POP - East Blue Gush review

Introduction

One Piece by Eichiiro Oda was first released in July 1997 and has not stopped since. The first completed story line is East Blue and it includes the first 100 chapters as introduction to the epic adventure known as One Piece.

This story follows a young man, Luffy D. Monkey, who decides to become king of the pirates, after Gol D. Roger (the former king of the pirates) prompts everyone to become a pirate and go after his treasure. Luffy assembles a crew to pursue his dream and each of the crew members has a goal, to become the best at their craft.

Story and messaging

Following one’s dreams is probably the strongest message through the entire series, start from East Blue and continuing through out the entire story!

Chef Zeff summarizes the messaging in a clever way in chapter 65: “In the end it’s not about weapons. Grit counts more than steel.”

The story is quite straightforward. Luffy needs to find crew members to work on this his dream of becoming king of the pirates. And he finds similarly motivated individuals to follow him. On the way, the Straw Hat pirates (that is the name Luffy chooses for his crew) right wrongs and have a strong moral code to continue being the good guys, fighting against those who plan to hurt innocent people (yes, the bad guys).

Over time, there are plenty of challenges that allow the characters to continue developing and the world slowly keeps opening up for us to know more!

World building

With that said, let’s dive into world building. I think this is one of the more interesting of the world. First and foremost, we are exploring the world on ships; and that just fills my heart with excitement and fulfillment.

Each areas we explore contain differences, starting from the idyllic village where Luffy comes from, to less forgiving environments, such as Arlong Park.

The magic system, if I can call it so, is simplified here (although there are indicators of a more complex system in the future; and yes, this is foreshadowing). There are the fruit of the devil, also known as on of the secret treasure of the sea. A person eating a fruit will develop special abilities; consider Luffy’s gum gum fruit: it gives Luffy elasticity. You heard this before? For sure, with Mr. Fantastic or Mrs. Incredible! Yet, with uniquely suited powers, there are also challenges, namely the fact that those who eat the fruit of the devil cannot swim any longer, they just sink in the water. Being a pirate and not be able to swim is a pretty difficult process to manage!

We also begin to have an idea about the politics of the world - and this will become more interesting over time - with the seven warlords that are approved by the world government. These seven men (or fish-men, who are different than mermaids or mermen) are sanctioned by the government and they can take on other pirates, provided that a percentage of those profits must be given to the government.

There is also the navy; this is another organization with good and bad people. Yet, it is supposed to be the force of the government dedicated to stopping pirates. In chapter 95, there is a description of what the navy is supposed to do: “If evil forces sail the seas, it’s up to us, the navy, to use our might to crush them!!”.

Overall, it is pretty complex world building and it is slowly unfolding in front of our eyes; and this complexity will, over time, escalate in more interesting story lines (and I do not want to give out more, since it is a spoiler-y path).

Characters

East Blue introduces the main five members of the Straw Hat crew (Luffy’s crew).

Luffy comes across as a bit of a simpleton; yet only superficially. True is that he isn’t be brightest bulb, yet he is inspiring (in a leadership way) and he would do everything he can, up to dying, to make sure his friends and family are protected.

Zoro is a stoic swordsman; we know he has a strong sense of right and wrong since the very beginning. He was a bounty hunter who decides to follow Luffy, after the events that join their adventures. He suffers an incredible loss in the East Blue storyline; this circumstance only strengthens his resolve of being the best swordsman that exists in the world. He also is known to have a terrible sense of direction and a comedic relationship with Sanji. All of this helps in making him more interesting and multifaceted character!

Nami is a thief and a great navigator. While her thievery makes her character predictably problematic (mostly for her crew mates, leading to pretty funny interactions), she has probably one of the most traumatic background stories of the entire crew. We see the full effect of those events in the Arlong Park part of the story; and she can be a generous human being to those who are (or become) her family.

Usopp might be the least interesting character of all. His name, in Japanese, refers to lying and this is his nature. He is a storyteller, ultimately, without much bravery. And his weapon of choice is a slingshot. Ultimately, he is defined by his intelligence (also emotional), his cowardice and his ability to be funny also in difficult circumstances

Sanji is the last muscle of the group, next to Luffy and Zoro. He is a cook, of incredible skill with a short temper. He is a lady’s man (not very successful at it though), he is a skilled fighter with his feet (as he needs to preserve his hands for cooking) and he cannot stand waste of food (mostly due to his experience with Chef Zeff in his childhood).

Honorable mention goes to Buggy and Captain Smoker. Buggy is a pirate who ate a fruit of the devil that allows to dismember himself, making Buggy a very difficult opponent to deal with; it also helps that he has a clown appearance (and he is very sensitive about his nose, which usually leads to pretty funny interactions with his crew and Luffy and his team).

Captain Smoker is a captain of the navy and he also ate a fruit of the devil which allows him to become smoke! While we see a glimpse into his character, I can tell you keep an eye on him! Absolutely fun character, one of my favorite in One Piece (also thanks to his strong sense of right and wrong!).

Art

Art is entirely over the top across this manga, with the exception of Luffy. Surprisingly Luffy is the most mellow character, with the biggest personality; other than him, every single character (main or otherwise) has a very unique silhouette. I will refer to my preferred character - new character - in each story line, in relation to how unique the physique is: and in East Blue the one character that wins hands down is Buggy the Clown!

Final thoughts

This is an uplifting story, with strong emotions and an overall positive messaging about wanting to pursue one’s dreams and that the good guys will prevail over the bad ones.

I will finish this review, with the interaction the five members of the Straw Hat crew joining their feet over the barrel (we also have seen this shot in the teaser trailer of One Piece about a month ago), in chapter 100:

"I’m going to find the all blue."

“I’m going a be the king of the pirates.”

"I’m going to be the world’s greatest swordsman!"

"I’m going to draw a map of the world!"

"I’m going to become a brave warrior of the sea!"

Are YOU ready to join Luffy in his adventure?

Let me know if the comments down below!