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frobin · 3 years

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Random consideration: there is an online legend about Oda can change story events if someone on the web/fans guess the thing. So... what do you think about this topic? It can be really valid? If yes, even for whatever eventual not-canon ships? I don't know, because ships are just a very side element in the story, and not like main events of the storyline. (And for my opinion, for Jin:be father topic, I could agree with who said is for the age, maybe. Anyway, I will ship FroBin forever).

Hey anon! Thank you for your question!

Maybe Oda really made Jinbe the dad because of age. right now Oda and Jinbe have the same age (46). He has two children who are (if the internet and my math are correct) 15 and 12 years old. So may it’s not unlikely? If he connects with Jinbe he would rather see him as a dad than a grandparent or a weird uncle.

Now, to the rest... I have to say sorry for answering so late but as of right now I’m writing parts of my answer and I literally pulling my hair because I really try to make sense of the whole situation and trying to understand the intention of a 46 year old japanese man. And this is long again so sorry about that. Anyway...

I have heard about that. I remembered something about Oda not reading Fan Theories and now I googled once more. Apparently this is the newest Information:

"Oda once said he will change OP story if it coincides with fan theories. But according to TV show today, Oda will never change his plan about "final chapter" even if a fan theory hits the nail on the head. Oda said in 1999 that he had already decided final panel and chapter."

https://twitter.com/sandman_AP/status/1352851201478418432?s=20

I don’t think Oda is actively browsing the web for OP content ( how would he have time to) but he gets fanmail with questions and suggestions. And considering that over 4 million people are One Piece fans... one of them has to get it correct eventually. Trying to avoid any similarity with any fan-theory is IMPOSSIBLE.

And I do believe that Oda knows how he wants One Piece to end and won’t change that, no matter what.

As for the details in-between........ I wouldn’t say Oda is not prone to be a Troll and sometimes downright an ass towards his fans. XD Never out of malice but because he thinks it’s funny.

I’m also sure he will never focus on romance in the manga, but since love is an important part of life it will come into play now and then. Classic romance (?) more with side-characters (Roger/Rouge, Sai/Baby5, Bege/Chiffon) than with main (Strawhats) but still possible.

He may very well edit less-important plot lines if they don't change the ending.

That also includes, that I absolutely think it’s possible that the Strawhats will have romantic involvement at the end of the story. At the moment it is never in the focus, except for plot reason (Whole Cake Island for example, though that is an entirely different topic) but absolutely possible.

Because the Strawhats boning each other or maybe someone outside of the crew will not change the story. It has no influence to anything, except if it’s on a higher scale, like if Luffy really suddenly married Boa Hancock. That would influence the political outline of the world.

Meanwhile Pauli/Iceburg or Noland/Cagara or Bartolomeo/Cavendish have literally no influence to the story (anymore). And I don’t think I have to start on things like other rare pairs or even OC-ships.

That being said, and having more stuff in mind, I wouldn’t put it past Oda to actually focus more on Jin/Bin.

Why? Well...

we had so many interactions between Robin and Franky after the time skip that it was almost ridiculous. In every single arc we see them fight alongside each other. We had strong romantic tropes portrayed with them:

Their meeting after the timeskip (Sabaody Archipelago)

Franky having his head in Robins lap (Punk Hazard)

Wearing the same shirt (Dressrosa)

Finishing each others sentence (Zou)

Franky offering Robin a ride and her answering with a heart (Wano)

And the moment the internet exploded when Robin was holding Frankys face. Which yeah, only a Colorspread and not canon yadda yadda

For now let’s gloss over all the other moments that showed that they cared for each other.

... so many.

Anyway what I want to say is that Oda had declared “All the Strawhats are in love with adventure.” and “I won’t focus on romance.” but is seemingly showing a connection between Franky and Robin, that made one think that he might actually be aboard the ship even if the fandom itself is rather silent and small.

Meanwhile when Jinbe appeared (in the timeskip) he was instantly a hit. His popularity then rose thanks to Fishmen Island Arc. And again I can’t blame anyone. On the other hand Franky always had a hard stance. This was recently shown again because is the lowest ranked Strawhat in the popularity poll.

One (Oda) might come to a conclusion here:

Maybe people don’t like Franky and so would dislike FRobin. But since Oda also seems to enjoy grown up relationships (?) maybe he thinks Jinbe is the only reasonable replacement? -> It could be a tactial decision.

Maybe he really changed his opinion and personally likes one more than the other. He was a FRobin supporter but now likes JinBin more? It wouldn't change anything for the story and there wouldn't be any harm -> It could be a personal decision.

Maybe he fears that he put too many hints in the manga and now has to paddle back? Because let’s be honest, until the colourspread with Robin putting her hand on Frankys face... the FRobin fandom was on the backburner. And so he wants to throw out some Red Herrings. -> Again a tactial decision

Maybe he never inteded to make it romantic and it is actually all just friendship. Subtext is something many authors use without being aware of it. (Just ask anyone who is a lesbian!Nami fan. They have good points.) -> A mistake from the very beginning.

And you can use these same thoughts for every other non-canon ship.

Please take everything of this with a grain of salt because I try to understand the intention of a man who is more than 10 years my senior and from a culture I can’t even start to try to comprehend (sometimes I don’t even get my own culture), who is the head figure of a money-making machine. So it’s hard to tell what else influences his decisions.

My interpretations are influenced by my own experiences and knowledge which is big and vast but also stretched very thin.

Last but not least I want to make clear that any speculation is really the same as asking a crystal ball. In the western fandom we have only few people who can even slightly try to give an insight to the whole thing and they (smart enough) keep out of any shipping discourse.

tl;dr: I don’t think Oda will change the ending. But I do think that he is willing to change minor plotlines and so yes I think Oda might change couples for any possible reason, as long as it does not change the ending, and he does not even has to choose a good reason because in the end they are his characters and he is free to do whatever he wants with them.

#FRobin #One Piece Meta #One Piece Analysis #One Piece Shipping #One Piece Storytelling #long post #text #ask #if in the end it turns out that Franky is gay and just friends with Robin I'll drink a lot #Not because I wouldn't accept that but because I got it SO wrong #Should I make videos of some of my postings?#kon #Anon

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years

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The Voyage So Far: Thriller Bark

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)

the tone of thriller bark is super fun- the combination of horror and comedy is done really well, and i like how it’s set at the very start, with the introduction of a seemingly terrifying situation and character (brook and his ghost ship) that are very quickly revealed to be anything but.

i also like that we hear singing and see music notes before we ever even see brook. we’re associating our musician with music before we even know him.

brook’s recruitment is delightful, and so very luffy. of course he would want a talking skeleton musician on his crew, and of course he wouldn’t be fazed by brook in the slightest except to think he’s cool. i love him a lot.

for the most part, thriller bark isn’t actually scary despite its horror theming- but it does get some good moments in, and of them, i think the reveal of cindry’s room is definitely the best. it’s not scary, necessarily, but it’s deeply creepy, and only becomes more so when you learn why it’s like that and what exactly hogback did.

i love how team-based thriller bark feels. especially immediately following water 7/enies lobby (in which two crewmates leave and the crew has to deal with a ton of internal strife) and preceding sabaody (where the crew gets separated), it’s just so nice. it’s most obvious in the team fight versus oars (and i’ll get to that later because i LOVE it), but also in smaller moments like robin and franky’s team fight against the spider zombie.

the team just feels so cohesive in thriller bark, and it’s really good. robin and franky are the two newest crewmates, but they already trust each other enough to pull off some fantastic teamwork.

usopp is really good in thriller bark. he also has the best outfit in this entire arc.

my two favorite fights in this arc are usopp versus perona and zoro versus ryuuma, for very different reasons.

zoro’s fight with ryuuma is fantastically cool, and i really like the level of respect and understanding that seems to exist between them. you have an ancient samurai and a modern samurai, separated by several hundred years, dueling it out to the best of their abilities- it’s really just awesome.

usopp’s fight with perona is very different, because they’re both people who hate fighting directly and will avoid it whenever possible. their fight is a mess of diversions and distractions that makes usopp’s moments of courage and triumph, like sticking his hand into a bear’s mouth, not to mention his ultimate victory, all the more satisfying.

i just really like seeing usopp grow and accomplish things!!

i’m aware there’s an argument to be made that the character we meet in this arc isn’t really ryuuma, because ryuuma is 1) dead and 2) possessed by brook’s shadow, but it isn’t going to stop me from saying ryuuma is awesome.

the clouds of fire he’s frequently shown with are also gorgeous, and definitely evocative of the style oda will later use to draw wano, which is a very cool touch.

everything about cindry makes me so, so sad.

i’d also argue that the fact that she overcomes hogback’s conditioning by finally expressing emotion, first by crying and then by smiling, is the first manifestation of the same thread we’ll later see with koala and the slaves of the celestial dragons. one piece says over and over again that there is no point where someone stops being human, no matter how much agency they’re robbed of.

i just think nami giving her attempted rapist several thousand volts to the face is very very sexy of her

like i mentioned, the crew against oars is such a HIGHLIGHT of this arc. i think it’s one of the only times we actually see the entire crew focused on a singular opponent (the only other case i can think of is the pacifista and then kuma at sabaody), and it’s just so much fun to see.

i also appreciate that the strawhats carry the first half of this fight without needing luffy to be there. he might be their captain and the linchpin of the crew, but they’re still a crew when he’s not around, and still very capable of working together without him.

