#one piece chapter analysis

[shanksxbuggy]

The fact that Shanks is drinking heavily in reaction to Vegapunk’s message, just like Rayleigh, it’s likely he’s drinking because he already knew the truth of the world sinking and some other dark truths. While it’s unlikely Shanks knows the whole true history like the other Roger Pirates, he has to know enough about something to make him drown himself in alcohol. He’s not acting surprised or worried about people.

Buggy having this kind of reaction, I think Oda is continuing to highlight Buggy’s cluelessness. This further confirms that Buggy really didn’t know anything. Ever since his flashback of him eating the devil fruit he’s been painted as kind of an outsider in the Roger Pirates compared to Shanks.

Buggy’s cluelessness might be the very thing that saved him from becoming a despondent drinker like Shanks and Rayleigh. Oden once said he didn’t know if Buggy was lucky to get sick or not which prevented him from going to Laughtale…maybe because he didn’t discover the truth, Buggy was still able to keep his fiery passion and dreams. This might be the very thing that will help save Shanks from his depression…

[maximumqueer]

Chapter 1120 Spoilers

I really do love that the more we learn about Vegapunk and his past, the more it is hammered home just how flawed he was in his decisions. At every chance he was given to help those who wanted to uncover the missing history of the void century, to aid people trying stand up to the oppressive force of the World Government, he turned away. He cared too much about his funding. He couldn't picture how researching the past could possibly aid the future. He clearly cared about the world, but he didn't value information of the past that had be deliberately erased and hidden until it was too late.

By the time he started to more seriously research to void century, he had created his satellites, one of them being the manifestation of his greed, one of the reasons he refused to part ways with the government in the first place. And it was York (greed) that led to his downfall. His inability to give up funding, and his satellite's desire to become a Celestial Dragon, leading him to be sold out and ultimately killed. Which he clearly saw coming. He knew he waited to long, knew that he would most likely die before he could actually contribute to the causes he had previously turned his back on.

Which is why (for me at least) the speech he gives in an attempt to rectify his mistakes, his "sins" hits so hard. Vegapunk died before he could truly aid in any cause, and the guilt he feels for that fact is palpable. But, it doesn't stop him from giving his speech, from trying to make sure that others don't make that same mistake. This part of his speech in particular

does that. It speaks to the importance WHO is in control of history, of the narrative of the world, and how the oppressed can take back the narrative and carry it on to the future.

And that fact that this is all coming from beyond the grave for Vegapunk is both the culmination of his flaws and mistakes, but also his desire to try to rectify them, and hope beyond hope that someone hearing his broadcast will listen and not make the mistakes he did, and wait to act until it was too late.

[bobauthorman]

What is Blackbeard?

We've had hints across One Piece that something is Not Normal about Marshal D. "Blackbeard" Teach.

He has incredible stamina where it's said that he's NEVER SLEPT ONCE.

And being able to wield two Devil Fruits, which would normally kill someone.

But I think the answer could be found here, in Jaya...

This happens right after the Orange Town Trio get the Uplifting Speech from Blackbeard. We are initially led to believe that Luffy and Zoro have somehow sensed the connection between Teach and the other Blackbeards lurking around Mock Town.

But what if this is the Big Secret to Blackbeard's Power?

"Twice as much fun"

"Two Devil Fruit powers"

"More than one"

[lxmelle]

I don’t think Gojo died dissatisfied, or with any regrets.

Just a personal opinion that I wrote on twitter/X but I also wanted to capture and put into words here.

I can see how and why it can be interpreted that he did die with at least 1-2 regrets. However... as I read and re-read and thought about it to the point of being overthunk (lol), I have come to conclude (for myself at the very least), that he died with peace in his heart.

First we see him grumble about being wrong about dying alone because he told Megumi this. Then, he said he had unfinished business with informing Megumi about his dad, to which being a largely accepting/stoic person (kinda like the “resignation man” thing again that Gege described him - not necessarily in a negative way) really helps, because he readily accepts that he left it to Shoko and would be taken care of on his behalf.

So with that regard, he was at peace.

Next, Gojo admitted that he couldn’t reach Sukuna, and for that, he was apologetic/sorry/regretful (Not so much disappointed, due to the usage of the phrase 申し訳なく which conveys more of a sense of humility and responsibility, rather than feelings of being let down).

