One Piece - anime part 6 - Sky Island ~ Skypiea & The Golden Bell

     One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The sixth story arc of the series, Sky Island ~ Skypiea & The Golden Bell, originally aired between February of 2003 and June of 2004 for a total of 52 episodes, between 144 and 195.

    After exploring more of the Grand Blue, with out a lot of direction, the crew of the Going Merry gets to have some more relaxed adventures while avoiding a persistent Marine flotilla, culminating in a port town that is the scene of a mysterious rainbow haze that leads to an isolated shop graveyard, detached from time and space.

    The crews log pose seems to be acting strange, pointing them towards the sky.  Nico mentions something about a place called Sky Island that exists in an ocean high in the heavens.  Intrigued by the prospect of such a place they decide to search for it, having no idea how to get from the Grand Line into the floating water of legend.  They begin their search in the wreckage of a ship that crashed into the sea near them, falling out of the sky, reinforcing the idea of a floating island.  Before they can search the sunken ship a strange salvage ship shows up to do the job instead.  The salvage crew encounters the three Straw Hat pirates that are inside of the sunken ship but before an all out war can break out they are interrupted by a giant sea creature and then even larger shadow beings.  The crew kicks the ship in high gear and escapes their impending doom as soon as possible. 

    Unsure where to go next they follow the log pose to a more accessible landmass, an island with an inviting port town.  Though town may be a bit more inviting than they bargained for.  The place is a haven for pirate crews, who run amok, understanding the only consequences will be at the hands of other pirates.  While asking around about Sky Island, Luffy, Zoro and Nami find themselves targeted by the strongest pirate crew staying in town, Bellamy the Hyena, who beats Luffy and Zoro to a pulp while ridiculing their desire to search of fabled lost treasures.  Understanding the fight is pointless, Luffy instructs Zoro to just take the beating and let them think they have won.  Satisfied with humiliating them enough, Bellamy lets Nami drag her two beaten crew mates out of the bar to lick their wounds.

    Instead of giving up they follow a lead they received in town and head out to another part of the island, searching for a ostracized man named Cricket.  Before they can reach him they run into the brother of the salvage crew captain they met earlier, winning against him as easily as they did his brother.  Sanji confirms a tale tied to the man they seek, a cautionary fairy tale of the North Blue about a man who lied to his king about a fabled golden city and was executed when it was not found.  Cricket is a decedent of the man from the story and he has come to the island to try and wipe away the shame attached to his family name due to the foolishness of his grand-sire.  They gain Crickets trust when they explain their purpose for seeking him out.  He agrees to help them with whatever knowledge he has, encouraged by their determination.  The salvage monkey brothers arrive as well, appoint themselves as Crickets followers and agree to help the Straw Hats as well, even if they were both beaten by them earlier.  The plan is to use a strange phenomenon known as a Knock-Up Stream to blast the Going Merry up to the high of the clouds, to hopefully land on unusually petrified cloud formation in hopes of finding the mythical sky island.

    Before they can depart, Bellamy and his pirates arrive to rob Cricket of any gold he has salvaged from the sea floor.  The attack took place with the Straw Hats were searching the jungle for a bird that will help them navigate to the Knock-up Stream.  They find Cricket and the monkey salvage brothers near death, before any repairs and reinforcement are made on the ship.  With an actual reason to fight Bellamy, Luffy runs off to town to confront him while the others work hard to prepare for their trip into the sky.  Luffy shows Bellamy and his crew of pirates why his bounty is as high as it is, taking the savage man out with a single hit.  Satisfied with retrieving Crickets stolen treasure, Luffy runs back to the others to cast off for the their potential death.

     As they reach the Knock-Up Stream they are approached by another pirate crew, looking to take cash in on Zoro and Luffy's bounties.  The head of the ship is none other than Black Beard, who Luffy's brother is hunting.  Before Black Beard can attack the Knock-Up Stream blasts the Going Merry high into the atmosphere...and potential destruction.  Through quick thinking and a lot of luck, they make it into the clouds to find a sea made of buoyant fluffy water.  Before they can rest a strange man flying through the cloud sea attacks them, showing them the limitations of their bodies so far in the atmpsphere.  Before the man can finish them off another stranger appears to fight him off.  The man introduces himself as the Knight of the Sky and offers to come to their aid again when they need it most.

    Left on their own they journey forward, looking for actual land or other people.  They come across a gateway that appears to lead them higher up in the clouds.  A strange old woman greats them, explaining they have to pay a toll.  When they refuse she agrees that she has no way of stopping them and they continue on, being carried upstream to the next level and their target, Skypiea.  They find a secluded beach and take the opportunity for some rest and relaxation!  Their risk and efforts have finally paid off as they see nothing but fantastical paradise before them.  They meet a resident of the island, a young woman named Conis.  She and her father welcome them to their home, showing them all the hospitality they can, welcoming the strangers like family.  While the rest of the crew is kicking back and relaxing, Nami is playing with a sky island boat that can power its self using technology built on sea shells called dials.  The others become concerned when she is gone so long, Coni's father warns them she may have ventured off to a nearby forbidden island.  Luffy, excited by the possibility of exploring a forbidden island, suggest the crew head off right away to 'rescue' Nami.

     Nami has in fact found the island, referred to as Upper Yard.  The island is the domain of the God of Skypiea and anyone who ventures on it is punished with his divine retribution, meted out by his four priests.  Nami witnesses their retribution when she sees them hunting a man who has tried to enter the island.  She quickly escapes, before they can detect her presence.  Unfortunately all of their presence is already known by God and his priests.  As the others try to sail off to 'rescue' her, the local authorities arrive to demand they pay their entrance fees or be deemed criminals and punished by God.  The crew refuses, instead fighting and defeating the authorities, increasing the severity of their crimes against the authority of Skypiea.  The crew decides its time to leave the area before any more trouble falls on their heads.  Before they can escape, half of the crew along with their ship is hijacked by God and taken to the interior of the Upper Yard.  Luffy, Sanji and Usopp are left to journey through the island to rescue them, facing danger and death at the hands of God and his Priests.

    The crew members trapped on the Going Merry find themselves atop an ancient temple alter in the middle of the island, surrounded by dense foliage and a river filled with giant sky fish, wanting to eat them whole.  Zoro, Nami and Nico decide to explore the woods around them, for any clues to whats going on and how to get out of their situation, leaving Chopper to guard and repair the ship.  Meanwhile the others are traveling through the Upper Yard, dodging all manner of traps and death only to come to a cross road where they have to choose between four gates, each of which will lead them to one of the Priests and a challenge.  They choose the test of spheres only to come face to face with a bizarre Priest named Satori who proves to be much stronger than his ball shape would suggest.  Satori uses spheres filled with different surprises to both attack and entertain his victims.  On top of that he also uses strange physical attacks and has the ability to predict their movements and actions.

