Nami News

Welcome to this of what I hope becomes a regular series of anime blogs, my fellow AnimeVice members! Inspired by the recent blogs from JJOR64 and sickVisionz that highlights the anime that they have been watching, I have decided to try it out as well. I have been on a anime-watching spree over the past 5 days, completing 25 One Piece episodes as well as the first two Needless episodes. Below is my life in anime since Wednesday. 

One Piece (Grand Line Saga: Skypiea Arc)

The following list details the episodes that I have watched in the past five days:

• One Piece: Episodes 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, and 165. 

Spotlight Episode: One Piece #163 (Mostly Spoiler-free)

At the moment in the story, the Straw Hat Pirates have been split in two groups and are now on the forbidden island of Upper Yard fighting to stay alive. Nami, Nico Robin, Roronoa Zoro, and Chopper were abducted and taken to the Sacrificial Alter deep in the thick forests aboard the Going Merry as a sacrifice to the God Enel. Meanwhile, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp are enduring the challenging Ordeal of Balls, the trials of the powerful Priest Satori in the Lost Woods, and are engaged in a tough struggle against a crafty, mind-reading enemy. 
Pros: 

• With the Straw Hats Pirates split up, the plight of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp against the abilities and powers of Priest Satori and his thousands of "Surprise Balls" leads to a series of quick, painful losses against their enemy in combat. Watching them struggle on against towering odds makes the fight more interesting.
• Nami, Robin, and Zoro go off exploring by using a vine to swing across the Skyshark-infested waters. Zoro channels his inner Tarzan by yelling "AAAaaaAAAaaaAAA!" as he swings to shore.
  
• The plot thickens when Chopper gets involved in a life-threatening struggle with the Priest Shura and his winged mount Fuza. Chopper enlists the aid of the Knight of the Sky, but the end result leads into a cliffhanger for Episode 164.

Cons:

• I noticed that the animation regarding the fight with the Knight of the Sky and Priest Shura was off compared to the animation quality of the rest of the episode. 
• The annoying laugh of Satori really got on my nerves. I look forward to Luffy and company overcoming their Ordeal and taking down this strange character.
  

Needless

I watched the following episodes in the past 5 days:

• Needless : Episode 1 and 2

 

Spotlight Episode: Needless #1 (Mostly Spoiler-free)

We are first introduced to the war-torn world of Needless with a surprise attack by hundreds of armed rebels as they seek to take out the wicked Adam Arclight, the leader of the Simeon Orginization. Using the combined efforts of his Elite Four, the four super-powered allies make quick work of the rag-tag rebels and leads to the brutal slaughter of hundreds of lives. Meanwhile, Cruz and Aruka Schild are fleeing for their lives from one of the massive robots that hunts down Needless, special individuals who have powerful abilities and are considered dangerous by society. After getting pinned in the sewers by the robot, Cruz encounters Adam Blade, who defends the hapless boy and in the process is badly injured. Now teamed with the ranks of Adam, Eve Neuschwanstein (who is a Needless), and their scientific ally Gido, Cruz begins his adventures to stop the powerful Adam Arclight, Simeon, and the Elite Four that threaten the world and who hunt them as part of their "Needless" hunt. 
 
Pros:

• This show reminds me of the wonderful times I had with Gurren Lagann, from the humor and action down to the characters. Adam Blade could easily be related to Kamina for they share the same drive, pride, and make fights more epic. 
• The fight at the end of the episode introduces to the powers and abilities of both Eve and Adam, who team up to take down the individual who hunts them.
• The animation is of great quality, and the humor had me laughing at several points.
  

 
Cons:

• Not much to complain about. Other than Cruz suffering a "sister complex" (as Eve tells the poor lad as he cries over what became of his sister), this episode was enjoyable.
• Oh...the end credits were full of what I deem to be Loli content...young girls doing some things that are questionable in my opinion and was perhaps the one thing that stopped me from saying that the episode was the best 1st episode of any anime series that I had watched in recent memory.
  

Attention!!

Just a little bit of information. I originally wrote this review on the Volume page of  One Piece Volume 46, but I forgot to give it any star rating. Normally, when I've forgotten that, it's reminded me before posting the review. For whatever reason. That didn't happen. So, I tried to delete the review I posted, so I could try again. Now, when I hit Write A Review, The only thing that appears is the o;d review I've written. I can't even seem to repost that review without the star rating. I tried and it wont show up.

One Piece Volume 46 Review

Publisher: VIZ Media
Author: Eiichiro Oda
Rating: Teen
Genre: Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy
MSRP: $9.99 (USD)
Contents: 9 Chapters / 200pg.
 
Fresh off the Straw Hat's greatest victory against the Marines and the World Government's CP-9, Luffy and his friends are thrown into another adventure on their way to Fish-Man Island. First, they have to cross one of most mysterious sea in the Grand Line, the Florian Triangle, where ships have been disappearing by the hundreds every year. Through a dense fog, they cross paths with a ghost ship run by a talking skeleton named Brook with no shadow, and a giant floating island filled with wild zombies called Thriller Bark, home of the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria.
 
Elsewhere, Ace has finally found the traitor to the Whitebeard Pirates, Blackbeard; and his devil fruit powers are revealed. It's Fire versus to the incredible power of Darkness. The outcome will be the precursor to the events that will shake the world and could be the end of the Great Pirate Era.

The Good

I have to say that this Thriller Bark arc is one of my favorite parts of the One Piece story. I really wish FUNimation would hurry to this portion of the story, but we're here to talk about the manga version. This volume start is the beginning of the Thriller Bark arc, but the very first chapter was closing out the Enies Lobby arc (though VIZ calls it the Water Seven arc) with the closing chapter of Ace's fight with Blackbeard. It's exciting, but the context is missing. 
 
The story and art in this volume are great. So many funny moments. If you are a person who thinks zombies are over used in stories today, This volume really mixes up the theme in wild ways that only Oda could think of. Who else would have a patchwork Cerberus who's sensitive about being part fox, talking zombies who get offended when you attack them with fire, and ghosts that break your spirit if they pass through you?
 
The story starts off with the crew on the way to Fish-Man Island, but get detoured when they sail through the Florian Triangle. There, they come across a living skeleton who's been sailing adrift on a ghost ship for over fifty years. After that they are caught in a trap that leaves them no escape from the floating island called Thriller Bark (who's name is more than likely yet another little nod to Michael Jackson from Oda. The man loves his pop-culture parodies.). Nami, Usopp, and Chopper get separated from the rest of the crew and are washed ashore. This puts the rest of the crew into the position of having nothing better to do than head in to save them. It's funny, but Nami has a lot of Luffy-esque scenes this volume that got some laugh-out-loud moments from me. There is also a little bit of rare fanservice of Nami in the bath here. It's hilarious when later Usopp thinks she's trying to trick him into admitting he saw her so she can get him to pay. Included are some great scenes if you enjoy Luffy's innocent personality, that makes for one of the best zombie reveal scenes ever; or Zoro and Sanji's ongoing banter.
 
Something you might not realize is that Oda introduces a character into One Piece here that is from one of his earliest works, Wanted (1998), and the volume comes with a page-sized sticker of one of the Straw Hat Pirates. The one in the volume I have has a picture of Chopper. I'm not sure if it's the same for every volume.. Downside, it advertises the VIZ One Piece site on it. Why go there, when the Japanese Shonen Jump has an English site for users?

The Bad

There is something in the translation work that doesn't make much sense. In the Skypiea section of the story, VIZ went out of there way to avoid ever using the word "God" to describe the villain Eneru, despite the fact the name "God" was just a job title in that world. They replaced it with "Kami", but in this volume they use the word "God" when talking about that same character. In Chapter 442, Zoro says to Luffy, "Which one of us here beat up a 'God' on Skypiea?". Why is it alright to use "God" here, but never in the part of the story it was actually involved in? VIZ just seems to be incapable of any level on consistency to anything. They do something in one volume, then do another thing later to contradict it.
 
The first chapter feels a bit out of place when you are just reading this volume. It's pretty short but intense. If you were to start here, you wouldn't have even the slightest clue why they are fighting so intensely. It shows you the real difference between manga volumes and trades of comics. Trades are intended to be a completed story, but it's not uncommon for a manga volume to end in a cliffhanger to entice you to buy the next one to see how it all ends.

