#Im starting the reverie arc so I’m excited to see more of her

[wormzandgutz]

Happy birthday to Vivi!!!!<3 I wish she could join the crew orignal image:

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Wano (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

shirahoshi seeing the sun for the first time is really a relatively minor and understated thing, among all the chaos and revelations of reverie, but it strikes me as one of the most meaningful little moments in the arc. 

i LOVE the luffy fanclub. i love that a meeting of the world leaders winds up being a who’s-who with assorted friends of one of the world’s most notorious criminals, and it brings me SO much joy to see them meeting each other and being able to connect. i feel the same way about coby and rebecca meeting.

in general, and i think i said this at marineford too, i love that the one piece world is developed and interconnected and alive enough to allow for these sorts of interactions. 

fucked up that this was almost a hundred chapters ago and we still have no clue what the fuck was up with this, isn’t it? 

i do find the introduction of im fascinating. up until this point we’ve had two presumed final villains- blackbeard and akainu- who were first established pretty far back at jaya and enies lobby (in robin’s flashback) respectively. meanwhile, im isn’t even seen until chapter nine hundred and something. it feels very late-game, but at the same time, their existence doesn’t contradict anything previously established, and in fact jives pretty well with a lot of information more recently revealed in dressrosa. 

in any case, when in doubt i do trust oda knows what he’s doing when handling his story, and i’m very excited to see what he does with this.

wano is SO PRETTY. i mentioned this before in fishman island, but i think wano is definitely the prettiest setting in the series to date. i think it’s obvious oda was both very excited to draw it and put a lot of work and research into his depiction of it, and wow does it pay off. wano is so bursting with life and detail, and frequently looks like an ukiyo-e painting come to life, and just- wow wow wow.

i love zoro and luffy’s reunion so much... i love how happy they are to see each other. it’s only been, what, a couple weeks in-universe? but luffy is pulling the full tackle-hug like he did for sabo at dressrosa. i love them.

i really like the outfits in wano, too!! zoro’s ronin look in particular i think suits him very well, and i also love luffy’s patchy yukata and robin’s geisha getup and they’re just very cool. this also applies to the non-strawhat wano characters, for the record, and kind of ties back to what i was just saying about wano being so full of detail. it has a very specific look, and everything from the outfits to the way things like the fire and the waves are drawn folds very neatly into that aesthetic. 

as i’m writing this i just finished on the paramount war posts, so with that fresh on my mind, i have to say i really like the way ace (or rather, his memory) is incorporated into wano. he’s not really a major presence- that is, the fact that he was there before luffy has no real bearing on the plot. but there are people who knew and cared about him and remember him fondly, tama and yamato, and it just really helps add to this feeling that ace was a person and his life and death had real and lasting affects. 

and it adds, too, to the fact that even if it took ace way too long to realize it, he was so thoroughly loved everywhere he went. 

i have a lot of thoughts on the intersection of food and heroism in one piece (i keep trying to compile a coherent meta post on the subject and mostly failing). but i’ll settle for saying that in wano luffy is a hero by his own definition, as someone who shares food with others, and i doubt he realizes that, but i think it’s really interesting. 

i know luffy’s fight with kaidou is kind of controversial in fandom but i love it, personally. it feels like a logical outcome for luffy to get his ass kicked the first time he tries to go up against a yonkou singlehandedly! he got wrecked when he tried to throw down with a shichibukai the first time, too, and this is just the next logical step from that. 

luffy’s always been an underdog starting from nowhere and working his way up and up and up, and i love that for him. of course he’s going to get messed up the first time he tries punching an entire order of magnitude above his weight class. and then he’s going to get up and try again, and again, and again until he wins. 

the act structure of wano is really neat, i think. it helps such a long and complicated arc feel a lot more structured and less interminable than it might otherwise, and it also gives specific breaks where we can cut away to the story happening on the outside world. 

honestly i really like the whole udon prison segment. it’s fun! i like it for similar reasons i like the colosseum mini-arc in dressrosa, honestly, which is that there’s no real stress because we know luffy is the scariest person there by a country mile so we can just watch him go ham, and that’s fun. it consistently cracks me up that absolutely nobody is worried luffy’s in jail. they’re all just like “yeah, he’ll be fine.” and they’re right! he’s having the time of his life!

wano’s cast is fascinating, because almost nobody is who they first appear to be. almost everyone is wearing masks, whether literal or not- fitting, for an arc structured after a kabuki play. everyone is playing roles, from hiyori to denjirou to kanjurou to yasuie, and everyone lies. 

