Title: One Piece volume 70
Writer/Artist: Eiichiro Oda
U. S. Distributor: Viz Media
U. S. Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Format: manga paperback / 192 pages
Genre: shonen, adventure, comedy, action
Overall Personal Rating: B
Publisher Age Rating: T for teen
Synopsis:
The battle on Punk Hazard heats up as Luffy faces off against the diabolical Caesar Clown. Meanwhile, can the rest of the Straw Hat crew escape the deadly gas that is spreading all over the island?! The goal of capturing Caesar may be realized but the real goal of bringing Doflamngo to his knees might be even a bigger deal.
While trying to make it all work the crew manages to save some kids and at the same time give some Marines a reason to question how much they hate Pirates. Now with the battles winding down will things get even more interesting? Will Luffy finally get that great meal he’s been waiting for or will dinner be interrupted? What is going on in the New World and how does this effect the plan to bring down all four Emperors? I guess you will just have to read volume 70 to get back on the path of understanding.
Commentary:
Eiichiro Oda has one of the most active imagination I have ever come across and proves that there are very few people that can pull off this absurd of a story with the simplistic comedic touches that make it so popular. Personally, I have never been a great fan of One Piece, but as I get further into this story I can say that I respect Oda’s talent. He sure can weave a story together and at the same time come up with some of the craziest ideas. I know that his creativity and story telling is what keeps all the fans coming back, but what amazes me is that he just keeps pulling it out of nowhere. No matter how tiresome I find some of the characters I have to recognize Oda for being very talented.
Now as for the characters and their tiresome ways, I must be very clear that Luffy is by far the worst of the bunch. I get the fact that he comes cross as a simpleton who just might be a lot smarter than everyone else, but it would be great to see him take on an air of awareness that makes him look a lot less stupid. Most of the others have good and bad moments except for maybe Usopp who is the second least favorite character. I don’t mind it when some of the secondary characters are simpletons but when they reach the main group it is nice to see them have something other that naive or dumb written on their foreheads.
Overall Personal Grade: B
Volume 70 of One Piece sells the story well and keeps the action moving. It is a show case of Oda’s creativity and at the same time gets off the island. It also helps take this arc to the next level and sets up some rather interesting premisses. Of course there is no clear end to this arc in sight which could honestly become a real detriment to its development. I am hopping to see more in volume 71, but because of the way Oda typically move through these arcs, I don’t have much hope for any real enlightenment.
Anyway, One Piece 70 is a very fun read and plenty of great stuff happens to give this one a solid grade. I am looking forward to volume 71 and can only hope we learn even more once it is delivered. All you crazy One Piece fans enjoy it is worth it this time.
