#ch473

[opbackgrounds]

I like how Oda can inject humor into something as mundane as the Straw Hats running away from Oars. Zoro does a lot of the heavy lifting in this panel with his comedically serious expression, but even his pose, all upright and angular, shows that there's no real urgency here. Bonus points goes to Chopper, but on the whole there's a business-like practicality with the Straw Hats here that's at odds with the supposed seriousness of the situation, and that contrast is just plain funny.

[every-sanji]

[everychojuro]

[opbackgrounds]

I do think it's kind of cute that Perona's ideal vacation spot is basically Thriller Bark, and funny that Kuma heard her say this and immediately decided to dump her on Mihawk

[opbackgrounds]

You know they’re excited for a chance to beat up on their captain

[opbackgrounds]

I'm beating on a little bit of a dead horse at this point, but I really do love how Oda plays with size during this confrontation between Perona and Kuma. This is the first (and only) panel where they're shown together and she's confident enough to fight back. Look how big she is in the foreground, absolutely dominating the space between them. At first she was tiny and insignificant, but now she believes that the tables have turned. This is Perona at her most powerful, and it's depicted beautifully in the art.

Except that power is a mirage. Literally one panel later she is once again made small, as Kuma cuts through her bravado simply by ignoring it. This is their last panel together, and Perona is made to look like an ant picking a fight with a giant. It's absurd, and the reader knows who's going to win before their "battle" even begins. The only way for her to be portrayed as less important would be if she were to disappear, which, without any fanfare whatsoever, she does

[opbackgrounds]

It's cool to see all the way Oda plays with paneling and perspective to make Perona feel absolutely tiny next to Kuma

Which I guess he is, at 22 feet and change to Perona's 5'3", but Kuma absolutely dominates the page in comparison to her

And it's interesting to compare these images to Kuma in his backstory, where his imposing frame is presented as protective instead of threatening. If anything, the Kuma of the past went out of his way to seem smaller than he really was

During his flashback, Kuma's often seen sitting or hunched over like this. In part so he can fit better into frames and around speech bubbles, but also because he's the sort of person who would go out of his way to appear less threatening to others. It also plays with the power dynamics between the various characters. Kuma may be ginormous, but it’s the World Government who hold all the cards, so he doesn't get to be presented as bigger than they are.

[opbackgrounds]

I'd have to go back and check to be sure, but I think this is the only scene where Kuma uses his powers where we don't see the paw prints on his hands or the little lines around the person that's been poofed. Though those visual details wouldn't give away how Kuma's power works, I do think it was appropriate to hide them for a more dramatically opportune moment