One Piece: Baroque Works 22-23-24, Vol. 8 (Omnibus Edition) (One Piece (Omnibus Edition)) by Oda, Eiichiro (2014) Paperback

One Piece 3-in-1 Omnibus #8

by Eiichiro Oda

Судьба Алабасты висит на волоске…
Восстание набирает обороты, а до взрыва на главной площади Алубарны остаются считанные минуты. Лучшие силы царской стражи пытаются помешать Крокодайлу осуществить задуманное, но Великий Корсар слишком могуч… Теперь, когда ему известно о местонахождении понеглифа, он ни перед чем не отступит.
Виви предпринимает последнюю попытку остановить врага, но как царевна страны песков может побороть пирата, с которым не справился даже Луффи?..

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Adventure, Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Action

Paperback

First published February 4, 2014

About the author

Eiichiro Oda (尾田栄一郎, Oda Eiichirō) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime One Piece.

As a child, Oda was inspired by Akira Toriyama's works and aspired to become a manga artist. He recalls that his interest in pirates was probably sparked by the popular TV animation series titled Vicky the Viking. He submitted a character named Pandaman for Yudetamago's classic wrestling manga Kinnikuman. Pandaman was not only used in a chapter of the manga but would later return as a recurring cameo character in Oda's own works.

Please also see:
尾田荣一郎 (Chinese, simplified)
尾田榮一郎 (Chinese, traditional)

Reviews

[ri ⊹.˚ [ semi-ia - uni ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ one piece vol. 22 - 24 ꒱ 4 stars
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⌗ 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥: apr 8, ‘26⌇ 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥: apr 17, ‘26

review with light spoilers

alabasta is officially over, the last two volumes were very impactful. i don’t wanna say much because spoilers but i am sad we are not going to be seeing vivi anymore but we do have an unofficial new crewmate.

skypea officially starts in volume 22, if i’m being completely i don’t really remember the filler before this arc but im excited cause this is one of the arcs i need a refresher for.

── preread

i’m pretty sure one of these volumes contains the final battle of this arc/saga, i love alabasta but im also excited to get to skypea

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the ending of Alabasta, not really sure what’s going on now

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of a era! No really, this is like the first major part of One Piece ending. Also Vivi is now gone and it makes me sad because she's like the hottest.

So Luffy goes against croc again and this time he's learned a little secret. So the brutal fight begins and man oh man by the end we get some epic moments. On top of that the political war ends in a great and satisfying way. I also think the start of the next arc, after get over the brief intermission of monkey man and the strawhats, starts getting good. This is where Luffy is most badass for me.

Overall, it's still great. One Piece has great writing, awesome art, and solid pacing. Now we're on to my favorite part of the series! A 4 out of 5 for this.

[إيمان · Rating 5 out of 5]

مع نهاية هذا المجلد ينتهي آرك ألاباستا و بالتالي الساغا التي تحمل نفس الإسم، و تفتتح ساغا سكاي أيلند بآرك جايا مع انضمام نيكو روبن لطاقم قبعة القش…أعتقد أن آرك ألاباستا هو الأفضل إلى حد الآن.
2/11/2018
21:44

[Molly™☺ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong end to Alabasta, weak start to Skypiea. Bidding farewell to Vivi is a sad affair, but she has a memorable run despite how short it actually is when it comes to the overall series. It also frees up space for my favourite Straw Hat, Robin, to join. Up into the sky island we go!

actual rating 3.5 stars

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t lie…I cried a lil` bit. The story really has its gears going and this is the first conclusion with a lot of turn out. By that I mean the crew is expanding, their strength and knowledge is growing and in the eyes of countries, pirates and the Navy they are being recognized. Straw hat pirates won’t be a descriptor anymore - it’s turning into a name.

A picture is worth more than a thousand words. The highlight after Alabasta was how Oda was able to illustrate just how far Luffy and his crew have really come. It’s not how much any bounty poster says your worth, it comes in the form of the slogan that really kicked off the series with Shanks, “pick yer own fights,” Luffy and Zolo are beyond fighting people who are out for show. Both of them get clobbered. Their much more honorable and showing, via different means, that they are a different breed of pirate. Someone there recognizes and it’s quite the touching scene.

