Tag: One Piece

Oda gets points for quickly showing how powerful Kid is by having him keep up with Luffy. Short and sweet.

Luffy and Kid are almost running the joint now. Time for the Warden, whoever he or she is, to make their debut. Vice Warden Dobon’s design is amazing. Oda’s having fun with the smile fruit designs. Also, I like Luffy and Kid’s rivalry. In a way, you can call Kid an Alternate Luffy, as in what would happen if Luffy was crueler and you’d get someone like Kid. A bit different than Blackbeard, the Anti-Luffy. If Kid is Luffy but meaner, Blackbeard is Luffy flipped. Still a pirate, but plays the long game and is already strong.

Wow! What a chapter!

Who would’ve thought Oda would throw in One Piece world current events between Wano’s acts? And, what surprises we learn.

First, Absalom is dead. Like, really dead. The type of dead that isn’t ambiguous. For someone to lose their devil fruit they have to die. Absalom is 100% dead. Let’s pour one out for the sexual assaulter. Hm, maybe not. Gecko Moria is back, but is he truly joining Team Blackbeard, or will he scamper off into the sunset? Well, considering the Warlord system might be kaput, he’s gonna need some allies. Even, if he’s an ex-Warlord. Gecko isn’t getting anything done on his own, he needs a crew. And, no, only having Perona won’t do much.

Ladies and gentlemen, Blackbeard makes his time skip debut. And, it’s glorious! The man loves a good party and at the same time, we see he’s keeping tabs on everyone important in the One Piece world. You can tell he’s taking a quick R&R before heading out to Wano to grab Kaido’s fruit in the final inning. Big hug to the folks thinking Shiryu was getting the diamond devil fruit. I’m not one of them, but I’m sure Oda will have some fun in the fated Shiryu VS Zoro fight. Cool appearance by Catarina Devon and her nine tails fruit and Pizarro and his lunch.

Buggy, Crocodile, Impel Down, Big Mom. Luffy’s been locked up more times than Martin Sheen.

Remember when Kaido got so angry we thought he’d kill Luffy and Law on sight? Amazing what a little time and a lot of alcohol can do. Luffy whips out some King’s haki and all of a sudden Kaido wants him on his team. I have a feeling everyone strong working from Kaido got their ass kicked by him. That’s his equivalent of a job interview.

We have the answer to what happened to everyone at Oden Castle: Shino’s ripe-ripe fruit. She rotted the ground. Sure, why not? Hawkings and Law had a scuffle, yet somehow Law got away. Hmm… Somone’s playing the long game. And, that someone is made of straw and doesn’t live in Oz.

“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.