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One Piece Re-Read Notes Volume 4
Volume 4 – The Black Cat Pirates
This is the first volume dedicated solely to battle. The other volumes had fighting but also had other sections. The theme isn’t as immediately obvious here. We do see that Usopp is clever and determined and he can take a fair amount of punishment. However he actually doesn’t engage in that much combat in this volume as he is smacked around pretty badly. Next volume will see him shining again but here most of the middle chapters don’t have much to do with him.
I find it interesting (although I kind of already knew this since ZoSopp is a THING for me) that Zoro is the one doing most of the commentary on Usopp’s skills/bravery. I don’t know if it’s for contrast/similarity between them or because Luffy is out for half the volume or why exactly but I do think it Is interesting given future (Water 7) developments. There’s probably some other key elements in this volume related to how Kuro is seen by his crew in that he’s definitely a person they’re afraid of.
This is also a very slapstick battle despite the seriousness of its cause. Luffy and the hypnotism and all the cat puns and the general stupidity (L+Z getting lost, Nami using Zoro to escape and trapping him, Nami throwing the caltrops the wrong way, Usopp trio’s attack) make this fight have a weird tone. Buggy and company were themed and equally weird as hell but somehow they came off a little more serious overall. Only Kuro is serious in this fight and it makes the balance of the volume’s tone a little off to me.
Anyway, this is probably near the bottom of East Blue volumes, although there’s at least 1 or even 2 volumes for the Krieg fight that are worse. I just think tonally there’s something a bit off and, for being Usopp’s arc, he doesn’t have a lot to do for big sections of this volume.
Chapter 27 Key Observations
- I’ve never completely understood why the villagers get so mad at Usopp BEFORE they witness the scenes with Kaya. I mean, yeah, Usopp’s notorious for yelling pirates but it was portrayed as a loveable quirk. I know it fits the ‘boy who cried wolf’ theme so much but…eh. It always kinda irked me.
- Usopp’s super speed
- Usopp trio getting confirmation from Luffy about what’s going to happen
- Kaya’s choice to trust Klahadore over Usopp…how much is motivated by what had just gone before and how much is motivated by the anniversary of Klahadore’s service?
- Usopp vs Body Guards – He’s very cool in this moment and Oda also really successfully sets up how this would be a negative from Kaya’s POV
- Also…Kaya asking him to stop when her guards are pointing GUNS at him…a little much miss
- The Slap and then Merryshoots him in the left forearm
- Luffy’s face when Usopp says it was all a lie
- The trio ALSO gives in a little too easy in my opinion to the idea that it’s a lie. Considering they’ve been the ones explaining Usopp’s good points up until now, it’s a little frustrating. Could also be commentary on how negatively pirates/pirate blood will be viewed
- Zoro: You’ve got a noble heart! You sent your crew away so you could face the danger alone. 1) Zoro admiring Usopp for the first time. 2) I saw some Tumblr posts circulating this re: Sanji but we’ve already done this with Robin. The key difference is that Straw Hats are CAPABLE of fighting and helping. Usopp’s crew are CHILDREN and shouldn’t be put in harm’s way.
- Luffy, Nami, Zoro all resolve to help Usopp
Chapter 28 Key Observations
- Z: We’re not laughing at you. We’re impressed. That’s why we’re going to help you. L: Who’d risk their life out of pity? - KEY MOMENT – a lesson that Usopp does not learn until after Enies Lobby. They respect him. His fear is not a BAD thing as long as he’s willing to face it. Also, Luffy’s remark fits his ethos.
- Klahadore becomes Kuro as the claws come out…Merry gets stabbed
- Usopp’s oil slick – Luffy is impressed w/his ingenuity
- Wrong beach! Nami can’t get out of the oil and uses Zoro so she can save her treasure
- Luffy being bad at directions – he went where it seemed coldest rather than North
Chapter 29 Key Observations
- Usopp’s bluff – 10 million men – Django falls for it (probably why he also gets hit by his own hypnotism)
- Usopp tries to use Nami’s treasure to buy off the Black Cat Pirates but it doesn’t work and Nami is peeved
- Usopp and Nami time! – U: Okay, go attack them! I’ll back you up! N: What!? Why me?! What can I do against an army of ruthless cutthroats? I’m only a girl! U: You don’t expect me to do it, just ‘cause I’m a man? Look how scared I am! My knees are shaking! N: Well look at me! I’m starting to cry! U: You’re dry as a desert!
