By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.
The first half of this volume continues to introduce the new arc, as our heroes (who are all on the cover for once) arrive in Skypeia. Sky Islands turn out to be quite different from what they’re used to, and the scene where Usopp demonstrates why one should not swim to the bottom of a cloud sea is both hysterical and unnerving. Oda is essentially world building here, and later of we get such things as wavers, dials, giant trees and fauna, and a world ruled by God. Literally.
Speaking of which, I’m pleased with how Viz handled the translation with Enel. They generally use the Japanese word ‘Kami’, but are not shy about noting that it can mean ‘God’. Enel is not any sort of a God, of course, but try telling that to the citizens of Skypeia after he zaps them.
Having arrived and met a few new characters, the Straw Hats naturally get right into trouble. (As a side note, Robin’s comment about finding adventure through exploration, rather than more dangerous definitions of piracy, is rather touching, and Zoro’s glance to her is pretty much the last time he’ll be grumpy about her joining the crew.) Oddly enough, it’s Nami starting it off, powering her waver to the Forbidden Forest and getting noticed by the Kami’s henchgoons.
This being One Piece, you know that the assistants to the Big Bad are going to be incredibly goofy. We only have a chance to meet the first one in this volume, Satori, but his appearance fits in well with Oda’s tendency to match looks with powers. He’s a round ball-like guy… who controls balls! What a coincidence!
Oh yes, on Page 179 Sanji says Idoit. Bad Viz! Spellchecker should have caught that!
The most striking moment in the volume is where Enel decides that cute young lady Conis has revealed too much to the strangers, and decides to call down heavenly fire on her. The lightning strike that follows (which Luffy and the Sky Knight only barely rescue her from) is really impressive in the way that it’s built up, and helps to establish Enel (still unseen at this point) as a terrifying presence.
And as always, seeds are planted that end up being important much later on. The description of the various dials and how they work is done in a “welcome to this weird world” way, but will have a huge impact (pardon the pun) on the rest of Skypeia, as well as future arcs.
And hands down, the funniest moment of the volume goes to Sanji, who looks through binoculars, sees Nami and the others being kidnapped, and his first thought is “why’d she put her T-shirt back on?”. Oh Sanji, the fact that some fans actually think you are a smooth ladies’ man amuses the hell out of me.
So it’s not as fantastic as the previous two volumes, but it’s still a nice solid One Piece.
