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dethoratsSo I finally caught up. I’m back to being current on One Piece having spent the past three nights reading from Franky’s joining in Water 7 up through the most recent chapter. What a whirlwind ride that was! And it has once again, although it’s never wavered, cemented my belief that Oda is the greatest Shonen writer at work today.
I still love that Franky is coerced into joining through the power of nudity and Iceburg’s words. Robin seriously is awesome, grabbing cyborg junk like that. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Usopp’s rejoining and the ridiculous crying faces so much. I’m not going to waste more breath on the Zoro angle since I think I’ve written enough about that to speak for itself. The Thousand Sunny is beautiful and I love the layout and all the cool little details Oda threw in. I have a feeling this is the ship he’d want for himself if he could have anything in the world.
Getting into Thriller Bark, I have to admit that I liked Brooke from the start. I suspect that’s because I have the sense of humor of a five year old and all of Brooke’s skull jokes are on that level, which is why it’s not surprising the idiot trio of Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper think he’s hilarious too once they get over him being a skeleton. I LOVE how much he harasses Nami and is rude yet polite at the same time. I know the pervert is a mainstay of Japanese manga and Oda kind of HAD been missing that character type but I’m glad he was able to add it in in a unique way.
As for Thriller Bark itself, two major things stand out to me. The first is all the many horror tropes Oda managed to incorporate. I wonder if he did a lot research? It was quite fun for me to try and figure out the references and I have to say that all the kerfluffle over the Nami + Robin/Absalom was completely overblown. Clearly people aren’t familiar with the story of the Invisible Man at all. He was a real pervert in the story and went around peeping and impregnating girls at this all-female academy. Being kissed and felt up is a lot less brutal (One of the best comic deaths EVER = League of Extraordinary Gentlemen when Hyde rapes the Invisible Man to death and all the blood slowly comes into view everywhere as he expires) and also better than getting whacked in the shower as is so often the fate of women in horror movies. The whole marriage theme to a monster is another, and older, horror movie trope. Witness Dracula or Bride of Frankenstein for example. It is completely fitting with the theme of the location.
Also cool were the parts Oda stood on their heads. The zombies for example: being super fast but lacking in stamina as opposed to the usual slow but relentless pace that is the norm. Perona’s use of ghosts was also interesting in that the negativity could be seen as reflecting the common belief that ghosts linger because of past failures/regrets in life. Dr. Hogback and Cindry completely struck me as something possibly influenced by the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I have to say that Dr. Hogback legitimately creeped me out. That guy was a jerk-face. And Moria – hoho. He was ridiculous in a way that Luffy’s major enemies haven’t really been since Buggy but he sure was powerful. His shadow power was very versatile and I was totally into all that he was able to do with it up until the body-swapping part. I can even understand that, but it seemed a little cheap. As for Oz, LOVE. I loved the design and I loved how he acted with Luffy’s shadow. Luffy on that scale would be impossible!
And that brings me to my other point. The TEAMWORK of this arc blew me away. Have we ever really seen the Straw Hats work together like this? I don’t think so and, coming as it does after the separations and divisiveness of Enies Lobby/Water 7, it made it all the more important and touching. Everyone worked together so well and I loved the random combos and how it seemed almost effortless for them to feed off each other to attack. Even the initial Power Ranger/Voltron combo at the beginning of the fight against Oz (Although Robin was right, it was ridiculous) was awesome. To watch all eight of them work together, everyone doing their best and supporting each other – I CANNOT wait to see this animated – something I haven’t been so excited about from a fight standpoint since Luffy v. Crocodile round 2 and Zoro v. Mr. 1. Brooke was able to meld so easily and well and I like how different his fighting style is from Zoro’s despite them both being swordsmen. Seriously, if we look at One Piece since the Grand Line in this way:
Little Garden/Drum – Establishing plot for Alabasta and that they can survive on the WEIRDNESS that is the Grand Line
Alabasta – Power Growth – The WG and the Shichibukai are not all good, est. some major enemies
Skypiea – Incorporate Robin and, IMO, DIALS – I swear that’s the main point of the arc
Water 7/Enies Lobby – How easy it is to be torn apart, the road ahead is HARD, est. the WG as a primary enemy
Thriller Bark – The Straw Hats united – fighting as a CREW in order to stand against the vast enemies ahead
I think this progression makes sense. After all, the gang has always grown on an individual basis but I think here we truly see the CREW grow and meld. It was beautiful and exciting and I hope there will be more like this in the future.
As for 485 – Yes, the obligatory fic is coming and I’d like that to speak for itself. Same with Ryumma, Brooke, and Shuusui. I do find Kuma very interesting and I’m VERY curious about Vegapunk. It’s interesting to learn that Kuma is the ONLY Shichibukai to remotely obey the WG. I am curious as to why that is. Does Doflamingo have a role in that? How much did Vegapunk rebuild? Kuma still has free will but he doesn’t seem to have his own agenda like the rest (Mihawk’s agenda, and Doflamingo’s, interest me the most. I still like to believe Mihawk’s working with Shanks and Doflamingo is clearly chaotic neutral/evil).
Brooke’s backstory is terribly sad, as is to be expected. His age intrigues me since he predates Roger and what’s the connection between Yorki’s death and Roger’s, if any? Did Yorki get sick on Little Garden too? And the dial…clearly Skypiea isn’t ENTIRELY unknown to the Blue Sea people. That song is another bit I’m looking forward to seeing animated – also I’d like to know how much pirate presence existed before Roger’s death, clearly some but how much has it grown? Also, and just because, Nami and Lola are totally BFF! Totally! Also also, TOTAL FORESHADOWING AHOY hardcore for so many things.
As for the Duval short bits – Oda really likes to make Sanji fail at life. It was, however, hilarious and I laughed a lot. Camie is so crushing on Hacchi that it’s adorable. And Hacchi – never thought I’d be glad to see him back but I am.
Oda’s really setting the WG up to look very bad at this point and we are all but guaranteed to hate the World Nobles (and perhaps by proxy favor the obliterated country) by their actions. Rayleigh’s comments to Robin about that hidden history is therefore all the more intriguing. An interesting nuance to add considering the way Oda seemed to be pushing up to this point. As for Rayleigh, all I can say is LOVE! (But that should be more than obvious by now. First mate and an awesome oyaji to boot? How could I not adore him? Cosplay in the future is a definite. I’m nothing if not predictable) It’s intriguing to me how little Luffy knew about pirates, even Shanks. I would have thought, given his age and how into them he was, that he would have bugged everyone under the sun for stories. But either he didn’t or Garp somehow kept him from knowing anything.
As for the 11 supernovas, how happy am I that there’s a woman among them? It's nice to see a powerful woman outside of the crew again. Lola was a nice touch and Shakkie too, but huzzah! for someone at this level. Eating contests ftw! Jewelry Bonny has a power of great potential for cheese and I foresee a confrontation with Zoro in the future. The rest of the group seems to be equally interesting and I look forward to seeing what befalls them. Most likely Jewelry Bonny, Kid, and Trafalgar Law (who has just joined Ace atop my non-oyaji smex pile because DAMN, I’d hit that) will be encountered. My money’s also on Drake and Hawkins perhaps directly confronting the Straw Hats.
The upcoming Whitebeard vs. Shichibukai possible fight…I just have no words yet. Damn it, Blackbeard is an evil evil man.
With the promise of 3 days of mayhem in Shabondy Archipelago, I foresee the upcoming chapters as being a lot of fun. And then, woo! Off to Fishman Island!
Okay and this is mainly for myself so I have somewhere to keep these - chapter by chapter note musings
Chapter 443: Zoro berating Nami and Sanji for letting Luffy get Brooke to join and them taking it = first mate priceless! Now we know how Ben feels all the damn time.
Brooke is cractacular. I can’t believe I keep laughing at stupid skull jokes. Oh wait, I’m mentally 5 years old. Now it all makes sense.
Zoro and Brooke – getting lost buddies?