- Caltrops – Usopp’s bag of tricks
- Luffy and Zoro continue to be lost and don’t know which way is North
- Usopp takes a hit to the back of the head from a giant stone hammer but refuses to let the pirates pass. These blows sideline him for much of the rest of the volume
- Black Cat pirates motivated by fear of Kuro
- The lost duo show up and kick ass (get called demons by the Black Cat Pirates)
- Per SBS, Oda says Luffy is always so calm because he’s so stupid
Chapter 30 Key Observations
- Kuro and his killing intent towards his crew
- Django hypnotizes the crew into thinking they’re unhurt, super strong, and only getting more powerful
- Luffy gets hypnotized even when it wasn’t directed at him, takes out most of the hypnotized Black Cat pirates, and then gets stuck under their boat like an idiot after he gets re-hypnotized to fall asleep (first time Usopp realizes Luffy has powers)
- Per SBS, Oda says Luffy doesn’t kill his enemies because “In his era, men live by their beliefs and risk their lives to defend them. Luffy shatters the beliefs of his enemies by defeating them. For them to suffer defeat and to have their beliefs destroyed is as bad as death. Killing their bodies is beside the point. I feel that, as pirates, Luffy and his enemies care more about victory and defeat than they care about their lives.
Chapter 31 Key Observations
- Kaya discovers Merry and learns the truth (interesting – she flashes back to the memory of Klahadore telling her that if Usopp should ever lay a hand on her, he’d have failed Kaya and her father)
- Merry tells Kaya to give up her estate/money as it isn’t worth their lives and Kaya agrees, knowing she needs to find him and try to negotiate
- Usopp pirate trio catches on and reveals they had doubts yesterday. These are some brave kids!
- Zoro v. Meowban brothers – Zoro is taken off guard by Siam and Butchie’s scaredy cat act…needs to not be so trusting
- Bad cat burglar pun – Zoro has 2 of 3 swords stolen
Chapter 32 Key Observations
- Zoro noting he’s not so good at one sword style
- Zoro sees Usopp trying to assist by firing in a lead star but Zoro purposefully takes the hit himself (also opening him to attacks from Butchie and Siam); Zoro takes the blow to keep Usopp and Nami from the Meowban brothers’ attention
- Nami goes to get Zoro’s thrown swords and takes a hit from Django’s chakram
- Kuro arrives and it’s clear how much the Black Cat pirates are terrified of him
Chapter 33 Key Observations
- Earlier, Django had called Luffy and Zoro children and now Kuro refers to L, Z, Usopp, and Nami as children – this is interesting as I think it’s the only time they’re referred to as children that I can recall
- Meowban brothers mutiny and go to attack Kuro but Kuro reveals his claws and his speed
- Nami gets Zoro his swords back…Z: Wielding three swords, and following the three-sword technique are very different things.
Chapter 34 Key Observations
- Luffy’s awakening saves Nami but he takes the chakram blow to the back of the head
- Luffy is a BOSS shrugging off that blow (the whole page is epic)
- Kaya arrives, apologizes to Usopp, and tries to get Kuro to take her fortune and leave
- Kuro’s ultimate goal – Peace of Mind – money and comfort and no fear of reprisals
- Kaya pulls a gun on him like a bamf but then gets talked down from it rather sadly..
- Usopp goes to punch Kuro because of his words to Kaya, Kuro dodges and tries to retaliate but Luffy punches him out
Chapter 35 Key Observations
- Start of Buggy’s adventure and first of cover page mini adventures
- Luffy’s serious face appears
- Usopp trio jump out and attack the downed Kuro…yell at Usopp for fighting without them even as Usopp is screaming at them to go away…Kuro gets up but homes in on Luffy as the dangerous one
- Kuro kicks Usopp on his way towards Luffy
- Kuro tells Django to get Kaya to write her will and then kill her along with the Usopp trio
- Usopp tells his trio to protect Kaya Z: He’s got a quick tongue, that Usopp. He gave the boys and Kaya an honorable reason to run!
