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Only one One Piece!
On the evening of July 21st, 2007, I was inside my then-local Barnes & Noble bookstore, excitedly waiting for the final Harry Potter book, along with about 300 other people. To help pass the time, I I decided to try a manga I'd been hearing about for several years. I plucked One Piece vol 1 off the shelf, found a chair, and gave it a try. You can read about my Potterocalypse day in its dedicated post, but I'll quote the most important snippet here:
"And I have a guilty secret: I wanted to finish One Piece, rather than start Harry."
That day, OP sank its claws into me and made me want MOAR. Very early this morning, almost four years after I tried volume 1 in that packed bookstore, I finished chapter 590. I am as caught up with the series as it is possible to legally be in English. I closed the back cover on 56 collected volumes and the 12 latest issues of English Shonen Jump magazine to do it.
I can't really believe that I've finally caught up at last. I've been running after Luffy for so long, I'm kind of at a loss. *baffled expression* I do know it will be fun being able to read four of the five regular titles in SJ: Bleach, Naruto, Psyren, and now One Piece.
As for the events of the massive epic that is OP, I can only marvel at Oda-sensei's talent. He is a genius, that's the best wa to describe it. It takes such talent to write a story for kids that keeps a book-critical adult like me reading for over 10,500 pages. His art is so unique, the story so unpredictable. It's clear Oda-sensei loves drawing manga, and it shows. I feel honored that I can read it.
And chapter 574...Oda-sensei, you ripped my heart out along with Luffy's. *cries*
"And I have a guilty secret: I wanted to finish One Piece, rather than start Harry."
That day, OP sank its claws into me and made me want MOAR. Very early this morning, almost four years after I tried volume 1 in that packed bookstore, I finished chapter 590. I am as caught up with the series as it is possible to legally be in English. I closed the back cover on 56 collected volumes and the 12 latest issues of English Shonen Jump magazine to do it.
I can't really believe that I've finally caught up at last. I've been running after Luffy for so long, I'm kind of at a loss. *baffled expression* I do know it will be fun being able to read four of the five regular titles in SJ: Bleach, Naruto, Psyren, and now One Piece.
As for the events of the massive epic that is OP, I can only marvel at Oda-sensei's talent. He is a genius, that's the best wa to describe it. It takes such talent to write a story for kids that keeps a book-critical adult like me reading for over 10,500 pages. His art is so unique, the story so unpredictable. It's clear Oda-sensei loves drawing manga, and it shows. I feel honored that I can read it.
And chapter 574...Oda-sensei, you ripped my heart out along with Luffy's. *cries*
If anyone comments, please be careful of spoilers. At least one person on my flist is far far behind me in OP reading, and you know I don't want to know ANYTHING until I read it for myself.