The Godzilla vs. Kong manga adaption’s looking good.
Seriously, what? I don’t do chapter recaps, I just post my general thoughts on a chapter and focus on points of interest then make stupid predictions. It’s what I do. What’s there to point out this week? How Big Mom should’ve hit everyone with lighting at the very start? How Kaido should’ve blasted everyone with his dragon breath ages ago?
*sigh* Let’s see what I can do… Kaido has a strong defense. Um…Big Mom will probably be taken out first. …Didn’t I say that on the last One Piece review? Ugh!
Alright! A lot happened this chapter. So much I’ll have to break this review down one panel at a time! Brace yourself, y’all. It’s gonna be a long one.
Kaido’s already thinking about remodeling the Thousand Sunny after he kills Luffy.
Just kidding! This was a fighty-fight chapter. There’s not much to talk about. In fact, let’s talk about what didn’t happen: a cutaway. None. Not one. Now that’s rare coming from One Piece these days. I was certain we’d get 3 pages of the big fight then switch gears over to what everyone else and their little brother is doing. Good on you, Oda! Too bad it won’t last. Would I like to see Queen and King and the Tobi Roppo defeated? Yeah. But, my desire to see this arc done overrides all of that. I’m such a Negative Nancy.
A website called Claymore. Yeah, I think that was the name. I clicked on a short video clip of Luffy punching Captain Kuro. The art style in that video was nothing I’d ever seen. The punch was satisfying too. That, y’all, was my first exposure to One Piece back in…2004? 2003? Somewhere along that time.
Fast forward buying cheap, badly subbed anime episodes to buying Japanese volumes to look at while I read chapter translations online to actual scanlations. To, finally, reading official English Translations the same day it comes out in Japan! If you told me that’s how I’d be reading One Piece one day I’d think you were nuts.
Of course, you always thought Luffy could get One Piece, Ace. That’s why in the past you stated you were trying to make Whitebeard the Pirate King. Can you spell retcon, kids?
So, here we are, One Piece chapter 1000. I gotta say, I enjoyed it. Mostly because we’re getting to the actual fight between Luffy and Kaido. But, it’s bigger than that. It’s Luffy, Zoro, Kid, Killer, and Law VS Kaido and Big Mom. It’s gonna be quite the fight!
Someone with a fish-fish devil fruit? And, it could be Kaido?! I don’t think anyone saw that coming.
WHAT? Luffy’s a “D”?! Oda’s dropping huge info this chapter!
The odds of Oda making a fish-fish devil fruit in a world where Fish-men exist and the natural weakness of devil fruit users is being submerged in water were pretty low. But, here we are. It’s been implied by Big Mom she gave Kaido a fish-fish devil fruit. But, he’s a dragon, right? He ate the dragon-dragon fruit and that’s that, right? Well…take a look at this:
Kaido’s got fish scale tattoos and whiskers. And, so does our fishy Koi friend here (Well, it’s got actual scales but you get what I mean). We can also ignore Kaido’s horns because they seem to be more of a characteristic of his species than the product of having a devil fruit (Yamato’s got horns too), so I guess it’s really true.
What’s more, it’s probably a fish-fish fruit: model Koi. Why a Koi? Because there seems to be an Eastern legend about the Koi fish. Basically, the gods were so impressed by a Koi making it to the top of a waterfall against all odds that they turned it into a dragon. Think Magikarp and Gyarados, for you Pokémon fans, and you got the gist of it.
So, what does this all mean? Is Kaido’s dragon form simply the awakened version of his devil fruit? Does he have even more hidden abilities ready to unleash on Team Luffy? Maybe. Or, maybe there’s a hidden weakness ready to be discovered by some perceptive opponent. I don’t know but I find it very fascinating.
Ah, yes, the classic Oda Flex™ chapter. Let’s see if the Tobi Roppo zoan reveals were worth the wait.
Aw! Almost makes you forget Eneru was a fascist dictator with a god complex. Adorable! ❤
We’ve already seen X. Drake’s zoan form. Did we know he was an Allosaurus? I always thought he was a T-Rex. I guess Oda’s saving that one for later. He’s gonna fight Scratchmen Apoo and maybe co-fight Queen? Just who the hell is fighting Queen? Brook and Robin? They’d be more useful fighting him with Drake than Kaido. Queen and Brook can have a rock star battle or something. Oh, and let’s not forget Monster Chopper for the assist. Yeah, I’d like to see that.