The lack of shadow – Zoro randomly and suddenly suspicious? Oda just likes drawing him looking suspicious serious? Has he heard of Moria? Robin also suspiciously thoughtful one page later. Hmmm
Brooke = completely crazy. 100% cracked indeed
Chapter 444: Robin likes ‘the excitement’ hmm? XD Sanji’s rescue failure elicits the usual –Sanji fails at life – expressions from ZoLuFranky – Hogeeeh? Sanji fails at life more. XD Zoro mocking him makes me gleeful; Projecting Surprise Swimming Pool? Hmmm again
Chapter 445: Usopp’s special ability – “Something’s Very Wrong Sensor” – Chopper’s desire to meet Dr. Hogback overrides his fear. Fast zombies with no stamina = way to play up the opposites there Oda
Chapter 446: Nami freak out! Cindry’s dish story is retarded; Dr. Hogback looks creepy, retarded, and like Oda’s been watching Rocky Horror; Chopper’s surprisingly quick to bend the rules of ethics; Chopper your alleged lack of interest belies your spying in Alabasta; Nami is totally onto the bad vibes and then gets molested. Classic! He stole a kiss!; Usopp sees Nami’s naked body!; Cerberus plus other strawhats = death. Robin thinks it’s cute. XD
Chapter 447: Dogs are dogs, hmmm? I suppose so.; Luffy will make every freaky thing ever a pirate just because it interests him; Nami’s nudity money – Usopp is so onto her; Go Pyro Usopp!; How very Disney-esque ala Haunted Mansion; Where did Nami get clothing from?
Chapter 448: Ryuuma’s first appearance – brooke’s shadow – badass; Zoro and Robin are already clued in about the watching. Damn they’re good; Luffy wants to raise ghosts?; Failure pile sadness bowl Zoro; Sanji’s revenge for Hogeeeh; Luffy doesn’t recognize zombies and tries to replant them XD; 600 million beri jackpot = goodbye zombies;
Chapter 449: Oda really sets this up so well. It feels like an old-time horror movie, what with the audience being aware of what peril awaits our heroes even as they bravely venture forth. There’s even creepy old people to provide guidance. Perona lolita is amusing and Moria is another freak. No wonder he and Hogback get along.
Chapter 450: Country of Wano in the new world = ryuuma; will they go there? Elbaf? What’s Oda’s plan?; Clearly Oda IS into Michael Jackson as if Jango wasn’t proof enough now there’s dancing zombies ala Thriller and hell, it’s even called Thriller Bark;
Chapter 451: Sanji’s zombie form is hella pathetic and therefore fitting; Perona’s garden is totally creepy; I like how people randomly disappear;
Chapter 452: Luffy in armor = adorable and reminds me VERY much of Bugs Bunny and that cartoon with the red furry monster; It’s a man’s romance to wear armor?: Zoro’s zombie form is equally ridiculous in its own way, esp. as it plays up the oyaji angle with the haramaki and speech. Also ostrich head, wtf?!;
Chapter 453:Invisible man, forced bridehood – all the cliches; Robin’s wing attack is hard core
Chapter 454: Nami calling herself an okama and Chopper halfway falling for it = priceless; Hiding in Kumashii – poor guy; Franky is awesome – Robin in the web and her pose ALSO CLASSIC and HAWT;
Chapter 455: Even Robin’s tolerance for Brooke’s wacky jokes has a limit; Luffy can eat through steel, hmm?;
Chapter 456: the reasoning behind salt is very sound – sea salt but also because salt was often used to purify things; Kaidou beat Moria – remember that name;
Chapter 457: They gave themselves away; Sure is Luffy alright; Robin and Franky’s dramatic entrance of power
Cha[ter 458: Usopp’s wake-up skills are awesome – priorities = women, meat, swords;
Chapter 459: Ah, Laboon. Oda you magnificent bastard; Luffy, your desire and excitement for Brooke is utterly adorable
Chapter 460: Belly dance by Hogback at the wedding – Gross!;
Chapter 461: Usopp, you’re awesome but you’re also depressing me; I am glad you get a chance to shine but I’m sorry it’s at the cost of yourself, you’re better than that.
Chapter 462: Zoro’s found a replacement for Yubashiri – Shuusui = clear autumn water; one of 21 great swords;
Chapter 463: Shadow bats! They look like something I’ve seen before…Dragon Warrior video game enemies maybe?
Chapter 464: Sanji, you are an almighty pervert and full of fail. That’s why you make me very amused; Esp. the still peeping part – how much has Nami heard?
Chapter 465: Perona is insidious; It’s interesting to think of the variety of things one can do with one’s devils fruit powers – how curious; Channeling SogeKing – oh Usopp, I just want to pet you and I wonder what this has to do with Oda – talking to yourself
Chapter 466: HA! The mask is off; Oooh, impact dial, so fucking useful, I swear they were the main point of Skypiea; OMG attacked by cockroaches, that’s fucking gross and damn effective; Scared unconscious – Usopp you RULE; Interesting talk of Zoro’s aura and the regret of no Santouryuu; Evil grin of Zoro evil; Good duel is good – traditional style at long last – Mihawk was just overwhelming and Kaku was ridiculous as was Ohm; On fire! Zoro’s got a replacement; very touching and Japanese
Chapter 468: Sanji and Zoro still fight as zombies with no memories and you’re shocked Robin? Really?;
Chapter 469: Suck it Hogback, get squished by Oz’s smelly zombie foot!; XD Zoro’s the only one glad for this challenge – interesting is it?
Chapter 470: Awww, Usopp saved Sanji from being completely smushed by Oz; Zoro’s arm gorillas STILL make me laugh; I wonder if he calls them that in private?; nice attack!;And Robin catches Zoro!
Chapter 471: Awww, Lolo saved Nami – how sweet! I like Lola;
Chapter 472: Go Go StrawHat Rangers!; XD Franky called Sanji ‘swirly’; They look super dumb; I don’t blame you, Robin; Oz’s Luffy reaction = priceless; awww, Zoro’s embarrassed; Nice team work with Usopp’s oil, Zoro taking Franky’s huge columns and then Sanji kicking him up there to smack him with it while Robin finishes him off; Sudden midair stair-building what?; Kuma! Dundundun!
Chapter 473: Evil faces are EVIL! Nice work Oda!; Zoro’s eager to try Shuusui out indeed – I’m eager to see it; Go Nami – Get the Treasure and maybe kick Perona’s loser ass while you’re at it; ‘The Tyrant’ and Brutal beyond measure? But he’s found God or something and been modified by Vegapunk probably – mind control – Doflamingo or something else?; Did he disintegrate Perona? He’s nosy but well-informed
Chapter 474: Eee! Zoro sword evaluation makes me giddy!; So Shuusui can be used as a channel, is much stronger and heavier than Yubashiri, but it’s almost as naughty as the red one and he needs to increase his skill with it; Aww and Zoro knows that Luffy will undoubtedly run into stupid sorts of trouble but if they can at least get him back to normal than everything else will work out somehow – that’s a belief in a man’s captain right there!!!; Ooh, danger grows as they emerge from the mist (Luffy’s fault vicariously no less); Kuma’s the only one who fully obyes – more mind control thoughts?; Tee Hee! The WG has recognized Luffy and company’s ability, no wonder the road ahead is going to be difficult – oh Oda, you foreshadower of awesome!; And Brooke arrives to save the day! And what’s with the robots this time around, Odacchi? Kuma forshadowing or something?
Chapter 475: Durr, Skeleton joke – milk is like rum and meat now?; All the team work in the past few chapters is making me schmoopy; It’s nice to see them work that way for a change instead of all the individual battles; Nami participates! When did she change clothes? And she’s got a point, Sanji. Don’t be dumb and give her location away; A secret power? Lola was a captain in her own right?
Chapter 476: OMG Lola’s better looking as a warthog; Holy fuck, Luffy as a swordsman? This shadow power makes a lot of sense, actually and doesn’t feel deus ex machina at all – goddamn I love you Oda; Nightmare Luffy and his 100 shadows – reminds me of a video game again; Oh, and an explanation for Oz too – see Oda, this is why I love you; Cool attack with Brooke – them working together = hotness; Robin = HAWT Go woman, go!
Chatper 477: Okay, lame that he can switch with his shadow, although not entirely unexpected. After all, Oda couldn’t let the battle be over too soon – Luffy hasn’t arrived yet; Eee Chopper is COOL!
Chapter 478: Luffy Looks EVIL and awesome
Chapter 479: It can’t be that easy; this animated is going to be hardcore!
