One Piece 41

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 57+ volumes

Ooh, Robin backstory.  This section is much different than what I imagined.  It’s definitely necessary to humanize the very distant and quiet Robin, and this does a wonderful job, just like all the other character backstories.  It’s definitely not my favorite (Franky’s story a few volumes back was more touching for me), but it’s still good stuff.

We learn a lot of things through this story.  We learn that there’s something the World Government wants to keep secret, at the risk of slaughtering all civilians that might be marginally connected.  We know at least Sengoku (now the Fleet Admiral/leader of the Marines, and I guess he was back then, too) and Akainu (now a very dangerous and boo-worthy Admiral) have no problems upholding this, but other Vice Admirals questioned the justice behind slaughtering people who weren’t actually a threat, including a man named Saul, introduced in this story, and Aokiji.  One thing is for sure, this back story certainly didn’t make the Marine organization, or the World Government, very sympathetic, but then again, there’s a big chunk of the story we’re missing.  Considering the emphasis on personal judgment (here, in the actions of Saul and Aokiji) over going along with what you’re told is right, I’m guessing the missing chunk of story probably won’t wind up putting a kind face on the World Government.

Robin seems to have had the most isolated upbringing of any of the Straw Hats that we’ve yet learned about.  While they all seem to lack proper parental figures and are almost all orphans, most weren’t overtly mocked and abused like Robin was.  It took its toll on her, but the good things in her life were very good, I suppose.  I also thought the little story between her and Saul was really, really cute.

Also funny was that the World Government’s CP9 was formerly headed by Spandine, Spandam’s father.  They don’t look alike, and the latter is much more of a coward, but there are definitely similarities.  Also hilarious is when Baskerville’s’ true identity is revealed.  This actually made me laugh out loud.  Very hard.  I mean… look at the dominant arms and legs!

What else…?  Luffy declares war on the World Government?  Buckle up, it looks like it’s going to be a wild ride in the next few volumes.

Well, maybe.  If other government agents show up.  I’m guessing the next volume or two will just be Straw Hats vs. CP9 agents.  Everyone else in Enies Lobby seems to be well in hand, mostly thanks to the Franky Family and the jolly gate giants.  But I’m still looking forward to the Buster Call, so certainly there will be more of a fight in the next few volumes.

One Piece 40

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 57+ volumes

If I have somehow failed to say it before, I love and adore everything about this series.  The fight is brought to Enies Lobby in this volume, with Luffy singlehandedly taking out thousands of marines while Galley-La holds the gates and the Franky Family blazes the way to the bridge to allow Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats access to the building Franky and Robin are being held in.  It’s a free-for-all, and there’s lots of different things going on at once.  My favorite parts were all Luffy, since again, he seems to be genuinely enjoying his fight.  We also get our first look at his “evolved” fighting technique here.  Of course, he thought of it in response to getting beaten by CP9, but unlike most battles of this nature where it makes things a fair fight, Luffy destroys his opponent and moves on.

I think one of my favorite unexpected surprises were the giant guards at the gates of Enies Lobby.  The Sniper King sorts their sadness out after their defeat and actually recruits them to fight on the pirate side (to be honest, I can’t call them “the good guys” since, in theory, the Marines are the good guys.  Technically, I suppose, only CP9 are really bad in this situation).  I loved the callback to the earlier story.  It’s all connected, in the end.

It also tickled me greatly that Spandam has a pet elephant named “Funkfreed.”  He’s appeared once or twice before, but he gets me every time.  That name.  It’s so perfect.  I want the Straw Hats to take Funkfreed with them.

I’m still anxiously awaiting the Buster Call and Robin’s backstory, which I’m sure will come sometime soon.  Enies Lobby is good stuff.  I’m not sure if I like it more than the Skypiea arc yet or not, but it’s up there.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 39

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 57+ volumes

I still can’t get over how ridiculously pumped I get after reading nearly every volume of this series.  The end of this volume has the crew pulling into Enies Lobby and Luffy going in solo ahead of everyone else on the Rocketman.  He does well, and completely wipes out all Marines in his way.  By himself.  And he has a really good time doing it.  Not in a psychotic way, just… you know, like he’s playing a game.  That’s why Luffy’s the best.

