One Piece Vol. 57: Paramount War
- ISBN
- 9781421538518
- Publisher
- VIZ Media
- English release
- Pages
- 208
- Chapters
- 552–562
- Anime
- Season 14: Marineford ep. 457–516
Chapters 552 to 562, eleven of them, and none of this book stands on its own. The war at Marineford begins in the volume before it and is not settled for two volumes after it, so a reader who buys this one alone gets a battle already running at chapter 552 and still running at 562. Season 14 covers the whole stretch and no anime boundary falls near it. What is in it is Whitebeard arriving with his fleet, Akainu named in the title of chapter 554, Luffy set against Mihawk in chapter 561, and a worldwide telecast of the execution that the navy cuts off once the fighting turns. Buy it with Vols. 56, 58 and 59, or do not buy it.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
The fighting runs from chapter 551 to chapter 580, which the English edition titles 'The War's Conclusion', so this volume is the first full book of one battle. The navy's plan is containment rather than victory: box the pirates in, cut the telecast, kill them out of sight. Whitebeard's crew makes no headway until the Impel Down escapees arrive, which is the payoff for the three volumes of prison the series has just run. Chapter 553 gives the book its English title and is the point at which the war is named rather than described; the scale of it has to be taken on the navy's word until Vol. 58 delivers it. If the arc has a weak book, it is this one: eleven chapters of position with the outcome withheld. Read inside the run from Vol. 56 to Vol. 60, that patience is the arc working as designed.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links on this page are affiliate links, which cost you nothing extra. They never influence what appears on this site or what the commentary says about it.