Moments of Oda Madness: One Piece and Drag Queens?

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:

One Piece Movie 6 – Not Your Typical Shonen Jump Fare

Most One Piece movies are nothing to write home about. That’s not to say that they’re bad – on the contrary I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve seen – but they don’t exactly break with convention. The sixth movie, Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, is different. So much so that it may be worth seeing even if you are not a diehard One Piece fan (although some knowledge of the story is advisable lest you find yourself wondering if Luffy’s stretching ability makes him Gumby’s long lost relative).

Artists Alley and Fanart

I’m probably the only person in the world who can attend Comic Con for 6 years in a row and never, ever take a good look at Artists’ Alley. In my defense by the time a person makes it that far down the hall odds are they’ve become a gibbering idiot. If you’ve ever been to a large convention maybe you know what I’m talking about… 15 minutes in the main hall and a fully functioning human becomes a brainless organism that can only react to bright lights and the mention of the word “swag”. It’s sort of the same experience you get after marathoning Mai Otome.

Baccano stickers

But you shouldn’t make the same mistake I did. I discovered at Anime Expo that Artists’ Alley is a great place to buy fanart and, here’s the best part, commission artists. I had this One Piece pen drawing done: