"I'm sure he's got nothing to do with me!" says Luffy and I was waiting for him to say it. For him to hear all of this Nika lore and declare that, nope, I don't care, I'm not Nika, I'm not a liberator. It's just such a Luffy thing to do. But I know many fans actually will be shocked with Luffy's answer here or will just dismiss it. I have seen many opinions before that Luffy was always a liberator by choice, so becoming Nika is just natural course of events for him and he will have no problem embracing his role in the bigger scheme of things. Some even complained they hate that Luffy is Nika because they don't want Luffy to be the "fated hero" but instead a "from nobody to the king of the world" trope. But nope! Luffy just noped all of this himself.
Luffy is not a liberator and he's not an altruistic hero, he doesn't go from island to island aiming to save people, and if you think he wanted to, then please remember Fishmen Island and how unhappy he was with the idea of being a hero:
And now if you think Luffy changed since then because Dressrosa happened, then please remember what he asked of Momonosuke in Wano:
Yep, that's right. Luffy still *doesn't have any interest* in becoming a hero. If you think he's alright with that and changed his mind, then you're just not paying attention to him, sorry to say that. Luffy has been pretty consistent about this too and now he declared it yet again in Elbaf. It's the third time already.
You just think it's not a big deal because he so easily changed his mind in Fishmen Island, but it happened only because he had an actual reason to do that. Jimbei promised Luffy all the meat he wants. He gave him a *personal reason* to act like a hero, which is why Luffy agreed. And he did the same in Dressrosa. He wouldn't liberate that country if he didn't get attached first to Law and Rebecca (yes, in this order), and his crew to tontattas. They always do it for someone particular, for their friends. It's the same in Wano too, Luffy's constant motivation is Tama, Momo and Kinemon. He wants them to be happy, most of all, and he even says as much when he defeats Kaido: "I want a world where all of my friends can eat as much as they like".
There, he doesn't do it altruistically because he hates oppresion and villains who thrive on pain of common people and he can't stand seeing it. Yes, he probably thinks it's unfair, but he also grew up in Goa Kingdom, the very definition of unfair regime. He saves oppressed people only when they are his friends or has some other personal interest involved. He defeats the Marine base in Shells Town for Koby (and Zoro, later). He defeats Don Krieg so he can repay his food debt to Baratie. He defeats Arlong for Nami. He fights Wapol for Chopper (who saved Nami) and who he already considers his friend because of that. He fights for the Giants (Little Garden) and Vivi (Alabasta), Conis (Skypiea), Robin (Water 7 and Enies Lobby), Brook (Thriller Bark), Hachi (Sabaody) etc. Though, he does make friends rather easily, so usually it's not that big of a deal. But he isn't going out of his way to places he reads about in the newspapers that need to be liberated, he instead cares more for his own dream. He doesn't enter a certain island with the idea in mind that goes like "if I see some injustice here, I'm gonna bring this shit down". It's the other way around. He makes friends and realizes they're unhappy.
He wants them to be happy again and to live without regrets, and that's why he brings the shit down, whatever it is that makes people he cares about feel so unhappy. Because he thinks this is at least something he can do for his friends. Luffy doesn't think he can do a lot of things, he can't do much at all, but he can do one thing: beat up a guy when needed.
He knows how regret feels like ever since he believed Sabo died, he's not gonna sit there and do nothing next time something like this happens. That's why it's so important for him, to make sure his friends are happy. And that's why he beats up people and liberates countries. It's not for justice, he simply wants his friends to be happy.
But wait a moment, Luffy also wants freedom. Yes, he does. He wants to be the King of the Pirates, because for him it means to be free. And that's how he actually speaks about Nika as well:
He wants the freedom for himself. Isn't it funny that he thinks he already achieved it though?
And before you're disgusted by how selfish Luffy actually is, hear me out: Luffy is simply not a martyr. He won't die or sacrfice himself for the world to liberate it. He will instead die for the world if he thinks that will make his friends happy. Preferably though, he would want to survive and eat that meat with them, and be happy together.
Still, if you want him to be a liberator of a whole world it is actually possible, you just need to make it personal for Luffy, like I suggested. For example, put a person or multpile people who want to save/destroy the world (whichever option you fancy) on Luffy's crew. Luffy always cares for dreams of his crewmates and will always support them (because fullfilling their dreams will make them happy), so he would become a liberator if that helps them. But he would do it for them, not for the world.
Luffy is not a hero because he has a golden heart and a strong sense of justice. He's a hero when his friends are in danger instead, because instead of a golden heart, he simply has a big heart and makes friends wherever he goes. A martyr-like hero who sacrfices himself for people without caring for his own wellbeing is noble, but it's also not a healthy mentality, believe it or not. For starters, if you never care enough for yourself and are ready to throw your life away for a concept, what will happen with people who love you and care for you? Is it fair towards them to throw your life away without caring who you're leaving behind and how they will feel about it? Do you even care then for their feelings if your pursuit of greater good is more important to you? You can save the world and make people you love sad and unhappy, and like they don't even care anymore to live, because you were the one who made them happy and now you're gone. Did you save the world for them or destroyed it for them instead, as the result?
Luffy has his own interest in saving his friends too: so he's not alone again. Humans aren't selfless beings, but it doesn't automatically make us bad people either. And sometimes, while pursuing selfish things, we do something that appear to be extremely selfless. But at the bottom of it: we also do it for themselves, even if it kills us.
Tokyo Babylon taught me that every act is selfish, even if it appears like we do it for someone else: we simply want to feel better about ourselves then. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as we don't lose the sight of other people's feelings on our way. We can always share, after all, and that sharing is the bridge between the lone islands that people are.
Luffy, if he dies, will also say, just like Seishiro: "I didn't do it for you. I did everything by my own choice". For myself. Despite the fact it is also true he does it to make his friends happy. Being selfish and being selfless is like two sides of the same coin and both choices can end up actually hurting people. In the first case, because you care too much about yourself and too little about feelings of others, and in second case because you care too little about yourself and still too little about feelings of people that love and care for you. Can you spot the thing in common here?
Oh no. I just realized since we lost Going Luffy-Senpai, the greatest ship the seas have ever seen, that the collection of Bartlomeo's autographs he got from Strawhats is also gone. That must be the biggest loss in One Piece universe! D:
Unless he used his barrier to shield them from sinking to the bottom of the sea. I wouldn't put it past him and his fanboyism. He would rather risk his life to save the autographs than think of his own safety!
Yes, Luffy, you're right. Anyone would be curious after 100 years. I just can't with Luffy sometimes. I still wonder if this serves as foreshadowing that Luffy will become immortal smh.
Such cheerful idiots. They remind me so much of Zoro and Sanji, and they also served as parallel to them all the way back in Little Garden too.
Just look at them. They love each other so much, my god. I guess in One Piece, fighting each other constantly means you just love them so much you can't refuse any opportunity to interact, geez.
Also it's so sweet that Dory and Broggy still keep it a secret that their weapons broke down because they helped Strawhats leave the island. They will take that secret to their graves, won't they.
This is so wholesome. Kuma's consciousness might be barely there, he can't even speak, but Bonney knows it's still her dad and wants to just spend time with him together <3
I admit this hit me right in the feels. Bartolomeo knows that if he asked for help, Luffy would run miles to him, but he just won't because he doesn't want to be a burden.
I don't think I ever saw Shanks doing that expression before... I wonder if Bartolomeo's words just hit too close to home.
Also hi Shanks, finally I get to see you more often than once every 200 chapters, about the effing time. Don't spoil me too much or I might expect seeing you more often from now on, and I'm not ready for the disappointment if that's not the case!
"Softer than I expected", oh, Bartolomeo, you have NO IDEA. He's so right though.
Oh. My. God. When was the last time I saw you smile like that, Shanks?? Must be a thousand years ago! All the way back when Ace visited you and thanked you for saving Luffy's life. And before that? Must be in East Blue with Luffy. It was way too long. Please smile more often, you doofus! Bartolomeo, honestly thank you for exisiting. You made this man smile like this again <3 also you're a chad Barto, please, you're great.
Also Shanks, you have no idea how many people are doting on Luffy! Lots of very nice people. I wish you could have met Law as well...
And boom, another young pirate crew got eradicated. Seeing Shanks reactions in this chapter though makes me more convinced that Kid will be fine and alive too. Narrator in One Piece is so unreliable lol.
Speaking of narrator in One Piece... who is it actually? Who is commenting the events for us? Is it you, Morgans?? Admit it, you stupid bird!!
I don't believe you even for a second Kuzan. Not after that trick you pulled off with Saul. You clearly did everything you could to SAVE Garp's life there. He was in such a bad shape too, after all. Garp's rep is insane btw. And he looks a lot like Ace locked away forever ago in Impel Down...
Big bro and Big Sis? Caribou, do you mean Devon and Augur by that? LOL. Or does Caribou actually have a big sis??
Hello, new adventure of Strawhats in a Lego land! God, how much I envy them! I also want to explore a lego land!
Okay, so what happened here. Did they shrink and now they're dolls in a lego house? Because this is not Elbaf. It's not like I thought it will be Elbaf anyway, I read a good theory that Elbaf won't happen yet, we're entering floating storyline arc. It might be wrong, because it predicted Strawhats somehow landing in G-14 base (which is supposed to be somewhat near to Egghead, that's where the kids from Punk Hazard are kept, as well as many Sword members are part of it).
But let's explore the possible explanations that were given to us in this chapter alone:
Robin's idea is a funny one. But Robin's ideas and visions are always wrong, that's like the repeated gag in One Piece lol. So I'm not placing a bet on that (also what sort of fish has a lego mansion inside it's stomach).
"There's a chance it'll make you hallucinate". Interesting. And it's called Green Fairy huh. We see Sanji, Zoro, Nami and Usopp getting seriously drunk with it. Coincidentally, those are the Strawhats that are currently missing in action (+Luffy and possibly Chopper as well?). Actually, the whole Sunny is missing. What could make a whole ship just disappear? I mean, it was even tied up to the Giants ship, wasn't it?
Yep, seems it was. Probably using Sunny's anchor. Which means, if a fish actually swallowed them up, it would be dangling on that anchor. But anyway I didn't buy Robin's comment anyway, no one should lol.
So someone had to undo that anchor for the ship to leave... and here's my most logical conclusion to that: it was Luffy. Luffy doesn't like to drink. For some reason he abducted them somewhere? I mean it's not exactly something impossible for Luffy to do. The crew also somehow pins it down on Luffy, just look at this:
Or, it was someone else capable of stealing a whole ship. There's one problem with this idea though. We were just watching reactions from folks all around the world about Vegapunk's broadcast. We basically know where everyone is and what they're doing (which excludes possibility that it was for example a prank from Shanks), besides literally a few exceptions, like most of Luffy's grand fleet. I can't help but notice Law is still missing in action too.