Verdict 5/5

This is a great read if you love zombies and are sick and tired of how they are overused and do nothing new with them. It's a fantastic place to jump into One Piece if you've been curious and don't want to start at the beginning. Everyone in the crew gets some really good moments. Luffy trying to tame the Cerberus and the first time he sees a zombie are two of my favorite scenes of One Piece.
 
The SBS (Question Corner) section is replaced in this volume with a new feature. Where Oda normally answers questions from his fans. This volume gives you highly detailed sketches of the new Thousand Sunny ship of the Straw Hats. I love detail work, such as this. It's volumes like this that really make me regret how VIZ Media is the licenser in the U.S. for the series and not a better company. I'll admit that this volume seems to be done pretty well. It's just too bad they don't use this as an example of how the rest of the series should be done.
 
Due to my feelings against VIZ, I really wanted to reduce my score a bit, but that didn't seem all that fair when this particular volume was done pretty well. This is a great part of the story and you're going to find things in this volume that you'll never seen in any other series. That's the fun of One Piece. I'd rate this a solid 5 out of 5. I've read it five times since I got it.

Favorite Moment: CH. 447 - Luffy's first zombie sighting.

Least Favorite Moment: CH. 447 - Attack of the bear rug.

WTF Moment: CH. 447 - An old tree guy and a unicorn are having a drink.

Favorite Character This Volume: Luffy / Nami

In this new blog series, I will be discussing what I have been watching anime-wise over the past week, as well as any manga that is worth sharing. In this week's discussion: One Piece (Episodes 94 thru 102) and as a bonus, Chapter 47 of the Heaven's Lost Property (Sora no Otoshimono) manga will be up tomorrow. I am sorry if this is long-winded or not 100% accurate, but this is what happened in my past week of One Piece viewing.
 
WARNING: MASSIVE EPISODE/PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT CERTAIN ASPECTS OF ONE PIECE SPOILED!

One Piece (Episodes 94 thru 102 of the Baroque Works Saga: Arabasta Arc)

Monkey D. Luffy and the gang have arrived in the desert kingdom of Arabasta, home to King Nefertari Cobra (father of current crew member and Princess of Arabasta: Vivi Nefertari). After escaping the clutches of Marine Captain Smoker and his Marine forces (which arrived in Arabasta in search of the Straw Hat Pirates, who escaped from his clutches back in their encounters in Loguetown earlier in the anime) with the help of Luffy's brother Portgas D. Ace, the Straw Hat Pirates begin their trek across the harsh, barren desert toward the Yuba Oasis, where the Rebel forces are stationed.
They come across the ruins of the of the once-populated city of Erumalu, which has fallen victim to both the violent sandstorms and the effects of the extreme climate that has crippled the kingdom in a severe drought that has lasted for years. From there, they continue on their way to Yuba, but due to several of Luffy's mistakes, he not only gets lost from the group due to rushing ahead, but he falls victim to the Warusagi Cranes, birds that act injured in order to steal your items when your back is turned. Luffy gives chase to the birds after Vivi tells him what the birds really do and how he was fooled, and comes across a camel in distress, who is in the clutches of a carnivorous plant. After freeing the camel from certain death (and freeing himself from the massive mouth of one of the plants that swallowed him), a massive lizard (one of the giant Great Sandora Lizards) surfaces and gives chase to both Luffy and the camel, which rush off back in the direction of the rest of the crew, which has stopped at the shaded area of the rocky area where the birds had stolen their supplies. 
 
To the shock and surprise of the resting crew, they witness both Luffy and the camel rushing towards them, being chased by what seems to be a massive eruption of sand from behind. Sanji and Zoro step forward, and in a massive set of powerful attacks, they (along with Luffy) kill the massive lizard (along with the other lizards from the pack, with the help of Ace) and use the leftover meat to re-supply their lost provisions. Nami and Vivi both fall in love with the camel (which they name him "Eyelashes"), and since the camel only has interest in letting the girls ride, decide to make him their primary mode of transportation, much to the disgust of the others (who heckle the camel and call it perverted). After finishing their rest, they set back off towards their destination of the Yuba Oasis. 
 
