#op ch118

[salteytakesonmanga]

It feels appropriate that I own a bootleg Doskoi Panda t-shirt. (I didn’t pay $100 for it though.)

Oda’s fake in-world brands are such a wasted marketing opportunity. I would buy the shit out of official goods if they actually made Doskoi Panda and Criminal clothes like the ones the characters wear in the story.

[chidoroki]

The Promised Neverland S2EP6

aka: manga content is bliss!!!!

I will never get over how perfect those match cuts between the demon/human handshake, the chains & Emma are during the OP.. and how it builds up to the chorus is just.. aaahh, fantastic.

Oh! Lambda crew was added to the OP alongside the GF escapees. Norman too!

AAhh they really did fill in that empty spot with him during the last shot of Emma and Ray.. that’s wonderful!

“Emma’s Determination” starts up as I realize how foolish these kids are right now. Y’all are really about to have a touching reunion with each other in the middle of a demon town? With your disguises off?

Aaaaww that hug though!!

Look at her touching his face to make sure he’s real! I’m so glad they kept that panel! And how he noticed her missing ear too!

“I brought Ray out, too.” Well no shit honey.

YAAAYYY BEST BOY SLAPPED NORMAN!! Too bad it wasn’t hard enough to knock him to the ground like in manga but I’ll take it!

“But you say something cool, right?” “Yeah. Thanks to you. I’m glad I’m alive.” Dude, my heart.. aahhh!

The trio hug!! They’re all so cute!! I can’t handle all these happy feelings!

The Lambda crew is just standing there in the back like.. yeah, okay.

The younger kids are so happy to see Norman too.. but again manga did it better when they all tackled him to the ground. Granted that was a different scene but I would’ve loved to see it happen still.

Ah there’s his Lambda marking.

“I only took tests, so I’m fine.” Are you sure? Or are you just saying that so they won’t worry? Kind of like how he told the Lambda crew he didn’t get seizures when he actually did.

Also, I know some might think what was just said is true since Norman looks young and not like the “boss” Norman we were hoping for, but the anime is actually accurate in regards to that. Ch129 shows a flashback that takes place in February 2047 where Norman still looks younger. When the initial reunion in ch118/119 happens in November 2047, so perhaps the experiments/drugs manga Norman was given take time to affect his physical state or whatever. What I’m getting at is the anime isn’t denying us of “boss” Norman, it just hasn’t happened yet in this timeline.

Oh, Smee was actually mentioned!

Here comes the demon chatter and the poison.

“No, we’d fare better than going against a smarter demon.” True, not that anyone would truly know that because, you know, no GP..

“We’ll make the demons extinct. There will be no more Neverland.” Okay yeah, Norman takes Emma’s wish to heart by trying to create a world in which their family can live happily, but do you have to go through such extremes dude?

“Let’s establish a paradise for all of us in this demon world.” Manga Norman accomplished that, anime Norman.

Ohhh Ray notices Emma’s bluff, doesn’t he?

“If I give the word, even as early as tomorrow.” That’s quick, but fits with the pace of this season well enough..

“Now we can move forward, thanks to Norman.” Ah yes, we’re all saved thanks to our main character. Oh, wait.. that’s right. She’s over here being disrespected!

The base Smee left them? Is that the Paradise hideout? I forget.. or are we talking about the D100 location now?

Norman’s going back somewhere?

“It’s great.” “Is it really, though?” AH! Shut the fuck up! Are we getting the balcony scene here?? Right now?? Sure the duo is on top of a tower right now but y’all know what conversation I’m referring to!!

“About Norman’s plan.. you actually don’t want that, right?” IT’S HAPPENING!!! Oooh my god!!!

“But that’s not the future you want, is it?” “Something’s wrong with me.” Quick! Someone hold me! I’m not ready!!

Aww, Gilda helping Alicia with her nightmare.. that’s so precious!

Emma’s voice actor is totally nailing this scene so far.

“Yeah, nothing can be done.” Y’all, the way his voice became significantly confident and so positive and Emma’s reaction to him were perfect!!

“Don’t dig up my buried feelings, you jerk!” Emma sweetheart, I love you so much!

“If you’re going to bury your feelings, then take them to your gave, no matter what.” I know I said this once in the past, but after what happens in ch180, yeeaahh she takes his advice reaaallly well.

Oh they brought back “Emma’s Sorrow” to really make me even more emotional during this scene!!

You can always count on Ray to be completely blunt.

“Depending on the circumstances, we might get a clue on how humans and demons can coexist.” “Ray!” Bro she looked so hopeful and thankful that he’s even considering it! You could literally hear the relief in Emma’s voice!

“Choose what you want to do, and I’ll support you. No matter what you choose, you’ll be okay.” AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! HE SAID IT!!

“You can do the impossible. That’s your specialty, right? Let’s create a future we won’t regret.” “Okay! Thanks, Ray!” AAH I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY!!! And the sunrise makes this scene so beautiful!!!

“My head feels clearer now.” “You’re too easy!” They even remembered those tiny lines too!!!

Y’ALL!! I am feeling.. SO DAMN SOFT RIGHT NOW!! Holy shit.. yes, this scene would’ve been 5x better in terms of weight and importance if we saw every manga event that built up their bond and led up to this scene, but still!! The dialogue was on point! The emotion in their voices was everything I hoped for! The animation itself was good too!