this is just still one of my favorite gags.

continuing re: the team fight against oars, the final sequence where the entire crew coordinates for one final attack, some of them working to incapacitate oars and others to weaken him and other to position him just right for luffy’s final blow to paralyze him- that’s the GOOD SHIT.

i don’t know that there’s much i can say about zoro’s confrontation with kuma that hasn’t already been said, so all i’ll say is that zoro’s loyalty to luffy is absolutely staggering, and hits me in the chest every time i so much as think about it.

zoro has the second “luffy’s going to be pirate king” moment, i believe, after usopp in alabasta, and definitely one of the most memorable.

there’s something about luffy on top of brook’s piano that always delights me. i think this is their dynamic in a picture: brook playing music, and luffy listening, and talking, and cheering him up.

there’s something about the ending of thriller bark that really hits, in a way not really shared by other arcs. there’s a certain finality to it, a swan song. i think it was sarc opbackgrounds who pointed out that unlike most other character flashbacks, which come at the middle of the arc to add extra weight before the climax, brook’s comes at the end. the battle’s already finished, and now it’s time for him to close out the last fifty years and bid farewell to his old crew before setting sail for a new dream.

it’s really nice. this is how the rumbar pirates get to go out: singing and dancing, after the battle’s already won, as their last survivor finally gets pick his hopes and dreams back up again and set out to sea once more.

it’s not a panel, really, but i feel like i have to include binks no sake in here. for one, it’s a really good song and sticks in my head like glue whenever i so much as see the lyrics. second of all, it’s the pin that holds this ending together, the shared point between the past and the present. the rumbar pirates sing it for their final performance and they sang it for laboon years before; brook sings it alone to himself on his ship, lost in the fog; and the strawhats celebrate and dance and sing it at the tops of their lungs.

i’m a sucker for a good musical throughline, but i think this is probably the first time i’ve ever seen it done well in a fucking text-based medium.

i’m happy for him :’)

i LOVE the new crewmember toasts so much. look at them!! look how happy they all are!!

#the voyage so far #arc: thriller bark #one piece #opmeta #not japanese #long post

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justice4sasuke · 3 years

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I wanted to give One Piece a shot, but I find the artstyle offputting and it’s too damn long tbh. Is it really that good?

I think one of the reasons One Piece didn't take off in the non-Asian markets like it did there is because the artstyle isn't super anime. For me now that I'm grown and not a weeaboo I like a unique artstyle so I never really cared by the time I actually started reading it. Also like as a teenager I used to think only one of the characters was hot then I actually read it and now I have a crush on Usopp so...like I can't imagine not getting into it eventually especially when the characters are so likable.

I suggest anyone who wants to give it a shot read through the Arlong Park arc, if you're not invested by then you probably won't ever be. Though I think you're really missing out if you aren't into it, but whatever everyone has their own opinions. My opinion and one I think is shared by a lot based on the fact that it is the best selling manga by a single author is that if you want to read a shounen you read One Piece. The first part of the series I think is perfection. I've said it before I feel there are some slip ups throughout the second half but still mostly good and it's not over yet so who knows what's to come. I just know the ending will be good because Oda started the story knowing how he wanted it to end.

I read the story for a few hours every Sunday when I visited my brother and was done in a few months (I think at that time the series was in the 800s, it's now in the 1000s). Now I kind of know what is going on, but I'm not reading it until the arc is completely finished because that works best for me. I did it with Whole Cake Island and now I'm waiting for the Wano arc to finish. Never feel like you just need to consume something at the pace it is released, you can always pick it up later. And with One Piece the world and main characters are consistent so you can put it down for a while and come back and still know the world you are going into and each arc is distinct, makes it easy to return to.

#j4s asks

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itsthemoofacewriting · 4 years

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Is it okay if I take my time

Great. So I edited the original post and Tumblr took it out of the search filter it was appearing in. Now I’ve reposted it and it won’t show up. Why do I bother with Tumblr? Maybe I should just stick to AO3 and FFN.

Title is taken from It’s Okay by Clara Benin, I listened to this song a lot whilst I wrote this (Even though I’m 100% sure it’s about the state of the world right now). I also listened to Conversations in the Dark by John Legend, if we all want something a bit more theme appropriate.

I know this has been done a lot since the end of WCI and I’m behind the times, but I finished the arc a couple of weeks ago and wanted a bit more closure between Nami and Sanji. So this is my spin on it and it’s a hot mess! Wrangled with this so many times before giving up and letting it be.

Summary: Because conversations at night are always more intimate and people end up revealing more than they’d expected. Or, Nami and Sanji clear the air after Whole Cake Island. Rating: T.

This can also be found on AO3 and FFN.

Enjoy.

------------------------------

The grass beneath Nami was comforting and soothing as she ran her hands through it. She could have easily sat in a chair; it was within her view, folded in the corner, but laying down gave her a view of the stars above. It was a clear night and a rare moment where everything was calm. There was no crew member to save, no life hanging in the balance or Yonko chasing them. Nami wouldn’t get an opportunity to do this again anytime soon once they reached Wano. There would be lives hanging in the balance and Yonkos chasing them again. So she’d take this moment and run with it, savour it.

A gentle voice interrupted her, “Nami-san, I brought you some tea.”

She sat up with a start. “Sanji-kun! You made me jump. Thank you,” Nami replied, taking the offered teacup. “What are you doing sleuthing about this late at night?” It couldn’t be much anyway, as he was dressed in a pullover hoody and pyjama bottoms. Still, her tone was more accusing than she’d intended

It didn’t seem to faze Sanji though as he smoothly replied, “Carrot just finished her watch, it’s my turn now. I saw you up and figured you’d like something to drink. It’s chamomile, by the way.”

Having a divided crew meant longer watches and it didn’t help that there was no Zoro or Robin. Both of them were night owls (or in Zoro’s case, he just napped too much throughout the day) and normally covered the bulk of the watches. Still, it was difficult and meant they couldn’t afford to lower their guard for one moment. Although they’d escaped Big Mom’s territory, there was still a strained tension in the air as they couldn’t be sure she wasn’t still pursuing.

Similar to the strained tension between the two on deck right now. They were civil and spoke when around each other, but there was still an elephant in the room. Unspoken things that needed airing. It wasn’t clear whether the rest of the crew had realised or not, if they had no one said anything.

Nami hadn’t responded and it didn’t look like she was going to either, so Sanji was left hovering, unsure whether to leave or not, whether to speak.

“Lay down with me Sanji-kun.” She flopped onto her back, not waiting for his response. She knew he would.

Sanji didn’t hesitate, flicking his cigarette over the side of the ship and laying down much closer than she’d anticipating. They laid side by side in silence. Nami didn’t have anything to say but she couldn’t stand his hovering any longer.

But she didn’t need to, Sanji swooped in. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep and it’s a nice night.”

Sanji seemed to accept that and they laid in silence, observing the stars above them. Except something about this silence was deafening, it wasn’t the comfortable one she was used to, and Nami found herself resisting the urge to fidget under its weight. Her mistake was behaving this way in front of Sanji.

“Is something bothering you?” He looked at her from the corner of his eye and there was something far too knowing there. Damn his perceptiveness.

“No. I can take over from watch if you want to go back to sleep.” He still had wounds to heal and she was starting to get a feeling about where this was going. Probably best to abort.

“That’s not necessary, I can do it from here for the time being and when you’re ready to go to sleep, I’ll move to the crow’s nest.”

Hm, no escape.

Distraction is was then.

“It’s a lovely night, so clear,” Nami said conversationally, “If you look over there, that’s the constellation Aquila-”

“Nami-san,” Sanji interrupted, his voice firm. Normally he wouldn’t press Nami to do things she didn’t want to but, he must know as much as she does that things between them needed to be cleared up.

She didn’t respond straight away. Not knowing how to start or if she even wanted to. Sanji didn’t seem impatient, just waiting. “I’m angry,” Nami said bluntly, she didn’t know whether it was the best way to go about it, but she was sick of thinking.

His voice was soft again, “I’m so sorry-”

“With you and with myself… and, just everything.”

Sanji didn’t say anything. That wasn’t what he was expecting, but she always did exceed his expectations.

“I was ready to leave you behind. I tried convincing Luffy to leave and I took your words at face value. How stupid considering I’ve been in the same place myself; I should have known better.” Nami shook her head at her own words, clearly agitated at the thought. “But after all we’ve been through and you were so willing to sacrifice your life. You treat your life so lightly and I hate it.” She paused. “But it’s silly isn’t it? I know why you did those things; you had such good reason to. But I can’t shake it.”

“My intention was to make you leave. I knew Luffy wouldn’t alone, he’s too selfish and single minded. I was hoping between my words and your feelings it would be enough, but well, that didn’t work,” Sanji said. He was trying to make her feel better about her decision, of course he was. But he dodged the part about his self-sacrificing nature, she noticed.

When they settled back into silence this time, it was lighter, Nami felt like she could breath. She slightly wondered if this was the end of their conversation, that maybe Sanji wouldn’t push it any further.

But she was wrong.

“I missed you.” Sanji’s words were barely a whisper, but Nami still heard.

“Didn’t seem to miss me that much when you proposed to Pudding.” The words were out before she could think about what she was saying, and she cringed at how jealous she sounded.

“I know but I was trying to make the best of a bad situation. Honestly.”

