Book Review: One Piece, Vol 26: Adventure on Kami's Island by Eiichiro Oda

 

One Piece, Vol 26: Adventure on Kami’s Island       

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 5, 2010

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Luffy and the others not only manage to evade the Blackbeard pirates, under Marshall Teech, but they find themselves in the Knock Up Stream! Huzzah! They’re sailing on a sea of clouds! Chopper thinks he spied a ship but it disappeared -  however there is a bull running right toward them! Then out of nowhere an old man in a suit of armor appears, calling himself the Sky Knight. He saves them from the bull, for which they are grateful. He refers to them as Blue Sea people, because they come from the Blue Sea, rather than the White Sea. He warns them of guerillas who will target them, but he can protect them – for a price. He offers one whistle for 5 million extols. Of course, they have no idea what he is talking about. When he learns that they actually came via the Knock Up Stream (apparently there are other ways to get to Skypiea), he is impressed and gives them one whistle, warning them to use it wisely.

The ship arrives at Heaven’s Gate and its wizened old inspector, Amazon. She demands an entrance fee of one billion extols per person. Nami asks what if they have no money (which they don’t) and Amazon says they can pass. Seems suspicious but on they go, only to find themselves on the famous Lobster Express of the White Sea, even as Amazon reports to her superior that seven people have illegally entered Godland Skypiea!

Our fearless group arrives on the shore of a beautiful island and immediately begin to explore their surroundings. There they meet an angel named Conis, and Sanji is instantly smitten! (Is anyone surprised?) Then her father arrives. He resembles a slug and he’s riding on a strange small vessel they call a waver. Chopper and Luffy attempt to ride the waver but fail. Then Nami takes over and she’s off! She quickly disappears, even as Luffy and the others are invited to eat with Conis and her father. But when Luffy learns of a place where no one is allowed to go, it’s inevitable that he will want to go there… especially if, as they suspect, Nami is headed there too! What challenges await them there?

So Skypiea, the island in the sky, exists! Is anyone really surprised? Although it’s best not to examine the mechanics of such a place too closely and simply accept it for what it is! I have to confess that with the ever growing cast of characters, sometimes it’s hard to remember who’s who. Even so, things are getting really interesting. Another great volume, looking forward to the next one!

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 25: The 100 Million Berry Man by Eiichiro Oda

 

One Piece, Vol 25: The 100 Million Berry Man    

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 5, 2010

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/216 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Luffy and crew are seeking the way to the sky island known as Skypiea. They travel to the east coast of Jaya Island to speak with a man with big dreams – Mont Blanc Cricket. On arrival, they are impressed by his huge home, until they discover it is just a façade for a much smaller building. Is this a warning about the kind of man he is? There they find a children’s book called Noland the Liar. Sanji remembers hearing the story as a child in the North Sea. They are confronted by Mont Blanc Cricket himself – the Last Boss of the Monkey Mountain Allied Force! Thinking they’re after his gold, he attacks! Turns out the monkeys they ran into previously are under Cricket’s command. They learn that Cricket is a descendant of Noland the Liar, and he is determined to clear his family name!

Cricket tells Luffy and the others what he knows about the island in the sky, beginning with a strange phenomenon known as the Imperial Cloud, when “day suddenly turns into night.” Then he explains about the Knock Up Stream, which is their only chance of getting up to the sky island, but sounds very risky! Usopp is all for giving up the attempt, but is Luffy swayed by the danger involved? Of course not! According to legend, they need to find the South Bird in order to find the Knock Up Stream, which is located to the South. Unfortunately, their compass won’t work there, which is why they need to rely on the South Bird! Good luck in finding it!

Of course, as with any enterprise Luffy is involved in, there are challenges to be overcome. The Knock Up Stream only appears so often, as Mont Blanc Cricket tells them they need to find the bird before sunrise! Which, of course, entails trying to locate it in the dark! In the meantime, the two monkeys have offered to repair the Merry Go before they will need her to find Skypiea. Luffy and the others break up into teams, to have a better chance of locating the mysterious bird, but time is not on their side!

Meanwhile, back in Mocktown, the pirates are beginning to figure out just how valuable Luffy is! And some familiar figures make an reappearance.

This volume of One Piece is certainly action packed. Luffy is fixated on the idea of going to the island in the sky – and what Luffy wants, he usually gets! I thought it was hilarious that when anyone mentioned Noland the Liar, people would look at Usopp! I have no doubt this island exists and that they will get there! Seeing some old friends was the icing on the cake! Another great volume, looking forward to more!

 

 

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 24: People's Dreams by Eiichiro Oda

 

One Piece, Vol 24: People’s Dreams    

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 5, 2010

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/216 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Now that Sir Crocodile has been defeated, and Alubarna can begin to heal, and the Marines under Captain Smoker and Tashigi head on their way, the Straw Hat gang face a new challenge, in the form of a stowaway.  None other than Nico Robin! Most surprisingly, she wants to join the crew! There is some resistance to the idea from the members of Luffy’s crew – until mention is made of Nico having some of Crocodile’s gems and opinion is swayed to her side.

As they continue their journey, the crew sees something rather extraordinary – a ship that is falling out of the sky. Literally out of the sky. How is that even possible? To Nami’s dismay, the log pose is pointing upward and not moving! Nico tells her it’s been captured by a sky island!

Luffy runs across a map – of the sky island, Skypiea! They decide to search the ship that fell from the sky for records of the floating island. Of course, that ship sank to the bottom of the ocean. Luffy, Sanji, and Zolo become deep sea divers in order to explore the wreck. But they hadn’t figured on encountering Masira, the Salvage King, who has his eye on the wreck as well. And oh, he’s a monkey.

Luffy and the others are conflicted regarding their next destination. If they go anywhere else other than the island in the sky, the log post will reset and they will be unable to get to Skypiea. Luckily Nico Robin has a solution to that problem, so it’s on to Jaya Island! When they arrive on the island, they find themselves in a place that seems prone to violence, especially between two rival pirate gangs!

Nico Robin’s presence was a surprise, not sure how I feel about that, not sure if she will stay with them any length of time or not. Naturally, Sanji is on board with her joining the crew.  lol The idea of a sky island is intriguing, if true, but how does that even work? Guess we’ll find out. The monkey was also a surprise. I’m sure we’ll see him again.

Another great volume of One Piece, looking forward to the next!