A review by kthedestroyer
One Piece, Vol. 102: The Pivotal Clash by Eiichiro Oda

adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

There will be SPOILERS for this volume in the review!

Guys... this is the last volume that is entirely animated at this point in time. I officially caught up with anime-watchers... and now I'm actually kinda nervous because there is something that might happen in the next 3 chapters and I don't want that to happen. 

Anyway, let's talk about what happened here, shall we? 

The stars of this volume are definitely Zoro and Sanji. My boys are fighting King and Queen and it's just really good. I didn't think I would get this here, in the middle of the battle, but I feel like both of them got some character growth because of it. We have Zoro's self-reflection and a part of his backstory and I love how we are paying respect to his swords through it. And then we have Sanji whose body literally changes into a germa body and he is scared that he will lose his humanity so he asks Zoro to kill him if becomes a monster. But then he throws away his germa suit and protects that woman and it's just so good. Also Zoro's reaction to Sanji sticking a transponder snail to him in case he was about to die is hilarious. 

We also have Kid and Law who are very entertaining. Especially Law who (again) complains that people are giving him orders. Comedy gold. I guess I should also mention Killer here who found a brilliant way to free Kid and defeat Hawkins. One of my favorite moments here for sure. 

Momo and Luffy also continue to have a great dynamic with Luffy calling Momo a coward and all. Oh and Rob Lucci shows up again. I literally predicted that he would be under that mask one panel before they revealed him (I just saw the hair and it reminded me of him I guess). 

Another great volume leading up to the climax of this battle. Wano arc is coming to a conclusion and I can't wait to see what happens next.