Oda’s way of constructing ‘the dream’ falls in line with a lot of other Shonen, but it has his own unique signature to propel the message forward. I’ll say it again; One Piece is quickly becoming a manga that I want to catch up on. I said I was going to take a break after Alabasta yet I’m thirsting for more…
Clumsy, charming and cheerful!

On a super side note – in the anime I never actually got this far, if I did, I don’t remember. I was watching it on Toonami/CN and when they changed the voice actors for Luffy somewhere during the Alabasta arc I pretty much stopped watching. It felt very odd for me.

Anyways, I went back and watched the fight between Crocodile and Luffy. They use THE NEW WORLD SYMPHONY BY ANONIN DVORAK!!! Of all things I would never have guessed and because its opening is iconic and an excellent piece of music it makes it all the greater, haha! Just had to share that because it’s crazy. NUTS!

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"From now on, no matter what happens, this mark on our left arm will be the mark of our friendship!"

This was the first time that One Piece made me tear up and this panel is why. At this stage One Piece has definitely grown on me and become something more than just a silly adventure. I mean, it is fun and silly but the heart and love and comradery that the characters have for one another has solidified into a hallmark of the series at this point. We know that the Straw Hat Crew is going to get themselves into some antics or another but you also know they are going to kick some serious butt for one another as well. Cheers to my first 5 star rating of a One Piece omnibus.

[Álvaro Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

la saga de Arabasta bastante buena la verdad, acaba el tomo introduciendo la siguiente saga y pinta bien, parece que va a salir por fin Shanks (sale en la portada) y el resto me esta encantando no se si empezar el siguiente o esperarme a que la saga de Skypier esté completamente publicada, aun asi Arabasta 10/10

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marathon buddy read with the siblings. The end of Croc and into Jaya. The fight was good. I liked Pell. I also liked Smoker and Tashigi. I liked how much maturity Luffy showed in town.

[Ale · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Too many obstacles stood between me and my dream.
[...]
Stop! I don't want to live! Leave me here!"

[Emily M · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the palace in Alabasta, Princess Vivi has finally met up with her childhood-friend-turned-rebel-leader Koza. But Crocodile has contingency plans layered on contingency plans. Is it too late for them (or the Straw Hats) to stop the slaughter?

The Straw Hats conclude their adventure in the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta, involuntarily gain a new shipmate, and find evidence of a legendary island in the sky. There are some great character moments here, and the art has undergone a major upgrade by this point in the saga in terms of details, shading, and sense of motion, making the whole that much more engaging.

Below, some thoughts on those elements, and the promised discussion about first indisputably-queer character, Bon Clay (plus a few probably-queer characters we’ve already met).

~(Note: A story this big and complex can’t really be “spoiled”, I don’t think – spoilery discussions were what sold me on trying it in the first place! So I just leave out the bits I think function well as a surprise. But if you’re VERY spoiler-sensitive, bear in mind that the discussion will give away some events!)~


Watching someone finally land a punch on Crocodile is so satisfying (as Nico Robin’s face illustrates, even though that’s supposedly her boss). And Oda gave us the art to match that feeling! Something about the meticulous hand-shading means that you can really sense the hits as they connect. But it’s gonna take more than one or two rounds to take out this warlord!

For all that they bicker, the cook and the swordsman really show off their cooperation in a tight spot. There’s a wonderful moment where someone is sneaking up on Vivi, and Zoro blocks his weapon while Sanji kicks him in the face like it’s one movement.
“Sanji: ten minutes* minus…How many seconds will this take?
Zoro: Don’t waste time talking.
Both (with scary faces): Two seconds!”
*Until a canon/bomb goes off

We also get the return of Sergeant Tashigi (the sword-nerd marine woman who looks like Zoro’s childhood friend Kuina), which is delightful to see. She and Captain Smoker are interesting antagonists-who-are-sometimes-temporary-allies. One Piece tends to have a rather “ACAB” attitude overall – unsurprisingly, for a story where the protagonists are outlaws! - but it does so in an accurate way. It isn’t that all cops/marines are bad as people, it’s that the institution they work for is fatally flawed, and so “good cops” still end up upholding a system that does harm – the World Government, in this case. That government is in large part responsible for the current situation, since it has put its efforts into going after people like Luffy or Nico Robin^, while totally ignoring the criminal shenanigans that people like Arlong or Crocodile have been up to.

