#ep 62

[wafflecrew-outofcontext]

Godfrey: If I get killed, I’ll just return in another body

Paultin: See? He’s got a plan

Evelyn: Wait, if he can just return in another body, why don’t we just… kill him, take his corpse with us ‘cause then it’s loot, and then it doesn’t count as a person-

Paultin: Jesus. 

Diath: Holy shit, Evelyn.

[kikyocaps]

[kudox1412]

[timdoesonepiece]

episode 62: The First Line of Defense? the Giant Whale Laboon Appears!

the contradiction of the severe battle scars with the very simple eye design is cool. thankfully, since the episode unfortunately spoiled it, we know his name is Laboon! he looks cool af.

nami's face in this shot is legitimately scared and unsettling. i think it's both the eyes and the hair being swept back.

this shot specifically looks like something outta cartoon network. the soft shading, the rounded everything. and the joke that he's more worried about losing his special seat than nami being crushed is painfully on brand and painfully funny. i laughed at loud at how absurd he looks here.

you can barely see it around the captions, but nami is freaking the hell out with an INSANE expression haha. also i cannot imagine getting punched in the EYE. that would hurt so damn much.

Thalassophobia. Noun. A morbid fear of the sea or, more generally, deep water such as lakes.

this is such a great shot, great joke that really sells the sense of scale here. Laboon is MASSIVE. but this is also kinda terrifying. he could eat them right up!

oh. he ate them right up!

luffy punching a giant whale like it will do literally anything is funny enough...

this shot is one of the moments that confused me the most. the whale is a robot? and luffy's reaction was the same as mine.

also, i know we're still early into the show, but standard definition, up until the show enters episode 200 or so, is normally fine, but this particular frame looks rough. most of the time it's not too noticeable though.

my first theory was that the whale was a robot and this was a black hole/ alternate dimension or something.

—

mid-episode eyecatch character tracker 1: luffy mid-episode eyecatch character tracker 2: sanji

running total: luffy: 60 zoro: 23 nami: 18 sanji: 13 usopp: 10

—

this guy has a very busy design, but i kinda fuck with it, especially his face and hair/ feathers thingy.

this shot specifically made me think, either he knows sanji/ someone on the crew, or is a marine...

but no, he's just a relaxing grumpy old man.

the show doing the "he's definitely ominous/ evil/ hiding something" bit was really funny, but then crocus just going "get out" is even funnier.

this is cool. fucked and impossible, but really cool. it makes the idea that the laboon and crocus have a sort of symbiotic relationship that much more apparent.

now who are these assholes? obviously evil, but i do kinda love the subtle joke that they both have their pinkies sticking up on both of their hands, even when holding rocket launchers.

crocus diving into the acid??? insane old man shit?? what a badass!!!

i know one piece has some odd proportions, especially later on, but rewatching this now i just noticed how thin her waist is. i also noticed that she dresses a lot like nami, minus the coat. simple patterned top with colored shorts and a belt. i bet she's wearing sandals too.

this scene is perfect. luffy's insane screaming, the poses, the quick animation cuts, him falling while having a comvo with zoro... comedic genius, oda. this scene makes me smile so much.

and now i'm sad instantly. this scene really shifts the tone from "haha crazy whale" to "oh he's trying to kill himself"

and fucking crocus jumping in front of the bombs??? insane shit. like holy fuck this man loves his whale. crocus immediately goated. like dude is just a level above everyone else.

deserved. fuck these guys.

i know there will be crying incoming when the "sad theme" plays at the end of an episode.

[lloydfrontera]

oh. oh no he kinda looks like damian but more sleep deprived and deranged. oh i get it. that. that makes sense goddammit

[nalu-gifs]

“You’re back to normal!”

“Oh, wow! Looks like we’ve got ourselves a party here, huh?”

“No--Natsu, these are the guys we have to fight!”

“Heh. Like I said, it’s a party!”