    While Luffy, Snaji and Usopp struggle to deal with one of the Priests, Chopper faces another all by his self, the Priest Shura, who wields the power of fire.  He has come to kill Chopper since his life was forfeit once the others left the alter to explore the forest.  In an effort to save himself and the ship he blows on the wistle to bring the Sky Knight.  Through perseverance Luffy is able to break through Satori's abilities and continue on their way to the altar to save the rest of the crew.  Shura proves too powerful to the Knight of the Sky, who is the old, deposed God, Gan Fall.  Chopper dives into the danger filled water to save the old man and Shura, assured of their death, leaves to join the others.  Zoro, Nami and Nico finally make it back to the altar to find Chopper and the injured Knight of the Sky.  They had been rescued by giant versions of the same bird they used to navigate to the Knock-Up Stream.  Soon Luffy, Sanji and Usopp make it to the altar as well, everyone has been reunited at last.  Now they just have to get their ship into the cloud river to continue on, wanting to face off with this God and find the lost treasures of Sky Island.

    The begin to suspect the true nature of Upper Yard when they consider all of the evidence.  Long ago a large Knock-Up Stream had blown part of island that Cricket lives on high into the sky, causing it to rest next to Skypiea.  Gan Fall tells them about the history of the island and its people, informing them that the inhabitants of the island who survived the trip were kicked off of their homeland by the residents of Skypiea, claiming it as a sacred land for only their worship.  The decedents of those people, the Shadorian Tribe, still live among the clouds and have fought a war with Skypiea ever since.  A group of Shandorian warriors, ready to launch an attack on God, sees the sudden turmoil and confusion wrought by the Straw Hats, to make a desperate last attempt at defeating God and claiming their ancestors homeland.

    The current God of Skypiea, a man named Eneru, defeated Gan Fall six years earlier and has been enacting a secret plan ever since.  He used shame and fear as a weapon to keep the residents of Skypiea in control and granted his Priests special abilities to enforce his authority.  Seeing that the Straw Hats have survived his trial so far and the sudden attack of the Shandorian warriors, he decides it is now time to finalize his plan.  He instructs his remaining priests and other warriors under his control to search out and destroy all of the invaders.  The Straw Hats get separated again once they find themselves caught up in the melee between the forces of God and the Shandorian's.  Everyone is fighting each other, unsure of what the end result will really be.

    As they progress through various victories, the members of the Straw Hats find themselves at the ruins of the ancient Shandorian city.  Nico confirms it is the ancient city she has been searching for all of these years, trying to unlock the ancient history of the world that has been lost, convinced, once known, it will change everything.  Eneru makes his appearance and instructs the fighters that remain of his plans.  His ability as God seems wasted on this small unnatural floating island.  He plans to bring it crashing to the land below, with he and his chosen followers to descend to rule over all.  His overwhelming power is too much for those that choose to stand against him, making them powerless to stop him from enacting his ambition.

    Eneru quickly lays waste to everyone opposing him using his overwhelming power of lightning.  Nami finds herself a captive on his giant sky ship as he launches it, enacting his plan.  Using the ship, that he has been building since he took over the roll of God, he will concentrate his abilities to destroy every solid bit of cloud, removing Skypiea and everything else from the sky.  Luffy races to face him, realizing that his rubber body will be able to withstand his lightning attacks.  Unfortunately he has no deterrent to his ability to predict his moves.  As the fight rages on so to does Skypiea's destruction.  Even though she and her father have been rejected by the other citizens, she races to the town to tell everyone to evacuate.  The sky begins to fill with ominous storm clouds, a sight they have never seen so high in the atmosphere, confirming the doom that Conis is warning them about.  The authorities take heed and begin to evacuate everyone to Heavens Gate, in hope to escape destruction.

    After being thrown from Eneru's ship, Luffy with the aid of Nami head back to face the God before he can completely destroy Skypiea.  The last thing Eneru wants to do is claim the legendary bell that the Shandorian's have pledged to protect for centuries.  The bell was the centerpiece for their ancient ruined city, a city that had been abandoned well before their part of the island was blown into the sky.  The fabled liar Nolan, Crickets ancestor, had landed on the island before the city of gold was blasted into the air.  There they befriended the tribe and helped them to overcome a deadly disease.  In thanks, the tribe took them to their ancestors city, telling them the legend of the bell as a beacon to call their ancestors home.  It and the ancient inscription in an unknown language are the treasures they are entrusted to protect against all invaders.  In the present, Luffy is determined to stop Eneru from taking the bell and to ring it as a message to Cricket, that his ancestor was right all along.

    While unable to defeat Eneru, Luffy succeeds in sinking his skyship, sending it and the bell into the depths of the cloud sea.  While much of the land was destroyed, much of it still remains, including most of the Upper Yard and the people from both tribes have largely survived the ordeal.  The ringing of the bell signals a new future for everyone on the sky island.  Nico is able to read the inscription at the base of the main temple, comparing the information with that she saw beneath the palace in Alabasta.  A second inscription exists on the remaining upright for the bell, an inscription written in the ancient language, talking about how Gol G Rodger had been there twenty years earlier.  These clues form a greater level of understanding in her quest to find the secrets of the worlds lost history.  Understanding that the legendary King of the Pirates was also on her path emboldens her resolve to keep pushing forward.  This is also the first clue they have found related to Gol D. Rodger that may help them to discover the location of the One Piece.  Considering the journey to the clouds a success the crew of the Going Merry packs up and heads out to return to the Grand Blue and the continuation of their journey.

    The longest story arc since the East Blue arc that introduced everything has been the most enjoyable arc so far.  This was a really fun story with a lot of amusing characters and world building.  We finally see some progress in the quest for the One Piece, even if Luffy is unaware of that fact.  Early on we also got a glimpse of the leaders of the world government and negotiations they enacted with the remaining warlords of the sea, following Crocodiles defeat.  Nico's inclusion, however temporary it may be, to the Straw Hat pirates is proving to be quite crucial to forging the underlying story of the world and their journey.  Her quest to learn a hidden history of the world and its apparent connection with the exploits of the King of Pirates could prove quite pivotal to everything.  While the journey to Skypiea appeared as a distraction, the last minute save and tie in to the actual goal, the crew is once again among the waves of the Grand Blue and are ready to keep pushing forward.  Even though they have been in danger the entire time, its nothing like their growing notoriety back on the surface.  Things are going to become significantly more dangerous for them as they journey forward.

    Next up, Escape! The Marine Fortress arc.  Hopefully the story can keep going with the quality of entertainment its been bringing for the past three arcs!

My Happy Marriage - anime season 1

My Happy Marriage (わたしの幸せな結婚) is a 12 episode historical supernatural romance based on the light novel series of the same name by Agitogi Akumi.  The first season of the anime aired on Netflix during the Summer of 2023.