There was plenty of action, with the entire fight scene on the train between the Marines and Sanji, Franky, and the Sniper King taking up most of the volume.  There were periodic check-ins for the Rocketman, too, although not much action on their end.  I had a brief hope that the really noble Marine that got cut loose last time would get a second chance at a serious fight, but it was not to be.

The fight between Sanji and his cook-like opponent gets quite serious, and Sanji uses fighting styles that he would never, ever consider using under most circumstances.  That was probably the most interesting thing about this volume.  That, and the tidbit revealed about Robin’s past that lets us know why she still doesn’t want to go with the Straw Hats, even knowing that they’ve gone to such trouble to get her back.

The comedy tidbits are still making their way through, meaning the real battle isn’t quite underway.  There was a reader letter about whether or not Nami wore a strapless bra or no bra that made me laugh, for instance, and a great scene where the Rocketman catches up to the Sniper King and absolutely everyone on board knows what’s going on except for Chopper and Luffy, who take Usopp’s carefully crafted story as gospel.  That seems to be best for all three of them, really.

But mostly this volume left me, as per usual, absolutely needing to pick up the next.  Ending on that Luffy note really leaves me wanting more, and I know beyond any doubt that the Buster Call will have to come in at some point.  I cannot wait.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 38

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 57+ volumes

There’s really only one thing I have to say about this volume: My name is Sniper King. Oh yeah.  Things are getting started now.

But that’s not until the last page.  Plenty happens before then.  We find out the true story behind what happens to Robin from Iceburg, and in a manic city-wide chase for Zoro and Luffy, the Straw Hats wind up missing the last Puffing Tom before the Aqua Laguna high tide, and thus let a train full of government officials leave with Robin and others.  This does not stop them, of couse.  Very little does.

Enies Lobby is introduced in this book, as part of a three-way government… system consisting of Enies Lobby, where a criminal is judged (or not judged, it’s implied a criminal taken there is guilty and doesn’t need to be judged), and from there they pass through the Gates of Justice to go one of two places: Impel Down, a notorious prison, and the Marine Headquarters.  Both… uh, come up later.  Enies Lobby comes up sooner.  We also learn a little bit about the Buster Call, something else that comes up later.

Most of this volume is exposition, honestly, and it seems like more action will get underway once the Straw Hats catch up to the Puffing Tom, the agents on board, and most importantly, the CP9 crew.  There are a few hilarious characters introduced on the train in this volume, including a kind-hearted captain with a really terrifying face.

I am still ridiculously excited to be reading this series.  Seriously, every volume is a joy to read.  I’m so happy to see that the speed-up is getting so many more people to discover how amazing this series is.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 37

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

Aww, I didn’t notice last time that Usopp is no longer in the grey “Straw Hat” box in the character introductions at the front of the book.  Robin still is, but she’s not gray, she’s just inside the box.

Huge confrontation with the members of CP9.  The masks are all off, and all the motives are out in the open.  The Straw Hats are not happy, and neither is Paulie.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, the members are all monster fighters of the first order, and there’s nothing to be done about it at this point.  Things end badly.  The fight moves to Franky.

Franky brings some levity back to the story.  We find out he’s not at all a bad guy, as he finds Usopp and, instead of beating him as promised, he helps him and the Merry into his secret hideout/shipbuilding headquarters.  He has a good time as Usopp explains current situations to him.  Uncharacteristically, Usopp doesn’t join in his wacky asides, which probably just proves how out-of-sorts and upset Usopp is.  Franky also has the unpleasant job of driving home just how unseaworthy the Merry truly is, and we get to hear a little legend and a sad story before the bad guys bust in.

Cue flashback to Tom, the legendary shipwright who build Gold Rodger’s ship and the sea train.  He’s one of those upright hero guys who always figure into these flashbacks, and we learn of how he built the sea train and raised Iceberg and Cutty Flam.  I’m… a little surprised that the identity of Cutty Flam was “secret,” after this flashback.  The whole weapons turning against them was a real sad thing for Cutty Flam, too, since he was so good at making them.  I mean, obviously his skill is alive and well in the present day, but… you know.  Not a good memory for him.

