#this is my first time drawing sanji fun fact. drew reiju before him too

[homolobotomized]

*die for him

[sanjiafsincedayone]

One Piece 862 - Review/Thoughts

I haven’t done a review in a while, but I kinda want to talk about a few things regarding this chapter. So, this is just some of my thoughts on chapter 862 – The consummate thinker

First of all, I thought it was a pretty good chapter, nothing spectacular, but still fun to read. The chapter definitely had its ups and downs though.

Spoilers under the cut!

I thought the part with Jinbei trying to wake up Luffy was pretty funny, but it also feels a little out of place to have right before the ceremony. I mean, they came all this way and then they could potentially screw it up because Luffy is sleeping. I mean, I get it and it’s a very Oda thing to write… I just felt like it didn’t fit with the pacing that well I suppose? That being said, I always love when Oda draws his characters with the innocent eyelashes.

Then we move to the ceremony, and well, I have mixed feelings.

My least favorite part was Sanji’s lewd expressions. I just hate when Oda draws him like that, always have and always will, so that was so cringy for me to read. I mean, it’s part of Sanji’s personality, but personally I just don’t find it that funny. I did like how he drew Purin though.

Also I’m not fond of Sanji actually being so affected that he can’t concentrate on the plan fully. I mean, again, it’s not unexpected because this is just the type of things Oda like. It’s just not something I like and it kinda makes Sanji look stupid. Sigh.

Sanji keeps being spaced out and Purin keeps wishing for Sanji’s death and the cake itself is the altar. I should have seen that coming considering the themes of this arc.

Then we jump to the Vinsmoke and while Yonji seems jealous of Sanji getting to marry a babe the others all remind him that Sanji is a sacrifice and really this is nothing to wish for. Also, Reiju is ready to die but wants to put her faith in Luffy at least saving Sanji. I like Reiju more and more, and I hope she gets a good resolution, and hopefully also a good fight. Because honestly her encounter with Purin was kinda disappointing. I really really want some badass female battles this arc!!!

Now, this looks really nice, except for the priest who of course has to be ugly so that Oda doesn’t draw a 100% shojo-looking panel. Sanji is standing a little awkwardly, but otherwise their expressions actually look very contempt and almost happy about this whole thing (nice acting). Either way, it’s a pretty nice panel, but it’s not something I’d expect to see in One Piece.

What follows is very much in Oda’s style though… I like the fact that Katakuri can’t see exactly how the future will happen, but rather just seems a glimpse and that he can’t fully know why it will happen. Otherwise he would have been almost too strong. I really like him though, I think he’s pretty cool and I hope he’s just as badass as he looks.

Then we get to see Purin reveal her third eye to Sanji (that first panel of her looks great by the way). And I have no problem what so ever with this reaction from Sanji, because it’s genuine and just the way he is. However, I do find this a little odd when it comes to Purin. I mean, there wasn’t really much of a buildup for this, and the explanation about her being bullied seems just a little bit rushed and also kind of tame, considering things. I don’t know, but I feel like Oda could easily have written this in a better way. It’s a little bit like he’s just doing this for shock-value.

I mean, obviously readers have doubted her both ways since the beginning, and it’s a very Oda-like thing to throw in yet another plot twist like this. It just doesn’t feel like it’s the right way to go about it. (Also, of course we still don’t know how affected she is. She might just go back to trying to kill him after the initial reaction. Who knows at this point.)

I really like that Oda is showing us how kind Sanji is and how people are moved by him though. He has showcased this plenty of times before, and it’s a quality I really love about him. Again Oda shows that Sanji is one of the kindest people in the whole manga.

However, from Purin’s side I just don’t think it was that good. She’s beautiful, but somehow just having that eye made people hate her? And then she turned psycho? I suppose she could be an antithesis to what happened to Sanji, since he experienced much worse growing up but still managed to stay kind. Perhaps Oda just wants to use her to highlight Sanji’s development in that way. I’m really not sure where Oda is going with this right now. So I suppose it all depends on how things go from now?

I mean, I would have preferred it if Oda could just keep her mainly evil but now with a little more explanation/humanity, since I really want a good-looking female villain that gets some character development. But if she really will turn and now end up on the good side (like soon all of Big Mom’s own family will?) at least I want Oda to show her being conflicted about it. Kinda like Gin who was an excellent example of this.

Another problem I have with this particular scenario is that is kind of comes off as shallow. It’s about looks, and this is Sanji we’re talking about. He will always be soft on women. But at least with Violet she didn’t really want to attack Sanji, and that moment felt so much more heart-felt. This just doesn’t have the same impact, and we’ve already seen a better version with Violet, so I hope Oda does something more with this and just doesn’t go “Well, I guess I’m nice and on your side now.” That seems unlikely, but I just really want to see Oda treat this with care, because this choice was handled kind of weird in my opinion. It also feels like he made Purin do too many horrible things for me to be able to feel sympathy for her. I had the same feelings towards Ceasar. (I still don’t understand people who want him to become a nakama. He was horrible, and still is. And I most certainly feel the same about people who says they want Purin to be the next nakama.)

Anyways, I suppose the upcoming chapters will show more about Purin’s storyline and future role in the manga. I just really hope Oda writes it in a way that makes sense and doesn’t feel like a deus ex machina, because sadly this arc has had more and more very convenient happenings to solve the fact that the strawhats are greatly outmatched by Big Mom (and the Vinsmoke).

Then we get to the best part of this chapter!

Which is Sanji doging that bullet. It may be small, but it’s still such a nice moment for Sanji fans! It looks really great the way Oda drew it and it’s nice to see Sanji doing something really cool. I wonder if Sanji will get matched up against Katakuri? Right now I don’t really know who will fight who in this final battle, but either way I’m certain Sanji will be epic!

And then all hell breaks loose; The Vinsmoke are confused and Luffy and Co react to the gunshot. So there they go! Not sure if the crew is amongst the fake Luffy’s too, but I wonder if those “clones” are either animals again or perhaps Capone’s men? Either way, Luffy jumping out of the cake wasn’t actually that much of a surprise, but Big Mom sure isn’t happy about it. Looks like the fighting will finally begin, so I am very excited for next weeks chapter!

Now, I hope you had fun reading. I know I’m not very active, but if anyone actually wants me to talk about anything in particular just send me a message or write a comment on my posts. I still check tumblr regularly. J Thanks for reading!