Category: Manga

  • The Great One Piece Journey (Part 6): The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of the End

    Only One Piece can get away with having a one-hundred chapter long prologue. After defeating Arlong, the Straw Hats make their way to the Grand Line at long last. On their way there, they stop by Loguetown (or Roguetown, depending on your translation), the birth and death place of the former King of the Pirates.…

  • Manga and Light Novel Titles are Too Long. Can We Shorten Them?

    Let’s play a game, shall we? You’ve probably seen them around. Manga, light novels, and anime that put a summarizing sentence in place of their title. There are dozens of examples and counting. You could probably string these titles together and write a short novel out of them! It wouldn’t make any sense, sure. But…

  • The Great One Piece Journey (Part 5): Arlong Park

    Here it is. The make-or-break arc. If you don’t like One Piece after this, you won’t like it at all. Not to mention that you’re a heartless monster. After recruiting Sanji, Luffy pursues Nami, who had just stolen the Merry Go, and the rest of the crew. This chase takes the Straw Hats to Cocoyasi…

  • The Great One Piece Journey (Part 4): The Baratie

    This is the part where One Piece goes from ‘decent’ to ‘great’. Unfortunately, we’re not quite at ‘incredible’ yet. That’s not until Arlong Park. After acquiring the Merry Go, Luffy and the crew continue their adventures. Their journey takes them to the Baratie, a floating restaurant. Here, they meet Sanji, a playboy cook with some…

  • The Great One Piece Journey (Part 3): Syrup Village

    This is an odd arc. Of the East Blue arcs, this one is easily the worst. Not to say it’s bad, it just doesn’t compare as well to the others. But it does introduce a fan favorite character and has massive repercussions later on in the story. It somehow doesn’t hold up and holds up…