The Week in Reviews, 7/28/09

[swanjun]

(7-20) One Piece 12 - Eiichiro Oda
(7-20) Boys Over Flowers 27 - Yoko Kamio
(7-21) Boys Over Flowers 28 - Yoko Kamio
(7-23) Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit 1 - Motoro Mase
(7-25) Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit 2 - Motoro Mase (combined review)
(7-25) Pig Bride 1 - KookHwa Huh and SuJin Kim
(7-26) Pig Bride 2 - KookHwa Huh and SuJin Kim
(7-26) A Strange

Comments

[georgmi]

Luffy does eventually figure out a way to power up his abilities, but we don't see it until Chapter 387. Also, his name for it is surprisingly sensible--"Gear Second".

Zolo is constantly adding to his skillset, but since that's basically his quest, it feels different than the standard, "hey, there's this thing you can do called 'bankai', but it takes ten years to learn it. You have three days". The way Zolo powers up feels more believable* to me, as well--he runs into somebody who kicks him up one side of the street and down the other, but as it's happening, he's analyzing their attacks, reflecting on lessons from his past, and putting the two together into a "new ability", which, when you get down to brass tacks, is just the same old ability to slice the crap out of things turned up another notch.

*assuming I'm allowed the use of that particular word in this particular context, of course.

[swanjun]

Hahahaha about the bankai. Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of that One Piece manages to avoid.

* Oh definitely. It's interesting how some things one accepts with ease with ease in fiction ("Oh sure, there are werewolves and vampires") while balking at at others ("Oh, no way they made that journey in ten minutes!").

[salimbol]

“some of the idiocy the boys get up to” and “ridiculously fun” - I think these are the lifeblood of One Piece, I really do ;-). I love the inventive/crazy imagery as well, and the absolutely ludicrous battle cries. I’ve read up to Vol 17 now, and it’s finally gelling for me as something that I really enjoy. I like the weird family vibe they’ve got going now.
As for HYD, you said "I can only say that I really like the place that it’s in right now", and that's pretty much how I feel about these two volumes, which rank among my very favourites. And Viz deserves a spank for that Akira = Soujirou typo!