One Piece: Attack of the Ice Zombies

One Piece Chapter 994 Review/Recap

So, for some reason I thought that One Piece was on break this week. Imagine my surprise when I find out that the new chapter’s out today! Despite being caught off guard by this, I think the focus of this week’s chapter seems appropriate, since yesterday was Halloween. In this week’s chapter, its the attack of the Ice Zombies!

Recap

On the roof of Onigashima, the Scabbards are left reeling by Kikunojo’s loss of his arm. Fortunately, Kin’emon uses his foxfire technique to cauterize the wound, saving Kiku’s life in the process. Despite the injury, though, none of the Scabbards are willing to back down. For his part, Kaido admits that he’s impressed with the Samurai’s resolve, saying that it’s how a person faces death that defines who they are. Out of respect for his opponents, Kaido reverts to his human form as he prepares to end the fight.

Down below, Luffy, Sanji, and Jinbei continue to fight their way to the top so they may face Kaido. In the banquet hall, things are not looking good. Queen’s ice plague bullets have turned both friend and foe into ice zombies. Both the Alliance and Beast Pirates are horrorified at having to fight their own comrades, while Chopper looks on in disgust at Queen. Fortunately, he realizes that Queen would have an antidote on him, which he does. Except he gave it to Apoo and told everyone about it. If the Alliance can get the antidote in the next hour, they can save everyone; otherwise, the plague will kill all the ice zombies.

At Momonosuke and Shinobu’s location, Yamato faces down the forces of the Flying Six while explaining who they are. They were at Oden’s execution twenty years ago, and were moved to tears by Shinobu scolding everyone for calling Oden a fool. Yamato tried to save Momo at Kuri that day, but he couldn’t make it in time. This time, though, he’s not going to fail again. He proclaims himself as Yamato, and that he will save them from the Beast Pirates.

Review

How do you know if someone is truly evil? Well, one obvious sign is the fact that they’re willing to sacrifice their own forces in order to wipe out the enemy and having no regard for their safety. The fact that Queen’s willing to turn his own men into ice zombies disgusts me to no end, even if that tactic is nothing new in One Piece. While things may look bad right now for the Alliance, this may end up working out for them in the long-term.

Here’s my logic: the Beast Pirates have seen that Queen and their leaders don’t care about potentially turning them into ice zombies. If Chopper can cure everyone, then there’s a chance that they’ll turn on Queen as a result. I mean, if I were in their shoes, I’d mutiny.

As for Yamato, he’s proving to be the wild card that will turn the battle in the Alliance’s favor. If he can keep the Beast Pirates at bay, Luffy and the others can take down Kaido. It may not look like it now, but I can see the writing on the wall: Kaido falls tonight.

Alas, any chance of the 1,000th chapter coming out this year seems to be dashed. The manga’s on break for real next week. Still, Oda’s health is more important, so I won’t complain. Also, having the 1,000th chapter come out in 2021 will be a good way to start the year!

I Give “Also Known as Yamato” a 3.8/5

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