In their continued travels, the men get separated from Ace (who wanders off in a separate direction, due to his lack of attention) and due to the shifting sands, get lost from both Nami and Vivi, who had taken the lead and expected them to follow their tracks. Nami and Vivi are found by the crew of a massive pirate ship (the Sand Pirates) and taken hostage, with Eyelashes becoming the next planned meal for the crew. The men, who are maintaining their journey in the direction they last saw Nami and Vivi, are surprised when they across come across a startling sight, a massive pirate ship making it's way across the desert. Usopp, using his scope from his headgear, sees that the ship has both of the girls along with the camel on deck and points it out to Luffy. Enraged that his fellow nakama has been kidnapped, he uses his Gum Gum powers to stretch his arms to grab the mast of the ship in the distance, to the surprise of the Sand Pirates. Luffy then pulls himself towards the ship, and slams into the mast at high speed, breaking it in half and sending it crashing onto the decks below, to the shock of the crew and the horror of the Sand Pirates. 
 
Meanwhile, Ace finally notices that he has become lost from Luffy and the others, and comes across a massive scorpion that seeks to eat him as it's next meal. Using his Devil Fruit powers, he uses his fire-wielding abilities to roast the scorpion, ending the threat on his life. He next comes across a strange lizard as he leaves the scorpion behind, which no matter what he does, copies him and blocks his path, much to his annoyance. While Ace makes his way onward, Luffy and his crew become fast friends with the Sand Pirates and their massive captain, and are tasked with helping find trees so that the Sand Pirates can repair their broken mast. Vivi decides to team up with Luffy, and they make their way towards a distant oasis that has the needed wood for the repair work on a unique boat that surfs along the sand by windpower along with two members of the Sand Pirates crew. On their way there, Luffy and VIvi's boat is rammed by the other boat of the Sand Pirates, sending them into a deadly area of quicksand that threatens to suck them under to their deaths. Luffy, who is ticked off by the current situation, again uses his Gum Gum powers to stretch out his arms to grab onto the speeding boat of the Sand Pirates, pulling themselves out of the lethal trap and into the lead of the trip towards the distant oasis. Once at their destination, the female pirate of the other ship confronts Vivi about how the King of Arabasta promised to help the town she once lived in, and how she stayed behind after the others abandoned the town, almost until her death, before the Sand Pirates found her. Vivi breaks down in tears, and promises to not let the woman down in the promise that her father made long ago.

After returning to the stranded Sand Pirates ship (which came under attack by local forces while they were gone), the Straw Hats make their way towards a nearby town, which they are dropped off near-by by the Sand Pirates (who do not wish to come close to town). Unknown to them, Ace has arrived in the town before them while they were helping the Sand Pirates, and has come across several men that claim to be part of the Rebel forces, to the delight of the local townspeople, who are unaware that they are being deceived. When word of pirates reaches them (from one of the lookouts, who sees the distant ship of the Sand Pirates departing from the area outside of town), the four "fake" Rebels try to slip out of town before the townsfolk come to see them off to battle, but run into Ace, who proceeds to eat their food after humiliating them in brief combat. The men, who later try again to skip town before the people of the town locate them, run into the entire city population outside of their quarters, and are unable to escape. Meanwhile, Ace skips town and finds Luffy and the others outside of town, who are surprised to see him after losing him prior to their adventures with the Sand Pirates, and discover about the "fake" Rebels in town. They decide to teach the impostors a lesson, and approach the town's front gate, while the townsfolk usher the "fakes" towards the gate to defend their town from the other side. 
 