Nami snorted but chided herself afterwards. He had originally refused the marriage and the moment he was on the home stretch he hadn’t looked back. Sanji sighed and Nami felt a bit bad about giving him such a hard time, she knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“Sorry. I know you refused the marriage before it got so complicated.” Nami was so frustrated.

“You know, I’m happy you’re angry,” Sanji hummed in delight, circling back to their previous conversation.

Nami turned her head to give him an odd look. “Perhaps you should go back to sleep, you’re not thinking straight.”

“No I am.” He smiled happily at her. “It means that you care about me.”

She snorted, feeling defensive about the way he’d phrased that. “Of course I do. Friends care about each other.” That’s right, she could downplay this.

“No, you care about me, that’s why you’re still so bothered by all of this,” Sanji smugly replied, not letting her explanation settle. But then he seemed to do a double take, hesitating at his over-confidence. “But, y’know, if you’re not ready…”

Nami heaved a sigh. He was giving her an out, but she knew if she didn’t do this now, they’d be back here further down the line. There was no escaping this. But did she really want to? Goddamn her for catching feelings. Why did she invite him to lay down? A small part of her knew it was because she wanted to have this conversation. She wanted this.

They’d been so close on Zou. Despite the dire situation the mink people had been in before they arrived, they’d been on the cusp of something. Hands that lingered just a second too long, gazes that strayed to the other when they weren’t around. This wasn’t sometime particularly new for Sanji, but it was new territory for Nami. Sanji wasn’t a fool either, he’d noticed. He’d returned it tenfold and even sought her out more often. And she’d enjoyed that. Then again, it didn’t stop her from setting his head straight when he got a bit too overzealous, but it was there. Subtle and building. Then shit hit the fan and messed everything up.

In her smallest voice, she whispered back, “I missed you too.”

She’d expected Sanji to ruin the moment, to start prancing about and shouting as he declared his love for her and that she returned it. Instead, he remained silent, looking up at the stars, a small smile curling up on his face. She felt his fingers tentatively reach out to hers, brushing against the tips of her fingers cautiously.

After a second, she realised it wasn’t caution, he was letting her make the final move. He’d extended the invitation and was giving her the opportunity to accept or reject it. She could lay here and make a bunch of excuses to not take the leap, Sanji would let her, but ultimately, she felt the same way. Now wasn’t the time to be a coward.

Her fingers covered the last distance, resting over his and curling around them, twining them together. Sanji let out a relieved sigh, for all his talk and prancing about, this meant a lot for him. His thumb traced along her hand lightly, enjoying the moment before his fingers squeezed hers, letting her know of his happiness.

She squeezed back.

“Your family suck by the way.”

“That’s an understatement.” Sanji let out a dark chuckle. “You impressed my brothers by the way, they wouldn’t stop talking about you. It was incredibly aggravating.”

“There’s only one Vinsmoke I’m interested in.”

“Reiju?”

“Oh good, now I don’t have to think about how to break it to you.”

Sanji’s laugh was lighter now and his fingers were squeezing hers again, amused by her words. She joined him, enjoying the moment to laugh with him again.

There was just one thing left bothering her and she’d rather see his face for this. She untangled her hand, his chasing after hers until she used that arm to prop her head on as she rolled on her side. Nothing needed to be said for Sanji to mimic her actions and she was looking into baby blue eyes. She was impressed, his eyes didn’t waver to her chest, staying firmly planted on her face, which she imagined was quite a feat in this position with a flimsy pyjama top on. Then again, this was a serious topic and he was never one to joke around in those kinds of situations. It was something Nami liked about Sanji, he knew when to reign it in and when to joke around. He read her so well. There was something daunting about that as well.

“Look, about Pudding…” Nami started to say but she was unsure how to finish.

“Pudding is a nice, albeit complicated person- probably a bit messed up from Big Mom’s upbringing- and she’s a fantastic baker.” Sanji finished. Nami couldn’t keep the disgruntled look off of her face. Sanji continued before she could say anything, “But she’s not you. No other woman is.”

Nami could feel heat blooming on her cheeks, it didn’t help that they were now face to face and she was confronted by the warm expression on Sanji’s face. “You’re a sap.” She gently pushed against his chest, not knowing how to deal with his adoring look. His hand trapped hers against his chest.

And it was in that moment, when she looked back at his face, that she realised just how close they were. Sanji’s expression was so soft and warm and she could feel herself being pulled in. Her eyes closed as their lips brushed together, feather light against the others and Sanji hummed in content. When they pulled apart, she opened her eyes and felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at the tender smile he gave her. The butterflies were now in a frenzy as he leaned back in, his lips tenderly moving against hers as his thumb rubbed little circles on the back of her hand.

Neither moved away when they broke the kiss, a hair’s breadth apart as their breath mingled together.

“I think I was scared,” Nami whispered against his lips. The darkness providing the security she needed to be honest. “Scared of losing you.”

“I was scared too,” Sanji whispered back, his nose nudging against hers in reassurance. “Being trapped in a place I hated. Having to leave the crew. Not being able see those dumbasses and Robin-chan ever again. Not seeing you.”

Nami’s heart twisted at the sentence ‘Being trapped in a place I hated’. They mirrored her childhood so well and her stomach churned at the thought of what he’d been through. She didn’t know a lot about Sanji’s childhood, he’d never shared, and she was starting to understand why now. Considering what Judge had said when the Straw hats and Vinsmokes had parted, it wasn’t pleasant. And there was that anger again, that anger with everything. Anger for him she supposed.

She didn’t know whether to probe about his childhood or not. They were having a deep conversation, so it seemed like a good time, but what if he didn’t want to?

Sanji interrupted her thoughts, unknowingly making the choice for her and swiftly changing the topic. “But it doesn’t matter, we’re back together.” And he beamed at her.

God it was difficult to be at the brunt of his smile up close. Just because she could, she leaned in to peck him on the lips.

But there was a time limit on how seriously Sanji could behave and it was up.

“And can I just say, your breasts look fantastic right now.”

“Pervert!” She exclaimed, shoving him this time and he rolled onto his back from the force. He was lucky that’s all he got.

His arms wrapped around Nami, bringing her into his chest and she hovered above him to look at his face.

But he hadn’t lost the cheeky twinkle in his eyes. “They look good in this position too. Maybe there’s not a position they don’t look good in.”

Nami’s hand pressed over Sanji’s face, pushing it to the side. “Maybe I’ve made a mistake…” She said teasingly.

“No take backs!” Sanji exclaimed and laughed, tightening his arms around her and coaxing her into his chest as he placed a kiss on her cheeks. “This is it, you’re stuck with me, Nami-san.”

“I could think of worse things, Sanji-kun,” Nami said, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. Nami hummed, it was soothing, and she could feel herself drifting, nuzzling into his chest to get comfortable. His hands traced up and down her back and she could feel herself melting. Maybe they should have done this sooner, he was so comfortable. “No funny business,” She murmured sleepily.

“I’d rather you be awake for funny business,” Sanji said, leering down at her.

Nami snorted and felt Sanji press a lingering kiss onto the top of her head before she drifted off.

“Nami-san,” A soft voice coaxed, “Nami-san.” There was a soft hand on her shoulder, gently shaking it in an attempt to rouse her.

Stirring, she looked up, bleary eyed into Sanji’s face. It took her a second to remember what was going on but when she did, she asked, “What time is it?”

“Almost three, you should go to bed, you feel cold.”

Reluctantly she agreed, taking a moment to gather herself, she really was comfortable. Sanji was looking at her fondly and she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious for a moment, she really hoped she hadn’t dribbled. She rolled off of him, laying down on her side next to him and contemplated asking Sanji to carry her to her room. She knew he would, he’d do it in a heartbeat, but she was a grown up, not a five-year-old.

Nami sat up, Sanji joining her a moment after. She was about to leave but turned and smiled at Sanji. The night had shaped up pretty well and she gave into the impulse to lean in to kiss him. She briefly wondered if her breath was a bit gross after being asleep but Sanji didn’t seem to mind as he tilted his head to get a better angle.

She was aiming to keep the kiss light and it started out that way. Small pecks and feathery brushes as their lips met, but to hell with it, she enjoyed being a tease after all. She slanted her lips against his and pressed more firmly. Sanji made a noise of surprise in the back of his throat before reciprocating in kind and wrapped an arm around her to press her up against him.

What started sweet was beginning to turn heated as Nami nipped at Sanji’s bottom lip and he groaned as her tongue soothed along his bottom lip. Her stomach twisted when his free hand reached up to cup her face and his tongue tentatively met hers. He soon gained his confidence when she gave a breathy moan and their mouths met in an open mouth kiss. Nami could feel heat pooling in the stomach and although she was outside, it was all too hot.

Things were starting to get out of control. She needed to reign this in before it went too far.

She pulled away, breathing heavily and the hand on Sanji’s chest was now there to stop him from following after her. He looked thoroughly kissed and she imagined she looked the same. She graced him with a few small, lingering kisses.

“Good night Sanji-kun, see you in the morning,” She whispered against his lips.

“Hrrg,” He replied, before coughing and composing himself. The glassy look in his eye didn’t leave though as he nodded. “Good night, Nami-san.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, but she dodged out of the way. Heaving herself up, she winked and gave him coquettish wave over her shoulder as she walked towards her room. They may be together, but she did promise to make him work after his return.

And he was left watching her leave, waving back at her in a stupefied daze. A satisfied smile spread across his face.

