Category: One Piece

Oda started the clock, so shall we begin?

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.

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?

Queen, you idiot.

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.

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:

Hm, not much to say this week because it was mostly a fighty-fight chapter, but let’s see what I can do. Also, be warned that my doctor has recommended I don’t say his name (started with an “O” and ending with a “den”) since it causes my blood pressure to explode like a Karen having to wait longer than 20 sec. inline at the grocery store. I’ll instead replace his name with the names of cheeses. *SIGH!* The things we do to keep our sanity.

Glad we got confirmation Big Mom’s planning on double crossing Kaido. But, I have little doubt Kaido was planning on doing the same to her. They’re both not exactly known for their loyalty to anyone but their own crew.

I do wonder what Marco will do in this battle overall. I think he really is planning on taking a supporting role in all this. He’s probably just there to keep tabs on the Big Mom Pirates or maybe smack down a Number or two. He strikes me as a guy who’ll let Team Luffy do their thing while watching a couple Netflix movies (Still using Whitebeard’s account, of course.) before tending to their injuries after the fight alongside Chopper.

See? I told you the Tobi Roppo are hot garbage. Two of them fighting Usopp and Nami are right at their pay grade.

Yeah, yeah. Don’t @ me complaining Page One and Ulti are probably the weakest out of the group. I know, okay! My point is the Tobi Roppo aren’t fit to wipe the Monster Trio’s butts let alone fight them. I seriously doubt any of them are throwing hands against any Strawhat stronger than Sanji.

Hawkins is a total punk. X Drake got punk’d. And, King looks like the lead singer in a punk band. Coincidence? Yep, it totally is. What? Not everything’s intentional, you know.

Glad the X Drake is on Luffy’s side early on. We don’t need any fake drama between them. Although, wasn’t he the one who led Kaido’s forces in destroying Tama’s village? Whoops! Send the bill to the Navy, I guess. I hear their credit’s good.

It was surprising seeing Drake one-shot a Number, but I blame myself for giving those BFG’s (Big Fodder Giants) the bare minimum of expectations. They’re so lame. Even if they get back up it won’t matter. I’m more scared of One Piece anime filler than them. Go down and stay down!

Talk about fan service! I love the Strawhat Crew, and baby, that’s what I got in spades.

Franky’s definitely the MVP of the chapter. Not just with saving Nami and Carrot, but having such cool lines about what it means to be the crew of the Future Pirate King. And, that’s exactly who Luffy’s crew is! Now, it’s time once again to put their money where their mouth is.

Actually, I’m not really worried about the crew’s opponents besides Big Mom, Queen, and King. The Tobi Roppo? Bleh! The Strawhat crew can deal with them, no prob. The Numbers? Who cares?! General Franky and Monster Point Chopper’s got them. Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed at how lackluster Kaido’s crew is overall. Very few of them screams powerful, it’s mostly a numbers game backed up by ancient zoan fruits. The Big Mom Pirates are way more interesting to me.

[Shinobu’s Theme Song]

Damn, Shinobu. Can you do anything right? Welp, I’ve officially given up on you doing anything meaningful for the rest of the arc. Have fun being a pointless joke character.

Luffy went from Pirate to YouTube reactor.

Lot of stuff’s happening. Looks like Oda’s gonna do the thing where he gives most of the important characters at least 1 or 2 pages every chapter. A bit messy but Oda does know how to make it work.

Not a lot of deep commentary to talk about. We’re in Full Fight Mode, so it’s bang, bang, boom, boom with some flashbacks probably sprinkled here and there. Sanji VS King may end up being a thing. No sure with Oda, he could switch things up if he wants.