By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

The majority of this volume of One Piece is composed of running around and fighting, as we tend to get when we’re 2/3 of the way through most story arcs in this series. Everyone is coming together from various disparate points (or, in the case of Luffy, getting dumped way the hell away from everyone) to try to stop Caesar Clown, who is upset that he has to kill them all in his secret base rather than out on Punk Hazard’s surface. We also get to see more of the fighting styles of minor villains Monet and Vergo. And thankfully we also get lots and lots of silliness.

One thing that gets a bit more attention this volume is the way that trust works in the world of One Piece. Luffy is, let’s face it, a man who inspires devotion and loyalty in his crew, but he’s not the only one. Most of the pirates, marines and mooks we see here are all fiercely proud and supportive of their leader, to the point almost of mindlessness. This is where Luffy’s crew stands out, of course – being real characters, they’re allowed to disagree with him or tell him he’s being stupid. The nameless marines and villains, however, don’t have that option, so they remain trusting and gullible to an extreme. When it’s someone like Tashigi who inspires them, that’s fine – she would never tell them to do something stupid, and indeed tries to protect them by stating that their foe is not the real Vergo. When it comes to Caesar, though…

Let’s face it, Caesar is a terrible, terrible liar. His “I am a good guy trying to help you all” act is pathetic, and it doesn’t say much for his mooks that they buy into it wholeheartedly. At least the little kids have the excuse of being too young to really understand. (though kudos to the one kid who sacrifices herself for the others, after Chopper finally convinces her what’s really happening). Caesar is not quite as scummy as, say, Spandam, but it’s still very satisfying to see Luffy beat the ever-loving snot out of him here.

There’s also Zoro and Tashigi, who get a lot of spotlight here. Tashigi’s character has always been fairly problematic, and it doesn’t really get any better here, as her compassion wars with her fierce competitiveness and her belief that Zoro is holding back whenever he’s near her because she’s a woman. Zoro, of course, is not about to tell her the real reason, and in any case is so far beyond her skill level now that he can take out Money, let her get in the final blow, and then agree to have her take the credit for it. Makes no difference to him, as that sort of thing is irrelevant when you’re on the level he is. In short, their relationship is still just as amusing yet awkward to read about as ever. (I did love her nerding out about his new sword as he carries her away from the gas, though.)

So overall another solid volume. The crew get chances to show off (Even Nami, whose weather control works well briefly against someone like Monet), and the collective treatment of Brownbeard is a comedic masterpiece. I am, however, looking forward to this arc being done in a volume or two.

By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

It’s worth noting, when reading this volume of One Piece, how much fun Oda is clearly having writing every single chapter. His simple joy in drawing all this crazy stuff comes out from the page and just overflows into your brain. Be it giant slime monsters clearly based off of video games in his youth, the bodyswap continuing to humiliate Nami and Sanji (and ending at just about the right time so it doesn’t get old), or even our heroes happily commenting on how Luffy and Smoker are locked up in another seastone cage again, just like Alabasta! (Bonus points for it being Robin commenting, who was a villain at that point.) This manga is what happy feels like.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games – or rather, the fun and games continues to be contrasted with the atrocities that Caesar Clown is committing. Drug addict giant toddlers, poison gas corpses that look like something out of Edvard Munch, and Luffy getting completely punked in his first fight with Caesar, despite his supposed poison immunity… this is not simply a walk in the park the way other arcs have felt. We even have yet another mole for the bad guy who’s a Vice-Admiral with the Marines (and, Oda-style, has a hamburger affixed to his cheek. As he forgot it was there.)

We also see Kidd and some of the other Supernovas meeting to discuss Caesar Clown’s offer, and it reminds me of something that Oda has been showing us again and again: anyone with power in this world is highly likely to be evil or insane. Luffy and company are one of the few non-evil pirate crews, and, fittingly, Smoker and Tashigi’s group are one of the few non-evil Marine crews. When you live in a world like One Piece’s, with so much raw power out there to abuse, you run into people who will do all they can to hold onto it.

Luckily, our heroes are strong, and can’t be kept down for long. Everyone has their own bodies again, and Kin’emon, the samurai, has his full body back (and is really quite tall now). What’s more, Luffy and Law have formed an alliance! I suspect that Law will rapidly come to regret allying himself with Luffy and company, which to a certain degree involves throwing your self-image out the window and giving in to the goofy. I am amused that once again Luffy says, when being informed of a plan, “Yeah, OK, I got it”, and then merrily go off to punch things again. It’s not something anyone can stop at this point.

If there’s something that feels slightly dissatisfying here, it’s that Caesar Clown doesn’t feel like a big bad. He’s pretty scummy, and I’ll enjoy seeing him defeated, but the revelation that there’s someone behind him who’s the real mastermind makes a lot more sense, and as a reader, I’d really like to leap ahead to that battle. Till then, though, One Piece continues to go where it wants to with unlimited joy.

By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz.

If you had not been following along with One Piece and were trying to come into this volume totally unspoiled, well, sorry. The cover totally spoils one of the funniest gags Oda’s come up with in some time, unashamedly. There’s a whole lot going on in Punk Hazard, and I’ll get to some of it later. But mostly what people remember from this volume is the bodyswapping. The reasoning behind it is somewhat flimsy – Law doesn’t want the Strawhats getting away, so does this to create chaos, I believe – but the consequences are pure gold, even if it means putting up with Sanji trying to feel himself up half the time. Even Smoker and Tashigi get in on the act, with a bodyswap that makes your head hurt even more. (Tashigi is still, I note, dealing with “we’ll obey our captain because she’s really hot!” from the crew, and is totally unable to do anything against Law. But then again, neither is Smoker.)

Oh yes, Law! One of the most popular of the Supernovas, we knew he’d show up again, but not quite so soon. He doesn’t seem to be entirely behind what’s going on here, but he’s involved in some way, and it’s interesting seeing him scheme and plan when compared with Luffy’s “well, whatever” style of piracy. As for who is behind things, well, it would appear to be ex-government scientist Caesar Clown, who is basically the Joker from Batman, only as a mad scientist. He is creepy as hell, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s the guy Luffy will have to fight a few volumes down the road. His plot involves kidnapping and experimenting on young children, which is pretty damn dark, but then I remember the other backstories that this series has given us.

I would be remiss in this review if I did not stop to talk about my favorite character. Robin gets a lot to do here, including, to my surprise and pleasure, a huge number of jokes. No, she’s not making goofy faces, but we do see her imagining Usopp and Zoro as Duck Ferry Rides, and joining with the others in stealing the villains’ clothes for warmth, and absolutely shutting Franky down when he tries to make his usual poses and faces in Chopper’s cute body. (Robin has always had a soft spot for Chopper. Also, I sense this may be Oda trying to sink the Franky/Robin ship a bit – she’s clearly REALLY IRRITATED here.) And of course she’s making her usual references to all her comrades possibly being dead on pools of blood. If it’s Robin humor you want, this is the volume for you.

And I haven’t even mentioned the goofy samurai who’s just a head, or Nami’s maternal instincts oddly popping up (I’ll buy it, but only just – I have to wonder if she’s thinking of her own childhood pre-Bellemere), or Brownbeard, of all people, making a comeback, or the really creepy chamber of corpses, or the bird woman and what role she’s playing. As ever, there’s just so much going on here. By the time you finish this volume of One Piece, you could have read 5 Bleaches! Absolutely recommended.