The iron on the gate and the patina of the gate were fixations she could not possess herself to rid herself of. They were part of her fabric, a constant reminder of the house where her life had begun and where it continued towards its inevitable downfall. Here she had been born, where outside the window the flower tree swayed and welcomed her into the world, and in a room on the bottom floor she had watched her father die from the bullet wound his brother had given him. He had died quietly but even in quiet there is sometimes no dignity, especially before the eyes of a daughter. Also it was in the basement below the room in which her had father died that she experienced for the first time unconditional, cosmic love in the embrace of another, and in such circumstances there might be nothing but dignity.
// The start of the draft of a story I'm working on. Excited to see where it goes.
After a two week break, One Piece is back! And right into the action! Which is something that’s so interesting to me. That the more arcs we pass by, the faster the velocity of storytelling is. In that, because Oda has to set up less and less with each and every arc that goes by, as he builds out the lore more and more, we get into the story much much faster. With Elbaph we’ve already been launched headfirst into what seems to be the foundation for the main conflict, with so much information from the past finally coming home to roost with each chapter passed. But we’ll get into that below the cut!
To start off with, Oda really emphasises the Giant’s Strength here. And if you remember, he’s made it a point to not really show Dorry and Broggy’s full potential. They were incapacitated and had only fought each other before. So it’s interesting how not only is the giant’s strength built up in kind of a fable-esque way but also Loki’s as it took the entirety of Elbaph to restrain him. And not just Elbaph but maybe even Shanks too! But we’ll get into that later.
There’s two interesting revelations that happen in the next few pages. One is Loki’s personality. It seems to me and many others that he’s being built up as a mirror to Luffy, especially in the way that he gets Luffy’s name wrong. But also in that he befriends animals quickly and is associated with sun imagery. And even though he is a little conniving; his internal dialogue vowing to kill Luffy and later purposefully riling Luffy up about Shanks, I think the similarities make it so that he can’t be anything but an ally. And furthermore, he was introduced to us chained up. Oda and One Piece have shown us time and time again that imprisonment and incarceration are one of the greatest evils in the world. And having a character introduced in such a way really sways me towards the conclusion that he’s a good guy. Also, a fun thing is that it seem I was somewhat right with my predictions towards Hel and the underworld and maybe even the Pluto design from last chapter’s discussion. Also could Impel Down be based on Elbaph?
But maybe the more interesting thing is that Loki mentions that the nation of Elbaph is built around the Jewel Tree Adam. In other translations I’ve also heard it as Treasure Tree Adam. And if we recall Franky’s words about it before, it seems to line up with what Elbaph is. A nation consistently at war. A nation that’s burned to the ground and been rebuilt, maybe even many times. At the very least we saw one of those instances with Big Mom. So, is Elbaph, like the other island centered around a tree; Fish-Man Island, also fated for destruction? So what form does that war and destruction take? At the very least we know that after Dorry and Broggy left, the original Giant Pirates once railed against the Government. They were captured and Mother Caramel acted as a diplomat between the humans and giants to save them. So it appears that Elbaph has always been raging against the world government. Freaky’s tale of cannonballs raining from the sky reeks of one thing; Buster Calls! Could it be that over the years since the void century, Elbaph has been the victim of countless Buster Calls? And much like how harbours and coasts call people to settle by them, the indestructible nature of the Jewel Tree Adam beckons these warlike Giants who are prone to losing their homes?
Now, to get back to Shanks, he makes this equation of the Warland much much more interesting. So Loki’s followers talk about Shanks. And Loki says he’s been imprisoned for Six years. Along with that, he has a special bounty set by the world government. Shanks also became an Emperor six years ago. Now all that adds up to three very interesting and different conclusions. One is that, Shanks helped the Giants to subdue Loki and because of this, gained their support. Because of their strength added with his, the World Government began to see him as an Emperor. The second is that Loki was wild and unruly, and was possibly someone who could do some serious damage to the World Government with the Giants in tow. And the world government basically commissioned Shanks to subdue him to prevent war. Finally, the third and most likely conclusion, is something that adds to Shank’s nebulous personality. That, not only did he aid Elbaph and get their support but he also did it on behalf of the World Government to prevent future conflicts and maintain a balance, also acting as a diplomat and a sort of new age Mother Carmel. Which begs the question, does Shanks know something every specific and important or is he just really really committed to keeping the world at peace? It would be weird for it to be the latter as hes a pirate and literally friends with Warland so I’m leaning towards the former.
Finally a few closing comments unrelated to the earlier points. Now, we’ve seen the location of all members of all the New Giant Pirates with Stansen and Hajrudin in the underworld hunting for meat for the Straw Hats. We see them mention that they can’t use something called a Painter which is a sunstone that doesn’t work in the underworld presumably due to there being no sun. Maybe they’re technology like the dials? I’ve always assumed the dials were from the Void Century and Ancient Kingdom so maybe it’s from that time too? Also if you don’t remember, we first saw Stansen in Sabaody right alongside Rayliegh, He was a slave Rayliegh freed and he vowed to help Luffy if he ever needed it. Also, Goldberg and Gold holding the Sunny and running along the bridge really helps put things into perspective. The perspectives been a bit skewed ever since we got into Elbaph but it seems to be evening out now. That Giant sword through Elbaph kinda reminds me of the perspective of Onigashima. Maybe things like those were the weapons of the Ancient Giant Continent Pullers like Oars, them probably being killed off by the World Government in the Void Century. It’s interesting though that those weapons were found in two territories the government isn’t allowed much in, Wano and Elbaph.
Moving on though, while hunting for Franky’s explanation of the Jewel Tree Adam, I stumbled on this panel of Iceburg promising to make Water Seven into a ship, and alongside with the information we’ve gotten thus far, what if the Jewel Tree Adam is the key to saving the world by helping all the islands float? Just a thought. But I am curious to see how Iceburg saves Water Seven.
Finally we get to Robin and Saul and I really hope Saul falling down is a psychout. If it was Saul and not Scopper Gaban waiting for the Straw Hats it could be that to deal with the Ice Burns Aokiji inflicted on to him, Saul began to drink. Otherwise it could jut be a gag or maybe for real. Also was Saul always a doctor? And finally, now that Robin has her bangs back, all is right with the world! See ya next chapter!
Woah! What a chapter! Oda’s going on a two week break with this chapter and I can’t imagine a better place to leave off on. It leaves us so much to talk about. But before we can get to that let’s talk about this cover page! As Otama and Yamato sleep, a silhouetted figure steals Yasuie’s sword from Yamato, which Yamato was tasked with enshrining at Hakumai in honour of Yasuie. This figure seems to be the same person whose attempt at kidnapping Yamato thwarted and who has been kidnapping others from around the area. As the silhouette signals, There Can Only Be One Truth! Though who it could be, I don’t have a solid lead on… :( If I had to guess though, especially with the stolen sword, I would have to go with Gyukimaru/Onimaru, the fox turned human defender of the bridge and swords in Ringo that was Kawamatsu’s friend. As Ringo is close to Hakumai, perhaps Onimaru has been moving around? Though kidnapping people does not fit his MO. As mentioned in earlier discussions, if done for a nefarious purpose a better fit would be Kaido’s henchmen. It’s fun to speculate but let’s not waste too much time here, let’s dive into the chapter itself. Below, I’ll go over the events of the chapter and comment on it, and then recall as much relevant mythology and history as I can, before finally dropping some theories of my own. Read it all below the cut!
We’ve finally reached Elbaph! It’s so smart of Oda to show the scale of Elbaph in this way. First he introduces us to a giant world with giant animals. Only to then reveal it’s just a room. And then we find out that room is in a castle on a cliff connected to the mainland by a giant bridge. Only to then find out that world we just traveled through is only a small part of the gigantic island that is Elbaph! What a masterclass in creating a sense of scale!
Though before being hit with that reveal, we first see the fact that the Straw Hats are calling the search for the rest of their crew off. It’s moments like these that really show the faith they have in each other and their strength. Despite being in dangerous waters, the crew has complete faith in each other’s abilities.
Okay, now let’s get back to Elbaph as the chapter pinpongs us between exploration in the new island and explanation by the giants back on their ship. We see that Rodo and the room the Straw Hats were trapped in was actually just a room in a large castle. Is the castle a prison itself? With the room Rodo kept the Straw Hats in just being one of the rooms that was meant to keep Loki? Why is this island detached from the country itself? Could it be the landing zone for new arrivals? The giants, Gerd and Goldberg(who look awesome by the way), seem to be border guards and are going to Rodo’s residence after learning of new arrivals. It seems Elbaph might have as exclusionary a policy as Wano did. Interesting. They also refer to Rodo as a weirdo so it could be that he’s a secluded weirdo with his own castle. Besides that, the bridge itself is interesting. Is it meant to be the bifrost? If so, that would make the rest of the One Piece world Midgard, as the Bifrost is the bridge connecting Midgard(Earth) to Asgard(The Land of the Gods). Everything also seems to be cold and frozen but we’ll get to that later. Gerd and Goldberg also talk about how they’ll inform Elder Jarul once they find the intruders Rodo has smuggled in. Could it be then that this Elder is mainly pushing this isolationist policy? And that perhaps he may be the villain of this arc?
If you recall from Chapter 866 and 867, Beardfall Jorul and Beardhill Jarul were the previous captains of the Giant Pirates before Dorry and Broggy, as seen in Big Mom’s flashback. Jorul died from his wounds after he attacked a young Big Mom and got low-diffed. It’s also in those same chapters that we learned that Rodo, Goldberg and Loki were all born around the same time, when Big Mom was six or so years old.
It’s also where we see Mother Caramel create a homie called Pandora and potentially name it as the sun god. And as we see from Big Mom, homies tend to stick around after the death of the user so it’s a possibility we see Pandora still. And we’ll get to Jarul’s potential heel turn later as well.
As we follow the Straw Hats, we see them cross a bridge over a wolf infested forest. I don’t want to dive too deep into Loki or the mythology yet but something worth bringing up here is that in Norse Mythology, Loki is the father of several beings, Hel, essentially a goddess of the underworld, Jormungand, the World Serpent, and Fenrir, a giant wolf that bit off Tyr, the war god’s, hand. Could it be that the reason for the forest to be filled with Giant Wolves, is that they were Loki’s pets that he bred and kept? It could fit in with the image Oda has been building of Loki that runs counter to his reputation amongst the Giants. Luffy is incredibly friendly to him and Loki seems to be kind of a heart on his sleeve guy as the first thing we learned about him was that he fell in love with Lola at first sight. We know not to trust rumours, from how Oda’s conditioned us so far, so will Loki be any different?
Moving on, we see Dorry and Broggy get updated bounties. Now, that makes me wonder if they’re going to join the Straw Hats as members or just grand fleet members. They’re some of the first allies the Straw Hats made so it’s awesome to see them still be relevant. The same news coo that brought the updated bounties also brings the news that the Straw Hats rescue of the Vegapunk’s has been spun into an attack by the giants and Straw Hats on Egghead as well as the murder of Vegapunk by Luffy. Morgans seems to be quite temperamental in what his aims with his news are and my best guess at his intentions are profit and sensationalism. He will do anything and espouse any belief as long as it nets him attention and money.
I wonder if that’s also why Vivi was able to put the X on Luffy’s arm in the picture. Did she sneak it in or did Morgan’s encourage her, thinking of future returns? I find it interesting that the crew is split up in such a unique way, with the crew pre-Vivi being split form the crew post-Vivi. Could it be that Oda will reintroduce the crew in the order they joined, with Vivi somehow making it to Elbaph?
From the giants we also learn a few key things. That both Harudjin and Loki were King Harald's sons. And that Loki, committing all manner of evil acts, killed his father Harold a few years ago to get ahold of a legendary devil fruit. He was sentenced to crucifixion and it took all the giants in Elbaph to tie him down. And now he is known as the shame of Elbaph. Before we dive into it, let’s get an interesting tidbit out of the way. King Harald was also the name of the first king of Norway, who had two sons that succeeded him as king. And in that final massive spread we learn from Loki that he aspires to be the Sun God that will bring about the end of the world as he reminds us that Elbaph is called War-land, and tells us that it’s the most powerful nation in the world, which lived and breathed war. Now that’s a lot of interesting information, so let’s talk about it.
First of all, let’s get back to the idea of Elder Jarul being evil. He seemed somewhat benevolent the last time we saw him as he spared Lin Lin but in the intervening years he has had to deal with the trauma of losing his best friend. Adding to that, he seems to be in charge of enforcing the borders of Elbaf. Time and time again, we’ve seen how isolation is equivalent to oppression, with many of our crew members being isolated and oppressed in their lives. Being the guy in charge of keeping Elbaph isolated doesn’t give Jarul too many good guy points. And we can also speculate at the pattern we’ve seen Oda build through past major arcs. Of Monarch’s being killed and the culprit being misidentified, as well as princes and princesses suffering as a result. Putting that together as well as Luffy’s sunny reception of Loki and his loverboy status, which shows us that Loki isn’t totally evil, paints a picture that Loki was setup in his fathers murder and now someone, my guess being Jarul(until we get a better candidate), rules Elbaph and keeps it isolated. We also learn that the themes of the sun and light as well as curses surround Loki, with him coveting a legendary devil fruit. I’ve seen speculation that the devil fruit Loki wanted was the Gomu Gomu no Mi, but I’d like to posit that it was actually the Yami Yami no Mi that Thatch ended up with. Not only would this story of murder for Devil Fruit mirror and parallel Teach’s betrayal of Thatch for the Dark Dark fruit, it could also set up Loki as the man who brings home a lot of that knowledge and sets the record straight for the end of the story. Let’s get into why.
Loki says some wild shit, okay? And taken at surface level, it does seem to point at villainy. Well, that is until we recall Loki of Norse Mythology. The god Loki was born to a Jotun(basically a giant) and Laufey(a goddess). For killing Baldur and another one of Odin’s sons, Loki is tied down with a serpent dripping venom on him. A goddess known as Sigyn stops the venom from dripping on him with a bowl but eventually the bowl fills up and she has to empty it. While she empties it, the venom drips on Loki and he squirms in pain, causing earthquakes. The roars Luffy heard could be an allusion to this. Loki then breaks out and along with his children and the Jotun(the giants), go to war against the Gods. This war is only a part of Ragnarok with some of the other events being the death of the gods, natural disasters and flames destroying the earth, and then the world flooding and returning better and brighter than before for another go around. Now, hopefully some of those stood out to you, cause it sure as hell did to me.
Let’s start with the obvious; the giants going to war against the gods with Loki leading them. Remind you of a certain group of people who call themselves gods? I think Loki and the Giants are going to be the biggest allies against the Celestial Dragons, Gorosei, and Imu. Big Mom had once said that if she’d managed to secure the alliance with the giants, she would’ve been stronger than the yonkou and the world government. And where have we heard about the world flooding and cycles repeating? Oh yeah, just right over in Egghead where we learned that the world was sinking! And we also learned that the Void Century consisted of a war. If we take Loki’s words literally we get a really interesting picture. Loki says that Elbaph is known as a place that lived and breathed war. And that he wants to end the world. If we put the pieces together, it could be that the conflict that started the Void Century, actually started in Elbaph! And because Loki has the knowledge, he not only knows about the world changing powers of the Yami Yami no Mi, but also some of the things that happened during the void century, prompting him to “end the world” but only as the rest of the world knows it, with it’s shadow governments and puppet rulers and corrupt leaders. With Elbaph potentially being the last island, this is the perfect place and the perfect character to explain to us all that we don’t know. It would be interesting if we came to see that under the very heavy metal exterior of the shame of Elbaph and the prince of darkness, that we get a soft hearted historian that falls in love easily and is good with animals. Obviously so much of this is speculation, so we can only wait and see what, if anything, turns out to be correct.
