There will be a proper Chapter 1090 wrap-up come Sunday, I like to stick with the Official Release. But like 1089 for 913, it'll fall on the same calendar date as 914. One of my favorite chapters and not just for being the "birth date" one for me. We'll talk more about this with Bakura Town next week, but if you'll forgive one minor preview tomorrow we have to talk about that "Shell Game" of teasing a final recruit starting to rumble. My bet's still grabbing dealer Oda's sleeve for the ball he slipped up there at Wano's end.
And it all starts here. This type of thing is manga at it's best. Static, visual storytelling, how rich & deep it can be. Think on everything I've ruminated on about our girl here, the enigma of Wano, and look at her first proper scene with Luffy & Zoro. I love how dense of a little microcosm it is. We skipped the drama of shooing away Urashima & tending to Tama but Kiku elegantly lets us know it happened. Kiku's downplaying herself but showing off a skill while the implication is she brought Luffy a snack. Zoro's kinda rude but Luffy covers for him because he just got grilled for that, and the specific way he does it is setting something up for Act 2.
That's just one panel to let her show off, that much care. Then we launch into two chapters repeating the same structure; lull you in with the unassuming lady and let her show off that other side as a stinger at the end. To me, that's what it all boils down to. Has she simply kept doing this? OP Academy certainly agreed this kind of dynamic is what makes Kiku Kiku.
