The sky island of Skypiea is in danger of complete eradication if its maniacal leader Kami Eneru has his way. Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew entered the territory seeking a city of gold, but once the team befriends some citizens and learns the local lore, their mission turns personal. In an extended clash, Luffy and Eneru duke it out—Luffy’s rubber limbs and indomitable spirit against the Kami’s insane arsenal of weapons, including the terrifying and mysterious Golden Bell!
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)
Flashback, finale, and filler focused fun that highlights the lighter side of the series. The crew get to have little banter moments, and they are really starting to feel like a family. It's interesting to revisit after being so used to the time skip and the more plot focused narrative that has the Straw Hats separated and less playful. Whilst the Foxxy arc isn't the most popular, this lighthearted goofiness is sorely missed later down the line, and rereading helps one to appreciate it more.
꒰ 🏴☠️ ꒱ one piece [ omnibus . 11 ] › chapters 286 - 316
⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ . 75 — rounded up
・゜゜・.。・゚゚・┊͙✧˖࿐ ・。・゜゜・.。・゚゚・𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ゜゜
❝ When we hear the song of the island once again … the war will finally end. ❞ ៸៸៸ The song of the island was sung once again, and the 400 year war, finally came to an end. #we❤️thestrawhats! :)
・゜゜・.。・゚゚・┊͙✧˖࿐ ・。・゜゜・.。・゚゚・𝜗𝜚˚⋆ ゜゜
My thoughts :: 💭 › INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR VOLUMES 31-32 & THEORIES!
⤷ This omnibus had been crying, laughing, smiling, and throwing up left right AND centre. I couldn’t catch a break. Volume 31, was a “flashback” that served as background to further understand the 400 year war between skypiea and the shandians:
❝ Your ancestor, Kalgara the great warrior … had one reason why he must retake our home. The great Kalgara had a very good friend, his name was … Montblanc Noland. ❞
The entirety of volume 31 I was just tearing up every other page, I didn’t expect a flashback of history to make me cry, but the devastating relationship between Kalgara and Noland was ripping my heart to shreds, they never got to see each other again :( However, I’m glad to have read this as it made me love the battle even more, root for the straw hat crew and shandians even more, so that they can ring that bell one more time and solidify their ancestors last true wish…
❝ The bell will always ring for you!! Until you come back!! We’ll meet again, I PROMISE! ❞ ៸៸៸ And they never did, but his descendants did and that was enough 🥹
When Luffy rang that bell, literally cut the show off I’m DONE. It was waterworks galore in my eyes I couldn’t even see the text, the characters, anything. It was so good, this was so emotionally enrapturing I feel as though it deserves all the stars possible, Luffy is an incredible character, I’ve said it many times, but he continues to fight for these enslaved people, vulnerable people, people who have lost hope in the darkness, and he pulls them back into the light, he reignites hope in their hearts. He and his crew are single-handedly subverting the view of pirates, the most hated, and hunted people in the world. And all he’s doing is good, fighting for freedom, and marines just keep making his bounty higher and higher, making him a target in hopes of dragging him down. What a scarily similar situation to our current society; where you are in danger, for doing the right thing, where you’re prevented from saving a life, where fighting for the safety of others endangers your own life … Luffy is the fight we should all have within us, our role model for how society should react to such atrocious and despicable events playing right before our eyes!
❝ RING IT, BRAT!! RING IT!!!! RELIGHT THE LIGHT OF CYANDIA!!! YES ... MY YOUNG FRIEND PLEASE LET US HEAR THE SONG OF THE ISLAND!!! ❞ ៸៸៸ The entire islands desperation for freedom, release from their shackles placed by the tyrant, god enel. Their dependency on Luffy, their reliance and trust. It was perfect, it was beautiful beyond words and a magnificent portrayal of who Luffy is and his crews determination to continue fighting for others.
Even looking back at the moment Luffy rings that bell, it chokes me up. That imagine of Luffy in the sky, from blue sea is forever seared into my mind, volumes 31-32 was such a great experience and I enjoyed everything about it. Everyone’s reaction to the bell ringing for the first time in 400 years, was just wow. This manga is truly a piece of art and I’m beyond glad that I picked it up. The old man and his giant monkeys, he can finally rest, knowing that his ancestor was not a liar, that it was the kings greed that led Noland to his unjust execution. But now, him and Kalgara, who fought for each other, can now rest as their descendants have continued their tradition of ringing that bell. They will always be here, no one, no god, no tyrant, can take that fact that the shandian’s are the true owners of that land and fully deserve their bell to be rung!
We also get some important crumbles of information towards the end of volume 32, I think it’s now solidified that Monkey D. Luffy is somehow and someway related to Gold D. Roger …! This is so exciting, I had an inkling because of the similarities between their names, but now robin has brought it up twice, first in Alabasta when she pulled Luffy out the sand, now at the end of skypiea where she speaks to Gan Fal, the ex-god of skypiea who brings up their similar names and personalities, to which robin responds:
❝ Gan fall: He reminds me of Roger, are they related? (Gold D. Roger also came to skypiea, this may be why Gan knows who he is so intimately.) They have the same initial “D”, is that why they’re so similar? Robin: He is an interesting person … perhaps the connection between them is another “lost” history… ❞ ៸៸៸ Now you’re just feeding me crumbs and I’m getting addicted to this theory, I hope we get more knowledge about this, perhaps Luffy is a descendant of his? But the age gap makes me think that he’s his father … I mean when have we even seen Luffy’s parents, the only “fatherly figure” I’ve seen is Shanks. I’m very interested to say the least… It is also mentioned one again at the end of volume 32, I think, when we watching the marine headquarters on the grand line discuss how the “strongest man in the marine headquarters” by the name of ‘Admiral Aokiji’ keeps leaving without telling anyone. He’s riding his bike on the water … and holding a bounty poster of Luffy and says:
❝ It seems that THIS FAMILY is filled with troublesome ones… ❞ ៸៸៸ “THIS FAMILY” come one guys, this is literally word for word “Gold D. Roger is related to Monkey D. Luffy! Without a doubt, I’m adamant about this, I know I’m not hallucinating.
Also in volume 33, (which was absolutely hilarious, I cannot wait to see the outcome of the “fight” in volume 34) my favourite was definitely Zoro, he uses a new technique as he can’t use his swords and calls it “Sword-less Style … Twister!” And this like blue aura in the shape of a dragon surrounds his body so I’m super interested to see if there will be more of these “sword-less” techniques when zoro cannot use his weapons!
🎶 :: 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˚⋆ ゜゜
❝ HEY, DIAMOND-HEAD MISTER! DO YOU HEAR IT? THE GOLDEN CITY IS HERE!!!! FOR THE WHOLE 400 YEARS... "THE GOLDEN CITY" ... HAS ALWAYS BEEN HERE IN THE SKY!!!! ❞
33 volumes in, am I starting to loose interest in One Piece? Maybe, because this just felt like more of the same thing. I liked the flashbacks into the creation of Jaya Island and the Shandia but beyond that I found this to just be a bit boring. I've got the Water 7 arc so I'll continue to give this a go, but I'm not in so much of a rush to get to it.
This collection is a mixed bag. Volumes 31 and 32 conclude the Skypeia arc in a mostly-satisfying manner. There’s a smidge of white-savior-ism that I’m not a huge fan of, but I appreciate that things are not considered properly wrapped up until the Shandians get back access to their land! Also, the story of how Shandora initially fell is already hinted here to be somehow linked to the World Government – and explains why even 400 years ago the Shandians were so suspicious of outsiders! There’s also some REALLY cool foreshadowing of where the story would go with stuff relating to gods (almost two decades later) (4.5/5 stars)
The Volume 33, on the other hand, corresponds to one of my least favorite anime arcs. Long Ring Long Land isn’t all bad – there are some important character moments. But it comes between Skypeia (or a really solid anime-only story) and the terrific Water-7 arc, all of which have higher stakes. Sure, potentially losing a nakama to another pirate crew in a dumb game isn’t great, but no one is going to die! Fortunately, it is MUCH shorter in manga form…though you could still probably skip it if you wanted to! (2.5/5 stars)
(Full discussion below. I don’t think a story this long and rich can really be spoiled, but if you don’t want any specifics – you have been warned!)
Volume 31 is mostly a flashback to 400 years ago, before the chunk of Jaya that became Upper Yard got blasted into the sky, and the complicated friendship of Wyper’s ancestor, the warrior Kalgara, and Montblanc Noland (AKA “Noland the liar”).