This is an important one for me... because if we understand how human bodies work in real life, and also if we subscribe to some form of faith/spirituality (in this case maybe Buddhism), the physical body actually takes time to die and the soul therefore takes time to depart the body.

We see Gojo smirk at the end of Sukuna’s speech saying that Gojo had “cleared his skies” and would be remembered by him for as long as he lived.

This can be interpreted in two ways (or both) - one, that those words were conveyed and Gojo heard them, understanding that he did reach Sukuna in some way. And 2nd that he smirked knowingly that he could “bet on the future” / the next generation, with what Yuta would do with his body…

Which also aligns with his soft reaction to what Nanami said about betting on the future. Gojo did his best with his students too.

So much so that he jokes with Yaga that he was wrong about sorcerers all dying with regret!

So with the body taking time to die, I see it as something similar with what happened with Jogo and Choso - their last moments took some time to happen.

As Jogo was burning, he met with his friends and had his send-off / acknowledgment from Sukuna that he was strong, that it was fun, and that he could stand proud. Jogo died feeling he had worth and believed he would reunite with his friends.

As Choso was shielding Yuji (I’m still not recovered from this btw) he also had his send-off at the long table with Yuji. He died protecting his brother, which gave him absolute meaning and purpose as a human being and not a curse. Similar situation at the end can be said about Nanami (arguable whether the process of dying was beginning to happen with his hallucinations of being at the beach) with his brief send-off with Haibara standing before him. They were consolidating their lives at their final moments. Expressing any regret/sorry’s helped them pass on peacefully. I’ll spare you the picture of mortally wounded Nanami 😢

Another one I won’t put a pic of would be Hajime’s death where he and Sukuna have an exchange too. I don’t know if he died with regret or not, but he got his answer at the very least - what he was searching for.

As for Nobara, we see her with the chairs, her thoughts and reflections - saying her farewells / apologies, and finally concluding that her life wasn’t so bad 😢

Those with mortal wounds to the head seem to die a little more immediately, so their vision of salvation / death dream / whatever you want to call it - appears to happen a little bit earlier. But it doesn’t stray too far from the theory that a “good death” comes to some of the characters in the jjk world and it exists in a space... uhh... we can describe as “between dream and reality”??? 🫣 idk about what/who is right or wrong. We know different characters have different theories about things - just like in real life I guess. Nevertheless I (as a reader) want to believe there is some kind of afterlife.

Back on topic: Gojo’s other “disappointment” was that he wished that Geto was there to “pat him on the back”. He would have been satisfied if Geto was there.

And now, well, Geto was there. Flowery speech bubbles and all. So I think the fact that he was with him as a soul, reunited, was enough of a pleasant surprise.

Enough for Gojo to go into “husband is home from a hard day’s work - time to let go and grumble” (lol). And Geto wasn’t a flower because Gojo wanted him to understand him, so I can see how this was satisfying for Gojo, who felt he wanted to catch up to Geto.

Narratively/Thematically it also makes sense that Gojo was at Geto’s end (sending him off), and Geto was at Gojo’s end (picking him up). You know... “you’re late”x2 “you’re early”? “I was left behind”x2 “I have to catch up?” (These two were just busy chasing each other).

Yeah. It wouldn’t take away the satisfaction over all that happened just because Geto wasn’t there to pat him on the back - because then dying would leave him behind. And crucially, Gojo prayed that being there at the airport wasn’t a dream. So he was satisfied with being reunited and being there with everyone.

My conclusion is basically this: I think that Gojo fully died physically when he smirked. A human body left to bleed out with a wound like that would take time to stop functioning. But we know that mercifully he was mostly dead, which was why his consciousness was at the airport. Arguably, where his soul needed to be. He would’ve internalised Sukuna’s message as his body physically died, which could explain why it reacted.

So if we believe that it wasn’t just a hallucination and there is an afterlife (there are many reasons to believe there is, with talk of soul resonance, reincarnation, etc.), just as how Geto knew Gojo fought Sukuna, the souls in the afterlife have awareness of what goes on in the world of the living.

I’m pretty certain that one way or another, Gojo would have received the knowledge that Sukuna had praise for him, even if he couldn’t reach him with his humanity. So there were essentially no “regrets”.

Gojo was satisfied with having left the information for Megumi for Shoko to deliver, with how he died in battle to someone stronger, that he was able to satisfactorily go all out & felt he had fun, that Sukuna acknowledged him, that he could bet on the future, and that he was also reunited with Geto & his friends from his youth.

