One Piece Vol. 16

Rating T+ Genre manga Publisher Viz Media External Links Official One Piece Website

Trapped in the frigid land of Drum Kingdom, Luffy struggles against killer giant rabbits, an avalanche, and trying to rescue a sick Nami and injured Sanji. All the while he’s being followed by the evil king of the kingdom, Wapol-sama. On the way he encounters the strangest doctor and her assistant Tony Tony Chopper – a blue nosed reindeer who accidentally ate from the human-human fruit. What trouble will Luffy and the gang get themselves into this time?

This volume doesn’t have too much action. The majority of the manga covers Chopper’s back story. The poor thing couldn’t fit in with humans or reindeers, as he was not one or the other. It wasn’t until he met a kindly doctor that he was finally able to be happy; even though he was being chased around by the government for being a quack doctor. Of course, these stories can never end happily so you can only guess what happens. Thankfully, there was enough humor in the life of Chopper that the story was able to maintain a light atmosphere. In fact, taken at face value, this volume was quite serious with the struggle to keep Nami alive, the avalanche, and *gasp* the death of a character. 

The characterization is quite good as well. Although Luffy and the crew don’t get too much airtime, the people of Drum Island receive a lot of attention. You learn more about Chopper, obviously, as well as Kureha’s personality. She may seem evil and greedy, but deep down she is quite the kind woman. Of course with the good guys, you get to see the personality of the bad guys. Wapol-sama gets more annoying throughout the volume and by the last page, you’re practically cheering as Luffy throws a punch at his surprised face. As far as artwork is considered, this certainly isn’t the typical anime style that most people are used to seeing. The only ‘normal’ looking person is Zoro, and everyone else just looks like a freak. They’re mouths are way too big and their bodies are disproportionate. This is especially noticeable in the females as their wastes are super tiny and their boobs extra big. Other manga does this as well, but it doesn’t look as unbalanced as it does in One Piece. Of course, this is what makes One Piece distinctive and you can either love or hate the style. I’m not a huge fan of the character designs, although after awhile you get used to it. There are a lot of distinctive panel angles and all in all the illustration helps to increase the comedic value of the volume.

Overall, this is a great addition to the One Piece franchise. Since this volume introduces a new character and spends most of the volume explaining his story, this can work well as a standalone volume. Of course, it works best when you know more about the other characters, but it’s still a fun read. It has an interesting premise and stands apart from the hundreds of manga out there. I highly recommend it.