Piece Meal: A One Piece Book-Club Podcast Tyler Crowley

Commentators who love the media, know what they’re talking about (if they’re one of the few who’ve already read it) and engage with it in a way that always lets you know they’re having fun

The main host is excellent. The format of the show works well, and he has a very good sense of what's worth talking about each week. Several other regulars (not all) also have good broadcast sense and know how to keep things moving -- when to keep joking, when to move on, etc. There was a new regular added late-ish in the show's run who is also excellent, great addition.

There are some recurring annoyances that become excruciating over time, especially while binging through episodes. There is a tendency among the regulars, and one in particular, to grind the show to a halt and point out every joke or half-joke that is made by someone else. This happens constantly, and it stinks. There's also a lot of wasted time listening to anxious millennials struggle to decide who should read for which character, often taking far longer to sort out the roles than the actual reading itself.

There's also a tendency for the long-time readers to point out when a character is significant or beloved or hated by the broader community (or themselves) the second they are introduced, long before a first-time reader would ever develop an opinion on them. Several regulars do this over the course of the show, one to a really obnoxious degree.

There are occasional light spoilers, and I'd argue at least one or two major ones for new readers who have basic media literacy and a familiarity with how fans often try to be cute talking over the heads of non-fans. Even worse, there are spoilers for other series pretty frequently, especially Hunter x Hunter. If you ever plan to read or watch HxH, do not listen to this podcast, as one host in particular seems to love spoiling it, constantly, for some reason.

The guests who are brought on tend to be "theory" guys, and they completely change the vibe of the show, in a bad way. That's a very specific type of fandom, and it's really disappointing that a lot of "big" episodes get taken over by that kind of fan, consuming media in that very particular way. I think it really does a disservice to new readers, forcing them into that world before they can even digest the basics of the plot.

Lastly, sorry to single out a host, but Theo is incredibly grating. He speaks in a strange affectation that borders on baby talk at all times, genuinely the way you would speak to a small child. It makes my skin crawl. On very rare occasions, he lapses into talking like a normal person, so I really wish he would just stick to that instead of this awkward, cutesy (probably anxiety-driven on some level) affectation.

This definitely isn't the worst One Piece podcast, but there are enough negatives for both new readers and long-time readers that I can't recommend it without all these caveats. There are too many persistent annoyances that are easily fixable, yet never go away. I think this show is mostly for people who ARE the annoying fan who wants to have a friend to aggressively "guide" through One Piece (as evidenced by all the insanely over-indulgent epic bacon Reddit guy emails that get sent in).

This Podcast is BasedWorld