#iceberg-san

[repatoe]

[lovemizumikan]

!!!Happy Birthday Tom-San!!!

03/16

[neverwatchedonepiece]

251: "The Truth Behind Her Betrayal! Robin's Sorrowful Decision!"

OH, ROBIN! YOU ARE NOT EVIL.

I am ridiculously relieved. Even though I could tell something wasn’t quite right, the animators did a good job at portraying Robin as an excellent actress. There was a part of me, a niggling little worry, that kept saying: ‘But what if...’

Thankfully, Iceberg finally spilled his secrets (well, most of them) and Robin’s good name remains unsullied by the evil of CP9 and Spandam.

I have more good news. I was right about Chopper saving Iceberg, Paulie - and Tyrannosaurus, let us not forget Tyrannosaurus - from the crumbling furnace that was formerly Iceberg’s mansion.

Oh, yeah. Chopper also had the presence of mind to pick up Zoro’s stricken sword while he was at it.

It looks like our favourite reindeer has taken a few recent levels in badass. ^_^ The Galley-La fodder even called him a reindeer! This is unprecedented. He is always mistaken by outsiders for a tanuki. xD

It was thanks to Chopper, our furry hero of the hour, that we were able to find out just what Robin’s deal was.

When Chopper collapsed, the Galley-La fodder crowded round Iceberg, who, after a couple of lungfuls of fresh air, awoke. Around the same time, Nami began to wake up. Since Iceberg felt hella guilty about falsely accusing the Strawhats of trying to kill him, he ordered his shipwrights not to harm Nami. Instead, he asked for some alone time by a nearby tree so he could have a private chat with Nami.

From Iceberg, I learned the following things:

1. Between them, Iceberg and Robin have the means to resurrect Pluton (I take this to be Iceberg having the blueprints and skillz, and Robin being able to translate).

2. Robin is not after the poneglyphs to resurrect Pluton. She’s only interested in history (this understandably made Iceberg mad. As much as I love history, I think I’d give it a miss if I ultimately ended up responsible for frying half the world with the OPverse equivalent of an atomic bomb).

3. She is still intent on pursuing the broken threads of history even after witnessing the fate of the Ohara Demons (this quip from Iceberg made Robin lose it momentarily. This must be a huge source of angst on her part).

4. Robin, by her own admission, has suffered terribly at the hands of the World Government (related to Ohara and Aokiji?)

5. The reason Robin “betrayed” the Strawhats is because CP9 had permission to order a Buster Call on the Strawhats. This is an overkill arrangement whereby five vice-admirals arrive with ten battleships and destroy the target with extreme prejudice. I’m not sure but I think CP9 were given special permission by Aokiji? (Really not sure about this. May need to watch that scene back). Robin knew the Strawhats would never survive this, so she appears to have bargained with (or intends to bargain with) the World Government to save the Strawhats in exchange for her co-operation. Which leads me onto the fact that...

6. She is willing to resurrect Pluton and become a pawn of the World Government if it means the Strawhats survive and leave Water 7 unharmed! Robin put the welfare of her nakama above the lives of everyone else in the entire world.

I do understand why she feels that way. The Strawhats gave her back her life, happiness and sense of purpose when she was at the point of no return and felt only bleak despair. She cares for them. They care for her. But still... Pluton really is a hell of a thing.

Robin does nothing by halves, does she?

Yeah, Iceberg. What do you know about Ohara?

[neverwatchedonepiece]

249: "Spandam's Scheme! The Day the Sea Train Shook!"

It’s weird when you come across the rarest of villain combinations: the competent klutz. Spandam, the accident-prone CP5 agent, is one of them. I didn’t quite know what to make of him. I can’t quite take him seriously because Oda made him the buttmonkey of two comedy gold moments (involving Franky shooting him and Spandam coming off the worst in an encounter with a tub of pink paint - though he recovered so well from the latter, his minions actually applauded. xD) Spandam also came out red-faced when he demanded the blueprints and Tom outwitted him.

Then again, Spandam was the one who discovered the threat the Pluton blueprints pose to the World Government. He also managed to find out Tom was holding them. To top it off, he launched an attack on a Judgement Ship simply so he could frame Tom for the crime and have him arrested.

