Category: One Piece

“VS”. Yeah, right. Kaido has more trouble opening a bottle of mayonnaise.

We still don’t know how Nami and friends survived Kaido’s attack, but who cares right now? Poor Tama got beatdown. Don’t you just hate it when the best day of your life turns out the be the worst, or even your last?

Okay, let’s talk about the main part of the chapter: Luffy getting steamrolled. Kaido didn’t just one shot Luffy, he made sure to do so after he did his strongest attack! He allowed Luffy to go hog wild just to crush his spirit into pieces. Did I mention he tanked Luffy’s attacks without using armament haki? Yeah. Kaido’s just that freaking tough. And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is the problem.

That outta sober him up.

But, this is Kaido. Wouldn’t be surprised if he lost consciousness. Not from the punch, but from all that bourbon. There’s no reason for Kaido to stop attacking so Oda will have to put their real fight on hold somehow. Yep, Passed Out Kaido incoming. 

Support Girls, Oda? Uh huh. That’s like a vegan supporting ribeye steak.

With the plan revealed, everyone will soon go their separate ways to prepare. We learn Tsuru is Kin’emon’s wife. So, what’s up with Kiku? Is she just the friendly type? Sanji is in full goofball mode. We get it, Oda. He’s horny. When Brook looks more reserved than you concerning girls, you need the calm the fork down.

So, yeah. Three of Lord Oden’s old ruffneck samurai followers got to be tracked down so they can help. These were probably the strongest lawless samurai the shogun had working for him. Pretty straightforward. The problem will be getting them on board. Sure, revenge is nice, but it sounds like they (or at least Shutenmaru) want a strong leader/general. Luffy may have to prove why he’s not to be messed with.

We get another mention of Lady Toki’s 9 samurai prophecy. Let’s see: Oden’s 3 ruffnecks + Luffy + Zoro + Law makes 6. Add Dogstorm… Em, who else has a sword… Brook? Nah, I doubt he’s one. Let’s just throw in Hawkins and Kin’emon for now. I’m not sure if the prophecy equates to sword users or not (Luffy has a sword for the time being), but if it’s not a factor then Kidd (or even Killer) could get a spot too.

A lot of information in this chapter.

But, we don’t get all the details. That’s for later. Like I said last review, Oda’s saving the whole flashback until after the first round of big fights.

Kibi. There was five samurai working under Lord Oden and I assume the one who didn’t travel through time was Kibi. No doubt entrusted with protecting Momonosuke’s younger sister, Hiyori. Where’s Hiyori now? Not sure, but I doubt she’s dead. Or, maybe she is and gave up her life to protect Tama. I assume she’s Hiyori’s daughter, which means, the swordsmith is probably Kibi. 

Because I’m totally down for a One Piece x Doctor Who crossover.

Speaking of doctors, why is Law upset Luffy did something good? He’s a freaking doctor! Unless he’s charging outrageous prices for treatment, ala Black Jack, shut your mouth. Thankfully, Tama is out of the story for a while and most of the Strawhats are back together, meaning it’s time to get down to business. Not sure we’ll get a proper Oden backstory (yet), but at least we’ll get the basics. Kin’emon has been in the story for a long time now, Oda’s gonna wring every drop of drama from the Oden tragedy from 20 years ago.

Looks like Speed is a permanent good guy now, moving on.

Here comes Jack!

Holdem’s down for the count and Jack knows. Oopsie! Safe to say Team Luffy Alliance is busted. But, at least they stole the treasure barge so the regular citizens can eat. Wow! That panel with the family about to commit suicide rather than starve was dark. Nice touch Oda. It wasn’t dwelled upon, he just showed how bad things got. Solid storytelling.

Speed’s a joke character. I can live with that. She wasn’t built up to be anything more than that. I still think Hawkins is playing the long game. There’s more going on with him than we’ve seen.

Holdem got a beatdown. The End.

I mean, yeah. We all knew it was coming sooner than later. He didn’t exactly look like a tough opponent. But, now we know Jack the Drought is the true ruler of Bakura Town and we may be seeing signs of a future fight between him a Luffy. He’d make a great mid-boss before Kaido.

We learn the wanted thief, Shutemaru, is the leader of a group called the Atamayama Thieves Brigade. Want to bet at least one Strawhat is already apart of it. I’d say Chopper and/or Brook since it’d be hard for them to blend into Wano as a regular citizen.

Let’s get the good out the way.

Luffy going Gear 3rd on Urashima. Beautiful! And Holdem and Luffy finally meet. And, there we go, that’s how Holdem’s going to be a threat: By holdem-ing Otama hostage. Hope that fight won’t last too long.

Welcome to Bakura Town! The Pasadena of Wano!

A plot inching chapter. Mostly getting characters where they need to be in order for big events to happen. Before that, Bellamy’s a master dyer now? That came out of nowhere. Not sure whether Oda will make it stick or not. Depends on whether we continue his cover story. Doesn’t matter, I can always see him helping out in the world war at the series’ end, even if it’s only a few panels of him defending his dyer friends from whoever.

Can’t a couple of undercover pirates and starving citizens get a little piece around here?

Guess not.                                                                                                                          Kaidou’s forces have their eyes on Otama and her ability to tame wild animals. Why? Who cares if she can do that? Unless there’s an animal some evil owner wants to be tamed. Doubtful anyone from Team Kaidou owns an out of control pet. That leaves a Wano government official. Maybe Shogun Orochi himself!