[LiranShoham]

First of all a little clarification, the “book” in question is a comic book. But it is not the comic book you are used to, this one is in the Japanese style of comics, a Manga.

Now I first must say that the hero of the story is larger then life and on the same stature as Roark or Jean Valjean. That is not a compliment I give lightly but in light of the way the character is I think it is justified. Nothing can ultimately keep Luffy (the protagonist) down as long as he knows he is fighting for his values, and I mean nothing.

22 years before the story began the Gold Roger, the greatest pirate who ever lived, surrendered himself to be executed, as he was executed he revealed that he hid his treasure somewhere and it is all there, in One Piece. And so began the Golden Age of Pirates!

Enter Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy who defies the standard definition of a pirate. Rather than the popular persona of a wicked, hardened, toothless pirate who ransacks villages for fun, Luffy’s reason for being a pirate is one of pure wonder; the thought of an exciting adventure and meeting new and intriguing people, along with finding One Piece. Following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, Luffy and his crew travel across the Grand Line, experiencing crazy adventures, unveiling dark mysteries and battling strong enemies, all in order to reach One Piece.

Now the story’s merits are too numerous to mention all of them here. But the main theme of the story is the importance of autonomy and setting ones goals independently. Luffy never lets other people dictate his course, which is the reason he became a pirate.

Also there are competing view of justice in the story.

Absolute Justice is one where a Marine Admiral will kill a small child for being able to read ancient texts that the world government deems as having dangerous information i.e. Justice as based on authority.

Some would hold context and will let the same child escape unnoticed. The moral view of justice.

Other would hold the justice will always win, because who ever wins get to set what justice is. The subjective view of justice. Now the art style is quite cartoon-ish at times and more realistic at others. But the story is serious. People lose real values to real life problems such as tyranny, disease and war. And some characters heroically deal with it by finding meaning in their life while others detach themselves from moral values.

In short One Piece is a masterpiece of the comic medium and of the Romantic style. I can not recommend this thing enough

[EvanGraessle]

I think you’ve made some good points here, but I have trouble taking this story seriously. My number one problem with Luffy is that although he tends to be insightful and clever when it matters, episodes of stupidity are smuggled in at every opportunity, as is the current fashion in the genre. 

If the hero comes across as 10% clever, 90% ignoramus, it can be extremely detrimental to the reader’s experience, and in the case of One Piece, I just couldn’t get a sense of the psychological reality of the hero’s characterization. He’s unbelievable.

[LiranShoham]

Well, you make a good point when talking about Luffy’s comedic aspects. But keep in mind the nature of the comedy. The comedy is never directed at Luffy’s values, in fact comedy is never directed at anyone’s values. The jokes are directed at things that ultimately do not matter. In other times Luffy is the wisest person in the story (see Alabasta Arc).
Also as the story goes we learn that Luffy does indeed know about things. But he simply does not care, for him its all irrelevant except that which he can control. Which is incredibly benevolent.

Also his psychology is graspable. Fundamentally he is benevolent and trusting like a child. But he is not naive, never extending his trust to people who can betray him. Another aspect of him is his independence, no one can tell him what dreams to dream and what goals to pursue. Also he is brave and has heroic commitment to values, no enemy is too strong for him to face if his friends lives are on the line. Luffy is one of the most inspiring characters I know of. 

Ultiamtly the story is a comedy and the author is not afraid to take shots at anyone, in that sense the style is like Cyrano. Where there are laughs on the expense of Cyrano’s nose. But ultimately that does not matter, the hero is still heroic.

[Author]

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