Get in mind that this manga is now 25 years old, so, the shonen code was a bit different from now and thats a fact, it was more story telling, and little bit less combat.
For many fans, (I include myself in) we watch that anime, for like 20 years, i was 10 when i started, and i'm 31 now.. and still loving it, I find some arc boring as hell, and some absolutly fantastic etc.

But yeah, its pretty long to start and settle the story, getting better after a while..
And remind that you have to right not to like it (even if for some people, its a crime)