By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.
At last, we get the first fight between Luffy and Eneru. Of course, this being One Piece, Eneru wins, but that just means Luffy has to come back and beat him EVEN HARDER.
The volume begins with Eneru having taken out everyone except Zoro and Wyper, and they don’t last long against Eneru’s lightning abilities and his giant power of resurrecting himself. That just leaves Nami, who decides that discretion is the better part of valor and asks to join Eneru on his mighty crusade to the world of dreams. Eneru is not fooled, but decides that followers who are terrified of him work better, so takes her on his flying ark.
Meanwhile, back down on the sky island proper, Conis is actually managing to be successful at evacuating everyone. One of the best parts of the volume is where she denounces Eneru and isn’t zapped (as he’s far too busy getting ready to put his final plan into effect). She’s really gained in strength after meeting the Straw Hats, and I admire her devotion to her people even after the death of her father.
Then Luffy shows up, and we get the first battle. This is alternately badass and hilarious. I loved the bit where Nami tries to warn Luffy about fighting him, and he tosses her his hat, telling her that she’s a crew member of the Future King of the Pirates, so stop whining. This, by the way, leads to a later part of the manga where Nami gains the strength to denounce Eneru, and admits that all of her hopes and dreams are useless if she has no one to share them with. (I don’t canonically want any romantic pairings in One Piece. That said, I love Luffy/Nami.)
As for the fight itself, Eneru can use his electrical wavelengths to read Luffy’s moves, so things don’t go so well. Luffy’s attempts to clear his mind are hysterical. Then, of course, there’s that page. You know the one I mean. Page 82. Eneru and Nami have just figured out that Luffy, being made of rubber, is completely immune to Eneru’s electrical attacks. Eneru’s reaction to this is a look of such comedic shock that words cannot describe it. (I’ve always felt it was Oda’s shout-out to Bobobobo-Bobobo, a manga running in Jump at the same time, which uses those expressions about every page. Later in Thriller Bark, we’ll get another variation, as Bobobobo-Bobobo was ending in the magazine that week.)
Of course, this being only Round 1, Eneru wins, and attaches Luffy’s arm to a giant mound of gold, throwing him off the ark. He’s about to take out Nami as well, but luckily Sanji and Usopp have finally woken up, and come to her rescue. Well, attempt it at least. Sanji gets to be cool, Usopp gets to flail a bit, but ultimately everyone ends up back down on the ground. Then Eneru starts calling down lightning on the entire world.
To be continued! Exciting, huh?