Right before the environment is revealed to us, Nami comments this must be all alcohol's fault. And that's indeed my guess on what's happening: Nami is experiencing a hallucination from drinking too much of Green Fairy. Which means she isn't a reliable narrator right now and what we're seeing isn't 100% accurate. I still envy her though. I also want to be in a Legoland <3
There's also the chapter's title: 落とし前 (otoshimae) which means: payback, return of favour, taking responsibility, but the most known association is with the yakuza's custom of cutting off a finger as apology for making a blunder. We saw one of such examples happen in this chapter: Bartolomeo had to suck it up because he messed with Shanks and Shanks couldn't let it slide.
I admit I thought it's gonna be a red herring plotline, but Oda actually delivered on that promise! I'm glad I was wrong, ha! This was delicious. Bartolomeo drinking a fake poison to show his loyalty to Strawhats was absolutely fantastic. And Shanks testing him in such a way is so disgusting but also awesome. He cares so much to make sure people around Luffy are actually good people... Shanks and Bartolomeo's encounter is basically two biggest fanboys of Luffy meeting up and it's gotta make this my most favourite chapter for a while now <3
Next, we could probably see "taking responsibility" also in what happened at the very end of the chapter. Strawhats got literally drunk, yeah, so they're literally taking responsibility now for it. But it could also suggest someone kidnapped them to either 1. give them payback 2. repay a favour (despite the ominous line at the end of the chapter, I think it might be the latter actually. But we will see). Wouldn't be the first time Oda uses subtle hints like that to let us know what's actually going on.
There's probably a few more tie-ins to the title in this chapter. Dory and Broggy still gonna continue their duel (it's also taking responsibility, right? Once said words can't be taken back), Bonney and Kuma (she took him with her so she's now taking care of him instead of feasting with others), Blackbeard and Kuzan (Kuzan kinda took responsibility over what happened and made up for the losses when he took Garp hostage). I'm not sure how accurate it is though, because I though otoshimae is related to "making up for some wrongdoing or a mistake", not just taking responsibility for your own actions (or collectively for the whole group). But it might be both, I guess?
But then we can't ignore a tiny callback to that line Zoro says in Water 7 here: "we need to take responsibility for accepting Robin into the crew and that's why now we have to decide: is she a crewmate or an enemy?" The word he uses back then is also "otoshimae".
I'm so into this story's development right now, I literally can't wait for the next chapter! I liked the lore in Egghead, but futuristic islands are just not my type of thing in general. Whatever is happening now, I'm so into it already haha.
I was pondering whether I should mention it, but seems no one is catching on to that so far, so I might as well stir the pot a bit.
Many women today maintain long hair when they're single, and then cut it shorter when they have kids, due to its impracticality. So in a way, that cutting of hair is a ceremony that mirrors that of an Edo period Samurai: an end to an era of someone's life, and the beginning of another.
(...)
A friend or co-worker might remark, "wow, are you quitting your job or something?" joking that they were making a grand gesture by getting a haircut.
(source: Anime News Network)
The first time I came upon deep analysis of this trope was in Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka cuts off his bun before leaving village, which signifies he might never come back, he is from now on "dead" to them, because topknots and buns were associated with status back in the days. By cutting it he was not only giving up on his current social position, but also cutting ties with the community he belonged to.
Sumo wrestlers will cut off their topknots when they quit their career. If a samurai cut off their topnot it meant they're giving up on their title and becoming a commoner like everyone else. Sometimes it's done because of shame (pressured by others or because of your own conscience, if you're a honorable samurai). For aristocratic women hair was also a symbol of status and pride, and also object of adoration. Might be why even nowadays in fiction when a girl goes through a break-up or gets rejected by her crush, she cuts off her hair to make a "fresh start" (that apparently isn't uncommon not only in Japan). Last time I saw it was probably in XXXholic (I reccommend it to anyone who never read this manga, especially if you like supernatural themes mixed with slice of life :D).
Funny thing is, I also picked up on that trope subconsciously as a child, because I grew up watching animes. I remember my classmates often asking me why am I keeping my hair long (like, what's so strange in liking your hair long? I guess it became trendy back then to have shorter hair). And I always felt like I need a big reason to cut my hair, like I should do it only after a big life event happening, and I even decided when exactly I will do it. Except that I didn't find any meaning in it and decided I won't do it anyway. Lol.
It's interesting that apparently there was once a law in Japan that forced women to keep their hair long! If they need to cut their hair, they had to report it to the officials on paper, stating a good enough reason (for example, a health issue or a religious ritual). And if they fail to report or deliver good enough reason, they have to face some kind of punishment. You can read more about that here: Women in Japan who got haircuts once had to tell government why.
Importance in Japanese culture aside, for more fun examples of this trope used in fiction you should certainly visit the tv tropes page on it: tv tropes/important haircut.
Now back to Robin. She didn't exactly cut her hair short or anything like that, but she did return to her old hairstyle. That might signify she wanted to underline some kind of change in her life. She got a different hair style in the timeskip. Coincidentally, Nami also allowed herself to keep her hair long and be more feminine, because she felt safe doing so, not anymore having to survive on her own, or so I assume. I think it could have been similar for Robin, it was her sign of "now I'm part of this crew wholeheartedly", because before timeskip she kept the previous haircut instead and she was also always alone. So, it was a way of showing the change in her life, but she chose to do it only after learning news about Luffy losing his brother. Perhaps it might have been her way of showing her solidarity, besides the faith and trust in her crew.
Robin returning back to her previous haircut might be a way to celebrate meeting Saul, like she wants him to feel familiar with her looks, like nothing ever changed (just like the Giants suggested in the chapter). Except that we know that a lot has changed since then, she finally found her comrades, her nakama. That's part of the reason why I think it might not be about Saul at all. There was a lot happening with the Vegapunk's broadcast and will of Ohara in Egghead.
And she did look very affected when she listened to the bits of that broadcast. So, whatever her reason is, I'm sure of one thing: that haircut signifies some sort of decision or change in Robin, a new determination or something coming full circle. Towards what? Revealing the truth and carrying the baton passed by Vegapunk? But wasn't Robin already carrying that on her back already, the call to reveal the truth about the history? She didn't need Vegapunk for that.
It could mean Robin has made some important decision that is the opposite of the timeskip one and it relates to events from before that as well. There are some loose ends left from Water 7 arc. There were some never addressed again lies or games of deception. Maybe it's finally time we learn more about Robin, her mission and what she did exactly before she joined the Strawhats.
If we consider this scene as a whole paralleling to the neighboring frames then it reveals a possible reason why we see Bepo instead of Law here. Long story short: Law's not there with Bepo anymore!
Let's try to break it down:
Sabo is calling out for Ace and Luffy, but not for Dragon (despite Dragon also being a D. and it's a known fact ever since Dragon's and Luffy's family ties got revealed to the whole world in the newspapers), Koby is calling out to Luffy and Garp, and Bepo is calling out to Law. Do these three scenes have anything in common? Sabo's and Koby's do: they're both calling out only to people who aren't there with them physically (Sabo doesn't have to call out to Dragon because he's right next to him, listening as well).
So why shouldn't we draw a connection to Bepo's frame as well? Bepo has no reason calling out to Law if Law is right there with him. We know Law's goal: to know the meaning of will of D. and learning about history, it seems unlikely that he wouldn't pay attention to the broadcast (and so wouldn't need Bepo to call out to him), right? This should be important to him and we shouldn't imagine him sitting there doing his own thing, uninterested. Which leads to this conclusion I came up with:
Bepo's reaction suggests Law isn't there with him anymore. And that's why Bepo calls out to him, just like Sabo and Koby call out to absent people. Which leads us to two most likely scenarios:
Law is already on his way to somewhere else and asked Bepo to listen to the broadcast for him (which creates the question: what would be so important and couldn't wait an extra half an hour?)
Law is still unconscious after his fight with Blackbeard (not unlikely, but we know Law's unusual skill of staying conscious even after having his arm severed).
That's my analysis of the frame and the not-obvious information it can give us. Bepo indeed carried them to safety, they were in some place where they patched up their wounds and could even listen to a snail, but Law seems to be already away somewhere.
New chapter, let's go :D time to analyze all the tiniest and obscure details probably most fans wouldn't even spend a second on lol. Lots of conversations this time, so there will be quite a lot of focus on context reading, something I should actually suck at by definition ;)
What do you think so far: is Loki a good guy or a bad guy?
he was once a good guy, isn't good anymore
he never was a good guy, he was born evil (always believe in prophecies D:)
he's actually still a good guy and always was (I trust Luffy :D)
he was bad once, now he's good (???)
I just know he's lying about something, dunno about what
Voting ended onJan 31, 2025
Last choice is basically "show me the results", just made it an actual option haha. Come on, betting is fun, so what if we end up being wrong :D
Wait, is that Who's who base? Even the guys inside wear the characteristic cat ears of his crew. Will we finally learn what's up with him?? But this is just a cover story, so any answers we will discover won't really be that clear, I guess (because no actual dialogues). But it's still interesting. It's like we're Momotaro again venturing into the den of Oni haha. And we have lion-dog, a centaur lady and little ninja girl for trusty companions instead of dog, monkey and a pheasant. Also Yamato's face when they peek inside the base is priceless :D
But wait, isn't Yamato the oni? So it's actually reversed Momotaro tale, we're cheering for oni and defeating the hero?? damn, now I got myself confused LOL.
I love how Luffy says his thanks not only to Hajrudin, but Stansen as well! He cares about everyone, not just the leaders of groups. And now that he got to know Stansen a bit better and got to interact with him, he's already treating him as a friend.
It's wholesome that it's Luffy thanking Stansen while not even taking credit himself for releasing him in Sabaody (last chapter Luffy just said it's awesome Stansen managed to get away, but never said anything even close in meaning to "you're welcome". If anything, he gives the credit back to Stansen in a way, underlying the fact that it was Stansen's own initiative that allowed him to get away in the end). It's like he only accepts half the credit and who does it remind me of? Trafalgar "give half of your thanks to Strawhat-ya" Law when he released Jean Bart, heh. It's of course all implied not said directly, but I even like it better this way.
Also hi Colon (doing a Nika pose as he runs and grins), aren't you too young for those drunken feasts? XD
No offense, Jarul, but that comment is sort of ignorant? Why is he glossing over this fact? I mean, it's clear to him *why* humans can't make their way up to "true Elbaf" (he points it out by himself!). It just shows that despite knowing the reason and about the obstacles, he doesn't ultimately care whether humans will make it up here or not, or die in the realm below. He claims humans will just flee, but we saw the underworld and many humans seemed to have stayed behind, despite being terrified and ending up relying on Loki for the lack of better options. Many humans must have also died there, eaten by the beasts or because of other circumenstances. We also saw what happens when pirates make it below, Giants have no problems attacking them. I don't think Giants in general like humans all that much, it's the level of "tolerance", at best.
