Eiichiro Oda (尾田栄一郎, Oda Eiichirō) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime One Piece.
As a child, Oda was inspired by Akira Toriyama's works and aspired to become a manga artist. He recalls that his interest in pirates was probably sparked by the popular TV animation series titled Vicky the Viking. He submitted a character named Pandaman for Yudetamago's classic wrestling manga Kinnikuman. Pandaman was not only used in a chapter of the manga but would later return as a recurring cameo character in Oda's own works.
Please also see: 尾田荣一郎 (Chinese, simplified) 尾田榮一郎 (Chinese, traditional)
Dreadful and intense are only some of the words that can easily describe this volume. As the story swells with meaning and purpose, we come careening to new territories, each more perilous than the last.
As all the new threads start to slowly come together, we create a tapestry of a story that, as is usual with this story, is more than meets the eye at first, and even second glance.
Certainly, quite the thrill to explore; keeping one at the edge of their seat and ready to dive right back into this ever expanding world.
Man, things are getting DARK in Elbaf! Though given what we’ve seen of the Celestial Dragons so far, it isn’t much of a surprise that their top warriors, the Holy Knights, are demons…though that may be a LITTLE more literal than I’d thought!
disappeared almost as soon as he was introduced, but he left three other Holy Knights – Gunko, Sommers, and Qilingham – to carry out a mission of kidnapping Elbaf’s children. And, despite some humanizing moments like Gunko rocking out to Brook’s music, or Sommers complaining about getting yanked off his couch, they are both ruthless and seemingly impossible to kill!
What’s worse, given that we JUST saw the touching reunion of Robin with , her joy at seeing that Elbaf preserved , and that the island also holds records of prophecies that seem to depict Nika and a great (likely upcoming) battle…the Holy Knights say that if the giants want their kids back, they have to ! Gunko is real on the nose with the imperialism of it all, too, outright stating that their aim is to destroy Elbaf’s history and culture. That being the case, I was kicking my feet and emanating hearts just like Nami when Robin …though I sincerely hope there is more asswhupping to come.
Interestingly, antagonists do seem to be learning a BIT about how Luffy operates: “Sommers: Gunko! You caught the Straw Hat crew, then? You gonna take ‘em with us? Qilingam: Don’t be stupid, Sommers! Are you trying to make Straw Hat Luffy furious? Let’s just fulfill the mission and go home.” Unfortunately for them, they don’t seem to realize that anyone who’s ever given Luffy half a grilled cheese sandwich is on his list of “friends I’ll fuck shit up for”!
This being One Piece, of course, there are still lighter-hearted moments, my favorite being after Sanji and Zoro hunt a “groggysaurus” (together, unlike their first competitive interaction in Little Garden, I might add, and using the first collaborative move they developed playing “groggyball” in Long Ring Long Land – two fun callbacks in one!): “Zoro: I took it down. Sanji (who kicked him up there to slice it): It was incredible. You looked like a head of broccoli sailing gloriously through the air.”
Another funny moment also involving Zoro and Sanji:
But there’s more to this than just humor. It worries me for the upcoming fight because Zoro And Sanji’s a big ball of insecurities about his own strength and manliness at the best of times; this is NOT gonna help!
We get to learn a lot more here about Loki, as the complicated history between him, his half-brother Harudjin, and their father King Harald (who Loki is accused of killing) begins to unfold. I already found it interesting that A) Luffy warmed to him immediately (which is usually a good sign of someone’s basic character, if not their current role in the story) and B) Sanji kept questioning why the giants hate Loki so much, even when it was the beautiful giantess Gerd bullying him. Which makes sense given that he’s unfairly the black sheep prince in his own family! And, wouldn’t you know it, our boys’ instincts seem to be being proved correct. Yes, young Loki was kind of a little shit. But, can you blame the kid when ?
And, oh, look at what time it is! That’s right, it’s time for: Queerness in One Piece, part 8:
OK, first the unambiguous one. Well, unambiguous to ME anyway – call Yamato “he” even in a comment making an unrelated point, and you’ll get One Piece’s most annoying fanboys on your ass trying to argue why the character who wouldn’t use the women’s bath (despite their big tits) is actually a girl. ANYWAY, we’ve been getting updates on Yamato’s travels around Wano through the chapter covers, and in chapter 1153 we see Yamato arriving in a province where Kiku (the samurai who is “a woman at heart”) is now Daimyo. And Kiku is clearly SO happy to see him, just launching herself forward to hug the son of her old enemy. Love to see Kiku having an important role in Wano and just the FTM/MTF solidarity of that moment.
The next is slightly more ambiguous (and more upsetting!), but I feel the evidence is there. When we met Dorry and Broggy in Little Garden, they’d been totally alone except for each other for 100 years, fighting every day…and seemingly happy as clams! We also saw that, uniquely in this cast of thousands, they had a joint bounty poster because they had been co-captains of the Giant Pirates. And when Dorry thought he’d killed Broggy he wept so hard he made a rainbow! But, like…OK, maybe they’re real good buds, but they’ve got wives or girlfriends waiting back in Elbaf. Nope! When we see them in Elbaf, they’re sailing up a rainbow bridge and (unlike some of the other Giant Pirates), they have no ladies in their lives. And then, when they say: “I command thee to seize this country, blue ogre Dorri and red ogre Broggy! Ye shall become the kings of this land!!” Kings. Both of them. At the same time. These guys really are a package deal (married), and everyone knows it! Also, World Government demands KINGS for its subject nations confirmed. But MAN is it sad to see I hope someone’s got a cure for that!
Finally, we have pure shipping territory, but it is a DOOZY. We see 10 years ago Shanks hanging out in a hot spring with Gabban, talking about all that’s happened since Roger died. And Shanks says: That’s really sweet and kind of heartbreaking, however you interpret it. Also (not a potentially gay thing, but I gotta mention it), we see that on his left arm back then Shanks had Which makes me wonder if we’re gonna find out that he LET that sea serpent bite that arm off when he was rescuing Luffy! Because…we know now that Shanks is strong enough he should have been able to avoid that, right?
However, it may be a while before we find out the fate of Elbaf, because by the end of the volume we are going into a flashback – one that I suspect may FINALLY give us the answer to what happened with all those characters we already know back in God Valley.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
How does it keep getting even BETTER?!?!? This series has been going on for over 25 years and just when you think you’ve reached the peak, it keeps going!! up!!!
The God Valley arc may be one of the greats of manga (and dare I say literature) and it’s not even over yet. Everything Oda has been plotting for the last 20+ years is starting to come together in absolutely mind boggling ways and gorgeous ways. And we’ve still got so much to go!!!
Y’all might think I’m being over dramatic but it’s seriously just. that. good.
I also just remembered we haven’t even finished Elbaf yet??? Not sure if I’m actually ready for it 🫠
scopper gaban, imu, loki/ rock’s pirates crumbs, the holy knights powers, honestly this all feels incredibly monumental but at the same time i’m too confused about what this actually entails to freak out over it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It’s been a while since I wrote a One Piece review. I have to say that this volume was pretty good. There are some things that I really liked about it but I also think it’s not that impressive overall, especially when you compare it to some of the other volumes in the series.
Most of this volume is just continuation of the things from previous volumes on Elbaf. I actually really like the dynamic that now exists between Loki and Luffy. I feel like these guys are bonding and also I love that Luffy asked Loki to join because he saw that no one really likes Loki on Elbaf.
I’m also really excited to see what was the relationship between Gunko and Brook. It seems like they share some kind of past together and on reread I do have to say that Brook seemed to recognize her.
The whole thing with the children being in danger is fine. I don’t really find it that compelling at the moment but it’s fine. The same with the giants turning evil, being possessed and fighting their own allies.