^ It is worth noting that Luffy, despite calling himself a pirate, doesn’t actually do robbery-on-the-high-seas, and has saved a lot of civilians. Robin has had a bounty on her head since the age of 8 just for knowing how to read poneglyphs. But their attitude and skills are a threat to the government's control, so...

Crocodile has the philosophy that trusting anyone is foolish, that anyone not immediately useful is expendable, and that only the strong survive. It's fitting, then, that what really foils Crocodile’s plan is not one powerful guy – though Luffy being as unsquashable as a coked-up cockroach certainly helps – but rather a band of comrades who pool their talents to take down his whole organization. Of course…
Usopp: The rebellion is over. But until the king and the princess address the people, the celebration can’t begin.
Vivi: Right. And I’m going to tell everyone what you did!
Sanji: (Lights cigarette) Sorry, Vivi, you can’t do that. (Huge grin) We’re notorious pirates, remember? We can’t get mixed up in politics!

And, at the conclusion, the way the Straw Hats find to say “goodbye for now” and “you’ll always be our nakama” to Vivi without letting the navy hear that she is in fact their friend is so beautiful!

~~~

I also said I’d talk about Bon Clay when their first arc was done. So… (Skip to next ~~~ if you don’t care)
I feel like Bon Clay is sort of a spiritual predecessor to She-ra’s Double Trouble, with very similar pluses and minuses as a non-binary/genderfluid character. On the one hand, having them be this theatrical chaotic-neutral shapeshifter is…not exactly representative. On the other hand, both are just so FUN that I kind of don’t care!

And, while Double Trouble spends most of their time as an antagonist, we actually see Bon Clay get along super well with the Straw Hats before either realize that they’re on opposite sides of a conflict, then have a respect-building honorable fight with Sanji, and then go out of their way to help the Straw Hats, even apparently sacrificing themselves with the declaration: “You can stray from a man’s path. You can stray from a woman’s path. But you can’t stray from the path of mankind.” And while this might look like a “bury your gays” moment… Don’t worry, One Piece characters are pretty hard to kill, and Bon Clay will be back later - with a really wonderful line denying that whole concept!

As mentioned earlier, the English translations muddy the waters as to what Bon Clay’s deal is by:
A) Going with “Oh come my way” instead of “Okama way” (better translated as “queer life”) for the slogan on their jacket.
B) Calling them “he” even though, so far as I could tell in the anime, they actually don’t use either of the common masculine 1st person pronouns (“ore” – the tough-guy one most of the pirates prefer – or “boku”), instead (I think) using “watashi”, which is neutral^^.
C) Also using “Mr.” even though all Japanese honorifics are gender neutral and, in fact, Bon Clay actually prefers to be called “Bon-chan”, the “-chan” being cutesy and diminutive, and therefore not often used for men.

^^See this fascinating video on how the many different version of “I” available in Japanese tell you things about how the person using them wants to present themself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNR0e...

All that is why I refer to Bon Clay as “they” throughout these reviews. With regard to character design…yes, Bon Clay’s look (ballet shoes with hairy legs, Elizabethan puffy pants, and heavy makeup) is rather over-the-top and, again, not exactly representative. But there are a LOT of exaggerated character designs in One Piece that reflect a character’s gimmick - the first antagonist was a clown pirate, a later Straw Hat addition will be a cyborg with disproportionately large arms who runs around in a speedo all the time - so it doesn’t stand out a ton. Bon Clay’s thing is ballet, and exaggerated stage makeup goes with that territory! In fact, I recently saw a performance of the drag ballet group Les Ballet Trockadero, which has been around since the 1970s and which makes ‘Swan Lake’ a regular centerpiece…and I can’t help wondering if Oda knew about that!


BTW, I called Bon Clay the first “indisputably queer” character because of the above. But they’re probably not really first we meet. That’s actually probably Luffy, who is read by many to be asexual based both on events in the text and on Oda’s comments that Luffy, say, getting a nosebleed over an attractive person would be out of character, and that the times he seems to show a reaction to a girl he’s only imitating Usopp (the two often being partners-in-goofiness, with mimicry being a large component). See “Luffy, the asexual hero we deserve”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS211....

You can make an argument for several other Straw Hats being some flavor of queer as well. I’ll get to that more later, but there is one section here that is worth mentioning. The bath-peeping incident in the Alubarna palace is the sort of joke I’d rather didn’t exist in the story, because we don’t need to be normalizing that kind of thing. But it does have several interesting character moments, some of which relate to this issue:
- We see Vivi and Nami talking, and Nami looks at the princess with this kind of softly smoldering expression that wouldn’t be out of place on a romance novel cover (I said the art got more detailed, didn’t I?). That plus her earlier declaration that she was willing to give up a limb for the princess is clearly what launched THAT popular ship! But this is also not the last time Nami has interesting reactions to beautiful women…
- It is, of course, Sanji’s idea to ask if there’s a way to look into the women’s side of the bath, and he and Usopp - the two who have been previously established to be attracted to women - are the ones with the most visible lustful reaction.
- Luffy is there, but neither he nor Chopper (the youngest, who tends to follow his “big brothers” around wherever) are being very stealthy. Luffy is just hanging halfway over the wall, with a fairly blank “What are we supposed to be doing, again?” expression.
- Zoro is not there, which might be primarily due to being more serious and honorable. But Oda’s Q&As hint that he’s probably not interested in women either. For example, in a comparison chart between him and Sanji for the category “pretty girl exists” the latter goes into heart-eye mode, while Zoro just…walks away!
- Nami’s response is to full on flash them to startle the boys into falling off the wall, and then to yell that they owe her money. Which is very much in character for her! She knows men find her attractive and (unlike her more candid responses to women) consistently uses that as part of her scoundrel’s toolkit, rather than to, say, actually get a boyfriend…
- IDK why King Cobra’s enabling any of this. That’s the weirdest and creepiest part.