I think what Jarul is not saying is that sure, they *might* don't mind humans, as long as they're somehow associated with some Giants (Shanks and his fleet, Luffy and the Strawhats). Which means if Kid never attacked anyone and instead bragged about defeating Big Mom, he could have been allowed to "actual Elbaf" as well. I will leave this food for thought here if anyone's hungry ;)
So, why is Jarul downplaying the reality like that? Is he trying to appeal to Luffy this way, perhaps because everyone in Elbaf seemed to have heard already that Luffy looks like a sun god?
Look who's bragging about defeating Oars and delivering the final blow, lol. Well, to be fair, all Strawhats delivered the final blow together, so technically he's not lying, he's just not mentioning this tiny fact.
So the Giants heard about "legendary warrior" Oars, interesting. We wanted to know if there's any sort of connection between Oars and the Giants for a while already and seems there is, indeed! We just don't know exactly what it is though XD if I were gonna guess, he was probably described in the infamous ancient text of Harley as well (he was born more than 500 years ago, so it's a possibility)! Or perhaps, once upon a time, Ancient Giants were considered to be the most "pure blooded" Giants and Elbaf used to be their home. Then they went extinct and the worship sort-of-ended, but not really, because ancient giant blood survived in some of the current giants, as we can see with the example of King Harold. Maybe he was even chosen to be king *thanks* to his horns/ancient giant blood. Him ripping off his horns would bring a new meaning then: to part with the old ways and to show his dedication to treat all Giants as equals. But isn't it Hajrudin's wish as well? It could point towards them sharing the same dream and King Harold influencing his son, hm. King Harold was at the very least not opposed to having a child with non-Elbaf Giants, and that's sort of a fact. But then Harold is also a father of Loki who proudly declares himself a god of destruction. Yeah, there's certainly some odd duality going on here with the king.
I'm still wondering whether Elbaf was once a different place, unrelated to any Giants, before they took over the New World.
I need to say Jimbei is taking those comments in good faith, I'm proud of him. Comments about skin color can be triggering, even if they're not meant in bad way. It's worth noting though that his first reaction is "!" which means it did alert him. If it was only neutral realization, the visual indication (on the far right, I marked it with a red frame) would be enough to communicate it to us. And I'm going to tackle this issue seriously and I don't care if most people would just brush it off as whatever. Giving this interaction some weight honestly makes reading this scene much more interesting than just seeing it as simple smalltalk, lol.
Jimbei laughs this comment off, as we can see the typical "laughter" visual cue next to Jimbei (also marked with red frame by me). But is it an honest reaction? I would say it's likely he's probably a bit divided inside about this. This is Jimbei, after all, the very same guy who declared in Marineford that he only follows those he personally acknowledges. He loved Whitebeard, he even wanted to die alongside him in the war, but he wouldn't even travel on his ship with him, instead swim beneath it, like he didn't want to be considered part of them. I think we can safely assume Jimbei wasn't very fond of humans or at least really wary of them, and that's likely something he kinda inherited from his beloved Fisher Tiger. His opinion about humans must be kinda bad as the result (but he would never admit it outloud, he's a very "keep everything to yourself" kind of guy), which can also explain his hesitation in joining Luffy's crew (yes, responsibilities were likely only part of the reason, but an important one!). But here he can see that not only humans but Giants can be untactful as well. This could be a small eye-opening moment for him, perhaps? I don't think he had many opportunities to interact with other races than humans and fishmen before, so this could be widening his horizons. You can't know things like that unless you travel the world yourself (or someone really open-minded who did that shares the stories with you). In his flashback, he also says fishmen and other races just need to understand each other, so here he is, experiencing it first hand.
This scene reminds me of some interesting details I read about before in anthropological books. Not only we as outsiders but native people themselves are almost always curious about body differences, any outstanding physical differences can bring out some curiosity. I saw similar remarks in books about Japanese culture. In one book a woman from overases joins a closed world of geishas and trains to become one herself. The others help her with applying the characteristic white make up, but realize their usual method doesn't work because of the longer nose of the woman, which of course results in a comment about it and a joke about their physical differences. Many Japanese caricatures of foreigners often emphasize their bigger or longer noses too, it's not always done tactfully, but it is a fact that differences tend to attract attention from both sides. We can see it reflected perfectly here with fascination about fishmen coming from the Giants from one side, and Sanji's fascination with the Giant women from the other.
Does it mean One Piece is untactful here? I actually wouldn't say so. Why? Because One Piece is full of characters with many different noses and body shapes, and yes, occassionaly even skin colors (despite all the controversies about whitewashing Usopp). My point is: when both sides are curious about each other and don't use their differences in judgemental way, it's just normal human curiosity. Here are some examples as to when it's not okay to point out a physical difference: when drawing harmful conclusions (like this: all asians have pretty and cute small noses while foreigners have ugly big ones), using them in completely unrelated contexts (why bring it up if it's not related to anything that's being talked atm?) or to underline the differences to point out their "otherness" (then it becomes an indirect message of "you don't belong, because you look different than us"). But I will allow everyone to draw their own conclusions, this is just my opinion on this particular scene, not on the topic in general (which is a much more complex and sensitive issue).
But back to the scene. Of course the topic quickly turns to fantasies about mermaids lol. I wonder if Sanji might have derailed the topic there slightly on purpose? Like yes, he would use probably any occassion to talk about his fantasies, but it's worth noting that he also stayed around Jimbei. Maybe he wanted to keep an eye on what people talk about to him or around him, you know? And we know Sanji is a very considerate and caring guy for everyone in his crew (but not only limited to his crew), so I wouldn't put it past him that he sticked around Jimbei on purpose just so he can tactfully control the topic of conversation, so it doesn't become offensive. But also just because staying around Jimbei means he might inevitably be able to brag about mermaids lol. Still, he quickly changes the topic of mermaids to the topic of Giant women, which makes me believe even more in my idea of Sanji just being mindful and supportive friend here. It's maybe not really obvious, but that's even better that it's so subtle, Jimbei doesn't have to express openly his gratitude which could be awkward and make him simply feel bad, because he's trying so hard himself not to take things the bad way. I don't think Jimbei would be ready to admit his fears so openly, he's tbh a rather private type of guy who doesn't talk about his feelings or opinions much.
Lol, Brook's utter dismissal to the question. Unlike Jimbei though, he doesn't even care and can take it on, no problem. Still, I sometimes do feel for Brook in some situations. For example, in One Piece World Seeker game, where this issue is addressed in one of the side quests. I think it was one of the rare times when I realized Brook can feel really alienated just because he is a walking skeleton and doesn't expect common people to think it's not a big deal. He can be quite sensitive sometimes too, even if he often plays it off as a joke material.
But, Zoro is lowkey doing him the same favour Sanji was doing for Jimbei. He's implying with his comment "I'm surprised so many Giants have never gone out to sea" that Brook isn't so outstanding as Giants think he is (even though we know he actually is!). Of course it's also Zoro so maybe he didn't even realize he's kinda siding up with Brook. But I want to have a bit of faith here in Zoro. He might not be the best in it, but he tries to be there for his crew and has more empathy than we assume he has.
Also, same here, Nami. But considering the case of Dorry and Brogy it's becoming kinda clear that Giants have only one major Pirate Giants group at a time. They like never mention any multiple ones, you know? And now with the Hajrudin taking over the tradition it seems Giant pirates are only a chosen few. Not quite like in the viking times when it was said many men went to sea and women had to often take over the villages in their absence. Or at least that's what I remember reading about vikings.
Ahaha, Rodo and Gerd are finally in same place, so I can see more of their dynamics when they're actually together. And I kinda love them, they're so silly. Seems Rodo is apologizing because Gerd made him do that. But it's worth noticing how shocked Rodo is at her words and the strict scolding. This suggests it is NOT a common occurance between them. In fact, seems like this is the first time it ever happened! I did share my guess in previous commentaries that Gerd wasn't openly hostile to Rodo before the Strawhats incident, but now she feels the extra need to be this way to show a clear difference between herself and him (she doesn't want her lovely human friends to think of her as a freak! And yes, it's just about the fact that she doesn't want to be considered a geek or a freak. She's like this type of fan who secretly spends all her free time on her hobby, but at school or work declares she just likes it a little bit, you know, like a normal person. Pffff).
Rodo though likes Gerd so much that nothing she would say could possibly make him dislike her lol. Which is why he's ready to embrace submissiveness as his new kink, which is the extreme 180 degrees turn in his character from the "I'm a god, listen to me peasants" roleplay. He loves Gerd that much, huh. It's kinda endearing really. Besides it being just, you know, a silly gag.
And that means Rodo is already on Strawhat's side lol. That was quick 😂 not only that, he even became Nami's slave number 3 pfff. He's also very good at it. Just look at how fast he adjusted there: "My vision is awful, I wouldn't even notice any treasure missing". Omg he's so funny. And he's enjoying every second of his newly found passion of s&m play haha. I'm afraid I have already forgiven him locking down the Strawhats at the beginning of the arc. And for no other reason than him being just himself LOL.
Now all that's left is for Hajrudin to forgive him too. Honestly, one good word from any Strawhat about Rodo would be enough at this rate, to make this happen :)
Funny how Rodo is trying to shorten the distance by pointing out something that is actually true, as we learn from the next chapter. Rodo and Nami do share some things in common, like, both of them wanted to draw maps since they were kids ❤ but Nami doesn't open her heart to people easily, making Rodo her personal slave is already big enough leap of faith from her. It's a bond she accepted but on her terms, heh. No matter what, Rodo respects her boundaries (maybe because he can indeed relate to her in more ways than one) and doesn't try to overstep them anymore. Actually, he finds pleasure in simply being useful to her (probably the same way he feels happy to be useful to Hajrudin too) and speaks with the Strawhats as earnestly as he can, which is probably also not something that comes easy to him! After he is scolded here he starts to refer to himself as "sessha" which is the humble, old way of speaking Okiku used in Wano (roughtly translated as "this unworthy one"). This means that Rodo actually takes extra step back to assure Nami he won't overstep. It feels a bit silly and again very roleplay-like, but also actually surprisingly genuine.
A moment of appreciation for Zoro acting like a true, intimidating pirate, hehe. Love moments like these in my pirate manga :D
Also bonus for scaring the heck out of Rodo. He indeed realized he didn't take the threat seriously lol. And yet he must have seen their bounties before, after all he knew all of their names when he found them.
More sun god lore dropped :D seems there are different depictions of sun god. He's a god of laughter, a god of destruction, a god of liberation, and... a ruler of the world? One of these is not quite the same as the others, hm. One sounds less godly and more, you know, mortal. Okay, so it's time to bring this question to the table: were they all four different Nikas? You know what I'm thinking about, right?