Yes, so… I believe that Gojo died satisfied.

🥲 RIP Gojo Satoru. I hope you and Geto have a good time in the afterlife.

[bevinbrand]

The power in imagining your own future is important. It is pure potential. It can change, it can be anything you can dream up, and it's limited only by one's imagination. That's what Egghead is about on so many levels. It's fuckin' great. Do not copy, steal, edit, re-post, plagiarize, or otherwise use without permission. NO AI. Edit: Have further thoughts that I left on a YouTube video but I feel like posting them here, too. I love this chapter and all the parallels being drawn between Bonney and Luffy. The sheer potential of each of their powers that defy everyone's initial idea of what they are-- Luffy embodies how radical resilience and joy are and has awakened his fruit (attained a form of enlightenment) through sheer imagination and desire for freedom from the restraints of reality and physics; Bonney embodies the power in imagining potential futures for herself, which I think ties into the importance of Kuma's decision to keep her diagnosis from her all this time. If he had told her, her perception of her future might have become more limited and she might not have been able to push the boundaries of her ability the way that she does now. Both Luffy and Bonney's ignorance of the truth-- in Luffy's case the true ability of his fruit, in Bonney's the true nature of her disease-- enabled them the freedom of real self-discovery and exploration. The fact that Bonney set out on her journey by punching the barrier to her freedom in the face, just like Luffy did with the sea king when he left home, speaks volumes. The fact that Kuma and Dragon are so directly paralleled here, where Kuma ends up proving Dragon's fears right by having his child used against him, having him be turned literally into an instrument of the forces he's been fighting against his whole life, that speaks a lot as well. Also, I try really hard not to project or make suppositions about the author's motivations, and I could 100% be wrong about this, but it's so hard for me not to imagine that at least some of this is Oda's love letter to his own daughters and wishing he could be there with them as they grow up.

[fakescorpion]

We need to talk about Crocodile and Mihawk’s relationship, and how notably odd it is.

Considering both of them are very smart men, they must know beforehand the moment their names appear together in the same organization, they are essentially declaring to the World Government that they are creating another emperor crew.

Now here’s the strange part.

Crocodile—being extremely intelligent—must know that in an ideal universe where Buggy did not fuck shit up and that Crocodile and Mihawk are rightfully recognized as the true leaders of Cross Guild, World Government would look at these two names side-by-side and come to the conclusion that Mihawk should be named the emperor, seen as there is a significant gap between their issued bounties. That can only mean when Crocodile made that phone call, he already had the intention of making Mihawk the king, right? Another evidence is that Crocodile even named their organization Cross Guild, after Mihawk and his cross motif.

On the other hand, Mihawk does not want to be an emperor. Mihawk makes this very clear and his opinion on this matter has never changed. That can only mean when Mihawk accepted Crocodile’s offer, he already had the intention of becoming Crocodile’s right-hand commander, right? True to this assumption, it is mostly Crocodile making the decisions in the few panels we see of their interaction with Mihawk following his lead, from recruiting Buggy and co, to how Buggy’s friends all stating that they will follow Crocodile (not Mihawk).

Buggy lucking himself into his current position does not change the fact that before Buggy was even in the picture, Crocodile and Mihawk—both of whom exude extreme I-am-king-and-serve-no-one vibes—considered each other and simultaneously decided that they want the other man to lead.

So why?

These two must have history.

[betweenxt-the-lines]

seeking currency chapter 29 mood

(contains SPOILERS!)

[felixcloud6288]

There's something from One Piece chapter 1109 I'm trying to make sense of.

Here's an image of one side of the OP world:

The red section is a supercontinent called the Red Line and the horizontal line is an ocean called the Grand Line. Where they cross on this image is called Reverse Mountain. On the other side of the world, where those lines cross again is Mariejois, seat of the world Government.

The Grand Line is further divided into Paradise (The section between the East Blue and South Blue) and the New World (The section between the North and West Blues)

In the most recent chapter, we have several scenes from around the world and it's night in some places and day in others.

Of the daytime locations, we get Dressrosa (in the New World), Foosha Village (in the East Blue), and an unnamed location in the South Blue.

Of the nighttime locations, we get Mariejois, Water Seven (in Paradise), Kamabakka Queendom (in Paradise), and an unnamed location in the West Blue.

Finally, we have one unnamed location in the North Blue whose time of day is indeterminate because of a snowstorm.