~~~

On their departure from Alabasta, the Straw Hat discover Nico Robin has stowed away on the Going Merry! She says that since Luffy saved her life when she’d decided to die, that means they’re responsible for her now, and she wants to join the crew. Their reactions?
Sanji: Another gorgeous lady on board? Yahoo! Can I make you a snack, miss?
Luffy: “Don’t worry! She’s not a bad person!” (Which he does actually have evidence for)
Chopper: (Laughing uproariously w/ Luffy as Robin does tricks with her extra arms)
Nami: Well, she doesn’t have me fooled!
Robin: “By the way, I brought a few of Crocodile’s gems with me”
Nami (starry-eyed): “OH, SISTER! I love you!”
Zoro (to Usopp): “I guess it’s up to you and me to be strong.”
Usopp: (Immediately gets won over as well by Robin assisting Luffy in doing impressions)

Before Zoro can respond much to THAT, a giant shipwreck falls out of the sky, and then Nami notices the log-pose is pointing up. Robin – who is an archaeologist when not being a secret agent/assassin – casually explains that there is a legend of an island in the sky…which the log-pose is indicating as their next destination!

But before they can find it, there’s some adventures with a ship salvaging crew, a giant turtle, some spooky shadows, and a town where fantastical pirate dreams (of the kind this series runs on) are mocked unmercifully. It’s interesting to see Luffy put a lesson learned from Shanks about who is and is not worth fighting into action here…

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So there IS definitely a formula to this saga, but the same can be said of many things, including the MCU; it's all in the execution. And I'm still excited/onboard with this series. (I'll watch the Anime after finishing the manga volumes; interested to see the onscreen depictions of these characters!!)

The BaroqueWorks arc has been entertaining and interesting; many of of the anatagonists were quite memorable, and we got deeper insights into some character (like Usopp).