Chapter 480: hohoho MORE TEAMWORK! God damn the hotness of this is just too much. ODA WAY to bring them back as a nakama unit after the divisivness of Enies Lobby; I <3 you so much; This animation will be so fucking cool!
Chapter 481: Blah, Moria your tragedy is sad but not enough because you’re a freaking megalomaniac too; I like the Shadow Asgard name though; Very cool and fitting; Hmm, Lola is still cool – Luffy’s releasing again – This is bad for him
Chapter 482: Ah, Zoro – explicating your faith in Luffy shared by your nakama; Gear 2 hmm – they haven’t seen it yet; And the mast falls on him and the sun comes up at the last possible moment, hope or not?
Chapter 483: Kaidou is a Yonkou – emperor, right? So Luffy’s crew can perhaps…;Hmm, everyone is worried about the effects of his Gear 2 and 3 on his body; Bitchslap from Nami – Zoro, get a clue; Starting with Zoro, hmm?
Chapter 484: What’s with those looks? Foreshadowing of the 11 supernovas?; This is all very tense and intriguing; weird weird weird fighting style Kuma; Very weird; Paw Paw fruit, ability to deflect or maybe reflect?; Shit and Sanji jumps in - don’t interfere with Zoro’s pride, cook; As if they’d give Luffy up
Chapter 485: Luffy looks so innocent and young just lying there and then Zoro – Unf, hotness charging in to save the day. Kuma is built of something stronger than steel, hmm? But it can’t be seastone I would bet since he’s a df user; He’s hardcore – a Pacificsta – built by the WG but also a cyborg – I really am wondering about cahoots with Doflamingo now – how much free will does Kuma have? More Vegapunk clues – I suspect we’ll see him sooner rather than later; Why? You have to ask? You do know – is it more of a plee? And then the substitution – oh Zoro; Equally good deal – yes – you two are equal in a way that we haven’t seen ever from anyone else; Bowing old-style; His ambition – No other way to protect the crew and if he can’t even protect MY captain’s dream, then whatever ambition I have is nothing but just talk. YES YES YES; Luffy must be the man who becomes the pirate king – Zoro believes; Exactly – If he has faith and supports him – look back to Water 7 DUH this is so First Mate-hood and also making up for what had to be done – how could he justify himself to HIMSELF otherwise?
And then Sanji interrupts – he’s protecting Zoro; Braggadocio – big words Sanji and don’t think so little at the same time of yourself; But Zoro won’t let you; He can’t – it’s his DUTY and his PRIDE – What about Water 7 after all? - Whose fault was that?; Who believes more than anyone else?; Hmm, when did Kuma promise? Is this some kind of manly understanding?; Kuma does have honor though, and enough free will to trade; Repelling/deflecting/reflecting – which is it? All of Luffy’s Gear 2 and 3 pain and fatigue plus that from holding 100 shadows; Receive his suffering and die; It apparently is fucking hardcore – difference between normal and rubber bodies?; Zoro isolates himself and takes it; Kuma knows Luffy is Dragon’s son? Is this from what Garp said getting out or did others already know? Kuma is impressed; And Luffy’s 100% FINE and Zoro’s fucked to hell and won’t confess even to Sanji who should have an idea
Chapter 486: So Moria lives to perhaps fight another day, hmm? And we find concrete proof of Ace’s defeat by Blackbeard; Nami and Lola = BFF over treasure and OMG Nami gave some away! Glass armlet for Luffy – he likes goofy stuff; So many wounds hmm? Even more than when he fought Kaku or Mr. 1 – he really did near death for reals; people are suspicious and Brooke seems to be aware of what happened; So Sanji finds out and it’s revealed that Zoro screamed in pain and stops the confession – Luffy would indeed be pissed, although you were willing to do the same, Sanji; And of course now Robin knows; OMG Franky and Brooke table dancing; Chopper’s eating and doctoring at the same time – word on the written fact that Zoro’s a sound sleeper – and Luffy brings his share; Same resolution but I suspect different reasons; Aww, Shanks and crew sing “Bink's Sake” and sang it to Luffy; how the hell can brooke cry? Is that even a reasonable question to ask since he can eat and poop?; Aww, musical pirates – I suspect Oda wishes he could be one too
Chapter 487: What a bunch of goofy guys; Falling for a cute whale like that; Oh how harsh – but to protect him…;And he still followed them; Ohh, Oda you do the most depressing backstories ever; No wonder Brooke’s a freak; Oh shi- sick and contagious – could it have been from Little Garden?; Oh, Yorki – goodbye – damn that’s sad
Chapter 488: More of Brooke’s madness – although who can blame him; He can open his skull?!; Tone dial from a merchant ship – so Skypiea’s tech isn’t completely unknown on the blue sea; Oh so sad, a song for Laboon even as they’re dying; Poisoned – that’s dirty; Dude – song of AWESOME – can’t wait to hear it;
Chapter 489: Ah Luffy at ease on the piano and of course, just like that, Brooke has joined; Omoshiroiiiii – XD; 45 degrees What?; Leader of a Battle convoy in a certain kingdom? – no doubt in West Blue since that’s where the Rumba pirates came from and then he became captain after Yorki’s leaving; Consider me your luggage?!; a total of 3 days pass; Aww, Lion-chan; and Thriller Bark came from West Blue too – hmm; and Zoro gives Yubashiri a proper send-off as well – he looks so calm and peaceful at the moment; Pirate Empress Hancock? What?; Oh you guys are pervs; Lola’s mom is a pirate?; And the vivre paper?; Only work in the New World – and hohoho now we know what Ace gave to Luffy; It’s directional too, hmmmm!; Oh noes, Ace’s life is in danger!
Chapter 490: Strange Face in the Sea? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ABOUT?!; And they tell everyone about Zoro and Sanji – hmmm! – will it spread?; Ace’s paper – I can understand this too, I mean, why he wouldn’t rush to the rescue; A proper Kampai!; Teehee Seagull head (Sengoku) is pissed and Garp is as obnoxious as Luffy; Kuma has his own reasons, hmm?; Candy Rain! AWESOME; And they’re HALFWAY THERE! Ten years – good job Odacchi; The Red Line still remains super weird though; Five years ago that Robin left West Blue? Hrm, wait, so how long was she working for Crocodile? This throws off some of my other fics, orz; And we see the surprise pool and that Zoro is super strongly freaky and determined; And Sanji’s got his mermaid as she lands on his head; And she’s a freaking ditz;
Chapter 491: Teehee – Sanji’s reactions are over the top; What’s up with Luffy and poop?; Pappagg is a weirdo too; And Luffy’s concerned about his stomach; dundundun – Hacchi!: She can call fish; XD Even Zoro’s blocked out the horror that was Kokoro’s mermaid form; Whoa, slavers – that’s an interesting twist, Oda; Hoho – Zoro’s standing on the figurehead with Luffy (FIC IDEA!);
Chapter 492: And indeed it is Hacchi; And Duval’s random accent makes no sense in this context; What’s up with Camie always getting eaten/captured; Everyone’s nonplussed but who’s surprised Luffy’s stomach conquers all?; That really is pathetic – that mermaid gets captured at the drop of a hat; And now Zoro’s gotta save another person that they should know better
Chapter 493: XD Luffy’s desire to ride cool things always conflicts with his utter inability to steer them; Wow Franky and Nami have to save Chopper Brooke and Luffy – that’s a new one; Failure pile – Zoro kicked your ass; Yay! Usopp with cannons; kamikaze duo resist! And Luffy has dinner; XD Brooke’s water run is hilarious;
Chapter 494: Oh ho – Zoro’s still not fully recovered; and Brooke can exhaust his running skill – stamina still exsists it seems; Hrum and mutual sword attack is cool; And Sanji’s the target; Ah tiny ZoLu moment – squee; XD And they shall know him, hmm; XDXDXD – Ultimate fail for Sanji
Chapter 495: And Zoro just makes things worse; And the mermaid-en rescues Sanji – a dream or not?; Sweet – more Usopp shooting awesomeness; Zoro’s nonplused at Luffy’s reaction; hmm, apparently a dream judging from the blood loss – this should keep his spank bank full for months; What was up with Motobaro – the trans. I have is weak;
