Tag Archives: Julie Lynn Hayes

Saturday is Horror Day #167 – The Elevator Game, The Toolbox Murders (1978)

Leave a reply

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Elevator Game


A young girl disappears after she attempts to play an internet game known as The Elevator Game.  Her brother vows to find her, refusing to give up, even if it appears that the police and his own parents have done just done. A group of high school graduates have an internet series that explores and debunks various urban myths and legends. But the series isn’t doing well, and the sponsor is breathing down their neck. They bring on an intern, Ryan (Gino Anania) but he doesn’t exactly receive a warm welcome, especially from the host of the series, Kris (Alex (Carlos).

The sponsor demands they upload something the next day, so Kevin (Liam Stewart-Kanigan) asks for ideas. Ryan suggests the Elevator Game, since it doesn’t require a budget, and the building where it originally took place is nearby. Kris is skeptical, but there are no better ideas, so off they go.

 

There is a set of rules that must be followed, after which they will supposedly see the “Fifth Floor Woman”. But if the rules are not followed exactly, she will tear you apart. So they enter the building and begin their quest to find this woman, and see the supposed Red World she comes from. But nothing happens, and half their footage is lost through a technicality, so they decide to call it a night. But the night is actually just beginning…

 

I thought this wasn’t a half-bad horror movie, and I thought it was worth watching. Granted, there is no explanation of the Red World, and the Fifth Floor Woman, but perhaps a sequel is in the works that will be more forthcoming. That being said, it’s far from perfect, although the actors did a good job. My biggest complain is that the actor playing Kris was too over the top, and not in a good way. And judging by what I saw of their web series, I would never watch it. But then again, it’s not real. I think you’ll enjoy it, for the most part. I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

The Toolbox Murders (1978)


Terror abounds in an apartment complex when a masked man with a toolbox murders women with his tools.

To put it bluntly, this was one terrible movie, which is why I didn’t even finish it, and it’s only an hour and a half long. Cameron Mitchell plays the apartment manager, who is not happy about the murders and is baffled at how someone is securing entrance. He played brother Buck on the High Chaparral.  Tim Donnelly plays a detective on the case. You might remember him as Chet from Emergency. Pamelyn Ferdin plays a teenage who is abducted, and her brother, played by Wesley Eure is more worried about her than their mother, played by Aneta Corsaut, who played Andy’ girlfriend Helen in the Andy Griffith Show. Pamelyn was a child actress with a number of credits.

That being said, the acting was horrible., for the most part, and the writing atrocious. Directing was bad. I realize this was the 70s and films weren’t quite as graphic as they are not, but even so, this as badly done and had horrible timing. The beginning of the film is just a gorefest. From what I read, the rest was a snooze fest. I happen to like Cameron Mitchell, so I’m sorry he felt he had to do this. If you want to see him in something scary, watch his episode of Night Gallery called Green Fingers, along with Elsa Lanchester.

My advice it to avoid this film entirely.

Book Review: Your Honest Deceit, Vol 1 by Sakufu Ajimine

Leave a reply

Your Honest Deceit, Vol 1   

Author: Sakufu Ajimine

Publisher: DramaQueen LLC

American release date: April 1, 2000

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

While a law student, Kuze crushed on guest lecturer Kitahara. But the man was married, so he saw no future and no reason to attempt anything. Fast forward seven years. Kuze ends up working in Kitahara’s law office. He can’t help but notice the wedding ring is gone. Dare he hope? Kuze grows jealous when a friend from college, Asso, barges in on Kitahara-sensei whenever he wants, even though Asso was the one who introduced Kuze to the office. Another former classmate, Kurosawa, also works at the office, and drops the bombshell that Kitahara is getting back together with his wife. Kuze is beyond crushed! When Kuze blurts out his feelings to Kitahara, the older man has a lot to think about. He invites Kuze to dinner. Is it possible he could feel the same way, even though he’s never been interested in men before?

They begin a relationship, but it has its ups and downs, its misunderstandings, which are exacerbated when someone from Kuze’s past shows up.  Can they be professional at work and steamy at home, or will people suspect they are together?