Now if you compare the locations I gave with the above image, I'm having a hard time figuring out where the sun's position should be. If it is daytime in the East and South Blues, it should also be daytime in Paradise. And similarly, it should be nighttime in the New World.

I considered the possibility that it's daytime in only part of the areas as well and it might be able to add up. It would have to be late afternoon in Dressrosa and early morning in Foosha Village. So high noon on the planet is likely somewhere to the left of Reverse Mountain on that image.

Anyway, this all started cause I wanted to figure out if the planet rotates along the Grand Line. I'd love if a meteorologist or whoever is good at this kind of thing could chime in.

[breakonthroough]

One Piece Chapter 1126. Thoughts about Shank's expression.

Spoiler alert!

Well, I suddenly have a little theory about Shanks. More precisely about his reaction to the act of Bartolomeo, who prefer to drank poison instead to harm Luffy.

I'm generally talking about this expression on Redhead's face.

Some saw in this an irritation at Barto's unpredictable reaction, others saw boredom. But I saw in Shank's eyes sad thoughtfulness and absorption in his thoughts. Something like sad memories. Perhaps about some similar situation from his past. When he also faced a difficult choice and unlike Barto made it not in favor of the person he loved and respected. For some reason.

Now I will explain what I mean.

We all remember how very young Shanks cried bitterly next to Gol D. Roger, who had returned from Laugh Tale. And later suffered, seeing how the new Pirate King was getting worse from a mysterious illness. And we all remember about the origin of Shanks — that he is Figarland, according to the movie Red.

What do I want to say? If we put these details together, we can imagine a crazy conspiracy theory. What if Shanks (???) somehow poisoned or infected Roger (!!!), who just became a King of the Pirates. Poisoned his captain and possibly benefactor with something.

Sounds too crazy? Maybe.

But what if he was also offered a similar choice: to poison the most famous bearer of the initial D, a dangerous person who poses a real threat to peace and power? In exchange for what? Unknown. But presumably for freedom and the opportunity to live his own independent live, separate from the fate of God's knights, gorosei and tenryubito. But, most likely, there may be something personal here that we cannot even imagine yet.

And what if by committing this act at a young age Shanks doomed to an untimely death the man who most likely raised him and became his role model of real honor man? Who even having become the King of the Pirates and having learned the secrets of this world still could not take advantage of this, because he fell ill and preferred execution to a slow painful death.

However Roger outwitted everyone here too, marking the beginning of the era of Pirates.

I think Shanks must regret about this for the rest of his life. Because almost all of his further actions and the entire lifestyle that we were shown seem to be attempts to correct the terrible mistake of his youth and make amends to the world, at least through helping individual islands and peoples.

Of course all this is my personal speculation.

But such a terrible test for Bartolomeo could hardly have just occurred to such a supposedly kind and fair person like Shanks. Just out of a desire to test Luffy's most ardent fan and supporter for loyalty.

After all we have absolutely no idea yet of Redhair’s true goals and his true relationship directly to Luffy, Joyboy and Nika. I logically separate them, since Shanks may really be attached to the first one and beware the others. Since we don’t yet know what kind of threat they are may represent themselves in reality.

This leads to the second idea that Shanks tests the Straw Hats' supporters and friends (as Kuma tested Zoro) for loyalty and strength. So that in the likely future, when Nika is finally absorbed by Luffy’s personality, and only his strongest and most devoted friends will be nearby and help him cope with the uncontrollable will of the deity.

Also, developing the theory of poisoning, it is worth remembering about Whitebeard, who was slowly dying from some equally mysterious illness. He was also the strongest of people. And also, according to some theorists and their speculations, he was one of the last surviving buccaneers like Kuma.

If we assume that the World Government tried and is trying with all its might to prevent the most powerful and dangerous pirates from reaching Laugh Tale (the way to real power over the world), then the version of the mysterious poisoning (or infection) seems quite realistic. After all we already know about the variety of poisons and strange deadly diseases of this world.

Of course all of this is just my thoughts and assumptions, however something in new chapter prompted me to have this idea. So let's wait to see what Oda has in store for us next.

Just let him cook :)

Rus 👇

1126 глава. Мысли о Шанксе.

Что ж, у меня тут внезапно появилась небольшая теория насчёт Шанкса. Точнее, насчёт его реакции на поступок Бартоломео, выпившего яд, только чтобы не навредить Луффи.

Вот это выражение лица Рыжеволосого.

