Eiichiro Oda. You were on a roll, but after reading One Piece for well over a decade, I’ve come to expect certain things in this series I don’t necessarily agree with. Doesn’t mean I hate One Piece or anything. I’m just the type of person who doesn’t have to love every tidbit of something to enjoy it. But, for now, let’s talk about the positive.
The Fire Tank Pirates are back, Y’all! They’re getting a cover story adventure, I think. It might only be a one or two-page thing we’ve seen in the past like with the Strawhat Alliance.
Luffy’s still working on perfecting his haki by using Kaido’s crew as punching bags. The Warden orders the guards to capture him and they comply because they’ve lost all hope. As expected, most of them are people who tried fighting Kaido and Orochi and failed. They need to be inspired and Team Luffy’s just the group to give it to them.
We’re introduced to a new type of weapon, Plague Rounds. Guns that contain diseases. Imma let that sink in…
Still with me? It’s a gun that shoots a disease at you. I don’t know what to say. Seriously. One Piece has no shortage of dumb stuff (A fake island in a whale, flying to the moon on a balloon, devil fruits, The Gates of Justice, magical healing bandages, etc.), but I’m still at a loss. Say what you will about Oda, at least he keeps you guessing. It kinda reminds me of the quirk erasing bullets in My Hero Academia, but instead of causing a disease it cures it (If you think of having a quirk the same a having a disease).
Kawamatsu makes his full debut and it’s about damn time. He has an okay design. I don’t hate it but I’m not in love with it either. He looks more like a bird to me, but what do I know? I love that he’s a sumo wrestler and a swordsman. That should make for some interesting moves.
We end the chapter with Team Luffy (Luffy, Boss Hyogoro, Kawamatsu, Kiku, Raizo, and Chopper) posing, ready to unleash all matter of pain on Kaidou’s goons. So, I guess It’s time I talk about Kiku. To be frank, I don’t like Kiku being a guy. And, not because he’s feminine or possibly gay or anything like that. That’s great. My problem is Oda once again creating a male kickass character instead of giving the role to a female. And, of course, this whole revelation takes place right before Kiku starts kicking ass. It’s annoying. Nine freaking Akazaya Nine samurai and none of them is a woman. Damn it, Oda, attractive women can whoop ass too! Ugh!
It was an okay-ish chapter. Things are moving along nicely. The prison arc is nearing its end and Kawamatsu is now officially on Team Luffy. Hm. Maybe Oda got beaten up by a girl in high school. No, no. Move on. I gotta move on.
…Maybe it was elementary school? Okay, okay, I’ll stop.
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 