Chaos is as understatement, and as always Oda is the master sorcerer behind it in the world that he has created. Focusing solely on the protagonists Law and Kid. Something that has always confounded me is to why Oda tends to bring back characters from past arcs that are usually no more than an annoyance. Alvida & Buggy instantly come to mind, but when they returned later on in the series they were written deeper and went through alterations that made them more interesting from Alvida hitting Weight Watchers, to Buggy eventually joining the side of the protagonists.
Big Mom has posed an issue since her return from the Germa arc. Oda has a penchant for making Luffy’s foes not particularly likable, but when they end up on the other side of the fence, somehow their redemption arcs turn them into instant fan favorites – just ask Jimbei. So when Big Mom came back on the scene earlier in the Wano arc dealing with a bout of amnesia, it wasn’t hard for readers to start producing enough ideas that could cover fanfic forums the world wide web over filled with the possibilities of what could happen with her face turn affecting the journey of Luffy and his crew.
Oda pulled the plug on that real quick once Big Mom broke out of prison, and of course now that she has been back to portraying the heel and supporting the cause of Oden against the Straw Hats, she has sunken back into a role that readers hate to love. So the insertion of “Top Billing” fills readers heads with the hope that karma exists in the One Piece universe and that Big Mom will finally get hers at the hands of Law and Kid. The battle is fast paced atop Onigashima and is filled with Kid and Law mounting a full on offense to put an end to Big Mom once and for all. It’s a lot of signature moves being pulled out for splash pages and guns being drawn as big as panel. Onomatopoeia’s reign supreme as buildings topple and crater’s are created when the dust settles from the protagonists large energy based attacks through the use of their weapons.
“Top Billing” is the more expressive parts of Shonen manga : not necessarily asking readers to pay attention to detail, but to the spectacle of the characters constantly trying to outdo each other with their fantastical moves, and maybe the promise of providing readers with a glimpse of something out these character’s move sets that they have never seen before. When a Shonen reader gets into books like One Piece the joy of these characters evolutions once they are accomplished on a specific page provide one of those “where were you at” moments that not many forms of modern entertainment can boast. Just as the dialogue heavy parts of the arc facilitate growth to the next big battle, the violence only gives way to the characters becoming something more than they had been before, and the readers end up vicariously with the same reward. That’s the promise that a loud , violent issue like “Top Billing” has promised for One Piece fanatics once the smoke settles, and one promised that an artist with Oda’s reputation can be counted on to deliver.
Score : 4/5
by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone, available in English from Viz Media.
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