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One Piece chapter 1151 review

Alright, slightly softer week following two big ones. That's fair. With maybe three or four chapters to go in volume 113, it's worth taking the time to get everyone aligned and where they need to be for the climax.

Yamato's cover story lingers, but at least it means we get a Kawamatsu cameo. Given Yamato's usual tendency toward the masculine, I'm surprised Oda didn't have them shock everyone by competing in more traditional attire. Maybe that would have been low-hanging fruit even for him.

Oh hey, it's Kashii! As important as he and Oimo were to the journey to get here, they've really been overshadowed by Dorry and Broggy for the crew's welcome. I'd almost forgotten they were around! Since Kashii at least manages to escape being Reversii'd, maybe they'll get a time to shine in the fights with the turned giants. There's a few other interesting things in this scene, like Brogy's dialogue. He's not just going for Jarul because he's been ordered to, he's found an actual justification that almost makes sense for a lifelong warrior to have. Does Imu's power bring out suppressed feelings, or does it invent things like this for the victim?

I'm surprised to see the chain capturing continue. I thought it would be a one-off joke last week, but Oda is doubling down. Are we going to see a power that runs on board game rules as a counterpart to Luffy's comic book rules? I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.

An enjoyable development here is the feedback loop of Imu's arrival into the kids and the Sleeptids. The haki knocks them out with the last thing they remember being the demonic villain, and their bad dreams about it cause devils to appear. It all goes to increase the feeling that these guys are a threat that only escalates the longer they're in play. Like most abilities, it's likely the way around this will be to take out the user. But how can you do that when he's immortal?

And speaking of Killingham, I don't think I could possibly have guessed what his human form looks like. It's really changed my impression of the character. Early Killingham seemed pretty affable as villains went. Doing bad things, obviously, but in kind of a goofball way, being caught by surprise by the summoning, always nodding off or having those half-lidded, sleepy eyes, even keeping the peace between Sommers and Gunko when they discussed music. I'd kinda wanted to like him. But this new Killingham looks like an edgelord and is coming at his cruel work with much more enthusiasm. I wonder it's a case of the devil fruit influencing the user, the chill qilin sometimes overcoming everyday Killingham. Also, while we're reassessing this guy, I have to admit, I thought the breathing mask on the front of his bubble was a bulbous nose on the dragon head. Looking back over old chapters, it's really obvious it's not, but that's how it made it into my mind.

Absolutely love that we see the mother who clearly inspired the nightmare mum in the crowd watching the kids. And of course she would withstand the haki blast too. I can't wait to see what she ends up doing here, especially if it's fighting her kid's Sleeptid version of her.

Also, it looks like there's a Zunesha among the Sleeptids right at the end of this sequence. Knowing that Zunesha lived through the Void Century and knew Joyboy and was given a sentence to walk endlessly for an unknown crime, I wonder if Zunesha features in any ancient texts or drawings that Elbaph might be protecting for a local to learn from.

I could not be more ready for the Harald flashback with Imu's last line. Imu speaks of Harald like an ally that made a single mistake, but treats Harald's most famous works, the school and the library, as two of the country's biggest issues. That's not a single-day lapse in judgement. Was Harald trying to pull a fast one on Imu before he got turned?

The rest of the chapter jumps back in time to show Luffy's group getting cued into Imu's arrival. Oda doesn't typically like going over the same stretch of time twice, he usually cuts to a new group in the present, in a way that infers they've been doing stuff offscreen while the camera was pointed elsewhere. That's why even though the walk-back is only a couple of minutes, the whole sequence is treated like a flashback with grey panel gutters. The full vertical panel emphasising how far Chopper and Scopper (hey, that rhymes!) fell was a great choice as well. It's easy to diminish Elbaph's scale in your mind, but the place truly does stretch on forever.

I'm not sure what to make of Luffy being not sure how he knows Chopper fell. Are we building to some new application of Observation Haki, or is it going to be something more like a Voice of All things angle? Then we have Shaggy's farewell to Loki. Everything about the framing here seems to support the idea that it's Jarul. I wonder if him going into battle then falling, probably just as Loki arrives to see it, will be what triggers the inevitable flashback. Aaaaand I really enjoyed Scopper insisting he was the second strongest even in his injured state. Which leads into a hype-building final page as we get ready for the real fight in the next chapter.

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One Piece chapter 1150 review

I said I couldn't wait, but now that I have this chapter, there's an oddly bittersweet about something as endgame as a prospective final boss's powers being revealed. Not just because it means the ending is creeping closer, but because how risky this kind of escalation ends up being. There's an obvious storytelling need to make the final (or final-ish) guy stronger and more unique than everything before, to give them an extra surprise skill that goes outside and beyond the normal system. Make it like they're cheating so it feels extra satisfying to beat them. A lot of stories mess it up. It's a delicate thing to change the rules so late in the game. So here, One Piece navigates a treacherous footing as Oda makes the decisions that will either cement him as the one that stuck the landing, or will have us all reminding ourselves that it's about the journey not the destination.

Speaking of endings, the Yamato cover story has to be close. But there's one more region to visit from the original travel plan. Is Oda building up to a stinger, or will it just be an epilogue?

The first spread here is rough around the edges in a whole bunch of ways. First is the group of giants that run in. Are they adults from the village? They have to be, the pirate group doesn't show up until a couple of pages later, and when they do they come out of the trees at the back of the line instead of from the front. But I don't remember a party setting out from the village in any previous chapter. It's not hard to believe it happened, it's just a little odd not to have gotten one panel setting it up. (I'm open to having missed it, those early chapters of the kidnapping came out in a very busy time of my life; I didn't absorb them as deeply as I normally try to.)

Second, the choice not to draw the thorns surrounding Collun as the first giant approaches him makes that panel hard to follow. Even if they are meant to be fully invisible, the translucent version used in previous chapters makes for a much smoother read. Particularly if you're an early scanlation reader, where they don't fill in the sound effects to help out. And on the topic of that sound effects, the one in the bottom right seems like it should have been drawn with the traditional sound effect white stroke around it to stand out. And there's a couple of other examples of this later in the chapter, making the effects less readable and the panels feel murky. These have to be unfinished.

And finally, there's the sheer amount of art escaping the panel borders. The haki bolts I could have taken as an intentional effect, but Collun's mouth up above and the rendering on the giant collapsing down below are definitely not supposed to be like that. It's a cool window into how the series' inking is done before a final cleanup, but it's never nice knowing a chapter came so down to the wire that it missed that last polish. At least it's an easy fix for the volume release.

Going back to the actual story, the scope of Imu's haki blast is immense considering the size of the island. And it's strong too, if a member of the Giant Pirates would go down to it. The party in the Underworld must have gotten at least a tingle of that. We're so overdue for a cut back to them, but I don't want to miss any of what's happening up top.

I'm a big fan of the classic devil look the possessed Gunko takes on. The wings have to be Imu's, but I wonder if the tail and pitchfork are coming from her power. Honestly makes it feel a bit on the nose in hindsight. And then she makes this arcane summoning circle just to fire a mundane canon through it. Fantastic bit, especially when it gets repeated later to draw book which then opens to provide a gun and a knife. What was the point of the book? Maybe this is just what you have to resort to when your borrowed body doesn't come with the pockets normally provided by a pair of pants. Whatever else comes of this, I'm glad Imu isn't just an 'even stronger energy blast' kind of villain. The weapons remain mundane, but they're used creatively and augmented by soft powers like portals and mental control.

A couple more weird bits on the next page. Jinbei's observation haki has to be running in top gear to be able to tell that Gunko transformed at all from this distance. And then there's the discussion about where Luffy and Hadjrudin went. Seems like it's Brook saying it, but him and Usopp were both totally snookered at the feast scene. Hard to believe either of them picked up that much about all those people sneaking off. Maybe this info should all have come from Nami. I guess there must be a whole offscreen segment where Gerd returns to the party after beating the info out of Rodo to gather up the rest of her crew plus Sanji to go chase Luffy and Zoro. It's one of those things that's technically possible, but it's not good for the flow of the story that I'm going back nine chapters and inventing my own scenes to explain it.

Love to see even more of Robin being a badass at the bottom of the page. I wonder if she'll join Chopper in puzzling out the ways to fight immortals. It's a good role for the two analytical Strawhats.

Dorry and Brogy finally arrive and Oda takes the time to show Imu/Gunko being a physical match for them rather than completely relying on the mindwipe hack. Do we think it's weird though, that Imu summons both a relatively normal shortsword and a shotgun that's way too big for a human but still too small for a giant? Maybe they have limited control over exactly which weapons they can draw. Or maybe the size is designed to suit their real body. Well anyway, the shot to the arm is a much more abrupt and extreme injury than I usually expect from One Piece, even if there's a good chance the contract lets him regenerate it.

And it's that contract where things get really interesting. I have so many questions about how this works and what its limitations are. You would think it would take some kind of submission or true defeat to become vulnerable to a power like that, but maybe it's just as simple as stepping on the circle. Love how rather than getting sucked in and spat out, the victim instead gets stuck halfway and the circle itself flips over before the evil version pulls themselves out by the legs. Kinda goofy but also weirdly unsettling in its own way.

The dialogue surrounding this is crazy too. Not being bound by logic or common sense under Mu's control sure sounds a lot like what Lucci said to Vivi about the Celestial Dragons in chapter 907, that "gods are not bound by logic." What does Lucci know? And how far do I read into this idea that demons are the "proper form for life to take," like some kind of demonic carcinisation. Does it suggest Imu is a natural born demon/devil with a superiority complex?

The scanlations found the name "Coeurl" in the characters for the contract. Even after reading the summary for Black Destroyer I'm not quite seeing how that's relevant. Will have to track down the full story maybe. At least the imagery in "Domi Reversi" is easy to follow.