Chapter 496: Pig out time! And Duval – WTF FOR REAL ODA!; Wow even Luffy can see Duval is stupid and wacked out; I love how rude Brooke is while also being polite and how much it galls Nami – hilarity!; And finally an explanation of the Red Line Crossing; While I’m sad it looks like we won’t be having any land adventures or seeing the dangerous Mariejoia – its only fitting that they take the undersea route; how the crackalackin does Zoro know how high up the islands were?; no magnetic pull to mangroves; Teehee Zoro harrasment; And Robin wipes her hand on Usopp’s pants?!; Ho shi- that kind of restriction isn’t going to fly – see Zoro and Luffy’s faces – I suspect trouble
Chapter 497: Sanji is a dork; Zoro’s shirt matches the trees and the poor guy is off to get lost and this time it’s not really his fault – know your limitations Zoro – you’re not allowed to wander freely;Awww, Luffy in a bubble car is too cute!; XD Still wearing his glass armlet I see; OMG dorky souvenirs, awww; Well, as expected, the world nobles utterly suck; 20 kings formed the WG and these are their descendents? So what does that make Vivi and Alabasta – a later joiner?;
Chapter 498: What’s up with HOGEEE as the new cry of pain – more Sanji mocking?; Luffy – you lazy lump – sending Zoro or Sanji just because you want to see cool stuff; My my what an interesting character design for Shakky (Shakuyaku); Aww, Chopper’s suspicious until bribed by cotton candy – he should know it’s bad for his teeth; and Camie totally has a crush on Hacchi – adorkable!; Ho ho chased by Garp, hmm?! She’s well preserved; 11 supernovas including Zoro – no one else is from East Blue; Capone Gang Bege captain – West Blue Firetank Pirates 138m; South Blue – Bonney Pirates captain Jewelry Bonney 140m Eats pizza like a slobulous pig and wears a skanky outfit; North Blue Hawkins Pirates captain Basil Hawkins 249m weird fortune telling dude; South Blue – Kid Pirates captain Eustass Kid 315m, number 1; Grandline Natives On Air Pirates captain Scratchmen Apoo 198m; North Blue Drake Pirates captain X Drake 222m; Sky Island Native (hm?) Fallen Monk Pirates captain Urouge 108m; South Blue Kid Pirates crewman Killer 162m; North Blue Heart Pirates captain Trafalgar Law200m; East Blue Straw Hat Pirates captain Monkey D. Luffy 300m; East Blue Straw Hat Pirates crewman Roronoa Zoro 120m;
Chapter 499: Durr, the other matter has got to be Ace’s execution – way to give Luffy an opening but that’s pretty cold; telling them not to make a major scene is useless; Camie’s theme park reaction is over the top; Aww, Camie’s clinging to Hacchi; and Luffy looks ecstatic on the roller coaster; Poor Brooke, he keeps getting tricked – and they broke the spinning teacups; Dorky hats over hats; how can Brooke be scared of a haunted house when he belongs in one?; Chalros Sei – WHAT AN ASS!; And Urouge just smirks and takes it all in; Zoro – you clueless bastard!; I love you!; And he’s saved by Jewelry Bonney! Hurr; tomato juice and Zoro thinks she’s a brat – he sucks with women; killing intent, crazy, ah yes the StrawHats are wackos all right; Umm, I know it was for your own interest but still, You helped him, why wouldn’t he help a civilian?; And Camie’s kidnapped again while Sanji calls in his favor
Chapter 500: Help from Duval or should I say Handsome? How well will this work?; I really want to know how Den Den Mushi system works; Sanji’s stuck with his failure twin; And now we get the tragic reasons for Arlong’s anger and Camie’s continual kidnapping; Yeah it sucks but Arlong’s still a douche bag; XD Franky calls Nami Girlie; Oh ho and now Kid compares pirates to the nobles as well – what’s your point, Oda?; Trafalgar Law is the SMEX!!!! Dude him + Ace = sextacular combustion; And Silvers Rayleigh shows up in his oyaji awesomeness and fires off a spirit blow the likes of which we haven’t really seen outside of Shanks and Whitebeard – HAWT – dear self, stop being obsessively attracted to old men, it’s weird
Chapter 501: Dark King is a wicked title; And Garp, what the hell are you up to now? Where does this man really stand?; Hoho Doflamingo’s symbol on the curtain and Disco – this is somehow not that surprising; Look at that freaky list – Oda you’ve got a weird world of creatures here; And Zoro is somehow lucky that his mistake is taking him to the right place – he asked for directions! He’s not a real man; Lame so the WG and the Marines are on the take under the table; Oh Nami – you’re a good girl – buy her back with your 200m treasure; Public Execution of Ace – asking for war – is this the plan all along?
Chapter 502: Holy shit a death! Or at least what looks like a death – he bit his own tongue and plans to choke/bleed out?; And they’re completely outbid right off the bat by that asshole – lamesauce; And Luffy and Zoro make their ridiculous grand entrance! Yay!; And the discrimination comes out in the open – wow the WG looks suckier by the minute. Go Dragon!; Oh Shit Luffy’s pissed – you done went and did it you idiot; Go Luffy!
Chapter 503: And Zoro’s reply is priceless; And they’re calling the marines – XD The Straw Hats don’t give a shit; And Usopp lands butt first on another one! A+++; As expected, Luffy’s completely intrigued by the bear; And Rayleigh was there for the money! A++ again! He’s really a pirate through and through; And Rayleight lays down the spirit pressure smack! Whooo! We can see the Straw Hats are either really strong or he didn’t target them;
Chapter 504: Bonney’s mad at them – I see a confrontation with Zoro in the offing in the future; Ah, Sengoku gets a headache from Luffy and I’m sure he gets one from Garp all the time too; So now we get to see Admiral Kizaru hmm?; Whitebeard pirates versus Shichibukai! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! OMG!; Rayleigh is so totally hardcore; And they’re being counted as his accomplices – hmm, I wonder if that makes them happy? I’d say yes; And Kid pushes their buttons nicely – Luffy does have some pride as a captian after all; I like how half the crew is like RUN AWAY and the rest is like WOOO FIGHTO; Okay, so Kid’s like Magneto and I don’t know what the heck is up with Trafalgar Law
Chapter 505: Teehee, Rayleigh likes chaos; And Luffy’s shrunk so quickly? Hmm; A vow from Kid to meet in the New World – Who will get the One Piece?; Killer’s pretty scary; Bepo the fighting bear – awesome!; Go Nami; And Trafalgar Law picks up an interesting companion; Oh shi- KUMA!
Chapter 506: Kid and Law vs. Kuma! Exciting!; Luffy is shockingly clueless about pirate history – whose doing is that I wonder – you’d think he’d have been somewhat curious; And the truth about Roger – although I feel like we already knew he turned himself in somehow…; So two years after Roger’s death (20 years ago) Hacchi rescued Rayleigh; yet again a captain with an illness, I hope this isn’t going to be a foreshadowing trend; Holy crap Crocus! Another connection gained (Interesting that Brooke is so much older than even Roger and crew); Roger as a D. – loves flashy and big things – hmm, sounds familiar; “I won’t die, partner!” UNF, shallow of me to say slashy, but still!; Nice to see how in his panel, Roger’s face has shifted a lot more to look like Luffys; The launch of the pirate age – go Roger – makes me like my martyr ficlet all the more;Durr Shanks and Buggy, HOW FUCKING CLUELESS IS LUFFY?! And that panel of Shanks = love; And Kizaru flies in on a cannonball
Chapter 507: A freebie on the coating is nice; and YAY meeting Shanks in the future; dundundun – Robin speaks – A little too hasty, hmm? The plot thickens and thickens and thickens; The power to “hear the voices of all things”? What does that mean? Interesting again; Usopp – letting your tongue get away with you – Luffy shut you up quick, he doesn’t want to be bored – it’s all about the surprise (hmm, what about strength and becoming king too?); Aww, Luffy - “I don’t want to conquer anything. I just think the guy with the most freedom in this whole ocean is the pirate king!” – freedom; Hoho, run wild all over town and split up; 3 day survival test running wild on Shabondy Archipelago – this should be fun!; First guy you think of when you say Roger’s Nakama, hmm; Holy shit the admiral’s a freak too; and Jewelry Bonny’s power is AWESOMELY HILARIOUS; and an ominous shadow appears…
And so, yeah, I'm caught up and now I have to endure the weekly tense waits for new chapters with everybody else. Oh man, I'm so into it right now. Oda, you are the man!