Trapped between Luffy and the awaiting crew and the optimistic townsfolk who expect them to save their town, the fakes are scared witless by their current plight. When Luffy asks who the leader is, the Rebel that steps forward to answer receives a massive punch to the face via Luffy's Gum Gum Pistol, sending him flying hundreds of yards back down the path towards town to the shock of the townspeople and the other Rebels. Nearly knocked senseless from the blow, the bloodied man staggers to his feet, powered by the urge to save the town and show his bravery to the kids who idolize him and his crew, and makes his way back to the confrontation. He delivers a speech about showing bravery in the face of danger and with all of his might, slugs Luffy back in the face, knocking him backwards and onto the ground. Amazed by their companion's bravery, the other men launch in attach against Sanji and Zoro, who dodge their attacks by inches. Nami, who is hiding behind a distant rock with Vivi, gives the signal to Usopp for them to retreat, and the Straw Hats make a hasty escape from the scene, much to the surprise of the fakes and the townspeople. Stunned by their apparent victory in the face of adversity, the fakes are accepted by the townsfolk for their bravery, and with their new confidence, look forward to a better future. 
 
After their escapade at the front gate of town, the gang settles down for the night, and falls victim to a massive sandstorm that sweeps across the desert and escape the ordeal with their lives. When they enjoy their next meal (which Luffy hogs most of the food, to the irk of Usopp and Sanji), Ace is unknowingly targeted by a mysterious bounty hunter and his ostrich, but due to a mistake by the ostrich around the fuse, the bomb shot that the bounty hunter plans to shoot at Ace does not fire. Luffy notices some of the meat being carried off on a string, and gives chase. Unknown to him, the culprits of the theft are two young boys, who are in search of a decent meal for the first time in several days. The boys lose Luffy, and find a spot to enjoy their meal, but are found by Ace after their meal, and try to defend themselves with a pistol. The boy fires at Ace, who stops the shot with a well-timed rock throw and the others come across the uneasy standoff. They settle down and listen to the boy's story about their plight from the Badlands.
 
Meanwhile, Luffy has gotten lost in his pursuit of the stolen meat, and comes across the bounty hunter, who is chasing after his ostrich for ruining his clean shot at Ace. In the chase, the highly-explosive bomb shot falls from the launcher and flies down towards a bewildered Luffy, much to the horror of the man, who tells him to run for his life before hunkering down for the blast. When no blast happens, the man is shocked to discover that Luffy has stopped the shot from hitting the ground and has made his way to the top of the rock to return the explosive bomb back to him. Luffy discovers that this man is the bounty hunter Scorpion, the man that Ace has been looking for in connection to his pursuit of a pirate by the name of Blackbeard. Luffy becomes companions with Scorpion as they set off on the ostrich to locate Ace in the immediate area. As they set off, the crew, along with Ace and the two boys, finish with their discussion and take notice of the approaching ostrich (with Scorpion and Luffy onboard) that is racing towards them. The boys (who told them about how their father is the man that is seeking Ace to prove to them how tough he is, and that he is approaching them on the ostrich). Ace, now faced with the man that he has been looking for, prepares for a confrontation with the bounty hunter. 
 
Scorpion, pleased that he has found his target, takes aim with his Net Gun and fires, hoping to trap Ace in a metal net that will allow for him to be captured, but is shocked when Ace uses his powers to send the net flying upwards in the column of flames. The net soars through the air, and lands on top of Scorpion, dazing him slightly. He then pulls out a pressurized Acid Gun, and tries to spray Ace with the toxic solution, but Ace easily avoids it and prepares for another attack. Using his last resort, he pulls out his Launcher with the explosive bomb shot and takes aim, but stops when he sees his two boys, who race towards him crying, begging him to stop. However, when he puts down his launcher, the bomb fires and explodes against the massive column of rock overhead, sending a cascade of rock and derbies towards the father and his sons. Ace, using his powers, shoots a blast of flame that shields the man and his children from a painful death. Scorpion, grateful for Ace's kindness, thanks him and leaves with his two boys back towards the Badlands. Disappointed that Scorpion had spread false rumors about Blackbeard to attract him to this area, Ace makes his departure from the others in his continued quest to find Blackbeard. Luffy and the crew proceed to make their way towards the Yuba Oasis, in search of the Rebels.
 
This concludes my week in anime. Tomorrow, my week in manga (Heaven's Lost Property Chapters 46 and 47). Sorry if I got carried away in this two-hour rant xD

I have been look high and low but I can't find a good set of neko tails. I only need one black one and one of my own hair color. (My hair color is a shade of blonde) I'm willing to pay poeple to get a good one. If you know any website please tell.    

This is a piece of fan art I made a while back based on the One Piece series. It was actually more made as a art experiment. I wanted to try and tell a story without using any dialog.
The basic idea is Nami tries to give Luffy a Valentine. In Japan, girls give the boy they like chocolate, but a month later is called White Day where that boy must repay that gift with some sort of favor. Luffy is rather oblivious when it comes to girls. I thought it would be funny to play that up in this gag. He is so excited about being given food he completely misses her intent and pays for it. Anyone who has played Final Fantasy will probably be able to identify that icon in the third panel.
I had posted this in my image gallery once before. I altered the format to make it easier to see on this site.

Recently, I had been hit with a writing bug and my article had the honor of being posted on such fine sites as ComicVine and AnimeVice. I had even heard that it was posted across many other manga/anime blogs. The gratitude I have toward the ComicVine staff, that encouraged me to write the first featured article, is quite incalculable. The same goes to the staff on AnimeVice who also carried the story.

One thing about the largest selling point to US comics is the action. It’s what we all love, and pretty much been the hallmark of some of our greatest comics and events. Who wasn’t effected by the fight of Superman and Doomsday ? We have the promise of amazing action that is to fill the pages and get are blood flowing. Though it’s not always delivered as promised. As I was watching G-Man’s review of the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus book something struck me. The Utopia story had so much potential that fell short.  For months we had a slow and steady build up to what was climaxed in the Exodus book. Though this book felt like a promise unrealized. In the beginning it had a long climb up, similar to the start of a roller coaster. You sit, strapped in, waiting for that first great fall that will give you the momentum needed to hit all the twists and turns to come. Utopia felt more like a long, five minute climb to ten foot drop, and it was all over. Exciting for a whole three seconds, but left me vastly unfulfilled. Not to say that the fights were bad. It all just felt as if so much was missed. I don’t even hold the writers or the artists accountable for this. Their job was done and done well in each book. For I blame what none of us can escape, even as it constantly moves: Time. Well, Time and the Marvel editorial staff that dictates that these events have to settle within a certain time frame.

It seriously feels that in many comics we have to choose between either story or action. If we desire more of one. We then must sacrifice a part of the other. This was also shown in Babs’ review of Dark Reign-The List: X-Men . It’s not as if our writers or artists in the US series aren’t capable of doing both. Wolverine's story during Civil War was a great read with great action. Why does this even have to be a choice?  
 
Thinking of how this story moved it reminded me of an arc that was used in the manga series, One Piece. It’s a story that was published several years back about the CP-9/Enis Lobby arc. In many ways it shares a couple of similarities with the Utopia/Exodus story. Both had a long build up,friends turning on each other, twists in loyalties, possible betrayal from an enigmatic member of the heroes, clashing with a dark, corrupt government organization filled with killers; and ended in battles that changed the status quo forever. To date, it’s one of my favorite arcs, because of the emotions it evoked, with Nico Robin's past; and the scale of the battles at the end.

The story for this stage in One Piece pretty much began with chapter 343(Oct. 24, 2004) and the appearance of the Cipher Pol-9 (CP-9). Following the tradition of weekly chapter releases, the build up lasted past the following year, and the opening salvo was in chapter 398(Jan. 29, 2006). The Utopia story first began in Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1 (Jun. 24, 2009), but the roots of the story date further back. As with all tales in the current Marvel continuum. All roads lead back to Civil War, which to me played out like a political allegory; similar to Animal Farm, but without the talking pigs. (Well, unless you wish to count Stark, but that’s getting off the topic.) Civil War ultimately is what lead to the Dark Reign, Norman Osborn stole Wolverine’s kill shot in Secret Invasion; and the murderer of Gwen Stacy quickly became America’s hero. He had created the Cabal in Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1 (Dec. 3, 2008) and the X-Men had been mostly uninvolved. Despite Emma Frost's agreement to join at the end of Uncanny X-Men #505 (Dec. 17, 2008). It all came to a head when the mutant riots broke out and Dark Reign finally fell on the mutant population in DA/UXM: Utopia.