 

    Saimori Miyo is the eldest daughter of the Saimori household but is treated worse than a servant.  In an alternate version of the world, great families exist in Japan, gaining social and political power through super natural abilities latent in their family.  Miyo's mother was married into another powerful family, looking to gain offspring that would combine their powers together.  Her mother, deathly ill for her life, dies when she was very young.  Not wanting to waste his families future, her father remarried again and sired another daughter, Kaya.  When the girls were young their father put them through a test to determine the presence of supernatural abilities.  Unfortunately for Miyo, only her younger sister passed the test.  With her no longer being a useful heir to the Saimori household, Miyo is forced into a life of squalor and service to her father, step-mother and half sister.

    While not willing to outright kill her off, Miyo's father see's an opportunity to rid himself of his useless oldest daughter.  A marriage proposal has been offered to marry her off to the head of another family who has a fearsome and ruthless reputation.  Kudou Kiyoka, head of the Kudo family and a young militry officer who leads men to fight against supernatural threats called Grotesqueries.  Unsure of what fate has in store for herself, she heads off to the house, to buy her self a short time away from her life of pain.  Kudou is a stern man who says little and becomes annoyed with his newest potential fiancees servile nature.  Miyo is afraid to let him know that she has no abilities, understanding that is really all he is after, hoping to stay in the sanctity of his house as long as possible.  She knows that when he finally rejects her, she will be all alone in a world she has little chance of living in, rejected by her terrible family and her potential husband.  But things aren't as they seem with Kudou, who is a more caring and compassionate person than his reputation and attitude suggest.  Before they can truly have honest conversations about their fears and desires, an external threat rises, looking to weaponize Miyo's familial blood and take her from her quiet happiness.

 

    Going into this I just accepted it as another take on the Cinderella fairy tale, little did i realize the importance of supernatural abilities in the plot.  While annoying to me, over all the series, at least this first season, was really enjoyable.  The character animation is gorgeous.  This story has the hallmarks of similar classic shojo romance stories, and its a welcome return to old form.  Miyo is the heroine who needs to come into her own ability through gaining self confidence.  She is surrounded by strong men who want to protect her...though some want to use her for their own desires.  The men are hansom and strong and will fight each other to the death with her as the prize going to the victor.  It's not really my place to criticize or comment on character representations such as Miyo and it's effect on gender rights in the modern world.  Miyo's personality are thoroughly explained by her terrible life at the hands of the people she calls her family.  She isn't useless or weak, she lacks confidence and authority.  By the end of the first season, she is well on her way to finding that power with in her.

    It will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.  I suspect it was written originally with the idea that a single season might only be made.  The story actually ends on a really good place, with all of the plot threads being tied up in satisfying ways.  Yet, a second season was green lit, but no word yet on when that will be released.  Either way, this series was a pleasure to watch, I just can;t praise the animation and directing enough, even if some of the elements of the show are not exactly my favorite styles.  Season two can't come soon enough!!!

 

    The anime was produced and released by Netflix and is available in sub or dub formats.

The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya - light novel

The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの動揺) is the sixth volume in the Haruhi light novel series.  It was written by Tanigawa Nagaru with illustrations by Ito Noizi.  This sixth volume was originally released in Japan in 2005 and in English in 2011.

Click here to read the synopsis of the fifth volume, The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya. This series is 20 years old at this point, but spoilers follow.

     We find the members of the SOS Brigade enjoying the fruits of their Cultural Festival labors...or on Kyon's case, avoiding the terrible movie they made as much as possible.  His first stop is the yakisoba restaurant done by Mikuru's class, to enjoy the food graced by their heavenly beauty.  Afterwards he hides himself in one of the performance halls, only to be blindsided when Haruhi and Nagato appear on stage with instruments.  The two Brigade members are accompanying two older girls and they play a small set of original tunes that causes a stir all through out the school.  Once the performance is done Haruhi explains that she and Nagato decided to step in to help the band as their singer and lead guitarist was unable to perform due to an illness.  Given that Haruhi only had a few hours to learn the material her latent musical and performance skills we quite astounding.  How much of it was raw ability and how much was due to her mysterious abilities to bend reality.  Nagato on the other hand, can be perfect at anything her overlord allows her to excel at.  Either way, Kyon and the rest of the school was quite impressed with the showing and Haruhi adds another feather to her hat of notiety.

     The second part is the actual film the Brigade made, going through the ill paced and terribly wandering story of the Crime Fighting Time Traveling Maid  Asahina,

 

    Next we see the Brigade experience a little bit of strangeness in the short time between Kyon's fall down the stairs and their trip to the mountains.  A classmate of Kyon's from middle school suddenly calls him, professing his undying love for Nagato.  He convinces Kyon to act as his messenger and deliver a detailed and uncomfortable confession letter to the resident alien.  The following day he delivers the message and to his surprise she is actually interested in meeting the crazed boy, even if she can not agree with the terms of his love letter.  In a moment of thoughtlessness, the rest of the Brigade is soon aware of whats going on.  After relying the reply to the boy, the Brigade finds themselves standing in the cold late December winter watching two private high schools play each other in a game of American football.  Things become dire when the boy is carted off the field on an ambulance, potentially due to supernatural interference on the part of Nagato.  What is the reality of her response to this boys confession and is there something more sinister going on, as hinted at by Koizumi.

    The fourth story returns back to the snowy mountain mystery game being held at Tsuruya's familly cabin.  Once everyone is safe after the strange events in the abandoned lodge, they settle in for part 2 of the muder mystery they did during the Summer.  This time around, to prevent too much trouble, everyone is aware it is a game and nothing terrible is really happening.  Kizumi acts as the game matser, laying out the rules, introducing the parts of the performers and overseeing the group as they try to solve a locked room murder again, this time with out all the drama of it being staged like a real murder.

 

    The final story finds Kyon going on a date with Asahina, in secret, to buy new tea for the club room.  His dreams are soon crushed by reality as he notices that Asahina is hiding the reality of their day around town from him.  Asahina is merely following unexplained requests from her superiors causing her stress and lack of self confidence.  Through their wanderings the idea that alternate organizations, with motives counter to those he has been dealing with since the Spring, are out there as potential threats to his and everyone else's' safety.  Kyon is beginning to doubt who he can trust and what is really going around everything that is centered on Haruhi and how the world changed three years earlier, during Tanabata.

   We finally see the last of the story lines produced in the anime and are completely into territory that only exists in light novels with the conclusion of this book.  Again, the locked room mystery was incredibly boring to me, more so than what I thought was going to be the only story line from the mountain winter retreat in the last book.  But the depth that is starting to surface with the events of the date and love interest stories start to show future narratives that could be quite entertaining.  I have never liked the episode of the anime that showed the movie and it was even harder to get through in text form.  I have been struggling with the light novels for Haruhi.  I find I enjoy the anime far more than the novels.  I was wondering if it was because of the amazing work KyoAni did or how much I've watched the series over the years.  The light novels were pretty much translated verbatim for the anime scripts.  But there is something about this world that feels better animated.  I keep comparing it to literally the only other light novel series I have yet to read, a series that I also compare to Haruhi, The Rascal Doesn't Dream series.  I read all available Rascal novels as quickly as I watched the anime.   was immediately drawn into the world and find the novels to be far superior to the anime.  I have so much love for Haruhi but am not driven to burn through the books the way I was with Rascal.  What does that say about me or the source material?  Regardless, on to the great unknown for the last 5 volumes that are currently available, hopefully I re-find the joy I have in this series.

