One Piece Graphic Novel Volume 84 cover image

Once upon a time, Monkey D. Luffy ate the enchanted “Devil Fruit” and gained the ability to stretch like rubber, but lost the ability to swim.  Undeterred, Luffy set out to sea and, in time, became known as “Straw Hat” (because of his straw hat).  Gradually, he enlisted a motley crew, and Luffy and company became known as the “Straw Hat pirates.”  The Straw Hats sail the high seas aboard their ship, the Thousand Sunny, searching for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece.”  And Luffy still wants to be the “King of the Pirates”

As One Piece, Vol. 84 (entitled Luffy vs. Sanji; Chapters 839 to 848) opens, the sordid history of the Vinsmoke family, of which Straw Hat Sanji is a member, is revealed.  See how disappointed Vinsmoke Judge was in his son, Sanji, who only wanted to cook for people.  See how pleased the father was in his three more martial-oriented sons:  Yonji, Niji, and Ichiju.  See Sanji get love-with-strings-attached from his sister, Reiju.

Will Sanji really be trapped into a political marriage with Charlotte Pudding, the 35th daughter of Charlotte Linlin, a.k.a. “Big Mom,” the captain of the “Big Mom Pirates?”  He won't if Luffy has anything to say about it, but will Sanji be happy to get a helping hand from his captain?

THE LOWDOWN:  The One Piece manga continues the “New World” story super-arc.  The series rolls ever on with new characters, places, plots, and concepts, and creator Eiichiro Oda is probably the most imaginative and inventive comics creator working today in the entire world.

One Piece Graphic Novel Volume 84 is the 24th volume of “New World.”  One Piece can be so frenetic at times as to be incomprehensible, but Vol. 84 is pretty straight forward.  It is one of those calm-before-the-super-storm volumes in which the forces gather for an epic battle that can and will run another 30+ chapters.  In the meantime, this volume is a good read with a lot of great scenes, especially the heartbreaking confrontation between Luffy and Sanji.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for the ultimate pirate manga/comic book will find it in the Shonen Jump title, One Piece.

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