One Piece, Vol. 1 by Eiichiro Oda

One Piece, Vol. 1 (One Piece, #1)

by Eiichiro Oda

Join Monkey D. Luffy and his swashbuckling crew in their search for the ultimate treasure, One Piece!

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years, later, Luffy sets off in search of the “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world...

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer "Red-Haired" Shanks. But his life changed when Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber...at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure...one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary "One Piece," said to be the greatest treasure in the world...

Reviewed by celinenyx on

4 of 5 stars

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One Piece, the nearly endless manga series that has captured thousands of hearts all over the world. I have a slight aversion to the skull logo with the hat - for some reason it looks ugly to me. Apart from this prejudice, I had no idea what to expect.

The first chapter, which, as is usual in manga, is somewhat longer than subsequent chapters at around fifty pages, provides a welcome introduction to the world. We meet Luffy, a young boy who dreams of becoming a pirate, but who as of yet is still too young. Then there are bandits, and struggles over sake, and the beginnings of wonderful adventures and Luffy's gummy-limb powers. The first chapter is a self-contained story that I thought sets the scene well.

Then, a few years later, Luffy sets sail for the great unknown, looking for a pirate crew. This red thread meanders through a set of episodic stories, one more outrageous than the other. I enjoyed the sense of development here, how the crewmates are introduced through a series of stories.

Like most adventure manga, there is fighting aplenty, which is made more fun by the fact that Luffy is incredibly stretchy and (so far) seems to be near invincible. Though the tone of One Piece is quite young, I thought some of the fighting was pretty gruesome. The panels during fighting scenes are nice and clear and it's easy to follow the action.

The art is very nice overall, a bit young-ish and reminiscent to me as a reader to Fullmetal Alchemist, and the panels aren't too cluttered. My only gripe is that the female characters all look alike while the male characters are diverse but rather clownish.

I really enjoyed my first foray into the world of One Piece, and I'm looking forward to more maritime adventures of Luffy and his new friends.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 February, 2016: Finished reading
  • 22 February, 2016: Reviewed