#ch321

[opbackgrounds]

How how the tables turn

[every-sanji]

[iiloffy]

[ushijimaenthusiast]

fuckin fukunaga’s face is like something outta looney toons i love it

[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]

I’’ve written before on my main how Luffy’s lack of internal monologue makes him uniquely suited for a visual medium like comics (and a key reason why he’s so hard to write well in fanfiction) and I feel like this is a good example of that in action. 

The reader never gets the answer to this question. We’re don’t know if Luffy genuinely thought he could win or if he was trying to bait Aokiji in the name of protecting his crew. It’s up to personal interpretation, and how one interprets this scene slightly change’s the reader’s perception on Luffy’s character. 

[every-sanji]

[opbackgrounds]

The Straw Hats have been in dire straits quite often during the series, but none of them have been as tense as here, and it took me a little bit to figure out why: There are 0 (zero) face faults in this entire chapter and only 1 (one) gag...the cover story. 

Even the chapter Luffy gets stabbed by Crocodile has things like Luffy trying to eat Croc to death. There’s a natural ebb and flow that makes you think Luffy has a chance. 

There is no ebb here. Oda just keeps turning the screws tighter. For a series so dependent on humor, its sudden absence just feels wrong