    Next up, book 7!

One Piece - anime part 5 - Dreams!, The Zenny Pirate Crew!, Beyond the Rainbow

    One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The fifth story arc of the series, Dreams!, The Zenny Pirate Crew!, Beyond the Rainbow, originally aired between November of 2002 and February 2003 for a total of 13 episodes, between 131 and 143.

    With the success of Alabasta behind them and the Marines even closer, the crew of the Going Merry heads off into waters unknown, pushing deeper into the Grand Blue in search of the One Piece.  Yet they have a stow away in Crocodiles assistant, Nico Robin, who has convinced them she only wants to join them to continue her lifelong passion of archaeology, but can they trust this dangerous assassin?

     For once since they arrived in the Grand Blue, the crew finds it's self able to relax (aside from the frequent attacks by Marine shops) and use this time to get their barrings and restock their ship as they head into more dangerous waters.  Chopper gets an opportunity to spend time with Nico, helping to easy his mistrust of her.  Nami is able to secure some high quality durable paper to begin her life goal of mapping the entire world.  Sanji gets an opportunity to pass on some of his skills to a young apprentice cook on a Marine ship and Usopp is encouraged to become better at making fireworks by a girl growing up in a firework master family.  We get to see when Zoro gained the two lowly bounty hunters, Johnny and Yusaku, as underlings, while he works to defend a town from bandits in exchange for getting new swords.

    In a another episode of having to flee from a surprise Marine flotilla, the Straw Hats find themselves at a secluded island, populated by a gang of goats and a marooned old man who uses them to fight off invaders.  Before they can understand whats going on the old man passes out from terror.  Chopper revives him and starts to tend for his chronic heart issues.  The man uses emotional leverage and forces the crew to make it up to him by doing his chores while he recovers.  Chopper however lets them no the old man has very little time to live and the crew redoubles their efforts to help him out, to make his final days easier.

    Their reprieve from the Marines is short lived as the location of the island is discovered along with the identity of the dying old man.  In order to set a trap to capture the Straw Hats a lower ranking Marine in the flotilla offers to set up a trap for the pirates.  His real intentions are to land on the island and find the old mans hidden treasure, from the time he was a notorious money lender.  Meanwhile, Luffy and company are helping the man build a pirate ship high in the mountain, a ship he has decided will be his burial place.  But Luffy isn't ready to let him lay down and die and wants to help him life his dream as a pirate before its too late...if only the pesky Marines weren't in their way.

    After escaping the flotilla, the Going Merry head of again into the unknown.  The soon find safe harbor in a port town, but things are not exactly easy going for them there.  The town is ruled by a money hungry tyrannical mayor and the outsiders find themselves being targeted by a slew of officials demanding sure charges for everything they do.  The draconian taxation is being funneled into a long running project helmed by an old diminutive inventor .  The project is focused on detecting an phenomenon called the rainbow mist.  The old man, Henzo, explains to Luffy, Usopp, Nico and Zoro that the mist appeared fifty years ago when the town was under attack by a dangerous pirate fleet.  His friends ended up being lost inside of the mist as they tried to escape the destruction of their town.  He has been working the entire time to find them and the mist again, to return them home.

     A ship suddenly appears in the harbor, the same ship that Henzo's friends has disappeared in, the rainbow mist has finally reappeared and Henzo's life work will be tested.  Before they can think twice, Luffy and the others board the Going Marry and head into the mist...not caring about how they will return.  Inside they find an eerie ship graveyard talked about in seafarer lore.  They are soon attacked by a crew of children and it isn't long before they understand they are Henzo's missing friends.  The strange space has stopped time from progressing for them.  With the first part of his life work complete, they now need to find a way to return to the normal world.  But that hope quickly fades as they navigate the area to find it has no end, only looping back into its self.

    Those lost in the mist don't have long to wait.  Chopper, Sanji and Nami are dealing with their own issues back in the town.  They have drawn the ire of the authorities and soon find themselves face to face with the draconian mayor.  Once the mayor notices the rainbow mist has returned he switches his attention to enacting his long brewing plan to 'invade' the ship graveyard to claim all of the lost treasure for himself.  Henzo's work was the creation of a massive tunnel, to be launched into the mist, connecting its interior with the outside world.  The mayors forces quickly invade, intending on ransacking everything they can.  What they didn't expect is the resistance of the Straw Hat crew trapped on the other side.

    What at first seemed like a collection of random story lines, to break up the epic story centered on the near collapse of Alabasta, instead is a series of thinly intertwined events.  The end of the Rainbow Mist arc presents the common thread and it was actually pretty cool!  Beyond this fun way of tying these three stories together in one larger narrative it was a lot of fun to see the crew on a series of simple adventures where the risks are low, where they can just be their fun loving selves.  Next up is the significantly longer Sky Island story arc...time will tell how enjoyable this narrative will end up being, but this small break was really refreshing and worth the time.

One Piece - anime part 4 - Arrival & Fierce Fighting in Alabasta Island

   One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The fourth story arc of the series, Arrival & Fierce Fighting in Alabasta Island, originally aired between December of 2001 and October of 2002 for a total of 39 episodes, between 92 and 130.

 In the the third part the Straw Hat pirates are in desperate need of medical attention for Nami.  The first land they find is an eternally snows island who's residents recently gained their independence from a tyrannical king.  Finding help is harder than they imagined as the only doctor is a crazed witch and her talking Reindeer Chopper.

     With Chopper as part of their crew in the capacity of the ship doctor, they finally land in Vivi's country Alabasta.  They land in the first port to gain supplies for their trek across the desert to talk with the rebel leader.  Things go sideways from the beginning as Luffy runs off in search of food, getting himself lost in the process.  The remaining crew recognizes the danger being in town posses them as the underlings of the Baroque company occupy the sea around the island.  To make matters worse they spot Marine captain Smoker and his underlings also searching through the town for Luffy and other pirates to arrest.  Smoker is distracted with the appearance of a top level pirate, Ace.  Before they can face off against each other Luffy makes a dramatic entrance back from being lost in the desert.  Ace is Luffy's brother and the reunion distracts them from the dangers around.  Luffy understands his crew has probably escaped the city and heads off with Ace to meet up with them.  Happy to see his kid brother after so many years, Ace joins the team as they prepare to cross the unforgiving desert wastes.

     The desert proves to be more treacherous than the pirates anticipated, full of dangers and traps at every turn.  As they overcome giant creatures, sudden dust storms and friendly sand pirates, the top members of the Baroque Works gather to finalize their leaders plans for the island nation.  Just as the Straw Hats reach their target village, they learn that the rebel army has moved location, making their journey across the desert pointless.  Vivi is trying to meet with the rebel leader, to use their past as a leverage to get him to back down from his fight.  With time running out, Luffy convinces Viv that the most important thing to do now is to defeat Baroque Works, hoping this will stop the coming civil war before it begins.