---------------------------

I was so close to writing le sexy times. Sanji just forces my hand but I reigned it in, I’d never planned to and for once, I stuck to it. Also, Luffy almost made an appearance, to obviously ruin the mood because everyone loves Sanji suffering at the hands of his Captain… right?

I actually don’t like that scene they included in the anime, where Nami said about ‘working him like a horse’, it was far too cold for me. But I couldn’t resist mentioning it at the end and this is my spin on how she actually meant it.

As always, please forgive spelling errors.

Thanks for reading.

#sanami #sannami #sanjixnami #opfanfic #opwriting #one piece #nami #sanji

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Ranking All 49 One Piece Anime Arcs (Yes, Even The Filler)

On July 7th, the long-awaited Wano arc of One Piece begins, and because we're about to jump into an arc that's been building up for eleven years, I think it's as good a time as any to rank all 49 of the arcs that we have already. And I'm going to include the filler arcs, too, because even though many of them can't really hold a candle to the main narrative, I think a few of them are quite underrated.

49. Buggy's Crew Adventures

This isn't really an arc so much as a sigh of relief after the runaway train of emotion of the last few episodes of Arlong Park. You can laugh at Buggy for a bit after watching Nami's soul get ripped apart (and then put back together again).

48. Post Alabasta

You know video game sidequests that are basically around to level up your specific partner characters so that they don't get immediately wiped out in boss fights? This is the anime filler arc version of that. It's fun, though.

47. Foxy's Return

I loooooove Foxy and I looooove the Davy Back Fight arc. But Foxy's Return doesn't quite hit home. It might be because we last saw Foxy six episodes ago, but it truly speaks to Foxy's character that he'd try to make a grand, dramatic return after he got the crap kicked out of him so recently.

46. Spa Island

Foxy returns again in Spa Island, though this filler arc is mostly notable for the fact that Luffy uses Gear Third to split an artificial island in half. That alone wins this arc points.

45. Warship Island

Warship Island isn't a bad filler arc, just a victim of poor placement. It comes right after Loguetown and right after the Straw Hats have each declared their dreams. So it becomes a pit stop arc, like the Straw Hat crew getting gas and snacks before they head out on the Grand Line.

44. Little East Blue

I like to think of Little East Blue as a celebration of pre time skip One Piece, where the Straw Hats get (deservedly) celebrated for a bit. It's cute and it's a nice prologue to the Strong World movie.

43. Z's Ambition

The filler arcs that precede the movies are an odd bunch, as they tend to end with the main villain of the movie showing up in the last five minutes and declaring their plans. So it's hard to enjoy them on their own. That said, Z's Ambition has enough action that even if you don't watch Film Z (but you should, as it's great), you won't really mind the cliffhanger finale.

42. Straw Hat Separation

After Kuma wiped out the crew, this batch of episodes shows where they all ended up. And it's mainly a montage of Straw Hats being confused. And don't get me wrong—the Straw Hats do confusion like nobody's business. But you get more out of their separation in the Post War arc when they finally get around to business.

41. Diary of Koby-Meppo

Koby is a character that has always deserved more time, so getting a few episodes devoted to him and Helmeppo training to be Marines is welcome. Also, my dude Garp shows up for the first time, which means that I've rewatched these two episodes FAR more than I should.

40. Goat Island

Goat Island doesn't feel as "classic" as G-8, nor is it as entertaining as Ocean's Dream. In fact, it's about as fluffy as the goats that appear in it. But a three episode arc where Chopper talks to goats and Luffy doesn't beat up a villain but rather causes him to get shipwrecked? I'm FOR it.

39. Chopper Man Special

Chopper Man has Chopper in a cape. It's worth it for that. Please @ me. Chopper Man, you're my hero, and I hope you one day get a Chopper Man & Sogeking Save The Grand Line special.

38. Romance Dawn

Romance Dawn establishes a lot of things that will become classic tropes in One Piece: Going to a new island, meeting new crew members, helping out little kids, taking out a power hungry warlord, etc. It's a blueprint arc, and it works well as that. Sadly, the anime would not continue the "introduce a Straw Hat character with rad guitar" idea like they do with Zoro here.

37. Orange Town

The East Blue saga only gets better as it goes along, and Orange Town provides a nice counter to Romance Dawn. For example, if Axe-Hand Morgan represented the seriousness of the Marine threat in the last arc, then Buggy represents the other side of the villains that the Straw Hat Crew will encounter: cartoonish, loud, and beaten in a really fun way.

36. Ruluka Island

Ruluka Island feels like condensed One Piece, like you'd just add some water to turn this four episode arc into a twenty episode one. It's a nice arc to stretch your legs in before you go to the big themes of Jaya.

35. Ice Hunter

Ice Hunter is neat because it gives every member of the Straw Hat crew a little time to shine in a story that is action-packed and intriguing. If you miss pre timeskip One Piece and haven't watched the Ice Hunter arc, give it a shot.

34. Marine Rookie

I know that we're all eager to see the Straw Hats reunite in Wano, but if you want to see more of Whole Cake's Sanji Retrieval Team, the Marine Rookie arc makes for a solid bonus round. Also, the only reason it starts is because Luffy eats all of the Straw Hats' supplies, which, logically, should be the beginning of waaaaay more One Piece arcs.

33. Silver Mine

If you didn't get enough Bartolomeo in Dressrosa, then surprise! They made a filler arc just for you.

32. Boss Luffy Specials

You know when you fall asleep watching a show, and then you wake back up and, in your grogginess, suddenly whatever is on TV looks insane? That's what happened to me with Boss Luffy. I had just finished watching Ace's fight with Blackbeard and then, boom. I was out. Then I wake up and see the Straw Hats in 19th century Japan. The Boss Luffy stuff is fun, but I think it's best viewed when you're in a delirious half sleep. That's just my personal preference, though.

31. Caesar Retrieval

Caesar made for a fine antagonist on Punk Hazard, but he's even better as shreiking deadweight that the Straw Hat Crew and Company have to keep alive.

30. Little Garden

Little Garden isn't as cool as Whisky Peak, nor does it provide the emotional gut punch of Drum Island. Instead, it's mainly here to further the theme of what it means to be a true warrior and introduce giants (and dinosaurs!) in the One Piece universe. It gives Usopp some of the character development that he needs and Zoro almost cuts off his own feet in an effort to keep fighting. Any arc that illustrates how hard Zoro goes gets at least one thumb up from me.

29. Loguetown

Loguetown is a fun arc when you consider just how much it expands the scope of the world. Smoker and Tashigi truly begin the Navy's quest to stop the Straw Hats, Dragon gets introduced in a big, mysterious way, and Luffy takes a massive step in establishing himself in the realm of pirating. However, the Straw Hat side stories in the middle (aside from Zoro's awesome bit in the sword shop) slow it down a little.

28. Zou

Zou might be one of the most visually rich arcs in the series. From the massive elephant to the Mink tribe to the terror of Jack to more lessons about the poneglyphs, there's a lot shoved into this short span. And between the intense epics of Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island, it's fits nicely as 10 cc's of wonder and fantasy injected into the New World.

27. Fishman Island

Fishman Island occupies a weird spot. It's thematically heavy, but also serves as the action-packed Straw Hat Crew comeback tour. It needs to stand on its own, but it also caps off with a declaration of war against Big Mom, a villain that won't be encountered for years. In all, I feel that the importance of the Fishman Island arc is yet to be truly realized.

26. Ocean's Dream

One of the final two filler arcs on this list, Ocean's Dream seems like One Piece fan fiction in the best way. If you were dissatisfied with Luffy's fight with Zoro on Whisky Peak, you get another round of it here while Zoro is being mind controlled.

25. Syrup Village

If Romance Dawn and Orange Town were warm up laps, Syrup Village is when One Piece begins to break out in a sprint. The introduction of Usopp and the Going Merry make for some great moments and it's this arc that got me hooked on One Piece when I first started watching it.

24. Dressrosa

Dressrosa, for better (and sometimes for worse) is massive. Doflamingo is a threat that had been popping up since the Jaya arc, but because of Dressrosa's scope, his defeat can feel a little lackluster, especially when you consider that he's a pitstop on the road to Kaido. But Dressrosa introduces the endlessly cool Fujitora and the Straw Hats' big pirate alliance, and also gives us the dual backstories to Law and Doflamingo, neither of which disappoint. Also, Doflamingo's abilities lead to some of the coolest action scenes in the series.

23. Return to Sabaody

The post-timeskip starts with a bang, as the Return to Sabaody arc is both hilarious and thrilling. The Straw Hats get to show off their newfound strength as they do what they definitely couldn't do in the first Sabaody arc (easily knock out a Pacifista). And we also get to meet the Fake Straw Hat crew, which does a nice job of illuminating just how much the legend of the Straw Hats has grown since they were last together.

22. Reverse Mountain

One of the major strengths of One Piece is that it can accomplish three kinds of storytelling at once—giving us a narrative that is immediately satisying, giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the near future, and giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the long term. In the Reverse Mountain arc, we not only get a nice story about Laboon, but we also get introduced to Baroque Works (who will be the main antagonists of the saga), and also, we get hints that will only pay off when Brook is introduced years later. Reverse Mountain is short, but it also displays Eiichiro Oda's wonderful talent as a writer.

