One Piece Is Awesome, Example #44

I love the myriad crazy characters that show up in Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, from the strange villains to the eccentrics that the crew helps out (or vice versa) along their journeys, but there are occasional people that I fall right in love with, for whatever reason. The last one was Mr. 2 Bon Clay, but my new favorite, Brook the living skeleton, shows up in volume 46. He's just so silly, a source of constant puns about bones (mostly clean ones, surprisingly), and an enthusiastic, friendly fellow that has been drifting all alone on a ghost ship for so long that he has trouble figuring out how to relate to people appropriately. Here's his introductory scene:





Luffy immediately invites him to join the crew, of course, because he's funny and weird. Maybe that's a reason that I enjoy this series so much; it's welcoming of strangeness and willing to have a laugh even in the midst of high drama. I'm happy to say that Brook does indeed join the crew following the Thriller Bark storyline, so I should be enjoying his company for some time to come.