- Usopp stops Django from getting Kaya and trio as they retreat
- L+Z: Usopp, leave it to us (they’ll deal with Kuro and Butchie so Usopp can go after Django)
This is the first volume dedicated solely to battle. The other volumes had fighting but also had other sections. The theme isn’t as immediately obvious here. We do see that Usopp is clever and determined and he can take a fair amount of punishment. However he actually doesn’t engage in that much combat in this volume as he is smacked around pretty badly. Next volume will see him shining again but here most of the middle chapters don’t have much to do with him.
I find it interesting (although I kind of already knew this since ZoSopp is a THING for me) that Zoro is the one doing most of the commentary on Usopp’s skills/bravery. I don’t know if it’s for contrast/similarity between them or because Luffy is out for half the volume or why exactly but I do think it Is interesting given future (Water 7) developments. There’s probably some other key elements in this volume related to how Kuro is seen by his crew in that he’s definitely a person they’re afraid of.
This is also a very slapstick battle despite the seriousness of its cause. Luffy and the hypnotism and all the cat puns and the general stupidity (L+Z getting lost, Nami using Zoro to escape and trapping him, Nami throwing the caltrops the wrong way, Usopp trio’s attack) make this fight have a weird tone. Buggy and company were themed and equally weird as hell but somehow they came off a little more serious overall. Only Kuro is serious in this fight and it makes the balance of the volume’s tone a little off to me.
Anyway, this is probably near the bottom of East Blue volumes, although there’s at least 1 or even 2 volumes for the Krieg fight that are worse. I just think tonally there’s something a bit off and, for being Usopp’s arc, he doesn’t have a lot to do for big sections of this volume.
Chapter 27 Key Observations
- I’ve never completely understood why the villagers get so mad at Usopp BEFORE they witness the scenes with Kaya. I mean, yeah, Usopp’s notorious for yelling pirates but it was portrayed as a loveable quirk. I know it fits the ‘boy who cried wolf’ theme so much but…eh. It always kinda irked me.
- Usopp’s super speed
- Usopp trio getting confirmation from Luffy about what’s going to happen
- Kaya’s choice to trust Klahadore over Usopp…how much is motivated by what had just gone before and how much is motivated by the anniversary of Klahadore’s service?
- Usopp vs Body Guards – He’s very cool in this moment and Oda also really successfully sets up how this would be a negative from Kaya’s POV
- Also…Kaya asking him to stop when her guards are pointing GUNS at him…a little much miss
- The Slap and then Merryshoots him in the left forearm
- Luffy’s face when Usopp says it was all a lie
- The trio ALSO gives in a little too easy in my opinion to the idea that it’s a lie. Considering they’ve been the ones explaining Usopp’s good points up until now, it’s a little frustrating. Could also be commentary on how negatively pirates/pirate blood will be viewed
- Zoro: You’ve got a noble heart! You sent your crew away so you could face the danger alone. 1) Zoro admiring Usopp for the first time. 2) I saw some Tumblr posts circulating this re: Sanji but we’ve already done this with Robin. The key difference is that Straw Hats are CAPABLE of fighting and helping. Usopp’s crew are CHILDREN and shouldn’t be put in harm’s way.
- Luffy, Nami, Zoro all resolve to help Usopp
Chapter 28 Key Observations
- Z: We’re not laughing at you. We’re impressed. That’s why we’re going to help you. L: Who’d risk their life out of pity? - KEY MOMENT – a lesson that Usopp does not learn until after Enies Lobby. They respect him. His fear is not a BAD thing as long as he’s willing to face it. Also, Luffy’s remark fits his ethos.
- Klahadore becomes Kuro as the claws come out…Merry gets stabbed
- Usopp’s oil slick – Luffy is impressed w/his ingenuity
- Wrong beach! Nami can’t get out of the oil and uses Zoro so she can save her treasure
- Luffy being bad at directions – he went where it seemed coldest rather than North
Chapter 29 Key Observations
- Usopp’s bluff – 10 million men – Django falls for it (probably why he also gets hit by his own hypnotism)
- Usopp tries to use Nami’s treasure to buy off the Black Cat Pirates but it doesn’t work and Nami is peeved
- Usopp and Nami time! – U: Okay, go attack them! I’ll back you up! N: What!? Why me?! What can I do against an army of ruthless cutthroats? I’m only a girl! U: You don’t expect me to do it, just ‘cause I’m a man? Look how scared I am! My knees are shaking! N: Well look at me! I’m starting to cry! U: You’re dry as a desert!
