One Piece 3-in-1 Edition 3 - East Blue 7-8-9 (Shonen Jump Manga) by Eiichiro Oda

by Eiichiro Oda;

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Emma Brackett]

It feels really shitty to say the end of this three volume collection was my favorite but come the fuck on. Luffy giving Nami the hat to hold onto, the squad waiting and ready, Luffy busting down the doors, I’m so fucking excited for the next volume. People say Arlong Park is one of the best arcs and I can see why. Nami's backstory is so good. I love Belle-mére, the shaved head is so sick. But it is true, Oda only knows how to draw 1 woman. It reminds me of how the girls in Diary Of a Wimpy Kid are all the same except different hair. I guess that one pirate was different for comedic effect. But anyway, its so good to see the first adventures of the OG gang. This really does now feel like the start. I am hoping for more out of Luffy's fights than “bro is too stupid to die.” It was cute the first couple of times but now I'm feeling a little fatigued.

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm having a lot of fun now that I've reached the author's Q&As. Oda receive absolutely unhinged questions from his fans, and he responds to them in kind, often causing me to laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of it all. I appreciate his introductions to each volume, as well. They remind me of the author's notes I've seen while reading JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: unrelated anecdotes about ghost sightings and tree climbing.

As for the story itself, this volume moves into Nami's backstory, which I know a bit about from OPLA. The manga provides context and helps me better understand certain character decisions. It's as though the reasoning didn't resonate with me in the TV series, but now that I've seen the version in the manga, I'm able to make sense of the characters' logic and be emotionally impacted by it. I'm thinking specifically of Nami's mother's actions (refusing to lie about her children) and Nami's confidence that Arlong will honor his deal (since the manga makes a point of showing his respect for money over people). It may not be simply that the manga does a more effective job telling these stories; I just might be getting more out of them because this feels like my second time around with these characters and plot lines. I know what to expect and can pick up on foreshadowing and certain characters details that I missed in the live-action.

[Alina the Goblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now we're getting into Nami's backstory here and I have to say, I'm definitely hating Arlong the most out of all the villains so far, so kudos to Oda for that. Buggy aside (who's a lovable villain moreso), the previous villains have been very schlocky, especially Don Krieg and I wasn't overly enthused with Kuro either. Intrigued to see how this big Arlong setup is gonna play out!

[soursop]

another covid read. i stayed up til 330am reading cuz i had insomnia.