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

The Skypeia arc continues, and we finally meet our main villain, Eneru, face to face. One thing that’s immediately apparent is that his face is based on the American rapper Eminem (even his name is similar). Oda admitted this in an interview, but even if he hadn’t the caricature is so well done that it seems immediately apparent. He has the utter arrogance that most One Piece villains seem to have, but he’s also possessed of a sort of bored cruelty, very fitting to someone playing God. He has his rules, and his minions must obey them… at least till the end of the volume, where the rules are abandoned.

Speaking of villains, I can’t help but notice that the ‘cover story’ arc in these volumes deals with Wapol, one of the minor yet utterly irritating minor villains from the Alabasta arc. Oda has also stated that he hates to kill off villains, preferring to leave them broken and having their dreams crushed. This arc makes it clear why he might do that – so they can get new, better dreams. Seeing Wapol become an expert at making children’s toys is not something I remotely expected, but it’s very fitting for the sort of worldview One Piece has.

The other major thing that happens in this arc is meeting the Shandians, the other major inhabitants of this area. They’ve been at war with Eneru for some time, and at war with the sky people, and just at war in general. In fact, they read very much like a cross between an extended close family and a terrorist cell. And their leader, Wyper, seems very much like one of those ‘I don’t care about means vs. ends’ warriors we see so much in modern fiction.

And dropping into all of this chaos are our heroes, who get a lot of chances to shine. Well, OK, Chopper doesn’t shine, but you get the feeling he’s being set up to do something later. There’s also lots of funny moments, such as Nami’s utter devotion to money, and the crew somehow managing to convince a pack of wolves to stay and party around their bonfire instead of eating them. (I love that scene, as it reads like one of the ‘cast member and animal’ cover pages in the real world. Also has a great shot of Robin sitting apart from the others, smiling. She’s happy but guarded, as always.)

I also note this volume has the Straw Hat Pirates actually trying to get treasure! It’s so rare it actually needs to be pointed out. Adventure, saving kingdoms, battling tyranny, rescuing friends… there’s usually very little looting on their agenda.

The volume ends with the crew splitting up to search for the ruins where the treasure is. One team is Luffy, Zoro, Chopper and Robin. One assumes that Robin can keep the other three from getting utterly lost. One would be wrong. One giant snake later, everyone’s split up. Can’t wait to see what happens next…

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.

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

When I read this volume, I was rather surprised to see exactly how much was going on in it. Not only do we finish the setup for Skypeia, but there’s also lots of arc elements introduced that become far more important years later in this manga. I was surprised because I mostly remembered this volume for exactly two big events.

Let’s start with those, in fact. Bellamy was introduced last volume as an annoying braggart who clearly was crying out for a beating. We felt Nami’s frustration at Luffy and Zoro sitting there and taking their abuse, but Luffy was making a point. Now, however, Bellamy has gone too far, beating up Cricket and stealing their hard-won gold. Luffy is pissed. And it doesn’t help that Bellamy has a rather dull Devil Fruit power, the Boing Boing fruit (which makes his legs into springs, by the way. I think it’d be cooler if the Boing Boing fruit brought down your enemies’ server by too many visitor hits…)

And so Luffy gives him all the attention he deserves, by bringing him down with one simple punch. He doesn’t even use any Devil Fruit powers. It’s possibly one of the most beautiful two-page spreads in the series, and shows you that one does not need Devil Fruit to be utterly BADASS.

The other major thing I recall from this volume is the ending, where the Going Merry and its crew manage to evade Blackbeard and his crew and survive the Knock Up Stream. Sometimes you get a sequence that shows the main reason that Oda is drawing this manga. In fact, it’s the main reason shonen manga exists, in my opinion. The Spirit Of Adventure. The reason we love the Straw Hat Pirates so much is not their strength, or how funny they are, or even their hopes and dreams (though those are all important things). It’s because of the sheer joy of adventuring, the idea that they do things because they are amazing. Look at the faces of everyone as they realize that the ship is flying up the stream. I defy you not to break out in a big grin.

That said, there’s a lot more to this volume. We meet the World Government’s leaders, as well as the head of the Marines. We also meet two more of the Warlords Of The Sea, Donquixote Donflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma, and are reintroduced to Hawkeye. And we also get properly introduced to the bare-chested guy from last volume, who turns out to be Blackbeard D. Teech. (Always watch out for anyone with a D. in their names in this manga). There’s Shanks! There’s Buggy and Alvida! It’s like old home week. One gets the sense of things happening while the Straw Hats are off adventuring, as opposed to everyone simply waiting offstage for their cue.

And we get the story of Skypeia, and Noland the Liar. It’s presented as a silly children’s story, but is of course based in reality, as we will discover.

There’s also some great funny bits. Seeing Usopp, normally so terrified of everything, being happy around snakes and bugs while Nami and Sanji screech is wonderful. Robin’s casual capture of the South Bird is a wonderfully timed anticlimax. And the reaction shots of everyone throughout the volume, especially Luffy, Usopp, and Nami, are perpetual comedy gold.

A huge volume, for many reasons. Next up, Skypeia proper!