The Hype is Real on One Piece

One Piece Chapter 1071 Review/Recap

The new chapter of One Piece wasn’t due until next week, but it somehow leaked anyway. If you don’t want to be spoiled and wait for the official release, then don’t read this review. Otherwise, be prepared for some massive hype, as Oda seems bent on ramping things up in his story. It’s not just Egghead Island that’s the focus this week. Things are happening the world over, and from the look of things, they’re going to be big.

Recap

After leaving the Kamabakka Kingdom and the Revolutionary Army behind, Bartholomew Kuma makes a beeline for the Red Port at the base of the Red Line. All the residents panic at the sight of the former Warlord. Once he starts to stand up, everyone runs for it while the Marines sound the alarm to stop Kuma.

Meanwhile, on Egghead Island, the CP0 moves to lock down the island and keep Vegapunk from escaping. Lucci won’t wait for the Marines because he won’t acknowledge Luffy as a Yonko. In the frontier dome, Vegapunk calls an ally they have on the island, who agrees to help, before asking the Straw Hats to take him and the Satellites to the Thousand Sunny. Suddenly, the frontier dome goes offline, letting CP0 advance on the lab, with Kaku trying to destroy the Sunny. However, Kaku’s stopped in his tracks by Zoro, who’s not happy he got woken up from his nap.

Luffy’s group, who reunites with everyone, is told what’s happening and how they need to leave, much to Luffy’s dismay. Bonney, though, refuses to let Vegapunk go until he turns her dad back to normal, with the latter saying there’s a reason for that.

In another part of the New World, the Kid Pirates arrive at an island surrounded by fog. Despite not confirming it, Kid insists that this is Elbaf, the home of the Giants! Back at G-14, Garp arrives and tells the base commander that he plans on going after Blackbeard. Much to Helmeppo’s relief, Garp tells him to come with him; they’re going to Blackbeard’s base to rescue Koby.

Review

Oda might be a master at dealing with hype because I’m chomping at the bit right now! So many things are happening at once that it’s hard to decide what to focus on first! However, I will try to do so anyway.

I Have a New Theory About Kuma

Firstly, I need to address what’s happening with Kuma. I’m not surprised he can use his powers to fast-travel across the world. What I am surprised about is that he went for the Red Port instead of Egghead Island. While it’s possible it’s part of some programming the World Government put in him, I think there’s another reason, and it has to tie into what Vegapunk said to Bonney.

Remember the giant robot Vegapunk showed Luffy and Bonney? The one from the Ancient Kingdom that terrorized Mariejois centuries ago? What if Vegapunk reverse-engineered it enough to replicate the tech, thus creating the Pacifista’s? Thus, it’s possible Kuma has the robot’s directive programmed into his brain by Vegapunk. It would be a failsafe to distract them in case Vegapunk ever had to escape. 

This is all speculation, though, so take it however you want.

Are We Finally Going to See Elbaf?

Then we have Kid and his crew, who think they’ve made it to Elbaf. There’s no guarantee of that yet, but I think that it’s very likely. If it is, then One Piece fans hype will go through the roof. Ever since it was first mentioned back in Little Garden, the home of the Giants has been one of the places that fans want to see the most. Given the importance the Giants seem to play in the larger story, especially following the revelation that Saul is alive and the Giants saved the books from Ohara, the hype has only grown. 

The bottom line is that fans need to see Elbaf, and they need to see it soon. While the Kid Pirates might have already beaten them to it, it’s likely that after they leave Egghead Island, they’ll head to Elbaf. Vegapunk will be safe there, and Robin could reunite with Saul after all these years.

Garp Might Be In Over His Head

I don’t want to make anyone panic, but after hearing that Garp’s going to Beehive Island to save Koby, I can’t help but worry about him. Garp is Luffy’s grandfather, the hero of the Marines, the master of Haki, and a rival to Gol D. Roger himself. However, he’s also as reckless as Luffy can be, and while he’s still powerful, he’s no longer in his prime.

A recurring trend in One Piece is that the figures from Roger’s day are starting to give way to Luffy’s generation. With Whitebeard’s death and the fall of Big Mom and Kaido, that trend will begin to accelerate. In other words, the Blackbeard Pirates might be too much for Garp and Helmeppo to handle. Fingers crossed.

The Hype of Egghead Island is Real

As for Egghead Island, the hype is real and palpable. We don’t know how the frontier dome’s defenses went down, but it was either a glitch or sabotage. Is there a spy in the frontier dome, or did something else happen that made it go down? If its the former, that could be a pain, along with getting Bonney to calm the heck down. 

As for CP0, though, I’m not worried about them. The Straw Hats beat several of them when they were in CP9, and after Wano, they’re leagues above Lucci and Kaku. Kaku seems scared of fighting Zoro again, as he will almost certainly lose. As for Lucci, I found it funny that Lucci refuses to acknowledge Luffy as a Yonko. It seems the unflappable assassin holds a grudge against Luffy for defeating him at Enies Lobby. Sadly, Luffy’s too powerful for him to handle. And when they fail to kill Vegapunk, he’ll get blamed for it. 

Overall, I haven’t been this hyped for a One Piece chapter since we saw Gear Fifth for the first time. Not even meeting Lilith compares to this. I only regret we have to wait two weeks now for the next chapter. We got the chapter a week early, though, so it’s a fair trade. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

I Give “A Hero’s Offensive” a 4/5

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