Yuu had a crush on Konno, who was a teacher when he was in high school. But only for a year. Now they live together, and Yuu still calls him sensei, which Konno finds strange. Konno makes sure Yuu adheres to a strict schedule, which he tolerates. But what he doesn’t like is Konno’s obsession with cute things, particularly the stuffed rabbit he cuddles when he sleeps!  Yuu wishes it were him, but he can’t seem to do anything to change that, no matter how hard he tries. He’s afraid Konno sees him only as another cute thing, and not for himself.  It’s Yuu’s twentieth birthday and he wants to celebrate with Konno, so he hurries to where he works, only to find him with another man.  Even though Konno leaves with him and not the other man, Yuu is unhappy and accidentally slips up and calls him by his first name -Toru.  Konno is delighted and finds Yuu utterly cute, as always. When a large stuffed rabbit arrives at the apartment, Yuu is dismayed to find it’s for Toru from an old classmate. Yuu follows Toru when he goes to have dinner with the man. Why a gay bar? What’s the story here, and does Yuu have anything to be worried about?

I  really love Kuze and Kitahara and I especially love that she didn’t draw Kuze to resemble a child, as too many yaoi artists do. I like May-December romances also, perhaps because my crushes have generally been on older men.  But after a while the jealousy storyline gets old, to be honest. I liked the second story  too, and I’m glad their romance didn ‘t begin while Yuu was still in high school.  Good first volume, look forward to the second.

 

 

Saturday is Horror Day #166 – The Pyramid

Leave a reply

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 The Pyramid


Holden (Denis O’Hare) and Nora (Ashley Hinshaw) are a father/daughter archaeological team who, through the use of technology, have located a previously undiscovered pyramid buried beneath the sand about 250 miles south of Cairo. They get together a team to explore this tomb, meticulously uncovering it. One of the members has borrowed a high tech robot he calls Shorty, from NASA, similar to something they used for the Mars Range Rover. As they open the tomb for the first time, a noxious green gas spews out, killing one man. To make matters worse, unrest in Cairo sees the government telling them to shut down and go home the next day.

The scientists are naturally perturbed and reluctant to leave. But they’d sent Shorty inside and aren’t willing to leave without him, especially as he isn’t theirs. So they decide to go behind the government’s back and enter the tomb anyway. Once inside, they take a page the playbook of Hansen and Gretel, except instead of dropping bread crumbs, they trail a wire, to find their way back. But life happens, the wire is broken, and they find themselves hopelessly lost inside the pyramid.

 

To make matters worse, they discover the pyramid is beset with traps… and possibly with strange creatures, and the members of the team begin to die, one by one. Survival depends for the rest on their ability to navigate out of the pyramid.

 

If you are interested in Egypt or Egyptology in any way, I would not recommend this film. I suspect the writers knew little about ancient Egypt  except what they found in the Cliff notes. I found myself shaking my head a lot. First off, the idea that there is an undiscovered tomb so much older than the others that it had time to be buried is ludicrous. Also, a close-up of the so-called pyramid seemed to not match what we saw later. Nothing was ever explained as to why the unrest in Cairo caused them to be told to leave. Maybe the filmmakers were leaving that for sequels. Luckily, I don’t think there will be any.

The acting wasn’t great, the writing was horrific, the story rather vapid. I found myself rooting for the creatures, to be honest.  The best thing I can say is it’s only an hour and a half. If you are brave enough or forge to turn off the credits and let them run, there is additional footage at the end of those. If you don’t see it, you haven’t missed anything. I like Denis O’Hare, who you might remember from American Horror Story, but even he can’t save this. I’ll give this film 1.5 Stars. I’ve seen worse, but that’s not a flex.

Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 16 by Yusei Matsui

Leave a reply

Assassination Classroom, Vol 16                                       

Author: Ysei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: June 6, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Once upon a time there was a very skilled assassin who went by the name of the Grim Reaper. But he was not always an assassin, so how did he become one? Born into a world of poverty and violence, he grew up the best that he could. The biggest lesson he learned was that “people die if they are killed”. And so he became an assassin. He was charming and intelligent… and deadly. After his thousandth kill, they began to call him the Grim Reaper.  He was invincible…

Until his unexpected betrayal and capture, which put him into the care and custody of a mad scientist, Chief Kotaro Yanigasawa. And then the experiments began. Yanigasawa was researching the use of antimatter as a substitute for fossil fuel or nuclear power. But his experimentation on animals was limited by their size and biology, which is why he found the Grim Reaper to be ideal for his purpose. Someone no one wouild ever miss or mourn the loss of.

