One Piece Volume 7 Review
A Brief Review of Volume 7 of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece
All of the fighting at the Baratie continues! The battle continues to rage and Sanji becomes more involved, stepping up to the plate as the champion of the crew, fighting tirelessly alongside Luffy to keep the Baratie restaurant from being claimed by the marauding pirates led by Don Krieg. Sanji’s past and reason for his endless devotion to the head chef, Zeff, is also revealed.
After the relentless action of the prior volume, flashbacks are used to provide a much needed respite from the ceaseless combat, allowing the reader to get some much needed character development. As is Oda’s habit, he has given Sanji a tragic past that shaped the man that he became. His origin story was brief but memorable. We learned why he has a cold demeanor but a heart of gold, and it is due to an unforgettable kindness that Zeff gave him year prior. I was beginning to grow bored with all of the fighting and this flashback renewed my interesting in the battle because I became more attached to Zeff and Sanji. Before their origin was revealed, I didn’t find either of them to be likeable and I wasn’t as invested in their problems as I was Usopp’s in volumes three, four, and five.
As much as I enjoyed Sanji’s origin and found new interest in the battle, I still wanted it to end. My biggest criticism of One Piece continues to be the pacing and it’s at its worst here. The Baratie just is not that interesting of a location and it’s crew is boring. Don Krieg doesn’t have the same appeal as the other villains and is very forgettable. We got what we needed to out of this story a long time ago. It should have concluded by the end of this volume. Unfortunately it doesn’t and will be continued in the next volume.