Noland is an explorer and botanist who lands on Jaya after hearing the beautiful and mysterious sound of a bell. Kalgara is already ferocious in defense of his land, having destroyed many ships – and no wonder, since an attack from outsiders attempting to take the poneglyph stone in Shandora is what caused their civilization to fall, causing the Shandian’s ability to read the old records to be lost as well. But when Noland lands, the Shandians are a bit distracted by a deadly plague that has further reduced their numbers and knowledge base (having just killed the medicine woman and the head priest). Kalgara’s daughter is going to be sacrificed to the sun god in a plea for mercy. Noland identifies the plague as “tree fever”, which can be passed between plants and humans, but which can be cured or prevented by conine, an extract of the Kona tree (obviously “quinine” inspired!). He interrupts the ceremony, coming into conflict with Kalgara – who loves his daughter but believes this is for the best – in the process. Eventually Kalgara listens to Noland’s explanation, and he kills a “god” (a large snake) to save him and allow him to get the bark to the village.
Noland’s insistence on “progress” and easy dismissal of “superstition” is a little oof when viewed in a real-world context! I mean, it’s not that I don’t get his perspective… He knows his own intentions are good, and his medical knowledge solid. But he’s not listening enough. If he was, he would have known about the spirit grove, and at least warned people or asked permission before cutting down the trees that harbored the pathogen! Moreover…what exactly did he expect was going to happen, telling a king about a city of gold? It’s probably a good thing that Shandora got blasted into the sky, and Kalgara died fighting the Skypeians, rather than that he have to see his friend accidentally bring another set of potential thieves and colonizers to his door! Or Noland having to live with knowing what he’d done…
Still, in a strictly narrative sense, having the old Shandian beliefs juxtaposed with the modern-day Skypeians’ fearful loyalty to Enel does work to reinforce the theme that strict adherence to superstitious beliefs can cost lives and restrict freedom. And the story of Noland and Kalgara’s friendship, which develops in spite of cultural differences and misunderstandings, is an important one for the Shandians and Skypeians to draw on going forward as they try to craft a peaceful coexistence.
Then we get THIS: Conis: “Suu? Do you think gods exist? If they did, do you think they’d save us? (praying) Please, if you really exist…protect those people!” Luffy: (Dissipates the giant thunder ball with the gold stuck to his arm, letting the sun shine and ringing the golden bell – AKA ‘the light of Shandora’) Also Luffy: “‘God’ this, ‘almighty’ that. You’re so annoying! What good is a god who can’t save his people?!”
This is SUPER interesting, for a number of foreshadowing-related reasons that play out hundreds of chapters later!:
I’m not sure I 100% like the idea of Gan Fall being made ruler of the new joint Skypeian-Shandian society…but the reasoning that he’s the one person who always tried to build bridges makes him not a bad interim choice, at least.
The evidence Robin finds that Gol D. Roger, the first king of the pirates, made it to Skypeia and could also read poneglyphs is fascinating. Can’t wait to see how the poneglyphs are connected to the One Piece – whatever it is! I can’t help but think that whatever the poneglyphs lead to is something that would bring down the World Government, given how hard they’ve worked to hide it!
By the end, the Straw Hats finally have some treasure. They get this by “stealing” some from inside the belly of a giant snake (where no sane person would go to look for it, of course), while Robin is off looking at the poneglyphs. Meanwhile, the locals decide to give them the broken golden pillar from the bell as a thank-you present. The Straw Hats think it is a canon and run away! Locals: “Hey, lady! This gold! Aren’t they going to take it!” Robin: (chuckle) “Looks like they don’t want it.”
After floating back down on an octopus balloon they discuss various ways of spending it before deciding that their first priority should be to fix the Going Merry - and maybe find a carpenter to join their crew to do repairs in the future. Usopp has also gained a bunch of dials – special shells that the sky people use in their tech – which he traded for some rubber bands (rubber being unknown up there, at least until LUFFY!) for use in his inventions.
Then - sigh - there’s the Long Ring Long Land volume. Basically all that happens here is that they get challenged to a set of games by the Foxy Pirates, in which failure means losing either a crewmate or your flag to the winners. This is called a Davy Back fight, after Davy Jones. And, of course, Foxy and his crew cheat.
Really the main points of interest here are 1) Nami displaying her ruthless strategic thinking (and getting very annoyed when she’s heckled and called evil and inhuman) and 2) Sanji and Zoro mainly fighting each other for the first half of their “ball game” contest before finally getting it together. That actually seems a bit out of character for the pair, who do bicker, but normally work seamlessly when there’s an actual outside threat. But maybe that’s it – maybe they went into it with as much of an “this is SO stupid!” attitude as the reader is likely to have. In any case, it is somewhat significant that it has to be Zoro who (once they’ve been beaten up a bit) says: “Hey, cook. Give me a hand for 10 seconds.” Because Sanji at this point in the story still has a lingering chip on his shoulder - from past trauma, but that will be explained later! – about asking for help, lest he seem weak. But if Zoro asks, he can agree to that obviously sensible proposition!
I’m just…not even gonna discuss Usopp convincing Luffy that an Afro wig will make him a better boxer (though maybe it's better that it's the Straw Hat who could actually grow one who suggests it?). We’re moving on now!
Ok, so now Eiichiro Oda has me all emotional about Luffy ringing a damn bell.....I see how it is.
This omnibus was seriously top tier. I didn't think I would love a long flash back sequence in One Piece but here I am, completely engrossed by the history of Noland and the Shandians. It made the Straw Hat's victory that much sweeter and ringing that massive, beautiful gold bell so important. These moments in One Piece are what I live for.
I rate these omnis as one whole thing together but volumes 31 and 32 were easy 5 stars, volume 33 was probably 3, bringing my overall rating down a touch but the true ending of the Skypiea arc in volumes 31 and 32 was the best in all of One Piece so far.
Series: One Piece #31-33 Rating: 3 stars - I liked it
In this volume we finish the Skypia arc with Luffy defeating Kami Eneru and ringing the giant bell to let Mont Blac Cricket know that El Dorado was in the sky, not the sea. We also get the backstory for Cricket’s ancestry, Mont Blac Noland and how he discovered the island of Jaya before it was broken up and found El Dorado, and saved its people. I enjoyed the Skypia arc but not as much as previous story arcs. This volume also briefly introduces us to Don Quixote Doflamingo, who will be a major enemy later. We end with the Straw Hats landing on Long Ring Long Land island and meeting the Foxy Pirates, who challenge them to play Davy Fight Back. I don’t remember these pirates or this fight so it has been interesting reading this challenge, especially since it's not the normal pirate fight.
Okay listen. Eneru just had noooo depth imo. All of volume 33 was basically filler and foxy is annoying as fuck. The way skypiea was wrapped up was beautiful and I loved that part, and I liked the backstory about Noland and Kalgara. But idk, just wasn’t my favorite I guess.
"'The boy with the straw hat thinks that if we ring that golden bell we’ll be able to tell those people that El Dorado was in the sky.' ‘Isn’t that a wonderful reason? He’s a romantic. Even when things look hopeless, he would give up his chance to escape, just for that. He’s a bit crazy.'"
kalgara and noland, my heaaaaaarrrrrtttttt 😭😭😭🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
this eneru dude is a fucking psychopath
not me only realising eneru’s earlobes were stretched when luffy said ‘okay, earlobes’ or something like that… not like i’ve been reading about this dude for 20 chapters or anything 💀
oh my goddd, davy back fight is so annoying! and I thought arlong and his crew made me mad 😡 the foxy pirates are bunch of cheaters mrgrgr 😡😡😡
Marathon buddy read with the siblings. The conclusion of Skypeia and then the Foxy pirates. I liked the end of the fight and the story behind the bell. I pretty much skimmed foxy.
2025 ----------------------------- rating: {★★★★☆: 4/5 stars} Favorite moment: more poneglyphs stuff being mentioned + gol d roger being there long ago
Skypiea was such a cool arc It was fun while setting up a lot in the bigger scheme of things. Now, rereading it there is just so much to absorb. I always found odd that Enel just left for the moon idek Foxy's arc is not was annoying as the first time.
2022 ----------------------------- #31: We'll Be Here - ★★★☆☆ #32: Love Song - ★★★☆☆ #33: Davy Back Fight - ★★★☆☆
I liked the ending to the Skypia arc but it wasn't as hype as I thought it would be. I haven't heard the best things of the upcoming events so.... let's see.
