#ch540

[opbackgrounds]

Ah, yes. The panels that sparked a thousand theories.

[every-sanji]

[opbackgrounds]

It's okay, Jinbe passed the vibe check, and there's nothing as reliable as a Luffy vibe check.

[opbackgrounds]

Ahh, I like the contrast between the two sides of the panel. Jinbe's all bound in chains with the detailed background and shading of the prison bars darkening the panel, where Luffy is free and unburdened by crushing restraint of the prison. Jinbe also focuses a lot of his energy during the Marineford War on dying, when Luffy wants to save his brother.

[opbackgrounds]

I can't believe I'm blessed with a top-tier Robin cover page and color spread in back to back chapters.

[opbackgrounds]

The thing that Iva doesn't know is that Luffy is perfectly aware how strong Warlord and Admirals are, and he just doesn't care.

I've talked a little about the hope Luffy brings to the hell of Impel Down, but I'm not sure that's a strong enough word for how Luffy goes about doing things. His resolve is so strong it doesn't let in room for any sort of doubt or scenario where he doesn't succeed. He will become the King of the Pirates, he will save Ace. There is no alternative, because he'd rather die than fail, but even as he runs face-first into poison he doesn't think about dying because he still has to save his brother. Luffy's built this reality around himself where there really is no other option, and I think that's the key to the feeling that Iva is experiencing now, something that's so intense that it becomes tangible. I also see it as the key to Luffy's charisma and the reason why he has Conqueror's Haki, and it's built on this foundational aversion to regret.

This unshakable belief allows Luffy to move mountains, but without a grounding force like his crew it leads to the increased recklessness we've seen in him since Amazon Lily. There's no universe where Luffy is strong enough for Marineford, but through sheer bullheadedness he's almost able to pull it off. And at the end of the day Luffy wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he didn't at least try.

[opbackgrounds]

It's neat how Crocodile's reintroduction in Impel Down mirrors his first introduction in Alabasta

[opbackgrounds]

Much later on we'll learn that Ace asked Jinbe to look out for Luffy, with Jinbe refusing on the basis that he's not going to help anyone that he doesn't respect, and he doesn't know Luffy well enough to respect him.

That starts to change now.