    The crew runs into more unexpected trouble on their way to the capital city.  Captain Smoker and his Marines have anticipated where they will be and have waited to capture them.  Unfortunately for all of them, the leader of Baroque Works, Crocodile, has captured all of them instead.  The Marine Captain calls a truce with the pirates as they work together to escape, Crocodile having left to execute his take over of Alabasta.  Knowing at least part of his plan they head to the capital city to try and stop him.  The plan appears to be set in place and the agents are waiting for them to come, fearing the trap wouldn't do its job.  The crew has to spread out to deal with each encounter, hoping to make it in time to cut off the plans before its too late.  The struggle engulfs the entire city as the rebels arrive to make their move, facing against the royal forces.  As the plan begins to unfold they scramble to try and keep the casualties as low as possible but hope diminishes with each passing minute and a threat of utter annihilation at hand.

    This is the first cohesive and draw out plot line that has appeared in the series up to this point and in all honesty it was handled rather well.  Sure they wasted quite a bit of time meandering about in various desert locations, but it ultimately did little to drag the story to unbearable levels.  Part of my feelings on the quality of this arc is probably due to being able to binge all of it, instead of struggling 20 minutes at a time for three quarters of a year.  That would have probably been annoying.  But to be able to just crush through the entire thing in a few days is the ideal approach.

     Once again we get to see Oda flex his freak flag with all of the absurd and over the top Baroque Works members, each presenting their own unique and clearly pointless skills against the heroes of the story.  Yet, each battle isn't stretched out to the point of tedium and seem to stick with in the realm of acceptable stupidity that already exists in the world of One Piece.  Its so hard to take the story serious when everyone in it is so comically designed.  There's all sorts of badasses walking around but even their machismo is overshadowed by how insane they look and behave.  You really can't take this story serious to the point you do with its peers in the industry.  Everyone's just such an idiot!.

    Even though it was a pretty good story arc, I'm glad to be past it and moving on to something else.  We begin the next segment with a bit of a blank slate, aside from the notoriety of Luffy and his misfit crew growing.  Now they have a much harder time hiding who they are as they continue their journey through the abyssal expanse of the Grand Blue...hunting for the elusive One Piece, something they haven't even started to do.  Which is a bit of a problem.  The story really doesn't advance us anywhere towards the actual goal of the series.  They have no idea where to even begin looking for the One Piece and haven't even considered searching for those clues.  They just got wrapped into a crazed plot by a bunch of obsessive weirdos...so they can be forgiven for being a bit distracted, but it will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to actually take the next step...really the second step in their long journey.

 

    Next up,  Part 5 Dreams!, The Zenny Pirate Crew Sortie!, Beyond the Rainbow.

Anime Never Released For Western Audiences

 The title is a bit misleading, as there is a mountain of anime that has never and will never be available outside of Japan, including many titles that are not even available in Japan commercially.  The point of this post is to highlight a handful of anime that unfortunately will never see a release in North America.  Given the age of some of them, the fansubs that once existed are probably long gone for general discovery.  These days, when almost everything under the sun see's some form of release, even if only via streaming platforms, its strange to think about all of the shows that have passed into the realm of popularity that are out of the hands of normal western otaku.  Given that not everything produced in Japan will find a large enough audience to justify distribution, there are some titles that have come out in the 21st century that have defied licensing, many from the first decade of the century, before streaming but not outside of the licensing frenzy of the third wave of anime in America.

    Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (Iriya's Sky, the Summer of UFO's) is a six part OAV series based on the light novel series of the same name.  The story revolves around a high school boy who befriends a strange girl name Iriya, falling in love with her.  Since 1947 a secret war has been waged between the combined government of Earth and alien invaders.  Iriya is a military pilot who uses implants to battle the invaders but the strain of flying puts her life in danger.

    Minami-ke is a slice of life comedy franchise that has seen four separate TV anime and various direct to video releases on top of its original manga.  The three eponymous Minami sisters, all under the age of 20, have been left as orphans to fend for themselves, living off of the savings left behind by their parents.  Yet they live on, free of worry or regret, enjoying their lives as much as possible.  Having as much fun as they can with their friends and each other.  Out of all of the shows on the list, Minami-ke and its entire run seems like the biggest loss by never being released in North America.  The series is sure to be quite popular.

    Macross Zero is the prequel OAV series for the long running Macross mecha series.  This one is a bit of a cheap inclusion given the long and complicated history of Macross in North America.  The story takes place a few year before the original series and deals with conflict between different Earth factions over the use of alien technology from the original Zentradi ship that crashed on Earth.  A secluded island and its native inhabitants find themselves caught up in the conflict and struggle to protect their identity and heritage.

    REC is a short slice of life romance based on a hentai manga of the same name.  A man who works for an ad agency has a fateful encounter with an aspiring actress.  After a one-night stand and the loss of her apartment she ends up being his room mate.  In a twist of fate the talent firm she works for begins working with his ad agency on a commercial campaign and both of the them need to hide their external relationship from their employers.

    Nanami-chan is a NHK produced children's program.  The cute and short series follows the adventures of a young girl, her family who live in an a giant tree/apartment complex and the strange forest creature she befriends.  Given this is a straightforward program aimed at young children, outside of adapting it for PBS children's programming, it makes sense it was never licensed in America.  It's super cute and enjoyable though!

    Kamisama Kazoku is a super natural slice of life romance series that follows the budding love between the son of god and the girl who acts as his guardian angle.  In order to prepare him for his eventual role as god, he has grown up as a normal child in modern day Japan.  It is surprising that this series was never brought over, given the penchant for comedic slice of life comedy aimed at a male audience.

    Final Approach is a slice of life comedy romance that did see French and Spanish releases, but nothing in English.  The story deals with a random high school student who's life is turned upside down when the girl he is being forced to marry by edict of the Japanese government moves in and works to seal the deal for the sake of increasing the countries population.  This is a weird show that takes a few jokes and runs them into the ground...not sure it would have ever had a home anywhere really.

    Gag Manga Biyori is a collection of gag segments.  Gag manga and its anime adaptations have a limited audience outside of Japan, where most of the references and humor styles are hard to comprehend.  This series is a collection of largely unrelated shorts transforming the original manga into animation.  Incredibly funny for some people but not exactly easy to find an audience worth the cost of translating and distributing.

    Maido Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku is another long running gag manga adaptation, this and all of its earlier renditions showcase a motley crew of misfits who struggle to make any sort of progress in modern Japan.  Again, hard to find an audience for such a narrow brand of comedy outside of its home country.  The original series form the early 90's did get some form of release in the west but its pretty obscure.