Кто-то увидел на его лице раздражение реакцией Барто, кто-то - скуку. А я увидела в его глазах печальную задумчивость и погруженность в свои мысли. Что-то типа воспоминаний. Возможно, о какой-то схожей ситуации из его прошлого. Когда он также оказался перед сложным выбором, и, в отличие от Барто, сделал его не в пользу человека, которого любил и уважал. По каким-то своим причинам.

Сейчас поясню, что я имею в виду.

Все мы помним, как совсем юный Шанкс горько плакал рядом Гол Д. Роджером, вернувшимся с Лафтейла, и мучился, видя, как новому Королю Пиратов становится все хуже от загадочной болезни. А ещё все мы помним о происхождении Шанкса, о том, что он Фигарленд, согласно фильму Рэд.

Что я хочу сказать? Если собрать эти детали вместе, то можно предположить безумную теорию заговора. А что если когда-то Шанкс (???) отравил/заразил чем-то Роджера (!!!), главного претендента на статус Короля пиратов, действительно ставшего им впоследствии.

Но что если ему также был предложен похожий выбор: отравить самого знаменитого носителя инициала Ди, опасного человека, представляющего реальную угрозу миру и власти? В обмен на что? Неизвестно. Но, предположительно, на свободу и возможность жить своей независимой жизнью, отдельной от судьбы Божьих рыцарей, горосеев и тенрьюбито. Но, скорее всего, тут может быть что-то личное, о чем мы пока даже предположить не можем.

И что если, совершив этот поступок в молодом возрасте, Шанкс обрёк на преждевременную смерть человека, который, скорее всего, его воспитал и стал образцом для подражания? Который даже став Королем пиратов и узнав тайны этого мира, все равно уже не смог этим воспользоваться, потому что заболел и предпочел казнь медленной мучительной смерти. Однако Роджер и здесь всех перехитрил, подгадив мировому правительству и положив начало Эре Пиратов.

Думаю, Шанкс потом сожалел об этом всю жизнь. Ведь почти все его дальнейшие поступки и весь стиль жизни, который нам показывали, кажутся попытками исправить ужасную ошибку молодости и загладить вину перед миром хотя бы через помощь отдельным островам и народам. Разумеется, все это мои личные домыслы.

Но ведь такое жуткое испытание для Бартоломео вряд ли могло просто так прийти в голову такому якобы доброму и справедливому человеку, как Шанкс. Просто из желания проверить на вшивость самого горячего поклонника и сторонника Луффи. Ведь мы совершенно не представляем себе пока что истинных целей Рыжеволосого и его отношения непосредственно к Луффи, Джойбою и Нике (я их логично разделяю, так как Шанкс может действительно испытывать привязанность к первому и опасаться остальных. Так как мы пока не знаем, какую угрозу они могут из себя представлять в действительности).

Отсюда вытекает вторая идея, что Шанкс испытывает сторонников и друзей Мугивар (как Кума испытывал в свое время Зоро) на преданность и прочность. Чтобы в вероятном будущем, когда Ника окончательно поглотит личность Луффи, рядом оказались только самые сильные и преданные его друзья и помогли справиться с неуправляемой волей божества).

Также, развивая теорию отравлений, стоит вспомнить и про Белоуса, который медленно умирал от какого-то столь же загадочного недуга. А также являлся самым сильным из людей. И ещё, по мнению некоторых теоретиков, был так же, как и Кума, одним из последних выживших буканьеров. Если предположить, что мировое правительство старалось и старается всеми силами не допустить, чтобы самые сильные и опасные пираты добрались до Лафтейла (пути к реальной власти над миром), то версия загадочного отравления (ил�� заражения) видится вполне себе реалистичной. Ведь мы уже знаем о разнообразии ядов и странных смертельных болезней этого мира.

В общем, все это разумеется мои размышления и предположения, однако, что-то в новой главе меня натолкнуло на подобные мысли.

Так что ждем, что Ода будет готовить дальше!