In the Enis Lobby story the Strawhat Crew pretty much separated and paired off with an opponent at chapter 400 (Feb. 12, 2009), though these matches would mix up as the story moved on. Much in the same way Cyclops had his X-Men paired off with certain enemies, but had certain twists as the action progressed. Just to give you a feeling for just how these battles lasted in the One Piece series. This was the make up and the duration of each fight seen, from first meeting to final blow. 
 

Strawhat/CP-9	Chapters	Time Duration
Zoro vs Kaku	CH.400-418	20 Weeks
Nami vs Kalifa	CH.403-412	11 Weeks
Sanji vs Jabra	CH.413-415	3 Weeks
Chopper vs Kumadori	CH.403-408	7 Weeks
Franky vs Fukurou	CH.402-406	6 Weeks
Luffy vs Rob Lucci	CH.408-427	22 Weeks

 
  You may notice that some of these chapters over lap. That’s because even while fights were going on around. The story was still being told, and more then one battle was happening at a time. This wasn’t like the Dragonball Z fights, that were just blind fighting. In the Enis Lobby arc the battles just felt as epic as the story that had been built up. There was a balance. So much detail was given to each fight. It could be used as a story board for the animated version, and most likely was. The climax was with the leaders’ fight of Luffy and Rob Lucci is the kind of thing you cheer at. Luffy had been beaten down over and over. Only to rise again and pull off an amazing last-ditch attack. So traumatized did this leave the hero, that he couldn’t move afterward and was unconscious for three days after the fight had been over.

Balance that to the Utopia/Exodus story. While it started in late June. It came to a conclusion in early September of the same year. I have been quite the critic of Fraction's handling of the X-Men’s story, but I can’t hold it against him with the balance of action to story. I felt the build up was looking promising. Here, he’s working with the time he had. The entire battle was told within a single book while the story that began this was through Dark X-Men: Beginning #1-3, DA/UXM: Utpoia, Dark Avengers #7-8, Uncanny X-Men #513-514, and X-Men Legacy #226-227. This was a ten to one ratio of story to action. There was some action in between, but none on the level that was expected of having two powerful forces come to a head. Normally, when there are crossovers of major teams. It’s between heroes that get caught up in some sort of misunderstanding. No side wants to be painted poorly. This was a team of villains. A massive battle was deserved. This was the line up we had for Exodus:
  

X-Men	Dark Avengers-Dark X-Men
Wolverine	Weapon Omega
X-23/Pixie/Armor	Daken
Archangel	Bullseye
Colossus	Venom
Namor	Sentry
New Mutants	Ares
X-Club	Dark Beast
Iceman/New X-Men	Mimic
Various mutants	Moonstone
Cyclops	Osborn

 
For the length of the battle. The art was often times breath taking. From pencil to color. I can’t remember when I’ve seen Archangel look so cool. You could almost feel the level of doom coming Bullseye's way. Past introductions we didn’t really see much of ‘anything‘ in the majority of these fights. The battle that got the most attention was between Cyclops and Osborn , in his Iron Patriot armor. That consisted mostly of Scott being beaten around while mocking Namor. Though I did enjoy watching Norman break down like a tantruming two year old screaming, “No No, No, No!!”. It appeared that the battles of Namor/Sentry and Wolverine/Weapon Omega were both of epic detail. What happened between Namor throwing that truck to being pounded into the pavement by Sentry? How was Weapon Omega standing after being stabbed in the back? It’s just sad so little was ever even seen. It could also of been quite entertaining to see Daken have his regenerating rear handed to him by three teenage girls, considering how poorly he tends to treat women. I don’t know if that was intentional, but my hat’s off to Matt Fraction on that touch. Moonstone 's involvement was so short it was almost laughable. Dani Moonstar ’s power revival and fight with the war god Ares, while incredibly well drawn, felt slighted by the time it was given. A battle between such amazing forces, that by all rights should of lasted hours, felt closer to thirty minutes. It was more like watching a highlight reel of a soccer match or baseball game. Rather then the sensation of actually being there watching. If there was ever a fight that I would of loved to of seen get some manga-like attention. It would have been these.