21. Long Ring Long Land

I've seen people on the internet say stuff like "WHEN I REACHED THE DAVY BACK FIGHT ARC, I NEARLY STOPPED READING!" and man, why? Quitting a series that you love because it slightly diverts from the hero fighting god-like enemies in order to participate in some fun games? Everyone has their own opinions, but your opinion of what fiction should be is wrong. That said, this arc is hilarious and great.

20. Whisky Peak

Whisky Peak is so cool. It's an anime arc with swagger, the kind that steps into a bar and buys everyone a round. I want to be friends with Whisky Peak but I know, deep down, that Whisky Peak is far too rad to be friends with me.

19. Reverie

The best thing about the Reverie arc is that it makes the world of One Piece a little more conveniently manageable (Oh neat. All of the major side characters get to hang out for a while), while also opening a can of worms (What's with the giant straw hat? WHAT'S WITH THE GIANT STRAW HAT?). Because this is the most recent arc, I don't know if we've seen the ripples that it will create across the One Piece world, but I sure am excited to.

18. Post Enies Lobby

This isn't the first time the Straw Hats have been forced to flee a place. However, this is the first time that it's felt like they'd be wiped out if they didn't. The return of Garp (and the spectre of the Yonko) throw the Straw Hats into all new territory, one where maybe being the plucky underdog team isn't enough to save them from the threats that come. Also, goofy Franky joins the team, which provides a nice counter-balance to the hints of oblivion.

17. Punk Hazard

Punk Hazard is home to one of my top 10 One Piece fights (Vergo vs Law & Smoker), features one of my favorite locations (an island that is half fire/magma and half ice/snow and home to an evil science base), and introduces a character that has only grown on me with time (Here's a hint on who he is: He laughs like "SHERURURURURURU SHERURURURURURU). It's kind of a prequel to Dressrosa, but in that spot, does a great job at furthering the menace of Doflamingo.

16. Post War

The introduction of Sabo aka Steampunk Ace aka I'm Just Kidding Sabo Is Kinda Cool and Luffy realizing that he has his crew to keep him going make the Post-War arc into a short but powerful cap to the pre-timeskip era.

15. Amazon Lily

Boa Hancock is a supremely underrated One Piece character, with a terribly sad backstory, amazing powers, and a hilarious crush on Luffy. And Amazon Lily helps further the major trend that will reach fever pitch in Dressrosa of Luffy amassing supporters because he's just such a dang ol' nice guy. Hopefully Hancock will one day meet Bartolomeo and together they will start a Luffy fan club and then argue over who gets to be President.

14. Jaya

If you were in the dark as to what the themes of One Piece are, here comes Jaya with a flashlight. This is basically a montage of the things that are important to the Straw Hat crew, and it introduces Blackbeard, a guy that will go from "Oh he seems interesting" to "OH I HATE HIM" over the next few hundred chapters. Luffy saying "Do I know how to throw a punch, you ask?" before absolutely walloping Bellamy still gives me goose bumps.

13. Thriller Bark

There's so much good to Thriller Bark—the spooky atmosphere, the introduction of Brook, the underrated Gekko Moriah, the Binks' Sake song, the Straw Hats teaming up to face a giant zombie, etc. And just when you think it can't get any better, Kuma shows up and rocks the One Piece world.

12. Impel Down

Hey! It's Buggy! And Mr. 3! And Mr. 2! And Crocodile! And our new best boy Jinbe! And Ivankov! As both a launching point for new protagonists and a comeback for old foes (along with introducing Magellan, one of the best villains in the series, and Shiryu, one of the scariest villains in the series), Impel Down succeeds. I love it more and more with time.

11. Drum Island

I've written an entire article about why the arc where we first meet Tony Tony Chopper makes me weep, so I'll try to be brief here. Drum Island is beautiful. It's the story of a little deer guy that couldn't find a place in the world and the loud rubber bro that gave him one. It's an arc about the price of dreams and the power of having someone stand up for you when you need it most. It's about love and respect and kindess. And now I'm about to cry again. THANKS A LOT, ONE PIECE.

10. Baratie

The Baratie arc is the first hint that we'll get about how hectic the One Piece world is. We meet Sanji, we meet Don Krieg, and we meet Mihawk (and is stronger than the whole cast of the show combined at this point). Syrup Village is about leaving your comfort zones and Baratie is about finding a home in the chaos that follows.

9. G-8

The best One Piece filler arc and the One Piece arc that I most revisit (it's only 11 episodes, can you blame me?), G-8 is a One Piece Greatest Hits collection and possibly the first thing you should show someone if they want to get into One Piece but don't have long to do so.

8. Alabasta

Are the Straw Hats ready for the Grand Line? Are they ready to topple evil villains and protect those that need help? That's what Alabasta asks and the answer is "Oh yeah." Luffy punching Crocodile up through the center of the city is an iconic moment, showing us that the Straw Hats, whether they mean to be or not, are forces of good in the world.

7. Marineford

Marineford is loud and chaotic and powerful, forcing Luffy into a situation where he is simply an especially energetic pawn on the chessboard of battle. It's just as much of a rescue mission as it is a quest for survival for him, but in the midst of Whitebeard and the three admirals and the Shichibukai, Luffy makes his mark. However, he doesn't do it through displays of awe-inspiring force, but through his willpower. Aokiji is right when he says that Luffy isn't "ready for this stage yet," but the thing that scares the Navy most is that one day, he will be.

6. Sabaody Archipelago

This is not a happy arc. It's a satisfying one (Luffy punching the Celestial Dragon will never get old), and it's an illuminating one (Silver Rayleigh, y'all!), but it's not one that will end with cheering. Kizaru shows up to put an entire generation of pirates in their place and Kuma wipes out the Straw Hats. That said, even if it concludes with the most uncertain moment in the series, it's still a fun ride.

5. Arlong Park

Nami is the soul of the Straw Hat Crew, and learning what she's been through at the hands of the despicable Arlong is heart-breaking. But Luffy doesn't need to know every detail to know that he needs to help and the Straw Hats walking to Arlong Park is another one of those "One Piece is literally the best thing ever" moments. And by the end, every Straw Hat bro gets a victory, Luffy gets a bounty, and Nami gets her freedom. And what does she do with this freedom? She joins a ship full of dummies as their navigator. And I'm so happy about that.

4. Enies Lobby

For many, Enies Lobby is THE arc and I'm not disagreeing with them. It's such a display of raw emotion and exciting battles, a nonstop rollercoaster of everything that makes One Piece great. And it ends with a Viking funeral for the Going Merry, a scene that reveals Oda's true power as a writer: He makes you sob about a ship.

3. Whole Cake Island

If Enies Lobby is about being a hero, then Whole Cake Island is about letting that idea go. The Straw Hats can't beat Big Mom or her crew and will have to settle with getting Sanji and getting out. And Katakuri, the protective brother of the Charlotte family, learns that he doesn't have to be perfect all the time. It's a beautiful arc that shows that Oda is willing to play around with some of the pre-established ideas of One Piece.

2. Water 7

Robin leaves. Usopp defects, Luffy is forced to do things that no captain wants to, and a villainous team shows up that seems unstoppable. Water 7 may be the first half of a story that continues with Enies Lobby, but I find it to be the better one (though not by much). It's an arc that constantly leaves you saying "Well, what else could go wrong?" and then something else does. And it's just so good.

1. Skypiea

This is it. Everything good about One Piece, from the powerful villain (with a great weakness), to the touching themes, to enchanting locations, to the gripping adventures, is wrapped up in Skypiea. And while I have no problems with arcs being connected, there's just something about the standalone nature of Skypiea that leads me to regularly revisit it. It's an arc that makes me glad that I started this nearly 900 episode adventure in the first place. And that's the highest compliment that I can give.

Want to make your own ranking? Then watch One Piece on Crunchyroll! It's literally the only way.

What is your favorite One Piece arc? How do you feel about this ranking? Let us know in the comments!

------------------------

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bepph · 6 years

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One Piece: Wano and Reverie

Since the Whole Cake Island is now finished or is going to be finished very soon, there is the looming and long awaited Wano Arc.

This arc is going to be massive and its going to have a lot of content story wise because I believe that Oda is going to be closing up the story soon. I’m not sure how soon, but I do believe its going to be soon. He stated that the story was more than half way a few years ago.

There are many things that are going to have to be solved due to the lead up or the tension throughout the manga. As well as new things in the most recent chapters that was introduced:

This is a big ass post about what I think is going to happen during Wano, Reverie and the arc after. Basically a post on how I believe One Piece will end.

Shanks and Luffy:

The most obvious one, Luffy wants to see Shanks again, and show how much he went through in the 12 years he last saw Shanks. He promised Shanks he will become the King of the Pirates, so it’s very likely that Luffy will meet Shanks at the very end or when he becomes the King of the Pirates, to keep true to Luffy’s promise. There is also the fact of Luffy wanting to defeat Shanks, which will probably the last Yonko Luffy defeats to become the King of the Pirates.

Blackbeard

The asshole. The man who killed Thatch and led Ace to his death. The man who is the villain of the manga, or at least one of the MAIN villains of the manga. We met him in Skypeia and we liked him at first because of what he said to Luffy and the others. We KNEW that Ace was after Blackbeard, we had no idea that Blackbeard was the guy who likes pies. He is the one Luffy will defeat in order to avenge his brother.

Big Mom and Kaido

Big Mom and Kaido seemingly have a connection and have yet to be defeated by Luffy. Luffy wasn’t strong enough or didn’t have enough power to defeat Big Mom. They will eventually be defeated by Luffy because in order for Luffy to be the King of the Pirates, he must defeat ALL of the Emperors.

Marines and their system

The Marines have been a villain and sometimes friendly throughout the story. There has been many corrupt Marines and many Marines we’ve enjoyed having as characters. I think that once the manga is over, the Marines would of re-worked their system so corrupt people wouldn’t be in power and stop using the Seven Warlords system. That their will be a good person in power that takes the interests of the people and not of themselves. I honestly don’t want the Marines to fail because there is no reason to being pirates if they do

The World Government

The World Government is more than corrupt, they have done really shady shit throughout the entire manga and will continue to do shady shit. The Five Elders are doing shady shit as well and know about the Void History. Its possible that the Void History puts the World government in an unsavory position, that being the reason they decided to destroy everyone figuring out the Void History. Honestly, the World Government is going to be completely destroyed or reworked by the end of this manga

Void Century

The Void Century is something that was completely wiped away from records 800 years ago. 100 years of history is completely erased from history. That’s a lot of time. Which makes me believe that the Celestial Dragons are not who they say they are. The creators of the World Government probably didn’t do the best things during the century. Which would make the World Government and Celestial Dragons cover it up because they want to hold power over the people.

the Void Century, World Government and the Celestial Dragons are technically the same thing or at least connected with each other.

Revolutionaries

Last but not least, the Revolutionaries are going to be big in the last few upcoming arcs. We know that they are fighting against the corrupt World Government and Celestial Dragons. Taking territories and liberating people from the World Government’s rule. We are probably going to figure out what made Dragon start the Revolutionary Army, why he wants to liberate the world from the World Government.

I believe Wano is one of the last arcs, if not last arc. I do believe that this will contain, the defeat of the 3 Emperors: Kaido, Big Mom and Blackbeard as well as a confrontation with Shanks, since the build up to Luffy and Shanks meeting has started since the very beginning. They haven’t physically seen each other for about 12 years now.

The Strawhats and Heart Pirates formed an alliance to defeat Kaido. They got a little off track by defeating Doflammingo, saving Dressrosa and saving Sanji from Big Mom. Which they completed all three tasks, as well as succesfully destroying the SMILES factory Doffy had.

Now Law and the rest of the Strawhats are waiting at Wano or going towards Wano to face the biggest threat. While Luffy and the others head over to Wano.

NOW ABOUT REVERIE

Now we are going towards the Reverie Arc, which will probably not involve ANY of the Strawhats and Heart Pirates due to the fact they are probably nowhere near where this is happening. SO we will have our first arc without the main characters. Its what I believe anyways.

The players of Reverie:

The Royals: Vivi, Rebecca, Shirahoshi, etc.

Marines: Garp, Akainu, Coby, Helmeppo, Issho, etc.

Five Elders

Celestial Dragons (unfortunately)

Jewelry Bonnie and her crew

Revolutionary Army: Sabo, Dragon, etc.

I doubt that the Strawhats and the Heart Pirates will be involved with this arc due to them dealing with Big Mom and Kaido. I’m going to assume that Reverie will happen at the same time Wano is going to happen, but we will see the Reverie arc and then the Wano arc, just to build up tension for the Strawhats and the end of the manga.

The revolutionary army is going to plan their attack on the World Government and Celestial Dragons during this time in order to cause maximum chaos among both groups and have everyone in the same spot at the same time.

But there is going to be a great part of it being the Royals meeting, or at least one chapter before mass chaos breaks loose when the revolutionaries attack.

It’s likely we will get the POV of VIvi or Rebecca during the actual meeting parts, then get the POV of Coby and Sabo during the attack of revolutionaries. Which would be really cool and very interesting, seeing what the Marines and Revolutionaries really are and how it feels like to be in the shoes of those we don’t know much about. So hopefully Oda does that.

The Revolutionaries will most likely cause mass panic for the people in One Piece, probably getting themselves and the Marines in a mess they can’t back out of. Most likely a war between the two and the World Government watching from above.

NOW ABOUT WANO

Then we will switch back to the Strawhats and Law. Before everything happened, since Wano and Reverie will most likely happen side by side (like I said before). We will see the planning and defeat of Kaido and most likely rescuing Kid and Wano from Kaido’s rule. But ultimately, it’s going to be a long and hard fight for everyone involved.

There will also be a part about Kaido and Big Mom’s relationship and what crew they were on together. Why they owe each other anything and what the nature of their relationship was.

Eustass Captain Kid, Scratchmen Apoo and Basil Hawkins will play a part in the Wano arc as well since they were the last people since to be defeated by Kaido. Eustass, defeated and beaten in jail. Scratchmen, a captain under Kaido’s command and we have no idea what happened to Basil Hawkins.

We will also find out more about Wano as a country and will most likely get allies in Wano that will help out with the fight.

Ultimately, I do believe that Luffy will defeat Kaido. I also think that he will also face Big Mom because he was forced to. Since Kaido and Big Mom had an argument about who was going to kill Luffy, I think she will go over to Wano and try to deal with either Luffy or Kaido. Probably once Kaido is gone, Big Mom will face off against Luffy against his will because she is forcing him to.

I also believe the reason Luffy couldn’t defeat Big Mom or the reason Oda decided for Luffy not to defeat Big Mom was because the Strawhats were separated and I would think that in order to defeat Kaido and her, the entire crew would need to work together. (I REALIZE THIS IS A BIG MESS, SORRY)

THEN once that complete mess is over, Luffy and the rest realize what happened during Reverie. Which would make Luffy want to go over and fix what was happening over there, since Sabo and his other friends are over there. As well as Shanks, Blackbeard and the royals (Vivi, Shirahoshi, Rebecca, etc.).

He will ultimately face off against Blackbeard before Shanks, I think that defeating Shanks would be a good way for Luffy to provide his strength and become the King of the Pirates (Pirate King).

Before that, I think the big fight between the Revolutionary army and the Marines will have to stop before the fight with the other two Emperors. It would be a big war, probably just as big as the War of the Best was.

Then as the arc continues on and the world is thrown into more chaos, the war will end most likely with the World Government crumbling, the Marines not doing too well (due to corrupt leadership and the Warlords) and the Revolutionary army most likely either successful or completely obliterated. With the Void Century revealed to the world, most likely discrediting the Celestial Dragons and World Government. Which will eventually lead to someone creating a better government system to lead the world (theres a chance the revolutionaries will do that.) As well as the Marines re-working their system, kicking corrupt Marines out, as well as getting rid of the Warlord system. All those looking towards a better world and hold important values for the Marines, those like Smoker and Coby and Garp would be creating a better system for the Marines, a less corrupt one.

During all of this, Luffy and the Strawhats will face off against Blackbeard, finally getting revenge for Ace. Then meeting Shanks and his crew for the final battle of the manga and ultimately is what will make Luffy the Pirate King.

There is a lot more to the World Government then we know. Even during the Reverie arc, we’ve learned so much within this arc alone. So I don’t think I will be able to theorize with the big strawhat (or normal size for all we know) as well as the figure the Five Elders were talking to. I’m not even sure what to make sure of with that information. So some shit will not be included in this until we know more. So this may seem like a very holey theory. But whatever.

I’m trying to take everything we know into consideration for the next few arcs. For all we know, this could lead to 5 more arcs or 10 more arcs. I can never be sure. But to me, it seems like this is ending soon, in arc terms. But I believe these arcs will take years to finish. Around 5 for Wano and Reverie and then the final arc will take 3 to 4 years. So we’ll see. :)

Ultimately, this was a product of me avoiding registering for SAT and doing my College Apps. Hopefully y’all enjoy this, or at least enjoy reading this.

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gaming2day · 4 years

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One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 - Review

I thought I might be bored once I beat my 500,000th marine lackey, but to my surprise, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 never let the smile fall from my face - except when trying to form me cry with its many faithfully recreated scenes of the foremost exciting moments of 1 Piece.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 may be a fully-fledged Omega Force Musou game that allows you to satisfactorily affect many thousands of enemies on your own as powerful hero characters (or villains). But it comes with most of the standard baggage that accompanies that distinction: it isn't the foremost beautiful game within the world, there are tons of resources reused from previous games and out of doors of some selected boss fights, its accumulations of bad guys offer minimal resistance.

Having said that, Pirate Warriors 4 managed to surprise me with a well thought out lighting system that features a lot of variety scattered in its selection of over 40 playable characters, excellent cooperative support, and a highly respectable reinterpretation of the huge story of 1 Piece.

Wealth, fame, power Pirate Warriors 4's main story mode, Dramatic Log, attempts to synthesize a 1 Piece storyline worth nearly 900 episodes during a single 15-hour campaign. It's an impossible task, to be honest, but tons of effort has been made to form these storybook-style summaries as fun and instructive as they will be. Everything is expressed by the first Japanese cast; there's an honest mixture of storytelling, still images and show scenes recreated within the engine to stay things visually interesting; and once they plan to do everything and make a CG version of the best moments of 1 Piece, they always seem amazing with the soundtrack of the Omega Force guitar that plays the guitar riff that plays within the background, albeit many of these moments are straight-up reused from previous Pirate Warriors games.

It's also worth noting that if you enter Pirate Warriors 4 as anything but an enormous One Piece fan who saw it all until the beginning of the Wano arc currently on the air, you'll have an excellent advantage. this is often definitely not a substitute for actually watching the show.