Oda also excels at creating interesting characters, expanding on existing stories, and dropping hints of world-building into each volume, and that is what keeps me coming back. And I personally love the endless variations on the Devil Fruits!

[⚔️ —— faith !! ˆ𐃷ˆ (busy with school) · Rating 5 out of 5]

꒰ 🏴‍☠️ ꒱ one piece [ omnibus . 8 ]
› chapters 196 - 226

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑

・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･┊͙✧˖࿐ ･｡・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ゜゜

My thoughts :: 💭
⤷ I’m so devastated that we’ve left Alabasta, the end of that arc was truly magnificent. For the first time since reading one piece, the volume that had real tears rolling down my face was volume 23. It was an incredible experience and had some of the most memorable characters so far. I hope the straw hat crew somehow find their way back to Alabasta one day, so they can reunite with Vivi. This omnibus had no flaws, we wrapped up all the fights, and gained a surprising friendship with the now disbanded Baroque Works, member, by the name of ‘Mr . 1’, Bon kurei:

❝ THAT'S RIGHT! IT'S TIMES LIKE THESE...! IT'S ERAS LIKE THESE WE LIVE IN... WHEN WE THE PEOPLE MUST BAND UNDER THE NAME OF FRIENDSHIP AND FIGHT TOGETHER! ❞ — You will be missed, Bon kurei, I hope we see him again !! Also this quote is vital to the society we live in today, we need more union, more community and solidarity more than ever.

The rebellion has now ceased and Alabasta experienced rain once again after 3 gruelling years. And finally, crocodile was defeated, like Luffy promised. I think volume 23 was so memorable because they all sacrificed their lives, their strength and willpower to save vivi’s country, a country they knew nothing about other than the fact that it needed saving, and no one will ever know about it. Their part to play will never be broadcasted, instead they’ll use Smoker and the Marines to cover up the fact that pirates, whom they’re supposed to hunt down and despise, helped save and rebuild a country divided by hate and lies. Inconceivable. I loved smokers reaction, although he’s apart of the marines and he’s still tracking down the straw hat crew, he acknowledged their part to play and was thankful for them:

❝ Look, the ones that fought Crocodile and his Baroque Works, were the Straw Hat pirates!
Hina: It's pointless to object, Smoker. The government's set on covering up the truth of this affair. Do you really think anyone in the World Government would want to declare to the world, that "pirates" were responsible for saving the kingdom of Alabasta from destruction!?
Pass on this message for me to those senile fools you call the upper-brass. TELL THEM TO EAT SHIT. ❞ — I love his character a lot actually, we finally have someone smart and not deluded by propaganda in the marines … plus he’s hot! 😎

The crew has now picked up a new (?) crew member, however, can we truly trust her? Will she stay for long, will she betray them, what does she truly want? I’m glad to have another woman onboard but I’m still skeptical of her motives, however her reason for being on the ship is because when she lost all hope, prepared herself for imminent death, Luffy, who was poisoned and on his last legs after defeating crocodile, picked her up and ensured she lived. And for that, we can all agree Luffy is one of the best mmc ever created, his ability to help those who have lost hope in their lives so easily and give them a reason to live, he’s so goated for that! In the next volumes, we’re going to explore this new “sky island” and Jaya Island, I’m really excited because the end of this arc is where I stopped in the anime meaning … everything I read after skypiea will be completely new and unexplored for me, every twist, every character, every island will be new to me and I’m so ready to continue this one piece journey for real (since everything I’ve read, I’ve already watched, it feels like I can “properly” start reading some fresh new chapters!) wish me luck in skypiea everyone!

🎶 :: listening to the OP soundtrack or songs related to the anime immerse me completely into the story and makes the experience 10x more fun, give it a try!

・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･┊͙✧˖࿐ ･｡・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ゜゜

⤜ ៸៸ Favourite scenes & quotations — ★

). ❝ I AM THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING! I am … the man who will surpass you …! ❞
⸝⸝⸝ This is the first encounter of a grand line pirate, our first villain on our epic journey and Luffy beat him! I wonder how much worse these villains are going to be, and if Luffy will truly be able to defeat them all and become king of the pirates. But I believe in him nonetheless!

2). ❝ I am the spirit guardian of Alabaster. The Falcon. The one who vanquishes all enemies of the royal household. ❞
⸝⸝⸝ My first time crying whilst reading one piece, I’ve teared up multiple times before this, but genuine tears fell this time. And I know it won’t be the last time.

3). ❝ No man can simply forget the past. But you can all rise above the ashes of this conflict! Live onwards, Kingdom of Alabasta!
[ the battle that would go down in history … and the battle never to be told in history … both drew to a close. ] ❞
⸝⸝⸝ Alabasta can finally start their new era, united once again. I’m so proud of Vivi for never giving up and for everyone that helped push her along the way, I’m glad she came across a guy like luffy and his crew, he truly is one of a kind.

4). ❝ The feast was most enjoyable. I had intended to spend the evening in a quiet and orderly way, But it seems anything becomes a party when your crew is involved. ❞
⸝⸝⸝ ugh I adore a weirdly arranged crew, we’ve got a rubber man, a swordsman who can use 3 swords, a thief, a chef with a mighty kick, a lying but smart shooter and a transforming reindeer … and I love them, this found family is perfect and I’m excited to see all the other members who will join!

5). ❝ Stray from the path of men or stray from the path of women. But the path of humans … we cannot stray from! If we are to fall, then may we scatter across the true sky. Okama Way. — Mr . 2 Bon Kurei ❞
⸝⸝⸝ I don’t know why, but he was my favourite member, maybe because he’s one of the only ones who brought actual comedic relief at such tragic and depressing times. He was never really serious at all and he got on well with the crew! I hope to see him again on our journey along the grand line.

6). ❝ ...And in the midst of a dark storm, I came across a single small ship. The ship pressed we onwards from behind and said, "Can't you see that light ahead?" The mysterious little ship that never lost its way in the darkness, crossed over monstrous waves as if dancing. Never defying the sea, and yet the ship's bow always heading straight ahead... Even through headwinds. And then it points a finger out. "Look. The light is right there."
I... CAN'T COME WITH YOU! BUT I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING UNTIL NOW! I'D LOVE TO GO ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE, BUT I CAN'T...! BECAUSE YOU SEE, I LOVE MY COUNTRY TOO MUCH! ALTHOUGH, I'LL REMAIN HERE NOW... IF WE MEET AGAIN SOMEDAY... WILL YOU CALL ME YOUR FRIEND ONE MORE TIME!? ❞
⸝⸝⸝ favourite scene EVER. I was crying when they all silently out their hands up. If you know, you know. I’m seeing a common theme; every goodbye is going to break my heart and make me sick to my core, and I’m going to miss the characters no matter how short we know them for. Oda, you truly are incredible with your character work and storylines.

・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･┊͙✧˖࿐ ･｡・゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ゜゜

— King of the pirates !
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

[Mr. Manga_Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

The baroque works ark has come to an end I am so excited to find out what will happen in the skypiea ark as usual the quality of the graphics and the story are excellent so I shall be rating the book 5 stars

[Liv Delinicolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023: 4.4🌟This was so good and had no business being emotional. I love this crew.

2026 reread: an absolute slay! Love these characters so much. Same rating as above.

[Michelle N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic epic epic epic epic

[João Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

O arco de Alabasta é incrível demais, seja em desenho como em roteiro. Uma das melhores coisas que li em mangá (pode ser a emoção falando).

[gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was waiting for Nami and Vivi to admit their love for one another…

[Katarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

the alabasta arc went sooo fucking hard and i'm so curious about what we're building toward next BRING IT ON

[Nix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al fin devuelta a navegaaaaaaaaaaaaaar

[davina]

FINALLY finished alabasta

[Alex Smart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful ending to a brilliant arc.

[invertedcrosss? · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Piece is my life

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crying until the next volume is available at the library

[Zeina (Taylor's Version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I just can't bring myself to love the Alabasta arc at all....

