The Story of How I Ended Up Buying the Entire "ONE PIECE" Series After Hearing a Lawyer's Argument

*Please note that the following article was originally published on August 10, 2019, by a media outlet called Manga Newspaper in Japan (now closed). It has been reposted on the author's personal website with permission from the media outlet."


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I have difficulty with "ONE PIECE".

Seeing Chopper appear and speak in a sniveling, blubbering manner made me think, "Ah, this isn't for me," and I stopped reading around that point.

There are occasionally works that I stop reading midway, but for this one, various reasons have compounded, making me resist picking it up again.

Why is that?

Even among those who like manga, there are those who say, "I haven't read ONE PIECE," so I lived without worrying about it.

Then, it happened.

In a certain Messenger group, I received this message from my friend, the lawyer Takashi Onoda.

"Let me talk about the significance of reading ONE PIECE in 'Jump' next time, not just the book of lectures."

It has come.

My arch-nemesis, ONE PIECE.

This is going to be a problem.

And it sounded like he had a deep dig on "the significance of reading" too.

However, something in me as a manga fan must have been touched because I quickly responded with the following message.

"Ugh, of all the topics, a discussion on my least favorite ONE PIECE. I had just had an intense debate about ONE PIECE with *** the other day."

It's like a gunman vs. gunman.

No, it's Manga Man vs. Manga Man.

Then, Onoda the lawyer came back with this.

"I think Mr. Oda is working in a different dimension from the conversation between you two. Anyway, I've been wanting to have a solid manga discussion with you, Kawaguchi-san. Let's go for a drink next time."

"Different dimension," here it comes!

It's like saying, "Masato-kun, let's have a match and get Japan excited."

No, that's not it.

But sensing the atmosphere of Onoda the lawyer, who seemed to say, "Let's have a fiery debate on manga," I realized I needed to know why I had become averse to ONE PIECE.

So, I consulted with Akkun Okada, a familiar reviewer at the Manga Newspaper's regular meetings.

After a couple of talks about where I had stopped reading and what I thought about ONE PIECE, Akkun uttered valuable words.

"ONE PIECE is a bit like a mild Yankee. People who like the real thing might find it hard to like."

That's it.

Mild pirates.

The pirates I like are from "COBRA".


With his Psycho Gun, he blasts through the bellies of enemies in rapid succession (for some reason, there seems to be a lot of aiming for the belly), rescues women with bold tattoos on their backs, and It's not uncommon to beat an opponent to death with fists alone.
Perhaps my admiration for wild pirates since my childhood made ONE PIECE seem too gentle to me.

And there was another thing.

There was a character whose figure I've been attracted to in arcade UFO catchers for a long time, despite not knowing anything about their story or character setting.

It was Boa Hancock.

To those involved in marketing manga:

Please be aware that there are cases where people who have not even read the work can completely remember character names from UFO catcher figures.

When I mentioned this to Akkun, he responded:

"Ah, if you like Boa, you'll definitely start to like it once you get to her part in the story."

I see.

Furthermore, through this valuable sparring with Akkun, I understood the image I had a problem with.

It's that image where characters stand side by side with their backs turned, raising one hand.

Despite never actually having read the scene, I harbored an aversion to it based solely on the impression it left on me.

Now, the preparations for my match with attorney Onoda were ready.

To sum it up:

- I have difficulty with the concept of mild pirates.
- I'm not fond of the scene where characters stand in line, raising a hand (as well as images of people imitating that pose).
- I'm curious about Boa Hancock.
- I love the anime's theme song ("We Are!").

The time for the showdown has come.

The venue is a yakisoba restaurant in Hongo.

With two arbiters present (though they were arbitrarily appointed, apologies for that).

I was the first to speak up.

"Mr. Onoda, I've come today to talk about ONE PIECE. If I'm convinced, I'll buy the entire series."

At that moment, attorney Onoda smiled.

"You said it. Alright then!"

Ding!

The bell wasn't actually ringing, but the gong in my heart was struck.

Fight!

First, I listed the points of resistance I had discovered during our sparring session.

When I mentioned my dislike for "the scene where characters stand with their backs, raising a hand," something clicked, and attorney Onoda's expression changed.

"Why does Kawaguchi-san dislike that? It's certainly a sign of camaraderie, but the companions in ONE PIECE aren't just about being cozy and close."

"Cozy and close."

He saw right through me in one go.


I have a tough time with the overly sticky, loose "buddy-buddy" relationships.

"The companions in ONE PIECE," explained Mr. Onoda, the attorney, "are not about coddling or cozying up to each other. Instead, they are characters with different methodologies and life purposes who utterly believe in fulfilling their roles within their own realms. And amidst that relationship, there is a character named Nico Robin..."

The explanation that followed was lengthy.

Very lengthy.

Beginning with the Alabasta arc featuring the character Nico Robin, the story carefully explains how a group of disparate individuals came to be united under a single will and became the way they are.