I really liked the flashback story with Noland, my favorite part of the Skypiea arc. The conclusion of the Skypiea storyline itself, however, was just OK. The Davy Back Fight is a fun concept, although the story winds up feeling a lot like filler. And then there's Afro Luffy... I'll leave it to others to determine whether it's silly or offensive, but there's no question that it's awkward. All in all, this omnibus is a mixed bag. (B)
So... As I have mentioned in the previous review, I will now write them in a different pattern. There will be no more reviews of singular volumes but kinda of a summary of feelings for all three of them. The majority of the review will contain spoilers, but the beginning part will be spoiler-free as usual.
Anyway, let's get to the actual review. These three volumes were actually pretty good. Not the best, mind you, but for some reason I really enjoyed them. The ending of the Skypeia saga was good, although I didn't exactly enjoy it as much as I enjoyed previous sagas. Still, it was fulfilling and well-executed. The beginning of this new saga, however... So good. I love it. It's probably the best beginning so far... at least for me. It's okay if you don't like it but honestly, I really do. It's really funny and it's just refreshing to see the crew fooling around a bit after such a long-going battle.
Overall, these volumes were really compelling which is why I have no problem giving them 5 stars. The first one was a bit weaker with the backstory thing but still... that doesn't really affect my rating that much.
There will be SPOILERS from here on!
Firstly, I will talk about the backstory that lasted for like, an entire 31st volume. At least I think it did. Not sure, because now I'm just reading chapters that are not gathered in the form of a volume. Anyway, I did like the story but it was just really long and I was kinda sick of it after a while. Still, it was compelling to see Wyper helping the straw-hats after hearing the name of the botanist guy. The entire conclusion was also wholesome with the honor of those dudes was finally restored and the monkey leader guy got the confirmation that his ancestor wasn't a liar.
Now to the ending, which was good. I'm not really a fan of this arc in general but the ending of it was probably the best part. I liked the payoff with the bell and that writing on the wall which I refuse to name because I cannot spell it properly. It was kinda cool that we used Nami for once and she was the one helping Luffy conquer Eneru. I loved that Luffy had a noble cause to ring that bell. The reaction of that guy when he saw the giant form of Luffy was really nice (he was also worried so that was cute). The fight in general was also really good with Luffy throwing the golden ball around and not being able to be affected by lightning. It was really funny when they were trying to steal the gold as well so that was cool.
Now to the new arc which is pretty great so far (at least for me). This island is really interesting with elongated animals and plants. I'm still not sure how the old dude survived for ten years on two bamboo sticks but oh well. The first game with Foxy pirates was really interesting and it was terrible to see that they lost Chopper, even though I knew they would get him back. By the way... I loved how Sanji kicked the asses of those pirates when they shot at Nami and Robin. Zoro being calm about it... I love it as well, he's so funny because of it. The second game was also good with Sanji and Zoro fighting each other and then winning in the end. The last one (which is not over yet) is kinda the best. I especially love the scene with a bunch of Foxy's shadows and Luffy finds the real him when he insults him. Comedy gold. I just hope he'll win in the end.
Ok this is an extremely divisive saga. I personally LOVE Skypiea, I wish GR allowed half stars bc this is def a 4.5. I feel like in One Piece, the lesser sagas are all solid 4 and then the GREAT sagas are easy 5s. This feels so close but I understand ppl don't like it as much bc its so like removed from the greater world (by necessity being a sky island) that to some it feels like "filler". I think that viewpoint is stupid asf personally and we even get a toooon of lore crumbs/ seeds in Jaya before we get into the sky. I was reading this saga when the Oct 7 stuff first popped off and it is uncanny how well this saga tracks onto the brutal, illegitimate Israeli occupation of Palestine. And at the same time it also explores some of the complexity of being a settler who may not have in your lifetime actively participated in direct colonial violence but who is nonetheless a recipient and beneficiary of the legacy of that violence. I will say, I went a little too hard on my Alabasta review so I am going to try to make this one just a tad more abbreviated. Ok onto the arc reviews (luckily there are just two).