Yanigasawa had an assistant, who was quirky but kind. She was assigned to keep an eye on the Reaper. Her name was Aguri Yukimura, and by day she taught at a junior high school. The Grim Reaper observed how poorly she was treated by the crazy doctor, and when he discovered what their relationship was, he was highly incensed. But there was little he could do about it. However, he was learning more and more about the changes that were taking place inside of him, and to his body, and the powers he was gaining. And so he bided his time.

The Grim Reaper and Aguri talked a great deal, about anything and everything, and she did her best to shield him, but when her fiancé saw what was happening, he retaliated, and the worst thing happened. Which was when Koro Sensei vowed to fulfill her dying wish, and demanded to teach the class she could no longer teach, and when the Fate of the world lay with him, even though it was not his fault or his choice.

Now that the students know the truth, can they still go through with their mission?

Even though I’ve read the manga before and watched the anime, this is one of the hardest volumes to read. Breaks my heart every time to witness what was done to Koro Sensei. How he turned from a handsome, charming man to what he became through no fault of his own. And yes, it made me cry. Can the students really save him? They say hope springs eternal in the human breast. Guess we’ll have to wait and see if hopes and dreams can come true.

Saturday is Horror Day #165 – Death Line (aka Raw Meat), All About Evil

Leave a reply

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Death Line (aka Raw Meat)

People have been going missing in the London tunnels. But it isn’t until Alex (David Ladd) and Patricia (Sharon Gurney) comes across a man in trouble who turns out to be a government official that the situation is taken seriously. They tell the authorities that a man is lying on the steps, maybe dying, but when the police return he is gone.

Inspector Calhourn (Donald Pleasance) is in charge of the case, although he spends more time questioning Alex, as though he’s guilty of something, than searching for anyone. However, he gets more than a little defensive when MI5 tries to step in, after the disappearance of James Manfred OBE (James Cossins), in the form of  Stratton-Villiers (Christopher Lee0. There is something odd in the tunnels, and it’s looking for trouble.

This film dates back to 1972. It has an unusual and interesting premise, but I didn’t realize what it was

until I read the synopsis.  That premise, though, does seem a little farfetched, although I’m not going to give it away. And although Christopher Lee is given top billing with Donald Pleasance, he only appears in one scene, so it’s actually more of a cameo. Still, watching Donald Pleasance act is always a treat. And if you like bodies and gore, then this is the film for you. Did I find it scary? Not really. I’ll give this film 2.5 Stars, mostly because of Pleasance and Lee.

All About Evil

As a little girl, Debbie Tennis (Mikayla Rosario) was close to her father Walter (Robin Calvert). He encouraged her acting and showcased her at his theater, The Victorian. But life does not always work out the way one wants. Years later, Deborah (Natasha Lyonne) works during the day as a librarian at the local library and by night at the failing theater, along with her projectionist Mr. Twigs (Jack Donner). Steven Thompson (Thomas Dekker) is a high school student who is fascinated with horror and is a devoted fan of the theater and of Deborah. He would love to work there someday, although his mother Linda (Cassandra Peterson) isn’t exactly thrilled with that idea.

Deborah grieves the recent loss of her father. One night, her mother Tammy (Julie Caitlin Brown), who

she is not close to, tries to coerce her into signing the papers that will sell the theater, which they are co-owners of. Deborah refuses, but her mother presses the issue until Deborah snaps and kills her.  Unfortunately, the theater’s cameras caught the whole thing. Even worse, while Mr. Twigs is running an errand, he’s late to return and Deborah, who just killed her mother, has to start the film. She doesn’t know what she is doing, and accidentally screens the footage of her killing her mother. The audience loves it. And so does Mr. Twigs, who catches it upon his return.

And now they have an idea of how to bring the theater back to life, as well as Deborah’s dying film career – snuff films! But no one realizes they are really killing the people in the film!