Except here there are even five, not four :) one is an unexpected double, despite all of them being quintuplets. Many people have said it before and I think this is the time to say it again: this is most likely a foreshadowing of some kind. Which kind exactly? I'm not sure. Will there be a point in current timeline of events where there will be as many as 5 nikas? (we're slowly getting here, let's count it together: Sun God Rodo, Sun God Loki, Sun God Nika aka Luffy, Sun God Nika aka Bonney... hey, we're at four already! Of course I don't think this is the end game situation so to speak lol. Just the same parallel used again!) But of course this can also simply mean there were 5 Nikas already in the past, including Luffy in the present.
Maybe each time a Nika appeared in history he brought about big changes with him, just like Jarul said it, but those changes were once seen as good (liberation) and other times as bad (destruction), depending on the perspective of a winner's interest, ofc. If the winner wanted to be seen as good he would label Nika as something bad, like destruction. If the winner was the same side as Nika, then he would portray the events as liberation then, something positive that helped him win. Honestly if that's the case then no wonder the rulers always fear Nika, it's always in their interest to preserve the order the way it is, which is in their favour ofc. You never know when Nika would pop up and on which side it will end up being.
But you know what? Knowing Oda, it's all three references I mentioned used at once (remember, the rule of three, Oda likes it a lot): the playful parallel at Elbaf, the Nikas through history and foreshadowing the end game Nika situation. LOL. Can't wait.
One last observation about the previous screenshot. Giants said "We all look up to Nika! We all share the same dream!" But if you pay attention to what they said, it's actually not true. Like yes, they all aspire to be Nika, but for each of them that means a different thing! Some of them want to be rulers because they believe in the interpretation of Nika being a ruler of the world. Others believe in Nika as the liberator instead so they want to liberate people. There are also those who wants destruction of the world, like Loki himself. And finally we have those that just associate Nika with laughter so all they ever aspire to be is to make other people laugh or apply a lifestyle in which they laugh and are joyous no matter what, despite the hardships and pain they might experience. I think it might end up being important that same people can share same dream, but that dream might mean something different to them. Like Luffy and Roger having "same dream" in this context, for example!
(btw I saw the memes already that original Nika warrior was black, because the shadowy figure appears to look like it, lol. Tbh I would find it absolutely fantastic if it turned out to be true! 💖)
Speaking of different interpretations of history and Nika lore, we know it all thanks to the ancient text Harley that Giants preserved, even though no one apparently can read it correctly anymore. Oh boy, I hope this is NOT a reference to poneglyphs, because that will throw everything into pure chaos. Imagine multiple interpretations of the poneglyphs... it's probably not the case, since unlike Nika's parallel, this is the first time we hear about this. But it's worth remembering that Enel couldn't read the poneglyphs despite them using Birka's writing. Let's also not forget that poneglyphs can be heard, like in Roger's case (is it possible to hear the message engraved on them without the need to read the signs? And is it the same message as the written one?).
As for the Harley text itself in Japanese it's ハーレイ (haarei) and is classified as shintei (holy scripture, like in religious context). This might be a reference to things like Edda (the original source of Norse mythology) or Codex Regius ("Royal Book" or "King's Book" that starts with a prophecy) which in Japanese is called: monogatari uta (narrative poems, except uta can be also taken more literally as songs. Slight hint towards Binks Sake song, perhaps :D sound was also very important theme in Skypiea, arguably one of the oldest civilisations we found in OP world). We also had a prophecy about Loki in this arc. If anything, those could have been Oda's inspirations here.
This is also the first time we heard that world has been destroyed twice already! This means the current world of One Piece is actually the third world! Rule of three, here, yet again!! Yes, we're totally going to destroy the world by the end, to make it go full circle. Okay, so we can safely assume the previous time it happened it caused a Void Century, right? No confirmation of that but it's the most likely option, even if not the only possibility.
In theory, Void Century could have been "end of the world" prevention or delay measure. Why? We actually have no evidence that the world ended. Imu is still around and many different places with a history spanning over thousands of years, like Alabasta. If the world ended shouldn't Alabasta get erased as well? And also it's been mentioned before that Void Century was the history of a war between two fractions that left "scars on the world". Again, if world ended back then, there wouldn't be anything left. Also, do you remember the clever trick Vegapunk did in Egghead arc? Erasure of memories. And what is Void Century if not a bigass erasure of memories of the whole planet? (even the title of the chapter in which Vegapunk's trick is explained, the Void Fortnight, is playing with this idea). As the result, Egghead wasn't really destroyed, but instead severed into two parts, one got sent to the sky, the other ended up in hands of the Government. I admit I always like to imagine Void Century as the history of the Biggest Foil Trick in History lol. Everyone thinks Joyboy lost, but he never actually failed in what he tried to achieve :)
But putting that theory aside, let's consider that Void Century was actually a successful destruction of the world instead, because many will consider this to be the most obvious answer. That means something like a Void Century happened before already as well. And we have evidence of that! Lunarians were once on the Red Line, right? But that doesn't seem to fit the timeline of Void Century we know of, at all. It was the conflict between Joyboy, the first pirate, fighting against an alliance of 20 kingdoms instead. There was no battle against certain rulers like Lunarians occupying the Red Line mentioned anywhere. Which means that must have happened way earlier than that and it just makes more sense this way. Perhaps the Ancient Kingdom was the one who brought down Lunarians and made them go extinct eventually, and ruled the world as the result. History likes to repeat itself so Ancient Kingdom got defeated by people who then took over which place? The top of the Red Line again. And now we know them as Celestial Dragons, a mere shadows of their past selves.
There's one problem though, I still can't decide where to put the sky people in this scenario. Shandorians, Skypieans, Birkans. Were they connected to the first end of the world instead? I guess we need Urouge plotline to gather more hints, because whatever I try to guess now feels like a shot in the dark, at best. My current best shot would be Egghead's top stratum shotting up to the sky and maybe that's how original Skypieans ended up there too. That though supports my idea that Void Century wasn't destruction of the world but a scam instead. Unless Skypieans were in the sky even longer than we can imagine. We actually have no clue when did the moon people go down to earth, at all. Maybe it was at the beginning of times, lol. Like a parallel to our world's belief that UFO build the pyramids in Egypt, you know. Maybe first place Moon People visited was Alabasta and they build the pyramids there as well XD
Also, it all kinda points out to the idea that devil fruits existed even before Void Century. Which makes more sense than their sudden creation only in the span of 100 years, at least to me.
Another thing worthy to mention is the whole idea of world destruction. It can mean anything, from literally destroying a planet (remember the missing "moons" on Clover's solar system setup?), to something more symbolic like shifting of poles (equator and north/south poles changing places) which could result in current islands getting submerged in water and the reveal of the previously sunken Ancient Kingdom, together with the All Blue. It could by all means also just be a figure of speech, meaning current power systems would get destroyed and new system will arise, for example: common folk will become the rulers, kinda like Drum Island situation. Ruler will now be one of the common people, living among them, sharing their happiness and sadness of daily lives. But I don't think all of the mentioned "end of the world" or "destruction of the world" can happen at the same time in the plot, even if we have sort-of foreshadowing for all of those outcomes (maybe shifting of poles gone wrong can result in destruction of the planet?). Maybe destruction of the world is also a choice between options, and not a foreordained outcome. If you have your own ideas about this please share :D
Jarul was there when this happened, right? He admitted as much this chapter. He saw Loki killing King Harold, and he's the only person in the room who doesn't actually judge him for it. This reminds me of that situation from Little Garden, Dorry and Brogy said if you don't die then it means that's the will of the Elbaf's god. And if you die, you were in the wrong, and the winner was in the right. Jarul thinking Loki isn't wrong is not because he didn't like King Harold. It's just the old belief of Elbaf that he still has faith in: Loki didn't die despite everything so he might be in the right and it can be a proof he has "divine protection", while King Harold died so he was wrong. That's all there is to it. God of Elbaf decides outcomes of all conflicts.
But new generation of Giants seemed to have forgotten this belief already and judge Loki very harshly, unlike Jarul. And why did they forgot their old ways? Because of King Harold changing whole politics in Elbaf; from being a warrior country to centering on education and avoidance of violence and fighting. This could make Giants easy targets to eliminate, keep that in mind, Government considered Giants to be dangerous enemies for a long time, it would be extremely handy for them if Giants became weak, were easy to control (like use them for the upcoming war so they're on the side of the Government) or to erase them easily (in case they refuse, duh, to prevent them from joining the enemy's side).
In other words, King Harold indeed might have been in the wrong and Loki was right. Consider it. In which arc of One Piece the situation as we're told turns out to be correct? Dressrosa? People just live happily with the toys and toys are not slaves for fake saviours who kicked out a good king? Wano in which Orochi painted Oden as the bad guy and himself as the good ruler? Why would Elbaf be any different? The surface story we're told is ought to turn to be a lie as well, the only question that remains is: in which way exactly? There are still many possible answers to that and all are still likely.
Seems Luffy has already decided that Loki is a good guy, lol. I never doubt Luffy :D
Loki's terrible reputation is even more terrible than we thought. Not only he has been born cursed (according to the prophecy, ha, what did I tell you all, I knew it had be a prophecy :D) and fated to kill his father. Seems his birth was accompanied by bad omens (the horse dying. ain't no way a toddler killed a horse, come on. and also same year Linlin caused a death of a giant. year later a queen died... you get the drill).
He was apparently also a mischief (many people pointed it out and I also agree: that part sounds like Oden's story) and an arsonist. But if we remember Oden's case, he was still beloved despite being a menace stomping over the social rules. He also at least once took the blame for someone else (Kinemon and the mountain god incident. Only Kin and Denjiro, and Oden himself, knew the truth). Perhaps Loki also took the blames for the fires on himself or, you know, people might have blamed all calamities on Loki. "Unknown fire? Someone said they saw Loki nearby!". Yeah, sounds plausible to me. It's easy to put the blame on the guy everyone supposedly hates. Let's not forget we learned that Loki spend the time in Underworld Elbaf ever since he was a child. What was a prince of Elbaf doing there instead of sitting in the castle? yeah, I still think he was an outcast.
"Caused mischief whenever the King wasn't looking" part is curious though. the same with the insinuation that Loki could do whatever the heck he wanted as soon as the King was away (why was the King away anyway? We learned already there's only one dedicated Giants Pirates crew at a time). This is something worth keeping in mind. Perhaps Giants ought to run havoc (like in that proverb with mice partying when cats aren't around) and again, blamed it on the cursed Prince. Or maybe there's something more to all of this... seems King Harold had to leave Elbaf quite often, he did end up meeting Hajrudin's mother somewhere away from Elbaf, I guess, and brought both of them with him. Despite Harold being so loved, Hajrudin's mom wasn't even allowed inside the castle, because people of Elbaf didn't acknowledge her and even bullied her :/ all things considered, did King Harold really love his people after all of this...?