I still love that Franky is coerced into joining through the power of nudity and Iceburg’s words. Robin seriously is awesome, grabbing cyborg junk like that. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Usopp’s rejoining and the ridiculous crying faces so much. I’m not going to waste more breath on the Zoro angle since I think I’ve written enough about that to speak for itself. The Thousand Sunny is beautiful and I love the layout and all the cool little details Oda threw in. I have a feeling this is the ship he’d want for himself if he could have anything in the world.
Getting into Thriller Bark, I have to admit that I liked Brooke from the start. I suspect that’s because I have the sense of humor of a five year old and all of Brooke’s skull jokes are on that level, which is why it’s not surprising the idiot trio of Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper think he’s hilarious too once they get over him being a skeleton. I LOVE how much he harasses Nami and is rude yet polite at the same time. I know the pervert is a mainstay of Japanese manga and Oda kind of HAD been missing that character type but I’m glad he was able to add it in in a unique way.
As for Thriller Bark itself, two major things stand out to me. The first is all the many horror tropes Oda managed to incorporate. I wonder if he did a lot research? It was quite fun for me to try and figure out the references and I have to say that all the kerfluffle over the Nami + Robin/Absalom was completely overblown. Clearly people aren’t familiar with the story of the Invisible Man at all. He was a real pervert in the story and went around peeping and impregnating girls at this all-female academy. Being kissed and felt up is a lot less brutal (One of the best comic deaths EVER = League of Extraordinary Gentlemen when Hyde rapes the Invisible Man to death and all the blood slowly comes into view everywhere as he expires) and also better than getting whacked in the shower as is so often the fate of women in horror movies. The whole marriage theme to a monster is another, and older, horror movie trope. Witness Dracula or Bride of Frankenstein for example. It is completely fitting with the theme of the location.
Also cool were the parts Oda stood on their heads. The zombies for example: being super fast but lacking in stamina as opposed to the usual slow but relentless pace that is the norm. Perona’s use of ghosts was also interesting in that the negativity could be seen as reflecting the common belief that ghosts linger because of past failures/regrets in life. Dr. Hogback and Cindry completely struck me as something possibly influenced by the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I have to say that Dr. Hogback legitimately creeped me out. That guy was a jerk-face. And Moria – hoho. He was ridiculous in a way that Luffy’s major enemies haven’t really been since Buggy but he sure was powerful. His shadow power was very versatile and I was totally into all that he was able to do with it up until the body-swapping part. I can even understand that, but it seemed a little cheap. As for Oz, LOVE. I loved the design and I loved how he acted with Luffy’s shadow. Luffy on that scale would be impossible!
And that brings me to my other point. The TEAMWORK of this arc blew me away. Have we ever really seen the Straw Hats work together like this? I don’t think so and, coming as it does after the separations and divisiveness of Enies Lobby/Water 7, it made it all the more important and touching. Everyone worked together so well and I loved the random combos and how it seemed almost effortless for them to feed off each other to attack. Even the initial Power Ranger/Voltron combo at the beginning of the fight against Oz (Although Robin was right, it was ridiculous) was awesome. To watch all eight of them work together, everyone doing their best and supporting each other – I CANNOT wait to see this animated – something I haven’t been so excited about from a fight standpoint since Luffy v. Crocodile round 2 and Zoro v. Mr. 1. Brooke was able to meld so easily and well and I like how different his fighting style is from Zoro’s despite them both being swordsmen. Seriously, if we look at One Piece since the Grand Line in this way:
Little Garden/Drum – Establishing plot for Alabasta and that they can survive on the WEIRDNESS that is the Grand Line
Alabasta – Power Growth – The WG and the Shichibukai are not all good, est. some major enemies
Skypiea – Incorporate Robin and, IMO, DIALS – I swear that’s the main point of the arc
Water 7/Enies Lobby – How easy it is to be torn apart, the road ahead is HARD, est. the WG as a primary enemy
Thriller Bark – The Straw Hats united – fighting as a CREW in order to stand against the vast enemies ahead
I think this progression makes sense. After all, the gang has always grown on an individual basis but I think here we truly see the CREW grow and meld. It was beautiful and exciting and I hope there will be more like this in the future.
As for 485 – Yes, the obligatory fic is coming and I’d like that to speak for itself. Same with Ryumma, Brooke, and Shuusui. I do find Kuma very interesting and I’m VERY curious about Vegapunk. It’s interesting to learn that Kuma is the ONLY Shichibukai to remotely obey the WG. I am curious as to why that is. Does Doflamingo have a role in that? How much did Vegapunk rebuild? Kuma still has free will but he doesn’t seem to have his own agenda like the rest (Mihawk’s agenda, and Doflamingo’s, interest me the most. I still like to believe Mihawk’s working with Shanks and Doflamingo is clearly chaotic neutral/evil).
Brooke’s backstory is terribly sad, as is to be expected. His age intrigues me since he predates Roger and what’s the connection between Yorki’s death and Roger’s, if any? Did Yorki get sick on Little Garden too? And the dial…clearly Skypiea isn’t ENTIRELY unknown to the Blue Sea people. That song is another bit I’m looking forward to seeing animated – also I’d like to know how much pirate presence existed before Roger’s death, clearly some but how much has it grown? Also, and just because, Nami and Lola are totally BFF! Totally! Also also, TOTAL FORESHADOWING AHOY hardcore for so many things.
As for the Duval short bits – Oda really likes to make Sanji fail at life. It was, however, hilarious and I laughed a lot. Camie is so crushing on Hacchi that it’s adorable. And Hacchi – never thought I’d be glad to see him back but I am.
Oda’s really setting the WG up to look very bad at this point and we are all but guaranteed to hate the World Nobles (and perhaps by proxy favor the obliterated country) by their actions. Rayleigh’s comments to Robin about that hidden history is therefore all the more intriguing. An interesting nuance to add considering the way Oda seemed to be pushing up to this point. As for Rayleigh, all I can say is LOVE! (But that should be more than obvious by now. First mate and an awesome oyaji to boot? How could I not adore him? Cosplay in the future is a definite. I’m nothing if not predictable) It’s intriguing to me how little Luffy knew about pirates, even Shanks. I would have thought, given his age and how into them he was, that he would have bugged everyone under the sun for stories. But either he didn’t or Garp somehow kept him from knowing anything.
As for the 11 supernovas, how happy am I that there’s a woman among them? It's nice to see a powerful woman outside of the crew again. Lola was a nice touch and Shakkie too, but huzzah! for someone at this level. Eating contests ftw! Jewelry Bonny has a power of great potential for cheese and I foresee a confrontation with Zoro in the future. The rest of the group seems to be equally interesting and I look forward to seeing what befalls them. Most likely Jewelry Bonny, Kid, and Trafalgar Law (who has just joined Ace atop my non-oyaji smex pile because DAMN, I’d hit that) will be encountered. My money’s also on Drake and Hawkins perhaps directly confronting the Straw Hats.
The upcoming Whitebeard vs. Shichibukai possible fight…I just have no words yet. Damn it, Blackbeard is an evil evil man.
With the promise of 3 days of mayhem in Shabondy Archipelago, I foresee the upcoming chapters as being a lot of fun. And then, woo! Off to Fishman Island!
Okay and this is mainly for myself so I have somewhere to keep these - chapter by chapter note musings
Chapter 443: Zoro berating Nami and Sanji for letting Luffy get Brooke to join and them taking it = first mate priceless! Now we know how Ben feels all the damn time.
Brooke is cractacular. I can’t believe I keep laughing at stupid skull jokes. Oh wait, I’m mentally 5 years old. Now it all makes sense.
Zoro and Brooke – getting lost buddies?
The lack of shadow – Zoro randomly and suddenly suspicious? Oda just likes drawing him looking suspicious serious? Has he heard of Moria? Robin also suspiciously thoughtful one page later. Hmmm
Brooke = completely crazy. 100% cracked indeed
Chapter 444: Robin likes ‘the excitement’ hmm? XD Sanji’s rescue failure elicits the usual –Sanji fails at life – expressions from ZoLuFranky – Hogeeeh? Sanji fails at life more. XD Zoro mocking him makes me gleeful; Projecting Surprise Swimming Pool? Hmmm again
Chapter 445: Usopp’s special ability – “Something’s Very Wrong Sensor” – Chopper’s desire to meet Dr. Hogback overrides his fear. Fast zombies with no stamina = way to play up the opposites there Oda
Chapter 446: Nami freak out! Cindry’s dish story is retarded; Dr. Hogback looks creepy, retarded, and like Oda’s been watching Rocky Horror; Chopper’s surprisingly quick to bend the rules of ethics; Chopper your alleged lack of interest belies your spying in Alabasta; Nami is totally onto the bad vibes and then gets molested. Classic! He stole a kiss!; Usopp sees Nami’s naked body!; Cerberus plus other strawhats = death. Robin thinks it’s cute. XD
Chapter 447: Dogs are dogs, hmmm? I suppose so.; Luffy will make every freaky thing ever a pirate just because it interests him; Nami’s nudity money – Usopp is so onto her; Go Pyro Usopp!; How very Disney-esque ala Haunted Mansion; Where did Nami get clothing from?
Chapter 448: Ryuuma’s first appearance – brooke’s shadow – badass; Zoro and Robin are already clued in about the watching. Damn they’re good; Luffy wants to raise ghosts?; Failure pile sadness bowl Zoro; Sanji’s revenge for Hogeeeh; Luffy doesn’t recognize zombies and tries to replant them XD; 600 million beri jackpot = goodbye zombies;
Chapter 449: Oda really sets this up so well. It feels like an old-time horror movie, what with the audience being aware of what peril awaits our heroes even as they bravely venture forth. There’s even creepy old people to provide guidance. Perona lolita is amusing and Moria is another freak. No wonder he and Hogback get along.
Chapter 450: Country of Wano in the new world = ryuuma; will they go there? Elbaf? What’s Oda’s plan?; Clearly Oda IS into Michael Jackson as if Jango wasn’t proof enough now there’s dancing zombies ala Thriller and hell, it’s even called Thriller Bark;
Chapter 451: Sanji’s zombie form is hella pathetic and therefore fitting; Perona’s garden is totally creepy; I like how people randomly disappear;
Chapter 452: Luffy in armor = adorable and reminds me VERY much of Bugs Bunny and that cartoon with the red furry monster; It’s a man’s romance to wear armor?: Zoro’s zombie form is equally ridiculous in its own way, esp. as it plays up the oyaji angle with the haramaki and speech. Also ostrich head, wtf?!;
Chapter 453:Invisible man, forced bridehood – all the cliches; Robin’s wing attack is hard core
Chapter 454: Nami calling herself an okama and Chopper halfway falling for it = priceless; Hiding in Kumashii – poor guy; Franky is awesome – Robin in the web and her pose ALSO CLASSIC and HAWT;
Chapter 455: Even Robin’s tolerance for Brooke’s wacky jokes has a limit; Luffy can eat through steel, hmm?;
Chapter 456: the reasoning behind salt is very sound – sea salt but also because salt was often used to purify things; Kaidou beat Moria – remember that name;
Chapter 457: They gave themselves away; Sure is Luffy alright; Robin and Franky’s dramatic entrance of power
Cha[ter 458: Usopp’s wake-up skills are awesome – priorities = women, meat, swords;
Chapter 459: Ah, Laboon. Oda you magnificent bastard; Luffy, your desire and excitement for Brooke is utterly adorable
Chapter 460: Belly dance by Hogback at the wedding – Gross!;
Chapter 461: Usopp, you’re awesome but you’re also depressing me; I am glad you get a chance to shine but I’m sorry it’s at the cost of yourself, you’re better than that.
Chapter 462: Zoro’s found a replacement for Yubashiri – Shuusui = clear autumn water; one of 21 great swords;
Chapter 463: Shadow bats! They look like something I’ve seen before…Dragon Warrior video game enemies maybe?
Chapter 464: Sanji, you are an almighty pervert and full of fail. That’s why you make me very amused; Esp. the still peeping part – how much has Nami heard?
Chapter 465: Perona is insidious; It’s interesting to think of the variety of things one can do with one’s devils fruit powers – how curious; Channeling SogeKing – oh Usopp, I just want to pet you and I wonder what this has to do with Oda – talking to yourself
Chapter 466: HA! The mask is off; Oooh, impact dial, so fucking useful, I swear they were the main point of Skypiea; OMG attacked by cockroaches, that’s fucking gross and damn effective; Scared unconscious – Usopp you RULE; Interesting talk of Zoro’s aura and the regret of no Santouryuu; Evil grin of Zoro evil; Good duel is good – traditional style at long last – Mihawk was just overwhelming and Kaku was ridiculous as was Ohm; On fire! Zoro’s got a replacement; very touching and Japanese
Chapter 468: Sanji and Zoro still fight as zombies with no memories and you’re shocked Robin? Really?;
Chapter 469: Suck it Hogback, get squished by Oz’s smelly zombie foot!; XD Zoro’s the only one glad for this challenge – interesting is it?
Chapter 470: Awww, Usopp saved Sanji from being completely smushed by Oz; Zoro’s arm gorillas STILL make me laugh; I wonder if he calls them that in private?; nice attack!;And Robin catches Zoro!
Chapter 471: Awww, Lolo saved Nami – how sweet! I like Lola;
Chapter 472: Go Go StrawHat Rangers!; XD Franky called Sanji ‘swirly’; They look super dumb; I don’t blame you, Robin; Oz’s Luffy reaction = priceless; awww, Zoro’s embarrassed; Nice team work with Usopp’s oil, Zoro taking Franky’s huge columns and then Sanji kicking him up there to smack him with it while Robin finishes him off; Sudden midair stair-building what?; Kuma! Dundundun!
Chapter 473: Evil faces are EVIL! Nice work Oda!; Zoro’s eager to try Shuusui out indeed – I’m eager to see it; Go Nami – Get the Treasure and maybe kick Perona’s loser ass while you’re at it; ‘The Tyrant’ and Brutal beyond measure? But he’s found God or something and been modified by Vegapunk probably – mind control – Doflamingo or something else?; Did he disintegrate Perona? He’s nosy but well-informed
Chapter 474: Eee! Zoro sword evaluation makes me giddy!; So Shuusui can be used as a channel, is much stronger and heavier than Yubashiri, but it’s almost as naughty as the red one and he needs to increase his skill with it; Aww and Zoro knows that Luffy will undoubtedly run into stupid sorts of trouble but if they can at least get him back to normal than everything else will work out somehow – that’s a belief in a man’s captain right there!!!; Ooh, danger grows as they emerge from the mist (Luffy’s fault vicariously no less); Kuma’s the only one who fully obyes – more mind control thoughts?; Tee Hee! The WG has recognized Luffy and company’s ability, no wonder the road ahead is going to be difficult – oh Oda, you foreshadower of awesome!; And Brooke arrives to save the day! And what’s with the robots this time around, Odacchi? Kuma forshadowing or something?
Chapter 475: Durr, Skeleton joke – milk is like rum and meat now?; All the team work in the past few chapters is making me schmoopy; It’s nice to see them work that way for a change instead of all the individual battles; Nami participates! When did she change clothes? And she’s got a point, Sanji. Don’t be dumb and give her location away; A secret power? Lola was a captain in her own right?
Chapter 476: OMG Lola’s better looking as a warthog; Holy fuck, Luffy as a swordsman? This shadow power makes a lot of sense, actually and doesn’t feel deus ex machina at all – goddamn I love you Oda; Nightmare Luffy and his 100 shadows – reminds me of a video game again; Oh, and an explanation for Oz too – see Oda, this is why I love you; Cool attack with Brooke – them working together = hotness; Robin = HAWT Go woman, go!
Chatper 477: Okay, lame that he can switch with his shadow, although not entirely unexpected. After all, Oda couldn’t let the battle be over too soon – Luffy hasn’t arrived yet; Eee Chopper is COOL!
Chapter 478: Luffy Looks EVIL and awesome
Chapter 479: It can’t be that easy; this animated is going to be hardcore!
Chapter 480: hohoho MORE TEAMWORK! God damn the hotness of this is just too much. ODA WAY to bring them back as a nakama unit after the divisivness of Enies Lobby; I <3 you so much; This animation will be so fucking cool!