Pirate Warriors 4 covers six main arches: Alabasta, Enies Lobby, Paramount War, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and an ingenious version of the shuffled Wano bow that exists only to offer Pirate Warriors 4 a true ending from the important Wano bow it's not finished yet. those that have played Pirate Warriors 3 can get some reminder because the only completely new bows are Whole Cake Island and Wano, but Pirate Warriors 4 goes much deeper into each of them than its predecessor, with each arch consisting of a minimum of six missions.

Each chapter has its selection of playable characters to settle on from, with some levels limiting you to at least one character relevant to the story, while others allow you to settle on from a good sort of heroes featured within the scene. I've always taken the chance to undertake a replacement character and, fortunately, these opportunities have come up almost at every turn. it had been this strain that made Dramatic Log fun and interesting throughout its 15-hour span, despite the repetition inherent in Pirate Warriors 4 gameplay.

Dramatic Log is that the main course of Pirate Warriors 4, but there's also the Treasure Log mode which may be a series of mostly contextless levels that accompany their ready-made rewards and challenges. Almost everything in Pirate Warriors 4 is often played with the 2 player co-op mode in split-screen mode, but some Treasure Log levels also can be played with four players online, and as a result, they need unique goals, which is astounding. Multiplayer is certainly a robust point for Pirate Warriors 4, especially considering how easy it's to gather, break some buttons and watch the fireworks fly.

Take it to heaven (piea) If you've already played a Musou game, you recognize what to expect from Pirate Warriors 4 on a basic level. this is often a game all supported simple button presses that cause impressive actions. One who treats enemies as if they were 1,000,000 polystyrene peanuts and therefore the player as if they were a leaf blower.

This is a game all supported simple button presses that cause impressive actions. Pirate Warriors 4 adds some interesting wrinkles to the sheepfold, mainly the power of every character to use aerial combos, which does tons to further differentiate his list. By pressing the jump button within the middle of a combo, the characters take everything around them to the air where they need a replacement series of attacks. Some characters, like Sanji, absolutely thrive within the air where they will use multiple special moves to deal massive damage or use a buff that provides them unlimited resistance, which allows them to continuously cancel and restart combos with an air dash to remain within the air for as long as they need. Other characters, like Jimbei, are hopeless within the air and got to get on the bottom to try to significant damage.

The gameplay is super fast. With the power to attach a 3 to four-hit ground combination, then launch enemies for an additional combo, then combine it during a special move, which may then be canceled in multiple air combos, there's only plenty of movement frantic that always maintain the fluid and exciting action.

Despite this, the implementation of air combat isn't perfect. Some characters are given the choice to fly freely, but the controls are messy. there are no thanks to controlling your height, which may make it frustratingly difficult to truly hit enemies once you are above them, and sometimes characters can move so fast that it is often difficult to specialize in one enemy sort of a commander or boss if you've got to knock them down first.

Above all though, Pirate Warriors 4 may be a One Piece journey of power, and he's specialized at it. Almost every character feels insanely strong in their satisfying way. Luffy especially feels almost unstoppable when he transforms into one among his Gear Four forms, but especially when he's within the sort of Bounce Man and starts to load a Kong pistol that threatens insinuates itself on the heads of many defenseless enemies that are close to being sent on the wing.

Omega Force has also done an excellent job with its progression mechanics. Not only does each character have their skill trees that believe their arsenal of unique moves and stats, but there's also a universal skill tree that gives bonuses to all or any characters. it is a nice system that forces you to form some interesting decisions when it involves statistics on whether you spend resources to form everyone a touch stronger otherwise you specialize in making one character stronger that you simply could only use for one level.

Between the 15-hour story mode, the various additional hours that it'll fancy complete the treasure register, and therefore the unlockable characters that are associated with obtaining the S ranks within the missions, there are tons of useful content in Pirate Warriors 4 which will keep me busy for a few time.

The verdict One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 may be a fantastic One Piece game, and although it's many flaws on the sleeveless top, red buttoned and boater, its clever additions to combat do tons to scale back the infamous tedium that typically plagues the genus musou. It's still a troublesome sale for a non-One Piece fan, but as someone who loves One Piece and was just quite a Musou game, I found tons of things to understand in Pirate Warriors 4.

#one piece pirate warriors 4 characters #one piece pirate warriors 4 review #one piece pirate warriors 4 switch #one piece pirate warriors 4 deluxe edition #one piece pirate warriors 4 release date #one piece pirate warriors 4 wiki

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monkeydluffy19920 · 8 years

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Chapter 858

Tick tock, clock running and only 3 hours and 30 minutes to the ‘Tea Party’ !

First we see how they are baking the wedding cake and I assume this will be important part of the wedding since BM has dreamed about the cake for a while. Also I doubt Oda would spend the valuable panels for nothing so yes, a importan cake. Then we have Pekoms who is accompanied by Sun Pirates and they tell him to rest but he doesn’t want and mentions seeing shadows (wonder if he meant the same shadows that we saw shooting Bobbin)

So Luffy and others are on their way to see Capone and they are sent to the bath by Vito who explains that the “mafia boss” doesn’t want any dirty guests around. Now that Vito and others is back on game we MIGHT get to finally know what he whispered to Sanji back in chapter. Luffy is taking things surprisingly serious, almost scolding Chopper being so relaxed in times like this and so on but that might be also a gag, who knows : D (By the way, Chopper is way too adorable without the hat :> )

Then the scenery switches from the outside of castle to the inside and in women’s bath Nami finally gets the shower shes been craving since they were thrown into the jail. More importanly they’ll meet Lola’s twin sister Chiffone who opens up more about the past of Charlotte family and especially about Lola’s case and explains why she isn’t welcomed to Whole Cake Island anymore.

Whoever wrote the theory about Lola’s proposer to be a giant and has something to do with Elbaf nailed it ! So BM tried to arrange another political marriage in order to get involved with a famed army of Elbaf and this could’ve offered her the keys to get closer to One Piece. So I assume that now her plan with Vinsmokes and this marriage of Pudding and Sanji was to get get the gadgets to make her own clone army of Giants , sort of as a “revenge”.

(hmmm Nami seems to be interested in princes *whistles and smirks*)

It’s actually really sad to see how similar Judge and BM actually are. Both have crazy ambitions and questionable methods to achieve them and on top of that they are horrible parents. I mean they favor some of the children meanwhile despising the others and there is no wonder why Sanji and Lola both ran away. Back in Thriller Bark Nami and Lola became close friends and seeing how badly Big Mom treats her own children is enough to give Nami another reason to kick some Charlotte butt, in my opinion. I doubt her kind and emphatic nature will let her just “forget” this all, especially now that BM has not only caused trouble for her crew mate but also to her sworn sister. I really do hope Oda has prepared Nami some badass fight or other badass moment because she is a badass whose skills deserve to be seen !

Well Brulee and the other guy whose name I already forgot are still kept tied (probably so they won’t be able to squeal) and they seem to question Capone’s and Chiffon’s desicion but as said, I think there are way too many reasons why BM should be on her toes. I just hope Brulee doesn’t ruin it all by telling Mama before the big moment although it would bring more drama and tension :d

Also elsewhere Luffy and others are finishing their baths as well and for the comical part of the chapter they are some silly dummies. Well all I can say now is that DAMN YOU ODA, MASTER OF TROLLS XD also, never underestimate the power of milk, it can heal anything ! and to be honest I was already getting used to Luffy’s missing tooth but can’t deny that I’m glad it’s back, although he looks adorable with or without the tooth so doesn’t really matter :> yeah that missing tooth could have offered lots of dramatic sceneries in their future reunion in Wano because well it would’ve been interesting to see how the rest of the crew reacts seeing him with a gap in his mouth but I bet there might be tension anyways if they hear what has happened in WCI but at least now Luffy can smile with the whole row of white and shiny teeth and great to see Brook healed as well :D

Then to the big meeting ! Straw hats meet the Capone’s gang and damn I already love the outfits of this arc so much :> (and it’s so hilariously cute that Luffy won’t give up on his treasure at any cost so he puts 2 hats on xD).

I know this is a bit overthinking but if we think a little about the shipping perspective you can see that Sanji and Nami are sitting in different couches, maybe this could indicate that they don’t feel yet comfy to sit next to each other and therefore there is a chance for bigger reconciliation. I know Nami practically already forgive him but it was via Den den mushi, so maybe there will be something shippy awaiting :> at least I hope Oda would make them have a proper time to talk with each other but let’s see.

My mate @eleamaya dropped some really promising shippish-notes in her post here. Not only that prince comment few shippers have already pointed out but also this really interesting detail:

Yup as you can see Nami is now having very similar haircut/hairstyle than in that panel where Pudding is portayed as bride and where she explains how she shoots Sanji after the veil is lifted. Coincidence or not but this arc is full of surprises and I wish we could already see what the plan is and how they fullfill it.

Also on the other hand we shall keep our feet on the ground and not raise our hopes too high since OP is mainly focusig on chasing dreams and valuing friendships rather than romance even though it feels like there is more romantical aspects in general compared for the early arcs(hehheh, I need to remind myself about this often since I tend to carry away with shipping goggles xD).

(maybe the color spread of chapter 464 was kinda foreshadowing to this arc. Anyways they look great there :p)

Then we also find out tht Ceasar has been with Capone... as Gangster Gastino xD he looks badass by the way ! Luffy almost gets fooled by the “disguise”. Capone seems not to be interested in their links to each others, he just wants a confirmation to the alliance. Like always negotiations don’t go with the easiest route since Luffy starts to use his gomu gomu powers because he is mad at Capone shooting Pekoms and like Jinbe’s face says it all, he was expecting this to go this way so he stops their fight telling that if they all hate Big Mom then she’ll be the target and they can call it as a alliance. From now on it seems like Pudding is not having any alliance with Capone’s gang but nothing is for sure. However Capone seems to have a plan and I wonder what that’ll be. Here are some that crossed my mind instantly:

1) “bride swap” Based on this post and few fan arts but I don’t see this as a impossibility, even though Lola is out of game (which means Nami isn’t going to bargain like we originally speculated with my mate @ecassandrae.) I know I’ve been talking about her nickname thousands of times but I still claim this would be a perfect opportunity for her to be “the husband stealer”, literally. Also like my mate @pernanegra reminds us, Chiffon has already took part in brideswap earlier so arranging another “scheme” sounds even more plausible don’t it? Practically this would mean they need to capture Pudding and make Nami as the bride who steps to the altar. Like said this isn’t impossible but there are indeed pros and cons in this plan + Sanji would love this plan and he wouldn’t have to be afraid of getting shot + This would give them time to react and ambush + We know Pudding has 2 wedding dresses which could partly support this idea - could they capture Pudding without problems ? -+ is Nami willing to do this? (well of course she’d be in the end because it’s for the sake of her nakama but I can already imagine how blushed she’d become if she heard this for real :D)

2) full chaos Well this doesn’t require much explanation, the fire is opened before the tea ceremony even starts + unpredictable since BM seems to trust her son in law - chaos

There is probably much much more choices but I’m so stubbornly looking forward on the number one since there are so many nice hints around but but, master Oda will show us the right path !

#one piece #opspoilers #manga #chapter 858 #review #luffy #nami #sanji #chopper #brook #carrot #pedro #pekoms #capone bege #chiffon #charlotte family #ceasar clown #zoro #usopp #robin #franky

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years

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The Voyage So Far: Wano (Part One)

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.

#the voyage so far #arc: reverie #arc: wano kuni #one piece #opmeta #not japanese #long post

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 4 years

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Some Reasons I Love One Piece

So I set up a poll to ask what I should do for my 4000 follower milestone, and something like 85% of the responses to my poll said you wanted me to do a compilation of stuff I love about One Piece! So hell yeah, get ready for me to talk about pirates for way too long (a sentence that could also serve as an accurate blog description).

Before that though, lemme just say- thank you all! Seriously! When I started this blog I figured I’d be extremely lucky to end up with like a thousand followers, and now I have four times that and it just keeps growing, which just constantly baffles and amazes me. I adore every one of you, and you’re providing me something fun and productive to do in quarantine, and I love you for that.

Anyways! Let’s talk good shit.

Let’s start with Luffy. The whole story starts with him, after all.

I love Luffy, just as a character. He’s one of my favorite protagonists in anything, ever, when ordinarily protagonist characters don’t really appeal to me all that much. I genuinely think he might be my favorite character in One Piece now that I sit down and really think about it. I love how unconventional of a main character he is- he actively shuns the idea of being a hero and is in fact the most chaotic neutral motherfucker on the planet, and yet he’s so friendly and loyal and fun that you straight up can’t not love him both in-universe and out.

I also love the Strawhats just in general, both as a group and individually. Found family is one of my all-time favorite story tropes, and they do it better than like, the vast majority of stories out there. They’re all so completely unique from each other and play off each other so well and they really do feel like a family. I love how often Oda just shows them fucking around and hanging out. (One of my only gripes with post-timeskip is how much time they spend split apart.) I think it says a lot about them that I struggled so much when someone asked me to rank the Strawhats a few months back and had to rearrange the list like four times. I just!! Love them all!!

One of my favorite things about One Piece is that it’s the story of Luffy’s rise, and that it occurs in a world that’s so solidly scaled and well-developed that all progress he makes actually feels tangible and impactful. Some of my favorite moments in One Piece are the ones where we can see how far he and the crew have come and see other people’s reactions. His reappearance at Sabaody after the timeskip is my favorite scene in the manga, full stop. His entrance at Marineford and all of the Decks of the World cover stories delight me for the same reason.

Speaking of the worldbuilding, god it’s so good? I think one of the greatest potential strengths of a long manga is that its just got so much time to establish and build on so much information, and sometimes that leads to mangaka kind of tying themselves in knots with too much lore and explanation, but Oda just fucking nails it.

I recently read a conversation during Zou where the Strawhats are talking to Inuarashi, Nekomamushi and the Wano folks about all their mutual acquaintances on the Roger Pirates- Brook asks about Crocus, Franky mentions Tom, etc- and I had a moment where I realized how in pretty much any other series all those connections might seem contrived, but in One Piece it works so well. So much time has been dedicated to establishing all these facts and characters and connections over years and hundreds of chapters that when they do come together, it just feels so satisfying.

Like, at Twin Cape Crocus mentions he was a ship’s doctor and then mentions Roger as the Strawhats leave, at Thriller Bark we find out he’s Brook’s friend, at Sabaody in conversation with Rayleigh we find out for sure which ship he was a doctor on and that he joined them to look for Brook’s crew- and it all just falls together so nicely. One Piece is maybe the strongest series I’ve ever read in terms of how it establishes its characters and concepts and how they all fit into the world and cross over and connect with each other. The world of One Piece is huge, but it also feels so alive and interconnected, and that’s just wonderful.

I love how hopeful One Piece is. I was talking to a friend a couple months ago who doesn’t watch it, and she kind of dismissed it as ‘a show where nobody dies.’ Which- setting aside the fact that that’s just not fucking true- my first response to that was, “So?” I think it’s nice that we can all know for pretty much certain that the Strawhats will achieve their dreams in the end. There’ll be a happy ending, and Luffy’s going to be Pirate King, we’ve known that from the start. The fun is in seeing how they get there.

Aside from a few specific cases, I also really like how Oda does his character writing just in general. The female characters in One Piece generally get a bad rap, largely from people who haven’t watched the show and judge it on the (admittedly exaggerated) artstyle, but fuck if I haven’t seen such a widely varied and developed and flawed female cast writing-wise since- I don’t even know. Oda does a really good job of giving his characters, both male and female, unique and memorable personalities, which is super fucking impressive considering just how many there are. Similarly, I’m impressed by how new characters are introduced without getting repetitive or annoying, and very often those characters are really fantastic. I could talk about all the different One Piece characters I love and why, but we would legitimately be here all day.

I also love how unlike a lot of long-running series like this, characters don’t just go away when their time in the spotlight is done. In just about any other series, characters like Buggy and Coby and Crocodile would just be gone and never to be heard from again after they’ve served their purpose. Instead you have the stupid clown villain from the second arc becoming a fucking shichibukai several hundred chapters later, and it makes sense in the context of the story! The whole concept of the cover stories works really well towards this aspect of One Piece, letting us see what all these other characters are up to without taking attention off the main story. This fits in with the interconnectedness I mentioned earlier, too.

And I like how (and I know there are people who will argue this, I have had them in my inbox, but I do not care) One Piece has stayed so strong for so long. I’ve mentioned before that both of my favorite big arcs are pre-timeskip- Alabasta, for the civil war storyline and great supporting cast and villains, and W7/Enies Lobby, for the epic emotional highs and lowers + ANOTHER great supporting cast. But like, I’ve been enjoying the more recent arcs just as much! Honestly, now that I’ve finished Dressrosa, I think it definitely ranks up there among my favorites as well, for how chaotic and fun and high-stakes the whole thing felt when I was binging through it. I’m only a few chapters into Whole Cake Island so far but it seems very promising, and I’m really excited to get to Wano from what I’ve seen of it.

I haven’t even really touched on the art yet, either. I know the artstyle turns some people off of the series, for how kind of cartoony it is sometimes and how different it is from most other series, but honestly I just love it. I wasn’t sure about it at the start but it grew on me very fast. Hell, I have a whole tag (which I should use more) dedicated just to appreciation of pretty panels.

And the action scenes in One Piece are so fun and expressive and creative and almost always at least a little silly just by the nature of Luffy’s powers. I don’t think I’ve ever been bored during a One Piece fight. And the splash pages are frequently just breathtaking. I’m a writing person, not an art person, so I’m bad at putting this kind of thing into words nearly as well, but- yeah. One Piece Art Good. (My friend Narramin also has a really, really good series of posts about how great the visual storytelling in OP is starting here that I highly recommend, if you’re interested.)

Finally, I think my favorite thing about One Piece is that it’s all one story, start to end. I kind of touched on this above with the worldbuilding thing, but you can see what a ridiculous degree of thought and planning Oda has put into his story, and how well everything comes together. It’s the main aspect that got me to give One Piece a try in the first place- I heard how good and thought-out the long term storytelling is, and I just eat that shit up. I don’t think I’ve ever had the level of trust in a creator to handle and end their story satisfyingly that I have in Oda. It’s a good feeling.

#took me so long to write this post that im now like #a third of the way to 5k #which is ridiculous #feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of this!!#i write better meta when i have a single topic to focus on fjdsh #which is one of the reasons this took so long #so yeah ask box open!!#jonny talks #one piece #not japanese #long post #opmeta

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