Memory Can be a Powerful Tool!

One Piece Chapter 1072 Review/Recap

Every time Eichiro Oda-Sama goes on a break from writing manga, he usually ensures that the next chapter will be great. Usually, he drops some sort of big reveal, a plot twist, or something meant to help us understand something he previously touched upon. This week, we get two big surprises that connect Vegapunk, Kuma, the Rocks Pirates, and the idea of the soul and memory. It gets pretty crazy. Good thing this story thrives on crazy.

Recap

As Bonney confronts Dr. Vegapunk, she turns herself into a kid and feigns injury to lure him in close. Then, she makes herself super buff, beats the snot out of the fleeing doctor, and then uses her powers to age him into that of a toddler. Despite her threatening his life, though, he refuses to explain why he can’t return her father to normal, other than that he promised Kuma he’d not tell her. Bonney doesn’t buy it, though, and when she sees a room with Kuma’s paw print on it, she barges in. It’s there that she finds the results of an experiment Vegapunk and Kuma did: all of Kuma’s memories, extracted using his abilities for Vegapunk’s experiments, something that the Dr promised no one else should see.

Meanwhile, CP0’s assault on the lab continues apace. The Seraphim independently decided to join the attack despite orders, giving Vegapunk a chance to turn them on their handlers; though they do start to wreck the lab. Meanwhile, Zoro’s in the process of folding Kaku’s behind. However, their fight’s cut short when Stussy suddenly turns on CP0 and she puts Kaku to sleep for a little bit, much to Lucci’s shock. It’s also revealed that Stussy’s a clone of Miss Buckingham Stussy of the Rocks Pirates.

Review

I know that I should be surprised that Stussy’s a clone of a member of the Rocks Pirates, but I’m not. We already knew back in Whole Cake that cloning exists, and the Seraphim are part-clone, part cyborgs. However, what puzzles me is how the heck did MADS get ahold of the DNA of one of the infamous Rocks Pirates? Much less the one whose son she claims was fathered by Whitebeard? As for why she’s working for the World Government or turning on CP0, I haven’t the foggiest idea. Maybe she’s secretly loyal to Vegapunk since he helped create her? 

In any case, the main draw for the chapter is the memories of Kuma that Vegapunk has kept for years. Is this why Kuma no longer remembers who he is? Because he gave all of his memories to Vegapunk before he became a full cyborg? Whatever the explanation may be, Vegapunk must have a good reason not to let Bonney see her dad’s memories. However, I don’t care. We’ve waited years to learn the truth about Kuma, and the fans want it! It’s usually better to know the truth than remain ignorant of something. Hopefully, the next chapter will start to show us how Kuma and Vegapunk came to work together, and what Vegapunk could have in store for CP0. 

In addition, I’m hoping we learn why Kuma’s currently climbing the Red Line to attack the Holy Land of Mariejois. Is he emulating the robot that we saw in the junkyard?

As far as chapters go, this one was a little lighter than others after a break. However, I still can’t wait to learn what happens next. Bold of Oda to base this on a real-life experiment about the weight of the soul.

I Give “The Weight of Memory” a 3/5

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