Now, finally I want to end off with a few observations and tidbits that I just couldn’t fit anywhere else. First of all, I wonder if Loki(One Piece) isn’t a combination of Loki(The God) and Utgard-Loki(The Jotun/Giant King)? Utgard Loki was the king of the giants in Utgard, the capital city of Jotunheim, the land of the giants. Loki(The God), Thor, and their companions came across his castle once and Utgard Loki challenged them to various feats that they lost. Unbeknownst to them they were literally fighting against primordial forces and put up admirable efforts. They were tasked to do such things as wrestling old age, racing thought, and drinking the sea, and competing with wildfire in a eating competition. We could see the Straw Hats take on some of these feats and we could see Loki(One Piece) follow in Utgard Loki’s footsteps and become the king of the giants.
A few other small things before we get to the geography of Elbaph. First of all, I find it curious that the bizarre play that Rodo acts out mirrors not just Elbaph, but the world itself. Perhaps this is meant to signal that Elbaph is a microcosm of the larger conflict in the world and maybe even the void century, with a land of gods being defied and a fake sun god as well, going along with a manufactured reality. Are there creatures that are hailed as Gods here or is this more referencing events like when Noland killed Shandia’s god Kashigami? Also could Kashigami and Nola just have been snakes from Elbaph? Also what is Rodo’s deal? Is he traumatized in some way that he has to act out the outside world as he sees it in a safe environment for him to process? Moving on, Loki being chained down also narrows down the identity of the person waiting for the Straw Hats on Elbaph, making it more and more likely that it indeed is Scopper Gaban.
Also, the giant sword stuck through Elbaph could be the equivalent of Jormungandr, the giant world serpent. Dorry and Broggy once commented they could pierce anything but a snake soaked in blood. It could be that they were referring to the Red Line, but that sword is also a possibility.
Finally, a lot of people have commented that One Piece’s Loki mirrors Marvels Loki in the design of his helmet, and while that may be true, I do think it’s possible that Oda was also inspired by Atom/Astro Boy’s designs for Pluto. Maybe Loki is seen as some god of death? It could certainly be that Oda’s combined Hel’s role into him as well.
Now onto the Island of Elbaph itself. Wow! What a design! Let’s break it down. If we assume that the great tree in Elbaf, Yggdrasil, doesn’t have to hold all nine realms as in mythology, then it gets easier to pin down what’s happening. And there’s evidence towards that assumption. The Tontatta are seen as the dwarves of this universe so we can assume Tontatta kingdom to essentially be Nidaviller, the realm of the dwarves. That then lets us extrapolate the fact that the rest of the One Piece world is Midgard, the home of humanity. From there I think it gets easy. I believe Elbaph to be composed of three layers: The bottom as well as the surrounding Sleeping Mists being Niflhiem, the realm of ice and cold. The Middle Layer being the land of the giants, Jotunhiem, where all the giants probably live. I bet land got stuck in the tree much like how Skypiea was made. Maybe a giant beanstalk rose up into the sky?. And above what we can see, at the top of the tree is Asgard itself, the land of the gods. If that hypothesis is true, Asgard could have one of three functions. One; it could be where the true villains of the arc reside, if Jarul isn’t really the villain. They could be people who purport to be gods. Two; much like skypiea, Shandora, and the Golden Bell, The One Piece itself could reside at the top. Three; And this is my most unhinged idea, if you’ve been following along the interstellar ride that Oda’s hidden in the background, this could be where humans or skypeians first landed from the moon, with perhaps their spaceships still being there. That was a wild thing to end on but that’s all I have for now, I’ll see you next time when One Piece returns!!!
With this week's chapter we continue our adventure following the Straw Hats as well as returning back to Yamato’s adventures. This time Yamato is observing Shinobu teach Otama. It looks like Otama is getting along well with her Kunoichi training and Shinobu has returned back to her old self. I’m curious how this plays into the overall narrative but I guess we’ll find out as we go along. For now, join me below the cut for a discussion on this week’s chapter!
We now see the full sequence of events that lead to the Straw Hat’s current predicament. Through the flashback in a flashback, we learn that Rodo, first seen in chapter 898’s cover story, the navigator for Harudjin’s New Giant Warrior Pirates, was displeased with Harudjin becoming Luffy’s subordinate. Even though they had once worked for Buggy. It’s kinda funny how even the cover page itself seems to be announcing Rodo’s return. Sometime later, after the Straw Hats and the giants accompanying them passed out going through the sleeping mists, Rodo’s crow brought the Sunny and the crew on it to him. From there, the events unfolded as we’ve seen. This explanation has cleared up a lot of theories but introduced some new ones in its wake. For one, we haven’t seen Harudjin since he left Buggy’s employ, is he still the captain of the New Giant Warrior Pirates? With Rodo’s defiance it seems like there’s a chance there could’ve been a mutiny amongst their ranks. And furthermore, is Rodo still part of the crew? Are the Straw Hats and by extensions, the room they’re in, on the Giant Warriors ship? Or somewhere else in Elbaf? The sleeping mists being a known phenomenon that a giant navigator is aware of as well as their trajectory prior to passing out point to the Straw Hats having been near Elbaf before being taken.
With all those questions out of the way, I think we can actually get back to what happened in this chapter. Starting off with a small moment that I think shows off Luffy’s empathy so well. Where he comments on how clear Rodo’s hard work is and how he doesn’t want to damage it. This sets up Rodo as a future ally despite the questionable things he’s already done. I don’t think he’s Nakama material but he does seem like a potential ally. Maybe Luffy will help correct what seems to be Rodo’s misanthropic attitude and superiority complex. While it may be a hobby to Rodo, it’s clear through the human’s attempts at escaping, that even though they play along with the fiction, they know they’re trapped. They are oppressed but Rodo doesn’t seem to see them as beings with their agency. Is that pointing to deeper trauma like with the fishmen and amazons or is it just his personality?
We also get a hint that Giants shouldn't be able to escape the room. This points further to the idea that maybe Harudjin’s crew mutinied against him. Perhaps this is a giant prison in Elbaf that Rodo is the warden or attendant for, after having stopped sailing. Or perhaps Harudjin was jailed for other reasons, maybe even by Loki? Once again, speculation runs rampant for me. What Rodo’s chase does show off though, is his quirks and personality, aside from his superiority complex and misanthropy. He seems to be… kind of a weeb and a dork. Once again we see Oda leaning into RPG staples with Rodo kind of engaging in some meta talk about stories and scripts. This shows his dedication to role playing but perhaps also a detachment to this world where he sees it in terms of stories rather than something to live in? Is it more about games or does he see himself as the director of some kind of movie or play?
We also continue to see our Straw Hats shine. From Zoro and Sanji busting out of the net to Ussop showing us a new level in his power to Nami really taking center stage this chapter. Nami not only reads and memorizes a map to get them out of there, but she also full on fries a Giant Warrior all one her own. Often considered one of the weakest members of the crew, she’s really showing why she’s on the crew of the future King of Pirates. The weakest member of Luffy’s crew can just casually one shot a giant. That’s just cool! I’m really glad Nami’s getting her dues in this chapter.
And finally, with Luffy busting out, what does he see on the other side? Is it finally Elbaf? A part of me wonders if Oda would frame it like that if it was and another part of me thinks that it’s just Oda trying to give Elbaf it’s dues. And if the room they’re in is just a room in the Giant’s ship, then maybe the way it was made was to remind Rodo of home. With the giant tree and very specific architecture. What if the pirates are exiles of some sort? Anyways, we got a lot of questions answered but it’s also raised a lot more. But these don’t seem like long term mysteries so hopefully we find out soon! See ya next chapter!
This week the adventure in Elbaf continues but our cover story takes a hiatus as we get a fun and vibrant colour spread of the Straw Hats on brooms made of bamboo flying alongside a dragon. Luffy and Robin get a special emphasis which is nice since Robin’s taken a bit of a back seat to Nami in the last few spreads. The dynamism of the spread is great too as it feels like Luffy is leaping off of the page. The witch theme is also quite curious as it reminds me of a theory I heard a long time ago that the Emerald City would be in Elbaf. And that Nami would take on both the role of a witch, owing to her burgeoning weather witch powers, and Dorothy. Ussop would be the Cowardly Lion, Sanji the Tin Man, Zoro as the Scarecrow, which would leave Chopper or Luffy to be Toto. But that theory also supposed Vegapunk as this Oz-like charlatan, which we now know can’t be the case so maybe that’s all it was; just a fun theory… Or was it? We’ll get into that in a spoiler filled discussion below the cut!
In the last chapter, people had noticed many many inconsistencies, with people thinking a devil fruit or some kind of magic or trickery at play. With the named character of Loki in the back of everyone’s mind, a lot of people’s minds went to him, thinking that he resembled his namesake, The Trickster God, at least in his proclivities. But with this chapter, some of those minds have changed and chalked it up to Oda’s age and hard work having him make mistakes. I am of a different mind.
It’s interesting that this chapter is called RPG, the acronym for Role Playing Games. A friend of mine recently remarked that it was odd how much of a crybaby Nami was in the last chapter. While Nami is usually a coward and a crybaby, she usually isn’t this much of a mess. Neither is Ussop as Luffy later remarks. As a Table-top role playing gamer and one of those forever Dungeon Master’s you hear about if you ever dip your toes into the hobby, I got heavy TTRPG vibes from these past few chapters. From waking up with amnesia to over exaggerated interpretations of characters to needing to go to town for information to some things just being off… it screams a TTRPG campaign. Moreover what I think might be happening is that some giants who are fans of the straw hats are role playing them in some kind of table top role playing game. It would be quite a novel way to introduce some new characters. Also is it just me or does Luffy not have his Straw Hat on him anywhere? Wouldn’t he be freaking out if he was missing it?
The counterpoint to that idea of it being a representation of a TTRPG game though is that I am not quite sure what end it would achieve rather than being a cool framing device. On the other hand, taking what’s happening at face value does lend more towards One Piece’s themes and central ideas. And the title of the chapter could refer to the Giant at the end of the chapter, who I will refer to from now on as the “Sun God”, and how they basically created a game out of people’s lives. And it would go along with One Piece’s commentary about how those in power try to maintain the status quo through violence and oppression as it benefits them. They use symbols like how this Sun God uses gigantified animals, to represent unquestionable symbols of powers in the shape of gods. I would also love to learn how the series’ view on gods and dieties squares with Luffy as Nika at the end of the day. I feel like there’s a lot more to the story there. Maybe how the same symbols that can bring hope can also be used to oppress people.
Those in power make it seem to those that they’re ruling over that the world that they live in is inevitable and the only one that can exist. And much like how the Straw Hats have shattered that illusion in each and every island they go to, they too shatter that illusion here, through the literal breaking of the boundaries of the world. This also gives some credence to Wizard of Oz parallels as it’s akin to Dorothy pulling the curtain on the deception of the wizard. Alongside that, they’re also told that there’s a road that leads to the Sun God, much like how the yellow brick road led to the Wizard. It definitely fits with One Piece’s themes of the secrets and lies versus truths and revelations. As far back as Crocodile’s deceptions to as recent as Vegapunk revealing the truth about the world sinking, this has always been a constant theme.
But beyond the fact of keeping people in a country like that, it doesn’t seem too much like the Sun God is totally awful. Seeing as they’re skilled at making clothes and really about their “Temple”, it could be that they’re a shut in who enjoys creating models and dioramas and just doesn’t know how to interact with the world in a better way, much like Shirahoshi who was trapped inside and a giant crybaby. The Sun God also being a giant and finding intruders in their home also calls to mind, quite obviously for you all I’m sure, the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s really cool to see how Oda ties all these influences together but isn’t beholden to them in a way where it ever feels like it’s someone else’s story. It’s always Oda’s and it’s always One Piece. One Piece has just got that superpower of being able to work almost anything inside of it.
That aside though, whether real or fake, the dynamics between the Straw Hats have been excellent, with the casual slapstick comedy reaching heights it hasn’t reached in quite a while. With Chopper being found, it accounts for the whereabouts of all the Straw Hats, those on the giants ship and those in this current predicament. I’m excited to see where this goes so I’ll see you all in the next chapter!
Ok this week looks like to be a short discussion as it’s mainly action. In the cover page we see Yamato talking with… Ok, I’m not calling him Dogstorm. We see Yamato talking with Inuarashi about the kidnappings as Oda places even more emphasis on it. Curious to see where it’ll go but let’s dive into our first glimpse into the land of Elbaf below the cut!
We start off with chaos in the land of Elbaf! There’s a fire and these bee creatures called Stingmores are dropping from. Thankfully, as they only have bruises on their heads, they are not dead, and Nami hasn’t followed through with the very human act of killing bees. (#savethebees) But we will see the pattern of Nami hurting incredibly cute creatures as we read through this chapter. Anyways, self-indulgent tangent aside, there’s a few interesting details here that caught my eye. Why is it that if the World Tree is damaged that Elbaf will be finished? Is it that the giants can’t let it be harmed at all? And is that out of religious or spiritual beliefs or fear of tangible side effects? There’ve been great big trees all over One Piece. The Adam tree, the sunlight tree Eve, and the Whale tree to name a few. Could it be that the World tree holds together the nation? Maybe through it’s roots or maybe it holds the sky islands above the country to it? The Vegapunks did talk about Wandering Clouds a little while ago. It could be that the sky Islands above the country would wander if not for the tree. Though that is pretty baseless theorizing as we’ve only got a small amount of facts to play around with. Next we get mention of a Sun God and an Ear God. The Sun God sounds like serious business but we know by the end of the chapter that the Ear God is a giant bunny that Luffy beat up and ate so are the titles like Skypiea where people can get the title of Kami/God? Could this end up like Mont Blanc Noland in Jaya when he killed Kashigami, the giant snake the Shandians worshipped as a god?
One of my favourite things about One Piece is the extremely realistic and human reactions that Ussop and Nami have to things the Monster Trio are just able to shrug off. In this chapter, Nami’s reactions are some of the funniest Oda has ever drawn. I genuinely can’t get over how adorable the hedgehog is and then her shocked expression before lighting it up. I guess it’s been a while since Oda really got to let loose with his comedy because he’s firing on all cylinders here.
I genuinely don’t know if this is the fault of the Green Fairy absinthe anymore because Oda makes it a point to show the physical attack that hit Ussop. But then why bring it up in the first place? It could be a red herring but to bring it up and then quickly dismiss it that fast is interesting. I treat One Piece as a mystery quite often because it quite often follows the rules of one. Establishing causes and culprits close to the beginning of the mystery. Red herrings and misdirects. Heck, the central conceit of the story itself is a mystery? What is the One Piece? That’s also the reason why therizing and theorycrafting holds more water in One Piece than say something like Star Wars or My Hero Academia. Those communities emerged from fan fervor whereas in One Piece it’s almost encouraged by Oda through his setups and answers. Mystery, secrets, and lies are also thematically embedded into One Piece. Alls that to say, thinking about mysteries is fair game when talking this series. And regardless, we’ll find out what the answer is the further we get so let’s call off speculating here.
The lion kind of reminds me of Richie, the lion that Mohji, a member of Buggy’s initial crew, used to run around with. And also sort of like the Impel Down lions. We later see, after the Monster Trio knock it out, that the lion was actually just a cat transformed into a lion. Is that it’s ability or could it be that like Onimaru the fox from Wano, that this cat ate a devil fruit. Instead it was a lion fruit instead of a hito hito model fruit.
As much as I love the whole crew, there’s something about the East Blue five that fills my heart with joy. The dynamics between them are solid as ever and the comedy top notch. Really there wasn’t too much to talk about in this chapter so I guess I’ll see y’all next time!
Ooh looks like the mystery continues with Yamato investigating the disappearances. I am so curious to see what kind of long lasting effects this will have as with this chapter we’re getting some resolution on a six to seven year old cover story. It’s nice to see Oda expanding on the story around Wano as it’s clear he had a lot of thoughts around it when he was writing it that he didn’t get to explore. I’m also quite curious as to what will happen with the cover stories the closer we get to the end. Whereas he has space to explore other facets of Wano through the cover story, is that something he’ll be able to do with Elbaph with it being so close to the end? Anyways, the rest of the discussion, which is spoiler filled, can be found below the cut!
I don’t know about y’all but I think it would be absolutely terrifying to be where the Straw Hats are in this first page if they weren’t allies with the giants. They straight up just kinda look like their dinner. But we’re not talking about Big Mom so I think the Straw Hats are probably safe. Also while somewhat terrifying, the designs of the Giants are great, they all ooze personality and joviality. I would not want to see them angry either. It’s interesting that the name of the absinthe they’re drinking is the “Green Fairy” and that it can cause hallucinations. Is that just set up to explain how and why the two parties got separated or is it set up for some absinthe-driven hallucinations?
It’s interesting to me on a story structure level that this chapter kind of illustrates how Oda might have to delve into more slice of life stuff with the crew going forward. That before making this chapter important by flitting around the world and getting updates, Oda first spends some time with the crew just having fun and goofing off. It satisfies the pre-timeskip crowd clamoring for these types of scenes, me among that crowd.
This small sequence with Bonney also gets me right in the heart. Not only does she feel comfortable enough to finally be a child and not put on the airs of a grown adult that the One Piece world requires of people but also she gets to finally be free with her father. One Piece has this startling quality to it that makes the reality of war and oppression so real by contrasting the comedic with the emotional. And nothing hits quite as hard as the fate of the children of this series. We see through the suffering of the Straw Hats as children, Nami, Sanji, and Robin, among a few other characters throughout the series, on how oppression forces you to grow up and be stronger than any child should have to be. In recent arcs that oppression is a reality our young adult Straw Hats face head on. From Otama and Toko in Wano to the metaphors of growing up too fast that Bonney and Momo face us with, Oda is able to use these fantastical elements to deliver truths in more digestible ways. The tragedy of Momo and Bonney having to grow up so fast is such a potent and heart wrenching way to show this side of opression. But Oda is able to provide us with a catharsis that the real world so often denies by having Bonney feel safe again. By having Momo be safe and surrounded by loved ones.
Moving on from that dour and entirely too real note, we finally get a resolution on a cover story from wayyyy long ago where Bartolomeo burned down Shanks flag in Luffy’s name. And there’s a lot to talk about here. For such a fan-favourite and an audience surrogate for many, including myself, It’s odd that it’s been so long since we’ve seen Barto(don’t even get me started on Bon Clay!!). But it’s interesting that Oda seems to understand his impact as it seems like he’s being placed on the same level as Kid and Law in a way. Now this might be a little tin foil hatty of me but don’t you find it odd that Kid, Law, and Barto, all devil fruit users by the way, were all sunk at sea in the New World, the most dangerous sea maybe aside from the Calm Belt?
And if we remember certain man with a burn scar who was first mentioned in chapter 1056(56=GoMu) and then again brought up in 1081 where it was mentioned that anyone who comes close to him gets swallowed up by whirlpools, I think we might have an option for what might’ve happened to those three. Adding on to that, if we go allll the way back to chapter 2 and full tin foil hat, we can see Luffy getting sucked into a whirlpool soon after he sets out on his journey but then bursting out of a barrel sometime after with Koby. In my head, I can totally see the aforementioned three joining Luffy on Elbaph, especially now that’s been separated from his crew. Maybe Luffy was also kidnapped by this whirlpool wielding man with a burn scar…again.
Okay, fanciful thinking aside we still gotta talk about how we’ve seen Shank’s main crew be ruthless badasses. Lucky Roux in Chapter 1 straight killed a dude while the whole crew laughed. Benn Beckman not only threatened Kizaru but also cut off Kid’s arm. And here, Yassop basically has a cannon attached to his gun and blows up a fleeing Barto Club. While these guys may seem easygoing, they’re still stone cold pirates. Also that ultimatum with the poison was pretty cold too. Barto’s ship blowing up also shows how lethal Yassop’s Haki must be, because I can imagine that Barto might’ve tried to shield his ship with his devil fruit.
I find it curious that Koby was so important to Blackbeard’s plans. I wonder if Blackbeard wanted to use Koby like how the Marines used Ace? We know how much Blackbeard’s plans mean to him. His scheming, though a lot of the time quite impromptu, is half the reason he’s an emperor already. And Blackbeard is in prime position to execute some big time operations. Not only does he have leverage in Garp(though thinking about it, wouldn’t the marines be glad to be rid of him?), he also has Pudding and all the knowledge Caribou brings. Oda makes it a point to show that Caribou has finally gotten to Blackbeard. It’s interesting that he’s surveilling the Revolutionary's too. Especially with Lafitte. Maybe he’s trying to get the heat off of himself by having Lafitte do some undercover hits and then blame it on the Revo’s?
Though, weirdly, the most important tidbit here to me is that Moria got away. It seems most likely that Moria will join Cross Guild as it seems to be the place for Warlord Alumni and Perona already has connections there in the form of Mihawk. I’d originally thought that Blackbeard was going to get Moria to reanimate Kaido, Big Mom, and Garp’s corpses with the obstacle standing in their way being that Blackbeard was responsible for Absolams death but now it seems like Moria’s going to be a player for Cross Guild, with at least the Yonkou resurrections still on the table. Also if Cross Guild is the place to be for former Warlords then we could see Boa join too. And maybe even Kuma and Doflamingo if the latter breaks out of Impel Down. Which I kinda hope he does just purely due to the fact that it might provide a path for Bon Clay to get out too.
This scene with Bonney and Jinbei is adorable but uhh, what’s Lilith staring at? Could she be communicating with Vegapunk?
Finally, in the last page we get some weird shenanigans happening. First, someone wakes Nami up but it appears that she’s alone. She’s had a change of clothes and seems to be in a lego house. The floor is kind of undeniable proof of that even if you want to try and explain away everything else. And finally, she seems to be alone. The going theory seems to be that this is Prince Loki’s lego house and that he’s playing with the StrawHats like toys. He could’ve been the one to call out for Nami. He could be a fan of the StrawHats. And honestly, that theory kinda makes sense, I totally subscribe to it. Loki could be a somewhat petulant giant like Big Mom. I also don’t think the impatient figure at the end of 1124 is him either as that seemed to be a human who was drinking, my going theory about that person being that it was Scopper Gaban, the third crew member of the Roger Pirates after Roger and Rayliegh. See ya next week!
A little late with this chapter discussion post but life happens, eh? Anyways, getting to the chapter, we can see that Yamato’s journey continues as Yamato comes across the site of Oden Castle, now being rebuilt. The foreman, Minatomo, is missing. And based on the last page of this cover story it could be the same person who took Minatomo that Yamato stopped just a little while ago. I wonder what the purpose could be behind taking people. Maybe labour, maybe they’re building something, or maybe they’re being experimented on. I previously speculated it could be Holdem, Speed, or Hamlet, but with multiple people being taken it could be one of the higher ups, maybe even Queen or King. They might be the only ones who could actually pose a significant challenge to Yamato. Find the discussion abut the rest of the chapter below the cut!
Right away we get to see Lucci come on board the government ships and claim that he killed Stussy. Now, I don’t think Oda would use valuable panels in understanding Stussy’s struggle to live and move on if she was going to be off screened, so I think it’s safe to assume that she lived and move on to more interesting ideas with that as the base. Ideas such as what this could mean for Lucci. Lucci has been a pretty clear cut bad guy from the beginning. A ruthless killer. Though it’s also clear the rest of the Cipher Pol agents love him. So maybe there’s a lot to Lucci we don’t see. Or maybe the Cipher Pol agents need to find better reasons to live together. Lucci has had an interesting journey. From being defeated by Luffy to then being on the run as Spandam had wanted to blame them for the failures at Enies Lobby to claiming spots as even more prestigious Cipher Pol agents to briefly working alongside the StrawHats to covering for Stussy. His trajectory seems to be one of redemption but very gradually.
And it’s not just him. It seems a lot of hardline Marines or even uncaring Marines are having their minds slowly changed. With Kizaru going through a lot recently and now Vice Admiral Doberman questioning authority. When you can’t question authority or ask questions that’s when you know you work for an fascist power, and the rest of the Vice Admirals seeing this might trigger another small change. And it’s these small changes that bring down these large institutions of power. When the cracks begin to show and they fall apart.
We also get a really fast payoff to a small mystery Oda had introduced in Chapter 1123, where Vegapunk stated that the Cloud Factory would be instrumental in humanity’s survival. And now we see how. Not only would it be useful for people fleeing a flooding planet but also in getting the Satellites and Punk Records away from the world government and into the hands of allies such as the Revolutionary Army. We also see York’s smarts and quick thinking in play here where she instantly clocks what’s going on and minimizes the damage to her side. Obviously she’s a bit nearsighted with her goals but she still shares Vegapunk’s genius, which the other satellites acknowledge that they can’t stop her from having.
This sequence of events is honestly so badass. Edison's reveal and then York quickly taking action. It also seems like the Stella, Vegapunk himself, is well and truly gone. And the satellites and Vegapunk’s brain being the only things remaining. I guess the fruit goes back into circulation but it still applies to his brain as the satellites talk of humanity needing 500 years to utilize it’s benefits? Not totally sure but I hope Oda clears it up. The satellites also plan to dump York’s mostly fully made body, which I guess she was setting up for herself in the future, but that also makes me think that if those bodies are retrieved, that they could serve as the foundation for a pacifista or seraphim type of soldier.
It’s curious how Iva mentions the various giant bridges with the wolf suffix as well as Marejoi’s location on the Red Line and yet the Celestial Dragon’s also question the same event from the other side. While the Celestial Dragons may be despicable, it seems that this world was almost solely designed by Imu. And I like to give Oda the benefit of the doubt when it comes to villains so I feel like Imu must have a reason for doing what they’re doing. Something like a certain anime featuring Giant Robots, Drills, Spirals, and Anti-Spirals. That Imu has a reason to create a world that runs on greed and subjugation and the worst impulses of humanity. I find the reason hard to imagine but maybe it’s something like preventing a tragedy that Imu had already gone through and Imu’s position, so far removed from the people they rule, has blinded them to the suffering of their “subjects”. But also this is the manga where Lucci thought his best option to stop a hostage negotiation was to kill all 500 hostages. So like Imu could also just straight up be pure evil.
And speaking of pure evil, Saturn finally gets his just deserts and dies in an extremely horrific way. I think Oda made the death even more horrible by adding in the reactions of the Vice Admirals, their sheer terror really sells it.
This chapter also explicitly confirmed to us that Saturn indeed is quite old with this flashback being set over 200 years ago. The way Imu’s power seems to work is that Imu is, much like Joyboy, able to imbue his power into others, giving them the ability to fight on their behalf. Not only does it seem to give the Elders the ability to teleport but also to manifest themselves as sort of like summons wherever one of them goes. I think the concept of Vegapunk and his satellites was introduced to us to ease us into this concept not only with Vegapunk, but maybe even with Luffy and Gear 5. By the way before I keep going on this tangent, I would be remiss to not mention that Joyboy’s Haki is literally a form of Inherited Will passed down across the years. What brilliant thematic consistency.
Anyways, back to Saturn and we see that maybe Imu’s power is what actually kept Saturn alive and immortal over the years, reducing him to bones when he dies. It’s also fascinating to see that Imu’s highest priority isn’t that information leaked or that they got the mother flame, but that Joyboy himself escaped. Is it that Joyboy is that dangerous, or that the existence of Joyoby extends the struggle for Imu or is it an ego thing?
Garling also being introduced as Saturn's replacment also spells pure trouble. His Mac Tonight looking ass is a proven fighter who we've seen torture and (I assume) kill Saint Mjosgard, one of the few Celestial Dragons we've seen be a good person. And his seeming connection to Shanks could set up some interesting conflicts.
Finally, I want to talk about Punk Records and Dragon’s declaration. First of all with Punk records being spirited away, Saturn takes another L. And it seems like he was killed before anyone really found that out too. This has to be one of the most satisfying villain deaths in how it went down. This guy has perpetrated so much evil across his way-too-long a life and it’s nice to see him actually stop being able to do so. Also if he’s this bad, how horrible are the rest of the Elders? Also I wonder how long Oda had it planned that Punk Records would fly away? From it’s design as a cracked open egg, it seems like he had it in mind since the beginning. And Dragon’s declaration, punctuated by the DON!! sound effect(and not DOOM!! btw) really emphasises the ticking time bomb for this final arc. If things can't get resolved peacefully, the world will plunge into a level of war that it’s maybe never seen. And maybe that’s also what the previous war was about, a fight for habitable land. I wonder if next chapter we will get to Elbaf or if it will be more of Oda tying up loose ends. Either way, I’ll see ya next time!
Not to complain(but to totally complain), I'm writing something that ostensibly talks about semiotics, but I'm having to suppress the urge to call it semiotics because not only would it unnecessarily complicate the piece, but it's also only extremely relevant to only one part. Maybe the impulse to mention semiotics fleetingly comes from the desire to head off complaints myself? I don't really know. Just that this decision is incredibly frustrating.
After having Oden with Denjiro and some rowdy kids, Yamato saves a person from being kidnapped on the way to Kuri. I’m not totally sure who the kidnapper could be. My first instinct is to say it’s Holdem, the lion SMILE user from the Wano arc. That’s because in the Volume 99, SBS, as translated here by Artur Library of Ohara, , Oda mentions how Holdem is his favourite SMILE user as his desire to draw Holdem was what led to the creation of SMILE users as a concept, with Holdem’s design being inspired by a childhood mech anime Oda used to watch. The other favourites of Speed and Hamlet could also be contenders or it could just be a inconsequential nobody but the blacked out silhouette makes it seem like it’s someone we know. It could be someone higher up the chain but I feel like a large portion of those people are still in the prisoner mines in Udon. Anyway, I wonder where Yamato’s cover story is leading to as Oda did mention that Wano still had a part to play near its end. Is it setting that up? Is it trying to give us closure on such a big arc? Or is it more like showing that the world continues to chug along? With that said, catch the discussion on the chapter itself under the cut!
Me and a friend are kinda obsessed with Big News Morgans to the point of making way out there theories about him. Like is he really selfish or is he actually some kind of secret double agent for the revolutionaries? And why does he have one of the few flying ships in the series? Also he’s not a mink so he just keeps his hybrid form up all the time? Safe to say, a lot of questions about him, and this appearance does paint him more as a sensationalist, kinda like a J. Jonah Jameson at his worst. But his empty threats towards Vivi are also pretty endearing. He has no idea how to deal with her and Vivi just steamrolls over him. It’s so great to see Vivi in this light again where she shows what she brought to the Strawhats. She can be diplomatic, sure, like when she made Luffy back down at Drum Island, but she also has a streak of hotheadedness that goes so well with the Strawhats streak of not accepting less than ideal status quo’s. Also speaking of Drum Island we see a Wapol that’s also kinda strangely grown on me. Oda’s got this extraordinary ability to make even the most hateable people incredibly well liked. Anyone remember Boa’s Heel-Face Turn? But getting back to Vivi, she’s just gone through the death of her father and like how the Strawhats were debating after going to her when they saw the headlines at the beginning of Egghead, she also has to consider what the truths are about the egghead situation.
Gosh, a crying Sentomaru rowing away from a broken Egghead just breaks my heart. I hope we see him again and that he gets a good ending. Kizaru here also reminds me of Garp at Marineford as we once again see people’s beliefs clashing with their duty in service of the institution of the World Government. I’m not sure if Kizaru will be redeemed or not but I can see this instance hardening his heart until he sees Lilith and whatever she has planned about the Vegapunk’s not being dead. I’ve also recently gotten into the Like a Dragon series with Yakuza 0 and Kizaru and Akainu’s relationship feels a lot like how the lieutenants there refer to each other as Kyodai and whatnot.
I really love this trio of Jinbei, Zoro and Franky interacting as it shows off all of their personalities. Franky’s always been about positivity so he tries to see the silver lining, highlighting how wild it is that they survived so much. Zoro’s always the one to voice the harsh truths as well as have high expectations for Luffy so he just comes out and says what he’s thinking. And Jinbei framed in the middle also shows off his role as the level-headed one, balancing different perspectives and keeping everyone on the right track.
It’s also really fun to see small moments like this with the crew. Them in a giant’s couch with a giant shield hanging over them and Ussop working away at some Vegapunk tech. A lot of the times Oda uses that diminishing three panel ending to show the passage of time to the next event but in some cases like Luffy telling Sabo and Ace his real dream, Oda uses it to hide what’s happening and being revealed, opting for a more organic reveal in the future.
I believe that’s what happening here too, with Lilith explaining how all the Vegapunk’s are actually alive. At the very least Luffy learns enough to be cheered up enough for that great double spread celebration. One Piece, Oda and many of us, myself included live for these moments in One Piece where they finally get to celebrate after an arc. And with Elbaf looking like the final arc this could be the last time we see such a celebration before the end. I also love the small panel of Zoro being told that Luffy’s back to his normal self. A small moment but it adds so much. Also who could that silhouetted figure be? I feel like there’s three candidates. Starting from the least likely but most obvious, it could be Shanks. The giants were with him before Egghead and it could be that they’re bringing Luffy back to him. It would be a wild start to Elbaf to have Shanks demand the hat back. Two, it could be the prince of the Giants, Loki. This ones a little out of left field but it would make sense for the setting and could be a cool introduction. Though, most likely, the mystery figure is probably Scopper Gaban, the third most important crew member on Roger’s ship after Roger himself and Rayleigh. There’s been a long running theory that points out that Roger’s crew basically divide up Luffy’s journey into equal quarters, with Shanks at the start, Crocus a quarter of the way there, Rayleigh halfway through and now possibly Scopper right before the ending quarter. But regardless of who it is, Elbaf awaits! I can’t wait for this final era of One Piece to begin. It’s kind of bittersweet finally making it this far after it got introduced in Little Garden all the way back. Here’s to a great final arc!
Welcome to the wonderful world of Arsène Lupin Copyright Shenanigans
Have I ever told y’all about the absolute madness that is the legal issues around the Lupin franchise ? Probably. Can I find the post in question ? No. Am I going to tell you again ? You fucking bet !
The year is 1905, and detective stories are all the rage. Maurice Leblanc, a young writer, is commissioned by the magazine Je Sais Tout to write a short story on the same model as Sherlock Holmes. Maurice Leblanc says « Screw this detective shit », and creates the character of Arsène Lopin, gentleman thief.
No, this is not a typo.
Arsène Lopin, a municipal advisor in Paris, hears about it and contacts Leblanc. « You are not fucking writing a story about a thief who shares my name. » To which Leblanc replied, « Lopin ? No no, you misunderstand, this is Arsène Lupin, completely different person. »
And he gets away with it.
Leblanc writes a bunch more stories about Arsène Lupin, they get popular, and he decides he wants to write a crossover with the famous British detective, Sherlock Holmes. A crossover in which, of course, Lupin will win and Holmes will be humiliated.
Arthur Conan Doyle hears about it, and is not thrilled. He contacts Maurice Leblanc with a message along the lines of « You are not fucking writing a story where my Amazing-Original-Character-Do-Not-Steal gets bested by a thief. » To which Leblanc replies, « Sherlock Holmes? No no, you misunderstand, this is Herlock Sholmes, completely different person. »
And he gets away with it.
The years pass, more Lupin stories are written, they’re translated and exported outside of France, and wouldn’t you know it, Japan takes a strong liking to the « gentleman thief » archetype in general and to Arsène Lupin in particular.
The years is 1967, and mangaka Kazuhiko Kato, best known by his pen name Monkey Punch, is commissioned by the magazine Weekly Manga Action to create a manga for their first issue. He reads 15 of Leblanc’s stories, and creates Lupin the Third, a character who is the grandson of the famous gentleman thief. He does not bother asking the Leblanc Estate for permission, as Japan doesn’t give much of a crap about French copyright laws.
(For the record, Weekly Manga Action was the first manga magazine for an adult audience (outside of erotica), and Lupin III was published in its first issue, effectively making it one if not the very first adult manga in the history of manga.)
The Lupin III manga gets popular, is adapted into an anime, the anime gets popular, it gets translated into other languages and exported to Europe…
And then the Leblanc estate rears its head. «You are not making an anime about our character without paying us fucking royalties, » they say to Monkey Punch. To which Monkey Punch, channeling the spirit of the deceased Maurice Leblanc into his very soul, replies : « Lupin ? No no, you misunderstand, this is Rupan, completely different person. »
And he fucking gets away with it.
(Arsène Lupin became public domain in France in 2012. Before that, Lupin the Third took many different names in European releases, among which Rupan, Wolf, and in France, Edgar de la Cambriole (Edgar of Burglary).)
Additional tomfuckery :
The year is 1982, and science-fiction animated series are getting extremely popular. TMS decides to try and get a slice of the cake, and begins the development of Lupin VIII, a sci-fi spinoff about Lupin III’s descendant. The anime is being produced in France, and the Leblanc Estate once again rears its head. « Sure, you can make that anime, » they say, « but pay us fucking royalties. » TMS, as previously established, does not want to pay the Leblanc Estate diddly squat, and so they scrap half of the project, recycle the other half, and go « Lupin VIII ? No no, you misunderstand, this is Inspector Gadget, completely different person. »
The year is 1930, and famous Japanese writer Tarō Hirai writes The Golden Mask, a novel in which his detective character Kogoro Akechi goes up against none other than Arsène Lupin. Hirai’s pen name was Edgar Allan Poe- wait, wait, no, sorry, it’s Edogawa Ranpo, completely different person.
(Later, Gosho Aoyama names his character, Detective Conan Edogawa, after Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo (and the anime is distributed by TMS).)
(More than fifty years later, the Lupin III anime makes a tribute to Ranpo’s Gold Mask with the double episode The Imperial City Dreams of Thieves.)
The year is 2021, and Capcom is releasing the video game The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, in which famous detective Sherlock Holmes plays a central role. Unfortunately for them, a few Sherlock Holmes stories are still under copyright, and the Conan Doyle Estate is about as stubborn and greedy as their French cousins. « Pay us fucking royalties, » they say.
In the English release of the game, Sherlock Holmes is renamed to, you guessed it...
Slight correction: there actually isn't substantial proof that Maurice Leblanc originally named his character "Arsène Lopin." You can read the full debunk from the site "Tout Arsène Lupin" here.
But to sum it up – in the 1908 October 28th edition of the Comoedia, it had a short section where Arsène Lopin himself was said to have no complaints of the similarities.
In a 1933 interview published in the Journal de Rouen, Leblanc talks about how he "distorted the name of a former city councillor from Paris" and wrote the first story of Arsène Lupin. Again, there was no mention of the character being originally named "Arsène Lopin," only that Leblanc did in fact took inspiration from Lopin's name when creating his character.
While there hasn't been a confirmed origin for the claim, the idea that Leblanc originally naming his character "Lopin" and was sued for it is still being promoted by a descendant of Lopin, saying in a 2021 interview "it's written in the beginning of the first volume [of Lupin]." But again, checking the records and scans of the first editions of Lupin's story in the magazines and books, there's no mention of this anywhere.
(The part about Doyle complaining about Leblanc using Sherlock Holmes is mostly likely true though! As told by a 1971 interview with Leblanc's son in the Magazine Littéraire, and we definitely have record of the original publication using "Sherlock Holmes." )
Some bonus trivia:
1. Edogawa Ranpo didn't just included Arsène Lupin in his story, Gold Mask. Characters from Fantômas (another popular, criminal genius-type character written after Lupin) to Sherlock Holmes were also referenced. Ranpo also just, straight up ripped whole story plots from both Lupin and Poe into Gold Mask – like in the chapter named "Masque of the Red Death," where Ranpo's Lupin held a masquerade ball in a mansion decorated in the exact same manner as Poe's story.
Interestingly, Ranpo's Lupin also had a lover named Otori Fujiko (大鳥 不二子) in Gold Mask. Although, there doesn't seem to be any confirmation that Monkey Punch took inspiration from this when creating Lupin III and Mine Fujiko (峰 不二子).
2. Gosho Aoyama also wrote the manga, Magic Kaito, before writing Detective Conan. The prototype one-shot of Magic Kaito was titled "Nonchalant Lupin," featuring the characters Kaito Lupin and Aoko Holmes.
3. Conan Doyle, in an article published in The Strand Magazine in December 1917, writes about receiving a note that said "From Arsène Lupin to Sherlock Holmes" hidden in his billiards cue chalk.
This week’s cover story is a continuation of Yamato’s journey through Wano. I don’t blame y’all if you forgot what happened last time but the kids Yamato and Denjiro are having oden with were throwing stones at Yamato because they hated Kaido. Denjiro caught them and now they’re enjoying food together! This chapter seems to pretty definitively mark the end of Egghead and point us towards Elbaf but I wonder if there’ll be a reverie type of arc in the middle. All of the cutaways to the rest of the world in recent chapters makes me think we won’t, but Oda certainly could check in with storylines that we need to catch up on before touching down on Elbaf. I’ll go over some of the prominent storylines that could still pop-up but for now, catch this week’s discussion post below the cut!
Joyboy’s haki knocks out almost everyone and the giants talk about how it was a benevolent Haki that was greater than Shanks’, effectively setting up this Haki as the next big Power-Up Luffy has to secure. Alongside it I do recall a certain type of projected Haki that the Admirals used back in Marineford to protect against Whitebeard’s slash. That could be advanced Armament but I don’t know if there’s ever been a full confirmation around that. But setting up Haki as the final power-up is such a smart move because Luffy really gets to show off his resolve. As that’s pretty much all Haki is. I know everybody has differing opinions on haki but personally I think it’s such a genius addition to the story. Now I won’t get into debates of when it was added or thought of but think of it this way, Haki basically allows Oda to control the complexity of his fights. In a world where everyone has fantastical superpowers, some seemingly invincible such as many of the logias, the thing that can take them down is pure willpower. But willpower also isn’t the deciding factor, as we saw with Luffy’s fight with Katakuri and Luffy’s use of Snakeman. Oda uses the dial of Haki to simplify a fight while using Devil Fruits to complicate it or make it funner like with Gear 5. And Haki goes back to that shonen mainstay of willpower and the power of friendship. He basically turned that into a power system and made it complex through it’s relationship with the other power system. And now through storing technologies like knots, it gains another degree of complexity, albeit more trap-like instead of something active.
Another interesting thing is Luffy’s goodbye to Emeth. It carries with it a weight and I believe once we learn the full story behind the void century we’re gonna cry harder than Kuma’s backstory(you all cried too right? I’m not alone?). But alongside that we also see how big Emeth is and how small Luffy is in comparison. And I wonder if it’s not just Oda showing us their distance but also making a point about Joyboy being a giant. Because in the past Joyboy was small compared to Emeth but not as small as Luffy. So Joyboy could have potentially been a giant or maybe even a buccaneer.
And now finally, We’re off to Elbaf! But before we get to that and what other storylines we could see, I want to focus a bit on Vegapunk’s little flashback and the final mystery reveal of how everything went down. Oda loves a good mystery and as One Piece essentially is a big mystery, Oda cares so much about resolving them with the proper deference. First, let’s speak on the idea of death. How Vegapunk wonders what death will accomplish. And through this, Oda once again explores another facet born out of the theme of inherited will. How these pieces of us are left after our passing to carry on our legacy. In this case, through York and Lilith. Lilith, while supposedly being evil, is quite caring and more about appearing evil, perhaps showing that Vegapunk truly didn’t have much evil in him. Or what I think is more interesting is this commentary on what Evil really is. Between Shaka, who is supposedly good, and Lilith, who is supposedly Evil, and York, who is Greed, we witness a really interesting conversation on the nature of evil. Because Shaka is quite utilitarian and collectivist whilst Lilith is individualistic and “selfish” and yet not placed in a negative light. While York’s greed is. Shaka does things for the greater good of as many people as possible without thought to himself or those that have accepted their sacrifice, like the Stella. Lilith is concerned with keeping her and her’s safe and indulging in fun which we’ve seen through Luffy isn’t something that’s inherently bad, just an aspect of someone. Whereas time and time again we’ve seen the evil Greed brings. Even as far back as Skypiea with Calgara’s people dying to a greedy Kami that wanted their Vearth and Noland executed by a greedy King that wanted the Shandorians gold. So it’s through Lilith and York that we see how legacies live on. How “Inherited Will” works. How it can be passed on in the good and the evil. We can see it in other places, like Rosinante and Doflamingo or how many “Good” people carry the D initial but also people like Teach and Rocks D. Xebec as well.
One last thing I do want to touch upon in Vegapunk’s flashback is his insistence on saving his cloud creation technology. Pretty weird emphasis, huh? Just the insistence on it set my theory crafter brain into overdrive so let’s indulge in a little of that before we get to the end. I will admit, I had a completely unhinged set of theories here but I’ve pared it back into something a little bit more digestible.
Okay, so we know a few things. We know that there was possibly less sea and more land in the void century and prior. The world has become submerged in the meantime. We also have seen what increases the sea level. Or so we think. The Mother Flame and most likely Uranus can cut a whole through the planet and increase the sea level. However, so far we’ve only seen evidence of one other place like that, Enies Lobby. Now it could be that at the end of the grand line the sea is littered with these holes or something as unnatural as the red line displaced all that water. But, if we think back to Wano and how old Wano was submerged we can see that it wasn’t rising sea levels but excessive rain. Now, we’ve seen how rain can be induced through things like Dance Powder in Alabasta but what if it was also an unintended consequence. What if Joyboy was the first pirate but not one of the blue sea? What if he sailed the clouds? Clouds that he made to get to places he couldn’t otherwise as the world would’ve been covered mostly by land. And as an unintended consequence, we see a torrential rain that drowns the world. Personally to me, this piece of information really helps put in place some of the last few pieces in my personal theory of the void century. There’s still a few elements I’m not sure about but this does get me a lot closer.
Okay, with those thoughts out of the way, we can focus on Elbaf and beyond! As Ussop says, it’s his time to shine and we can expect a majority of the focus to be on him. But other than that, we’re also heading into the final parts of One Piece and we have a lot of things to wrap up. And with this arc directly inspired by Oda’s love of Vikings that also originally inspired One Piece in the form of the cartoon Vicky the Viking, we can expect Elbaf to be climactic and the conclusion of many storylines. So let’s go over it. While we won’t go over obvious players like Cross Guild and Shanks, we will take a look at some players that could be relevant that most people have forgotten about. Some things that I might expect quick resolutions to are what happened to Stussy. It’s my hope she becomes a nakama and we could see her pull a Robin and just join the crew on her own. It would set up quite nicely for a clash between Weevil and Bakkin too! And bring up questions of Stussy’s autonomy and humanity. We also have a prominent Giant we’ve only heard about that might make an appearance. Lola’s one time fiancee, Loki, the prince of giants. Alongside that we’ve also got some rookies and young pirates we haven’t seen in a while. Such as Urouge, who’s the last Supernova left without a significant story. We also have Bartalmeo who haven’t seen since he decided to burn Shank’s flag. If Kid’s punishment was anything to go by there’s a possibility that good ol Barto might be in trouble. Though there is a possibility that Shanks and barto bonded over Luffy. Finally, I’d love to see the return of the Whitebeard Remnants. Especially Vista as he seems to have a rivalry with Yassop. Other than that, Enel? This has been a very fun discussion post of slinging theories so thank you for reading if you got this far and I’ll see ya next time!