[Caii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not me tearing up at the end of vol 23 🙄
Welp I’m off to buy like 7 more

[Kai Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok here it is, the first saga that truly is a masterpiece and shows the reader just what the series has to offer. It has all of the ingredients that we will come to know and love in future sagas: political intrigue/ conspiracy (that tracks EXTREMELY well onto real life), effective set-up arc(s), introduction to some truly creative/ zany places and characters and some extremely satisfying pay-off (in the form of fights but also just the general resolution of the saga). Like this saga is TRULY the blueprint. Ok I'm gonna do quick reviews of each arc and then at the end I'll get into why I think this saga works sooo well.

Reverse Mountain: So I'm including Laboon in this saga and this lil mini arc was simultaneously SO SAD and also SO FUNNY. The idea of a whale smashing its head into a mountain over and over trying to get to the other side to search for and reunite with the pirate crew that ended up leaving it behind was just ughhhhh and the way Luffy solved the problem totally counter-intuitively by fighting it and giving it that new goal to work towards was just so well done. On the other hand our introduction to Crocus is genuinely one of the most hilarious sequences in the entire series. Then finally we get introduced to our first two agents of Baroque Works and Oda does this thing again and again in OP where a character is introduced in such a way that we think they are just going to be a throwaway side character and then later on that character becomes extremely important and central to the narrative. So we are technically introduced to Vivi for the first time here but she is in disguise as a BW agent and I just thought this was so well done. You will notice I'm not talking too much about Whiskey Peak bc I simply don't have much to say about it OTHER than: i mean Zoro is a bad ass (but that his role so nothing new here) and then also we get introduced to MISS ALL SUNDAY as she blows up Vivi's accomplice/ servant (forget his name) and Miss All Sunday ofc becomes one of my favorite characters in the whole series. Another case where a character is introduced/ set up in one way only for that to be completely subverted later on.

Little Garden: Ok onto Little Garden. I will have to cut down on my wordiness or else these reviews will be sooo long. I love LG. This is the first time we are introduced to the giants of Elbaf (they ofc come up soooo many times again after this) and I just love the concept of this arc with the duel every day and the giants being perfect matches for one another until the foul play/ interference. I was rly charmed by these giants. Then Mr 3 and Ms. Goldenweek both have v compelling powers which made for a tense and engaging "fight" situation with some unusually funny Zoro moments as well. Overall just a rly solid arc.

Drum Island: ok drum island is Alabasta's syrup village imo. An arc that I think gets shat on a little in comparison to the others but which I have a soft spot for. Ok so this is the Chopper intro arc and I was just rly interested in the island as a whole. I like the old lady doctor character a lot, there are moments esp later on where the fan service in this series gets a bit much but this is one instance where I think it genuinely added to a character. I love that they made her design that she is an old lady with a v old lady wrinkly face but then she is just an absolute BADDIE w a v curvaceous body. I think the contrast is hilarious and then they make her a v compelling character as well personality wise. Speaking of contrast, I think a big reason why this arc gets shit is bc of Wapol, the big bad of the arc. Wapol has the double negatives of being both cartoonishly evil in a v simple uncomplex way and then also being kind of a pathetic weakling. So not only is he not nuanced but he also is not imposing. My hot take here is that Wapol is SUPPOSED to be a bad villain in order to play up the contrast between him and the actual big bad of the saga CROCODILE.

Alabasta: you like that segue? We are now in the finale, we are actually in the desert nation of Alabasta. First off, this saga is ultimately about a color revolution engineered by essentially a foreign intelligence organization which is backed by the World Government (more on them in future saga reviews). Not only that but its also a water war brought on by the false rumor that the kingdom is hoarding all the water and causing a basically biblical level drought, starving the whole nation (it is actually Baroque Works, the foreign organization that is doing this). TALK ABOUT BEING POLITICALLY RELEVANT TO THE REAL WORLD. Ok secondly, this arc has arguably the best villain in the series (I think there is one other much later on in the series that slightly edges it out): CROCODILE, one of the most stylish, imposing and genuinely intelligent/ strategic villains in media. This man basically leveraged his government backing to mastermind the covert takeover of an entire nation. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for some meddling kids. This arc has some of the best fights and introduces us to some of the best characters in the whole series. I'm not going to talk too much about Vivi but her progression over the course of this saga, all leading up to the climax of her trying to be heard by the skirmishing combatants in the capital is so well done. Then there is of course Miss All Sunday (AKA NICO ROBIN) who goes onto become my favorite crew member (rly close between her, Luffy and Ussop). Finally though, who I really want to talk about here is Bon Clay. One of my favorite characters (maybe my fave?) in the whole series.

