Premise
We follow Monkey D. Luffy as he sets off to fulfill his dream of being a pirate and go on a high seas quest to build a pirate crew and find the legendary treasure “One Piece” and become the Pirate King.
My Review
One Piece by Eiichiro Oda is either the manga/anime people can’t wait to read/watch or vow to never pick it up. As of mid-2025, 111 volumes translated into English have been published and two to three chapters are being published every month since mid-June 2025. Am I insane for doing this? Maybe, the jury is still out.
The premise is simple at first glance and I thought ‘how does this need so many volumes if the premise is so simple?’ The pace is a medium fast pace, with Oda taking his time to flesh out the story and make the art impeccable. It seems like everything is written or drawn for a reason. Yet, at the same time everything is absurd.
We get the reason why Luffy wants to become a pirate, who inspires him, and him setting off. The end was interesting and a cliff hanger, which is why I read the second volume the next day. I had to know what happened.
The artwork contributes to the atmosphere and world-building as it helps with the absurdness and humor that is what really makes One Piece, One Piece. It is very expressive and cartoonish, it very much conveys the tone of the manga. Without the visual storytelling, my imagination would not be able to come up with sufficient images.
The characters are amazing. Even the side characters play a part in the story. We learned about Luffy’s foundational traits; his ambition, loyalty, freedom, and his belief in his dream. He and the other important characters are fleshed out very well in this volume.
Some of the themes seem to be of the thread of chasing your dreams and not letting anything stand in your way. Another is to know when to fight and when to let something roll off your back.
I found this volume very interesting and entertaining. It’s a fun reading experience and the way Oda brings things to life is amazing. It is so absurd, between the art style and what happens to Luffy in the first chapter. Luffy as a character is hilarious. I just had a really good time with this.
I have already read the next few volumes and cannot wait to write about them.
That’s all for now, ’til next time.
Happy Reading!
Lily
