One Piece Volume 31 cover image is courtesy of powells.com.

Rated “T” for Teen

Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates.  The enchanted “Devil Fruit” gave Luffy the ability to stretch like rubber, but it took away his ability to swim.  Still, Luffy did not give up his dream of being a pirate.  He set out to sea and gradually enlists his very own pirate crew.  Known as the Straw Hats, they sail the oceans in the Merry Go, searching for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece.”

One Piece, Vol. 31 (entitled We’ll Be Here) finds Kami Eneru still in the process of destroying the Sky Island, Skypiea.  Luffy and company battle to stop him, while the Skypieans race to escape the Kami’s wrath.  Also, the story of Mont Blanc Noland, his time on ancient Jaya, and his meeting with the Shandians are revealed and how that ties into the current events.

THE LOWDOWN:  By delving further into the history of Jaya/Skypiea, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda enriches the Skypiea storyline.  It certainly needs it, as this narrative has reached the point where it is stuck to the point of being repetitive on Kami Eneru’s triumphant moment.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Young readers looking for an excellent comic book will find it in One Piece.

B+