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© 1997 by Eiichirō Oda / Shonen Jump / Sheuisha
© 1997 by Eiichirō Oda / Shonen Jump / Sheuisha
© 1997 by Eiichirō Oda / Shonen Jump / Sheuisha
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September 07, 2009
by: Eric Anderson
Will Sanji and Luffy be able to defeat Don Krieg? Why did Nami run off with the ship?
Review Hardware Used: Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV; Panasonic SA-HE100 Home Theater Receiver; Xbox 360 console
Disc Description:
Luffy's encounter with the scallywag pirate commander Don Krieg reaches an explosive climax, and master chef Sanji joins the Straw Hats with dreams of exotic seafood spurring him onward. As the gang sets sail, they soon encounter underwater oddities that won't end up on a plate without a devil of a scuffle.
Ferocious on land and downright deadly in the water, fishman Arlong is a ruthless money-grubber if ever there was one. His cruel betrayal of Nami prompts a spirited attack by Luffy, but the fishy pirate quickly has the rubber-man headed for Davy Jones' Locker!
Disc Review
Content: (This section may contain spoilers.)
Reviewing these One Piece sets is hard. Believe me, I’m only three sets in and I’ve already suffered my first bout of writer’s block. Oh sure, I could blather on and on about what happens in each episode of the entire set, but what would that accomplish? Going into this there are certainties that you know are going to show up in every story arc: Luffy and the rest of the gang of the Going Merry are going to wind up in some distant locale on their quest for the infamous “One Piece”. While there, they’ll end up entwined in some local drama that will force their hand, and once again they’ll have to save the day. From here the situation will usually deteriorate to the point that it looks like Luffy and his friends are all doomed, but in the end they’ll pull through by the skin of their teeth and emerge heroes, ready to fight another battle.
So yes, it’s all a little formulaic, and on top of that there’s not a whole lot to be said about the show’s technical aspects. Granted, it’s well-drawn, well-voiced and well-acted, but none of those things stand out and scream “awesome”. Why is it then that I can’t bring myself to stop watching this show? What is it that makes my heart beat with anticipation when the next set arrives in the mail? When taken individually, there’s no one element that makes this such a spectacular show, but when you take a longer view, let’s say one that takes in the whole ocean as opposed to just one small harbor, you start to get a sense of the greatness in One Piece, and why so many fans the world over have come to love this series.
This show is driven by intangibles like loyalty, such as when the set picks up and we find Sanji fighting with everything he has left to save the Baratie and its crew from the clutches of Don Kreig and his band of bloodthirsty, starving pirates, fresh from a disastrous trip into the Grand Line. Sanji is still a young man, but he’s seen so much, and he knows what it means to have people around you that you can count on in a fight, and he wants to be that guy. To that end he fights until he can’t stand any longer, and every time he gets back up you want to yell at the screen “Stay down, man!” All the while Luffy watches the action go down, biding his time, knowing that this is Sanji’s fight, but always ready to back him up if needed. I admire that about Luffy. Yes, he’s impetuous, and sometimes downright annoying, but he knows when to act, and that time comes after Ghin, who turns out to be Krieg’s second-in-command, lays Sanji out with a ferocious blast from the massive clubs he battles with.
What follows is a massive battle between Kreig and Luffy, and like I mentioned before, you know how it’s going to end: Luffy is going to come out on top, but only after one heck of a fight, and this one doesn’t let you down. I’ll let you find out the details for yourself, but one of the best parts has to do with Luffy’s regrettable condition of being a Hammer, or not being able to swim worth a lick. Sanji has to pull on his last reserves of energy to save Luffy from the briny deep, and I think in doing so cements their relationship. It’s clear after this that he’ll be going with Luffy when this is all said and done.
Another of those intangibles I talked about is love. Love is probably the over-riding emotion in almost everything we do, and once Krieg and his men are out of the picture the rest of the crew on the Baratie show there love to Sanji in the only way they know how; by driving him to leave the ship and go with Luffy on his quest with a barrage of insults about his food. They don’t mean any of it of course, but it’s the only way he’ll go. In the end Sanji comes to realize what they’re up to, and we see a very touching scene of Sanji saying his good-byes to Zeff and the rest of the men, promising he’ll come back someday. It’s an honest-to-goodness tearjerker.