The final spread takes the already impressive previous-chapter page of the Sleeptid invasion and escalates it. What a truly crazy way for this arc to go. Could this be why the initial enemy force was so small, leaving us all to think this wouldn't be a 1v1 fight kind of arc, because the crew's going to have to fight Dorry, Broggy and their crew instead? Have to surpass his "masters" could be great for Usopp's growth at least.

There's so much to consider about how this insane power is supposed to fit in with the One Piece we've known up to this point, and so much we still don't know about it that it's hard to do more than just ramble off possibilities. Is Imu the demon/devil-taming Forest God from the Harley text? Are they a devil that had once been tamed by that god but was freed when the Second World ended? Is this actually just a broken, Nika-style Devil Fruit, say a Human Human Model: Devil or Model: Satan? And of course all imagery of devils and hell in the series bear re-examining after seeing this. Impel Down's uniforms, for example. (Hey remember how last week Sommers had a Crimson Hell attack, the same name as Impel Down's first level?) Was there a world where Impel Down was a tower prison either for or run by demons before the Second World's apocalyptic flooding let the World Government turn it into a submerged oubliette for their undesirables?

I think back to Dressrosa and Doflamingo, and how his big thing as a villain was being a puppetmaster, able to sow chaos by influencing or directly controlling the various parties he'd wronged so they clashed with each other. How he made Luffy fight Bellamy when he didn't want to, forcing him to hurt his friends. Even just the way he preferred to rule the kingdom, be served by the people and look down from above when he obviously had the power to level the island in an afternoon when he wanted to. Given his knowledge of Marie Geoise secrets, you have to wonder if Doflamingo's intent was to make himself into a mini-Imu all along, and the whole arc was foreshadowing and stage-setting for this ultimate battle.

And of course, we have to think about Loki and his crimes. Oh, he killed a bunch of allies and family members and acts like the situation was more complicated but doesn't directly explain. Oh, the guys who got killed had a Holy Knight summoning circle in their palace. That feels like a few puzzle pieces fitting together from where I'm sitting. Going to be bonus tragic when Luffy inevitably shows us how to flip back captured pieces without killing them.

Because freeing them is what he has to do. We learned two arcs ago that the hero represents a god of liberation. Now that we have an evil god of dominion and conquest, what the hell else could possibly happen?

This has already turned out rambly so I don't want to waste too much time signing off. All I will say is thank god it's not a break week, because this is a lot to sit with.

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One Piece chapter 1149 review

Wow, hey, I didn't see that coming. And in fairness, I play it fairly safe as far as theorycrafting goes. The conventions of storytelling - the structure of rising and calling arcs of action and character growth, the long and short term pacing, the way foreshadowing is doled out - all are the way they are for good reasons. A lot of fan theories these days emphasise some big, shocking clickbaitable twist hiding in plain sight, but in reality nine times out of ten the thing that will happen is what's being built up in the standard ways.

But then there's that tenth time, when the author swerves and subverts and escalates past where you thought the limit was. Done purposefully, and after enough time of colouring inside the lines, and you can catch even your most analytical readers off-guard.

The choice to include Lilth and Bonney in the colour spread is interesting. I wonder if this one was drawn back in Egghead when they were more prominent and left unused, or if they just got in by default because none of Elbaph's locals would fit. Usopp and the cat seeing the bill is a fun detail, you just know Nami set the prices. I'm in two minds about Bonney's tray though. Like yeah, it's probably "rip-off" like what the Japanese text says, and there is exactly one confirmed instance of deliberate colour spread foreshadowing in the series' whole run, so it's not a safe bet. But come on, the tray even has kind of a squashed shape instead of being a perfect circle, making it feel even more like a tombstone. Maybe that final page twist has me in a mood for conspiracies, but I can't help paying attention to it.

I'm glad we get to see a decent amount of fighting between Scopper and Sommers. It's getting hard to tell if this arc is going have room for traditional, extended one on ones, so I was worried we wouldn't get to see the full creative applications of his and Gunko's powers. Pleasantly surprised that Haki isn't being treated as the be all, end all solution to immortality here. It's obviously effective up to a point, but not enough to put the Holy Knights fully out of the battle. Anyone else notice the Impel Down callback in one of Sommers' attacks too?

This is also a great scene for Chopper. He doesn't call out Brain Point by name, but being the only one present to really notice how effective Scopper is managing to be and making the pragmatic choice to follow him instead of wasting strength on the others (having seen that Robin couldn't cut Gunko's arrows and Saul couldn't do anything for the thorn coils around the children) is Brain Point behaviour. And since he follows Scopper over the edge at the end, he's going to be the one in a position to relay the secret to the others later, whether by returning alone or escorting Scops to Luffy's group.

The school and library start to burn. That's one timer running, but I'd be surprised if any real damage is done to the books. The school can be rebuilt if it burns down. I wonder if the answer will be as simple as Biblo deactivating his power so that the books shrink down and become easy to move, or at least consolidate in a corner away from the flames. But even without personally feeling the threat, seeing Robin and Saul's reactions as it goes up is heartbreaking.

And speaking of heartbreaking, god damn, Ronja. What an awful thing to put on a child's shoulders. In light of the final pages, I find Gunko's reaction to the child's tears interesting. She thinks Ronja should be happy to be saved, no matter what has been sacrificed in her name to make that happen, even if surviving this means a life of servitude. Is Gunko herself enduring a scenario where everything important to her was lost, leaving her with only a life in the Celestial Dragons' grip? This is followed by another tragedy: Collun's love for his dad foiling the rescue. Understandable coming out of a kid raised in a well-defended land of peace, but you can see the pain in Scopper's face. I'm surprised the future sight vision of Collun's death was so graphic. Good way to get readers in the mindset that made Scopper back down though. His injuries are pretty rough, and with the fall to go with them I might have feared for Scopper's life in any other series. But he's going down by the side of the best doctor he could ask for, who also happens to be able to transform into a big, fluffy cushion if he can get ahead of him in the air.

And then the final spread just punches everything into top gear. Gunko knew Brook? Pre-piracy Brook lore? His army days and knowledge of Germa and the Holy Knights? God damn, this has been a long time coming. That alone would have put me into overdrive, and then Imu drops in to say hi. Why is the Holy Land burning? How far does their power over the marked ones go, now that we've seen telepathic communication, body hijacking and remote termination? What is Imu actually going to do via Gunko that she wasn't already doing? Is Imu able to bring any other powers of their own through into her body, like, say, their transformation from the Sabo's throne room scene? Given the lightning, is this an application of Haki, or at least Imu's Haki being used by Gunko's body (and that being possible, could the Strawhats with CoC lend it to their crewmates for future battles)? And I legitimately cannot tell if getting possessed made Gunko's hair grow or if it was just hidden before.

Awesome week to be following One Piece, made better by not having a break to nurse this cliffhanger through. I can't wait to see where Oda's going with all of this and what long-awaited Imu lore is going to be delivered through their presence.

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One Piece chapter 1148 review

Highs and lows this week with a great scene for Robin but the regeneration problem seeming to be solved in the least interesting way. There's still time to right the ship on that second one, but we'll get there when we get there.

The Holy Knights are moving around pretty quickly between chapters here, Gunko going from her position with Sommers and the captive Strawhats all the way to the kids' location. Sommers also seems to be leaving in that direction in his first scene, but she's outpaced him to a pretty ridiculous degree.

Ronja was the most upbeat of the kids in her intro panel in the last chapter, and she keeps her spirits high this week even has her situation deteriorates. It's heartbreaking. Man, I thought Collun was going to be the standout kid character, followed maybe by Johanna, but Ronja's speech, with her still-smiling breakdown at the end, have rocketed her to the front. Oda has played with the contrast between tears and a smile before, perhaps with the most commentary in Wano via the Smile fruits, but I think it's most effective in scenes like this one where the character forces themself to put a brave face on in a situation where anyone would forgive them for despairing that are the most affecting.

And man, who's going to say that Elbaph's kids are too soft after this? They might not be as enthusiastic about violence as previous generations, but little Ronja is still willing to put her life fully on the line for her beliefs. I won't here a word of slander; the bravery of Elbaph has been passed down just fine.

Robin fights Sommers, and it's everything I want from a Robin right. She hits fast and hard with disabling blows, working like an assassin, and then, because she's the smart one, she even has a plan of her own for the immortality that genuinely catches her opponent off-guard. Hard to imagine anyone doing better with the info they have now. Her one misstep was underestimating how hard it would be to get the others out of Gunko's arrow wraps. I have no doubt that if even one other Strawhat got free, they'd have been able to finish the job and push Sommers to the Underworld.

Again we raise the question of Gunko's weakness. The arrows can't be moved by others, they aren't burned by fire and they can't be cut with a knife. What's the answer going to be then?

And before we leave this scene, I really enjoyed bandage mummy Brook and Nami's spirited commentary against Sommers and for Robin.

The chapter ends with the order being given to burn the library and the school, but I have no doubt they'll be saved. Sommers emphasises earlier in the chapter that the World Government's goal is to erase the giants inconvenient history and culture rather than just taking their lives, but the result will still be the end of giants as we know them. Again, this is a real world tactic of oppression and genocide. Consider the Australian Aboriginal Stolen Generations, where thousands of children were segregated fully from the elders of their culture to receive a white education and prevent the customs and beliefs of the Aboriginies from being passed down. Erase the culture and history so you can rebuild a people as whatever you want them to be, whether that's assimilated parts of your own society gradually breeding out their racial traits, or as the mindless mercenary barbarians you have on retainer.

But the last page is where the chapter starts to lose me. Scopper cuts off Sommers' hand, which doesn't regenerate. Not only is there an art mistake (the cut hand changes between panels) but the implication seems to be it's his Advanced Conqueror's Haki that's causing the lasting damage. Siiiiiiiiigh. Look. I'm a fantasy reader. I can forgive a lot of "chosen one" stuff as long as the stories and characters are interesting. I can read into all kinds of ambiguities about whether the outcome was inevitable or if the hero was just the right guy in the right place at the right time. I don't think Nika retroactively undoes any of the stuff Luffy fought for before the power awakened. I don't think his famous family has carried him on his journey. But I would say that locking the way to hurt the final bosses behind the one in a million super special power, and perhaps further behind its better version that "only a handful of the very strongest" can achieve is a step too far. Committing to that would be a misstep.

But we're not committed to that yet. Let's spitball some alternate possibilities while we have the chance. Option 1a: The mark: We've been told that part of the Holy Knights' powers are enabled by a "mark" they all wear somewhere out of sight. Maybe the secret is to remove or target the mark. But I wouldn't bet on that. Sommers should know where his mark is and wouldn't be so confused about what's happening to him in that case. We also saw Gunko getting annihilated almost down to the waist a couple of chapters ago. Most of her lower body is visibly bare, so that mark would have to be pretty intimate to not have been destroyed by the explosion.

Option 1b: Scopper is marked. Perhaps people with the mark can harm each other. The Roger Pirates could have discovered the secret behind this power on their journey and some of them may have chosen to take a measure of the power themselves as a personal sacrifice for to be able to stand up for the next generation.

Option 2: It's Haki, but not the way we think. In early Wano, a big emphasis was placed on Luffy learning the internal destruction application of his Armament Haki. I think it's curious that this never really comes up again. I've assumed for years that it's what Luffy used to penetrate Kaido's scales and do real damage to him, but they never talk about it directly. Instead, the technique emphasised in that battle is the off-body emission, used for the 'fight without touching' clashes and to push through the magma cloak at the end. So maybe internal destruction was setup for this, where with fine control your injected Haki can block the regeneration until it wears off or the enemy forces it out with their own Haki. Adding Conqueror's coating would obviously make it more effective, but in this case it's not a prerequisite for fighting. I think this would be the ideal middleground.

Option 3: It's the axes. Whether seastone or something rarer and more endgamey, a special custom godkilling weapon for each Strawhat would be a neat final set of powerups. Having it be Seastone could play into the lore already setting up Wano as important for being the sole source and best workers of Seastone. It would tell us a lot about their role in the Void Century days and the future.

Those are my best guesses, but I'm curious to see what the fanbase comes up with given a week off to think. My fingers are crossed for something creative and unexpected from Oda that blows us all away next chapter though.

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One Piece chapter 1147 review

On my first quick readthrough, I thought this looked like a bit of a bridging chapter, but rereading and taking down notes scene by scene I found a pretty decent amount of meat on its bones. Not much new in the cover story, except in the background, is that a random samurai claiming Who's Who's mask as a prize or something? Maybe forcibly unmasking him? Are we going to see the guys real face in the next installment?

And the next curiosity is Saul's familiarity with not just the Holy Knights but their apparent immortality. I would have thought that was a closely-guarded Marie Geoise secret. Although, I guess you only have to hit commodore to be able to see the Five Elders' powers, so it's not out of the question a vice admiral would have had clearance. And as a giant, the higher ups must have taken a special interest in Saul, so maybe he was given a chance to see the ability in action that way. Either way, this flashback with Saul providing extra reasons not to fight is exactly what I wanted last week when I was saying Robin and Chopper's surrender felt too abrupt.

I'm surprised Gunko went out of her way to capture all four of the Strawhats from Collun's mission. Really looked like those guys were all going into freefall, and fairly spread out from each other as well. Really gives you an idea of how much speed, precision and range she must have with her powers.

Well, it gives us a chance to see Brook and Gunko interact. I'm very curious about Book's like that there's 'something about that woman.' The scans interpreted this very directly as him recognising her from somewhere, while the official translation keeps it vague. I'd love for someone with the raws and some Japanese skill to clarify it. Leaping off from the recognition angle, did she come to one of his concerts during the timeskip? Or maybe (extreme longshot) we're going to go into discussions about immortality over her having been around since before Brook's death. Probably not, given that Garling has visibly aged during his Holy Knight tenure, but catching up with an unchanged immortal would be a really fun way to use Brook's powers. I loved seeing Brook declare his loyalty to Luffy here. Funnily, Gunko clutches her chest after the first time she kicks him - is it hurting her heart to attack her favourite singer? Not that it stops her from laying into him in the following panel, so maybe I'm overthinking it. And what I'm glad to see about this scene as a whole is not a single mention of panties. So many people speculated about Gunko and Brook's meeting and how he'd react to her pantsless state or if he'd be the origin of that fashion choice. But honestly, from discussions of the female Egghead outfits to here, I think 'panties' is a word the fanbase uses a little too liberally for any kind of minimalist bottomwear. Despite the visual similarities, a bikini bottom or the lower half of a leotard or one piece swimsuit aren't the same thing and don't carry the same connotations as actual underwear. That's meant to be the whole thing with the Japanese panty obsession, right? Seeing something private that would be taboo to reveal publicly. Something designed as outerwear, even with the same amount of skin showing, isn't going to give a perv like Brook the same voyeuristic thrill. Like don't get me wrong, Gunko's outfit is still ridiculous, and so were some of the Egghead design choices, but it feels like an exaggeration calling every frame of them 'panty shots,' you know? Anyway thank you Oda from not taking the low-hanging fruit, please don't immediately prove me wrong next chapter.

Going back to the battles across the island as Sommers starts his broadcast, I love that we're still getting more nightmare designs as the set piece plays out. A dog spider, a pumpkin-head man (who's missing the normal shading in his first appearance), a sea serpent, a griffin and a kraken join the fray. The variety and designs are wonderful.

We get names and a little snippet of characterisation for the ten captive kids as well, which is a good start on making their rescue/escape something we as readers are invested in. Collun's already setting himself up as a leader among them, following his expected arc. Johanna's line seems to imply she's an orphan or something. And that with her having black Ancient Giant horns like Loki and Harald. Could be something, could be nothing. I'll be keeping an eye on her.

On the Great Erik, it's curious how they talk about the ship leaking. You wouldn't think that matters much on a svar. Maybe just a weird translation of talk about a hull breach. The wives and mothers being the thing to take the giant warriors down is hilariously unexpected. I don't think anyone pegged that when we were laughing about one kid picking his mum as a fear and her showing up in the corner of the sleeptid reveal spread. What's really interesting is the mums here using fire and lightning powers. We know Elbaph isn't a friendly nation to Big Mom, but even so (or perhaps because of that) her powers have obviously become synonymous with a mother's wrath.

Hey, we're at the map drawing stage of the set piece already. That tends to be a big landmark on the way to the climax. And it's just good to have confirmation of relative positions.

And in all the fun of the escalating battle, Oda has to slip in something real. Subjugation through the destruction of libraries and schools, the malleability of an uneducated populace. A time-honoured tactic of fascists and dictators everywhere. And very, very reasurring after the early chapters of the arc played up the decline of warrior ways and the school and library as the pet projects of a then evil-seeming king. I think we can say with confidence now that this won't turn into a 'new generations soft' kind of narrative. And I love Robin's intensity when she stands up to resist this. She's had a great start to this arc and it looks like she'll keep being one of its central Strawhats. Now we just have to find Usopp's role…

What of Gaban though? I wouldn't say he's been particularly death-flagged, but this is the kind of spot the pros of the last generation take one for the team so the actual protagonists can shine.

The arc is feeling well set up as we move toward the middle chapters of volume 113. I'm looking forward to seeing Robin in action and what Collun and the other kids do now that they're awake and aware of their situation. And there's Luffy and Loki's eventual arrival to wait for as well.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1146 review

Whew, I'd really hoped to get through this before the next chapter's spoilers dropped, but life just gets in the way sometimes. Hoping to be back to a degree of normalcy next week.

Good to have One Piece back from its break in this busy time though, and I'm happy to be getting (at least a little of) exactly what I want from the Holy Knight confrontations. Off the bat, Yamato's cover story takes a big, expected step toward giving them their own crew. Thirty chapters deep though, is there really time to recruit any more Beasts Pirates besides the dino siblings?

Gunko talks about the World Government wanting to use the giants as a mercenary force, and the chapter takes the time to emphasise that, from little things like Ripley carrying Franky as he fights to the gorgeous spread of the crew ripping apart the nightmares. The average, noncombatant giant might be beatable by the best of humans, but I would wager there are more average giants than there are top level humans, and the potential of a fully trained giant fighting alone or a moderately trained giant supporting a top level human is terrifying to consider.

I've repeatedly hyped myself up for the creative potential of Gunko's arrow powers in a fight, referencing Soul Eater's use of a similar power multiple times, and the reality does not disappoint. I love the redirects of both projectile and close range range attacks, I love the zippy way she moves around to dodge and strike along the arrow lines, and man do I love Usopp freaking out when the arrow points to him, and Nami trying to pull it to another target. Funny how Saul's group didn't seem to try that for the kids. But I wonder if the the arrows being physically tangible but immovable to other people could be key to fighting Gunko. Imagine just hopping on top of one and charging up it the wrong way to meet her attack with your own.

We also get confirmation that the Holy Knights share the Five Elders' regenerating properties. I'm happy to see this. The power scale for raw, physical might more or less hit a ceiling with Kaido. Trying to pull out another gang of enemies who are just stronger would have verged on late Dragon Ball levels of absurdity, so making these guys undamageable puzzle bosses is a smart move. They can be a serious threat without raising questions about why they can't solve all the World Government's problems on their own.

Plus, I'm curious about what the weakness will ultimately be. Joyboy's haki seemed to dispel the Elders' demonic forms, but it didn't do any apparent physical damage, and the Holy Knights don't seem like they can transform like that. I hope the answer is a bit more interesting (and less monster trio exclusive) than just haki.