Also, the sunrise?? Genius! Here we have our girl lost within her own mind and feeling completely alone due to her ideals, then BAM! Ray listens to her concerns, lends his assistance by thinking through a different course of action that would ease her wavering heart and restores some of her usual optimistic attitude. My boy literally helps our girl out of the dark and shined light on her mood/plan and that’s absolute perfection. (my ship bias is real obvious right now huh?)

Did we get the head pat? No, of course we didn’t. But I’m so happy to actually see & hear this conversation that I don’t care! I love these two so much. I honestly didn’t think we would get this scene. Even after the episode preview yesterday I still had my doubts but aahh my heart is so insanely happy right now!!

Oh? The duo is off to the location Norman gave them? This random, small house in the middle of no where?

Aaah Lambda crew! And THEY SPOKE WORDS!

Pfft they still had Barbara mix up “shield” and “field” and I love it.

Look how much shorter the duo is compared to Vincent!!

“He’s with Boss now, they’re..” Okay, one: I love that they still refer to Norman as “boss” despite him still looking like a child. Two: is he making the fake alliance with that demon clan already or nah?

Haahaha YEESS! They still had Ray choke on his drink!!

Vincent has such a deep voice.. he’s what, 17? 18? But damn.. who is his voice actor?

Also, just noticed the star on Barbara’s shirt doesn’t have the little face on it.

Mmhhmm, Barbara’s frustration was nice.

Oh, Norman returned.. and left as quick as he came.

Ahh! This is the conversation the duo had at the start of ch126!

Well, a real tiny part of it.. thanks for cutting it short, Norman.

“The Evil-Blooded girl is still alive?” Aayy the anime did their best with that panel. I’ll give them that much.

Okay.. that episode was great. Ya see what happens when you actually follow the manga? Sure some scenes/locations/panels were off but overall it was just so wonderful.

I’m happy. Granted the RE scene put me on a real high but yeah.. anime, I’m praising you! Keep it up!

(though I’ll be salty over no GP for the rest of my life, don’t worry.)

[salteytakesonmanga]

Mister 3’s assertion that guile, wits, and creativity are a fighter’s strongest tools are really shown to be true over and over again, especially when it comes to devil fruit powers. “Wax” doesn’t seem that impressive, but both here and Impel Down we see a lot of ways that Galdino’s creative ways of using his power turn him into a formidable opponent.

And then of course there’s Luffy’s power…

Oda said he picked the goofiest, silliest power he could think of on purpose, and then basically made Luffy’s imagination the power’s only limit. Lots of stories like to praise “creativity” and “imagination” but Oda worked it into the very foundations of the story well before we learned the truth about Luffy’s powers.

[salteytakesonmanga]

Aw, poor Rika! Her friends have left her behind! I hope they get to go back and see her someday. I love the little sprouts in the window. At this point we thought the story was done with them, but Oda was reassuring us that their story was just beginning.

[salteytakesonmanga]

Dishonorable mention for this extremely confusing translation and making it sound like England exists in the world of One Piece.

In Japanese the word for “tea” refers specifically to green tea. Here Mister 3 offers them “black tea.” Earlier he was drinking “Earl Grey” which, y’know what, it's just a person's name. I’m sure Oda would invent an explanation for that so I don’t care.

I was going to get on my soap box about the politics of tea but I’ll spare you this time. THE POINT IS, England is not an island in the world of One Piece so such a thing as “English tea” can’t exist. Why do these translators use the direct translation only when it makes things more confusing??

[salteytakesonmanga]

I love how blasé Luffy is about getting pancaked and then just springing right back.

[salteytakesonmanga]

I mentioned before how Baroque Works is drawing heavily on the 60s Mod/British Invasion/Spy aesthetic and this volume cover is basically exactly a spy movie poster. The bullseye pattern, Vivi’s Nancy Sinatra outfit, the dramatic lighting on Mister 3 and Miss Goldenweek, and the colorblocking like this is a screen print…

[salteytakesonmanga]

And even then! Dorry is still able to stay upright and crush him.

This is the first glimpse at just how far the scale of opponents can go. The Giants are big, they’re fast, they’re strong… And more than anything else, they have hundreds of years to perfect their fighting skills.

[salteytakesonmanga]

This feels bleak, but there’s probably a part of Dorry that is looking forward to this fight, even knowing he’s likely to die. Dying honorably in battle is the goal, after all. Someone else may have meddled in the fight, but that shame isn’t his. To someone like Dorry, having your best friend be the one to kill you in combat is probably the best possible outcome, second only to both of them killing each other.

[salteytakesonmanga]

Dorry and Brogy without their big beards look like teenagers! Since Giants live so long I’m curious if being in your 50s is comparable to being a teenager. It could be that the Giant Warrior Pirates were more similar to the Straw Hats, in that they were basically a group of kids that turned the world upside down pursuing their dreams.

[salteytakesonmanga]

We’re not used to seeing Luffy get completely bodied like this. When he did a windup for a gomu-gomu no… something attack I think we were all holding our breath, expecting to see just how strong he is. But Dorry just drills him straight in the ground. Aside from his devil fruit powers, one of Luffy’s greatest strengths has always been his speed but even that was no match for Dorry.

[salteytakesonmanga]

Luffy attacked him right on his injury when Dorry is already having trouble standing. The only reason this attack worked is because Dorry is already seriously injured.