Jaya: Ok I think Jaya is rly underrated. We meet Bellamy for the first time and get a few lil crumbs about his master. More importantly we get the best villain intro EVER, the fact that Luffy technically meets Black Beard here even tho once again, he is not at all introduced like a series spanning big bad but rather in a benign, comedic way is just genius. Then at the end of this arc when we zoom out and see Marijoa and the celestial dragons for the first time as well as some more of the warlords (we get the ICONIC kuma/ doflamingo plug walk scene here). I think a lot of the set up arcs in One Piece atfirst seem kind of mid but they age like fine wine when you go back and realize just how much was getting set up in them that would pay off way later.
Skypiea: Ok so it felt rly refreshing to me to be transported to this totally alien world. Idk what everyone else is on about this felt like a v welcome lil diversion. It is about an Indigenous group fighting a righteous Guerilla war against an illegitimate occupation with a history which is intentionally obfuscated by the occupying power. We get some great world building here as we get accustomed to the physics, mechanics, culture and history of the sky island. I felt it tackled the issue in a satisfying way, both nuanced and yet not letting the settlers off the hook bc of that nuance. We get some excellent fights and the fact that Luffy's rubber would naturally counteract Enel's lightning. We also get our first extended taste of Haki before we know it is called Haki. We also see Robin's archeology stuff and the poneglyphs being built upon more (this will ofc become EXTREMELY important).
It was nice to finally get the backstory of Skypeia and the Shandians but I have mixed feelings about how themes of colonization are dealt with, especially because the people of Shandora are clearly based on Indigenous Americans. Some of the backstory felt like Christopher Columbus fan fiction but if Columbus was a benevolent person that forced atheism instead of Christianity. Just when it finally feels like we’re getting somewhere with the people of Skypeia making amends to the Shandians, someone how the non-native person still ends up being made the new leader, that just felt weird to me.
Parts of the Sky Island Saga story are more interesting to me than the story in the Alabasta Saga, but I really liked the structure of the Alabasta Sage and the fights. On its own, I think Skypeia is actually the better Saga, which I think is an unpopular opinion. But occurring right after Alabasta, there’s some similarities that can make it a bit tedious to read them back to back. I do think that this adds a lot more to the world of One Piece and its history, I love that it gives insight into where Sanji is from and it makes the world feel more developed.
I’m really enjoying the Long Ring Long Land Arc so far, I love the format of the games and it’s a nice break from the rest of the story. Except the afro jokes are so tiring and annoying, oh my god, could not be rolling my eyes any harder towards the end when Luffy has that stupid wig on and everyone is being weird about it.
The fight for Skypeia is over, the dreams and ambitions of the Shandians and the people of the Upper Yard have been fulfilled - The war is over and peace now reigns.
The Skypeia saga has many significant themes, one in particular is the othering of people - how communities and societies find people to belittle and victimize. This theme is extremely relevant today with the peoples of the world seeking asylum from war and poverty. The Shandians are those victims, people who have found themselves, through no fault of their own, in a new place. They have had their home taken from them by the people of Skypeia who, in turn, are extremely unwelcoming to Luffy and his crew.
Another element of this saga and the series as a whole, is following your dreams. Luffy, the captain of the crew has a big dream, he wants to be the King of the Pirates. This goal and his infectious passion and energy infects everyone who he comes into contact with. He is loyal to a fault and is a character that has learned when and when not to fight.
Now the crew are back on The Grand Line and have encountered what seems to be my least favourite character in the series. Foxy The Silver Fox. The new antagonist that seeks to use deception to build up his crew with the addition of key members of The Straw Hat crew.
This volume concludes the Skypiea arc, featuring the flashback story of Noland and the Shandians (my favourite part of the entire storyline), the final showdown with Enel, and most of the Long Ring Long Land arc.
I really enjoyed the continued development of Robin as she begins to bond more closely with the crew and helps uncover another layer of the mystery surrounding the Poneglyphs. Noland’s story is also handled very well and does an excellent job of tying the Skypiea adventure back into the larger world and ongoing narrative.
Enel is a very cool villain in concept, but I didn’t enjoy his storyline as much in execution. His motivations often feel unclear, and he rarely uses his powers in interesting or strategic ways. As a result, the final battle felt underwhelming compared to some of the stronger climactic fights earlier in the series.
Long Ring Long Land is good for a couple laughs and it is short enough that it doesn't overstay it's welcome. It doesn't really contribute anything to the main story though.