One Piece Vol. 74by Patti MartinsonReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 Continuing their adventures in the island nation of Dressrosa in the New World, the Straw Hat gang are split up in their mission to help the citizens of Dressrosa, who are condemned to be turned into toys and work as slaves for the tyrant Doflamingo. Usopp leads a contingent of toys on their mission to take down Sugar, an officer in Doflamingo's army who alone can turn the toys back into humans. Luffy and other Straw Hat crew disguise themselves to sneak into the palace to attack Doflamingo directly.Despite two major arcs in this volume involving the Straw Hat crew, Luffy and Usopp feel like they are little more than bit players in the overall plot. And I could barely spot any of the other Straw Hat Crew members. The toy citizens of Dressrosa dominate the story, as do the fighters in an arena-type battle put on by Doflamingo for possession of the Flame-Flame fruit. While both were actually interesting plots, I had the same problem as I've had with all other of the One Piece volumes, the absolutely indecipherable rendering of action. I can never tell who is doing what to whom and with what weapon. The confusing artwork during action sequences, is always the one element of the One Piece series that loses me. At least we got some nice characterization of Usopp. He has the devotion of the toys, who believe him to be an extremely courageous hero who will save them, when in reality Usopp would rather run than fight. Outside of that, the only other character to get any focus is one of the toy citizens, who functions as exposition, describing the layout of the palace, the history and the makeup of Doflamingo's army. This volume feels mostly like a setup for a bigger and hopefully better denoument in future volumes. I had the same issues with the art as I do with earlier ones, so at least it is consistent that way. Written: April 11, 2015
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