Out of everything, it was the aftermath that felt silly. All this massive fighting and no one was shown even bed ridden once the dust settled. Scott, who had done little else but get pounded upon, by a psychopath in a suit of armor, only seemed to suffer some cuts, torn clothes, and had a little bandage on his head. All over the X-Men seemed relatively unharmed. Osborn’s Dark X-Men and Dark Avengers were even more bizarre for a team that lost. Moonstone had her arm in a sling for some reason. Somehow despite multiple goring by Wolverine, Weapon Omega only seemed to have his hood damaged. Wolverine has never struck me as the kind of man who lets someone get away without losing a toe at the least. Especially, when there is a personal aspect to a fight. Dark Beast, though well outnumbered, didn’t even seem to suffer so much as a scuffed shirt. Though what was the oddest touch I noticed, of all the people to still show fresh injuries. Daken clearly was showing cuts. If anyone should have been healed completely by the time of a press conference, it’s him. There is some irony that the only member of the X-Men or Dark Avengers that seems to suffer any long term effect from this battle is Emma Frost, the one who wasn’t even involved in the physical fighting.

This being said. One Piece is pretty infamous for people surviving ridiculous amounts of bodily damage. Don’t think I’m just picking on US comics alone for breaking the laws of continuity. The One Piece character Pell, from the Alabasta arc, flies a bomb, intended to level an entire city, into the sky. He is point blank when it finally goes off and easily presumed dead. It was a moving moment where he seemingly sacrifices himself to save thousands and the princess, Vivi , he has watched grow up from childhood. (I highly recommend you at least look up the scene on you tube if you ever get the chance.) At the end of the arc he is shown to of somehow survived. Also at times, Zoro  (who I see as the Wolverine of One Piece) suffers such damage in a fight it effects his performance considerably for many arcs to come. So far, any character deaths that have happened in One Piece have been in flash backs. The creator, Eiichiro Oda, has said that he feels it is more important for the villains’ wicked dreams to die rather then having the heroes actually take a life. Which is fitting when you consider the over riding theme of One Piece is about dreams. Each character has their own dream. Luffy to be King of the Pirates, and Nami to draw a map of the world.

When it comes right down to it. There is a question I want to ask you. Mind you ahead of time. No one has ever even seriously considered this. It's not a rumor I heard. It’s just an idea I had running through my head. If it meant that you could have your comics in full color, not to mention having equal parts action and story; do you think you could have the patience to see US comics be published like weekly Japanese manga? Mangas have a distinct advantage being published weekly. If a reader doesn’t like a particular section. They normally only have to wait for the following week to see what happened next, rather then the monthly time line we have. I think that US comic creators have the skill to do it. They just lack the time needed.

A single issue of the manga magazine, Shonen Jump, has several different manga series between the covers; from Bleach, One Piece, Naruto, and many more. Imagine all the X-Men titles being published in a single weekly magazine, with sixteen to eighteen pages of story dedicated to each series; New Mutants, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine , etc. When you consider how many pages that are in a month’s issue of your average comic. You could easily have about two normal sized comics (25-30 pages) within a single month. It may feel slow going at times, but the action we all enjoy out of these comics would increase ten fold in both length and detail. You would get to see the high and lows of a fight. Watch our heroes struggle against a powerful villain and turn the tide with one last attack. It could also seem faster if we had new issues each week, missing only during national holidays. There would be little concern about missing an issue during crossovers. Say you don’t want to read the other books. You would only have to wait two to three months and get the volume collection that would contain twelve weeks of the chapters per volume.

Overall, I feel the format given to US artists can be too constraining. Major story events are created one after the next and each writer is pretty well forced to fit their story within a small handful of months. Rather then writing an organic story that progresses naturally and has a satisfying climax (no puns, please). We more often get what I talked about earlier. More action with less story development, or long drawn out story with a flat or rushed conclusion. 
 

These are my thoughts on the issue. Do you think you have the patience to read a story arc that could last two years if all it meant was having slightly shortened chapters, but you also get more dramatic action and fighting with your story? Do you think the larger audience could handle this as well?

Thank you for reading.