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Another review from the mind of s2m: One Piece
My last review of Tekkonkinkreet didn't seem to strike a chord with anyone, so perhaps something more mainstream will pique your interest. I bring you...One Piece!
If you recall in this post, while waiting in Barnes & Noble for Harry 7 to be released, I decided to try the manga One Piece, by Oda Eiichiro. I'd been hearing about the series for years, and while I do love pirate stores--this was true long before the PotC films--I had never been inclined to try OP. Why?? B/c the art disturbed me. D= But any story would not be so popular and lasted for so long if it weren't worthwhile. So I picked up vol 1 that evening to read in the store, and was definitely impressed by the first chapter alone.
A few days ago, I finished reading volumes 1-8. While the story drags in the Buggy arc, the vast majority is well-paced and engrossing. Quite often when I read a longish manga series, I get burned out and have to take a break and read something else every 5 volumes or so. This did not happen with OP! At no point was I tempted to take a break. In fact, I didn't want to put the books down! When I reached the end of volume 8, I ran to my manga collection to snatch up vol 9, only to dissolve into wails. T.T I don't have vol 9...and 8 ended on such a killer cliffhanger! X| Now I'm stuck until I get my hands on MOAR. Mmmph.
OP is that rather rare instance of a story intended for 10 year olds that still manages to captivate adults. Like with Naruto, the main characters are developed and well-rounded. They have flaws, they struggle to achieve their goals. The story is continuously surprising, and it never dissolves into kiddiefied stupidity. I do wish Luffy weren't quite so foolish, but his charisma and determination make me like him anyway. :P While the series has the usual shounen manga lack of a fair amount female characters, the four we meet up through vol 8 are strong and interesting, a welcome break from the perfect uber-princess or boy-crazy types you normally find in this type of manga. They aren't the annoying ultimate warrior type, either. I especially like the main female lead, Nami.Who is the subject of vol 8's killer cliffhanger.
The art of OP is completely bizarre. The character designs have a definite Western influence in the faces, particularly from the classic animation style of the 30s and 40s. Yes, this is borderline blasphemous, but it's true. :P These facial character designs, particularly of the non-kakkoi characters, often look like they escaped from a 40s wartime cartoon short. It's interesting to see that Disney and Warner-esque look combined with manga-style long legs. I like it. ^^
Once you become accustomed to the unusual art and whimsical designs, it really does work. And in a world where the hero can stretch himself amazing distances, fighting with a sword in each hand and a third one in your mouth is completely plausible, and bags of gold only seem to weigh a pound at most, an artistic style that's a little funky fits right in.
My only regrets about the series--aside from currently being stuck at vol 8--are the fight scenes and the Energizer Bunny Syndrome. The fight scenes....as to be expected, they're too long. T.T I know I know, this is a shounen manga and young boys just love fight scenes, but that doesn't mean I can't wish all those pages were spent on dialogue! But then, I'll take dialogue and character development over buildings being smashed and faces punched in any day.Unless it's Gaara-sama vs Lee-kun. Then ZOMG bring it ON!!!!! XD And re: the Energizer Bunny Syndrome. This is also to be expected in a fighting manga. No matter how beat up, how tortured, how clobbered or maimed, the main characters always manage to fight on and win. Except once, for poor Zolo/Zoro. But that just made his loss more powerful. I'm used to the EBS by now, though I do like how Luffy lets his crew-mates fight their own battles. It shows his trust in them and teachers the readers self-reliance. Sometimes I get so sick of all the "let's share" and "teammorkYAY!" brainwashing you see on tv these days.