I actually found this a fun and interesting little film I never heard of before. I know I’ve seen Natasha Lyonne before, but she does play crazy well in this as she gets more and more involved with the killing of people for art’s sake, along with some rather willing accomplices.  She ends up making some short classics, such as The Maiming of the Shrew and The Scarlet Leper. Among the cast, look for Cassandra Peterson as Steven’s mother. In case you don’t know her, she is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but in this film, she looks nothing like that (Do look at the poster in Stephen’s room, though, it’s an actual poster of Elvira). I had fun watching this and I would watch it again. I’ll give this film 3.75 Stars. You can catch both of these films on Shudder, as of the date of this post.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 13: It’s All Right! by Eiichiro Oda

Leave a reply

One Piece, Vol 13: It’s All Right!     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 2, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Who would have thought that the first stop on the Grand Line would turn out to be an island filled with Pirate hunters! After a large welcoming feast, everyone is passed out, except for Zolo, who is battling against the members of Baroque Works. Ms. Wednesday has a giant duck which she rides, although not very well. And the bird seems to be directionally challenged. A bloated Luffy finds himself outside, but is too sleepy to make sense of anything and decides to take a nap even as two more agents join in the battle – Mr 5 and Ms Valenine! They announce that someone is missing from the kingdom of Alabasta! Turns out, someone is not who they appear to be!

Luffy awakens to find, to his dismay, that Zolo is battling the hosts who fed him so well. Fed up with this behavior, Luffy challenges Zolo to fight him! When Nami finds out that they are being offered a billion berries to escort the princess of Alabasta to her home, she forces them to quit fighting so they can help her. Igaram offers them the Eternal Pose that should guide them to Alabasta. However, on their way out of town, they discover Ms All Sunday on their ship, and she has been up to no good. The princess swears she hasn’t revealed the top boss’ identity… until she does. Oh dear, are they in trouble now?

The next stop on their journey is an island called Little Garden, but they are hard put to understand where the name comes from as it resembles a jungle more than a garden! The animals here seem to be a bit… big.  Luffy and Ms Wednesday decide to explore a bit, as Luffy yearns for adventure. Sanji challenges Zolo to a hunt, so off they go, leaving Usopp and Nami on the boat. They quickly learn the reason behind the island’s name. Apparently, it’s a location trapped in time, and here be dinosaurs and giants! Two giants, actually, who are in the middle of a battle that has spanned one hundred years!

Now that our heroes have reached the Grand Line, I am sure they will have many exciting adventures ahead of them and this is just the first. If this is any indication, things are gonna get wild! Will everybody become friends and have a feast with the animals Zolo and Sanji kill? Gotta wait till the next volume to find out!

Saturday is Horror Day #164 – Titane

Leave a reply

Reviewer: 

Titane

As a result of a childhood accident, Alexia (Agatha Rousselle) is left with a titanium plate in her head. Fast forward to her adulthood. Alexia is a car model, wearing skimpy clothing and writhing on top of automobiles. She leads a rough life and is clearly unhappy. One night, an encounter with an obsessed fan ends badly. Afterwards, she finds herself in the car she has come to love, having sex – with the car.

Due to her own actions, Alexia has to become someone else to avoid the law. She spots a computer-aged

picture of a missing boy who would be 17 now, and disguises herself as him. She presents herself to the law and the father Vincent (Vincent Lindon) is called. He identifies his “son” Adrien and takes “him” home. Vincent is the captain of a firefighting brigade and they don’t know how to take Adrien. Alexia binds herself to pull off her disguise, including her pregnant belly. But the deception begins to take a toll on her.

This is, without a doubt, a strange film. I was intrigued by what I read was the premise, of a woman having a sexual relationship with a car and getting pregnant, but this is not what I expected. It’s rather dark and violent, and the scenes with Vincent are both tender and sad. He wants to hold on to his “son”, no matter what – including if he isn’t his son. I can’t deny it’s well-made, and the performances are good, but it just didn’t do it for me. And leaves many questions.

I can’t say I recommend it, but I will give it 3 Stars. I wouldn’t watch it again.