[fangirlinglikeabus]

samuel richardson, clarissa; or, the history of a young lady // anne brontë, the tenant of wildfell hall

some notes on this:

i've already posted one of the penguin edition's notes where stevie davies describes this scene in tenant as helen defending herself with the tools of her profession. well, i'd argue a similar thing is happening in clarissa: it's an epistolary novel, she's one of its most prolific writers. a penknife is as emblematic of her ability to assert herself as helen's palette-knife, albeit on an interpersonal level that allows her to battle against the forces trying to silence her narrative voice, rather than on a professional one which will actually empower her to escape abusive men.

i don't think it's unreasonable to read a rape-y undertone to hargrave in this scene ("say i overcame you and you could not choose but yield"). the penknife scene in clarissa takes place after lovelace (who narrates this section) has raped her; he's now trying to trick her into granting him access to her again. imo what's partly happening here is her reasserting her personal integrity in the face of his idea that she should already be sexually 'fallen' and indifferent to further violations after what's happened to her. and yet the scene also plays into that old old idea that death is the only option a woman has to avoid being raped and she should thus naturally be willing to choose it when she's threatened with rape. helen says fuck that and threatens to cut a man instead (as she tells hargrave, she has no interest in dying, of a broken heart or otherwise). to be fair i think she has a bit more of an out than clarissa at this point - the fact that the only power clarissa has to exert is against herself is deeply sad to me - but man there's something i find incredibly moving in anne brontë's assertion that women aren't doomed to resort to self-destruction when they're threatened with an assault

they both describe the woman in the scene as resolute! this is possibly just a coincidence but it's a neat connection

[wifeofkatakuri]

I think it was the perfect decision for Oda to kill of Kid. Kid was in this perfect spot where you wouldn’t be devastated by his death but you know enough about him for it to be impactful. Kid was going after the one piece and as far as I remember had the only crew, at least from the worst generation besides Luffy ofc, that declaired their captain would become the pirate king. So he had to go down eventually also Oda comparing this final stretch to a battle royal means were playing elimination now. I also love how it shows a colder side to Shanks that we only got a glimpse of in chapter 1. Augh this series is so good!

[shanksxbuggy]

Pls pls pls rant more about ur theories and thoughts abt op and this recent chapter i need ur analysis sm thank you for ur posts ur one of shuggys greatest blogs!!!

Thank you for liking my humble little offerings!! Every day I toil in the shuggy mines ⛏

In this spread, if Oda really did intentionally put a mirror parallelism between opposite forces, then it might imply that Buggy and Shanks would clash in the future because of their differing ideologies.

I’ve also seen people worrying that the parallels might signify a battle to the death, where only one side can come out on top. Basically pairs with contradicting desires that conflict with each other.

So I’m thinking, what kind of conflicting ideology between Shanks and Buggy would put them on this level?

Out of all people in this race - his arch-nemesis Blackbeard, the authoritarian government who slaughters innocents - it’s Buggy who mirrors Shanks as his polar opposite.

What’s interesting to me is that Shanks seems to have his own plans for the One Piece.

Since Buggy is about materialistic greed and wants to find the treasure for his own gratification (not for any grander scheme involving the fate of the world), when I think about the opposing side, maybe Shanks wants to destroy the One Piece so no one can have it, which would put him in direct conflict with Buggy’s interests.

Imagine there’s a big pile of treasure and priceless artifacts, and Shanks says ‘well I’m going to destroy all of this so no one can have it’. That would be enough to piss Buggy off and start a fight.

When Shanks uses the word ‘get’, the word he uses has the implication of ‘take by force’ or ‘steal’, almost as if someone else has it.

If I consider the possibility that Shanks plans on destroying the One Piece, this wording could imply he’s going to ‘take away’ the One Piece from anyone trying to possess it.

Since Buggy’s goals are selfish, as his direct opposite, Shanks’ goals might be selfless. Shanks doesn’t want the One Piece for himself, and if anyone does want to claim it, they’ll have to defeat him to do it. So in that way, he’s safeguarding it.

Just from how different Shanks’ expression is from the other Emperors, it’s like he’s the only one who’s not having a fun pirate adventure hunting unknown treasure.

Compared to every other ‘opposite parallel’ in this spread, Shanks vs Buggy seems very different. They’re the only opposites who actually care about each other despite their differences. Compared to the other matchups, their conflict seems kind of petty and personal.

I don’t think Shanks and Buggy will truly have a fight to the death. I’m not sure Shanks would even be able to fight Buggy seriously.

If they ever were to face off against each other, it might end up being like the challenge between Dorry and Brogy, where it’s a match between two people who care for each other and in the end won’t be happy seeing the other person lose. Unlike everyone else who’ll probably have to kill each other to stop their opponent, Shanks and Buggy have the desire to save each other. So their outcome won’t be the same as everyone else.