Chapter 481: Blah, Moria your tragedy is sad but not enough because you’re a freaking megalomaniac too; I like the Shadow Asgard name though; Very cool and fitting; Hmm, Lola is still cool – Luffy’s releasing again – This is bad for him
Chapter 482: Ah, Zoro – explicating your faith in Luffy shared by your nakama; Gear 2 hmm – they haven’t seen it yet; And the mast falls on him and the sun comes up at the last possible moment, hope or not?
Chapter 483: Kaidou is a Yonkou – emperor, right? So Luffy’s crew can perhaps…;Hmm, everyone is worried about the effects of his Gear 2 and 3 on his body; Bitchslap from Nami – Zoro, get a clue; Starting with Zoro, hmm?
Chapter 484: What’s with those looks? Foreshadowing of the 11 supernovas?; This is all very tense and intriguing; weird weird weird fighting style Kuma; Very weird; Paw Paw fruit, ability to deflect or maybe reflect?; Shit and Sanji jumps in - don’t interfere with Zoro’s pride, cook; As if they’d give Luffy up
Chapter 485: Luffy looks so innocent and young just lying there and then Zoro – Unf, hotness charging in to save the day. Kuma is built of something stronger than steel, hmm? But it can’t be seastone I would bet since he’s a df user; He’s hardcore – a Pacificsta – built by the WG but also a cyborg – I really am wondering about cahoots with Doflamingo now – how much free will does Kuma have? More Vegapunk clues – I suspect we’ll see him sooner rather than later; Why? You have to ask? You do know – is it more of a plee? And then the substitution – oh Zoro; Equally good deal – yes – you two are equal in a way that we haven’t seen ever from anyone else; Bowing old-style; His ambition – No other way to protect the crew and if he can’t even protect MY captain’s dream, then whatever ambition I have is nothing but just talk. YES YES YES; Luffy must be the man who becomes the pirate king – Zoro believes; Exactly – If he has faith and supports him – look back to Water 7 DUH this is so First Mate-hood and also making up for what had to be done – how could he justify himself to HIMSELF otherwise?
And then Sanji interrupts – he’s protecting Zoro; Braggadocio – big words Sanji and don’t think so little at the same time of yourself; But Zoro won’t let you; He can’t – it’s his DUTY and his PRIDE – What about Water 7 after all? - Whose fault was that?; Who believes more than anyone else?; Hmm, when did Kuma promise? Is this some kind of manly understanding?; Kuma does have honor though, and enough free will to trade; Repelling/deflecting/reflecting – which is it? All of Luffy’s Gear 2 and 3 pain and fatigue plus that from holding 100 shadows; Receive his suffering and die; It apparently is fucking hardcore – difference between normal and rubber bodies?; Zoro isolates himself and takes it; Kuma knows Luffy is Dragon’s son? Is this from what Garp said getting out or did others already know? Kuma is impressed; And Luffy’s 100% FINE and Zoro’s fucked to hell and won’t confess even to Sanji who should have an idea
Chapter 486: So Moria lives to perhaps fight another day, hmm? And we find concrete proof of Ace’s defeat by Blackbeard; Nami and Lola = BFF over treasure and OMG Nami gave some away! Glass armlet for Luffy – he likes goofy stuff; So many wounds hmm? Even more than when he fought Kaku or Mr. 1 – he really did near death for reals; people are suspicious and Brooke seems to be aware of what happened; So Sanji finds out and it’s revealed that Zoro screamed in pain and stops the confession – Luffy would indeed be pissed, although you were willing to do the same, Sanji; And of course now Robin knows; OMG Franky and Brooke table dancing; Chopper’s eating and doctoring at the same time – word on the written fact that Zoro’s a sound sleeper – and Luffy brings his share; Same resolution but I suspect different reasons; Aww, Shanks and crew sing “Bink's Sake” and sang it to Luffy; how the hell can brooke cry? Is that even a reasonable question to ask since he can eat and poop?; Aww, musical pirates – I suspect Oda wishes he could be one too
Chapter 487: What a bunch of goofy guys; Falling for a cute whale like that; Oh how harsh – but to protect him…;And he still followed them; Ohh, Oda you do the most depressing backstories ever; No wonder Brooke’s a freak; Oh shi- sick and contagious – could it have been from Little Garden?; Oh, Yorki – goodbye – damn that’s sad
Chapter 488: More of Brooke’s madness – although who can blame him; He can open his skull?!; Tone dial from a merchant ship – so Skypiea’s tech isn’t completely unknown on the blue sea; Oh so sad, a song for Laboon even as they’re dying; Poisoned – that’s dirty; Dude – song of AWESOME – can’t wait to hear it;
Chapter 489: Ah Luffy at ease on the piano and of course, just like that, Brooke has joined; Omoshiroiiiii – XD; 45 degrees What?; Leader of a Battle convoy in a certain kingdom? – no doubt in West Blue since that’s where the Rumba pirates came from and then he became captain after Yorki’s leaving; Consider me your luggage?!; a total of 3 days pass; Aww, Lion-chan; and Thriller Bark came from West Blue too – hmm; and Zoro gives Yubashiri a proper send-off as well – he looks so calm and peaceful at the moment; Pirate Empress Hancock? What?; Oh you guys are pervs; Lola’s mom is a pirate?; And the vivre paper?; Only work in the New World – and hohoho now we know what Ace gave to Luffy; It’s directional too, hmmmm!; Oh noes, Ace’s life is in danger!
Chapter 490: Strange Face in the Sea? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ABOUT?!; And they tell everyone about Zoro and Sanji – hmmm! – will it spread?; Ace’s paper – I can understand this too, I mean, why he wouldn’t rush to the rescue; A proper Kampai!; Teehee Seagull head (Sengoku) is pissed and Garp is as obnoxious as Luffy; Kuma has his own reasons, hmm?; Candy Rain! AWESOME; And they’re HALFWAY THERE! Ten years – good job Odacchi; The Red Line still remains super weird though; Five years ago that Robin left West Blue? Hrm, wait, so how long was she working for Crocodile? This throws off some of my other fics, orz; And we see the surprise pool and that Zoro is super strongly freaky and determined; And Sanji’s got his mermaid as she lands on his head; And she’s a freaking ditz;
Chapter 491: Teehee – Sanji’s reactions are over the top; What’s up with Luffy and poop?; Pappagg is a weirdo too; And Luffy’s concerned about his stomach; dundundun – Hacchi!: She can call fish; XD Even Zoro’s blocked out the horror that was Kokoro’s mermaid form; Whoa, slavers – that’s an interesting twist, Oda; Hoho – Zoro’s standing on the figurehead with Luffy (FIC IDEA!);
Chapter 492: And indeed it is Hacchi; And Duval’s random accent makes no sense in this context; What’s up with Camie always getting eaten/captured; Everyone’s nonplussed but who’s surprised Luffy’s stomach conquers all?; That really is pathetic – that mermaid gets captured at the drop of a hat; And now Zoro’s gotta save another person that they should know better
Chapter 493: XD Luffy’s desire to ride cool things always conflicts with his utter inability to steer them; Wow Franky and Nami have to save Chopper Brooke and Luffy – that’s a new one; Failure pile – Zoro kicked your ass; Yay! Usopp with cannons; kamikaze duo resist! And Luffy has dinner; XD Brooke’s water run is hilarious;
Chapter 494: Oh ho – Zoro’s still not fully recovered; and Brooke can exhaust his running skill – stamina still exsists it seems; Hrum and mutual sword attack is cool; And Sanji’s the target; Ah tiny ZoLu moment – squee; XD And they shall know him, hmm; XDXDXD – Ultimate fail for Sanji
Chapter 495: And Zoro just makes things worse; And the mermaid-en rescues Sanji – a dream or not?; Sweet – more Usopp shooting awesomeness; Zoro’s nonplused at Luffy’s reaction; hmm, apparently a dream judging from the blood loss – this should keep his spank bank full for months; What was up with Motobaro – the trans. I have is weak;
