One Piece, Vol. 52 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next ten chapters (503–512) of the on-going manga series.
This tankōbon continues the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. Having assaulted a Celestial Dragon, the Straw Hats have effectively declared war against the World Government. In doing so Silvers Rayleigh, the man they have searched for, decides to reveal himself to the Straw Hats.
He frees Camie, attends to Hatchan, and leaves the others to deal with the approaching navy. With the help of some fellow pirate crews the Straw Hats are able to rendezvous with Rayleigh, the former first mate of the pirate king. Optimistic that the Straw Hats will be able to emulate the pirate king's successes, he agrees to outfit their ship.
While waiting for him to finish the job, the Straw Hats must elude the navy that has been sent after them, something that proves difficult to do when they keep running into copies of Bartholomew Kuma. To complicate matters, they are found by Kizaru, a navy admiral who has effortlessly dealt with all the pirates who helped the Straw Hats earlier. Just as they are about to be defeated by the combined forces, Rayleigh and the real Kuma arrive to intervene.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Eiichirō Oda. For the most part it is written and constructed rather well. After inadvertently declaring war on the World Government – again, the Straw Hat Pirates have to avoid the approaching navy, while their ship is getting refitted to sail underwater. It all comes to a head when the Straw Hat Pirates is faced with Admiral Kizaru – an admiral that effortlessly dealt with many pirates – including allies of the Straw Hat Pirates.
All in all, One Piece, Vol. 52 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems really intriguing and I can't wait to read more.