One Piece, Vol. 42

This is it. The Straw Hats have taken the fight to CP9, and it is *on*. This ultra-long saga that first got in motion with One Piece, Vol. 34 is finally reaching the climax, and it's time to see if friendship and loyalty can stand up to the government's top assassin squad. Of course it has to - what kind of a story would One Piece be otherwise? One-on-one "honor duels" are a hallmark of the shonen manga genre, and Oda plays out the trope masterfully here. The last time we saw all the good guys and bad guys matched up so neatly was back in Alabasta, and in a neat visual callback to that story arc the cover of this volume is a mirror of One Piece, Vol. 43, just as Baroque Works faced off against the Straw Hats on the covers of One Piece, Volume 21: Utopia and One Piece, Vol. 22: Hope!!. Another trick Oda brings back is the switching of opponents during the fight. Not all of the matches go as planned, and there's some partner-swapping until the playing field is evened out. It works, but only so far. I like the unpredictability of seeing the characters crash into other fights, especially one instance when Kaku's new devil fruit power is inadvertently revealed to readers for the first time. Where the trick fails is that when all is said and done by the next volume's end, the Straw Hats are paired with their most predictable counterparts. It's a bit of a groaner when you notice it, and having Nami fight the lone female CP9 agent almost feels a bit sexist. That said, there's definitely moments that are jaw-dropping - hands down this volume's highlight is the Chopper vs Kumadori fight, which takes a very unexpected turn. If you've been waiting for payback against CP9, it all starts right here.