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

Technically, this is supposed to be a cooldown volume after the previous epic chapters of fighting. The crew is back at Water Seven, they’ve rescued Robin, and now we have some wacky shenanigans before they set sail once again. The trouble is, Oda being Oda, that this volume also casually drops in hints of the plot for the next 20 or so volumes.

First off, we have the revelation of Luffy’s family. It’s not really something that’s come up before, and even Luffy hasn’t thought much about it “I have a dad?” he says. But in a nice bit of juxtaposition, his grandfather is a Marine, his father is a terrorist – sorry, Revolutionary – and Luffy is a pirate. There’s a great bit where Luffy tries to warn everyone off of attacking his grandpa, and some of his childhood training is revealed. Training from Hell.

Then we have Coby and Helmeppo showing up, taking the series right back to Volume 1. Those who follow the cover arcs knew that the two were under Garp, so it’s not as much of a surprise as Luffy’s parentage was, but it’s still great to see. Coby tells Luffy about the second half of the Grand Line – called “The New World” – and indeed, the manga seems to feel as if it may have reached a halfway point here, 10 years into it.

The last of the callbacks we have are in the final two chapters, where Oda just goes all out in a giant “Where are they now?” reunion chapter. What I like best is it not only catches up with old characters, but tosses in tidbits we’d been wondering about. So yes, Vivi knows that Robin is a crewmember, and is OK with it. We see the mayor of Luffy’s hometown, upset about Luffy’s criminal activities, wondering if “Dadan” knows about this. (Who?) And we see Kaya, immediately rushing back to her studies so she can tend Usopp’s wounds when he returns (if you know what I mean).

Of course, it’s not just nostalgia. Mixed in with this are the new plot points that will carry the series forward. First off, the crew gets a new ship, courtesy Franky, and a new shipwright, also Franky. His joining the crew is not exactly a stunning revelation – after all, he had the multi-chapter tragic past flashback that is a prerequisite – but is welcome, as it had been 222 chapters since Robin joined. Franky will prove a SUPAA addition. We also get the new ship, which is twice the size of Merry, and has a lot of cool things.

Meanwhile, we catch up with Shanks, who has gone through several blockades to meet up with his fellow warlord, Whitebeard. Shanks being one of the 4 most powerful pirates in the world is not a surprise either – after all, Luffy will have to beat him to become the Pirate King – but seeing Whitebeard is a treat. He’s huge, not in the way the Giants are, just in a “I am the largest human around” sort of way. He and Shanks have a disagreement regarding Ace’s mission to kill Blackbeard, with Shanks noting that it could have repercussions that would be felt the world over. Ow! Sorry, the foreshadowing got in my eye! MY EEEEYYYYEEEE!

Surprisingly, our regulars are the ones with the least to do in this volume, with one or two exceptions. The biggest is Usopp, in a plot twist that is in-character but came as a big surprise to me. We were meant to sympathize mightily with Usopp throughout Water Seven, so seeing Zoro convince the crew that unless he apologized they would abandon him is a shock. However, Zoro’s reasoning is dead on, and reminds us that Usopp’s argument with Luffy was INITIALLY just his stubbornness and denial. The big reunion scene has a bit too many ugly tears for my taste (Oda draws tears and snot very realistically, but that doesn’t make for attractive art), but is welcome nevertheless.

Likewise, Robin runs into Aokiji, and we get a confirmation that he’s sort of in the Smoker category of Marines rather than the Spandam category. I was rather startled at his frank admission that he had assumed Robin to be suicidal. Actually, looking back, he was likely correct. Still, his comment that as long as she keeps moving forward, Ohara will live on is touching. In fact, it’s about the last bit of touching we get from the Marines for some time. By the way, I note on the Bounty Posters that Robin’s went up only a tiny amount. I suspect this is less from her being the victim and more that they’re now giving her an actual bounty, as opposed to the fake “she sank six warships at the age of 8” one she had before.

And as the volume ends, Ace does indeed catch up with Blackbeard, and we find out he’s eaten a Devil Fruit – one that grants darkness. How that battle ends will wait till next time. But man, what a packed volume. So much to take in. Awesome stuff.

Oh yes, because I got annoyed with Del Rey for it earlier, I feel I should get annoyed with Viz too. Previous volumes showed Tom’s expression as “With a boom!”. This volume has it as “With a bang!” Unless Viz is F-Troop, they should stick to one or the other. Continuity, people! Tsk tsk to Alexis Kirsch, Viz’s credited editor of this volume! Yay to Viz for crediting the editor!

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

First of all, I realize that warning about spoilers on my blog is laughable, as anyone still reading me knows I spoil everyone and everything until you want to beat me to death. Nevertheless, if you don’t know how this volume ends, I’d advise not reading it. Really, if you come at it fresh, it will be amazing. And devastating.

Secondly, oh, that cover. Oda has been gradually increasing the fanservice as the series has gone on, with Nami and Robin’s breasts getting larger every arc. Here, though, we see Robin reminding readers that her ass is awesome as well. Though she does seem to be angry with us for staring.

As for the volume itself, Robin is finally free. Woo hoo! And that means that Spandam finally gets his. Now, later on when they truly escape there will be a more serious takedown of Spandam by Robin, but I have to say I prefer the mass slapping at the beginning. He’s such a loser that it fits his character more to just be bitchslapped to death. Speaking of Robin, I was impressed at how, once the Buster Call actually comes into full force, she’s crippled with what may be post-traumatic stress disorder. She gets over it, but not right away, and it’s a nice bit of realism for her character.

