#ch 1042

[kookoofufu]

Is it just me or do Wano's chapter titles go especially hard?

[larkreadsop]

Somehow I’m not surprised that these three are the only ones who would care about the concept of a schedule at all

[larkreadsop]

Once again we get a chapter that’s pretty much taken up by a fight so there’s not much to discuss but Luffy does put a time limit on himself because Gear Four can’t last indefinitely.

[larkreadsop]

Back with the Who’s-Who fight I mentioned that I’d return to the idea of freedom as it relates to these higher ranked Cipher Pol agents and this is where it really comes up because Drake is basically saying nobody’s telling him what ‘side’ to be on or who he should be fighting, he’s making those choices entirely for himself and by Guernica saying he ‘envies’ him I take that to mean that he envies the fact that Drake has a choice and is essentially deciding his own fate, whatever that may turn out to be...unlike Guernica himself who at this point has basically been told that, even if he does follow his orders, he’s pretty much toast either way.

[ninhaoma-ya]

Chapter 1042 — Winners shouldn’t need rationalisations

This week won’t be as in-depth as usual. Partly because it’s a fight-heavy chapter with a lot of shoddy detailing, so I don’t have much to say about that. But also because it’s really hard to focus with a nuclear plant burning next door.

On with the story, in the hopes of better times to come.

Cover page was cute, pouting Pudding is such a 16-year old. Oven seems suspicious, though.

Some more info about CP9. Wonder why he envies Drake? Who doesn’t seem to be doing too well, getting a hole punched in his throat on the next page, and all.

I do like the layout/progression here as well, going from a focused shot on Drake’s sword to individual focus of both, to a closeup of The Agent.

Is that his face or a mask, by the way?

This is just a really nice pair of panels, with Onigashima falling into ruin (might be rushed drawing, might be Kaido’s powers weakening, but the supporting clouds seem less substantial/detailed than before) and Kaido being stuck between a rock (Luffy’s left fist) and a hard place (Luffy’s right fist).

Awakening?

And I’ll just collect all Drunk Kaido in one place:

I really like the thieving drunk, where his movement mirrors Luffy’s snakeman, although Kaido is drawn with a light streak as opposed to Luffy’s haki-coating.

This is just a really beautiful panel. Kaido being visibly annoyed at Luffy’s shenanigans in his mouth, while framing Onigashima from above. The clouds hovering over the island gives it further perspective — we’re really high here.

This is just a neat spread, with how Luffy interrupts Kaido’s attack. It’s also where we get the chapter title.

YOU SNEAKY LITTLE RAT.

Oh.

Oh no.

Look at how upset Kaido is, remembering the trickery that gave him the win over Oden. The anguish in his homicidal eyes, the surprise at CP0 being there.

Is this what the chapter title means? That Kaido didn’t really win over Oden and here he doesn’t really win the fight with Luffy. There is a rationalisation to his win, as there is to large people Luffy protects. They aren’t strong enough to stand on their own — but is Kaido strong enough, if his main battles have been won by cheating?

I wonder about The Agent as well. He does seem regretful here, gritting his teeth. Who could it be?

I give the chapter the possibility of awakening.

-

Just a short PSA:

At the moment it feels a bit too much to read about fighting in One Piece. I’ll probably keep up with it since it is escapism, but with how the world turns right now, the content is heavy. We’ll see how much energy I have next time.