It’s the holiday season, so that means, shopping, Santa Claus and christmas carols. For me, it means combining manga with christmas carols! This year, I’m doing the most obvious of carols, The Twelve Days of Christmas. From now until Christmas, I will post one line, featuring a manga that I hope goes with the song. So, here goes!
“On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, A One Piece for the Pirate King.”
Monkey D. Luffy has the lifelong dream of finding the One Piece, the treasure of the Gold 
Roger, the former Pirate King, and claim the title for himself. As a child, he ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit, and gained the power of elasticity, but lost the ability to swim. Undaunted, he set out on his journey, gathering a crew who have come to believe in Luffy’s dream because of his determination and friendship, as well as believing in their own dreams, and Luffy’s abiltiy to make them all come true.
One Piece is one of those titles I discovered by reading Shonen Jump. I was familiar with the name from the interwebs, but once I started reading it, I really enjoyed it! It’s a lot of fun to read. Eiichiro Oda has created some unique and entertaining characters. At no point in last 18 volumes have I once felt bored reading it. There is plenty of action and adventure, as well as comedy and even a little drama. It’s a great title for teens and adults.
One Comment
My biggest problem with One Piece, and this is pretty much universally true of all long-running shonen fare, is that it doesn’t take long until it’s painfully obvious they’re just trying to make a buck and keep the franchise alive. Fight enemy X, go through the whole rigamarole, win, rinse, lather, repeat over and over and over and over and over, ad nauseum. It doesn’t take long before they lose any concept of an over-riding storyline, it’s just a long series of mindless battles and ultimately pointless adventures that get you nowhere except spending money.