πRate Demon Hunters [One Piece 1163]

It’s fitting Imu’s the One Piece devil because he’s boring as Hell.

And my lack of interest in this Super Duper Big Bag is one big reason why I’m not loving this part of the flashback.

Imu rules the world!

Imu’s evil to the core!

Imu’s uber-powerful!

Yeah…but what’s Imu’s motivation? What’s his endgame? He mentions wanting a perfect world. What does that mean? The total destruction of all sentient life? To flood the planet in order to have the largest swimming pool ever? Give me something, Oda.

I know. I know. All will be revealed later. Yeah, like in the final arcs of the damn story! That’s just not soon enough for me. Especially, with all we have to chew on until the final flashback is an overpowered monster with the personality of a packet of mayonnaise.

Look, I’m just tired of all the mystery boxes. We’re getting the barebones minimum of the history of the One Piece world in a part of the series where the author himself has said it’s the story’s final saga. Nothing wrong with mystery boxes, but too much of a good thing can ruin a story for some readers. The constant teasing of future reveals, the slow IV drips of new lore, and the unnecessary and overblown use of silhouettes of characters that don’t have to be silhouetted just to drum up hype. Hey, Oda-sensei? GET ON WITH IT!

Hmm… Are devil fruit users immune to Imu’s Domi Reversi? Is that why Sabo didn’t get demonized while trying to save King Cobra? Sure, let’s go with that, for now.

While Davy D. Beckham, Edward Newgate, and Kaido D. Ragon fight together against Imu, the other Rocks Pirates are trying to get as big a piece of the treasure as they can. Makes sense. They’ll never be another opportunity to steal so much treasure in one place then escape amongst such chaos. It’s almost like they’re all selfish pirates of something.

Captain John’s confirmed to have the magnet-magnet devil fruit. Ganzui’s confirmed to have the bomb-bomb devil fruit. We know Captain John’s long dead by the time Luffy first sets sails. I guess Ganzui’s time is coming to a close too. He may even not leave God Valley alive. Sorry, dude. If anyone in the Rocks Pirates is dying at GV it’s you.

So, Baby Shanks ends up saving himself, huh? Not the eventful reveal I imagined as to how the kid ended up in a treasure chest. Maybe Oda can makeup for it by giving us a valid reason the Roger Pirates decided to raise Shanks (and Buggy) instead of dumping them at the nearest fictional orphanage not run by an evil caretaker. Good luck with that!

We end the chapter with several heavy hitters attacking Imu. He brushes it all off then hits Xebec with a Domi Reversi, turning him into a demon. Ruh-oh! Is it game over for Xebec? It better not be! I want my theory he visits King Harald one last time to happen.

This was an okay chapter! God Valley in itself isn’t a bad flashback. But Oda built it up to be this massive event and… Well, I guess it is with so many big name pirates and Imu appearing. BUT it all feels like eating yummy icing. It’s good but I want to experience the whole cake, not just the pretty colored sugar paste. I want to learn more and care about these characters, not just watch them trying to look cool while attacking. Oda should take a page out of KPop Demon Hunters. That movie has everything: Demons. Hunters. KPop. Um…Dancing?

Alright. Fine! So I haven’t watched the movie yet! And I won’t until One Piece Live Action season two premieres on Netflix on March 10, 2026. That is unless anyone wants to give me their Netflix password? Heh! Heh! Heh!