Comics / Manga

One Piece: Volume 75 manga review

By Leroy Douresseaux
August 23, 2015 - 20:14

One Piece Volume 75 cover image

Rated “T” for “Teen”

He has wanted to be the “King of the Pirates” since he was a little boy.  Monkey D. Luffy ate the enchanted “Devil Fruit,” which gave him the ability to stretch like rubber, but took away his 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 become 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.”

The Straw Hats and their ally, Trafalgar Law (one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea), force a deal with Don Quixote Doflamingo a/k/a Joker.  The Straw Hats and Trafalgar Law arrive on the island of Dressrosa, which, until recently, had been Doflamingo’s kingdom.  However, it is actually still Doflamingo's kingdom, and he has set a trap for his enemies.

As One Piece, Vol. 75 (entitled Repaying the Debt; Chapters 743 to 752) opens, Straw Hat Usopp has knocked out Doflamingo flunky, Sugar.  That deactivates her “Devil Fruit” powers, Hobby Hobby, which changes the toy slaves back into human beings... after a decade.  However, Doflamingo sends Dressrosa into chaos when he lowers “The Birdcage” over the island.

Luffy, Trafalgar Law, and Straw Hat Zolo race to put an end to Doflamingo's tyranny, but he has placed a bounty on the heads of 12 of his most dangerous adversaries, which include this trio.  Now, practically everyone on the island is a bounty hunter.

THE LOWDOWN:  The One Piece manga continues to be in one of the series’ best runs.  Part 15 of the New World story arc keeps the characters running through every page of this volume.  I have never seen the “One Piece” anime series, but I wonder if the anime can match the manga for its limitless energy and boundless enthusiasm for adventure.

One Piece Volume 75 has some happy outcomes for readers, and if they love Straw Hat Luffy's never-say-die and always-get-the-bad-guy grit, this volume is a pirate feast.  One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda seems to have gathered every character he created for this story arc and slammed them together for a big finish.  Knowing this series, however, the big finish is not ready to be a finish.  That's okay, once you get addicted to One Piece, you are really addicted to One Piece.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for the ultimate pirate manga/comic book will find it in the Shonen Jump title, One Piece.

Rating: A- /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12