Interesting, we learn that the "land of warriors" wanted to connect with the world outside. Seeing their change in education, maybe they even attempted to join the countries united under the World Governement. But why would they do such a thing? Perhaps it was to overthrow the prophecy or to unite with others? If Elbaf is no longer a land of warriors but instead a land of peace, then no prince will kill the king. In one of his theories Joyboy even suggested that King Harold decided to shower his son with love to make sure he won't hate him. That's a nice thought, unusual, but would fit the guy's image. After all he did have a child with Giants outside Elbaf and brought that kid to Elbaf as well (Hajrudin). I guess it shows he wasn't a barbarian but instead a kind monarch who was personally against prejudice. Sadly, seems he couldn't really make the folks change their minds and they still ostracized both Hajrudin (because of impure blood) AND Loki (because he's cursed) as the result. Though who knows, maybe Elbaf at first loved the prophecy. A true warrior kills others in battle, it's a honour, right? Perhaps the view on Loki changed only after the Elbaf's big change occured and at first he had god-like status instead and was indeed seen as a true god of destruction! Which would explain why he thinks everyone should still see him this way.
But then we also have Hajrudin, who wants to unite all the Giants races and become a king. I can't help but wonder why didn't Loki become a king after killing Harold? Perhaps he never wanted to be a king himself, unlike Hajrudin? After all he could think of himself as god of destruction but not as a ruler, as those are two opposing views on Nika, their ideal. Btw, worth noticing, on the arsonist panel Loki is presented in Nika's pose (which I would personally call god of laughter, heh).
So Shanks captured Loki on the seas 6 years ago. What was Loki doing rampaging on seas? It again supports the idea that he didn't want to become the next ruler. Especially since we also learn it was 14 years since King Harold was dead. 8 years is a long time, in which Loki didn't attempt to rule Elbaf at all. And finally he ditched it all and went to sea, huh.
Zoro's reaction is worth noting. Perhaps he realized he should keep Luffy in check. We see them talking shortly after outside and Zoro immediately catches on to Luffy's plan for freeing Loki and he is against it. Which is funny, considering he usually enables Luffy's chaotic energy, even in this arc, it's not like him to pause and question, instead of following Luffy's lead no matter what. This is like 180 degrees from his fuck up in Wano, when he let Luffy cause a rebellion (would freeing Loki cause a rebellion or turn Giants against Strawhats? Seems likely from their big reactions!). Back then Law trusted Zoro to keep Luffy in check, but Zoro didn't truly even try and that led to horrible consquences (Luffy landed in Udon, Zoro was a fugititve the whole arc and basically useless to their plans, wandering on his own instead). In the raid he tried to control Luffy a little, but instead caused as much havoc himself as well. I would say Zoro learned his lesson and tries to act smarter than this. Back in Wano his pal Law trusted Zoro to be able to keep Luffy in check when needed, but Zoro failed, despite being with Luffy since the very beginning, being his first trusted crewmate and friend. My guess is he thinks Law was right in general and Zoro himself should do better.
At first, Zoro is pushing the "reputation is just a reputation" and "I never met Loki" approach, but quickly shuts up. He probably got reminded of his own past. Zoro has really good intuition (even if he doesn't always know how to act on it) and I would say this is one of those moments. He wants to keep Luffy in check, but realizes Luffy never relies on reputation about someone. And he's usually right not to do that indeed. So even though he expects Loki might be lying to Luffy, he decides to give it a small leap of faith, while keeping an eye on the situation. Good old Zoro :)
Interestingly we learn that Government sent informants to Elbaf before, but they all mysteriously vanished thanks to a giant crow. We saw that crow before, it's definitely the same one that carried Strawhats to Rodo. Which means all those CP agents? Landed in Rodo's lego diorama! LOL. Now who's a chad without even knowing it? That's right, our pal Rodo :D Those skeletons probably belong to some of the more obnoxious agents too, so you don't have to feel too bad about them, lol.
While we don't really have it confirmed that it was Cipher Pol, they're called 諜報部員達 Chōhō Buin-tachi "Intelligence agents." Very similar to how CP is called. It's not the exact same kanjis, but we have a similiar situation in Egghead with the kidnapped agents. Chōhō kikan was how CP agents were referenced to in Egghead arc. Only first kanjis are the exact match, but the meaning in both cases is overall still almost the same: (ちょうほう) means "intelligence" or "espionage," and "部員" (ぶいん) means "member." The term refers to forces specializing in gathering secret information. At this point it would be weird if it was anyone else than CP, especially after we learned that CP0 is Celestial Dragon's shield (God Knights are said to also hold the same power or even be Celestial Dragons themselves).
Funny how Loki calls Knights "noble" in same sentence he calls Celestial Dragons scum. Does it mean that at one point in history those fractions weren't the same thing or even linked in any way? Let's remember Giants have a long standing history and preservere knowledge about the world that might be lost to other nations and races already.
This also confirms God Knights is actually some sort of knight order. Not every God Knight seems to hold the "saint" title like Celestial Dragons though (we need to keep an eye on it for confirmation).
Let's examine Shamrock's behaviour a bit closer. He seems to be rather levelheaded and would want to avoid uneccessary bloodshed. If an objective or goal can be achieved without killing anyone (even a wolf), he would definitely prioritize that option. He also stops Gunko from being too hasty/hot tempered, which shows 1. he's higher than her in hierarchy (duh, we know that already, but it's really neatly reflected in this dialogue) 2. despite the fact he is letting her execute the orders without doing much himself, I don't think the order actually came from Shamrock, but instead someone higher up (like Garling?).
Seems Shamrock isn't even allowed to make his own decisions without consulting it with anyone first. And that despite being the leader of the Knights! I gotta say, so far, Shamrock actually doesn't score any bastard points yet, lol. Despite fandom expecting him to be "the evil twin" ;) as for me? I'm just observing him. and observing. lol.
I know many people think Loki is really coldblooded here, but I disagree. Here, he's not actually talking to the God Knights. What he's saying is meant for his wolf friend. He tells him to die in peace and accept his fate, while Loki will avenge him (TCB translation directs Loki's speech to third person for the wolf, like Loki is talking to God Knights about him instead of to him, but he's not. He's talking directly to the wolf, which is emphasized by the "tomo yo" - my dear friend, end of his speech). He also tells him to die like a warrior, without opposing his own fate, scowling or complaining. And the wolf is listening, it literally stops howling in pain when he hears that. This is the multitude of their bond, it's genuine. Those beasts don't follow Loki because they have to, they follow him because of the warrior code. Loki is the true leader of their horde!
His words might seem harsh, but they're mostly assertive, he wants to assure his friend that nothing can break him and things will end up in their favour in the end. It's to appease his spirit. He's not apologetic for not choosing to spare him, but he assures he will never forget about this sacrifice. This is indeed probably the best thing he could have done in this situation. To the people who blame Loki for not choosing a better option: you know what, you should direct your rage instead on the God Knights that toy with the lifes of other creatures like it's nothing. Know who your actual enemy is. Loki is a victim who is faced with an unfair choice from the very beginning. Shamrock and Gunko know it, that's why they try to play with his emotions. They somehow know Loki is more compassionate than he seems.
This is probably how Loki himself also thinks about fate. Don't oppose it, just accept it like a true warrior should. Might explain why, despite being rather kindhearted, he embraced his role as the god of destruction and prophesized cursed prince. Perhaps.
In next line he declares: Kono Ikari o Kuratte Ore wa!!! (I will receive this rage for you, or literally "this rage, I will receive!"), which is the exact same wording style as the famous line Luffy always says: Kaizoku ou ni ore wa naru! (the reversed order of words, The Pirate King, I will become!) And I didn't see it pointed out before, but for me it's a clear sign we're talking about inherited will here. Loki will take the wolf's will on himself, he will inherit it, and that will is rage. Sometimes the will can be a dream, love or care (Saul's case?), protection and many other things too, apparently, Which means the moment Luffy declared his dream as becoming king of the pirates, which he shared with Roger, he at the same time inherited his will, even if he isn't exactly aware of it. Now that's a thought!
This is a tiny little scene, with Zoro being attentive. This detail brought back warm memories. Zoro was definitely not acting like this in Zou, which were similar circumenstances! In both scenarios the crew discovers a ransacked place. In Zou, Zoro thinks the gate is simply open, not paying attention. Law corrects him, pointing out stuff, and Zoro soon catches on, trying to do the same ("something wrong with the road too!"), a bit like he wants a praise, haha. Anyway, Zoro inspecting this door to the castle (it was broken from the inside, you can tell by the damage it left, and it's something that happened recently too!) is the Zoro who is smarter after spending some time with his pal Law :) that's Law's influence on him, right there. God I miss Law.
Cute moment with Rodo being a big chicken and Nami reassuring him. Her intention here isn't dictated by kindness. She commented just a moment ago that "this is too vast to be walkable". She was nice because she wanted Rodo to carry her, so she doesn't have to walk so much. But for that to happen, she needed to convince Rodo to be brave and walk inside together with them, lol. Zoro of course joins in for the ride, because he's a lazyass like that (he did the same thing in Punk Hazard, lol. always riding on Brownbeard's tail). It's worth noting he's resting his swords, is that a small bit of trust?
It's cute how Luffy remembers Rodo's name. I guess it's because Rodo is part of the Hajrudin's crew. Seems Luffy took it to heart to remember the members of his own fleet, which is admirable for someone who has such poor memory like Luffy, lol. So he remembers Hajrudin, Stansen and Rodo now. I think Rodo is actually really appreciating it. Not only did Rodo capture Strawhats, Luffy doesn't even hold it against him. In fact, he had quite a blast in his lego town, was a bit sad to leave it so soon and regretted they had to destroy some of the stuff. In other words, Luffy actually likes Rodo. Luffy usually likes good people and doesn't believe anyone is unworthy of living, keep that in mind.
The interior of the Aurust castle is quite interesting. Some speculate the name comes from english word for owl (who knows, who knows). What are those catacombs down there (they remind me of catacombs in Alabasta that we could explore in One Piece Odyssey, they were also destroyed, and it wasn't because of Crocodile)? Why did everything overgrow like this in mere 14 years? And why was this place out of access, to the point that no one even buried the Giants that got killed in the battle? Things are really suspicious.
We also learn about ancient giant blood which often shows as the presence of horns. Ain't that interesitng?
And we finally learn how King Harold looked like. I swear he reminds me of Kratos, lol. Minus the moustache. Some people pointed out he also looks a bit like Kaido, and since we know that Kaido also had horns (as well as Yamato) and was always kinda huge (though not Giant sized), it would make sense. But I'm not sure he's another illegitimate child of Harold, I think Kaido's blood is more dilluted, that's why he's not big like a Giant himself, unlike Hajrudin!
This brings up a question though. Hajrudin doesn't seem to have horns, and we have no idea if Loki's ones are real or just a helmet (though one of his horns on his helmet was glued back on, if you look closely). Does it mean there's no guarantee to have the horns as a child of someone who has them?
Apparently King Harold ripped his horns off as the declaration of changing his ways and seeking peace, which I think makes sense, since he was known as Great Warrior, he wasn't born a pacifist. Do you think Loki, his son, did a similar thing? is it possible Loki at some point blinded himself, as a sign of his conviction? Perhaps, like Fujitora, he couldn't stand the sight of the world and all the atrocities he saw in it. Yeah, I don't think all that rampage in the palace was caused by Loki. But I could believe Loki saw it all with his own eyes and blinded himself afterwards, having enough of seeing so much cruelty. That could be why the gentle and kindhearted Loki we heard about from Lola's flashback turned into bitter destroyer of the worlds he thinks he is today. Yeah, there's still so many possible explanations and none is truly dismissed yet.
But there's one more possibility here I wanna mention. Loki might have been framed, but instead of trying to tell people the truth, he decided to push that lie and took the blame on himself. Maybe he knew people would blame him anyway, because of that stupid prophecy, and Loki doesn't really believe in opposing his fate. But that would mean Jarul knows what actually happened and lied to us (he did avert his eyes when he talked about Loki). That sword he has in his helmet seems to belong to King Harold, btw. We don't have a proper close-up of it in the portait, but the handle has the exact same, unusual shape. I think it's more likely King Harold attacked Jarul with it rather than Loki stole his sword and tried to kill his father with it. It just makes more sense, you know. Maybe Harold was manipulated (Mingo's strings?) or maybe he was never the nice ruler everyone thought he is, or maybe he went insane. My bet personally is still on Government turning against Giants. That circle in the throne room must have been there before, I wouldn't be surprised if God Knights entered through it before and caused all that massacre we saw remnants of, and blamed it all on Loki. Government always lies and discards the pieces it doesn't need anymore. After all, everyone are just insects to them.
But why would God Knights want Loki? Okay, hear me out. Not only Loki didn't deny the blame they put on him (which put him ironically in their favour, heh), he also ate his father's devil fruit. It's likely to assume most if not all God Knights wield powerful devil fruits. Maybe that's why they killed Harold, to get his fruit (it is said to be one of the most powerful fruits after all!). But before they could do it, Loki ate it and ran off or chased them away. I'm still not sure what is Jarul's role in all of this though. Why is he not telling the truth, if that's the case? Did Loki asked him not to? Or was Jarul's life spared on the condition he never shares the truth of the event, and as the result he was the one who commanded the castle to be abandoned and sealed away, so that no one knows the truth. I hope we will get more leads, this honestly feels like an investigation of a crime scene, haha.
Jarul seems to know more than he seems to. 1. Gerd and Goldberg want to report to him after they check on Rodo, because they witnessed a giant crow carrying a ship. Goldberg also mentions "they're supposed to arrest intruders" back then (chapter 1130). Compare that to what Jarul said to Luffy: "not many humans make it here and mistake Underworld for actual Elbaf". Still think he didn't downplay that comment on purpose? Let me spell it out again so it sinks in: they arrest intruders who make it all the way up to Elbaf. They're not welcoming strangers in their land in general, period. Jarul sold Luffy the "nice version" instead of the truth. 2. Someone put those guards to keep an eye on the abandoned castle. That someone was most likely Jarul as well, because he's the only one besides Loki who knows what actually happened on that fateful day. Who are those guards protecting the castle from? Possible intruders from the summoning circle? Definitely not, the guards were clearly dumbfounded by their appearance. They guard this castle so that no unauthorized folk comes inside. Just like Rodo said it - no commoners, himself included, are allowed inside. Jarul doesn't want most people to know what's exactly in the castle.
Few thoughts here. First of all, Rodo is a great exposition device AND an excellent nerd guide. He shares all those trivias and bits of history, god bless him that he's accompanying the Strawhats. Too bad other Giants do not appreciate him much.
Second thought: when he says that Hajrudin holds the grudge against Loki, he adds "sadly" (in Japanese the way he says it emphasized the "sad" part even more, suggesting Hajrudin was "the most sad out of all people" about Loki's betrayal). That sentiment there suggests Hajrudin and Loki weren't on bad terms in the past, but King Harold's death sadly changed that. That could explain why Loki was never seemingly interested in becoming a ruler himself, he probably knew Hajrudin wanted to become one (it was his dream since he was a child, as we learn thanks to the tiny flashback of Rodo) and he was gentle and kind himself so he supported his own brother in his dream. Even after whatever shit happened in the castle, Loki never changed his mind about it... if that's the case, that's some true brotherly love right there. Hajrudin on the other hand probably wants to defeat Loki now, but thinks he can't (perhaps because of that devil fruit). We met Hajrudin in Dressrosa, he was trying to win the flame flame fruit back then, probably hoping it would make him stronger to take down Loki.
Luffy realizes he's butting into a conflict between brothers, oh boy.
Third thought: I absolutely adore how Rodo points out humans also kill each other and they're not any better from Giants having infights. Though just afterwards his pride takes over and he declares other races of Giants are inferior, but seeing his answer to Nami's comment he's not ignorant, he's really self-aware of his shortcomings here. Perhaps he wished he could change himself. Not surprising, considering he is serious when he declares he wants Hajrudin to become king of the giants and unite all the giant races. He's struggling, but he does strive to become better!
Rodo in the flashback is absolutely adorable and kinda a crybaby. Didn't I speculate in one of my chapter commentaries that Rodo seemed to me like a bullied nerd since he was a child? well, bingo. He indeed was. But it wasn't Gerd who saved him but Hajrudin instead. Which is why he considers him his friend and supports his dream, despite having tainted thoughts about pure bloodlines and other prejudice. I can't really blame him, seems he was always bullied and still is, to some extent. No one really cared when Rodo was carried all tied up to the tavern, for example. And I don't think Giants are so dedicated to humans in general, like Gerd or Dorry and Brogy.
There might be a reason why Rodo is roleplaying a sun god in his lego dioramas, he's fantasizing about a world in which he won't be bullied and has some agency instead. Power fantasies yep. But like we can see, he also has a submissive side to him. All in all, I think he would just want to live in a place where he isn't bullied and everyone are accepted, even if he has hard time believing it could be possible. No wonder, if you're bullied your whole life it's hard to imagine a better world. But Hajrudin could and Hajrudin wanted to be friends with him, and that was enough for Rodo to have restored just a tiny bit of faith back in "humanity", or rather, "giantity".
Rodo also has a good heart and is shy, he doesn't want to admit to the Strawhats that Hajrudin was his saviour. Instead he focuses on how awesome Hajrudin is: "straightforward, earnest, endured a lot but doesn't give up". He has a lot of gratitude and compassion for his friend, and would rather speak about him than his own struggles. We know how good of an intuition Zoro has, he probably sensed Rodo is hiding something (just like he did before with Robin or Okiku), he just doesn't know what or why, which is why he's prying Rodo with so many questions here. It's actually a huge step forward from his judging attitude with Robin, he would rather inquire now than show full distrust. But after hearing Rodo's answer about Hajrudin Zoro recognized they're similar to each other, him and Rodo, both were saved by their respective captains and want to repay them with loyalty and support, but are too shy to admit the real reason for it. This is the moment Zoro decided Rodo is alright, actually. He got Zoro's seal of approval and perhaps a bit of disappointment (seems Zoro won't be cutting him today lol).
I find the way Zoro phrased it very funny and dishonest though: "You're an understanding guy, how boring". Yeah, he for sure doesn't think it's boring, he's just too shy to admit he's not that much different himself, pfff. Always trying to act so cool. It's even more underlined by the "nanda wataseba" comment at the beginning, suggesting Rodo's dream is a hand-over (he's trying to make someone else's dream come true and it became his own dream). Nami saw right through him there though which is why she laughed btw.
Speaking of Rodo, I dunno why so many people still can't find him likable and instead would show sympathy towards Gunko of all people. Her personality sucks! And she is a God Knight, what happened to the idea of "you're a bad person if you're truly supporting the Government"? She's the embodiment of exactly that! Doesn't apply anymore because she is pretty and flashed her panties and has a cool devil fruit? Geez. I'm just saying, it's less embarrassing to like Rodo than Gunko, he's a better person than she is. Gunko is so high and mighty, fully embracing superiority complex of a celestial dragon. I somehow get a sentiment that she was one of those recruits who always wanted "a better life" and considered becoming a God Knight as a chance to change her fate. Or perhaps she is trying to rationalize her own choice, heh.
Seems to me like Loki's threats are a bit hollow though. But I like his unyielding spirit! Though if he gave in now he would have let down his beasts friends that sacrificed themselves for him, so it's not like he had a choice, he had to act tough. I wonder if he's really so strong or is he just benefitting from the lies told about him...
And here we have him, the face and name reveal. Figarland Shamrock, son of Garling and captain of God's Knights, as well as a Celestial Dragon. Now, who is Shanks? Is he his twin? They sure are hauntingly look alike. Or perhaps is Shanks the clone? I guess we still don't have a definitive answer, but we know one thing for sure now: Shanks and Shamrock are two seperate people. I guess he's kinda handsome. I prefer more Shanks bratty attitude though. I wonder if the two ever met before... I would assume they did. Elbaf is Shanks territory and he said "he stayed a bit too long" and met Loki who called him a coward (perhaps for not releasing him or standing up to Shamrock?). Suspiciously enough we never saw the beginning of the conversation between God Knights and Loki, perhaps because Loki was already expecting them. I know people are already burying the "Shanks is the rat" theory, but I think it's a bit too soon to do that, lol. There's always a possibility the brothers are somewhat working together. Would I like it personally though? Meh, depends if there's a good reason for it.
For now I don't have any particular sympathy or antipathy towards Shamrock. I'm not opposed to the "twins" or "clones" idea here either. It all depends how it will be exected and I will keep my eye on this development. Still, I'm kinda glad it wasn't Shanks who had that secret meeting with Gorosei, just because it never truly fit Shanks to be there.
New piece of lore at the end of the chapter! In the past, Elbaf Giants dominated the whole sea of the New World, which is an interesting trivia to remember. It kinda makes sense, now after we know how strong they used to be!
A note about God Knights. They're called kishidan in Japanese which means something akin to "knights' order," suggesting a warrior group that hold values of honor and valor in high regard. Reminds me of those statues of warriors at the entry to the Red Line above, you know which one:
I wonder if there's some connection. Maybe a new incarnation of the old tradition. After all, who is the God the God Knights are named after? Imu? If so, what title does he hold? Another Sun God perhaps?
Yes, I'm insane like that, heh. But honestly, why not. Luffy is a Sun God, Bonney is a Sun God, Loki is a Sun God, Imu can be one too, lol.
More links on analysis of the last chapters:
Luffy says again he's not the hero and Nika has got nothing to do with him (standalone post of mine)
A video from Japanese translator dedicated to the Shamrock reveal, talking a lot about linguistics. We learn from it that Shamrock is probably not holding the same title his father did (Supreme Commander) but instead a lower rank captain, which checks out in my analysis of his behaviour too. There's some interesting trivia included about the ranks Dragon and Drake hold, suggesting that Drake is just a captain and there are probably higher ranked people in Sword above him :) interesting. I'm pretty certain this will turn out to be true.
Analysis of Gunko's Arrow-Arrow Fruit done by Tekking. Pretty good one. Everything besides his point about it perhaps being a logia I agree with. I probably won't pay too much attention to Gunko, because so far I'm not fond of her at all, but other people got you covered. She has a lot of fans already 😅
Elbaf's lore and investigation on King Harold and Loki done by Joyboy. He has actually two videos about that. His interpretations are kinda different from mine, so if you want to collect opinions and speculations to form your own theories, this is definitely something you shouldn't miss :)
I know, I know, I'm late to the party, but it's alright, I never aim to be early. LOL. I mean, I prefer to give my thoughts some time to rot flourish, I'm not one of the impulsive reactionists, I guess (can't be one even if tried lol, I roll on nitpicky analysis). With that out of the way... Poll time!!!
The hooded character on top. Is that Shanks?
Yep. He's a God Knight, we always knew he was evil! Bad Shanks, bad!
Nah, that's his hot twin brother.
Nah, that's his hot twin sister (lol).
It's actually a clone of Shanks. Or of Garling. Maybe they're even both clones.
He looks like Shanks to you??? Come on, he's not Shanks!
Voting ended onJan 10, 2025
You know what to do, looking forward to all the answers :D
My bet is on the clone. It makes sense narrative-wise, right after Egghead and revelation about Vegapunk's clone in same chapter. and It explains also why they look so identical despite, you know, not living together (seperated twins would not sport the same looks, even their beard and hairstyle is the same). And there's a bonus hilarious moment when you realize clone!Shanks went to Five Elders to warn them about a certain pirate... you think of Luffy? Blackbeard? NAH. It's gotta be Buggy.
Think of it, Buggy after encountering a clone of Shanks would know IMMEDIATELY he's not actually Shanks (he grew up with the original one, come on) and also Shanks's clone would feel weirdly unable to do anything to Buggy (because the original Shanks is so fond of him, right? That's how it worked with Seraphim!Boa, she couldn't tell why, but she was so fond of Luffy, listened to his requests and didn't want to harm him). Of course clone!Shanks wouldn't understand the reason and interpret it as "something is really weird about this Buggy pirate, he must be really strong or used some sort of trick, I couldn't do anything to him!" like LOL. Perfection 👍
This shot reminds me somehow of Emet :D The size between robo Franky here and Emet might be really close! Does this make Franky their ship in this scenario? LOL. Was Emet Joyboy's ship?!
Luffy's speech here is quite peculiar. He uses phrases like "ohikaenasutte" and "gozansu" and despite denying it, he DID learn it from someone, but not because he asked to be taught, he's trying to mimic Jimbei's speech! Luffy is even making the exact same pose Jimbei did when he officially asked to join the crew in Wano, with his palm extended like this. Quoting after this helpful tumblr: "it’s a very formal and now-obsolete greeting once used by yakuza and gamblers. you do indeed say it with your palm facing up like this, too, to show deference/inferiority." And this post explains the gozansu, also used by Jimbei.
Even Luffy's answer to "who taught you?" is a reference to Jimbei's answer in Wano.
In the original Jimbei answers with "dareka-san mo" instead of "well met", showing his modesty, perhaps. It literally means just "someone" and it's not really formal. It can also mean "you know who" when spoken about someone else. It also reminds me a little of "daremo" ("no one") form, it just uses "dareka-san" (literally mr. someone) instead of "dare" (who).
The main difference between those two scenes is that Jimbei speaks about himself when using "dareka-san", while Luffy doesn't, he speaks about Jimbei. And when "dareka-san" is used about third person (not yourself) it's often meant sarcastically, as in: "a certain someone got late" or "you-know-who got late" (without naming them, but everyone knows who you're talking about anyway). Of course, I would say Luffy is 100% unaware that it can come out this way, lol. I wonder if Jimbei is aware though or would it become a misunderstanding between them. Anyway, all things considered, I would actually choose to translate "dareka-san mo" as "no one important", which preserves both meanings (Jimbei being modest and Luffy's blunder just because he thought the phrase sounds so cool). When you don't know how to speak politely but try to do it anyway, you can cause more harm than you intended ;)
Does it mean Luffy thinks the way Jimbei speaks is cool and formal, and considers him a good rolemodel? Luffy clearly wishes he could learn some manners, he should just ask Jimbei directly to teach him, aww.
On top of that, this really cracked me up: Luffy refers to Saul per ossan (literally uncle, but can be said to any older person and is often derogatory and/or used for comedy relief), so Luffy is trying to be polite, but ruins the vibe by addressing Saul like a brat would, lol. Saul doesn't seem to mind though and just laughs (does that mean Saul thinks of himself as ossan??). This whole scene really feels like a parallel to Ace trying to learn manners and Makino laughing at him, because he thinks he's more polite with each try, but actually he's only getting worse and worse.
Interesting that Jimbei doesn't have a reaction to this. Is he that aloof that he didn't realize that Luffy is using words he heard him use before? Come on, he must have realized, none of the Strawhats talks in similar fashion. Or is he actually confused and thinks Luffy is mocking him?! Or did he teach Luffy all of that so he's not surprised? But if it was the latter then Luffy would be lying here when saying specifically that no one taught him. And we all know Luffy sucks at lying. Taking into account Luffy's ongoing pattern of imitating people (especially his crewmates), I would say he did it indeed on his very own and poor Jimbei is exposed to it for the first time. For once Luffy didn't do it for laughs, but it might have come out the wrong way, lol.
Take it with grain of salt though, I'm not a translator, just an anthropologist with a basic gist of Japanese language :) but this is how I understand this interaction given the context and Japanese sensitivity to how things are said more than what is said exactly.
Two things here. First, the way Robin speaks of herself, using phrase "watashi nanka". Nanka in Japanese grammar means usually one of three things:
give examples; things like… (basically naming few things in a sentence)
show modesty
make light of; belittling something (if you want to say something like "I don't like karaoke" and communicate your poor opinion of that activity without being direct about it, you can say it like this: "karaoke nanka")
In this particular case, we're left with either option 2 or 3. "They [Strawhats] protect someone like me". I will leave it to your own imagination whether she's belittling herself here or is just being modest, as I think both are possible. Also, often when you're trying to be modest, you downplay your own achievements or value, so you know, it lines up together.
Second thing to notice, is how Robin calls Strawhats her "cherished crewmates" (taisetsu na nakama). It's the third time already she called them this way (first one was in Zou, then Wano, and now here) ever since she initially left the crew all the way back in Water 7. Not even in Enies Lobby she declared herself one of them, just begged them to take her back to the sea again. Still, because this is the third time already, it might mean it's also the last time we hear it... the rule of three.
Seeing how modestly she talks about herself here, she might have thought that she doesn't deserve this second chance she got. Will we finally explore a bit more of Robin's feelings or is that all we'll ever get? I wouldn't mind either option, as this tiny moment is already very satisfying imo.
Yet another clone of Vegapunk? Should we be even surprised at this point? I had a feeling his plan couldn't have been just his sattelites surviving if he claimed confidently "I won't die". I guess if Lilith can connect him to Punk Records (the brain) it will be indeed like he never died? Huh. What is death in OP world indeed... not only that, he will be 20 years younger now ffs!!! Science is nice... when it actually works lol.
So, Lilith aims to build a new lab on Elbaf and Bonney wants to stay behind as well, and they will try to fix Kuma. Do I hear the dreams of Lilith and Bonney becoming new crewmates shatter right now? ;) I'm sorry but I warned you before, they're not the next Strawhats!
Wholesome moment btw, I really hope they will restore Kuma, even if they won't be able to get back his memories (though I would want them to). I don't care how many people complain they don't want this perfect happy ending. I think Kuma deserves happiness, not to die and sacrifice himself after a life full of misery. His whole life was about sacrificing himself like a tragic martyr, allow the guy to finally live a little instead of killing him off, because you think it closes his narrative purpose! (so what, now characters are just devices for plot, not having their own agency?) Think of what kind of message this gives, especially to the kids? And yeah, I know, not many fans actually care that OP is directed to kids as well, heh. But you generally don't want the kids to think life is miserable and everything you do is futile and inevitable, except your own self-sacrifice for your child. That shouldn't be the final message of Kuma's story, simply because it's supporting unhealthy mentality (your self-worth should not be dependant solely on your usefulness towards others). Overcoming that mindset though - now that is definitely a worthy message for the next generations.
And please, I'm tired of people calling Kuma just another Bellemere choosing love over themselves. Tell me at least ONE decision in Kuma's life that didn't inevitably lead to his tragic end, ONE decision that wasn't the result of his internalized martyrship (him thinking he doesn't deserve any better, but at least Bonney does), ONE time he actually did something selfish, only for himself. Triple no? Then no, Kuma didn't live his life, it was instead led by forces beyond his control. Which for me is way too dark of a message for One Piece and that means Kuma's story isn't done yet. We need to overcome that doomed narrative and he needs to find his happiness, the selfish kind, no matter how small that would be. And sure, I might be wrong, we all have been wrong many times about OP before. But that's my opinion, right there.
Walrus School! Or rather library and school, because seems library takes the most space here. The school is actually located in a treehouse like constructions? Pretty awesome! Way to make school look super duper appealing. And so close to the lake where kids can go to on breaks to just let out some steam, play or take a breather. So close to nature. This is like too good, too good, I say.
I wonder if the school has any deeper ties to the Walrus, was he maybe once a teacher here, a founder perhaps?! Not a stretch, considering the owl Bibelot managed the library for centuries?? I said it before I think, but fandom's attitude of not paying any attention to all those animals will bite us all in the ass. They're everywhere, as gods (here and in Wano and Skypiea), as servants in bathhouse (octopuses in Wano), means of transportation (also Wano), and the Zunesha, the special Duck Troops in Alabasta... not to mention, the snails! And Neptunians!
Now, I put all the relevant scenes with Saul together to answer the mystery: did he flee to Elbaf right after Ohara happened? And the answer is apparently: yes. He mentions he fleed here immediately, met Hajrudin, went with him to retrieve the books, then they returned to Elbaf, later Vegapunk visited (leaving his clone in Egghead). And that's how Vegapunk met Saul. He knew that Saul is alive for 20 years!! Plenty of time to tell people about it... for example, Kuzan.
Remember what I said about shaded eyes and it being a visual hint that characters are not telling the truth? It's true that Saul was Kuzan's friend. The lie here is the past tense. He still *is* Kuzan's friend, because he's still alive and Kuzan knows about it. That's why the last words he says to Robin is "Ohara still lives on" (anime has more direct translation of this scene than the manga. which is why I use the screenshot).
While we don't get to hear the reason as to why Saul didn't try to find Robin for all those years, we can already exclude some options from the previous survey. Also, Saul says in chapter 1134 (quote above) "I never thought I would have the privileage of showing you this [the library]". From these words and the fact we have it confirmed now that he stayed all this time on Elbaf and left only to fetch the books, we can conclude that Saul never intended to meet Robin again. Or at least never thought he will meet her. Interesting.