He’s like a hyper-competent buttmonkey. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that trope used before.

At any rate, the CP units appear to have changed a lot in eight years. Comparing Spandam to any of the members of CP9 is like comparing a lump of Play-Dough and Michelangelo’s David. I don’t think Spandam would get away with such clumsiness now. (A thought has just occurred to me. Spandam had minions and wears a sharp suit. Corgi also has minions and wears a sharp suit. Is Corgi from a CP unit?)

Clumsy or not, though, Spandam won in the end. I don’t think Tom will be acquitted this time (which I am fucking mad about, by the way. He was this close to freedom, dammit!) I fear for Tom right now. My main fear is that Enies Lobby is a holding pen for those awaiting execution and that Tom is long gone. If he’s still alive and held captive there, that’s not quite so bad. At least he told Iceberg and Franky about the blueprints. He must have known, in his heart, that Spandam would be back. I am also wondering why Robin worried him just as much as the World Government.

I also fear for Franky. I know that, at some point, Franky was so grievously injured that he had to be turned into a cyborg to survive. Not looking forward to finding out what screwed him up so badly. He learned a pretty hard lesson in 249. Iceberg was right: part of a shipwright’s trade is to make weapons, but those weapons will be used to hurt people - even those the shipwright cares about.

Iceberg also said to Franky that if Tom is taken away for the “attack” on Water 7 by Franky’s battleships, he’ll never forgive him.

I’m starting to think Tom will be taken away. Then again, when Franky showed up at the Galley-La docks, Iceberg looked as if he hadn’t seen him for ages (like he was seeing a ghost). I can’t predict what happens first: does Tom get taken away and Franky ends up in an accident, or vice versa?

Tom shows his apprentices the blueprints for 2 girls 1 cup.

?

[neverwatchedonepiece]

244: "Secret Bond! Iceberg and Franky!"

So... Franky, eh?

Once again, I did not see that one coming. Honestly, Oda has been hitting curveball after curveball lately. I’ve been striking out more times than I care to admit. xD  I was so busy focusing on Iceberg and Robin that I never even contemplated the potential existence of a relationship between Iceberg and Franky. Or should I say Cutty Flam? IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME, FRANKY, YOU FRAUD.

I also officially learned that CP9 are the cream of the crop of the World Government’s spy agents. The CP stands for Cipher Pol and officially, there are levels one through eight. Iceberg was confident of the existence of CP1 through 8. (Well, that’s what he told Lucci, anyway. Kokoro heard the ‘rumours’ of CP9, so why wouldn’t her old drinking buddy?) CP9, according to Lucci, is the service that should not exist. Apparently, they have a special, James Bond-style priviledge: a licence to kill.

This made Iceberg’s jaw drop because the government aren’t supposed to go in for that sort of thing. Lucci said the World Government had revised their opinion on necessary murder. This is because their arseholes are clenching at the mere thought of a Pluton revival. They have adopted the mindset of “better we have The Really Dangerous, Evil Thing and use it against our enemies than take the risk it could fall into enemy hands”. Lucci, Kaku, Califa, Blueno and Robin are helping matters along by attempting to pilfer the plans from Iceberg.

Except Iceberg doesn’t have them.

Franky does.

Kaku, the Human Heartrate Monitor, performed a pulse check while Lucci laid out his freakishly accurate theory as to who had the real blueprints. As he did so, the history between Franky and Iceberg was revealed.

Turns out Franky was not always Franky. He used to be a kid called Cutty Flam (don’t blame him for choosing Franky after being blessed with a name that). He was the apprentice of Tom, a master shipwright and the previous custodian of the Pluton blueprints. Cutty Flam was supposed to have died in an accident, so that’s why CP9 couldn’t find anything on him. Franky should have been the perfect safe deposit box.

Except he fucked it up by mentioning his old name when he came to visit Iceberg four years ago.

That four years ago is interesting. I’m thinking about timelines here. Kokoro made mention of quite specific dates this episode. She said to her granddaughter that she’d been drinking for ten years, then amended it to eight, when she thought about it. This is convenient because Franky ‘died’ eight years ago. She counts Iceberg as an old friend and she obviously knows Franky well because she was drinking with him too at Blueno’s bar (bad move there, I think).