More.  More!  On to Enies Lobby, I’m sure!  Or at the very least, a regrouping of the Straw Hat pirates, who have scattered (haha, though “scattered” doesn’t begin to cover what happens later, I suppose).  Who knows how long it will take to find Zoro alone.  Good stuff, as always, and I’m glad everything was laid out so clearly.  Now there’s a bad guy to get, and someone to get back.  We have a goal.  Let’s do it!

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 36

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

See, I told you I’d be back with more in a week.  Two volumes this time, continuing in the saga of Water 7 and Who Shot Iceburg.

There’s lots of politics at play, more than we’ve had to deal with so far in the series.  Rather than the usual “This man is bad and is doing bad things, stop him,” we have a more ambiguous plot on our hands here.  Why are the Straw Hats being blamed for the attempted assassination of the mayor of Water 7?  Why does he swear it was Robin that did it?  Why does he seem to have it in for Robin, aside from that?  Lots more questions come up by the end of the volume involving the World Government, the use of legendary weapons, secret agencies at work within the realms of the government, the identities of some of the shipwrights in the Galley-La company, and what makes Franky so super.

There’s not much to say about this volume that doesn’t give too much away.  Aside from the brief continuation of the fight with Franky and the shipwrights letting Luffy know he’s not welcome anymore, there’s lots of sitting around on rooftops and gathering information about what’s going on.  Towards the end, there’s a big night raid set up to try to reach Iceberg once again, with plans to infiltrate by both the mystery assassins and the Straw Hats, with a massive army of the Galley-La men defending.  There’s not much of a fight here, and it’s really more of an information gathering exercise in the end, but we still learn an awful lot about what’s going on here, and it leaves off in a very interesting place for next time.

I love Franky.  He wears no pants, has an open Hawaiian shirt, sports a pompadour, is a cyborg powered by cola he keeps in a fridge in his stomach, and calls everything “super.”  Part of me suspects that he’s supposed to be vaguely American, and if that’s the case, he’s even funnier.  I also thought it was a really strange detail to include when the two square-hairdo girls with him seemed to be walking sideways to a musical beat in order to avoid being blown over by the wind and storm that’s blowing up around the city.

I do have one question, but it’s a vague spoiler, so let me mark it out here.  Not that I’ve been at all careful about spoilers concerning One Piece, but still.

spoiler…

spoiler…

spoiler…

spoiler…

I… skipped over this whole part years ago after being so saddened by Usopp and Luffy’s fight, so I am completely unaware of the way the story works here aside from how things come out on the other side.  So, Robin is part of CP9, who is stealing Tom’s plans for the Pluton weapon.  But… Robin knows all about Pluton already, since she’s seen the plans for it at Alabasta.  She also knows about Leviathan, another weapon, since she’s seen the plans for it at Shandora.  Is this a hint that she’s not all bad, or not really cooperating with CP9?  Obviously she’s not, since she comes out on the other side of all this a Straw Hat, and I assume her silence on the matter through this entire book is another hint.  I know we weren’t supposed to forget that she had seen the plans for these weapons, because she states it pretty plainly when she finds the glyphs.  I suppose I should just wait patiently and find out in future volumes like a good girl.

More explanation, more forward momentum in the story, and a flashback by way of explanation should happen next volume.

Also, I can’t remember if I mentioned this last volume, but I can’t believe that it took me as long as it did to realize that the weird trees in the Gedatsu title page story were supposed to be an onsen mark, of sorts.  I love that they stay there through the entire story, taunting you with the fact they were there from the first page.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 35

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

Yeah, this is still one of the hardest volumes in the series to read, even knowing what’s coming.  As I said before, I actually skipped Water 7 entirely and stopped reading right after the major sequence in this volume.  I gave up the new end of the series for a long time and waited for the dust to settle to see if it actually turned out the way it seemed.  On one hand, no manga would ever do what is implied in this volume.  On the other hand, it was pretty serious stuff, and One Piece doesn’t seem to be afraid to rise above expectations.  Even if its just little twists and variations.  I mean, they left Vivi in Alabasta.  Certainly that didn’t bode well for… this.

