Forum:Cafe Arc Reviews

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Review 1

 * Title: Another turn for the better
 * Wroter: YolkaEd
 * Rating: 9/10

Comments
Fresh off the disaster in Alabasta, the Straw-Hats encounter an old enemy turned friendly: Nico Robin, the Vice-President of Baroque Works. Right off the bat, she makes Luffy accept her in his crew. When I first read this, this didn't come off as a big surprise to me, as I had already stumbled far into the Enies Lobby anime, but if I had read it from the beginning without looking ahead, I'm certain that I would have been surprised beyond belief.

Oda has his way of mixing several new twists into his story. The introduction of the salvaging monkey Masira, the long haired orangutan Shoujou and their boss Montblanc Cricket. The sudden appearance of the monstrous silhouettes up in the sky was also a shocker for first-time readers. I mean, first a Shichibukai, now monsters? Well, it IS the Grand Line, so who am I to complain.

This arc also introduces one of the biggest douchebags in the entire OP universe: Bellamy the Hyena, who is under the extreme belief that dreaming pirates are going to be destroyed in a so-called "New Era", as is his crew. After his first encounter with Luffy, one just has this urge of dragging him out of your tankobon or TV-screen and slam his face in the ground. Oh, and did I mention that he only attacks those he believes to be weaker than him without even bothering with the bigger guns? DOUCHEBAG!

This arc helps present new information towards the reader, such as giving us a new look on what the hell Buggy the Clown's doing, while we are introduced to two new Shichibukai members: Donquixote Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma. We are also presented with the man Ace has been hunting: Blackbeard, who also has a D in his name, and hopes to claim Crocodile's position as his own.

All in all, the only negative thing about this arc is it's length, which is far too short. But, it does help fit in a lot of elements that will come in play later. Oh, and that douchebag got what he deserved from Luffy: A punch in the face. If only WE could do the same, then this arc would be perfect...