This rewatch has me appreciating these two’s interactions so much more… I loved their teamwork, of course, but goddamnit I didn’t consider the ✨Possibilities™✨
Y’all sure seemed to enjoy the last one, how about another round of late-night YuYuposting? Because threads from Chapter Black echoing into what we just saw of Wano is far from isolated to the chilling tale of Amanuma & Kurama. Didn’t think about it a whole lot til the end, but this One Piece arc was very Chapter Black through and through. Starting with this excellent, layered callback.
This “many faces” theme is one of the biggest we’ve talked about here on hour Kiku-centric journey through Wano. We see it through her in a more mundane way, all the faces a young woman has to juggle to live under an oppressive culture tied up with a theatrical bow. But the motif is a lot more blatant in both Kaido and Orochi.
We’ve also talked about the echoes of Shishio & his Juppongatana from Rurouni Kenshin, which obviously has a much more direct (and relevant) meaning for Oda’s career. But Shinobu Sensui...he manages both. Hence the picture. We got both the charismatic leader and the hearts he took advantage of and the fractured personality. That’s what Kurama’s referring to. A prophetic motif that was originally interpreted as referring to Sensui and his allies but we’re finding out here was about his own sevenfold psyche all along. I’ve always loved this little extra bit of flair about “Naru” as well, even though it never goes anywhere. The thought of the fractured big bad having a soft, feminine side. Yeah...shame that didn’t come up in anyway like Kaido having a flirty drunk phase or something.
Doesn’t stop there though. Chapter 148, “Moment of Awakening.” Because...it was very much the same kind of story beat. Yusuke gets beat. Dies even but something seems off. Reawakens with a massive power up. Not much more to say about the beat itself other than that. I’m far from the only person who thought of the Atavism of the Mazoku here in YYH when we saw Gear 5 in One Piece 1044. I want to end on my real thoughts about how this might apply to One Piece going forward, but first an aside about Luffy and the girl tied up in the story elements that facilitated that transformation and are already back in play this soon into Egghead:
Context. This is a flashback from the guy in the first clipping. Itsuki, villain Sensui’s right-hand man. Lover as well, but seemingly unrequited like Honjo to Shishio. Gets weird with Sensui’s multiple personalities. Not what I really care about. No, this is how they met. It was a turning point for Sensui, who prior had a very black-and-white “humans good, demons bad” worldview. Was about to kill Itsuki but a simple ripple of fate gave him pause. In his last moments, Itsuki bemoaned wanting just one more day. For no other reason than wanting to see a favorite musician on a TV show tomorrow. As you can see, Sensui was a fan too which started a conversation that’d, to quote the series, “introduce a truckload of gray.”
Incidentally, Jun Togawa is a hell of a reference. She was a popular underground musician at the time. Kickass figure in her own right. Famous for like, paroding idol girl groups and being much more real about women’s perspectives and issues than most Japanese pop stars. Especially for the 80s/90s. Imagine half Nina Hagen, half Alanis Morisette. Gotta wonder if Oda’s a fan given potential nods like a first solo album titled “Princess Tama” and being the front for a band named “Guernica.” Speaking of CP0, of course it all comes back to Kiku. Long way around to a simple idea. One of the big things I always felt about Kiku & Yamato’s roles in the arc together is that it reminded me of the feeling of this simple but powerful moment. It’s the difference between casual fate and grandiose (but empty) destiny.
I still don’t think it was an accident you have your two most featured new faces set up like that. Yamato comes bursting in halfway through talking about how long he’s been waiting because of Ace and reading about the crew in the papers and it feels like fate...but way less so when you remember Luffy stumbling into being buds with the little sister of one of Ace’s big bros. How he casually has no trouble finding out her secret because of the people he just happened to meet saving Ace. How following her heart and helping Luffy for its own sake led to reuniting with her lost family members. That rumination on fate and what it actually looks like is too good to pass up, especially with how well it aligns with Luffy stepping into this role as a “chosen one.” It mirrors; were you destined to be here just because, or because the sum total of your actions made you the right person?
Of course, I wouldn’t go on such a big detour without a point. Even if talking Kiku is always a good enough point for me. Still, this is where I’m wondering if we’re headed. The most poignant aspect of Yu Yu Hakusho’s Chapter Black is where it heads after. A shonen hero...reflecting on what it means being able to destroy it all if he wanted. Realizing he could become Sensui and not having any good answers. Sadly this is where we transition into an infamously rushed final arc for the series due to Togashi’s declining health, but it doesn’t undercut the power of seeing this in a power fantasy battle shonen.
And I can’t help but think about the role Oden plays in the story. How it all comes together. That was Oden’s example. A great man who didn’t really learn about the concept of collateral damage until it was too late. This certainly feels like part of the lesson Luffy learns through his time in Wano. That paired with a heaping helping of Kaido, the spectre of a powerful man who never learned to maintain composue. Deal with expectaions and emotions to the point he was a fractured drunk not unlike Sensui.
Yeah...I think Chapter Black was a pretty damn big influence on Wano. Up there with RuroKen’s Kyoto arc. If you’re gonna drop homages you’d be hard pressed to find a better one to shout out and build off of.