Kokoro being a mermaid is not particularly surprising in my opinion, but the signposts at least helped it not come out of nowhere and be a deus ex machina. The high point of the revelation, of course, is Sanji’s reacting to seeing Kokoro. Poor boy, his dreams are crushed. Sanji, in fact, veers wildly this volume, as his character tends to do. On the one hand, we have this, and also his trying to glomp Robin and getting literally kicked out of the way by Nami and Chopper. On the other, his vanishing and closing the Gates of Justice was a stroke of genius. Clearly, women drag Sanji down. He needs to find an island of all men or something…

Luffy’s fight, meanwhile, is taking forever. At one point, he seems to be down for the count, causing Sniper King, in a stunning moment, to remove his mask to yell at him. Sniper King is Usopp! Oh my God! To his credit, Usopp does deliver a great inspirational speech to get Luffy to stand once more. I do admit that I prefer the scanner’s “It’s not like it’s Hell here” to Viz’s “This isn’t the afterlife”, but hey.

By the way, One Piece is endlessly re-readable. So many throwaway gags in the middle of serious scenes. Sniper King stopping the attacking Captains with Usopp Noise, Zoro, Sanji and Luffy’s V-for-Victory deadpan after using Luffy as a slingshot, the marvelous cameo by Ryo from KochiKame (these chapters appeared at KochiKame’s 30th anniversary). And it’s not just the gags… witness Luffy’s final move, which is punctuated by flashbacks to everyone saying how horrible Robin is, and her screaming that she wants to live. The filmic qualities of this manga are stunning.

And then there’s the final chapter. In many ways, this is the first major character One Piece has ever killed off that wasn’t in a flashback. Even Pell got better. But Merry’s last moments are just pure emotional rawness. When I first read this years ago, I was choking up. Years later, knowing it’s coming… I still choke up. Iceberg talking about what an amazing life Merry lived… the flashbacks to her best moments… the pitch-perfect reactions of everyone (Luffy, Chopper, and Nami openly crying, Usopp trying poorly to hide it, Robin’s single tear, Zoro and Sanji’s stoicness)… it’s in my Top 5 One Piece chapters. Fantastic. As others have noted, “I can’t believe I’m getting emotionally attached to a BOAT!”

Technically, Enies Lobby ends here. The next volume is back to Water Seven, and is mostly a breather volume. Of course, being One Piece, the breather volume has more plot in it than 30 volumes of anything else.

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

I’ve talked before in my review of Volume 35 about the tough times Usopp has with a certain part of One Piece fandom. Generally speaking, they want him to shut the hell up and be as badass as everyone else. Now, this is unlikely to happen for several reasons. First, Usopp being the weak normal guy (along with Nami) is part of what makes the crew so interesting. Second, Oda likes writing Usopp being a cowardly dork. As long as Oda still wants to mine that for humor, he will. Just like Nami will get angry and hit the guys, and Sanji will be a moron in front of women.

And third, Usopp’s moments of fear and panic and cowardice are balanced out by his moments of pure awesome. In one of the best parts of the book, Sanji manages to get through to him and note that he may be totally useless in a fight with Jabra and Kaku, so why doesn’t he go off and do something only *he* can do? (You know it’s a big moment as we see Usopp’s face reacting beneath the Sniper King mask.) Sanji knows Usopp is really very clever – this is a man who built a Clima-Tact for Nami out of thin air, let’s remember – and also that they cannot afford to be distracted by mooks when their goal is to rescue Robin.

Meanwhile, Nami defeats Kalifa by showing that her power of fanservice is mightier (though I will admit the mirages were very well done). In any battle involving weather in some way, as the Soapland battle had become, Nami is bound to kick ass. Sanji shows off the fact that his kicks can now catch fire and defeats Jabra. And Zoro defeats Kaku, who is perhaps the cleverest of the enemy in using his truly bizarre giraffe powers, and also the most likeable – he gets a nice moment at the end when he’s about to pass out showing he may not be irredeemable. Unfortunately, Luffy and Lucci are still fighting, and aren’t nearly over yet.

This then leads to the final chapter of the volume, which is a masterpiece. Robin is now fully dedicated to trying to get away, but bound and handcuffed, she’s not getting very far. (Biting the stone bridge was particularly amazing, though.) Spandam tries to at least break her spirit, by revealing that the dickhead Marine who annihilated her home and mother is the father of Spandam, a dickhead Marine trying to do the same. Luckily, Robin is now made of stronger stuff:

Spandam: What was it like being an 8-year-old brat hunted by mercenaries? You couldn’t trust anyone. You couldn’t rest or sleep anywhere. You didn’t have any food. I don’t even want to think about how awful those 20 years must have been.
[…]
Spandam: The curtain falls on the Battle of Ohara! That wretched island will be wiped from history!
Robin: I’M STILL ALIVE!!!
Spandam: BUT YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!!!

And then, just as he’s about to drag her beyond the point of no return… the cavalry arrives. In the form of Usopp, doing what none of the others could have done, with skills that the Marines note are practically superhuman. Even Robin has a huge grin seeing this. It’s beautiful.

With this volume, we’re heading into the final chapters. It’s an adrenaline roller-coaster, and makes you absolutely want to move on to the next volume. Which isn’t out ’til May. Ah well.