Tag: One Piece

REPOST: The Speakeasy One Piece Podcast

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A special repost for the Manga Moveable Feast on One Piece. Finally, it is getting the love it deserves!

Drink #003: Coconut Monkey, Can you feel the One Piece love?

I will mercifully refrain from singing modified lyrics to one of Elton John’s contributions to the Lion King soundtrack and merely ask in written form why is there not as much love for One Piece in the U.S. (and most of the English-speaking fandom) as there is in Japan. How does the number one shonen franchise in Japan become a third tier property here? We will be looking at One Piece’s popularity in Japan, why it is so good, and what we think is holding it back. Let go on a voyage to find the answers to . . . One Piece!

(Listen) (Show Notes)

One Piece: Nakama are Stronger than Justice

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When I think of One Piece, the first thing that comes to mind is the humor. It’s what stands out to me when comparing it to many of the other popular shonen fighting titles. But it does a lot of things right in its pages, and sometimes far beyond the scope than you expect. In this case we are looking at that gray zone of right and wrong and even beyond into the idea of doing the “right” thing vs. feeling like it is the right thing.

One Piece is undeniably a kids manga with the standard Shonen Jump editorial themes of  friendship, effort, and victory. Every arc has the righteous Straw Hat pirates defeating clearly wicked villains through a combination of never say die spirit and teamwork. But to simply view it as a flat children’s story would be doing the manga a disservice as well. There are some deeper undercurrents of gray morality and the examination of righteousness. I’m not going to argue that One Piece is a deep philosophically gray masterwork that is a seinen manga masquerading as a shonen manga but I will argue there are deeper themes than one might at first realize.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #103

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hisuiconSince it seems that no one is interested in licensing Michiko to Hatchin I decided to finally check it out especially after Sean Ryan mentioned it would have made a great addition to the fallen fans guide. It is a road trip movie in which the journey is far more important than the destination. In fact if anything my major complaint about the series is that the destination seems extremely anti-climatic after everything than comes before it. I feel in many ways this was hinted that it was going to be like this but it did not make it any less disappointing. That said they journey before then is filled with some grim parables, touching vignettes, and great action scenes. We see Michiko and Hatchin grow from interacting with each other and fundamentally shift how they look at the world. It is a touching and compelling journey that should be watched for the experiences you get along the way more than the prize at the end. The audience in a way experience exactly what the characters in the show do for better and for worse. But overall I think you will be glad you went on the trip.

There was no down time for Ichigo as Yumeiro Patissiere Professional started just a week or so after the original Yumeiro Patissiere finished its TV run. This is a couple of years in the future as Ichigo returns to Japan from studying abroad in France. We know very little about her time there beyond her learning more skills, but not losing her charming naiveté, and that something happened between her and Kashino. Things at the end of the first season were a little over the top in Henri’s plans but things just get crazier with this new series. Henri now seems to be some sort of eccentric, semi-diabolical pastry chef that pits the students in a competition of opening their own pastry shop in this playland of sweets he has created. After 4 episodes I can firmly say it is still plenty amusing and cute. So far we have seen the dispersion of Team Ichigo with the exception of Kashino, and the return of Lemon plus the new addition of incredible caricature, American Johnny. The competition is also a lot different from what was seen in the original as this goes into business and customers as well as creating that perfect dessert. As this series is slated to be much shorter than the original I’m curious where it will end up.

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