Thus far, I don't have one ultimate fave character. I'm fond of Luffy himself and all the crew-mates he's gathered so far: Zolo/Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. I also like Captain Shanks--though we barely know him, and I particularly like the minor side character Mihawk, and not just b/c he looks good in a long coat, I swear.Though I am horribly tempted to go look for Mihawk/Zolo slash. *adjusts her fake halo*
One of the really unusual things about OP is the chapter title pages. Very rarely do the ones for this manga ever reflect the chapter's content! At first, we see the character doing something random, almost always involving a random anthropomorphic animal in some way. Fishing with penguins, riding a rotund cow, cooking with a gator, etc. A few volumes in, Oda-sensei tells a side story with the chapter title pages, revealing what happened to Buggy and his crew after their defeat by Luffy. I've never seen a side story told like this before!Who is that slinky woman and why is she hunting for Luffy??? But I must say, my fave chapter title page so far was for chapt 70 in vol 8, where the four guys and Nami are all dressed in yukata, aka the traditional Japanese male garb you see on Soul Reapers in Bleach or just about everyone in Kenshin. Complete with swords! I suppose my 11 years of anime fandom has turned this style of dress into the new tuxedo for me. You know "every man looks dashing in a tux!!!" Every manga character also looks dashing in this traditional clothing, particularly when that's not their normal garb. Alas, poor Usopp is still comic relief in this pic. But Luffy!! My my, I didn't know you had it in you!! :3
Now, my take on the series as a manga letterer:
AAAAGHHHH!!!!!
*hides in terror under her bed* ZOMG, I will never ever EVER want to letter One Piece! It's a monster from out of my nightmares! It's a zombie of unending retouch! Those fights scenes! The random complex comedy! The huge FX intertwined with the artwork and winding all over the place!! Iyadaaaaa!!! *is horrified* Seriously, folks. I have the deepest amount of respect and sympathy for all the letterers who have suffered and continue to suffer through OP. No amount of money could make up for the stress of dealing with those FX. Ghaaa!
Ahem. /freakout.
The vast majority of thosegod-awful FX are done with type, which is to be expected from almost all manga letterers. I do wish they used a greater variety of fonts, though. Particularly in the first few volumes, almost everything is just in the dialogue font. Boring! :/ As a manga reader, I also prefer that if the Japanese FX must be replaced by English, then please do the original artwork justice. The OP letterers seem to overuse the lovely white border on their FX. But as a letterer myself, I can hardly blame them. I don't want to think what lettering a volume of OP would do to me. I cannot stand to do a half-assed job, so I'd probably work myself insane. *shivers*
As I like to do with any manga series I enjoy that also has an anime I have yet to see, I checked out the seiyuu cast. I was pleasantly surprised. None of my ultimate fave seiyuu were in it, but my comedic relief fave, Chiba Shigeru (Kuwabara in YYH), is Buggy!! I'm tempted to track down the unedited eps just for this performance! XD Yamaguchi Kappei (Ranma-kun, Inu Yasha, L in Death Note) is Usopp, Hirata Hiroaki (Gojyo in Saiyuki, Rubel in Clay) is Sanji, and amazingly Doi Mika--THE Doi Mika (Queen Serenity in Sailormoon, Megumi in Kenshin) is Kobi. ZOMG. =O This woman has been a seiyuu since the 80s. *is shocked to see her in the cast of OP* And Django is Yao Kazuki (Dark Schneider in Bastard). Wow, I haven't seen him in anything since the villain Pluie in Wedding Peach!!
Thus ends my review of the fun awesomeness that is One Piece. I'm very happy that I gave this series a try. I will definitely be reading more!!! Once I pounce on a copy of volume 9, of course.
Stupid cliffhangers...*whimpers*
If you recall in this post, while waiting in Barnes & Noble for Harry 7 to be released, I decided to try the manga One Piece, by Oda Eiichiro. I'd been hearing about the series for years, and while I do love pirate stores--this was true long before the PotC films--I had never been inclined to try OP. Why?? B/c the art disturbed me. D= But any story would not be so popular and lasted for so long if it weren't worthwhile. So I picked up vol 1 that evening to read in the store, and was definitely impressed by the first chapter alone.
A few days ago, I finished reading volumes 1-8. While the story drags in the Buggy arc, the vast majority is well-paced and engrossing. Quite often when I read a longish manga series, I get burned out and have to take a break and read something else every 5 volumes or so. This did not happen with OP! At no point was I tempted to take a break. In fact, I didn't want to put the books down! When I reached the end of volume 8, I ran to my manga collection to snatch up vol 9, only to dissolve into wails. T.T I don't have vol 9...and 8 ended on such a killer cliffhanger! X| Now I'm stuck until I get my hands on MOAR. Mmmph.
