#ch555

[opbackgrounds]

There are several times throughout this arc where Whitebeard expresses concern for his men, even offering to let them retreat if they don't want to fight any longer. This is of course in contrast to the marines, who are shown executing deserters and continuing to throw good soldiers after bad even after their objectives are obtained

[opbackgrounds]

having a bit of flame in the bubble so it floats like a hot air balloon is peak design, and the lil' smiley face on the keel is *chef kiss* perfection. I also like the variety in the headgear, just so much world building in a single image.

[opbackgrounds]

Wano foreshadowing!

[opbackgrounds]

There are a great many ways to illustrate the difference in size between a regular and ancient giant, but the most fun I think is to compare the difference between Oars Junior and Saul picking up a warship with their bare hands

[opbackgrounds]

At least Moriah's one effective attack for the entire war looks cool

[opbackgrounds]

It is kind of impressive that there are buildings big enough for him to fit inside

[opbackgrounds]

Oars III has a triple skull necklace, which I think is a little classier than OG Oars's skull girdle. Either way, their extra big giantness means that these are some big-ass craniums they've got for decoration

[opbackgrounds]

Introducing Oars Junior at first seems like a way to hype up the Warlords while giving Ace some easy sympathy points, but much like Aokiji freezing the bay it has far reaching implications for the rest of the war.

There's been a lot of discussion here about the (lack of) pacing during the post time skip chapters, and in addition to there being too many characters in general, I feel like this is the other thing that's missing. Throughout Marineford (as well as Water 7 which also does this quite well) events rarely happen in service of just one thing. It's no surprise that those are two of the highest regarded arcs in the entire series.

And in fairness to Oda, this sort of multilayered writing is extremely difficult to pull off during weekly serialization. It's the sign of having a clear vision for the entire arc, which is equally amazing given how much Oda makes up by the seat of his pants.