The best thing about One Piece volume 72 is that you can read the entire C block fight in one volume. Our hero Monkey D. Lucy has entered a battle royale to win his late brother's Flame-Flame devil fruit as the prize. With an eclectic collection of fighters participating, Lucy is going to have some insane competition if he's going to win that prize. Will he win? And more importantly, will he blow his cover? There're a number of characters involved that are interested in “Straw Hat” and their motives for wanting to see him are surprising. And get ready for one of the most entertaining tournaments you'll ever read in an SJ manga or anywhere else! 

As if the fights in the coliseum aren't crazy enough, the Thousand Sunny has been infiltrated by the Doflamingo henchwoman and abstract art lover Giolla.  Will Nami, Brook, Chopper and Momonosuke get out of their situation alive and symmetrical or will their plans (and ship) be sunk? Meanwhile, Doflamingo, Law, and the new admiral Fujitora face off in Green Bit, and the tin soldier who was outside of the coliseum teams up with Franky and tells him the secret of Dressrosa's toy population.

The kingdom has its share of sinister shadows, but also lurking beneath the shadows is a race of dwarves named the Tontatta who believe Usopp to be a legendary hero! They want his help to free their enslaved brothers and sisters from the SMILE factory, but is the almighty “Usoland” up to the task?

As always, Oda-sensei is impressive when it comes to the artwork. There's a lot of creative character design with the fighters, and while a lot of these fighters are larger than life, it's common knowledge in One Piece that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Lucy can hold his own against some of the strangest martial artists and devil fruit users and that's always entertaining to see. Unlike other manga tournament arcs, the fights are set up into battle royales so there's a lot of action going on in every page. Also, I thought the abstract Straw Hats on the boat were silly and the “Kon Air” foxes were cute.

One Piece volume 72 is available in print and digital at your local bookstore and on viz.com.

by ray n. (@themistern)