There are a lot of horrible things that happen here, actually.  The crew has to make a decision about what to do concerning the Merry, which isn’t in good shape right now.  Usopp is kidnapped and beaten up, and they have 200 million berries stolen from them, so the crew has to show up and basically slaughter the Franky Family, mostly in retribution for the cold-blooded way they treated Usopp (they beat him up once, but when Usopp showed up at their hideout to get the money back, they beat him within an inch of his life).  The fight against the Franky Family is just… hard to watch.  It’s bad.

Then something even worse happens afterwards.  For all the terrible things that have happened in the series, all the sad flashbacks and hard turns some of the stories take, none of them compare to this.  Again, even knowing this was coming, and knowing the eventual outcome, I had a hard time sitting through it a second time.  There are very few manga scenes EVER that I felt such aversion to reading, and… I mean, there are worse things than what happens here, but in the context of the story, it’s one of the most horrible things imaginable.  That doesn’t make it any less good, though.

Robin is AWOL, and while the crew is recovering from the huge serving of bad luck, something happens to the mayor and the city is led to believe Robin and the Straw Hats did it, so now they have the entirety of Water 7 and the Galley-La Company after them.

Oh, and Franky.  He’s out for vengeance, too, for what happened to his family.  Franky has every right to be ruthless when fighting Luffy, but his introduction, his unveiling, is one of the best in the series.  There is a musical number.  Poses.  Enthusiasm.  The entire city booing him off stage.  A distinct lack of pants.  Even in its darkest hour, there is still funny stuff to be had in One Piece.  Genuine laughs, too, not just sad attempts at jokes.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 34

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

I’ve got one more volume after this one, and then I promise I’ll be done.  For at least a week.  But I’m going to read new volumes as soon as I get them, because it’s impossible to put this series down when you’ve got this much to read.  I’ll talk about other things though, I promise.

The crew finishes up the Davy Back Fight, and I love that the outcome is not at all what you would expect.  For as goofy as Luffy is, I always love it when you see what makes other people follow him with such devotion.  It’s not just the end of the Davy Back Fight here, Luffy also gets to act like a hero in fromt of Aokiji, one of the three strongest men the Marine force can boast.  He’s got frightening powers and a vendetta against Robin, and Luffy fights him so that the others don’t have to.  The fight is very serious.  Aokiji… not so much.  I like him.  It’s a shame he has to be against the Straw Hats.  He also broaches the subject of Luffy’s grandpa, who will put in an appearance at the very end of Water 7.

After this, the Merry runs across a train that runs on tracks submerged in the sea and a frog that throws itself in front of it every day, and later, the city of Water 7 and the fantastic Galley-La company.  The Galley-La company boasts the best shipwrights on the entire Grand Line, and the Straw Hats go to the company with the hopes that the treasure they… absconded with in Skypiea will cover the extensive repairs necessary for the Merry.  We also meet the Franky Family and several of the Galley-La shipwrights, including the head of the company and the mayor of Water 7.

Water 7 is cool, and I love the idea of a town that is equal opportunity towards both pirates and marines.  I also like the design of the water-based town, which is like Venice save for the fact you ride around on mooing sea horses with saddles.  It’s not nearly as comedic and quirky as some of the other in-between parts, but then again, we did just have the whole quirky Davy Back Fight.  There are still some good jokes though, mostly at Luffy’s expense.  I love that he seems to take such genuine insult that the crew doesn’t trust him with simple things like money and getting necessities.

If I recall, there’s nothing nice about the next volume, and it broke my heart and made me stop reading the entire arc the first time through.  Let’s see.