Honestly, besides comic relief and leading characters like Mihawk and Crocodile to the One Piece, Buggy doesn’t look like he has much of a role in the final battle royale. He isn’t important to the main plot or Luffy’s development, he isn’t strong and doesn’t have useful information, he doesn’t represent some moral good or ideology, even as a villain he’s not so evil that he needs to be defeated. So what is his purpose, why did it have to be Buggy with this important role in the finale? It’s likely that Buggy, as a character, exists for Shanks’ endgame.

Whatever Shanks’ endgame is, Buggy will play an important part in it, because narratively their fates were written to be intertwined. They were set up as narrative foils from the start, and even more so now they continue to foil each other. Buggy was written for Shanks, though we don’t know for what future purpose it’ll be. Whether they’ll cause each other’s downfall or save each other’s lives, some kind of redemption arc for Buggy or character resolution for Shanks, they’ll both have an effect on each other’s fate.

It’s all just me speculating, of course, because I crave analysis.

When did this answer get so long! I started writing this out and it just went off on its own and kept going.

[maximumqueer]

This is a bit more minor compared to all of the lore we got in this chapter, but this is now the second time we've had a crew member berate Zoro in these most recent chapters, and the third person overall.

First Rob Lucci referred to him as dead weight, then Sanji called him a liability, and now Nami is berating and blaming him for not being able to leave sooner. This is (if I remember correctly) the most we've seen Zoro's actions criticized in such a short period of time. And I really hope something more comes from it for Zoro as a character.

Because this has also (in a way) been an arc of failure for Zoro. And I don't mean that as a bad thing. It's good to have characters fail. But for someone like Zoro, who has fears centered around not being strong enough to protect the crew, the kind of failure he experienced is the kind that would hit at those fears.

He failed to take down Kaku because Stussy intervened. He failed to take down Lucci, and Jimbei had to step in and physically remove him from the fight. And while these aren't failures in the traditional sense (he didn't loose to Lucci or Kaku, he just wasn't the one to finish them off) to Zoro, who has been characterized as being incredibly hard on himself, they would probably register to him as failures. Then, to have those perceived failures be compounded upon by having his position on the crew questioned not just by an antagonist, but a fellow crew member?? I just can't help but think that Oda is going to break Zoro as a character (like how he did with Sanji at Whole Cake, or Robin at Ennis Lobby, or Luffy at Marineford).

I honestly think it would be incredibly poetic to have the first crewmate be the last one to break, to be the last one that needs to be saved. I also think it would be a good way to raise the stakes even higher as we get closer to finding the One Piece (by having conflict within the crew.)

Obviously this is all speculation and wishful thinking. And while I would a bit disappointed if these moments (that I could just be reading way too far into) don't culminate into something larger, it also wouldn't be the end of the world. I just think it would help to solidify the depth of Zoro's character by showing him actually having to confront his fears in a way that doesn't involve scenes of him training, or one off moments of him vowing to be stronger.

[bobauthorman]

One Piece of the New Era

Occasionally in One Piece, the phrase "New Era" is tossed about by various characters. When the story starts, it has been 22 years since Gold Roger's legendary execution, when his final words spurred countless pirate crews to form in search of his treasure, the One Piece. This is called the "Great Pirate Era". But in the two decades since it began, no one has claimed the treasure, and the world has entered a status quo, upheld by the three Great Powers; The Navy of the World Government, the Seven Warlords of the Sea who work with them, and the Four Emperors of pirates. So, what is the New Era supposed to entail?

The first time we hear of a "new" era is in Jaya, where Bellamy tosses this out;

As far as Bellamy is concerned, the New Era is where pirates give up on immaterial goals like becoming Pirate King or pursuing dreams. Instead, they focus on regular treasures, like what pirates normally do. As the arc goes on, it becomes apparent that Bellamy is just a bully looking for a fancy rhetoric to hide behind, to the point that even Blackbeard calls him out indirectly. Luffy easily driving Bellamy's head into the boardwalk later shows just how weak this "new era" talk is.

The next time we hear of a new era, it's from Bellamy's boss, Don Quixote Doflamingo;

This is very vague, and hard to figure out, but essentially Doflamingo's version of the New Era is where the relative 'peace' established by the Three Great Powers will come crashing down, and only the truly strong and ruthless will be able to make their way. As we learn, Doflamingo has ties to both the World Government and Four Emperors as a Warlord and black market dealer, so he's in the perfect position to let the chaos unfold, safe and secure. No matter who wins, he comes out on top.