this entire sequence at orochi’s party is one of my favorites in the whole arc- in fact, it was my favorite, until we reached a certain part i’ll get to in the next post. everything from komurasaki standing up for toko and slapping orochi to denjirou “killing” her to robin getting caught by the oniwabanshu and dissolving into petals to nami calling down a massive lightning bolt to cover their escape- it’s really good. 

i’ve written extensively before about the smile fruits and the themes of smile and laughter in one piece and how important the freedom to feel and express emotion is. suffice it to say that for all the atrocities orochi commits against the people of wano, it’s feeding the smile fruits to the people of ebisu town that is his greatest crime, and the revelation of just what happened to those poor people ratchets up the tragedy of wano tenfold.

i do think it’s interesting to think about how if denjirou had been just a little less committed to his role, zoro would’ve killed orochi right here. it really drives home that orochi is nothing- he’s weak, he’s cowardly, he’s just lucky and clever and cruel enough to be able to get much more powerful people to do his work for him. 

it’s infuriating that someone like him has been able to hold such power over the lives of the people of wano and ruin them so thoroughly, and that’s exactly the point. 

wano is the arc where oda says you Will care about the supernovas and i’m like yeah

hey, another of my all-time favorite luffy panels!! i honestly just think this one sums him up as a character in a line more than almost any other- “i’m always free.” 

just look at the detail on kidd’s metal hand holy shit holy shit. on occasion certain panels jump out at me that remind me that oda really is just, a genius at drawing on a technical level, even setting aside his writing and storytelling chops, and this is one of them. 

oda is really, really good at creating the sense of a darkest hour- a time when all hope seems lost. the other best example in the series is in water seven, when the crew seems to be falling to pieces, merry is marked for death, robin’s gone, and the aqua laguna is coming. here, too- nobody comes to meet the akazaya nine, and the one chance they’ve waited twenty years and staked their lives on seems in danger of slipping through their fingers-

but the point of making it so all seems lost is so that when hope does appear, it shines all the brighter, and feels all the more triumphant. it’s always darkest before the dawn, and we all know how wano has been waiting for the dawn. 

[sparda3g]

One Piece Chapter 956 Review

Wano Country Act II is over. It’s time for the next act that promised to be climatic and riveting. Before the chapter release, I had a hunch that perhaps Oda will shift the scene to elsewhere; taking a small break from Wano and begin building up to other world problems. Fortunately, my hunch was spot on, but the development is not what I’ve expected. It’s a whole lot bigger than I anticipated.

The chapter can be considered as intermission report. When it comes world building, leave it to Oda to overwhelm his fans with crazy amount of developments. When you have a chapter titled, “Big News,” it’s going to be far more than a character reference. As soon as the chapter opened up with Fishman Island, it hits me the notion that Reverie is done. It was bad enough that it shifted to Wano Country before the fun began, Oda continue to toy with fans’ expectations. After this chapter, it now occurred to me that Reverie wasn’t going to be full of reveals, but instead, full of secrets.

Garp continues to be the best man from the meeting with his kindness to escort Neptune and his family. They briefly discuss the meeting that can be best described as the usual government misfit or in other words, the usual day at the office. There’s a ruckus between countries’ leaders, which was expected. Funny how Oda drew a Hitler-esque character design for one of the leaders. Even if they join hands, it’s not like they hold back their ill intention. Based on the discussion, Reverie would have left off as a simple debate that has no need to be explored. Then, the real entrée appears with the reported incident that happened soon after it was adjourned, and it involved with Kingdom of Alabasta.

This one got me thinking like crazy. Worst of all, it’s not even addressed what exactly. My best guess is it has something to do with the World Government and Im. I remember vividly that he was carrying the poster of Vivi in his hand; highly foreshadowing his next action revolve with her. Not to mention, when he sat on the throne, we don’t know what he has in mind, but to me, it has to be about Alabasta. What is exactly? I don’t know. I have seen fans speculating Cobra was murdered or Vivi has disappeared. It’s extremely vague and I curse Oda for toying with my head. Not really, but damn, he knows how to temper fans’ feelings.