Also, there’s a neat map in the back that lays out all the story arcs of the series.  For the curious: East Blue (1-12), Baroque Works (12-24), Skypiea (24-32), Water Seven (32-46), Thriller Bark (46-50), Sabaody (50-54), and Impel Down (54+).  Impel Down is scheduled to start running in July.  I’m a little surprised that Sabaody and Impel Down are separate since so many other smaller story arcs are included in some of the other sets, but they are very different stories.  And I’m similarly mystified by Thriller Bark, which is only four volumes long, but they are four volumes of solid gold, so my guess is that it just couldn’t be contained under another name.  And was also just thematically unrelated to anything else.

On to the next!

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 33

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

This volume asks the important questions.  Questions like “Do champions wear afros, or do afros wear champions?”

We get almost the entire Davy Back fight in this volume, with only the conclusion to Luffy and Foxy’s fight as holdover to the next volume.  It’s filler, but it’s very entertaining filler.  The Davy Back Fight itself, a kind of pirate game you win new crewmates with, is well-constructed and has the proper pirate spirit and history behind it.  Cheating is not allowed, but it happens anyway on the sly, interference is allowed during certain matches, beating each other up when you aren’t participating is not against the rules, stuff like that.  Of course devil fruit powers enter into the picture, but I was pretty bummed that Foxy knew Luffy’s devil fruit power before the fight.  It’s entirely possible that Luffy used it last volume and I’ve completely forgotten, but I assume that it’s mostly because Luffy’s reputation is more known at this time.  They are, of course, completely oblivious to Foxy’s power until it’s too late.

There are lots of good scenes, and lots of good jokes.  One of my favorites involves Zoro making the most sincere face he’s ever had when trying to convince Sanji to wear a ball hat.  But… you know, it’s always better to read the book rather than have me explain.  It’s totally worth it for all the afro jokes alone.  I mean, afro Luffy.  Come on.

Basically, Davy Back Fight is good stuff, but there’s not much to discuss since it’s just a game played for one volume.  More serious stuff will be coming up, and since I haven’t read the Water 7 arc and know nothing of Buster Calls and whatnot, I’m excited to get started next volume.

This whole Davy Back Fight and the conclusion to Skypiea and rereading the beginning and the awesome stuff that’s going on in the current chapters caused me to re-read quite a bit of it over the weekend.  One Piece really is one of the greats, and I’m still totally pumped for all these volumes coming out.  I will never complain about anything again now that Alabasta is over.  I think.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.

One Piece 32

Eiichiro Oda – Viz – 2010 – 56+ volumes

Here we have the conclusion to the fight between Eneru and Luffy.  It is spectacular.  In my opinion, one of the greatest moments in the series is that final spread where the people on Jaya are listening and looking.  I know its specifically written to strike a chord like that, the same way I know I shouldn’t get all upset over the flashbacks because I hate to think I can be manipulated that easy, but… it’s great.  It will always be one of my favorite moments in One Piece.

The Straw Hat Pirates get out of dodge pretty quickly once Eneru goes down, which is pretty impressive given the fact that the entirety of the cloud cities was wiped out.  We get another hint about an ultimate weapon, this time the Leviathan to match the Pluton Robin found in Alabasta.  I had forgotten about this, but it’ll likely be important later.

Once the Straw Hats say their goodbyes, they plummet back down to the Grand Line in search of the next island and a shipwright to help them patch up the poor Merry, which is in sad shape.  I like the fact that the Merry keeps all the damage it sustains, from that figurehead being snapped off almost immediately to all the holes and various damage its taken over the course of the story.  When someone snaps the guard rails off the Merry, it’s not fixed in the next scene.  Usopp fixes it later, and he’s no shipwright.

Next stop is Long Ring Long Land.  The gang runs into Tonjit, a native of the island who was left behind by his nomadic tribe in an accident.  This part’s all sorts of hilarious, as is to be expected from the in-between One Piece stories, and Tonjit gets to show off his daaaaaaaaachshund.   He’s not the main focus, alas, and at the end of the volume, Luffy is confronted by Foxy the Silver Fox and is challenged to a three-coin Davy Back Fight run by orthodox rules.  Luffy accepts without knowing any more than we do, but the rest will come next time.

Good stuff, as always, and I do like the Davy Back Fight, so let the marathon continue!

This was a review copy provided by Viz.