[origami10]

“nor are we under any obligation to save the whale” I’m pretty sure you can only say that because Luffy’s not there, Sanji

[nodameshield]

how are we doing? have the tears dried yet? I know mine haven’t :: 

let’s start light : research fellows count ! (also, lady, only ten years old? - I resent that).

Goh understands this?? he’s got a silly proud smile and it’s following Ash’s butchered storytelling??? love 

research fellows count ! 

perfectly attainable dream 

sure, go for it.  (look at both of their supportive lil smiles, we love best friends) 

we all know the scene that’s coming ahead, but I thought this was a beautiful demonstration of growth already on Goh’s side.

Listen before the sad part begins let us appreciate for a moment how Ash and Goh were smiling at EACH OTHER after the interview was over. cuties. 

behold : the last frame we have of baby Sobble. I’m going to miss you, bean. thank you for everything<3 (he was so proud of his good deed as well!! my very heart) 

just how fast the night changes, indeed.

Drizzle went through shock and pain at record speed and swiftly landed on anger - only to fall into ✨depression✨ just as quickly.

and then we just stayed there.

someone 

is 

(oh hey Cinderace ! good to see ya)

having  

a rough morning

 (I’m sorry, this scene was just fucking funny - the drama)

Cinderace’s proud big bro moment was just too sweet to leave out - let us not forget, he’s been a big bro since he was Raboot (and even as a temperamental Raboot, he was always gentle to Sobble). And now his baby bro has evolved as well. precious ! 

Goh handled this situation very maturely from the beginning. And here’s when the build up starts. He’s saying ‘hey, let me help you how I think you need to be helped” and he genuinely doesn’t mean any harm! naturally, his reaction is to help his Pokémon, in the way that has worked in the past.

but then he starts to understand maybe that’s not the best approach this time around.

and he’s ready to respect those new boundaries (of course, there’s no blame on Cinderace, either. Much like Goh, he - and everyone, really - was just trying to help in the way he thought was the best).

shoutout to the animation on this bit because Pikachu’s ears darting down was a delightful detail. Chloe’s expression and Grookey’s simmering down drove the point home as well.

ah, you coy little thing. Did you forget how your trainer almost left you behind because of how rebellious you were??? Because you made him feel as though you’d be better off without him?? (Cinderace has selective memory, you can’t change my mind, don’t be miss-leaded by the cuteness)

this build up was wonderful - we begin to hear all these reasons why, yeah? maybe he just wants to be alone.

maybe he’s still very afraid and careful of his surroundings, and his evolution made it worse? (he’d been popping up in random places in previous episodes, hiding, which was also great foreshadowing for this episode !) 

maybe he’s cocooning himself until he’s ready to evolve again? (which, considering his disappointment and how badly he wanted to be Inteleon already, is a very plausible reason)

but Prof. Cerise gets it right when he says ‘we can’t really know for sure’ (which ties greatly with Goh’s upcoming scene) - is it your Drizzle’s quirk? are they all like this? who cares? Isn’t wonderful how he’s a living creature? how he’s got nuances and a personality? shouldn’t that be enough of a reason to look after him, and try to help him right now?

my child, still thinking he’s got to do everything on his own.

and these two are just like ????? Goh ??? watchu talking about ???

can you imagine how MUCH this moment means to him?? he was ready to keep going alone (it’s what he knows) and even when Ash and Chloe prove him, time and time again, that he’s not alone, there’s still something in Goh coded to believe others won’t care as much/won’t be there when he needs them. and that’s why he insists: I’ve got this. I can do it alone.

and, sure, but you don’t have to. that’s the beauty of friendship.

you tell him, Chloe. (actually, without Chloe calling him out, he might have taken longer to figure out where Drizzle was. so...) // but also, it gives us a glimpse into the fact that, while Goh might have felt very lonely, Chloe has been observing and caring for him - in her way - for a long minute as well.

my very point above. 

