You want to wake up kids? Throw cold water in their face!
You’re welcome, Walrus School staff.
So, there’s no Holy Knight with the power of giving life to drawings like I thought last chapter. Just some thorny guy looking for love in all the wrong places. But, the thorns being invisible is an interesting concept. Color me intrigued.
Say? With all of St. Sommers twisted talks of love, you think he’s Jewelry Bonney’s biological father? He seems like the kid of guy who’d have sex slaves then throw them away when he’s tired of them in the most disturbing way. Like say…making a pregnant slave undergo inhumane experimentation. Yep. Put me down for that bearded bastard being Bonney’s blood daddy.
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”
Operation Child Abduction’s in full effect. Gotta say, Sommers and Killingham having the power to bring drawings to life and put people to sleep wasn’t on my bingo card for powers they possess. Although, those are some pretty versatile abilities with excellent range. If used right, they could and are extremely deadly devil fruit powers.
Seriously, look at how freaking huge those monster drawings are! We’re in a land of giants and the people seems like ants compared to them. It’s nuts!
I was gonna complain about how the Holy Knights have a ship, then I realized Sommers most likely brought a ship drawing to life. See what I mean by how versatile they’re powers are? Gotta give props to Oda for giving all three Holy Knights extremely interesting powers.
Things kids fear? Then where’s the Homework Monster, the No WIFI Monster, and the Gluten Bread Monster?
Finally! Loki’s free to enact his glorious purpose!
Here we go! Loki Fight: Round One. It’s not like anyone else is gonna be this arc’s final antagonist. Well, Shamrock was, but he’s gone so it’s up to Loki wielding his weapon, Ragnir. Put my money on it being a hammer similar to Marvel’s Thor’s weapon, Mjolnir.
“Which way’s the bathroom?! I’ve been holding it for six years!”
Not everyday I stumble across a manga so interesting I read all of the available chapters in one sitting. But that’s what happened when I found Asura’s Verdict, created by Utsugi Unohana.
Asura Amashiro, a kind-hearted schoolboy following his dead mother’s philosophy that all evil doers eventually receive divine punishment, lives a positive life helping others when he can. But remaining positive is hard when you’re being bullied at school. And it’s a manga, so know the bullies are total bastards.
Luckily (or not), Asura is given a mysterious key that opens the door to Hell, immediately sending anyone he chooses there without that pesky need for them to die first.
So, let’s just get to why I’m recommending this series.
1.) The art is great. It’s expressive, clean, and fits the tone of whatever scene is happening, be it cute, disturbing, or flat out horrific.
2.) The key. At the time of writing, only nine chapters have been released but I’m very interested in the key’s origins and it effect something so powerful has on our sweet little protagonist.
3.) Asura. I’m EXTREMELY invested in this character. I’m rooting for him to have a good life. He’s suffered some brutal life traumas, Y’All. But! Even nine chapters in, you can tell he’s either mentally broken or at least cracked.
To no one’s surprise, Gaban was only testing Luffy’s resolve. Only? Hmm… Or maybe Gaban also wanted to confirm Luffy has the Sun God Nika fruit? Remember, he and the rest of the Roger Pirates know the true history. Nika and Joy Boy both played huge roles in history and now it’s Luffy’s turn to do the same.
It’s also safe to say Gaban will give the Straw Hat Pirates a clue on how to find the final Road Ponegliff at the end of the arc. Despite what Luffy thinks, he’ll definitely see Gaban again, learning of the old man’s connection to Shanks and Gol D. Roger.
Alright, alright, alright! Let’s talk about Mr. Ya Boi, Scopper Gaban.
It’s not like much else happened in the chapter, right? That’s fine. His official introduction was a long time coming. Even though both hold the role of the “left hand” of their captain, I’m surprised by how much Oda made Gaban’s character like Sanji. Well, a mature Sanji who found love, but still like Sanji. It’s not like Rayleigh’s a mature verison of Zoro. Or, at least I never considered the two alike in personality.
So why the Gaban/Sanji parallel? Is Oda setting up something between the two characters? Will Gaban be Sanji’s mentor like how Rayleigh mentored Luffy? Is this a way of Oda giving Sanji another power-up? Or…could this be a way for Oda to get Sanji to mature as a person? Maybe use Gaban’s influence to calm down Sanji’s girl crazed antics? Not remove it, of course—Oda loves his character gags no matter how stale they become. But, again, give Sanji some character growth and maturity. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to them meeting each other.
Hentai artists are lining up around the block to thank Oda for Gaban x Ripley.
Guess I should back track before complaining about what happened to one of the best characters in the show, eh?
We start with Zombie Efrim taking Nora’s mind-controlled body out to meet their mother. Looks likes he’s all finished using Nora to whip up a portal between the World of Twelve and Necroworld, so taking a little personal time to hit mommy with a few emotional jabs is the perfect way to finish off his productive day. It also doubles as a convenient way to let our heroes know Efrim is a Necro and has been using Nora to create portals.
This family reunion also gives the heroes a heads-up that the main invasion is about to go down. Oops! Probably should’ve sent an e-mail instead, Efrim.
Poor Nora gets a one-way ticket to Necroworld. Hey? Guess who’s gonna be making portals to every planet with life for Team Toross after the World of Twelve gets Sunday brunch’d? Here’s a hint: It ain’t Chell.