- Caltrops – Usopp’s bag of tricks
- Luffy and Zoro continue to be lost and don’t know which way is North
- Usopp takes a hit to the back of the head from a giant stone hammer but refuses to let the pirates pass. These blows sideline him for much of the rest of the volume
- Black Cat pirates motivated by fear of Kuro
- The lost duo show up and kick ass (get called demons by the Black Cat Pirates)
- Per SBS, Oda says Luffy is always so calm because he’s so stupid
Chapter 30 Key Observations
- Kuro and his killing intent towards his crew
- Django hypnotizes the crew into thinking they’re unhurt, super strong, and only getting more powerful
- Luffy gets hypnotized even when it wasn’t directed at him, takes out most of the hypnotized Black Cat pirates, and then gets stuck under their boat like an idiot after he gets re-hypnotized to fall asleep (first time Usopp realizes Luffy has powers)
- Per SBS, Oda says Luffy doesn’t kill his enemies because “In his era, men live by their beliefs and risk their lives to defend them. Luffy shatters the beliefs of his enemies by defeating them. For them to suffer defeat and to have their beliefs destroyed is as bad as death. Killing their bodies is beside the point. I feel that, as pirates, Luffy and his enemies care more about victory and defeat than they care about their lives.
Chapter 31 Key Observations
- Kaya discovers Merry and learns the truth (interesting – she flashes back to the memory of Klahadore telling her that if Usopp should ever lay a hand on her, he’d have failed Kaya and her father)
- Merry tells Kaya to give up her estate/money as it isn’t worth their lives and Kaya agrees, knowing she needs to find him and try to negotiate
- Usopp pirate trio catches on and reveals they had doubts yesterday. These are some brave kids!
- Zoro v. Meowban brothers – Zoro is taken off guard by Siam and Butchie’s scaredy cat act…needs to not be so trusting
- Bad cat burglar pun – Zoro has 2 of 3 swords stolen
Chapter 32 Key Observations
- Zoro noting he’s not so good at one sword style
- Zoro sees Usopp trying to assist by firing in a lead star but Zoro purposefully takes the hit himself (also opening him to attacks from Butchie and Siam); Zoro takes the blow to keep Usopp and Nami from the Meowban brothers’ attention
- Nami goes to get Zoro’s thrown swords and takes a hit from Django’s chakram
- Kuro arrives and it’s clear how much the Black Cat pirates are terrified of him
Chapter 33 Key Observations
- Earlier, Django had called Luffy and Zoro children and now Kuro refers to L, Z, Usopp, and Nami as children – this is interesting as I think it’s the only time they’re referred to as children that I can recall
- Meowban brothers mutiny and go to attack Kuro but Kuro reveals his claws and his speed
- Nami gets Zoro his swords back…Z: Wielding three swords, and following the three-sword technique are very different things.
Chapter 34 Key Observations
- Luffy’s awakening saves Nami but he takes the chakram blow to the back of the head
- Luffy is a BOSS shrugging off that blow (the whole page is epic)
- Kaya arrives, apologizes to Usopp, and tries to get Kuro to take her fortune and leave
- Kuro’s ultimate goal – Peace of Mind – money and comfort and no fear of reprisals
- Kaya pulls a gun on him like a bamf but then gets talked down from it rather sadly..
- Usopp goes to punch Kuro because of his words to Kaya, Kuro dodges and tries to retaliate but Luffy punches him out
Chapter 35 Key Observations
- Start of Buggy’s adventure and first of cover page mini adventures
- Luffy’s serious face appears
- Usopp trio jump out and attack the downed Kuro…yell at Usopp for fighting without them even as Usopp is screaming at them to go away…Kuro gets up but homes in on Luffy as the dangerous one
- Kuro kicks Usopp on his way towards Luffy
- Kuro tells Django to get Kaya to write her will and then kill her along with the Usopp trio
- Usopp tells his trio to protect Kaya Z: He’s got a quick tongue, that Usopp. He gave the boys and Kaya an honorable reason to run!
- Usopp stops Django from getting Kaya and trio as they retreat
- L+Z: Usopp, leave it to us (they’ll deal with Kuro and Butchie so Usopp can go after Django)