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 One Piece Volume 73 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com. |
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Rated “T” for “Teen”
Monkey D. Luffy wanted to become the “King of the Pirates;” it was a childhood dream. Luffy ate the enchanted “Devil Fruit,” which gave him the ability to stretch like rubber, but took away his ability to swim. Undeterred, Luffy set out to sea and, in time, became known as “Straw Hat” (because of his straw hat). Gradually, he enlisted a motley crew, and Luffy and company become known as the “Straw Hat pirates.” The Straw Hats sail the high seas aboard their ship, the Thousand Sunny, searching for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece.”
The Straw Hats and their ally, Trafalgar Law (one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea), force a deal with Don Quixote Doflamingo a/k/a Joker. The Straw Hats and Trafalgar Law arrive on the island of Dressrosa, which, until recently, had been Doflamingo’s kingdom. They divide into three teams to complete their complicated mission, the most dangerous part of which is delivering Caesar Clown to Doflamingo.
Law, Usopp, and Nico Robin form the “Caesar Delivery Team. They travel to Greenbit, a small island north of Dressrosa, where they try to deliver Caesar to Doflamingo. Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, Nami, and guest Momonosuke guard their ship as the “Thousand Sunny Guard Team,” Finally, Luffy, Roronoa Zolo, Sanji, Franky, and guest Foxfire Kin’emon (Momonosuke’s father) are the Factory Destruction & Samurai Rescue Team,” and they must destroy Doflamingo’s “Smile” factory.
As One Piece, Vol. 73 (entitled Operation Dressrosa S.O.P.; Chapters 722 to 731) opens, Rebecca fights in Corrida Coliseum, battling to win the Flame-Flame devil fruit that belonged to Luffy's late brother, Ace. Meanwhile, Luffy, in disguise, remains in one of the coliseum's jail cells.
Beneath the coliseum, we learn what happens to those who have lost their matches in the Flame-Flame battle royale. They end up in a hole, where we find the true ruler of Dressrosa, King Riku. That leads to the story of how Doflamingo once ruled Dressrosa, lost it, regained it, abdicated, and regained it again. Plus, Trafalgar Law and Doflamingo thrown down in battle manga royale.
THE LOWDOWN: I have said that the One Piece manga is in the midst of one of the series’ best runs, and the run continues. One Piece Volume 73 is Part 13 of the New World story arc, and let us be honest, dear readers. Every story arc of One Piece is a new world, full of imaginative new places, inventive new plots, and ingeniously conceived characters. I love this volume's newly introduced character, Gladius.
One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is producing some of the most imaginative comics being published today. And I cannot keep up with the number of subplots that Oda spins. I have to call them all subplots or all plots. All story lines are almost equal in this sound and shonen fury that is One Piece.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Readers looking for the best of all-ages shonen adventure-fantasy manga will find it in the Shonen Jump title, One Piece.
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