millions of views on YouTube, and Conrad even released a sequel to it on his YouTube channel featuring the crew members joining in afterwards. Some may never get over some of its silly lyrics, but for many Western fans, A piece pirate rap just as great if not better than the iconic Japanese opening “We Are”.