Book Review: Love Control, Vol 2 by Ai Hasukawa

Leave a reply

Love Control, Vol 2       

Author: Ai Hasukawa

Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing

American release date: August 4, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The path of true love never did run smooth…  Yamashiro is jealous of everyone he sees Okumura with, including the lovely Ishikawa.  And now there is a new young bartender, Sasatani, and Kei is afraid he is after his lover, which only feeds his insecurities. It doesn’t help when Takashi confesses that he scouted out the young man and lured him into his employment. Even back at the office, Kei can’t get away from the admiring comments about Okumura, from men and women alike. Frustrated, he calls him and suggests they meet at the bar.

An argument leads to a misunderstanding, and Kei gets drunk. It’s not until Sasatani puts him into a cab because of his inebriated state that he realizes he has totally misjudged who is the object of the bartender’s affection. Sasatani keeps working on Kei’s low self-esteem, and lies to him about what Takashi said, widening the gulf between the lovers. He promises to treat Kei better than Takashi, says he would never hurt him. Will Kei be swayed by his pretty words?

Ichinose has a meeting at the bar with a new client. Although he tries to explain that he doesn’t really drink, his words fall on deaf ears. The client orders a blue drink from the sexy bartender, but it’s stronger than Ichinose expected so he excuses himself to the bathroom. The client follows him and the situation grows ugly when Sasatani unexpectedly intervenes and kicks the older man out, making sure he will never be admitted again. Ichinose blacks out, waking some time later to find he’s never left the bar and Sasatani has been with him all night.

Ichinose is grateful for what the bartender did for him, even if he does make fun of him for being such a lightweight when it comes to drinking. He wants to thank the owners, as well, but Sasatani says he doesn’t come in all the time. Even so, Ichinose is determined, so he keeps coming back to the bar in order to properly thank him. At least, that’s what he tells himself.  But he still doesn’t drink and is thinking of requesting tea when Sasatani fixes him a drink that looks like a cocktail but is non-alcoholic.

Sasatani continues to tease Ichinose and he responds. They develop a strange back-and-forth relationship.  Ichinose has never felt this way about a man before, and he is confused, his feelings only compounded by Sasatani’s hot-and-cold behavior. Will they ever be on the same page and admit their true feelings to one another? And can Ichinose make Sasatani forget the man who broke his heart.

In the last story, Takashi makes a cheese dish for Kei.

I was hoping to see Kei and Takashi again, and I wasn’t disappointed, as they work their way to a better understanding of their relationship and themselves. I liked the second story, but I didn’t feel the same chemistry between Ichinose and Sasatani as I did Kei and Takashi. Maybe it’s because Sasatani stated out as something of a villain lol Interesting series, definitely worth a read.

Book Review: Love Control, Vol 1 by Ai Hasukawa

Leave a reply

Love Control, Vol 1     

Author: Ai Hasukawa

Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing

American release date: May 6, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Love Control

Kei Yamashiro and his company have been hired to remodel the Italian restaurant Jiri by its owner Takashi Okumura. When Okumura arrives to the meeting, he immediately begins to hit on Yamashiro.  This man apparently doesn’t take no for an answer when he calls Yamashiro for a dinner meeting, tells him where and when they’lll meet, and then hangs up! Turns out the place is a secret bar, very private, members only. The reason for the meeting is that the owner of Jiri wants to hire Yamashiro to decorate his apartment. Yamashiro agrees but comes up with a plan of his own to get Okumura back for his flirtatious attitude. He vows to make the man fall in love with him and then he’ll break his heart.

But at some point, the game becomes real, and Kei isn’t sure whether to believe Takashi’s sweet words or not. Has he actually fallen for the man, and can anything good come from that? Or has he become a victim of his own game?

Near the Rainbow and You

Seno is in charge of the planning division of his company. He is very driven, a hard worker.  One day he receives an unexpected email asking him to come find them at the end of the rainbow. What does that even mean? When he passes by a rather beautiful fountain, he spots what appears to be a high school kid. Could this be the prankster? He approaches the kid and discovers he sent the same email to a number of addresses, just for fun. Seno asks the kid if he’s searching for a sugar daddy, and the kid tells him to take him somewhere private. Against his better judgment, Seno takes him to his apartment. There he takes the kid’s wallet and discovers his name is Yuu. Seno forces his attentions on an unwilling Yuu, who then leaves, but the next day he shows up at Seno’s work, claiming to be a relative.  Yuu tells Seno that he won’t stop pestering him until he admits he fell for Yuu first, so Seno retaliates by taking him to an amusement park.

