One Piece Volume 18

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Eiichiro Oda Publisher VIZ Media

Ahoy and welcome back to the good ship Merry Go as its crew embarks on yet another leg of their epic adventure! After having defeated the evil King Wapol, the Straw Hat Crew, along with new crewmate and ship’s doctor: Tony Tony Chopper, find themselves landlocked yet again. This time, far from the arctic setting of the mountains of Drum Island, Luffy and crew finally arrive at Alabasta, the barren desert kingdom and home to Princess Vivi. The princess has been traveling with the Straw Hats and hopes to save her kingdom after a civil war had started that may tear her kingdom in two.

For fans of the series that picked up the One Piece DVD The Desert Princess and The Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta earlier this year, know that the story in this manga volume encompasses approximately the first fifth of that movie. I had seen that One Piece movie prior to reading this manga and was pleased to find the large amount of backstory and extra plot present in the comic that was obviously omitted from the movie due to pacing and logical reasons. Whether you have seen that movie or not, Volume 18 of One Piece is a great read. 

In this volume, we are introduced to or given more insight into many new players in the saga. The Straw Hats meet the mysterious pirate Ace, a member of Luffy’s past. We are also given an inside look into the dealings of the main officer-agents of the Baroque Works, whose leader, upon hearing that Luffy is still alive, orders his termination as top priority.

The pacing and adventure in One Piece never seems stale. Even in the tale’s ever present flashback portions, author and artist Eiichiro Oda does a masterful job of drawing in the reader, juggling human emotions with off the wall characters. Speaking of off the wall characters, Luffy and crew inadvertently run into Baroque Work’s number two officer-agent, the dainty man woman, Bon Clay. As if his personality and mannerisms weren’t enough to set him apart, he also sports one of the devil fruit powers, that of the clone-clone fruit. This in essence gives him the ability to transform his body into any person he has touched in the past, making him a formidable foe indeed.

Just like Oda’s previous entries in the series, One Piece Volume 18 gives an intimate look at a small portion of what is obviously part of his grander picture. Having heard that the author still plans to use the same ending that he had in mind when initially beginning the series, I believe this could very well be true. Overall, it’s refreshing to read such an epic tale that doesn’t take itself too seriously.