Writer: Eiichiro Oda
Artist: Eiichiro Oda
$14.99, VIZ Media, 600 pgs.
ISBN 978-1421536255
One Piece is the biggest-selling manga series ever. Yes, ever. Literally hundreds of millions of volumes have been sold worldwide since the series debuted in 1997, due to the series being A. hilarious, B. fun for all ages, and C. very well-done. The story: For decades, the world's pirates have sought a fabled treasure called the One Piece. Young Monkey D. Luffy (who, because he once ate a gum-gum fruit, cannot swim, but has a body with rubber-like properties) wants nothing more than to become a swashbuckling pirate and seek the treasure for himself. As a young adult, Luffy sets out to become King of the Pirates, assembling a crew of fellow misfits (the Straw Hat Pirates) and traveling the world in search of the One Piece. Along the way, they encounter giants, merpeople, and all manner of strangeness.
From that description, it should be obvious that One Piece is not to be taken remotely seriously. That is part of its charm, though. Unrepentantly strange, action-packed, and full of eccentric characters, One Piece might be the most fun you can have reading manga. Luckily, there are dozens of volumes available, so there's plenty of it to read!
TIPS FOR LIBRARIANS: The edition listed here is a "combined edition" containing the first three volumes of the series. These combined editions are a great savings compared to the cost of buying the individual tankōbon, and in my experience, they're better at weathering the abuses of circulation. There are, at the time of this review, eight combined volumes collecting volumes 1-24; if you prefer to purchase the individual volumes, there are 69 English editions available, with a 70th dropping in March.
READERS ADVISORY NOTES: I don't recommend you shelve One Piece in the children's section, given the amount of action in the series (that's your call), but manga buffs of almost all ages should get a kick out of this one. Plenty of humor and action make this one a good "first manga" for the manga-curious, too.
CONTENT ADVISORY: Comic action/violence
Review©2014, C.
Michael Hall.
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