while i'm rewatching bits of Little Garden, this scene where Mr. 3 mocks Brogy about Dorry's death is one of my favourite scenes of his;;; he's so relentlessly cruel!!! there was absolutely no need to do this except to stroke his own ego 😭😭
I love this scene so much because he was scared to death, Nami encourages him to talk to him to distract him and you can tell that, as soon as he starts with it, he relaxes a little bit. Sometimes your own words are all you need lmao.
the sun pirates symbol is visible for one frame during dorry and broggy's hakoku attack in the new episode... the anime keeps adding implications connecting nika to the sun pirates (this, jinbe recognizing gear 5 as the warrior of liberation in episode 1100) and its going to make me insane. tell me more please
I'm covering both of them in a single post because I have weirdly little notes about 2x05. Must've been too invested and forgot about jotting down my thoughts. Anyway, it will be easier to remember something else I might like to mention if I talk about both Little Garden episodes at once
The main thing I have to say about these episodes (and one of the main things I have to say about the season in general, honestly) is USOPP!!! One of my main problems with season 1 was that it was very much a Romance Dawn trio show, with Sanji and Usopp having much less to do, especially Usopp and even in his own introductory arc. This season he had much more time to shine, and Little Garden in particular really highlighted the way he cares about his friends and the way he's able to Do It Scared. It seems to me like this season also took a more realistic approach to the characters' injuries, and seeing him beaten up in 2x05 and still persevering for the sake of his friends really moved me. And of course, Jacob Romero Gibson continues to be perfect casting, able to pull off both comedic and serious moments. Also I loved Usopp telling Luffy they're gonna be like Yasopp and Shanks :') I'm gonna write more about him later, when I cover the Drum Kingdom episodes, so I'm shutting up for now. Long live the Lord of Destruction <333
I liked the giants. A balanced mix of solemn and heartfelt. Their dynamic with Usopp was great. Also the image of them cracking barrels open like beer cans is very funny.
Vivi mentioned that Karoo is waiting for her in Alabasta, so I hope we'll see him next season.
As I've already said, I really doubt Igaram's coming back after such an emotional and meaningful farewell. That one character in season 3 better write his will, I guess 😬
The Nika references continue! This show really benefits from such a vast amount of source material to work with. It's clear the live action won't make it to Elbaf, but at least we can have bits of lore now
Miss Valentine telling Nami she's hard to forget 👀 I swear our girl manages to have... interesting moments with other women even when put under a spell. While I'm at it, I really liked the terrifying Twiggy that Miss Valentine was.
A round of applause for all the details in Mr. 3's wax house. My favourite part were classic paintings with people in them covered in wax.
Miss Goldenweek was such a perfect horror child (you can still be a horror child at the age of 18, don't let anything stand between you and your dreams!). Usopp really described her exact vibe when he called her Creepy Longstocking. I could totally see why Sophia Anne Caruso said she imagines Mr. 3 is a little scared of his partner. The line about putting her parents in a box sent chills down my spine.
David Dastmalchian was a great Mr. 3. Loved the "[other agents] forgot to be baroque" line.
My favourite part of Sanji's phone scam scene was him fighting with Mr. 13 in the background while the camera focuses on the transponder snail with the fucking hold music playing. Especially Crocodile being put on hold
Computer. Pray to the Sun by The Hu and Declan de Barra. Loud enough to kill.
So something I have noticed when lore hunting is, pets in the Mario world work weirdly.
So pets in the Mario world are all sapient, as in the are to do things like speak English or their own language, sell things, clean, operate karts, and play tennis. Overall this just seems to how pets work in this world.
Mario once owned the original Donkey Kong aka Cranky Kong as a pet, Mona's pets are able to be told to clean up their mess, Chain Chomps speak their own language and can play tennis, Broggy was able to help run a shop, you have a Toad owning a Paratroopa as a pet, Mips was Peach's pet, and Spinys are pets of Lakitus.
Even Cranky Kong kept a pet Expresso the Ostrich, and ostriches in the Mario world are among the many creatures that are straight up sapient.
In fact there are very few animals in the Mario world that aren't sapient, even the cows are sapient.
Written by Eris The Lorekeeper
Here I am thinking Imu's about to pull out a claymore or a glaive or something medieval-looking, but nooope we get a double-barrel shotgun right out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon!