I bet Kokoro is in deeper with this Pluton mess than I originally thought. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be another apprentice of Tom, Tom’s wife, or even if she was Tom. She’s also on a detour to an unspecified location. Who is she going after? Franky? Does she know he’s a CP9 target?

Honestly, the Strawhats are going to regret smashing into Iceberg’s room. I think they’ll be in for a rough ride here. The World Government trying to revive Pluton? The Strawhats are venturing into the uncharted waters of Politics.

I can’t wait to see how they’ll handle it. ^_^

“GOT A LICENCE TO KILL. AND YOU KNOW I’M GOING STRAIGHT FOR YOUR HEART...”

Lucci would, you know.

For Great Justice.

?

[neverwatchedonepiece]

240: "Eternal Farewell? Nico Robin: The Woman Who Draws Darkness!"

Welp.

I learned a couple of things today. Not particularly nice things, but since I love trying to unravel plot mysteries and in the process spoiling stories for myself, I’m not complaining.

I say I learned a couple of things. Actually, there was a lot going on in episode 240. I think I’ll have to resort to bullet points. I wanna put my theories out there.

Iceberg first. For a while, he was giving off villain vibes. Why wouldn’t he? Hyper-competent, badass, loved by all in Water-7, spends half his time fending off interfering forays of the World Government, and who just so happens to have an Aberdeen Angus quality beef with Nico Robin - a nakama of the hero? I thought that was enough to tip him into the villain category. Not anymore. Turns out he’s in the dark as well. Iceberg’s looking for answers. I have the funniest feeling he knows CP9 are after him. The answers he’s looking for are personal.

Now onto Old Lady Kokoro. Oda arranged a convenient chat between her and Franky at a bar in Water-7 (I loved that entire scene, btw). Kokoro heard what had happened to Iceberg and does not believe the Strawhats are behind the hit. Instead, she hit the nail on the head (as far as I know right now, anyway). The World Government are always hounding Iceberg, who has never given in. CP9 would have been sent in to make sure Iceberg would no longer be an issue. Franky said, “There’s no way it’s that Corgi guy”, to which Kokoro replied, “Nope. CP9.” Franky was like, “CP whaaa?” and Kokoro told him they do the World Government’s dirty work. They come in and kill, leaving no trace. How does she know so much about them? She was about to go drinking with Iceberg before he got shot. This lady knows a hell of a lot more than anyone gives her credit for. My guess is she’s in deep.

And now for CP9. Turns out they’re a shady organisation who carry out hits and all manner of shady shit for the World Government. (This is awesome). Robin works for them, as made pretty damned clear when she met with Shady Suit Guy for a debriefing. Robin technically working for the World Government definitely threw me for a loop. If she was in contact with CP9, how the hell did Crocodile manage to fly under the radar for so long? Or maybe she wasn’t in contact with CP9 at the time and really was using Crocodile to further her dream of finding the Rio Poneglyph, as she told the Strawhats. I am confused about this.

Iceberg was right about the World Government wanting an item he has in his possession. Shady Suit Guy has ordered Robin to infiltrate Iceberg’s mansion again and take The Item. Apparently, a guy called Tom last held the item? Iceberg is also the last survivor of Tom’s disciples. The questions are now: Who is Tom? What is The Item? Why are all his disciples dead, except Iceberg? Why do the World Government want The Item.

I’m also slightly confused about Aokiji. If he’s high up in the World Government and he knows about CP9 and Robin’s true identity, why was he trying to kill her? All the stuff Robin said to him about really trying to change now makes sense, but... why is an Admiral - who works for the World Government - going after one of their CP9 assassins?

Robin’s true intentions are also, to be frank, a fucking mess at the moment. I don’t believe for a moment that there is a darkness in within her that none of the Strawhats could ever understand. I think she’s done some pretty terrible stuff but that her CP9 personality is not her true self. I think she was telling the truth when she told Aokiji she had tried to change. Still, she was willing to frame the Strawhats to further CP9′s goals. CP9 strikes me as one of those organisations that is difficult to leave once you’re in.

Usopp is also still hanging around. Why?

I’m wondering now...

ROBIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING??