Writing About All Things Pop Culture
It’s hard to believe that we’re just one chapter away from One Piece hitting a historic 1,000, huh? Few manga ever reach such a milestone, and fewer still have been as popular as One Piece. But before we hit that milestone, this week, we’re focusing on the legacy of Luffy’s brother, Portgas D. Ace. It was established early on that Ace traveled to Wano in the past, but we never knew the full story about what he did there. That is, until today.
When I was growing up, one of my great loves was Dinosaurs. I must have spent hours watching Walking with Dinosaurs on my TV. And while I didn’t watch it until I was in my teens, I’m a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise. Why am I bringing all this up right now? Because at this point in One Piece, the Beast Pirates are the anime equivalent to Jurassic Park. Especially as we see the powers of the Tobi Roppo.
One Piece Chapter 997 Review/Recap Last week on One Piece, we saw the fighting on Onigashima reach new levels of chaos. Big Mom returned to the fight and headed straight … Continue Reading 3 Reasons Why One Piece is Crazy Awesome Right Now.
I’m only going to say it once: I cannot wait for the One Piece anime to get to Onigashima! The chaos, the fighting, the stakes! It’s getting so good. Right when you think one side’s got the upper head, a new player enters the stage and ups the chaos even further. And that’s just what this chapter is, in a nutshell: chaos.
I think that we all knew going in to the raid on Onigashima that the Straw Hats were about to face their toughest battle yet. After all, they’re going up against two Yonko at once. But if they can’t win against Kaido and Big Mom, then what hope will they have against Blackbeard? After the last chapter saw Queen unleash a plague of ice zombie demons on everyone, things get desperate. And this week, things get even worse.
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!
At the end of my review of last week’s chapter, I said that Kaido had not yet begun to fight. That he had only been holding back against the Red Scabbards, which is why they were able to get in so many hits. It’s a standard trope in Shonen stories: the bad guy treats the heroes like an annoyance because only the main protagonist can stop them. It turns out that I was right to be worried for the Scabbards, as Kaido stops messing around and starts fighting seriously. Get ready for blood.
When you’re the mangaka behind one of the greatest manga ever made, you’ve got high standards to meet. Then we Eichiro Oda, the genius behind One Piece. The man works so hard on his series that he hardly sleeps. It’s no wonder why lately, he’s been taking frequent break. However, after a nearly two-week vacation, Oda returns with one of the most action-packed chapters of the manga of the year. And all I can hope to say about it is “wow.”
It’s been two weeks since the last chapter of One Piece, and if you’ll recall, things got even crazier than they already were. X Drake got outed as a spy for the Marines, forcing him to flee from the rest of the Beast Pirates. Knowing he can’t survive on his own, Drake takes a gamble and asks Luffy to join forces with him and take down Kaido. We know Luffy will say yes, but how will the rest of the Alliance react? The battle continues now!
One Piece Chapter 990 Review/Recap We’ve already seen it happen countless times throughout the course of One Piece, people. The good guys face a seemingly impossible situation, and it looks … Continue Reading A Lone Force To Tip the Scales
You know, there might have once been a time when the Yonko would have scared me. When they were these powerful pirates who even the toughest enemies Luffy had fought feared. Then came the events of Whole Cake Island and we saw Luffy spit in the face of Big Mom several times. Then once we got to Wano, and we’ve seen Kaido try to break Luffy, only to fail like we knew he would. Now that the big raid’s come and Big Mom knows Luffy’s here, she wants nothing more than to kill him.
And here I am, just laughing at her threats.
My fellow One Piece fans, I’ve been waiting for this day for almost four years now. It’s been a long and winding road for the Straw Hats to get to this moment, including some unwanted detours. Still, here we are, the moment when the war to take down Kaido and Big Mom begins! And as we see in this chapter, it’s apparent that Oda’s not pulling any punches. Wano descends into all-out war!
Okay, so it seems that the manga’s back on a bi-weekly release schedule. However, given how events are starting to move right now, I’m okay with that. But first, I want to bring up the notion of inherited will. The idea of someone taking up the dreams and ideals of another has been a big part of One Piece since day one. Now, the concept of inherited will may be what helps save Wano. Also, we learn a secret about Yamato.
As Kaido’s apparent son, Yamato’s likely to be very powerful. However, we still don’t know enough about him to decide whose side he’s on. If that sounds confusing, then you’ll need to see the next chapter of One Piece. Yamato could be a bigger wild card than Luffy in this fight.
Well, it’s official: One Piece is back on a weekly release schedule. It’s a good thing, too, because things are starting to heat up. Last week saw some powerful allies join the Alliance: Nekomamushi and his Minks, and Marco and Izo of the Whitebeard Pirates. However, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.
So, it looks like the final battle for the fate of Wano’s going to be a slow burn. Moreso than usual as Oda’s quarantining himself from COVID-19. It’s a shame, because I’m looking forward to seeing the Beast Pirates get what’s coming to them. However, this week’s chapter manages to give us a small appetizer as the party gets started. And all because Luffy wants some payback for the starving people of Wano.