Except, he's not as safe as he thinks, which Trafalgar Law proves when he pulls the Straw Hats into his vendetta;

As Law points out, just because Doflamingo has had a good run doesn't mean he can hold onto it forever. If only the truly "daring and mighty" can survive, where does that leave the puppet-master who hid in the shadows? Nowhere. In this moment, Law trumps Doflamingo's rhetoric, and later on Luffy, who embodies the true freedom the series preaches, takes down the Celestial Demon.

And speaking of Luffy, what about his idol, Shanks?

Shanks also speaks of the New Era. From what I gather, he sees it as a changing of the guard, with new blood coming in to replace the old. He clearly sees Luffy as the bastion of the New Era, the positive aspects of it. However, he also sees the New Era being developed by Blackbeard, and tries to warn Whitebeard of the danger Teach poses. But Whitebeard was already aware of Blackbeard's threat, and his inability is a sign the old pirate is losing his place in the world...

And when Luffy's group does prevail in Wano, defeating both Kaido and Big Mom, who is there as an 'attaboy?'

You guessed it.

With all this in mind, it says a lot that in a series of inherited will, the greatest enemy is Imu, a being who is apparently immortal.

[writesailingdreams]

One Piece chapter 1127

I don't know why this struck me in this arc, but...

...something about Nami's behavior was a little odd to me?

When she initially showed up, terrified of the bees, I was like, yep, good continuity. But then her crying to be rescued (also curiously only seemed to refer to those shipmates actually here; don't know if that's significant) made me scratch my head.

Not because her being scared feels out of character, but if I imagined Nami waking up in an unfamiliar place after heavily drinking, I feel her first impulse would be to sneak around then get sacred. I mean, that may have happened and wasn't shown, but it was still a little weird.

Also, I have this feeling that everyone we've seen so far are normal sized folk living in a Lego-like land with "deities" that are Elbaf size creatures. But we'll see.

Early One Piece arcs are always some of the wildest. Let's see where this one goes.

[ikkaku-of-heart]

Finally someone gets it!

As a transman I can't get it how forced genderbend it a nice thing.....I just am so worried they would get horrific dysphoria for their first time and it irks me.....

Genderbend is not bad if it's done well and not sexism (how oda does)

Glad to help people know they aren’t alone in this whole thing. I don’t necessarily hate genderbend - I can enjoy it occasionally in a fanservice way - but honestly most of the time I just find it unnecessary.

Forced genderbend? Fuck that. What happened in chapter 1063/episode 1093 shouldn’t have been treated as comedy. It should have been horror.

I get people thinking fem!Law is hot but the whole context around the scene is just so fucking disturbing that it should have been fan-disservice. I mean, I can only imagine being forced into a body that isn’t your own is nothing short of terrifying. Especially when you consider that this happened mid-battle against one of the most powerful antagonists in the series, so you’re now suddenly in a body that feels *completely off* when you’re fighting for your life. Even without the sexist implication that being in the female body made Law weaker (hate that bullshit and fuck you Toei and Doc Q) it’s still jarring ashell and something like that could get you killed in this kind of situation.

I could get into the full implications of just how dark and horrifying I feel this scene really is (and perhaps someday I will with it being tagged as such), but for now, I have to say that, while Oda was sexist, I’m more disappointed in the fandom over it than him. Oda I sadly expect to some extent. The fandom? Yeah, the obsession they immediately had over it and the way the tag has been flooded with people going gah-gah over it and fetishizing it and (in the case of one zine server that I ended up leaving in part because of this) even using it as an excuse to ship Law with Blackbeard instead of calling out the sexism and transphobia and fetishism and recognizing it as horror…

Yeah, not a fan. It’s not canon as far as I’m concerned. I can accept people thinking the fem!Hearts are hot, and people can draw and write what they like. I won't bash anyone for it and I respect that some people see it as harmless. But I’m just really not thrilled that more people aren’t calling out how problematic the whole scene is. I’d probably be a little less pissed at the fandom if I saw it more balanced, with both simping AND pointing out how bad that scene really was.

Alas, fandom gonna fandom, and I won’t let them ruin my love for the Hearts. I'll just keep doing what I always do and write them being awesome, funny, competent pirates who absolutely are their captain's hype squad. They can say he looks great as a girl and believe he can kick ass in any body, but the reaction they had over it, and the fandom's continued reaction, just gives me the ick.