Viz Manga aren’t the only new titles coming out next month! The publisher is also releasing light novels, especially those tied to their major manga releases. Case in point, One Piece: Heroines—a collection of short stories highlighting days in the lives of the girls of the hit long-running manga. Vol. 1 follows Nami as she fixes relationships and shops for shoes, Robin as she decodes an ancient tablet, Vivi as she receives an anonymous love letter, and Perona’s ongoing battle to make the ultimate sangria.

These four low-stakes stories mostly do a great job of introducing the heroines. Even if you’re not an avid One Piece reader, you’ll understand these characters extremely well after their short stories. Sadly, Vivi figures into only a few scenes of her own story, with most of it focusing on the people around her. Nami’s is probably the strongest of the bunch, with Perona’s drinking party being a close second. Jun Esaka’s friendly writing style and Sayaka Suwa’s lovely illustrations make this an all-around solid read.

I have always loved One Piece and was very excited to see a book completely featuring the female characters. I had fun reading this and found it captured the personality of the characters well. It's was an enjoyable read

One Piece: Heroines (Vol.1). By Jun Esaka, Illustrator: Sayaka Suwa. 2025. Viz Media (eBook ARC).

I only found Vivi’s story, which takes place in Alabasta and also features Koza and a young boy, to be engaging and character-building. The illustrations by Suwa are very much in line with Oda’s artwork and appear a decent amount, but with the one exception, these stories were too boring.

These are cute stories with familiar characters. A bit juvenile in terms of reading level, but at least that made it quick reading.