manga & meta

i color sometimes

[opbackgrounds]

A small bit of realism here, just because the sea train is literally an island saver, that doesn’t mean that things on Water 7 instantly improve.

Also, tattoo alert

[opbackgrounds]

1) I honestly think this might be the only panel we see Iceburg’s tattoos since they’re definitely not present during the long montage sequence

2) I love that Oda included characters like the Square Sisters in this moment of triumph. It adds a tangible weight to the positive impact Tom had on Water 7

3) The bottom panel of the sea train crossing the sea for the first time is powerful to me in a way that I have a hard time expressing. I already love the whimsy of the sea train concept, but seeing it at a distance here, crossing the waves as it sails into the distant horizon of a hopeful future, is just so good. It’s almost enough to make you forget you’re in a One Piece flashback and something terrible’s about to happen

[opbackgrounds]

In a moment of rare self-reflection, Usopp has the courage to voice his insecurities. There’s no self-aggrandizement here. No put-on heroics. Usopp is telling the truth as he sees it, and receives a less than helpful answer from Zoro in response–which, incidentally, would probably discourage him from this kind of emotional vulnerability in the future. 

(And as an aside, Zoro is the exact worst person in the crew he could have this conversation with. Zoro is uber confident in his own abilities and always has been, I think on a fundamental level he doesn’t understand what’s going on in Usopp’s head in the same way Sanji does when he gives his “Do what you can do” speech later on. Maybe the right words would have helped, but then again, maybe not. It’s a tricky situation.)

But Usopp’s version of the truth is flawed. His “running around a lot” literally saved Robin’s life, but that’s just something he just doesn’t see in himself.

Yet.

[opbackgrounds]

On the outset it seems like Luffy isn’t really bothered by being turned into a Luff-cicle, but as we come to find out later he took it quite seriously indeed. 

I think that’s a big difference between Luffy and Usopp at this point of time. Usopp is ignoring his issues, where Luffy is (privately) thinking of ways to improve himself so that he can see his dreams through to the end

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[rickypozzi]

Young Yamato

One Piece 1024 - Wano

[ashitanozak]

VAGABOND WORLD

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

You've been offline for a while, but if you've got time to do one, I'd love to know how the opening pages of chapter 14 played out in Japanese. What did Buggy think Mohji was trying to say about Luffy's powers? Thanks!

sure! sorry, this is a bit late.

basically, what mohji is trying really, really hard to say is just the phrase ゴム人間/gomu ningen, meaning 'rubber person', which is the most common description of luffy's powers and general deal used throughout the whole manga.

what he actually manages to say, on account of being beat to absolute shit, is just ゴ.......げん/go....... gen., just the first and last syllables of the phrase.

and when buggy hears this, his assumption is that mohji is trying to say ご機嫌/gokigen, which means basically "cheer up!" which sends him into an unholy rage because he's not about to cheer up and laugh at this situation, he's already pissed, god dammit!

[opbackgrounds]

I know there are people who don’t like how Oda handles some of the conflict in the flashback between the traditions of the Shandorians and perceive Noland as an example of the white savior trope, but what Conis is doing here is essentially the same thing to a more Western-coded religious system. In the end, I see it as more as Oda being consistent with his theming over the course of the arc. 

Keep reading

[opbackgrounds]

You could almost say Wyper…inherited their will.

And fun fact, Wyper gets hit by lightning more than anyone else this arc, but Enel never really defeats him. In a page or two he ends up tanking an El Thor, which is what Enel’s been using to blow holes in the sky this whole arc, and he still gets up long enough to use another reject on the beanstalk. I think that fits pretty well with Oda’s philosophy for the story that the person with the stronger dreams and convictions always ends up winning

[opbackgrounds]

I’ve seen Nami get crap for this moment in the past, which I think is pretty unfair to her. She’s very clearly outmatched, so she falls into the same pattern she’s used ever since she was a child to survive. It’s what got her through eight years under Arlong, and is a similar tactic we see her using against the pirates she ends up stealing from. 

And while Nami does agree to join Enel, she ends up specifically taking her waver aboard Maxim with the intention of escaping. She’s not bailing on the Straw Hats so much as trying to not die. As she said (jokingly) at the beginning of the arc, the thing Nami values most is her life, followed closely by money. 

I’ve pointed out both Robin’s and Chopper’s mini character arcs in Skypiea, but Nami gets a pretty good one herself. And unless I’m mistaken, this is the last time she uses this tactic, more or less completing the development that was started in Arlong Park with her fully buying into the ideal that there are some things worth putting your life on the line for.

[opbackgrounds]

Okay, but Zoro’s genuine distress thinking Nami was still in the snake is very sweet, even if she is basically right beside him and he just never noticed.

Just compare to his reaction to learning Luffy’s there instead

[iiloffy]

[iiloffy]

FIGHTING RECORD: A COMPLETE VICTORY OVER USOPP.

[iiloffy]

for @kazurye

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for @kirvvi