Another brilliant volume of the classic comic. I'm glad it's still going.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting e access this book in exchange for my feedback.

Robin and Brook prepare to fight the sinister Black Maria, one of the Tobiroppo, the samurai continue to hold off the Beast Pirates in the Skull Dome, while Chopper continues to work on a cure for the Ice Oni. Meanwhile, Luffy, Law, and Kid continue their fight against the Deadliest Alliance, Kaidou, and Big Mom. Can they defeat this powerful duo? The Fate of Wano and Onigashima quake with power as the war wages on!

With each chapter and volume, One Piece continues to prove why it is still one of the best adventure stories today. Oda continues to build a rich new world of colorful characters (both good and evil) and introduces Japanese Folklore to fans who aren’t familiar with it. For example, the current arc is a homage and retelling of the tale of Momotaro!

While I enjoyed the Luffy and Kaidou fight, the battle at the Skull Dome with the Samurai, Marco, and the Beast Pirates were one of my favorite fights in this current arc. The Ice Oni is a fierce virus and the past few chapters show how fearsome bioweaponry can be when in the hands of a madman like Queen. Luck would have it that Marco’s Devil Fruit ability came in handy for Chopper, who worked fiercely on a cure. It was a temporary attempt to slow the virus down by reversing the transformation by increasing the victim’s body heat to a point that the frost disappears.

This volume also served as an opportunity for character-building and growth, bringing more information on characters’ backstories such as Page One, Ulti, and moments such as Hyogoro regaining his youthful strength to help fend off the enemy, and Sanji asking for Robin’s help, a man who has always been kind but also tried to do things alone where he wouldn’t endanger his friends. I’ve mentioned this in several reviews for different stories but when you’re creating a story that has drama, thrills, and action, you’ll need some humor to keep things down to earth and keep the reader interested, One Piece isn’t in short supply of that. A perfect example of having humor in an intense situation is when Big Mom made her way into Skull Dome, she was reunited with Tama, whom she met in Okobore Town. You would expect that she’d take down Nami, and Usopp, who was with Tama at the time, but that’s not the case when she suddenly enters into “Mothering Mode”. When she heard what happened in Okobore Town after she left, she immediately took down Page One with ease, with a fist coated in Haoshoku Haki and telling them that even as pirates, there have to be standards.

As we enter the final part of the review, I would like to say that I loved the artwork in this volume, the action sequences were drawn well and the detail in each panel was perfect.

I absolutely love One Piece and will always want to recommend the manga to anyone that is willing to read it. Beautiful world-building and amazing characters.