Finally, holy moley, Usopp went for the kill. Even as the most "normal" Strawhat, this is a look at how he might measure up to a an actually ordinary, undefended human, and it sure makes a statement. And we'll just be sticking a pin in Brook knowing about the Holy Knights out of hand. Iiiiiiinteresting.

The confrontation ends with the Strawhat group ejected from the svar, so I guess they're being sent to the Underworld to pull Luffy and Loki into the battle. And speaking of battles ending, it's a little disappointing to not have seen more of Killingham and Summers' ones. There are hints - Killingham being able to induce sleeplike states even adults after all and Sommers' field of thorns. I think seeing a bit more of the futility of fighting with Sommers could have gone a long way to make Robin and Chopper agreeing to hide make sense. As it is, it feels a little abrupt, even callous of them to accept Saul's sacrifice so readily.

The last lines of the chapter are a big lore hook, implying again a level of familiarity between the Holy Knights and Harald. But contrary to all previous build-up, Sommers here suggests Harald either defied or outright betrayed them by changing the country's culture. So not as bad a guy as we thought? But if he's not, why did Loki kill him, and if it's because Loki is evil, why is he being set as a parallel with Luffy earlier in the chapter. The mystery keeps building! This arc's flashback is going to be something else.

Seeing Gunko in action gives me a good feeling about the direction of the arc. Good, old school puzzle powers and a bit of mystery building for the flashback, increasing both Harald and Loki's moral ambiguity. We're in the early stages of a new volume with nowhere for the momentum to go but up. I see a good few weeks ahead.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1145 review

Oh, I'm surprised the anime colour spread gets to be included in the official release as a part of the chapter. When I heard it wasn't drawn by Oda and the chapter had a normal cover anyway, I figured it was just colour pages for the magazine. Wonder if it'll keep its place in the volume, or get moved out of the way to the back like the enormous WT100 spread did. Oda may not have illustrated this, but I can see him doing something in this ballpark, and having the clock showing the new Japanese timeslot is fun.

I've been manga-only for a long, long time, but I'm keen to see what the anime can do with some time off and a switch to a more seasonal format. The first episode off the block still only covered a single chapter, which doesn't fill me with confidence, but maybe they planned that one out before the break. I'm willing to give them a couple more to see if anything changes.

The hunting scene makes an interesting opener - kind of a non-sequitur considering all the action building elsewhere on the island. I guess if this is the start of a new volume it could work as kind of a cold open to the book before getting back into the meat of things. Either way, it's neat to see Zoro and Sanji working together. And I suppose they'd have to - the Groggysaurus is freaking big. Look at it tower over Goldberg in the opening panel. I wish there'd been at least one shot where it gets properly sized up against a normal human to show what a beast it is. Unfortunately, the perspective on the final shot of Zoro slicing it makes him look way bigger in proportion to it.

And there's some lore here with Goldberg's homie shield, Nash. This thing was first shown off in chapter 899, just as Whole Cake Island was wrapping up, in Hadjrudin's segment of the Grand Fleet cover story, which was perhaps suspiciously just a series of character intros rather than a mini story like the rest. How far in advance has this been planned? I'm definitely curious to hear any details about a fight between the giants and Big Mom after she left Elbaph and acquired her powers. Does it have to do with the marriage arrangement with Loki that fell through, or did some giants at some point come to settle things over her childhood rampage? Feel like I'm forgetting whether or not this was hinted at anywhere else. It'd be cool for it to end up being plot relevant, but my gut is saying SBS summary.

I love Luffy's inept attempts to nurse Loki in the following scene, and Gerd egging him on is a great punchline. But, of course, the big thing here is Loki's connection to Rocks in an obviously twisted, abusive version of the Luffy-Shanks dynamic. I'm now ten times more invested in the inevitable Loki flashback. What did he admire in Rocks and how did he try to emulate it in his mysterious falling out with Harald?

And I'm going to throw this out there more as a thought than an actual theory, but what if this has something to do with the blindfold? We know Loki was wearing it at a young age - about the age he seems to be in the flashback panel here. But his helmet conveniently obscures the whole top half of his face. There are lines that might be the bottom of the bandages peeking out, but they might just be trickles of blood. At face value (heh) it seems like Newgate is scolding Rocks for impaling Loki, but what if it went further than that? Suppose Rocks took Loki's eyes. I'd need a few more hints before I call it likely, but it would definitely make for compelling drama.

Cool moment for Jinbei here, even if it hasn't been that long since he saved everyone from a fire the same way on Onigashima. The real surprise is the ticking clock of Elbaph burning being silenced so soon. If not that, then what?

We also get some more chatter about hiding your voice from CoO from Gaban. I'd love to learn more about this.

Gunko's arrival of Collun's svar promises a good confrontation for next chapter. Definitely curious to see how a Holy Knight stacks up against a pretty decent spectrum of low to high level Strawhat combat threats. I'm not into powerscaling and want to distance myself from most of the kinds of talks that come up if you search 'powerscaling' (which is a whole rant of its own for another place and time), but yeah, I want to see how strong these guys really are. The hype is big, but savaging wild animals and a chained man doesn't tell us much.

Plus she doesn't seem to have noticed Brook is there yet, so that'll surely be fun.

Finally, while we're on this, that's such an Oda set of panels, when she appears (embedded above). It's basically three shots overlapping each other, all showing the same moment from different angles and at different levels of closeup. The top one bisects the bottom one but doesn't look out of place because even though the element going across the top breaks the line of sight between the crew and the thing they're reacting to, it's actually that same thing. You just don't see other manga artists doing them like this.

I think the next chapter will ultimately be a loss for the weaker Strawhats, even with Jinbei present. Something to get Collun in position to be a damsel for the adults and a hero in his own right to the weaker kids. Maybe this results in the Strawhats being ejected from the svar and dropped to the Underworld to meet up with Luffy's group and pull them into the situation. I can only hope it's educational about how the rest of the arc and the final confrontations with the Holy Knights will play out.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1144 review

Yeah, I think this is the end of volume 112. Oda has lately favoured rallying moments and bits of intrigue over dire and desperate cliffhangers for recent volume endings, so Dorry, Brogy and Scopper leaping into the fray is the perfect moment to cut things and leave readers excited to see what's coming next.

That said, it's also starting to feel like we're moving into the middle stage of the arc where the pacing slows for the action to play out. The set pieces are building bigger and bigger, but I'm finding myself with less to say each week because it's just the stuff already established playing out. Which is fine, and normal, and a necessary part of any big shonen arc, and they all feel better on the reread than they do to wait on week by week.

This week's one big lore piece is the ancient facility in the opening scene. The art here is awesome with deep shadows and overgrown detail that really emphasise the age, and that 3000 year figure almost certainly making this First World tech is crazy. I thought it would be years before we came back to that. Glad that it gives Lilith something tangible to do in the background instead of just fading away as well. What's rough is the spoiler providers assuming this is a robot - I'm not saying there's no chance of that, but it's far from as certain as the summaries suggested. Yeah, that dome at the top looks a decent bit like the heads of the robots from Castle in the Sky, but there's no body. And yet, the perception of it as one is almost certainly going to persist in the fanbase and overshadow any other theory. To shout out another possibility I've already seen, there was a comment suggesting the top section as a cylindrical segment of a rocket. I'm not convinced enough to put money down on that, but I still like the idea.

Usopp gets a really fun joke quietly slipping in that he wants to fight as the giants get ready to fight the nightmares. We get what looks to be a broad division of labour for the coming set piece with the Strawhats and Collun (surprised he wasn't at the school, but he still gets to fill his expected role as the one kid fighting back, so it's not that big of a shock) taking on the human-size intruders while the giants face the big ones. There's some good, quick logic from Brook and Jinbei picking out the number of enemies and the fact that giants might have trouble pinning down a threat so small, as well as Nami getting on Collun's good side to get access to a boat they wouldn't have had otherwise.

It's neat that Gunko is a Soul King fan. Crazy it's taken this long for that to come up, actually. And cool that it's an enemy instead of an ally, for that potential drama. If her pantsless state is all for his sake I'll crack it though. And the whole conversation that follows is a fascinating reminder of how evil the Celestial Dragon mindset is. These guys have seemed pretty affable so far (outside of the whole kidnapping children thing), but reading between the lines of Sommers executing enslaved musicians for missing a note. That's an insanely cruel pastime to so casually bring up. And the only objection at the table is for making fun of Gunko's interests.

Attention to detail check: the Great Erik still shows the charred evidence of being shot at by Marine ships and getting ignited by Mars' fire break on Egghead, as well as the figurehead being haphazardly tied on after Nusjuro severed it.

For all the feeling that this set piece is just starting to build, the nightmare monsters seem like they're going down fast. Dorry and Broggy knock down three in a single panel at the end of the chapter while the other adults fell the draugr, accounting for a decent portion of the creatures from the reveal spread already. Almost too easy. Makes me wonder if these monsters are really gone, or while the children sleep will Killingham be able to pull infinite copies from their minds? How many back to back Hakoku Sovereignties do we think the captains have in them? This could be the thing that makes it properly desperate and high-stakes that the Strawhats find and take down the Holy Knights.

And I hear we're getting another colour spread next week to celebrate the anime returning. I wonder if it'll be a normal one, or if Oda will draw something specifically for the spot the anime's up to, as he's done for movies, games, the live action show, the Ryuma OVA and the Heroines novel. Maybe fully and officially coloured versions of the Five Elders' monster forms? We can only hope.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1143 review

Conflict is continuing to build on Elbaph, but this chapter doesn't achieve quite the same momentum as the last few. It is, however, the tenth of volume 112, so we're likely to see some big stuff next week or the week after to close out the book. Technically it could end here, but that last vague reveal is so obvious I don't think it's the place to close a volume on.

