Eiichiro Oda

I've never been a huge anime fan, mostly sticking to the classics like Dragon Ball Z when I do watch. That goes double for manga - I've never liked comics or graphic novels; and never even really gave manga a try besides a year or two subscription to Shonen Jump back in middle school. Recently I was feeling a little nostalgic for those days, so I decided to read a bit of One Piece, maybe the most popular series I've had zero exposure to.I read the colored edition, which looked really nice. show more The colors are really well done. The story is a bit juvenile, it is a shonen after all, but it's interesting enough to keep me invested, and these chapters are a quick enough read that you can knock out the entire volume in an hour or two.There's something to be said for some light fun reading that can be a breath of fresh air between more dense novels. I'm going to keep reading, but I don't see myself blasting through this series. A volume or two between regular books seems like a good pace that'll keep me from burning out on the style. show less

This is the beginning of one of my favorite adventures. From here to the end of Ennies Lobby (so far in the future) it's a story of friends-turned-family, battle adrenaline, outdoor exploration, a dazzle of helping the less fortunate, the supposed bad guys--pirates--are often the good guys and the supposed good guys--the marines--are often the bad guys, and accomplishing great goals as a team. Oda made this story unique by tossing in elements that are ordinary in real life but random in show more fiction simply because we assume a grossly oversimplified telling. This makes One Piece long, but in so many ways paced to feel more real. Characters have plenty of time to show the reader who they are under different circumstances and interact frequently like a real life band of friends and family. Plots are thick and character relations run deep. The villains tend to have exaggerated traits perhaps for humorous effect, but the true humor lies with thorough development of the main characters and Luffy, who tosses our and his crew's expectations off the ship every time. show less

As someone who's rating these a few years after reading them, having a volume titled "Tears" sends a clear message. I remember the scene and vaguely the lines that went with the images. It's one of the most emotional moments in the series. It solidifies the utmost level of trust between Nami and Luffy, and the way the rest of the crew, without words directed to them, know what comes next and the utmost level of steadfastness that they give to the collective cause. It's the best part of all show more of my favorite manga and anime. The funny part is that when Luffy does fight the entire town rallies and watches as he makes dumb mistakes that his team has to rescue him from and fight several opponents at once...Yup, that's normal One Piece boss battles. Somehow Oda takes that framework and applies it uniquely to each major battle. show less

Usopp is one of those character stereotypes you think you will hate but before you know it he's no longer a stereotype and he's hilariously awesome. The fearless adventurer has been overdone--but not the persevering coward. Once again Luffy identifies with someone and refuses to let them be on their way. Usopp simple has to join his crew. He has Luffy's playfulness, a tied history by mutual acquaintances, great at telling children stories (Luffy is a child in this case), and of course Luffy show more romanticizes having a sharpshooter on his team. But once again the person he wants to join him refuses to join. Perhaps helping Usopp save his village? That usually does the trick. But in true One Piece style, it's never that simple. In fiction there's always a plot and thus never that simple, but One Piece takes things to extremes and you aren't sure if you're hooked on the action and the characters' passions or ready to burst laughing again because of something not entirely random but certainly not expected interrupts logical conflict progression. show less