OP is that rather rare instance of a story intended for 10 year olds that still manages to captivate adults. Like with Naruto, the main characters are developed and well-rounded. They have flaws, they struggle to achieve their goals. The story is continuously surprising, and it never dissolves into kiddiefied stupidity. I do wish Luffy weren't quite so foolish, but his charisma and determination make me like him anyway. :P While the series has the usual shounen manga lack of a fair amount female characters, the four we meet up through vol 8 are strong and interesting, a welcome break from the perfect uber-princess or boy-crazy types you normally find in this type of manga. They aren't the annoying ultimate warrior type, either. I especially like the main female lead, Nami.
The art of OP is completely bizarre. The character designs have a definite Western influence in the faces, particularly from the classic animation style of the 30s and 40s. Yes, this is borderline blasphemous, but it's true. :P These facial character designs, particularly of the non-kakkoi characters, often look like they escaped from a 40s wartime cartoon short. It's interesting to see that Disney and Warner-esque look combined with manga-style long legs. I like it. ^^
Once you become accustomed to the unusual art and whimsical designs, it really does work. And in a world where the hero can stretch himself amazing distances, fighting with a sword in each hand and a third one in your mouth is completely plausible, and bags of gold only seem to weigh a pound at most, an artistic style that's a little funky fits right in.
My only regrets about the series--aside from currently being stuck at vol 8--are the fight scenes and the Energizer Bunny Syndrome. The fight scenes....as to be expected, they're too long. T.T I know I know, this is a shounen manga and young boys just love fight scenes, but that doesn't mean I can't wish all those pages were spent on dialogue! But then, I'll take dialogue and character development over buildings being smashed and faces punched in any day.
Thus far, I don't have one ultimate fave character. I'm fond of Luffy himself and all the crew-mates he's gathered so far: Zolo/Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. I also like Captain Shanks--though we barely know him, and I particularly like the minor side character Mihawk, and not just b/c he looks good in a long coat, I swear.
One of the really unusual things about OP is the chapter title pages. Very rarely do the ones for this manga ever reflect the chapter's content! At first, we see the character doing something random, almost always involving a random anthropomorphic animal in some way. Fishing with penguins, riding a rotund cow, cooking with a gator, etc. A few volumes in, Oda-sensei tells a side story with the chapter title pages, revealing what happened to Buggy and his crew after their defeat by Luffy. I've never seen a side story told like this before!
Now, my take on the series as a manga letterer:
AAAAGHHHH!!!!!
*hides in terror under her bed* ZOMG, I will never ever EVER want to letter One Piece! It's a monster from out of my nightmares! It's a zombie of unending retouch! Those fights scenes! The random complex comedy! The huge FX intertwined with the artwork and winding all over the place!! Iyadaaaaa!!! *is horrified* Seriously, folks. I have the deepest amount of respect and sympathy for all the letterers who have suffered and continue to suffer through OP. No amount of money could make up for the stress of dealing with those FX. Ghaaa!
Ahem. /freakout.
The vast majority of those
As I like to do with any manga series I enjoy that also has an anime I have yet to see, I checked out the seiyuu cast. I was pleasantly surprised. None of my ultimate fave seiyuu were in it, but my comedic relief fave, Chiba Shigeru (Kuwabara in YYH), is Buggy!! I'm tempted to track down the unedited eps just for this performance! XD Yamaguchi Kappei (Ranma-kun, Inu Yasha, L in Death Note) is Usopp, Hirata Hiroaki (Gojyo in Saiyuki, Rubel in Clay) is Sanji, and amazingly Doi Mika--THE Doi Mika (Queen Serenity in Sailormoon, Megumi in Kenshin) is Kobi. ZOMG. =O This woman has been a seiyuu since the 80s. *is shocked to see her in the cast of OP* And Django is Yao Kazuki (Dark Schneider in Bastard). Wow, I haven't seen him in anything since the villain Pluie in Wedding Peach!!
Thus ends my review of the fun awesomeness that is One Piece. I'm very happy that I gave this series a try. I will definitely be reading more!!! Once I pounce on a copy of volume 9, of course.
Stupid cliffhangers...*whimpers*