Kizaru about to Go on the Warpath!

One Piece Chapter 1090 Review/Recap

Now more than ever, it feels good to be a fan of One Piece. The anime debut of Gear Five broke the Internet so hard, it crashed Crunchyroll and pirated anime sites. The live-action Netflix series premieres at the end of August, and will either be a hit or a flop. Lastly, events in the manga are heating up as the Egghead Island arc climaxes. The Elbaf arc fans have wanted for years seems nigh, but before that happens, the Straw Hats may end up fighting against Admiral Kizaru as they try to escape!

I want to see Luffy fight Kizaru. It’s time for a rematch!

There’s a lot to unpack here, so this review will be extra long as we look at everything that’s happening.

Recap

Picking up where the previous chapter left off, Luffy takes over York’s call to the Five Elders and proclaims himself the next King of the Pirates. Furthermore, he also declares that he’s working with Vegapunk and that if they want York safe, they should scram, much to the shock of everyone listening. However, Robin forces him to hang up before he can give away any more details. Having heard everything, Jaygarcia Saturn tells the Marines they have three goals:

1. Safely secure York.
2. Seize “Punk Records,” AKA Vegapunk’s brain.
3. Seize the power plant needed to create Mother Flame.

Saturn callously states that everything else can burn, calling humans insects that will regrow their numbers. 

Inside the lab, the situation is chaotic. Punk’s Pythagoras and Edison are dead while the Seraphim are trapped inside bubble shield prisons made with the properties of sea prism stone. In addition, S-Snake released her captives at Luffy’s behest (CALLED IT!), and all the CP agents are free, albeit they can’t leave the basement.

A Tough Situation to Get Out of

With the island surrounded by thousands of Marines and the barrier to the lab still up, getting out will be tough, but possible. Thankfully, Vegapunk and Franky come up with an audacious plan. Vegapunk and the Satellites will hack the computer and bring down the barrier. Then they’ll use the Vegaforce 01 to fly them past the Marine blockade. After that, the Sunny can fly them to safety.

Outside the island, the Marines have already gotten all the info they need from Rob Lucci. Worse, as the Marines prepare for battle, Admiral Kizaru uses his Light-Light Fruit powers to bypass the barrier and sneak onto Egghead Island. Knowing Sentomaru controls the Pacifista’s and Mecha Sea Beasts, he first targets Vegapunk’s bodyguard. As the two clash, Luffy senses Kizaru’s presence, saying that someone powerful is coming!

Review

Once again, Eichiro Oda delivers another banger after a break, and I’m going wild over it! Granted, it’s a little disappointing that this chapter didn’t reveal how the Straw Hats bested the Seraphim. The same also goes for what Bonney learned. Whatever she saw in her father’s memories was enough to make her drop her vendetta against Vegapunk. However, it’s likely that Oda will choose to reveal both in a later chapter once everyone’s safely away from the Marines. That’s the more important matter at hand, and there’s a lot to break down and talk about because I’m gushing over everything.

The Five Elder’s Callousness Knows No Bounds

First, this chapter marks a historic first for One Piece. Until now, none of the Five Elders have ever directly talked to Luffy before. Not only does this chapter end that streak, but it sees Luffy openly demand that they leave Egghead Island alone. If they didn’t hate him before, then they must feel that way now.

This whole arc’s done a good of expanding upon the power and cruelty of the Five Elders. While what they did to Ohara showed their true colors, remarks like Saturn comparing humans to insects cement how insensitive they are. They’re willing to let thousands of Marines die if it means they can get what they want. In essence, they’re the worst of humanity on display, and now more than ever, I’m hoping to see them brought to justice. 

The Seraphim are More Human than anyone Thought.

It’s disappointing not to see how the Straw Hats (and Lucci and Kaku) stopped the Seraphim. However, the fact that they were imprisoned shows they’re not invincible. What’s even worse for the World Government is that the Seraphim have more humanity in them than they’d want. 

Case in point, we have S-Snake, AKA the cyborg clone of Boa Hancock. I think most of us saw this coming, but it was still hilarious to see that S-Snake winds up falling for Luffy just like the original did. Hancock’s love for Luffy is so strong, it transferred to S-Snake via her DNA! It’s literally genetic! 

Joking aside, this shows that the Seraphim aren’t the mindless weapons the World Government wanted or Vegapunk created. They’re capable of their thoughts and feelings, and could even potentially defy orders. In other words, it’s possible they could choose to ignore the orders of the Five Elders if their emotions prove strong enough.

I might just want this, but when they leave, I hope the Straw Hats take the Seraphim with them. Jinbei could decide to adopt S-Shark as his son, which he technically is, while Luffy would make S-Snake his little sister, to his dismay. Plus, Zoro could take S-Hawk as his student, which would be awesome. And Bonney could take S-Bear, whose a clone of her father. 

Some fanfic writer out there, please get on this!

THE ELBAF ARC IS IMMINENT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

The biggest reveal about this chapter, though, happens to be regarding where the Straw Hat’s next destination will be. It’s a place people have wanted to see for decades, and it’s somewhere Oda’s hyped up for years: Elbaf.

Elbaf, the land of the giants, is probably the most anticipated destination in One Piece. While Wano Country had close to a decade to get hyped up, and Laugh Tale is the ultimate destination of the series, it’s Elbaf fans desperately want to see. While this arc has heavily implied this would be the Straw Hat’s next destination, it’s Vegapunk’s line about it that confirms our biggest hopes. The next place the Straw Hat Pirates will head is Elbaf. Not only could Robin end up reuniting with her first friend, Jaguar D. Saul, but we could get a massive lore dump about the Void Century, Joy Boy, and the One Piece itself. 

Before that happens, though, the Straw Hats need to deal with a few problems.

Kizaru and Luffy Might be Getting a Rematch!

Since the reveal that Admiral Kizaru was leading the assault on Egghead Island, fans have been excited to see him potentially fight the Straw Hats, or, at least, Luffy. The last time the Straw Hats fought Kizaru as a group, he came close to killing them. When Luffy faced him again in the Marineford War, he couldn’t scratch him or his fellow Admirals. Things have changed in the time since then, though. The Straw Hats are more powerful as a whole, and Luffy’s attained a high level of skill with Haki. As a result, should Luffy and Kizaru clash once more, Luffy would stand a good chance of winning.

At this point, I want to see Luffy defeat Kizaru, for personal and practical reasons. Should he do so, that would let the Marines know that he’s stronger than almost everyone they have; far stronger than who he was at Marineford. In addition, such a loss’s psychological impact on the Marines would be immense. Knowing the deterrent the Celestial Dragons use can be defeated could inspire others to rebel against the World Government. Lastly, it would be payback for the hell Kizaru helped put Luffy through at Sabaody and Marineford.

This Was Worth the Wait

I would say that this chapter of One Piece more than justifies the extra waiting we had to do to read it. Sadly, the fans will have to wait another two weeks to find out what happens next. Whereas before it was due to Oda looking after his health or a Japanese holiday, this time is different. It’s because Oda’s been busy working on the upcoming Netflix series.

While I’m still on the fence about a live-action One Piece series, especially since it’s Netflix is making it, I’m probably going to watch it. The fact that Oda himself is executive producer of the series makes me cautiously optimistic about its chances. Fingers crossed that Netflix doesn’t mess it up, or else millions of fans might walk out on them.

So, I will likely review the live-action series when it comes out. I’ve learned to be patient with these chapter breaks since I care about Oda’s health. The last thing we want is for his masterpiece to be the death of him! See you guys in about ten days!

I Give “Admiral Kizaru” a 4.5/5

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