Warning. The following post will consist of Squiggy gushing over One Piece and will naturally contain spoilers.
I think I’ve figured out One Piece’s biggest strength in terms of it’s writing. One Piece has expert use of illusion. “Illusion of what Squiggy-sensei” you ask wide-eyed. The illusion of a Status Quo. With each and every arc something about the story changes. Whether it be for the characters, the team dynamic, or the world One Piece is set in. This is evident in the earliest really big saga. The CP9 saga. EVERYTHING changed after the CP9 saga. The World Government lost one of it’s biggest assets and had to recover. The Straw Hats were no longer just friends and became a real family. They gained a crew member but they lost the ship that had taken them so far. There are visible changes in the world and characters despite those characters still being there. And those changes are what makes One Piece not only fun, but INTERESTING.