Chapter 496: Pig out time! And Duval – WTF FOR REAL ODA!; Wow even Luffy can see Duval is stupid and wacked out; I love how rude Brooke is while also being polite and how much it galls Nami – hilarity!; And finally an explanation of the Red Line Crossing; While I’m sad it looks like we won’t be having any land adventures or seeing the dangerous Mariejoia – its only fitting that they take the undersea route; how the crackalackin does Zoro know how high up the islands were?; no magnetic pull to mangroves; Teehee Zoro harrasment; And Robin wipes her hand on Usopp’s pants?!; Ho shi- that kind of restriction isn’t going to fly – see Zoro and Luffy’s faces – I suspect trouble
Chapter 497: Sanji is a dork; Zoro’s shirt matches the trees and the poor guy is off to get lost and this time it’s not really his fault – know your limitations Zoro – you’re not allowed to wander freely;Awww, Luffy in a bubble car is too cute!; XD Still wearing his glass armlet I see; OMG dorky souvenirs, awww; Well, as expected, the world nobles utterly suck; 20 kings formed the WG and these are their descendents? So what does that make Vivi and Alabasta – a later joiner?;
Chapter 498: What’s up with HOGEEE as the new cry of pain – more Sanji mocking?; Luffy – you lazy lump – sending Zoro or Sanji just because you want to see cool stuff; My my what an interesting character design for Shakky (Shakuyaku); Aww, Chopper’s suspicious until bribed by cotton candy – he should know it’s bad for his teeth; and Camie totally has a crush on Hacchi – adorkable!; Ho ho chased by Garp, hmm?! She’s well preserved; 11 supernovas including Zoro – no one else is from East Blue; Capone Gang Bege captain – West Blue Firetank Pirates 138m; South Blue – Bonney Pirates captain Jewelry Bonney 140m Eats pizza like a slobulous pig and wears a skanky outfit; North Blue Hawkins Pirates captain Basil Hawkins 249m weird fortune telling dude; South Blue – Kid Pirates captain Eustass Kid 315m, number 1; Grandline Natives On Air Pirates captain Scratchmen Apoo 198m; North Blue Drake Pirates captain X Drake 222m; Sky Island Native (hm?) Fallen Monk Pirates captain Urouge 108m; South Blue Kid Pirates crewman Killer 162m; North Blue Heart Pirates captain Trafalgar Law200m; East Blue Straw Hat Pirates captain Monkey D. Luffy 300m; East Blue Straw Hat Pirates crewman Roronoa Zoro 120m;
Chapter 499: Durr, the other matter has got to be Ace’s execution – way to give Luffy an opening but that’s pretty cold; telling them not to make a major scene is useless; Camie’s theme park reaction is over the top; Aww, Camie’s clinging to Hacchi; and Luffy looks ecstatic on the roller coaster; Poor Brooke, he keeps getting tricked – and they broke the spinning teacups; Dorky hats over hats; how can Brooke be scared of a haunted house when he belongs in one?; Chalros Sei – WHAT AN ASS!; And Urouge just smirks and takes it all in; Zoro – you clueless bastard!; I love you!; And he’s saved by Jewelry Bonney! Hurr; tomato juice and Zoro thinks she’s a brat – he sucks with women; killing intent, crazy, ah yes the StrawHats are wackos all right; Umm, I know it was for your own interest but still, You helped him, why wouldn’t he help a civilian?; And Camie’s kidnapped again while Sanji calls in his favor
Chapter 500: Help from Duval or should I say Handsome? How well will this work?; I really want to know how Den Den Mushi system works; Sanji’s stuck with his failure twin; And now we get the tragic reasons for Arlong’s anger and Camie’s continual kidnapping; Yeah it sucks but Arlong’s still a douche bag; XD Franky calls Nami Girlie; Oh ho and now Kid compares pirates to the nobles as well – what’s your point, Oda?; Trafalgar Law is the SMEX!!!! Dude him + Ace = sextacular combustion; And Silvers Rayleigh shows up in his oyaji awesomeness and fires off a spirit blow the likes of which we haven’t really seen outside of Shanks and Whitebeard – HAWT – dear self, stop being obsessively attracted to old men, it’s weird
Chapter 501: Dark King is a wicked title; And Garp, what the hell are you up to now? Where does this man really stand?; Hoho Doflamingo’s symbol on the curtain and Disco – this is somehow not that surprising; Look at that freaky list – Oda you’ve got a weird world of creatures here; And Zoro is somehow lucky that his mistake is taking him to the right place – he asked for directions! He’s not a real man; Lame so the WG and the Marines are on the take under the table; Oh Nami – you’re a good girl – buy her back with your 200m treasure; Public Execution of Ace – asking for war – is this the plan all along?
Chapter 502: Holy shit a death! Or at least what looks like a death – he bit his own tongue and plans to choke/bleed out?; And they’re completely outbid right off the bat by that asshole – lamesauce; And Luffy and Zoro make their ridiculous grand entrance! Yay!; And the discrimination comes out in the open – wow the WG looks suckier by the minute. Go Dragon!; Oh Shit Luffy’s pissed – you done went and did it you idiot; Go Luffy!
Chapter 503: And Zoro’s reply is priceless; And they’re calling the marines – XD The Straw Hats don’t give a shit; And Usopp lands butt first on another one! A+++; As expected, Luffy’s completely intrigued by the bear; And Rayleigh was there for the money! A++ again! He’s really a pirate through and through; And Rayleight lays down the spirit pressure smack! Whooo! We can see the Straw Hats are either really strong or he didn’t target them;
Chapter 504: Bonney’s mad at them – I see a confrontation with Zoro in the offing in the future; Ah, Sengoku gets a headache from Luffy and I’m sure he gets one from Garp all the time too; So now we get to see Admiral Kizaru hmm?; Whitebeard pirates versus Shichibukai! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! OMG!; Rayleigh is so totally hardcore; And they’re being counted as his accomplices – hmm, I wonder if that makes them happy? I’d say yes; And Kid pushes their buttons nicely – Luffy does have some pride as a captian after all; I like how half the crew is like RUN AWAY and the rest is like WOOO FIGHTO; Okay, so Kid’s like Magneto and I don’t know what the heck is up with Trafalgar Law
Chapter 505: Teehee, Rayleigh likes chaos; And Luffy’s shrunk so quickly? Hmm; A vow from Kid to meet in the New World – Who will get the One Piece?; Killer’s pretty scary; Bepo the fighting bear – awesome!; Go Nami; And Trafalgar Law picks up an interesting companion; Oh shi- KUMA!
Chapter 506: Kid and Law vs. Kuma! Exciting!; Luffy is shockingly clueless about pirate history – whose doing is that I wonder – you’d think he’d have been somewhat curious; And the truth about Roger – although I feel like we already knew he turned himself in somehow…; So two years after Roger’s death (20 years ago) Hacchi rescued Rayleigh; yet again a captain with an illness, I hope this isn’t going to be a foreshadowing trend; Holy crap Crocus! Another connection gained (Interesting that Brooke is so much older than even Roger and crew); Roger as a D. – loves flashy and big things – hmm, sounds familiar; “I won’t die, partner!” UNF, shallow of me to say slashy, but still!; Nice to see how in his panel, Roger’s face has shifted a lot more to look like Luffys; The launch of the pirate age – go Roger – makes me like my martyr ficlet all the more;Durr Shanks and Buggy, HOW FUCKING CLUELESS IS LUFFY?! And that panel of Shanks = love; And Kizaru flies in on a cannonball
Chapter 507: A freebie on the coating is nice; and YAY meeting Shanks in the future; dundundun – Robin speaks – A little too hasty, hmm? The plot thickens and thickens and thickens; The power to “hear the voices of all things”? What does that mean? Interesting again; Usopp – letting your tongue get away with you – Luffy shut you up quick, he doesn’t want to be bored – it’s all about the surprise (hmm, what about strength and becoming king too?); Aww, Luffy - “I don’t want to conquer anything. I just think the guy with the most freedom in this whole ocean is the pirate king!” – freedom; Hoho, run wild all over town and split up; 3 day survival test running wild on Shabondy Archipelago – this should be fun!; First guy you think of when you say Roger’s Nakama, hmm; Holy shit the admiral’s a freak too; and Jewelry Bonny’s power is AWESOMELY HILARIOUS; and an ominous shadow appears…
And so, yeah, I'm caught up and now I have to endure the weekly tense waits for new chapters with everybody else. Oh man, I'm so into it right now. Oda, you are the man!