The colour spread is vibrant as ever. It doesn't feel totally original - there have definitely been a few racing ones in the past - but there's no arguing with the art quality. My only complaint is Jinbei's lack of presence. This feels like an old spread he's been awkwardly worked into an empty space on. The guy would have felt like less of an afterthought if he'd just not been there at all. Even Brook looks oddly out of place, seemingly almost like he's casually stepping off his fish at speed.

The main focus this week is on the powers of the Holy Knights. There are interesting applications here, but very little in the way of limitations. What is the range of Sommers and Killingham's powers? They don't seem to have been close enough to make physical contact with the kids, but it doesn't seem like they've attempted to move against the adults either. Saul confirms that Gunko's arrows are visible, which we mostly knew from the earlier scene with Loki, but I'm glad to have it confirmed by a man no wearing a blindfold. I'm glad we basically immediately get confirmation that things pulled from dreams are calorie-free. The spoilers alone had people wondering why Killingham didn't single-handedly solve the Marie Geoise food crisis, even though this would have been the obvious answer even if it wasn't mentioned. And hey, these guys make a fun enemy group. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when they get to interact with the main cast.

The scene with the firefighters and the Draugr isn't huge on substance, but the contrast of the childlike monster drawing throwing down the intricately rendered ship is one to remember.

In the Underworld, the Loki situation rapidly deescalates back to a phase of negotiation. The fire above will keep burning, but I can't help feeling a little teased to have him fall so suddenly. And I'm not sure how to read the action leading to it. Does Luffy actually hit him, or does he collapse before he gets the chance? There's nothing of Oda's usual emphasis on impact if a punch happens here, and even though Luffy's pose in the panel where Loki hits the ground looks like he took a swing, his arm is already deflated. Maybe just a little tap to help him on his way down?

What I'm now very, very curious about is Loki's blindfold. He wore it as a kid? It's not related to his ability? But it's not so important Gerd couldn't put band-aids underneath it. What's the reason then?

And it's very interesting that Rodo thinks he knows who attacked Loki. Is it just a dot he's connecting after seeing the injured guards, or is there something else he knows that he's not letting on? I guess through his diorama he might pick up more info about the outside world than the average giant, but I could be overthinking things.

And yes, we're hinting at the truth of Loki and Harald at the end. Certainly, there must be readers casual enough to have taken the idea of Loki as an evil criminal at face value, but I personally don't count it as new info. I wonder how much we're going to go into it next week. It's too soon for a full flashback, but I'll dare to hope for some verbal details.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1142 review

Oda shows no sign of hitting the breaks on Elbaph this week. It's amazing how different his storytelling feels for this arc and Egghead compared to the bloat of Wano. Whether it's a second wind from reaching the final saga, a response to feedback or personal feelings about how Wano turned out, or fear that he wouldn't reach the end before he gets too old to do so, Oda is choosing to go foot to the floor.

But even within this new, fast era we can see growth and adaptation. Egghead felt underpopulated without a single named lab assistant outside the main Vegapunks. Nothing in the arc would have changed if the island had been staffed entirely by robots, a flaw that stood out in a series so full of large and vibrant casts that make its settings feel fleshed out. Elbaph will not face this accusation despite reaching a state of open conflict before the end of its second volume. Kids, teachers, warriors, leaders and animals, all with different personalities and interpretations of the local mythology. There's enough going on to give the impression of a large, functioning society of individuals. And yes, Elbaph is advantaged by so many giants having been introduced earlier in the story, but I'm still impressed.

The first big forward movement of the chapter is the Holy Knights' attack on the Walrus School, with a very unique set of powers. If I'm reading between the lines properly, Killingham can put people to sleep (what limitations are on this that kept him from outright disabling the adults too?) and Sommers can manifest people's fears. It's very cool how the children's fears take on a rougher look with crayon-like textured shading. I think these things will look great in the colour manga a few years from now, given splotchy, bright tones that can stand out even more from the sharper surrounding art. Will any adults' fears that get pulled out take on the same style? And which character is inevitably going to make Sommers do the Enel face when they say they have no fears?

We also get a fun new application of Gunko's arrows in leading the unconscious. This brings to mind the hypnotic suggestions of Miss Goldenweek's painting (coincidentally, a power also showcased in an arc with giants) and the possibility of arrow traps that redirect her opponents' attacks or movements in more favourable directions. Again, I refer to Medusa from Soul Eater for how creative and visually distinct this kind of power can be. And if Luffy could be tricked back into the unthinking instinct mode he used to dodge Enel's Mantra, would he be totally at the mercy of the arrows like the sleeping children?

Also in this sequence, we're meeting more school staff. I guess that's why they call it the Walrus School then. Wonder if this guy has any connection to Islewan from Whitebeard's fleet. They can't both have a walrus Devil Fruit, right?

Down in the Underworld, Loki cuts an intimidating figure, not revealing his own power but proving there's something special about that hammer. The lightning that crackles around it as he winds up the swing is rendered differently to the crackle of energy produced by Haki, but we can see also that the blow calls a thunderbolt from the sky rather than being charged with its own power. And man, I did not expect the ticking clock of the burning tree to be started so soon. Almost too soon. It barely counts as setup if it happens the chapter after it's first mentioned.

We don't have much time to go into responses to this here. I'm really curious to see how Luffy's going to act, whether he'll demand Loki explain himself or go straight into fight mode to put things right.

The final pages, returning to the school, deliver a stunning piece of art as Norse myths and classic childhood specters alike come to life. I hope Loki and Luffy get to meet the reflections of themselves here. Love seeing that one kid's mum hidden between two speech bubbles in the bottom left. What's interesting as well, is the sky. The space above and behind the monsters is filled in with the same rough shading as their colours. Oda doesn't use screentone like that for clouds or skyboxes, so it's a part of Sommers' powers. An extension of the storm that one kid feared, or some indication of a closed space where his power works?

Break weeks are never fun, but I'll take it here to get the next few events from here in an uninterrupted string, which include the finale for volume 112. Feel like we must be due for a colour spread when we come back as well, so things aren't all bad.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1141 review

Man, things are moving in this arc! I expected at least another chapter of transition and chapter before Luffy and Zoro even reached Loki, let alone freed him, but Oda's wasting no time at all on this one. And we're still in volume 112, with at least two chapters of it to go. This book is going to be stacked.

But despite the huge plot movements, this chapter finds time for fun and characterisation as well. I loved Nami's exaggerated and insincere insisting that she was only there for the treasure and wasn't involved in Luffy's Loki plan, and then a totally wasted Usopp going crazy at the party a couple of pages later. This arc is a long time coming for Usopp, so I'm glad he gets a bit of fun before it puts him through his paces.

We get a little more Adam Tree lore as Franky learns about the fallen branch of Haugen. This feels like some big, important setup. Fire and lightning being Elbaph's weakness has to be setup for the final act of the arc. It wouldn't be One Piece without a ticking clock to the whole island getting destroyed, and an out-of-control fire bringing down the tree could be exactly that, especially if Loki's big hammer is about to reveal some Thor-like powers. It's not my favourite way for things to go, feeling repetitive so soon after Onigashima turned into an inferno and Egghead burned under the Marines' bombardment, but we'll see what twist Oda decides to put on it. If some bits of the tree have to be lopped to stop a fire, will that maybe give Franky material for a final upgrade to the Sunny though?

I've seen the idea float around that we've just learned an unexpected weakness for the Sunny, but I don't think the threat is any greater than to any other wooden ship. Elbaph has a weakness because every part of it is interconnected on the tree, not because Adam Tree wood is particularly flammable or conductive. Not to mention that planks on a ship will be sealed and treated and constantly damp from the seawater, making them much harder to burn than a dry land tree.

Cut to the debate over freeing Loki. I'm not usually into the idea that Zoro is a substantially different character after the timeskip, let alone a worse one, but even for me he comes across way too harsh here. Anyone else remember his first big fight, where kicking a wounded man in the wound was a villainous act? Maybe if he had just prodded the wounds to test for a reaction, or he'd just been blase about Loki dying, or he'd just suggested eating the animals, it could have been a reasonable characterisation moment, but all three of them together just scans as a big much.

(Also did anyone else notice Loki's wearing gloves now? He definitely wasn't at first, but they show up around the time Shamrock attacks him. Wonder if the volume release will ink his hands in properly for the early chapters.)

Hadjrudin's arrival on the scene definitely feels a little rushed, and a little contrived, but it at least manages to be funny. I wonder if it'll be a factor that most of his group are now "severely injured" or if they'll shake it off when the time comes to fight. Probably worth noting as well that Sanji and Gerd both escape being hurt and should be going into any future battles at their top capacity.

The final spread is a banger. I've said it a bunch of times through Elbaph already, but I love the sense of scale in the art lately. Look at those details!

Some have questioned why Loki was imprisoned with Ragnir in the first place if it's so dangerous, but I don't think we know enough about how he was locked up in the first place to say if they had a choice or not. Look at the size of this guy - I don't think he was dragged down here; more likely he was knocked out against the tree and the chains hastily set up around him where he fell. It might have been too dangerous to try and get the hammer out from behind him first.

A lot of questions linger about what makes both Loki and Ragnir so dangerous. What Devil Fruit does Loki have? What makes the hammer such a big deal, and does it have an inherent power outside the DF/Haki power system? Does the timeline work out for Ragnir having a Devil Fruit (probably not)?

But hey! It's another no-break week, so answers may be coming very soon. And with the volume so close to its end, they should be big ones.

