One Piece is a manga in which the character drama and the world itself – a fantastical place where adventure doesn’t so much find the characters as get in their faces and rough them up a bit – is impossibly larger than life. Even after you figure out the basic storytelling formula (get to an island, fight successively harder enemies, move on) it’s still impossible to guess just what is going to happen next.
This is because Eiichiro Oda is extremely creative and not at all above throwing the readers for a loop. Take for example what I like to call Moments of Oda Madness. You’ll know a MOM when you see it because it will make you stop reading, slap your hand to your forehead and shout aloud “Dammit, Oda, you mad genius!”. You’ll probably then wonder what he’s smoking and where you can get some.
Take for example in the Alabasta arc when Usopp and Chopper fight against two of evil Sir Crocodile’s agents: Mr. 4 and his partner Miss Merry Christmas. Miss Merry Christmas once ate a devil fruit which turned her into a mole human and so, since they’re out in the desert, she starts burying herself in the sand to attack from below. At this point Usopp whips out one of his weapons – a giant hammer – and starts doing this:
And it dawns on me… he’s playing whack-a-mole. Oh wow, Oda.
Or how about during what is arguable one of the most serious and heart wrenching arcs, the Enies Lobby arc. As the Strawhats are battling to save a comrade from a fate worse than death they suddenly meet a foe who fights… by shooting ramen out of his nose.
Dammit, Oda. Stop making me laugh at dumb jokes aimed at kids.
Naturally, all reaction shots are MOM:
But what just may be the MOM to trump all others is what recently occurred in chapter 537. Don’t worry, this isn’t much of a spoiler although if you haven’t read it yet seeing it now might rob you of your own slack-jawed reaction face when you get there. Then again knowing this in advance might just save you from choking on a sandwich and dying an extremely embarrassing death.
It’s a little hard to explain this without giving away the context but let’s just say that in a time of need this character shows up. And she… he?… Ivankof… is a drag queen. The Queen of Drag Queen, actually. Feast your eyes on this:
Imagine flipping on the Disney Channel or Cartoon Network to see that there’s a whole bunch of drag queens in fishnet stockings and briefs. If that’s not enough, Ivankof later uses her powers to turn a burly man into a busty female. Is this too silly, too out there, too… gay? No, it’s just One Piece being wonderfully over-the-top again. And before anyone starts saying that it negatively satirizes crossdressers let me say that a certain drag queen recently proved himself to be a loyal and self-sacrificing friend, which in One Piece is pretty much the highest complement you can receive.
It’s all in good fun, and although they’re just silly jokes they sure as hell make for an entertaining read. Personally I can’t wait to see what crazy thing Oda will think up next.
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chapter 537?? how old were you when this manga started, 2?
@animekritik
Hah. The real question is, how old will I be when it’s over? I’m a little scared to find out. Still, One Piece’s length is nothing compared to Jojo’s or Golgo 13 (a whopping 148 volumes if Wikipedia is to be believed).
Your great-grandchildren can read the scanlations aloud to you when your eyesight begins to fail, if they haven’t created Carl Zeiss™ lens eye implants by then.
The stuff here reminds me somewhat of Macross 7. Yes, including the drag queen part, who’s also a space vampire who once almost ate the whole universe, but is now coming to a solution, by creating a farm made out of humans, until s/he/it is confronted BY THE POWER OF ROCK, with songs of love and friendship…
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Kawamori took the LOL in LOLTOMINO and made it fruitier.
I agree one piece i filed iwt many great laughs. especially the sky island arc when luffy goes to fihgt enel and enel use some crazy kameha lightning attack and it does absolutely nothing to luffy. his face is priceless, he looks like he jus got kicked in the balls.