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(O/A) $17.95
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TP $14.99
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Creator: Eiichiro Oda with JN Productions (translations) and Megan Bates (English adaptation)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 232 pages, $9.99 (US), $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-3450-3 (ISBN-13)
One Piece is a popular shonen manga (comics for teen boys) created by Eiichiro Oda and featuring the adventures of a group of pirates known as “the Straw Hats.” The star of the series is Monkey D. Luffy, who has the ability to stretch like rubber. He got this ability by eating the “Devil Fruit” (specifically the “Gum Gum” variety). Since he was a child, Luffy has wanted to become the King of Pirates, mainly because, as a kid, he listened to the stories of the pirate, “Red-Haired” Shanks.
Luffy cannot swim (a side effect of the Gum Gum Fruit), but that did not deter him from setting out to sea. Over the series, readers watched as Luffy gradually gathered the crew members who would become the Straw Hats. They are Zolo the master swordsman; Nami the treasure-hunting thief; Usopp, the lying sharpshooter; Sanji the high-kicking chef; Chopper, the walkin’ talkin’ reindeer doctor; and newcomer, the mysterious archeologist, Nico Robin. Together, they travel on their ship, the Merry Go, searching for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece.”
Starting this past January, VIZ Media accelerated the publication of One Piece, with five new volumes published each month (until June 2010). Currently, the American publication of One Piece is in the midst of the series’ fourth storyline, Water Seven.
As One Piece, Vol. 34 (entitled The City of Water, Water Seven) begins, the Davy Back Fight, a game in which the Straw Hats take on the Foxy Pirates, comes to a shattering conclusion. Luffy finds a way to beat Foxy the Silver Fox, Captain of the Foxy Pirates. Before Luffy and company can head onto their next adventure, they must face Admiral Aokiji of Navy Headquarters, and he has come to collect Robin. Aokiji will kill to get her, and the crew will bear witness to his cold-blooded power.
One Piece is a rousing adventure, and while I sometimes compare it to Pirates of the Caribbean, One Piece is much more imaginative. The art that actually tells this story to readers will amaze, but there are graphics in this volume that simply blew my mind. Once the Straw Hats enter The City of Water, Water Seven, creator Eiichiro Oda and his staff put their drawing skills to work and create an entire functioning city. And this city, which acts as a set for the story, is essentially just background art! Our attention will be held on the art depicting the Straw Hats and the new strange people and weird creatures they meet in Water Seven. Those visuals are fantastic, but to also have this remarkable architecture and cityscape in the background… Well, One Piece impresses, and the reasons for its success are right before our very eyes.
A
Buy One Piece, Vol. 34
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