It wasn't the "buddy-buddy" I had imagined at all. Instead, they were "bala-bala" (Meaning of 'disparate').

That was the first realization.

Within this discussion, Mr. Onoda elaborated on Nico Robin's role, summarizing, "A social outcast everywhere for false accusations, she had no sense of belonging. Yet, the protagonist continually invites her to join the crew without a shred of doubt."

That struck a chord with me. Having experience with job changes and being a mid-career entrant, I was oddly drawn to the setting of someone who can't believe in their own place yet is surrounded by those who try to create it for her.

A quick search on my smartphone yielded numerous images of Nico Robin cosplayers with their midriffs exposed.

This character is indeed loved by many.

Mr. Onoda also painstakingly explained a poignant line by Nico Robin, "I want to live!"

Yet, even understanding that the "buddy-buddy" aspect was not there and grasping Nico Robin's humanity didn't make me think, "Alright, I'll buy the whole series now."

But in hindsight, it might have been Mr. Onoda's clever technique to "let down my guard."

Then, Mr. Onoda launched his offensive.

"You should read ONE PIECE as serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Do you know why?"

Uh-oh. Terrifying.

But I wanted to know.

My chin may have already been vacantly flickering at this time.

I surged forward, along with my 'Stand' (quote: JoJo)".

"First off," he began, "the world of ONE PIECE is based on the premise that there is a history hidden by the central authority called the World Government before the current history. That is, a prehistory concealed by the victors of history. ONE PIECE is also a story about deciphering the relics engraved with that prehistory. These relics are called Poneglyphs, which are, well, kind of like out-of-place artifacts."

There it was!

Out-of-place artifacts!

An irresistible concept for fans of mysteries.

"And the only scholar who can read these Poneglyphs is Nico Robin. The reason why is told in the episode where she grew up on the island of Ohara. The library in Ohara housed scholars who secretly researched the world's prehistory, storing a vast collection of documents. However, when Ohara was subjected to a government-ordered burning, Robin was the only survivor. Consequently, she became the only scholar capable of interpreting the Poneglyphs. Around the time that episode was serialized, I heard a news report while in the car. The report went something like this: "The extensive collection of Ainu oral tradition collected by Professor Kyosuke Kindaichi and Shigeru Kayano, stored at Hokkaido University, has become largely unreadable with the recent passing of Mr. Kayano." It gave me chills. The situation was much like Ohara's episode: only one person could decipher the records of Japan's prehistory. It may be entirely coincidental, and I haven't seen any reviews pointing this out, so this is just my own speculation, but I personally think Mr. Oda wrote it intentionally, at least aware of the misfortunes of the scholars who engaged in researching Japan's prehistory.

Wow, seriously?

I never imagined such an interpretation from that opening song.

Good grief.

"Furthermore, from the Punk Hazard arc, through the Dressrosa arc, and now the Wano Country arc, the story ingeniously interweaves metaphors for various philosophies surrounding nuclear accidents and the current government. It's not just a dig at the runaway of power or the control of speech, but also depicts the collision of justices from different perspectives, the neglect or turmoil of individuals within organizations."

Regime.

Control of speech.

This is what follows the phrases we see in international and political news.

"What's important is that all this is being accomplished in Weekly Shonen Jump, the epitome of mainstream shonen manga. Those who read can understand that Mr. Oda, each time, weaves the current state of the world and Japan, or rather, the zeitgeist, into ONE PIECE. There are many manga artists who feel like they're fighting through their manga, and I definitely believe Mr. Oda is one of them. That's why there is significance in reading ONE PIECE timely in its weekly serialization."

Uppercut (Sagat's voice).

Ooooh (Ryu's voice).

KO.

Mr. Onoda kept saying "Furthermore..." but by then, my phone was already displaying the purchase page for 92 volumes of ONE PIECE.

Click to buy.

I wanted to catch up with the series quickly, wanted to decipher it, was curious about Boa Hancock, and I had already pressed 'buy'.

The image was that of Mr. Onoda and Boa Hancock pushing from behind my back on each shoulder.

As attorney Onoda continued to speak passionately, oblivious to the yakisoba, I showed him the purchase page...

"Really?! Yes!"

From there, the food and drinks flowed, and the evening became a delightful feast. I even ended up pressing 'buy' for other comic series after hearing Mr. Onoda's arguments.

Truly, I was in awe of Mr. Onoda's words and soul.

For those involved in the manga market, I want to convey what I've learned from my own experience:

- What you dislike and what you like may be closer than you think.
- UFO catcher figures can leave quite an imprint.
- It might be wise to entrust PR activities to Mr. Onoda, the attorney.
- Information on what misconceptions people have from any particular frame is valuable.

This summer, I plan to immerse myself in ONE PIECE and catch up to the latest issues and the Jump serialization.

Thank you for reading this far.