Morgans has been busy with tons of headline news and there’s no stopping. That is until an assassin, a CP member to be exact, from World Government threatens him to stop or else, well, prepared to die. Shockingly, Morgans is strong enough to beat up an official, so his words will spread on. There’s couple of takeaway from this. One is that he admits that he has spread lies in his news before, yet also decide when not to. You may be thinking, “That’s journalist for you.” You may be right, but the intention is whether to believe the next news is true or not. More on that very soon.

The second is he’s targeted by World Government. In a way, Morgans can be considered as a wild card, where he can report something valuable for us fans, or deceive us for falsified report. I guess you can say he will spoon feed us the plot whether it’s true or false. Lastly, the scene ends with a cliff note of him receiving another news from King Wapol. It could be important or not. Once again, it ended before anything was revealed. Speaking of unrevealed, the news that is spreading across the world is vague for fans, but more importantly, something has happened with Sabo.

There’s two important details to consider. One is Sabo was caught in the midst of Reverie. The last time we last saw him was him trying to sneak in. According to the news, Sabo was reported in a way that upsets the Revolutionary Army. It could mean either he is captured or worse, he’s dead. Going back to Morgans, he stated that he is willing to falsify news for sake of drama that ultimately translate to profit. Dragon wasn’t going to buy it just yet, but it is very alarming. This ploy is tempering the fans’ emotions. While I don’t believe it, it is hitting me with concerns. Poor Koala. Killing a pairing before it sets sailing. No pun intended.

The second important part is the world now knows Sabo is or maybe was alive. It’s why Oda intentionally showcase the world’s reaction towards Sabo. Now, everyone knows. If he returns, this will spark huge news. DoFlamingo can only laugh at the downfall of the world and that’s enough for him to be satisfied. So much for coolest guy ever idea, eh? The report on Sabo is a mystery and very concerning; however, that’s not all what Oda wants to exploit here.

I know I have said, “There’s couple or two” here and there, but there are tons of important key elements in this chapter. It’s mind-blowing to be honest. With that said, there’s more. While sailing with Marines, Coby is seen speaking to someone to update the status of the world and to me, it sounds like we only got a small portion of what transpired from Reverie. Wano Country may not be the focus here, but it doesn’t mean there’s nothing crucial to learn here.

X Drake is confirmed to be a double agent for Marine; the man who is currently speaking to Coby. This blows my mind. I knew somehow the Marines would get involved with this arc and it’s only getting started. Now that he told them about the dangerous alliance of Kaido and Big Mom, they’ll take action. But the surprise doesn’t stop there. Apparently, CP0 member is in Wano Country right now. What the hell? Too much hype. But seriously, who can it be? Lucci? The point is, the Government is now invading Pirate-ruled country. Something huge is going to happen soon. Speaking of huge, there is one huge development. This series can’t rest at all.

I was confused when Coby said he was going to see Hancock and arrest her. This is clearly intentional to leave the fans going, “Huh?” Maybe the explanation would have been the Government learned about her helping Luffy. Then it gets more confusing when a person (nick) name dropped three Shichibukai members. Then, the truth comes out. The Shichibukai System is officially over. Now, that’s how you drop a major development.

The privilege for those pirates is over; like losing an insurance from a newly established law until the next passing. That one marine practically summarized Buggy with one line, “You’re now a lowly pirate.” You can say that again. Hilarious how Buggy acted like the boss, as if he is not intimidated, yet his inner mind is already set to escape, leaving his men to die. That marine fellow really hit the bullseye with that remark.

Mihawk is now targeted, though this excites me because now, he can roam freely. We can expect his involvement sometime later and that has me hyped. Imagine him meeting with Zoro with his new sword, Enma. Whitebeard Jr. is targeted. This is now a really good time to prove his worth. Is he strong as his name should be or is he just a fake, like I still predict he is? Lastly, Hancock is targeted by Coby. I really wonder who is stronger between the two. I wonder if the topic on Luffy will be brought up there. Perhaps it’s a way to excuse her if she somehow loses. So many expectations; the worst Oda can do is off-screen all conflicts. Sadly, I’m prepared for the likely direction.

This chapter was one massive info dump with tons of new developments. This series continue to build its world in a very exciting way, while also developing more excitement lurking within Wano Country. With the mystery of Alabasta and Sabo, along with the end of Shichibukai, it’s hard not be incredibly interested. I should mention about Blackbeard. It appears that he’s ready to recruit someone from former Shichibukai. This series just keeps on giving. Oda is set to obliterate Marineford War Arc, and if this is where he begins to build to that expectation, it’s going to be glorious. What a time for me to return to review.