The last 3 or 4 chapters, though, are Loki’s backstory - which is also Rocks’s backstory and Harald’s backstory. I love this backstory so much. My favorite parts are definitely those about Loki. It’s just so sad to see how his own mother hated him and how he grew up without love to the point that he wanted to die. Like, bro just needs someone to be his friend. Who can blame him for doing terrible things if everyone blamed him for everything since the moment he was born.
I also think that the story of Harald is quite compelling. I love that he used to be a scum but then he just decided to be cool after Ida slapped him (honestly, Ida is amazing and she should have been the queen of Elbaf). I also think that he has a cool relationship with Rocks who is not such an asshole as I imagined him to be.
Anyway, it’s a good volume but not a great one. I’m giving it 4 stars because it really does have some amazing moments but I feel like it’s just setting things up for the most part. I can’t wait to write a review for the next volume when it comes out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Chiunque sia arrivato a questo volume, quello che vi aspetta dopo non è minimamente immaginabile...
Al momento di questa recensione sono arrivata al capitolo 1162, a giusto dieci capitoli da essere in pari 😭
La storia di Harald e Loki e gli avvenimenti su Elbaf sono rimasti "incompleti" si può dire, ma sicuramente verrà tutto ripreso, per lo scaturire di tanti altri avvenimenti collegati, che hanno ampliato in un modo assurdo tutti i capitoli a seguire del 1155 a cui questo volume si ferma.
Nel finale c'è la scoperta piu grande, ovviamente Rocks D. Xebec, e finalmente! Meno odioso del figlio a mio parere, a tratti forse mi sta anche simpatico, e chi se lo aspettava!!!! E questo è solo un incipit...
Nota strana, provo un certo amore odio per Summers, non me lo spiego manco io perchè amarlo, si perche odiarlo, ancora di piu nei capitoli seguenti!
Oda's health issues must have been serious, because here lies the abrupt end of my annual bender. Not to say it sucked; on the contrary, the reviews can speak for themselves.
I'm always, always here for the lore.
The backstories are always the most interesting part, because I do not care for libraries being burnt or children being harmed. But what can I say, this is something I've been following for 20+ years - it's hard to NOT care.
PS. Got a physical copy from your friendly neighbourhood Family Mart at Sapporo - and I'm so glad I did!
One Piece Vol. 113 is another powerful reminder of why this series is legendary. Eiichiro Oda masterfully blends action, emotion, and world-building, pushing the story closer to its end while raising the stakes even higher. The tension, character moments, and revelations are intense and unforgettable. This volume keeps you fully engaged from start to finish and leaves you eager for what comes next. An absolute must-read for every One Piece fan.
En büyük saga başlıyor! Marineford'dan sonra belki de onu bile geçecek bir saga ile sona doğru gidiyoruz. Loki başlangıçta kendini itici gösterse de büyük bir ilgi odağı oldu. Devlerin arasında küçük korsanların tüm dünyaya yön verecek macerasında neler göreceğiz bilinmez ama Rocks korsanları çok büyükmüş onu anlamış olduk.
The Straw Hats struggle to aid the giants of Elbaf from the Knights of God and their terrifying powers, and only a painful decision that will cripple their land will protect the kidnapped children; meanwhile, Loki is prepared to reveal what truly happened to his father, King Hajrudin, and his own cursed birth. Oda delivers an explosive entry with action and surprises that burst off the pages.
the fact that SO MUCH SHIT is currently going on in elbaf AND THEN WE GO INTO LOKI BACKSTORY AND ARE HEADING TOWARDS GOD FUCKING VALLEY. oda there aint NO ONE LIKE YOU MAN (this shit is so peak i dont know what else to say omg)
Lo de God Valley qué está siendo tío? Oda cumpliendo con todas las expectativas que había creado con esta parte de la historia, que locurita (por un momento hasta me había olvidado de que técnicamente estamos en Elbaph todavía xD)
I feel so lucky for being in Japan when this volume was published. And reading it now . I feel so chilled when the unexpected backstory of brook . And robin being so cool .