The crew is drawn into a deadly survival game… will they be able to make it out alive?
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Eiichiro Oda
Translation: JN Productions
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
What They Say
Luffy and the crew are on the move to find the hidden gold in Upper Yard but end up getting caught in the middle of a war between Eneru, who controls Upper Yard, and the Shandia, who seek the return of their homeland. Can the Straw Hats find the gold and figure out an escape route before their three hours are up?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As things open, the Shandians are preparing for a grand war to reclaim their land, while Kami Eneru laughs at the prospect of the start of a deadly “Survival Game” and mobilizes his troops, grimly claiming in three hours time only five of the original 81 participants will be left standing. Wyper, the leader of the Shandians, soon runs into Shura, one of the Kami’s vessels. Shura claims to have trapped the tribe with his “challenge,” but Wyper manages to pull off a win with a dangerous reject dial that leaves him severely injured.
The Sky Knight Ganfor then explains to the part of the crew remaining on the ship that dials can be used as weapons as well, such as dials that absorb impact and throw it back at the opponent, helping to explain some of the incredibly powerful blows from earlier in the arc.
The heavenly warriors under Kami Eneru enter the fray, and Luffy even manages to take a few down while wandering around. However, Luffy then runs into Wyper, and the two are drawn into a fierce battle. Kami Eneru then arrives on the ship and quickly takes out both Sanji and Usopp before delivering the message that he too is after the ruins of El Dorado. Luffy’s battle is then cut short as he falls through the ground and winds up in a mysterious underground area.
As the volume wraps up, a number of battles occur, including Nami and Ganfor versus the siblings of Satori, Chopper versus Gedatsu (one of Eneru’s vassals), Robin versus Yama (leader of the heavenly warriors), and Kami Eneru versus Kamakiri (one of the Shandians).
In Summary:
Things certainly flare up in this volume as several fights erupt and we begin to see the methods behind the villains’ mysterious powers. However, Kami Eneru becomes even more of an enigma in this volume, as even a spear through the head doesn’t seem to faze him, but that just makes the prospect of a real fight with him all the more exciting. Hopefully, the next few volumes will be able to keep up the frantic pace shown here, as this arc has been a great amount of fun and still has a good bit of potential left.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: January 5th, 2010
MSRP: $9.99