Armed with a cook, Luffy sets sail in pursuit of Nami, who you’ll recall ran off with the Going Merry in the middle of the last set. The filler episodes they run on the way are a little more light-hearted than a lot of the ones that preceded them, which was nice to see. Things had been so serious for so long, and it was fun to see Luffy and Sanji kick back along with Yosaku and Johnny, who both think they’re crazy. It impresses me sometimes how this show can switch it up between serious and whimsical so easily. By far my favorite part is when they encounter the huge sea-cow, Mo-Moo, and teach him who’s boss. It’s gigantic in scope and hilarious to see.
 © 1997 by Eiichirō Oda / Shonen Jump / Sheuisha
Luffy and Sanji use Mo-Moo power to get to Arlong Island!
They eventually arrive at their destination, a small village by the name of Cocoyashi, and what do you think is going on there? I’ll give you one guess. That’s right, the populous is being harassed by yet another gang of menacing pirates, but you have to give the creators of the show some credit, the Arlong pirates aren’t your average band of thugs and roughnecks. No, these are Fishmen, and that’s not some kind of male mermaid. These guys are superhuman with abilities like that of fish, they can breathe underwater, and they’re insanely strong for some reason. They’ve been running the show for eight years now with an iron fist, demanding that the citizens pay them every month or face death. These are not very nice Fishmen.
In a real shocker, we learn that Nami is part of the Arlong pirates. Since shortly after they arrived she’s been their mapmaker. We find out how this came to be when Luffy and Sanji, along with Zoro, who they ran into—literally—find Nami in the woods. She screams at them to leave, saying that they’ll ruin everything if they interfere, and then sprints off. Luckily her sister, Nojiko, is there to relate the story of how Nami wound up in this situation. The tale she tells is of her, Nami, and their mother Bellemere. It’s about how Bellemere was once a Marine and found the two girls lost and abandoned in some god-forsaken land. She took them in and raised them, gave them a home when they surely would have died otherwise. It’s a story about family, and what it means to be a part of something special, even if you’re not related. Sadly, it’s also a story of how Bellemere sacrificed herself in order to spare the children when Arlong arrived.
With Bellemere gone, Nami felt she had nothing to live for, save one goal: freeing the village from the tyranny of Arlong and his men. To that end she agreed to team up with the savages, but only until she’s able to raise an incredible amount of money and buy the village from Arlong. It seems she’s almost reached her lofty goal, and Luffy’s presence could jeopardize the deal. This is yet another of those things you can’t qualify: commitment. For eight years Nami has been subjected to pain and suffering you can’t even imagine, and yet she continues to fight for the freedom of her people. Even with her mother gone, and most of the villagers convinced she’s fraternizing with the enemy, she remains committed to seeing this through to the end. Can you blame her if she’s gotten a little crazy after getting so close to the finish line?
It’s plot twists like this that make this show so wonderful. The depth and complexity of each of the character’s back stories is astounding. It seems like all of the people who wind up falling in with Luffy have had some sort of horrible, life-altering experience that’s helped to shape who they are, which in a way makes them human, makes them more real. We’ve all seen hardships and tough times, even if they were to a lesser extent than the trauma that befell the poor souls in One Piece, and they made us who we are today. The creators of this series have a clear grasp of this concept and play it well in most everything they do.
Another virtue to be admired is trust. Unfortunately that word doesn’t even enter into the equation when it comes to monsters like Arlong, and while he’ll go on and on about how he’ll never break a promise related to money, it’s no surprise when he manipulates the situation to ensure that Nami will never reach her final goal. After all, she’s an excellent mapmaker and he doesn’t want to lose that. As in Sanji’s case, it’s only when things turn unfair and unbalanced that Luffy decides it’s finally time for him to lend a hand.
The last couple episodes of the set center around the assault on the pirate base, Arlong Park. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp stoically make their way to the compound, resolved to end this once and for all. For my money, these are some of the best battles of the entire series so far. Luffy hauls out a new technique that deals a devastating blow to Arlong’s men, but leaves him in a peculiar predicament. Sanji and Zoro, still recovering from recent fights, do their best to hold off two of Arlong’s strongest henchmen. Meanwhile, Usopp runs. He runs a lot. In the end it all circles back around on itself and with the close of the set we find Luffy once again under water, running out of breathe, with rescue by no means a sure thing. Except… well, you know how this is probably going to end.
 © 1997 by Eiichirō Oda / Shonen Jump / Sheuisha
Nami, sporting her Arlong tattoo, reveals her true allegiance.
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