HEY, LISTEN: he doesn’t know, either. he’s a child, words are hard, and you rotate along the four moods of childhood (happy, upset, scared, hungry (?)) and don’t ponder much on anything else because you are a child, there’s no emotional intelligence to speak of, no need for it, you’re being shaped by your environment and all the stimuli of the world being a new place. things like loneliness, confusion, anxiety... we can’t put those into words - hell, they’re fucking abstract and confusing even when we are adults.

and Goh’s stimuli and environment was, given what we know of his family life, a rather lonely one. Did his parents have a lot of spare time to take him to the park? I don’t think so. Was he good at going out there and asking other kids to play? ... probably not. 

Chloe doesn’t strike me as an extrovert, either, so even if she wanted to get close to Goh or invite him to hang out, perhaps she was too shy as well. Heck, perhaps Goh’s reaction would’ve been like the one above, he simply didn’t know. Maybe he didn’t want to ! and that’s perfectly fine as well.

am I forgiving the anipoke team for making Goh cry? no, never. but this was beautifully executed so I can grow to live with it.

“why are you depressed?” “you have nothing to be sad about!” “look at all the wonderful things you have!” “just be happy again!” - sound familiar? yeah, this was incredibly well done.

as adults, perhaps we see this and think ‘shit, how cool that they’re prodding on these topics, it’s important’ and it is !!! so important !! but if it’s this impactful as young-adults/grown-ups, imagine how impactful it must be as a child to see this and feel perceived. I’m honestly so proud of this moment, this whole episode. I’m grateful they took the time to look into this maturely. and even if children don’t do a full-fledged analysis on it, if they relate (like I know so many of us did) they won’t forget it. and that’s beautiful.

darling I’m blanking on your TW handle I’m so sorry - but someone in a tweet SO RIGHTFULLY pointed out that these are the words Goh would have needed to hear when he was younger. saying them to Drizzle it’s a full circle moment for him, he’s hearing them as well, and it’s helping both of them grow.

He’s not forcing himself as Drizzle’s trainer. Goh bears no entitlement here. He’s saying ‘Hey, if you’re comfortable, if you want to share , I’ll be here’ / as a kid, people did care for him, they kept wanting to know what was going on, but Goh couldn’t put that in words and people pestering him only made it worse, but if someone had said ‘hey, when you’re ready...’ then,,,,yeah,,,,maybe it would’ve been different. 

he’s offering that safety now to his Pokémon, something he didn’t have, but he grew to understand is what he (and now Drizzle) needed. If that doesn’t have you breaking down in a teary mess then you are stronger than I’ll ever be, because my glasses were cloudy by this point.

why, why, why. because you needed to hear all that as well, baby! so did a number of us. thank you.

I’ll say that, however it was that you connected with this moment, that’s yours to cherish. 

Personally, I too had a lonely childhood marked by parents who overworked, and I too spent a lot of time alone in kindergarten and through elementary school because it was hard to make friends (turns out i’m an extrovert, ha, talk about breaking out of your shell...) so, obviously there were easy common grounds for me in this episode.

but I LOVED to read the reactions and realize so many people still connected with it, one way or the other. So many of us felt seen and understood and acknowledged in emotions that are so hard to put into words !! 

so, again, if you identified with Goh or Drizzle or any of the topics in this episode, that’s very beautiful, and I hope the underlying message that you’re not alone gets through.

With Sobble, and now with Drizzle as well, Goh is very adamant to remind us that, however we are, that’s fine. there’s something that makes us special, regardless of other people’s opinions, or their ideas of how we *should be* // that’s the message I’m taking with me, at least.

 and i can’t wait to see how this story line evolves !! I have no doubts that, when the moment comes, Inteleon will be a wonderful addition to the team, but Drizzle is here now, and he’s plenty wonderful already x

Bonus: 

ha ha, yes. I watched this episode three times. And all three times I was a mess.

side note but a very important one: the animation, the voice acting, the dialog, the scenery of the starry night - the entire scene was so beautifully executed. so  carefully crafted. ugh, amazing. just perfect. so happy.