Zoro/Marco VS King. I think that’s happening. Who else is King gonna fight? Franky? Nope, General Franky’s about to tangle with Sasaki, a Triceratops. Gotta say, I’m loving Sasaki’s zoan form design. He’ll be a real challenge for ole Frank.
*SIGH* Sanji’s getting a joke fight with Black Maria. Okay, that’s not fair. It’s possible Black Maria could be one of the strongest—HAHAHAHA! Oh, boy. Sorry! I tried to keep a straight face. This is One Piece we’re talking about. The odds are not in Black Maria’s favor she’ll be anything more than an eye candy gimmick. Next!
A common way to instill urgency plot is writers giving the protagonist a set time limit to accomplish their goal. It’s not exactly a new concept for Oda whether is Doflamingo’s shrinking cage or Sir Crocodile’s time bomb, it’s an effective way to up the dramatic anti. It not only sets the stage for Kaido’s defeat being the only option for survival but it’ll be seen by Wano’s citizens so it’s a win-win for Oda and us, the audience.
You know what? I’m convince the main reason Oda created Smile Fruit was showing off strange animal fusions. Good on you, Oda! Feed that fetish. We don’t judge here at the Opera Castle. We just form opinions or conclusions about whatever we want. Totally not the same thing.
We got some meat them bones this week. A good amount of stuff to talk about this time. So let’s dig in! What? You’re vegan? Here, I got some tofu just for you.
Yamato, I once caught Od*n being intelligent and thoughtful.
Trafalger D. Aqua Lawyer. Nice of Oda giving him something else to strive for than simply revenge. Working with Luffy to get the Road Poneglyphs will keep Law and Luffy as allies while at the same time making his ultimate goal somewhat different from Luffy’s. I can see Robin telling Law what the Strawhats learned on Laugh Tale and Law deciding to help them fight the World Government.
Cyborg Franky VS Sasaki and his Armored Division. That should be fun. Hm? I wonder what devil fruit Sasaki has? It’s probably an armored Zoan. An ankylosaurus, maybe?
Where should I start? There’s soooo much to talk about!
Not the first time Big Mom choked a chicken.
Just kidding! There really isn’t.
I try not to simply recap chapters, so in an effort to make this post longer than 10 sentences, let’s play a game I like to call: Turn The Page. I give my actual thoughts on every page in this chapter and hopefully scrape up something of interest to talk about. Did I mention I’ve been reading One Piece for decades? I’m a real fan, I swear! Game, start!
Page One (Bleh!): Hey, is that the Zombie Risky Bros.? Nice.
Page Two: Oooh! Marco’s fighting Big Mom! That should be interesting.
Page Three: Yeah, baby. Marco’s got an ancient devil fruit. Let’s see what— It’s over… Well… I guess that makes sense. Big Mom’s an Emperor after all.
Page Four: Oh, wow! It’s Carrot and… Um… Diana? That’s it, right? I’m not looking it up. It’s not worth my time.
Page Five: Why do I keep forgetting they’re called Sulongs? And how the heck can Perospero talk with his tongue constantly hanging out? And why did they go for his face? Why not his vital organs or anywhere else? Is this a sexist thing? Or a stupid thing? I can’t tell with Oda anymore.
Yikes! Did Stephen King secretly take over writing One Piece?
You could’ve won it all but had to indulge your need for cheap entertainment. I’m starting to see why King hates you. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still my favorite out of Kaido’s crew. Your design, your personality, your devil fruit, your dance moves. You’re a fun guy. And, kudos to Oda for establishing your love of death games early on back in Udon, but you’re still an idiot.
You know, One Piece has the rare ability of having a lot of stuff happening but at the same time not a lot to talk about.
One Piece: Relentlessly kicking science in the groin since 1997
Let’s see… What’s worth discussing today… Oh! King figured out Momonosuke’s death will destroy the samurai’s will to fight. Now, every important character who isn’t fighting Kaido, King, or Queen will have a purpose. Okay.
Should I talk about the citizens of the Flower Capital? Sure, why not. Stand back ’cause it’s gonna be a long one:
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 