Having marched across endless miles of desolate landscapes and lifeless desert, Luffy finally snaps at Vivi and in his own unique way, lets her know a few important home truths; while admirable, her selfless pacifism can not save lives. Villains like Crocodile care not for reason and act not out of compassion, but rather their own greedy ambition. Nothing Vivi can say will stop him from trying to destroy her kingdom and take Alabasta as his own paradise, so it’s down to the likes of Luffy to fight the good fight and Vivi to rely on her nakama. She alone cannot save her country.
It’s great how Luffy explains all of this and he takes quite a beating from the Princess in the process. I love how characters like Luffy and Naruto, who act like such mindless idiots most of the time, can flick a switch and suddenly embody such wise and intelligent philosophy.
A clear direction for the Alabasta arc is now firmly set; Luffy is to hunt down Crocodile and I assume Princess Vivi will continue on to meet with the rebel army in the hope of talking them down from going to all out war (I wait in anticipation of her inevitably draining reunion with childhood friend turned influential rebel Leader). At this point One Piece is a truly country-spanning adventure of vast and epic proportions. Between such massive distance, thought provoking politics and compelling drama, I find myself relishing each and every episode.
Tag: One Piece
Much like a snowball rolling down a mountain, my outright love of One Piece is now out of control, ready to smash anything that dares stand in its way. I’d seen images of Chopper before this arc, but never did I expect his history to be so frightfully tear jerking, so utterly heart breaking and magical. This is no doubt a big reason why I so enjoy anime like One Piece; every character, even a talking reindeer with a blue nose like Chopper, is fleshed out as a brilliant, larger than life personality, dogged with tragedy yet still content, nay determined, to move on with life, to achieve his own personal dreams.
No doubt this will go down as my favourite story arc of One Piece (so far). When an endearing character like Doctor Hiruluk dies out to a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria, it’s hard not to get swept up in the moment, overcome with the tragedy Chopper’s loss yet filled with admiration for the deceased final words, a speech filled with the kind of optimistic philosophy that fills your heart with a such reassuring warmth and hope for life.
The idea that someone never dies if you inherit their memories and their will is a message that lies at the heart of One Piece. Gold Roger’s greatest achievement was in his final words, echoed at the beginning of every episode, the words that gave birth to a thousand dreams. Similarly, Doctor Hiruluk’s limitless passion and impossible ambition lives on through Chopper. This was anime at its best, at its most powerful and I love it (to pieces, one might say!).
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One Piece – Adventure of a lifetime!
One Piece is a brilliant series. I’ve slowly come to realize this over the last few months and indeed, it’s my find of 2006. Void of the macho posturing that dogs it’s Shounen Jump brethren and brimming with such vibrant, colorful adventure- it’s a tragedy to see how it’s being handled outside of Japan by 4Kids. I know it’s beating a dead horse, but treated with the respect it so sorely deserves, One Piece could have achieved so much more.
I’m up to episode 64 now, and the Straw Hat crew have just entered the Grand Line, where muchos adventure awaits. I get the feeling this is when the real story begins, and yet, I’ve already enjoyed watching it so much; that’s 25 hours of pure One Piece goodness and funnily enough, the journey has only just begun.
By this point in a show, things should be getting a little repetitive. We should know what to expect from certain characters and be able to predict how their stories will unfold. This is not the case with One Piece, I daren’t even guess in what direction I’ll be carried next, and it’s this consistently unpredictable style that plays a massive part in dragging me back for more. Like-wise, the characters are wonderful to watch and original creator Eiichiro Oda, who I feel is becoming a story telling legend, clearly loves them too; by developing their personalities, always adding an extra layer of drama, he injects them with such unique dreams, humour, ambitions and talents that I find myself empathising and laughing with each and everyone of them.
Exciting, vibrant and full of life, enjoying One Piece is easy. I hope to blog this show, not episode by episode, but rather in batches; highlighting my favourite moments.
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One Piece – My Love Lorn Introduction
When it comes to swash-buckling Shounen Jump fun, the winky smiley face of One Piece stands proud. It took me a while to catch onto this show- I only started watching in January 2006, but spurred on by what has to be the most unique character designs I’ve come across in a mainstream anime series, I found myself in love with the adventures of Luffy and the Straw Hat Crew.
Aside from the ultra-cool artwork, what perhaps seperates One Piece from the likes of Naruto and Bleach is that the storyline is first and foremost all about adventure. Luffy sets off on his journey to become the Pirate King and along the way forms a crew of loyal friends, each with their own dreams and ambitions, ambitions that run parrell to each other. Imagine Berserk’s “Band of the Hawk” and to quote Caska (of Berserk), here we have a “bonfire of dreams”; each personality carries a small flame, it flickers in the wind, but put them together and you have a roaring fire. It’s just that Luffy’s flame is bigger than most.
Comradery, friendship and trust are the underlying messages of this show- through light and dark, we see the Straw Hat crew fighting for themselves and each other. It’s so far (I’m up to episode 54 now) been a heart warming, fun journey through groups of blood thirsty pirates and corrupt naval marines. And I get the feeling the story is just warming up too.
Of course this wouldn’t be a Shounen Jump anime without massive set-piece battles and One Piece has it’s fair share of bare fisted knuckle fights but (as if you couldn’t tell by now) what I love most about this show is these wide-eyed characters and their adventures and for what it’s worth, I can’t wait to watch more.