What? You said you wanted to get “stoned”.
Nora learning her “dead” twin brother’s been using her to jump start an universal zombie apocalypse is harsh. Toross is loving it though. In his eyes everyone will be equal because anyone left will just be a hungry Necro looking for their next meal. In case you haven’t guessed…Toross is a bit crazy.
So…uh…anyone know what The Harley is talking about?
Safe to say the Harley’s passages matches the mural. Let’s assume each area of mural under a Harley passage represents that particular message. If so, let’s try figuring out what’s going on based off of what we currently know about the One Piece world and its past.
The First World
Ok… Ah, the Mother Flame. Cities. …Maybe the world was advanced and that civilization discovered the Mother Flame. Things went downhill from there and somehow the planet was destroyed. Remember, we recently learned the One Piece world was destroyed twice. Once during the Void Century and the other, I presume, was way way WAY back in an advanced age.
If the Sun God is Nika, then the Earth God was Imu? Or, whoever had the Earth God powers during that time? And does all this earth talk symbolize the creation of the Red Line and it subsequent separation of the planet into four blues? Sure, let’s go with that.
The Second World
“The Forest God tamed demons” could mean during this low point in history, devil fruits somehow appeared in the world and were used to fight the demons? [Wait, wait, wait! Does that mean demons were unleashed because the ancient civilization dug too deep for the Mother Flame and awoke them? Like when the Dwarves in Lord of The Rings mined to deep and awoke the Balrog? Hmm…]
Those of the half-moon and moon dreamed? Hmm… Lunarians and…some other race of people, I guess. The sea god storming could mean devil fruit users gaining their water weakness. If so, it’s interesting something happened to give them that vulnerability rather than it always being there.
The World Tree also plays a role here but I’m not sure what that was. Unless… Were devil fruits born from it?! Devil fruits originated on Elbaph. A place where horned giants that could be mistaken for demons lived and has an area they call the Underworld… Fascinating!
Apocalyptic Graffiti. Usually you only see that in New Jersey.
We see flying arks in the mural similar to the one God Enel built (no doubt from ancient blueprints he found or stole somewhere). Did the Lunarians and others escape the demon infested planet in order to live peacefully on the moon? If so, are they still there? I don’t think it was ever confirmed if anyone was still alive up there except for the Space Pirates before Enel got there.
“Man killed the sun and became god” I take that as Team Imu (the united countries that founded the World Government) attacking the last remnant of the formerly vast ancient civilization (now only one island, Laugh Tale), flooding the planet, and taking over the world. Imu later moves into the Lunarians abandoned territory atop the Red Line and creates Marijoa. Basically, The Second World describes what happened during the Void Century.
Lots of telling in this chapter, huh? It’s all setting up the upcoming conflict and the big Elbaph flashback, of course. Let’s see: Ancient Giants, Loki, Hajrudin, Other Giant Nations, Linlin, Saul, King Harald, King Harald’s Baby Mommas… That’s a lot of ground to cover. Put me down for at least ten Elbaph flashback chapters.
…Oh, what the heck? Make it twelve chapters!
Hajrudin wants to be King of the Pir—erm—Giants. Can we please have a democracy somewhere in One Piece? No? Okay, then.
Also, for someone carrying foreign blood, Hajrudin had the people cheering him on after making his king declaration at the feast. What happened to all the MAGA Giants? Is there a proud giant stealthy waiting in the background to ask Hajrudin for his birth certificate? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
The twist: Shanks is a triplet! See you in 100 chapters, Shamar.
I do like confirmation Giant territories exist outside Elbaph. Where are they? Are they part of the World Government? I hope those questions are answered soon.
What’s wrong, friend? That FOMO feeling’s got you down? Afraid all the cool kids know about My Hero Vigilantes and you don’t? Well, I say don’t fret about it!
Seriously don’t. Just watch the anime cold and enjoy yourself.
…Still here? Fine. Here’re five spoiler-free things you can know about My Hero Vigilantes (assuming it’s a faithful adaption of the manga).
1.) You don’t need to have watched and/or read My Hero Academia to enjoy the series.
My Hero Academia (manga) started in July 2014. My Hero Vigilantes (manga) began in August 2016. The two-year old world of MHA had already established itself enough to carry a spin-off without relying on the main characters or plots from the main series.
Not to mention, the creators of My Hero Vigilantes (writer, Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrator, Betten Court) could always run any questions or ideas by Horikoshi, ensuring nothing they did broke the main series’ continuity. Basically: Vigilantes taking place in the same world as MHA is all you need to know.
Sure, your enjoyment may be enhanced with knowledge from the main series, but it isn’t essential. My Hero Vigilantes contains it’s own story with it’s own main characters for you to invest in and join on their journey. Dekus and Bakugos need not apply!
2.) My Hero Vigilantes takes place five years before the start of My Hero Academia.
MHV is a prequel. That way its creators don’t have to keep changing course if something major happens to the world in the present main series. It gave the MHV creators additional free-reign over their story. And as a byproduct, it allowed readers to see some supporting characters from the main series when they were a bit younger, learning some things about them we never would’ve learned in MHA. A win-win for everyone.
Mammoth Base Opera Castle 