What's the Appeal of ONE PIECE #643?

Back when I was following the “Punk Hazard” arc, week to week, for a
year, I figured the appeal of ONE PIECE could be summed up, in its most basic
terms, as a weekly opportunity to hang out with the Straw Hats for 20 minutes.
What came before a given episode, and what came after it, didn’t matter, so
much. Certainly not as much as it would for a finite series.

To prove this point, I figured I’d just drop back in after sitting out for dozens of episodes… and, look at that, I’m pretty much
right.

== TEASER ==

The Straw Hats are on another island. They still haven’t defeated Don
Flamingo. I don’t know the specifics of why a beaten and bruised Caesar Clown’s
continuing to be in the picture, but I don’t really need to. Hell, there’s nothing
about the predicaments Luffy, Usopp and Sanji’s are in which I can’t guess.

Usopp’s been telling some tall tales, and a society of cute Lilliputians
have mistaken him for some legendary hero. Luffy’s been mistaken for ‘Lucy’ by the
announcer of a pseudo-Roman gladiatorial arena, and now he’s got to do battle
with a mega-bull like some elastic matador. And Sanji’s found himself playing
white knight to yet another beautiful lass who isn’t likely to return his
affections. That all sounds about right.

And you know what? That’s all perfect. Popping in like this brought a
smile to my face, because I didn’t have to deal with weeks and weeks of… * AHEM
*… deliberate pacing to get to this point. I don’t plan to stay on board with
the Straw Hats for the rest of this voyage, but it was wonderful to visit with
them. Again, the most appeal is why this show’s #1, I reckon.

Watch "Shaking Heaven and Earth - -
Admiral Fujitora’s Power" and
decide for yourself.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk