Pirates are cool

And badass.

We all know it- ever since Pirates of the Caribbean pirates have been more awesome, when they used to be a bit childish, weird and funny. (Think Captain Pugwash). One Piece is actually rated as one of the best mangas in the West, but I put off reading it.

Why? Well for one thing, the artwork looks pretty childish, and from the few covers/characters I'd seen, I didn't really get it. The main character looks like -lets face it- a fisherman. And the cover shows them on a boat so... it's a manga about fishing?

Actually, I started reading it cause I accidentally saw a video on youtube, and figured I'd give it a go...

I've not stopped reading it except to write this and go to a lecture.

I slept... but only for an hour.

One Piece follows the journey of Monkey D. Luffy (the kid in the vest and... ugh- fluffy shorts), a kid who has grown up idolizing the pirate who gave him his straw hat when he was small. He leaves his village, on his own, without any navigational skills, telling everyone he'll become the greatest pirate in history.

This manga, strangely enough, doesn't glorify pirates. Luffy is a naive and cheerful kid who doesn't know anything beyond his own village. The first recruit he picks up is a pirate hunter, who he rescues from the Marines. Wherever he goes he hears about how awful pirates are, but persists- with the goal of travelling the most dangerous ocean in the world and discovering the legendary treasure, One Piece.

Despite my initial concerns, the artwork is actually wonderfully endearing. Luffy's an odd kid, there's no question, but Zoro the pirate hunter and Nami the navigator (who he finds when she tries to steal their ship) are pretty cool. The way Zoro is drawn reminds me of Bleach, which is arguably one of the best-drawn Shonen mangas out there, and the backgrounds are pretty incredible.

The mini-plots in the series are pretty cute- Luffy actually wins me over with his adorableness, and complete confidence in his abilities. The general plot covers the importance of friendship and teamwork-

At one point, the crew are fighting another pirate crew, who has taken the others hostage, and Luffy tells them that he can't fight with swords like Zoro, and he can't navigate like Nami, he can't cook like Sanji (the chef) and he can't lie like Usopp (one of the later crew members), which is the reason they work together.

And yeah, its a pirate story, and it's pretty awesome.

Oh, did I forget to mention what Luffy can do? He ate a devil's fruit given to him by the pirate he idolized and it super stretchy. LOL. Through it's pretty damn handy since it means bullets and crushing doesn't hurt him, and he's pretty awesome in a fight... but he can't swim. Oops.

Well we wish him the best of luck on his voyage... around the world... by sea. O_o

Don't die, Luffy!