So this is where I get to talk about queer representation in One Piece (something that will come up more later as well). So Bon Clay is a cross dresser, an "Okama" and the way that Oda draws/ designs specifically Okama (there are other, different kinds of queer characters that come up later who are portrayed very very differently) is in a very stereotypical, extreme, "butt-of-the-joke" way. So at first you feel kind of outraged, offended, annoyed etc. But this then reveals itself to be a very interesting/ refreshing angle of representation that ultimately I have come to appreciate. So Oda draws and writes these Okama (particularly Bon Clay here) as flamboyant "men in dresses" basically with five o-clock shadow etc (they DO NOT pass). He plays up their queerness to comedic effect. But then what he does is make these characters that originally you think are just going to be there for the gag and then makes them into some of the most honorable, formidable, admirable characters. And that isn't even coming from me like the Straw Hat crew themselves are in awe and admire Bon Clay because of his actions. He is shown to be a great fighter and to have a level of integrity and honor very few other characters come close to. Despite the fact that they started out as enemies, Bon Clay ultimately puts himself in danger so that the Straw Hat crew can escape the navy. So Oda has written this over-the-top queer character that plays into all the tropes and then makes him an excellent character, however, the cherry on top, the final flourish which makes this great is that Oda then connects Bon Clay's admirable qualities BACK to the fact that he is basically a "queer freak". When explaining why Bon Clay would risk his life for the straw hat crew he doesn't say "oh bc I have a sense of honor" he specifically says "That is the OKAMA way!" (this is kind of a catch phrase of his) it is precisely BECAUSE Bon Clay is an Okama that he is able to be soooo admirable. Basically there is a reddit comment that perfectly sums up how I feel:

"Oda thinks trans people are freaks, but he also thinks being a freak is one of the coolest things a person can be"

fucking based

Ok to wrap this review up, why was the navy chasing the straw hats after they saved a nation from descending into violence and chaos???? Because the Navy and World Government instantly moved to cover up the whole affair of course (a pattern that will come up again and again). And so the conspiratorial/ political intrigue aspect of One Piece is introduced and it will only grow and grow as the series progresses. Excellent saga here, one of the few in the series that ascend beyond just "rly good". This was so fun to write just to be back in Alabasta kinda reliving those moments. Its crazy how early this feels looking back from where I am, how much is set up that will pay off in a big way later on.

[omar ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 -----------------------------
rating: {★★★★☆: 4.5/5 stars}
Favorite moment: Vivi's goodbye

sooo everything I said 3 years ago is nothing but the truth.
we are opening a wider door in this world and now that I know more of the context, I appreciate it a bit more


2022 -----------------------------


#22: Hope!! - ★★★★☆ (4.5)
#23: Vivi's Adventure - ★★★★☆
#24 People's Dreams - ★★★☆☆



Arabasta is one of the great arcs of shonen imo. It had everything that makes it memorable and we certainly needed an overarching plot for the story as it started to feel a bit scattered and repetitive. It sets a standard for the upcoming adventures. And the goodbye scene is so iconic I was already familiar with it even if I didn't have the whole context.
Also, we meet a new character and I'm pretty sure I know who he is gonna be (yeah I know, I'm 20 years late for these spoilers but I'm still excited)

[Leann J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread 2026: I was a little taken aback by how emotional volumes 22 and 23 made me feel even having read them already. The political commentary throughout the saga has also been compelling. Also liked the smooth transition between one saga to the next.

Sad to say goodbye to Vivi, but excited to have more adventures with Nico Robin.

[Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, Alabasta will forever be such an amazing arc, and a total turning point. Vivi, Nico Robin, ponegliffs, sea stone, ACE… I’m honestly doubting any other manga will ever trump One Piece as being my all-time favorite.