    Master of Epic: The Animation Age is an animated companion to the Japanese MMO Master of Epic.  The series is equal parts tutorial and sketch comedy revolving around internal mechanics and memes for the game.  Even without understanding its original intent, the series was actually quite amusing...but makes sense why it also was never licensed in North America.

 

    Moyro no Hako is a super natural historic mystery series set in the 1930's.  Detectives from Tokyo have traveled to rural Japan to investigate a series of grisly murders, in order to find a link between them and to ultimately put and end to the terror.  Maybe this series will get looked at given a more recent influx in dark mystery anime series being semi popular.

    Kurayama Santa is a short format series designed to look like an anime that would have been produced in the 1960's.  The story deals with a demon working for the demon lord Enma who has come to post war Japan to judge the quality of the nations existence and growth, encountering the poison inflicted on the land with the rapid redevelopment and changing moral compass.

    

One Piece - anime part 3 - Introducing Chopper at the Winter Island

  One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The third story arc of the series, Introducing Chopper at the Winter Island, originally aired between August and December of 2001 for a total of 14 episodes, between 78 and 91.

In the Second Part, Entering the Grand Line, the crew of the Going Merry is ready to head off into the dangerous waters of the Grand Line, the point where they can begin their search for the One Piece.  Everyone has talked about how dangerous it is, but what are those dangers?

     As they continue to travel to Vivi's island, Nami succumbs to a dangerous fever.  The crew is desperate to find another island to get her medical aid, given that she is the only one with any medical experience.  Before they can find land a strange pirate ship attacks them, headed by a man named Wapol who has a Demon Fruit ability that allows him to consume anything he wants to.  The strange pirate captain and his crew aren't as strong as they think and are easily defeated by Luffy.  Shortly after the strange encounter they find an island.  As they are about to disembark a group of islanders wielding guns tells them to turn around.  Before the situation can get out of hand, luffy and crew convince them they aren't a danger to their village or island.  They are allowed to land and search for a doctor under the watch of a man named Dalton, who the others look to as an authority figure.

    Dalton explains that their island had been attacked a number of months earlier by the pirate Black Beard.  In the confusion their despotic king fled with his loyalists, leaving the citizens of the country to fend for themselves.  Once Black Beard had left they realized that the tyrant who has controlled their country was also gone and they could run the country themselves.  Unfortunately for Luffy, the only doctor remaining on the island is a crazy woman they call a witch, who lives in a castle on the top of a shear mountain spire.  Luffy decides to set out with Nami and Sanji to seek the help of the witch.  Meanwhile the strange pirate Wapol arrives on the island.  He is actually the king who had fled during Black Beards attack and he has come to reclaim his throne, fighting anyone who gets in his way.  Facing killer bunnies, a massive avalanche, the extreme cold and an impossible climb to its summit, Luffy succeeds in bringing his crew mate to meet the islands only doctor.  He succumbs to exhaustion and hypothermia before he can talk to her.  

    Nami is saved from near death by the doctor, a woman named Kureha and her strange assistant Chopper.  Nami is the first to be revived and meet the humanoid reindeer.  Upon learning that he has been studying to be a doctor she asks him to join their crew.  Once they have all recovered from their wounds Kureha tells them about she and Choppers history together and the reason the island no longer has any doctors.  Before they can leave to join with the rest of the crew the despotic king Wapol comes to claim his castle from Kureha and Chopper, planning to officially resume his iron fisted rule of the island.  Luffy faces off against the crazy king as he tries to protect the people who have been kind to him once they understood his crew didn't pose a threat to them.  Chopper works to protect the land he holds dear along side Luffy and shows that the Devil Fruit he ate did more than transform him from an ordinary reindeer.  In the end, the king is still just as weak as when Luffy faced him while he was pretending to be a pirate and the islanders can face freedom.  Chopper decides he will take Nami's offer and becomes the official doctor for the Straw Hats crew.  They head off again to Vivi's homeland, to face the dangers that await them.

    I think Chopper is my favorite character in the entire series, so to actually sit down and watch his origin story was quite enjoyable.  This as an enjoyable arc that helped to erase the bad taste the previous arc had left in my mouth.  Even with the continued frequency of more and more Devil Fruit characters, Choppers situation provides a fresh angle to one of the backbones of the franchise.  Instead of just being some one dimensional human character we have an animal that eat a fruit granting human power but more so...which makes one wonder what would happen if a human ate the same fruit.  A fresh new dimension to the Fruit and the possibility of its effects has now been introduced.  With the first official new crew member in a long time, we will see how long it takes for the next member to be added to the ranks and how well the next segment will pan out to be.  This part was quite enjoyable over all...so hopefully this trend persists for a while.

    Next up, they finally make it to Vivi's home island and the civil unrest that waits them at Alabaster Island.

One Piece - anime part 2 - Entering the Grand Line

 One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The second story arc of the series, Entering the Grand Line, originally aired in the Spring and Summer of 2001 for a total of 16 episodes, episodes 62 through 77.

In the First Part, East Blue, we learn about the legendary pirate treasure One Piece.  A young optimistic boy named Luffy dreams about finding it and becoming the king of pirates.  He sets off on his journey alone, gathering strong companions as he heads to the Grand Line, where adventure and danger await.

 

    The Straw Hat crew approaches the final barrier on their way to the Grand Line, the Red Line, a treacherous mountain range.  Through quick thinking they understand how to navigate powerful channel currents to traverse the range.  The pathway puts them into the gullet of a large whale and his strange caretaker, Crocus.  The Straw Hats aren't the only strangers inside of the whale, as Luffy runs into two strange people who decide to attack the whale from the inside to escape.  Luffy knocks them out and Crocus leads the crew to safety in order to calm his ward, explaining their history.

    They agree to take the two strangers to their home island, Whiskey Peak, giving the crew their first taste of the perils found in the Grand Line.  Expecting danger and aggression, everyone is surprised with the joyous welcome the inhabitants of Whiskey Peak give them when they dock.  A grand party is thrown and the pirates celebrate to the point of exhaustion.  Once the Straw Hats are sleeping off their celebrating the inhabitants true intentions reveals its self, they are members of a mysterious bounty hunter organization know as Baroque Works.  During the battle to capture the Straw Hats an internal struggle erupts within the bounty hunter ranks.  Two high ranking members have arrived to eliminate two people who know the true identity of their leader.  One of the targets is a princess in hiding named Nefertari Vivi.  After some convincing the Straw Hat crew agrees to help the princess who has been trying to fight against a rebellion in her kingdom sparked by Baroque Works.

     As Luffy and crew sail off to bring Vivi home, he learns about the fate of his old friend Koby, who he last saw after they defeated Axe Hand Morgan, at the beginning of his journey.  Through a series of failures and blunders, Koby and Axe-hands pathetic son find themselves under the watch of Vice-Admiral Garp as they sail through the Grand Line, hunting pirates....Luffy among them.

     One their way to Vivi's home island, the crew of the Go Merry land on a strange island that appears to be stuck in time, full of dinosaurs and giant men, they struggle to understand how much danger they're really in!  Here the members become separated and meet two different giants who have been quarreling with each other for a hundred years.  While they try to keep the giants from killing each other top agents from Baroque Works have arrived to continue the hunt for Luffy and company.  The agents this time are some of the best in the group and prove to be quite difficult to the group.  Can they overcome the strange Devil Fruit powers they face and get Vivi to her home?

     Things start to get beyond strange once the Straw Hats crew enters the Grand Line and begins to explore the islands within it.  Suddenly everyone they face has Devil Fruit powers...I thought these things were rare and unique.  I guess it make sense that an 'elite' organization such as Baroque Works would recruit people with such strange abilities.  But when everyone Luffy and company faces has those powers it starts to become more annoying than anything.  It's like Oda is just throwing out idea's to see what sticks and running with anything that makes him chuckle.  The fight with the high ranking Baroque Works members on the giant island has been, so far, the most pointless story line in the show.  Its easy to see how the story can stretch out to the length it has when it randomly meanders about without progressing the central narrative.  I know more of this will continue but it still seems like a bad idea, even if its cannon in the manga.

    The next arc is a smaller one but deals with the introduction of my favorite member of the crew...Chopper!!   

One Piece - anime part 1 - East Blue

 One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The first story arc of the series, East Blue, originally aired between the Fall of 1999 and the Winter of 2001 for a total of 61 episodes.

     One Piece is by far one of, if not the most, successful franchise in manga.  After years of deciding not to continue watching it past the first 26 episodes the Netflix live action adaptation renewed my interest in this anime...even if I have a great dislike of shonen battle stories.  I can't guarantee that I will watch everything in the series, but for now, here is a run down of the story segments I make it through starting from the beginning.

 

    The world of One Piece is that of power struggles between the world government, roving bands of lawless pirate affiliations and other disparate groups vying for control.  In other worlds the world is a mostly lawless place that is ruled by the power of strength and ruthlessness.  The greatest pirate of them all, Gol D. Roger had amassed unimaginable wealth before he was captured and executed by the world governments military arm, the Marines.  His dying words were to challenge everyone to seek out his hidden wealth, ensuring his power would carry on after his death.  For twenty years every one with a ship and a will to risk it all has been searching for the legendary One Piece.  One boy in particular is obsessed with finding the treasure and claiming the title of king of the pirates, Luffy D, Monkey.  Growing up in a small port town, the orphan idolized the captain of a small band of pirates named Red Hair Shanks.  Even though he was a pirate captain, Shanks had a code of honor that the young boy absorbed and emulated.  Luffy's way of piracy was to live free and treat those that are weaker than you with respect, protecting them at all costs.

    Luffy sets out on his own to make his dreams true with only his overwhelming power of confidence and a strange ability gained from eating a cursed Devil Fruit.  The Devil Fruit curse grants the person who eats it a unique and unnatural ability at the cost of losing that ability in while in the sea, even the ability to swim.  The fruit Luffy ate turned his body into rubber, allowing him to withstand physical blows with ease and to stretch any portion of it as much as he desires.  But in order to be a pirate king, he needs a pirate crew, so he heads into the ocean to find a crew and a ship.  The first person he tried to recruit to his cause is a captive of a ruthless pirate named Koby.  After destroying his captors ship they find themselves at a Marine base where a pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro is being punished for assaulting the Marine captains on.  The Marine captain, mad with power, decides to kill Zoro, Luffy and Koby.  In exchange for freeing him to fight, Luffy convinces Zoro to join his crew.  Once they make it to safety, Koby chooses to stay behind and join the Marines, a life long dream of his, in hopes of working to make the Marines more honorable.

 

    With his first crew mate secured, the pair head off into the sea to seek more adventure.  Before long they find themselves in the clutches of a crazed pirate captain named Buggy along with a thief names Nami.  Buggy and his band of circus themed pirates have been ransacking and controlling a town for a long time.  Luffy decides its time the strange clown stops harassing innocent people and vows to defeat him.  The fight isn't as easy as Luffy expects when its revealed that Buggy has also eaten a Devil Fruit, one that gives himn the ability to break up his body into any number of pieces he desires.  With Nami's help they are able to lock away sections of Buddy's body, leaving him largely helpless.  Satisfied with their victory they flee the town before the townsfolk, who have risen up against the pirates finally, look to destroy any outsider they see.  The trio sets sails to the next unknown adventure and Luffy has a nw crew member in Nami, an experienced navigator.

    The crew finds themselves in another small town and are greeted by the towns lair, Usopp, who tries to convince them he leads a large and blood thirst pirate crew.  Instead they learn its just the strange man and three young kids that make up his 'crew'.  Once they realize a fight wont happen, Usopp brings Luffy and crew to a restaurant in town.  Luffy explains they are looking for a ship to call their own and Usopp suggests asking his friend for help, a sickly orphaned girl named Kaya.  Kaya's parents were wealth beyond belief but her butler has other plans for her inheritance.  Her butler is really a ruthless pirate captain, who faked his own death and inserted him into her family to try and steal all of their money.  His plans come to a head when he summons his old crew to raid the village as a distraction.  Learning about the plan, Luffy and company fend off the pirates at the beach.  After a prolonged battle they succeed in protecting the village, impressing Usopp and Kaya.  Kaya agrees to give them a ship as payment for their help and Usopp joins their crew in pursuit of his dream of being a famous pirate himself.  

 

    Now with a proper ship they head off for the next adventure, finding themselves at a floating restaurant, Baratie, run by a retired pirate turned head chef.  On their way to the restaurant, Luffy and crew run into a Marine ship who attempts to sink their new ship.  Luffy accidentally repels the attack into the restaurant and is forced into servitude to pay for the damages.  A stranded pirate tries to use force to get a free meal but is beaten by one of the line cooks, who refuses to let anyone take advantage of their business.  Recognizing the desperate pirate is on the verge of salvation another cook names Sanji feeds him for free.  The indebted pirate thanks him for his kindness and heads off to meet up with his crew.  Upon finding them he learns they too are on the verge of starvation and leads them back to the Baratie.  His captain is a dreaded and ruthless captain named Don Kreig, who uses trickery to take advantage of his victims.

    Don Kreig shows up to the restaurant and begs for help, portraying himself as a desperate and repentant man.  Sanji provides charity again, remembering his own past being stranded on a remote rock facing starvation with Zeff, the man who owns the restaurant.  Sanji had served as a child cook on a cruise ship, which Zeff and his pirate crew attacked.  A storm destroyed both ships leaving only Zeff and Sanji as survivors.  They spent more than a month stranded, with little food to eat.  Near the end Sanji discovers that Zeff had given him all of the food and had been sustaining himself on his own lower leg instead.  Since then Zeff's career as a pirate had come to and end and Sanji felt indebted to the man who sacrificed his own leg for him.  Unfortunately Sanji's charity turns against him as Don Kreig, restored to some semblance of strength, reveals that he is going to take over the restaurant and turn it into his new ship.

 

    Things go from bad to worse when the reason Don Kreigs ship and crew are in terrible shape tracks them to the Baratie to finish the job.  Before he can kill the pirates, Zoro challenges him to a duel.  Zoro had made a promise to his childhood friend after shie died, to become the strongest swordsman in the world.  The man hunting the Don Kreig pirates is that man, the feared and legendary swordsman Mihawk.  Mihawk recognizes Zoro's potential and chooses not to kill him, just injure him enough to accept defeat.  Bored with finishing Don Kreig, Mihawk leaves, allowing the pirate to resume his assault on the restaurant.  Don Kreigs attacks become more devastating and dramatic, daring Luffy to the point of pushing him past personal injury.  Luffy succeeds in defeating him and convinces Zeff to absolve his debt for stopping the pirate raid.

    Before the battle has started, Nami had taken their ship and left with out them.  Sanji decides to join them, realizing he wont grow if he doesn't leave Zeff and his internal debt behind.  The crew heads off to find Nami with a clue to where she might have gone.  The clue leads them to a village that Nami had lived in as a small child, living with an adopted older sister and an adopted mother.  Nami has returned to rejoin a fishman pirate crew she has been a part of for eight years, headed by a ruthless sharkman named Arlong.  Arlongs gang has controlled Nami's village all these years, extorting and murdering as they want.  Nami joined Arlong in order to buy her villages freedom from him.  Arlong isn't willing to let her buy the villages freedom and instead plans to betray her and trap her in his service until she dies.  In desperation she asks for Luffy's help, since she is unable to save everyone on her own.  Luffy and the crew, determined to get their shipmate back, attack Arlongs gang head on.

     Though the battle is fierce and at times seems impossible, victory eventually comes to Luffy and his friends and they defeat Arlong, winning Nami's home town its freedom.  With their ship and all of its crew back together Luffy and his Straw Hat pirates head back to the adventure of the ocean and the draw of the One Piece.  Unfortunately for him, or perhaps fortunately, his exploits and run ins with Marines has lead to a bounty being put on his head.  Luffy and the Straw Hats are now known wider than their travels and all manner of people begin to hunt them down as they head to the Grand Line, where they will begin their search for the One Piece.  They start their journey at the city which Gol D. Rodger was both born and executed in, Loguetown.  

    Loguetown is the final stop for ships headed to the Grand Line and the Straw Hats crew does the best they can to resupply before their dangerous voyage.  Their ability to do so is limited as they have little to no money to their names.  As they explore the city, various factions notice their presence, leading to a final confrontation to test their mettle before leaving.  The Loguetown Marines, lead by a man named Smoker, have gotten word that Luffy is on his way to the city and are looking for him.  Buggy, through a series of bizarre trials, has been able to reconnect with his crew and his missing body pieces.  Reformed and partnered with a changed Alveda (the pirate captain who has originally held Koby prisoner) also land in Loguetown, looking for Luffy.  Each member of the Straw Hats encounter their own personal challenge as they attempt to prepare for the Grand Line.  Sanji competes in a cooking contest, Usopp has to prove his sharp shooting skills or be killed by a bounty hunter, Zoro encounter a Marine swordwoman who reminds him of his dead friend while trying to replace his sword broken by Mihawk.      

    As Luffy and his crew of Straw Hat pirates sail off into the unforgiving ocean, the Grand Line and all of its perils awaits them.  Before they reach it they end up rescuing a lost girl name Apis, who is trying to escape the Marines.  She has a Dragon Fruit ability that allows her to communicate with animals.  Here people are the descendants of a people who worshiped legendary creatures known as millennial dragons.  Legend says the bones of the dragons can be used to grant anyone immortality.  A gluttonous comodore of the Marines is after the legend, getting word that the young girl has found a dragon.  Apis leads the Straw Hat crew to her home island where she leads them to the old dragon she has become friends with known as Grandpa Ryu.  They agree to help her bring the old dragon to his nesting ground, in hopes it will help restore his vitality.  The island they are looking for is known as the Lost Island for a very good reason.  Grandpa Ryu is unable to move and a crazed mercenary is on their trail, at the request of the commodore.  Yet the pirates refuse to let any obstacle come in-between them and their desire to help their new friend!

     This wraps up what is considered the first plot line of the series.  The core crew has been gathered and the real adventure can begin.  A series of adversaries have been introduced and the resolve of the Straw Hats has been solidified.  The MacGuffin of the One Piece is now on the horizon...but what dangerous perils lay ahead of them?

    I guess at this point I have committed to watching One Piece, even though its outside of the styles I enjoy.  A big part of what makes the series tolerable is how little it takes its self seriously.  Of course there are moments where the characters put their antics aside and become focused on the challenge ahead of them.  The story is pure shonen battle from Oda being inspired by Dragon Ball to his work as an assistant on the Rurouni Kenshin manga.  All of the familiar tropes exist, but at the same point, the core crew of characters is so ridiculous that the seriousness becomes over shadowed.  Everyone in the world of One Piece is insane and bigger than life.  My biggest complaint about the series is how long the story takes to move ahead, particularly with the battles.  Though, pushing through them at a break neck pace makes this seem like less of a problem than it would when watched one episode a week.  The pacing of the story is really problematic on a weekly basis, so I am not sure how willing I will be to begin watching it every week once I catch up to the show.

    Over the years I have spent a lot of time discussion the show with people who have been following it from the beginning, understanding their complaints and frustrations.  One Piece in general suffers from uncertainty.  The story has gone on for such a long time now that no one is sure how it will end.  Will that ending be satisfactory enough to justify the amount of time put into it?  What would happen is Oda dies before the story is completed.  At this point though, with how valuable the franchise is and how much Jump and Shueisha depends on it, there has to be an outline of a conclusion.

    I digress though.  

    The first part of the story does a well enough job of establishing the characters, world and motivations to build a strong foundation for the future of the journey, even if the success of the characters is purely due to their overwhelming confidence.  Pure shonen plot devices, friendship, confidence and unrelenting pursuit of a single goal.  One Piece is a master class in the genre.  The artwork is ridiculous and low quality.  Its hard to tell if this is due to Oda's obsession with Dragon Ball, his actual artistic ability or a combination of them.  The anime as well, being produced in the end of the 90's, established its self as a product that tries to keep production costs at a minimum.  A lot of typical production short cuts are used and animation is a far cry from that of other Jump titles from 20 years later.  But its disingenuous to compare the beginning of One Piece with Jujutsu Kaisen, just as it would be wrong to compare One Piece to the original Gundam series.  Animation techniques and technology changes rapidly over decades.  One Piece though, having at this point run for almost 25 years is in a bit of a unique situation.  While the series continues there is the desire to retain some of its original design philosophies.  It will be interesting to observe the way the animation and character portrayals change as the years peel away...something that can be more easily done by binging as much as I am planning on binging in a short period of time.

   Next up, part 2, Entering the Grand Line.