I really liked the first story, watching Kei and Takashi get caught up in their own games until what they had pretended became real. I enjoyed watching them fall in love, and hope they’ll be back in the next volume. However, then we have the second story, and there’s the problem.  I don’t know how old Yuu really is, but he looks like a kid, which gave off all sort of bad vibes. But then the dubious consent. Very cringe. I am not fond of certain types of yaoi where one protagonist resembles a child, and often a very feminine on at that.  I wish they hadn’t included that second story in this volume, but they did. So I am giving the first story 4 Stars and the second story 2 Stars, for an average of 3 stars. I would suggest skipping the second story, the first is good.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 12: The Legend Begins by Eiichiro Oda

Leave a reply

One Piece, Vol 12: The Legend Begins     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: October 3, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Buggy the Clown and Captain Alvida have both reappeared in Luffy’s life! And they are both after him! He narrowly escapes being blown up on the scaffolding where Gold Roger met his end.  Now everyone is trying to escape from the Marines under the command of Captain Smoker!  The storm that Nami warned them about is about to strike! As they race back to the ship, Zolo finds himself face-to-face with an irate Master Chief Tashigi, upset because she unwittingly helped him pick out his swords and he is a pirate! Since everybody seems to be after Luffy, and Luffy is headed to the Grand Line, then everybody has decided to travel there. Even if that’s out of the marines’ jurisdiction. But Smoker doesn’t seem to care.

As they get closer to the Grand Line, Nami is disturbed by what she sees on the charts. Namely, that the entrance to the Grand Line is up a mountain! How does that even work? Things get worse when they find themselves inside the Calm Belt and have to row rather than use their sails. There is a reason they have to stay in the canal leading to the Grand Line, and they quickly discover what that is!

Just as they’re about to pass through the Grand Line, Luffy spots what he thinks is a mountain, which makes no sense. Except it isn’t a mountain, it’s a giant whale! Determined to fight the whale, Luffy jumps on him. But then he discovers his friends and his ship are missing and he demands the whale give them back! Luffy spies a trap door on the whale and heads inside to find the insides are not what he expected. There seems to be a canal in there, and more. Luffy runs across two strangers – Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 – just as they are about to blast open a door, and all three find themselves inside the same place where his friends are.  There’s also an old man there, who id very determined to keep the strangers from capturing the whale and taking it back to their village for food. He tells them the whale’s – whose name is Laboon – sad story.

Luffy gives the whale a reason for living, and then amiably agrees to take the strangers home, to the dismay of the others. Just as they reach the island where their village, Whiskey Peak, is located, the two bid them farewell and jump ship.  They sail the Merry Go into the harbor where, to their delight, they are warmly welcomed by the mayor and citizens of Whiskey Peak. A celebration is held in their honor that includes much food, much drink, and many girls for Sanji to flirt with. But all is not as it appears to be, and Zolo is the only one to realize that. Can he defend them against a whole village that is determined to kill them?

Just because Luffy and his crew have reached the Grand Line doesn’t mean their adventures are about to end, does it? Certainly not! In fact, they are just beginning, since I know there are like a hundred more volumes to come lol Not to mention, the Grand Line isn’t a single place, and Gold Roger gave no clue as to where the treasure is. I still have my theories about what the One Piece is and also about Gold Roger and who he really is, but I won’t speculate right now, since that is all it is, speculation.  I know we’re bound to run across Buggy and Smoker and Alvida at some point. I didn’t recognize Alvida, to be honest. Where’s that gum gum fruit she ate? Sign me up lol I really like the story drawings at the beginning of each chapter, with Koby and Helmeppo. I suspect we’ll see them again too, and Vice Admiral Garp. I found Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 rather creepy. In fact, the whole village is creepy. Who knew they’d find an entire village of pirate hunters? Good thing Zolo has more common sense than the rest of them.

Another great volume, look forward to the next!