[cptn-m]

Gundam GQuuuuuux Beginning review

For the uninitiated, GQuuuuuux Beginning is the first fourish episodes of the upcoming Gundam series, made in collaboration with Studio Khara and plenty of staff of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame (including Hideaki Anno himself), recut into a short movie to preview the series in theatres. I had the chance to watch it this afternoon. This review has no major spoilers if you've been keeping up with the trailers and media leading into it.

I had a great time, but I can see the series being polarising. The pacing is frantic and the energy is super high with little to no downtime. You basically have a prologue section, then the start of the actual story, splitting the "movie" right down the middle. The first half is a flurry of nostalgic bodyblows, full of recreated shots from the original series, classic character designs and uniforms (despite the redesigned mobile suits), and parts of the OG soundtrack remastered for surround sound. Even the title card jingle from the old episodes made it in.

Second half, a switch is flipped and it seems determined to contrast the first as hard as possible. Instead of appealing to nostalgia, the shot selection and animation embrace the new blood of the Eva/FLCL staff - cameras in creative places and battles shot from low angles with silhouetted powerlines crisscrossing the scene, and humans running and jumping with a manic, cartoon fluidity. The soundtrack ditches the old standbys for energetic, synthesised J-pop, a decent amount of it with vocals. This is where the new cast with the Pokemon trainer-looking designs come in, their vibrancy standing out from the familiar uniforms of the old group.

The one thing not dichotomised by the first and second halves is the relentlessness of the pacing. Neither one slows down to explain or relax for a second. I imagine Gundam newbies are going to feel lost in the first half without the lore knowledge needed to fill in the gaps between that section's forward time jumps. The second half also demands you do some thinking to fill in the spaces between its rapid shot and scene changes, but at least puts old and new fans on even footing for their understanding of the general shape of the story.

And to be clear, I came out of it feeling wired. I was head-bobbing to the music in the second half, feeling smart tying together offhand comments to lore I remembered on the fly. I was surprised to look up the runtime and see just 80 minutes because that machinegun pace meant they fit so much story in.

The only place I felt it was let down by its speed is Machu's thin-feeling characterisation. There's a vague wistfulness for freedom set up early on, but she swings between recklessness impulsiveness and flighty panic on a dime, making her real goals and drives hard to pin down. But I'm hoping the full series will be able to give her a few more layers.

This is the perspective of a relatively new and passionate fan though. The background info needed to keep up is still fresh in my mind. I might have come too late to the party to be nostalgic about Gundam, but Evagelion's directing and FLCL's loony tunes energy were big influences in my formative years. If you don't know your OYW and Char Aznable lore, on the other hand, and if you haven't previously learned to roll with that kind of rapid fire storytelling, I can see this one being tough to stomach. But then, the enforced breaks with a week to simmer between episodes might help reign it in for the unprepared.

I'm feeling super hyped up to see the full series, and more curious than ever to see what the wider fandom reaction is going to be when it arrives.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1140 review and analysis

Oda is such a tease. Let there be no fear that the series is wrapping up anytime soon. Despite a hugely memorable entrance Shamrock seems to be ducking out to save his boss status for later, and even Scopper hints that he plans to sit things out and not reveal anything he has to say to Luffy until after things with Loki wrap up. Although, it seems reasonably likely the abduction of his son will pull him into the mix anyway. And Shamrock hasn't actually left yet, so maybe I'm jumping the gun on character departures.

I guess the cover story is going to lead to some kind of Ulti and Page One redemption. Sure, why not. Maybe the Beast Pirates officers who were endearingly evil rather than wholly, cruelly evil are going to end up as Yamato's crew. Although, 26 installments in, there's not going to be a lot of time to go track down Sasaki and whoever else. And what happened between Ulti and Who's Who that he's happy to just torture her anyway?

I'm not surprised the Scopper fight turned out to be a low stakes test rather than a proper showdown, but I'm pleased to see him using the key to fight at least for a little while. It stands out a lot more visually than the axes (though the spread where he cuts up the tower is a banger), and gives us some fun physical comedy when he jams it in Luffy's mouth. I'm searching desperately for subtext in the dialogue about the straw hat, some hint about its relevance or purpose that Scopper knows from the old days, but there's not really much to see besides Scops trying to wind Luffy up.

Two new villains make a great entrance this week with fascinating designs and a great comedic bit when they're summoned in the process of receiving their orders. I'm going to headcanon that being pulled through without getting fully dressed yet is what happened to Gunko. Also Sommers has medals all the way down to his boots after he's dressed. It's a fun detail.

But the real interest here is the new summoning circle lore. People can't go without a "mark," but some inanimate objects can be pulled in. It makes this mysterious mark a double-edged sword - giving the freedom of fast travel, but but also vulnerability of being pulled in against your will any moment after you've been branded. Hey, I wonder if we'll see the good guys exploit that at some point to eject a particularly dangerous WG enemy? And what would have happened if the guys Brook went to for the timeskip had actually stumbled onto the number for a Holy Knight or even an Elder?

We also learn a little bit about the structure of the Holy Knights. Shamrock sends a request up the chain for backup, it gets relayed by his superiors to the other Knights, evidenced by Sommers and Killingham arriving while in conversation with someone else, and with new orders for Shamrock. It's an opaque system for the Knights, and must put some frustrating limits on their autonomy that the plan can be changed so suddenly. Curious about the summoning circle being called an Abyss too. Does the word they use for that in Japanese reveal any connection to the "void" or "emptiness" that come up in the Harley text?

One more time it's hinted that Harald wasn't as good as he seemed. I can't think of a single good reason it would even be on the cards for Shamrock to visit his grave if he wasn't in cahoots with some of the world's worst people.

Shamrock suggesting a game before he departs is curious. The hunting game from God Valley is the first thing that comes to mind, but how does that work for an abduction mission? Or a nation you plan to subjugate rather than exterminate. Hunting giants for sport will not result in an army of giants for the WG. Hunting giant children for sport will make the adults only marginally more cooperative than if they were dead. There must be something else on the cards.

As setup chapters go, this was a fun one. Looking forward to seeing where Oda's taking it all next week.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1139 review and analysis

It's definitely not the blockbuster that the last two chapters were, but the rollercoaster had to peak somewhere, and I don't think there's many who'd complain about getting a Scopper Gaban reveal. Even with a shorter pagecount and break week to really make things feel like old times.

I'm on record somewhere on the internet saying I didn't see where the fanbase's obsession with Scopper Gaban comes from. Like yeah, any member of the Roger Pirates who shows up is automatically going to be a big deal, but a lot of the discussions on the topic treated the character like he has some kind of established personality and role to fill despite his having maybe two or three lines in total. Yes, he was most likely, being one of the few recognisable in Buggy's flashback from way back when, but the material before now was thin enough that you could elevate any member of the crew. But it's Scopper! And now that he's here he can start being built into an actual character.

The early pages put a big spotlight on the summoning circle, but they don't really tell us much we didn't already know. Rodo's never been in the castle, so he couldn't say if it predates the current day or not (although Scopper implies he's been through here before and doesn't make any remark on it). There's no debris on top of it, but I'd say it's fairly likely the plumes of smoke and fire we see when they activate could push obstructions aside to let the user through. Or it's just an aesthetic choice from Oda to ensure the design sticks out. All of the Elders' circles remained totally clear despite Egghead Island literally falling apart around them. We'll have to keep waiting for any real info on how these things work.

My first impression of Scopper is that he seems fun. A little similar to Rayleigh, but I can live with that. The flying axe that precedes him is proportioned to Rodo, not the humans, and he easily picks up the giant-scale key at the end of the chapter, so I'm wondering if he'll have a fighting style centred around oversize weapons. The training regiment could involve using a giant's weapon until you can swing it as easily as you would a human one. The scar on his head is certainly an attention grabber - and we know from that cover story that he's known to leave Elbaph and travel the seas, so it's feeling pretty reasonable this is the burn scar man with the last Poneglyph. And as exciting as that is, it substantially raises the odds that Elbaph is the last regular arc before things get very final war-y. I didn't mind the idea of one final voyage to track down the last piece of the map, but I'm sure it's all part of the plan.

Scopper drops some interesting lore as well. Mainly that Buccaneers are a mixed blood race. But of what? Partly human, obviously, but aside from being fairly bulky and tough they don't have physical characteristics to align them with anything we've seen so far. Sticking a pin in that.

Also it's interesting that Collun seemingly got the full giant lifespan. That must make a very interesting father-son dynamic. I wonder if Luffy'll try telling him to step up because he's older than he is later on. And on the topic of family dynamics, it threw me for a loop that Rodo calls Scopper Ripley's husband and he talks about marrying a giant like he's done it, rather than it being something he would or wouldn't do. I had to look back a few chapters to double check Ripley identifying herself as his "common law wife." And I understand that term, I do, but we use a different phrase for that kind of partnership where I live, and the people under it wouldn't describe themselves directly as husband and wife like that.

I'm not expecting much more than a skirmish from Luffy fighting Scopper over the key, just enough to prove he's on the level and get Scopper to internally make the obvious comparisons to Roger and Rayleigh, and maybe identify a final area of weakness or absent technique to mentor Luffy through. Still, that should be pretty damn exciting just on its own, even if it's only a chapter. What's the bet the arrival of the third Holy Knight interrupts the bout though?

It's crazy to think we're only reaching the halfway point of volume 112 in this chapter. That book is going to end up being one of the most absolutely stacked tones in the whole series even if nothing else happens for the next five chapters (which I seriously doubt). And there's almost no one important to these chapters you could put on the cover without someone crying foul about spoilers. But the possibilities there make good thought fodder as we go into the break.

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One Piece chapter 1138 review and mural analysis

I'm going to put it out there. This is the best One Piece chapter since the Reverie kicked off in mid-2018. The Emperors' bounties and Roger laughing in Wano came close, but this is the first thing to truly make me feel like I did back at that last big reveal. While I don't think that the post-arc lore dump of Wano and Vegapunk's broadcast are quite the failures some sections of the fanbase make them out to be, this is definitely puts in perspective the kind of blow-it-wide-open reveal the naysayers wanted them to be. But would this reveal really have been as big as it is without the little push of extra anticipation and context we got from waiting another couple of arcs?

We open by tying up some lingering questions about last week's big finale. Twins, not clones or anything crazy like that, and Shamrock is the elder. I'm curious about Shanks's return to Marie Geoise - would bet anything it happened right after the Roger Pirates disbanded, after learning about the One Piece. Seems a safe guess the scene where he asks a bunch of questions of Roger and cries about the answers was a precursor.

It's also really, really apparent now that Loki can see despite the blindfold. Sensing attacks coming is one thing, but picking out facial features is another entirely. A big point was made in Dressrosa of Issho not being able to know what Luffy's face looked like, and him being a literally blind admiral would probably be top of the list for Observation Haki, so there may be some kind of special trick to Loki's ability to see. And on the topic of Observation, Shamrock tells Gunko to extinguish her presence. We've long suspected there was a way to hide from powers of Observation, but I think is the first time anyone's actually talked about using it.

Happy to see another Devil Fruit-fused weapon show up as well. I was starting to think Oda had forgotten his SBS promise to get Vegapunk to explain that, but this makes it feel like it's still on the cards. Shamrock's Cerberus behaves a little differently from ones we've seen previously though: it's able to manifest the animal fully separate from the sword. Could this have to do with the wreath of black smoke that suggests an Awakening for the power? There's a lot about Zoan Awakenings that are still mysterious, given that Luffy's still acts more like a Paramecia. Still, I really enjoy the three heads flying around on spiked collar propellers; it's a very creative visual. Alongside Gunko's arrows, I'm feeling pretty good about this arc's fights.

Shamrock plans to take Elbaph's children hostage as he departs, and I think that's where we're getting our main plot for the arc. There's a random three panel scene of the Walrus School used as a scene transition later in the chapter, seemingly just to show the kids are apart from the adults and vulnerable. This would give Oda the chance to elaborate on the ideas of the new generation being "soft" that he's been building up, and to give Collun his hero moment. And on the topic of kids, I think we get a little more on the reason the next generation is being raised peaceful and where Oda wants to take that toward the end of the chapter. Ripley says the image of racial cooperation in the mural seems like a "child's dream." Kids may be chaotic and raise hell at the best of times, but there is an optimism in them, and an ability to dream of the impossible in a way adults can't. Elbaph is nurturing their kids' ability to hope and giving them the tools to make social ties with outsiders so that the plainly childlike dream of a world that works together can be realised. And there's no way that's going to end up being a bad thing.

It's nice that Luffy kinda knows who Belle-mere is now, similar to his deference to Saul. He's not the type to ask about tragic backstories, and we know he struggles to listen to a long-winded tale, but once he's heard about someone important to someone important to him, he's not going to forget it.

And man, the mysterious hat guy is on his way up too so we can have another bombshell reveal next week. I've been waiting for this guy since the cover story. It's nice attention to detail that he talks up the slope beside the main path - of course the giants' stairs wouldn't really work for anyone human-sized.

The rest of the chapter builds into the text of the Harley and the reveal of the Harley and its accompanying mural. And man, this is huge. It looks like everything we've been waiting to find out put on display at once, but in a vague enough form that we can't be totally sure of what part of it is which big, exciting thing. I can't wait to spend years looking back at these last two pages as the details finally unravel. it's crazy. And it gives me arcs I want to reread over the coming weeks to look for clues in the details. Anything with giants - Little Garden and Ennies Lobby, maybe Thriller Bark for Oars - and all the ancient mythology of Skypiea seem like good starting points.

The Harley text presents three worlds separated by apocalyptic events, none of which truly end the world, but instead reorder and remake it, much like the Norse Ragnarok. It provides a prophecy - the end of the Third World in which the characters now live - as well as two pasts. A version of the Void Century was always a given, but another set of mythologies for a world before the Void Century. I really didn't think we'd get much of that in the story - vague hints of how utopian things were before the World Government overthrew the Ancient Kingdom, sure, but not a whole detailed end of the world story for them. It's not clear either how long before the events we know of this is all meant to have taken place as well. The Second World could just be the Void Century, with the First covering everything before it. Or it could be further and further into the past.

I'm taking the mural to depict just the first and second worlds. Some will say the right side is the future final battle of the series - and while I think there will be some parallels to it, we won't see it fully recreated. It's primarily an image of the past.

The First World, represented by the right side of the mural, seems to have been some kind of dystopia. There are slaves praying for salvation, forbidden from reaching for the sun (sound familiar?), but enslaved by who? The Earth God and the Hellfire Serpent? Other humans, such as the king figure in the mural? The images seem to depict the people of this era descending into the earth via an enormous elevator and returning with a glowing energy source. There are complicated mechanisms underground and very modern cities above. My read would that be people were enslaved to mine a power source compared to the sun from the core of the earth - and led by the arisen (or created) god Nika, they took control of this power source for themselves in a massive uprising. While the Earth God and the Serpent are said to wreak destruction across the world, I think the former slaves ultimately won this conflict, even if it was a pyrrhic victory. The serpent, whether literal or metaphorical, lies dead as the Red Line (possibly called the Red Wall at the time) dividing the world so they "will never meet."

The use of the Forbidden Sun is curious too. We see a chain of slaves lugging pieces of it from the lift over to a boat going into the city, but the dark section that the ark rides on seems to be spreading outward from a piece of it that's been let go by its slave. Is the sun making the ocean down there, as well as powering the city? A couple more sit below, with the people lining up to descend into the earth, possibly to power the lift and provide light. Maybe there were multiple uses, or multiple parties exploiting humans to mine the Sun before the uprising.

The big unknowns to me in the First World are mostly on its rightmost side. We have the ark Noah, seemingly being used for the same biblical purpose as its namesake, even guided by an angelic (Lunarian?) figure. Perhaps even in the First World, there was knowledge of the rising sea levels that are spelling doom in the Second and Third Worlds, or at least knowledge of the means to do so. I wonder if part of the motive for raising the seas was to fill in the mines of the Forbidden Sun so no more of it could be acquired by anyone. There's a king with two oars. And there's a craft not unlike Enel's Maxim, but also not unlike the impression we have so far of Uranus, throwing down a bolt of lightning. The dragonlike creature breathing fire at the Serpent also doesn't seem to be represented by the text. Did the humans offer the Sun to a literal Celestial Dragon in exchange for its power to face the Serpent? And what's with the other celestial bodies behind the moon, mostly obscured by the text boxes? Could my old pet theory that the world of One Piece used to have multiple moons finally be paying off?

The right hand side of the mural then depicts the climactic battle of the Void Century, in which an alliance of twenty kingdoms claimed victory and rearranged the world with themselves on top. The text talks about "breath in the void," which makes me think the Second World was a very empty place at its start. The Celestial Dragon that fought the Serpent departed, but left a powerful impression. And to fit with what we already know of this era, the humans remaining used the Forbidden Sun they now have control over to build the futuristic society Vegapunk researched. But for whatever reason, be it envy of the Ancient Kingdom doing this, or power lust, or a hope to recall the original Celestial Dragon by worshiping its image, or being a slaveowner from the First World who wanted to turn things back to how they were, Imu rallied twenty kingdoms to oppose the Ancient Kingdom and killed that First World Forbidden Sun they were still using, rendering all the technology it powered inert.

A Forest God taming demons might speak to the advent of Devil Fruits in this era. The talk of the Sea God's storms gives us an interesting point to compare with the other gods though. Consider: we know the Second World drowned in a massive sea level rise, leaving only mountains uncovered. That sounds pretty good for the wrath of a Sea God. But we also already know what caused the sea levels to rise, and it's technology from the Ancient Kingdom. A machine only named for a god. Do we then take the First World's Earth God as a terraforming machine rather than a literal entity that summoned a big, living snake? The Forest God may be simply an attempt to explain Devil Fruits, just as many real world ancient gods were made to put a face to natural phenomena.

Most of this image is a battle. A multinational group tries to stop a figure who brings to mind Imu's monster silhouette in the throne room and a group of guys in spacesuits. Joyboy leads, and his alliance includes giants, minks, fishmen, sea kings, ancient giants, tontatta and Lunarians. There's a second minklike figure in white, which has me thinking Sulongs may once have been a separate species who've passed all their traits to regular minks via interbreeding. The whale is a real mystery, but recalls Laboon, the culturally significant Whale Tree on Zou and the scarred up gam of whales the crew saw on the way to Punk Hazard. Whales that were oddly receptive to Brook's song. Hmmmm. There are also two identifiable nations in Joyboy's group - Alabasta and Wano. Alabasta is a strange one, given that it will end up a World Government nation. Maybe Lily was caught between two worlds, extorted in some way by Imu. If she was forced to betray Joyboy, it may have been the reason his alliance failed; but even so she ensures a way for his will to be inherited making her "great mistake" and scattering the Poneglyphs and preventing Imu from claiming a total victory.

Once again, we have the line that they will never meet. The first thought for this one is the Grand Line, building on the Red Line of the previous era. But it's worth considering what Vegapunk pointed out in his speech - the ocean alone serves this purpose. Most people never meet cultures outside their own because travel is so difficult and dangerous.

And the Third World passage is honestly pretty straightforward. The new era has made an empty space in the chaos of history. People of the D - increasingly likely to be an image of a half moon - lurk in wait and the remnants of the people who fought with Joyboy anticipate the dawn. This ultimate Forbidden Sun power that was valuable enough to enslave people to mine it in the First World and powerful enough to create futuristic tech in the Second World will be rediscovered. The restrictions of the Red Line and the Grand Line over the world will be ended, and people will meet and mix cultures and assimilate again.

One of the cool things across the whole text is that is answers the question from a couple of chapters ago about the three versions of Nika. We actually have a liberator, a warfighter and a dancing, laughing man across the eras. All are true!

That's about as far as I can go in interpreting and analysis this behemoth of a reveal without going some rereads. It's so dense with info and we clearly don't have the full story yet. There's so much that has to tie in - the city Enel found on the moon, the reason the Celestial Dragons are so obsessed with genetically engineering giants (we can make so safe guesses about why they love dragons so much now), sky islander peoples, the longarm/longleg/snakeneck/three-eye tribes, whatever the heck Blackbeard has going on and so much more. We're gonna be going back to this for years, and in the spirit of its in-universe presentation, I doubt we'll be able to agree on the best possible translation for the Harley text until the end of the series, where the things it references are all revealed.

Elbaph has been on a crazy run of hits so far: Robin and Saul's reunion, the Shamrock reveal, and now this. Emotional payoffs, confirmed theories and building the bigger mysteries. We know this is an arc Oda's been waiting to do for a looooooong time and it feels like he's going all out to make it worthwhile. Can't wait to see what's in store for next week.

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One Piece chapter 1137 review

Back on three chapters in a row, and the main plot is keeping on picking up steam. This is bliss! The chapter may only have two segments but both are rich with new lore and statements with deeper implications.

We start in the castle, and I have to first compliment the ruined aesthetic. Like previous Elbaph chapters, Oda uses almost exclusively very low and very high camera angles to create a towering sense of scale. It feels very Dark Souls, especially the panel looking down on the crossing walkways.

And what are we learning here? Tons of cool stuff. Horns are evidence of Ancient Giant blood? It was a safe guess but I love having confirmation. Wonder how far that extends to non-giant races. There are no witnesses to what happened between Loki and Harald except the wounded Jarul? Fascinating. Let's give some more good guy points to Loki because it could not be more guaranteed that we don't have the full story. Anything from brain damage-induced memory loss to the cross-guard obscuring Jarul's view of the true culprit (or motive) could be used to explain this away. Ancient Giants are connected to an "era of war?" Hmmmm… anyone remember how the symbol on Oars' loincloth was also carved on the walls of the Marie Geoise straw hat room? Wonder which side the Ancient Giants fought for then. The World Government's obsession with either recruiting or genetically engineering giants for the Marines could be an attempt to restore old power, or it could be a plan to capture the power once used against them. And there are more giant tribes in the world? I figured all the talk of warring giants was just Elbaph infighting. Sure, we knew of giants like Saul who had birthplaces in other seas, but I'd figured they were one-offs, not members of other full societies.

We also get some interesting giant social dynamics. Blood purity is serious business here, explaining the issues with Hadjrudin's claim to the throne, but also giving more power and context to his dream of being king of the giants. We sure as hell didn't need a backstory for Rodo's presence on his crew, but the one we get ties well into that goal.

It's definitely a little odd that the castle was sealed with all the bodies inside. I wonder how giant society feels about funeral rites, or if there's some kind of cultural thing about leaving warriors where they fall if they do so in battle. Do these giants believe in a Valhalla? And then there's Harald's appearance. The head scars are cool, but if we're talking horn removal I would have loved to see a Hellboy homage. Takahashi managed an art exchange with Mignola, why not Oda? Regardless, that portrait does not look like a man of peace, and Oda even added an ominous sound effect to be sure we get the message. If Harald was not what we're told he was, did that factor into his assassination?

We cut to the Realm of the Dead, and to open on aesthetics again, Gunko's style is growing on me, seeing her in motion this week. What seemed to be a fabric-based power is actually… arrows? Like, the concept of arrows. Sometimes they form out of or extend her clothes and sometimes they just seem to appear. Sometimes they're physical things that can spear attackers. Sometimes they create vectors for her other attacks of accelerate on. It's abstract with vague rules, but it's so visually striking I hope she gets a meaty fight to show off in. I remember Medusa from Soul Eater and how good her battles looked, and maybe Oda does as well.

And on the topic of the arrows acting as vectors, Loki is very, very curiously aware of the directions they're setting up for a blindfolded man. Could be even basic observation haki reading Gunko's intended movements, but they talk about it like he has a pretty keen and immediate awareness.

And we end on a reveal that's been teased for weeks and coming for years. Figarland Shamrock. Waaaaaaay back in mid-2018 when we first saw "Shanks" meeting the Five Elders, I actually did think it was the real Shanks. He'd put forward appearances as kind of a peacekeeper of the New World, taking actions to maintain the balance of power when he prevented the Marines and Blackbeard from taking their victory too far at Marineford. Having that role go further, with some kind of rapport with the Elders seemed within the realm of possibility. It wasn't until Film Red dropped its line about "Figarland blood" that I became a believer in a brother/twin for that scene, but once that last piece fell into place it was impossible to read it any other way. It's so perfectly framed to keep the right arm and the place where the scars should be out of sight, but it does so without being so blatant that the deception is obvious. A great long con deception, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what Shamrock's relationship with Luffy and Shanks is going to be as the story goes forward.

This is all building up in some very exciting ways, but it feels like Luffy's team is going to have to step on the gas if they want to arrive in Loki's scene before it ends. There's no way Loki dies here, but maybe it'll be the Oda classic bad guys forgetting to confirm the kill when he's only mostly dead, then Luffy meets Shamrock as he returns to the castle (assuming he has to do that to teleport again). Well, whatever happens, it's great to know we'll be finding out in just a week's time. Good to be back.

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One Piece chapter 1136 review

Alright, the holiday break season seems to be over, and it looks like we're starting to get to the main plot of Elbaph. I'm excited to get back into a One Piece rhythm.

In the cover story, Who's Who reminds us all that he was once a spy with his incredibly subtle secret base. But genuinely, the design of the building is super fun with the saber teeth going down through the roof. Love that kind of flourish. And I'm happy with the choice of ex-Beast Pirate to use as an antagonist here - the dude had one of the best designs of the crew and some interesting lore to boot.

The lack of knowledge of the outside world the giants show when speaking to Jinbei and getting taken in by Usopp's (admittedly truer than usual) tall tale and Sanji's talk of mermaids, emphasised by Zoro and Nami's exchange about how few have gone to sea, points to Harald's cultural shift not being as dramatic as we might previously have been led to believe. No culture can be made up entirely of raiders, and the listeners here are obviously old enough to have lived through the period when giant pirates were a thing. In fact, aside from Loki's rampage thta Shanks ended and Hadjrudin's group working under Buggy, I don't recall hearing about many giant crews besides Dory and Broggy's, so it might be that a small handful of groups defined the wider world's perception of giants for the better part of a century. (Can't fault the locals for being confused by Brook though, whether or not they'd gone to sea.)

But what's really interesting here is the new Nika lore. A ruler, a liberator, a destroyer or a god of laughter. Sects within the belief system, it seems. (Rodo getting destroyed in the brawl over it is a great touch.) As much as Luffy is emphatically not the actual Sun God, it's pretty obvious which interpretation he leans to. I wonder then, will the story's endgame (or at least this arc) give us candidates for the other three versions as well? We even have Loki putting himself forward for one of the others later in the chapter.

And what is this about the world being destroyed twice before? I guess the original mythological Nika, and then Joyboy and the World Government's war. But how much of the first one will we actually get to learn about?

The stories about Loki's youth feel a whole lot like how Oda built up Oden as a figure. He gets a dozen good guy points from the comparison alone. And that's before he sets himself against the Holy Knights at the end of the chapter. Granted, his pranks read a little more sinister the way they're told here, but I'll bet there's some exaggeration or misunderstanding at play.

Luffy, Zoro and Nami's mission to get into the castle and free Loki feels a little contrived, but it can be forgiven for the sake a quick transition from the party to the real plot. Like, would Nami really be that okay with freeing Loki given what she's just heard about him? This seems like a prime 'voice of reason' moment she just skips. Even with the treasure motivation, she should have pushed back a little harder on what Luffy and Zoro are doing.

The Holy Knights coming for Loki has the gears in my head turning. We suspected from their warp point in the castle that were was a prior connection between them and Harald or his family, but the confidence with which they offered Loki a job really raises some questions about what they know or think they know. And that Loki also knows of the Holy Knights and confirms that they're entirely Celestial Dragons. I wonder if the revolts started over Vegapunk's message are stretching the World Government thin, for the Knights to be recruiting outside their own. Also Loki gets another ten good guy points for calling them trash.

This conversation is followed by the full Gunko design reveal, and… Ugh, I feel like we're so close on this one. I like the hat and jacket and mismatched eyes. I think the pantsless look can work in this seafaring world where swimsuit bottoms are reasonable everyday attire. But they just don't go together. It really just looks like she forgot to finish getting dressed in the morning. And the fabric power as well; if Oda wants to get a bit fanservicey by making her unravel her clothes to attack he can do that - the world of shonen has far worse - but you have to start with the clothes first. That untwisting sleeve is a glimpse of what could have been if she'd come decked out in layers of baggy clothes to gradually weaponise, revealing more leg or chest or whatever else bit by bit as the arc goes on.

Oh wait, what if she already sacrificed her pants to tie up the two guards in the castle? I think that would be the development that would salvage this bizarre design choice.

Loki's attitude towards death is a fascinating note to end on. He has a quick acceptance of an ally getting killed, much faster than most heroic characters we've seen, but still embraces the emotional reaction to it. I wonder how many fallen warriors are already fueling him and his plans for when he gets free. Do we think we count his father among them?

I can't imagine Oda spending too much time on Luffy's group just looting an empty castle, so I imagine we'll get to the disabled guards and push towards a Holy Knights confrontation sooner rather than later, which is a great way to build some momentum for this year. Let's get this series back in gear!