Also thanks everyone for the votes, but also special thanks for those who voted on "he thawed from ice only recently", I thought it would get a zero. Every time I saw a new vote there, I laughed :Dv
Shout out to this lady for knowing how to have fun and play along. You gotta appreciate the good vibe when you see one :D we all deserve this sort of friend in our lives ❤
Brook misses school? I guess at age of 90, you start to miss the weirdest things, huh XD
A friendly reminder that Zoro doesn't know how to play with kids, lol, and perhaps he's also a tad bit too serious. No wonder, as a kid he was almost exclusively doing training. Usopp on the other hand played a lot with kids from his village, or well, at least with the three of his followers.
Apparently, there was a shift in Elbaf's politics. They're no longer a warrior country, they yearn for peace, and they educate kids to be smart and considerate of others, instead of strong and unyielding. The shift seems to be rather recent, thanks to King Harold, the father of Hajrudin and Loki. Seems Hajrudin and his crew didn't get the chance to experience this "peaceful" education themselves, which is why they're the new Giant Pirates, and the last ones, unless something will change.
I bet you anything Loki wants Elbaf to still be a warrior country. Just look at his attitude. "I will beat up any pirate crew you want", "I would get rid of all of them if I were you". I would assume Hajrudin is also fond of the old warrior ways, since he made his own pirate crew, right? But he also apparently helped Saul fetch the books from Ohara, so maybe he was always a bit divided between the two sides of this schism?
I saw many people judge Elbaf really hard. "How could they work together with the villains (the World Government)!!!" Did fans already forget that Iceberg had to cooperate with World Government as well (which means whole Water 7 is allied with Government, because mayor's ties to Government dictate affiliation for the whole town). Iceberg had to do that to guarantee safety and it was a purely political decision, meanwhile Giants are strong and don't have to ally themselves to survive, right? There's probably something more to it.
Btw Ripley has this stripe-like tattoo pattern going all the way from head to her ankles, that looks a lot similar to Kratos's mark from God of War (yeah, that video game). Tekking pointed it out I think, and I thought it's a very interesting observation :D
It's always endearing to see Luffy so happy whenever he's talking about his Gear 5. "It's when I'm the most free!". He always smiles then like his biggest dream has come true.
This is the first time Luffy clearly hears that this is the form of fabled Elbaf warrior, I think. He's even paying attention and seems to like what he hears :)
I gotta say, this is one cool looking library. What's with the cute shrine-like roofs on the top right?? And that little chair next to Bibelot, who is that for?? Looks kinda human-sized! Bibelot doesn't talk with anyone, but was there once a human they talked with, that used to visit them?
Robin's reaction to the library. I love her expression here. "There's no need to despair". Wait, that's not part of Robin's flashback... but damn, it fits here so well.
I'm so glad Robin could meet Saul and hear how proud he's of her. For once I agree with Randy, he lately said in his vid that he thinks Saul's fake-out death was done right and his reunion with Robin is narratively strong (not weak, like many in the fandom seem to think), because it actually adds to the weight of her story instead of taking away from it. For her story to feel closed, we need someone who can connect with her and validate her efforts. I thought about it and concluded that the same applies to Brook and Law, doesn't it? Laboon can't tell Brook how good it is that he survived, but if Yorki survived he could do it for him instead. As for Law, there's still a possibility at least someone from his flashback actually survived. His story for now is so side-tracked and irrelevant to the main storyline that it needs to be connected back to it somehow, and a reunion could be a good opportunity for that. Also, Law simply deserves it too, you know. (they all actually do, but I can understand that not every reunion is needed for the narrative)
Time to go back to Loki for a moment and his mysterious penpal friend. I can't solve the mystery for you (or myself) yet, but I can share my observations (I reread this conversation way too many times in way too many translations and bits of it in original Japanese too lol).
Neither Loki or his friend call each other by actual names (that's right, Mosa never calls him Loki either). Seems despite knowing each other for a while, they might not know each other's names. They both seem to be somewhat immobile or stuck somewhere or at least with looots of free time on their hands and nothing better to do than to call each other often. First thought I had is Doflamingo, he is an immobilized prisoner and his biggest activity is reading newspaper (and perhaps using den den mushi if Magellan left him with one), but he doesn't quite fit this Mosa-kou personality-wise either. Or does he?
They know each other for a long time but could never meet for some reason. That suggests this friend is most likely not located on Elbaf or the thing they talked about, which happened to Mosa-kou's place, would have taken place on Elbaf as well.
His friend seems polite and despite going through some bad experience and being in position that could excuse revenge, he actually doesn't want violent solutions or thinks it would be "going too far". He leaves his enemies alive, but also wants some justice.
Even though this den den mushi seems to be special type and doesn't really reflect the looks of the person on the other side of the call, it's worth noting it has long eyelashes. Most likely suggesting that Mosa-kou could be a female. Might be something or might be nothing, lol.
Mosa-kou, translated officially as Shaggy, can be broken down into two things: kou being the way of addressing someone (nowadays can be used sarcastically, the unofficial translation uses the outdated meaning of "someone noble" which is also worth noting), and mosa is most likely coming from mosa-mosa onomatopeia which fandom claims it means "hairy". But there's a second meaning too: Japanese onomatopoeia "mosamosa", which is the sound effect of plants growing at a rapid pace. If Loki never saw his friend before and only ever called him through den den mushi, it's likely he would give him a nickname based on some sound he heard, right? Just to be able to address him somehow (though we should keep in mind Loki seems to have terrible memory with names). You know who can grow plants (at a rapid pace) just by walking around? Aramaki, the user of mori mori no mi. I'm not sure where this leads, because it's somewhat hilarious to imagine Aramaki speaking so politely, lol. But enjoy the mental image xD
Summing it up: Mosa-kou might be actually a female (maybe kept captive or a runaway from her own destroyed kingdom/home), long time friend of Loki but she might not know he's Loki from Elbaf, really polite and not fond of drastic measures, rather soft-hearted but with a grudge, but also kinda scared. And she has something to do with the mosa-mosa onomatopeia. Those are the possible hints, but not every single one might be correct (especially the female part, I mean, those are literally JUST eyelashes on a den den mushi). No one really from known characters comes to my mind as of now though. If you have any ideas please share :D or wait... it can't be Vivi, right? But she is polite and I'm pretty sure she is bored to tears on Morgans ship, and she went through a tragedy recently, but Vivi is not one to want bloody revenge (despite wanting justice). It could also explain why their identity is anonymous too (princess of Alabasta has to watch out who she reveals herself to, even before the whole Imu business). Just how is the nickname of mosa-kou fitting the picture?!
Let's rewind to mosakou again. I feel like we all got derailed, EVEN the native speakers that contribute to youtube. First, let's try to gather ALL possible meanings. The onomatopeia meaning: 1. hairy, 2. the sound of rapidly growing vegetation, 3. Mosa mosa - dry – dry food like overcooked chicken. 3. a dull person. Wait, one of those is definitely NOT an onomatopeia. Let's dig deeper. Look, someone asked about it on HiNative and this is their answer:
The Japanese phrase 'モサ公' (mosa kou) is a slang term used to describe someone who is perceived as being uncool, nerdy, or socially awkward. It is often used in a light-hearted or teasing manner to poke fun at someone's lack of social skills or fashion sense.
Example 1: A group of friends sees a classmate wearing outdated clothes and glasses. They might jokingly say, "Look, it's モサ公!" to tease him about his appearance.
Example 2: During a school event, a student gives a long and overly detailed presentation about a topic that no one else is interested in. Afterwards, his classmates might whisper to each other, "He's such a モサ公," to comment on his lack of social awareness.
Overall, 'モサ公' is a playful term used to describe someone who is seen as uncool or socially awkward. It is important to note that this term is not meant to be taken seriously and is typically used in a light-hearted and teasing manner among friends or peers.
Now that explains the dull person. It's the type of person who always tries to be proper, acting slightly nobler than thou despite not neccessarily meaning to, which kinda means they have no sense of fun, don't fit into teen trends and are a bit dull, because too serious and old-fashioned in a way. Okay, don't kill me now, but this sounds more and more like Vivi to me. She is serious, she always worried and needed Strawhats to tell her to have some fun, because they can't teleport to Alabasta any faster anyway. Makes sense to me. Which means this possibility can't be just dismissed... LOKI AND VIVI ARE FREAKING BUDDIES??????
It's been pointed out to death, but I will also say it. Loki indeed seems kind, he listened to his friend, got mad for their sake and related to their struggles, even saying (indirectly) that he would definitely help settle the matter for them, and scolds Mosa when he thinks they should be less soft or people will stomp all over them (in Japanese he calls them amai which is naive, pushover). And seems his friend saw right through and thanked him for his kidness and concern, clearly touched a little. They might not be best buddies, but close enough now that Loki's friend knows already what type of person he actually is and that he has a caring heart. That heart, though, seems to be hurt, which is why he gets angry and lashes out when called kind. He doesn't want to be perceived this way, he probably *doesn't want to* act this way, but it's stronger than him, which is why he gets angry. Someone betrayed him or used his kindness against him, and ever since he tries to put up a harsh front. He's very determined with that too, as seen from his last line "just wait and see when I break free from those chains". This isn't a threat to Mosa, no, this is a promise: Loki will show the world he can also be cruel and not kind, in other words: he will get back on whoever betrayed him.
I don't remember who said it (Tekking perhaps?), but I saw the suggestion somewhere that this is all about Lola betraying Loki by not marrying him, but eh, I wonder. Lola doesn't seem to be the kind of person to use someone's kindness like this, unless all of this was just a misunderstanding. Or am I getting Lola's character all wrong? Though I could imagine her leaving Loki in the dust without as much as a direct goodbye (she kinda did the same to Big Mom lol) or only a forwarded message through a third party. I assumed she would only treat Big Mom this way, but it's possible she is just wired this way, a true carefree soul.
Also, who left that den den mushi for Loki? Again, my bet is Hajrudin. Loki is his brother after all, no matter what happened in Elbaf or between them.
Few random observations grouped together here. It's indeed very handy that there's an owl that can gigantify objects in Elbaf, lol. Very convenient, Oda, very convenient indeed. I know he probably has some story reason (he almost never doesn't have one), but it's still quite hilarious right now. I hope we will see Chopper attempting to talk to the owl. Damn, you want my wild guess? I bet no one was able to speak with that owl for centuries and the last person who did was maybe... Joyboy himself? :D that's a very easy way to make me excited: just mention Joyboy, lol.
Why Joyboy in particular? Well, he seems to be connected somehow to minks and Zunesha, right? That suggests some affinity towards animals. Also hints from Wano: 1. the person who talks to Zunesha will lead the world to the dawn (presumed to be Momo. It's based on his conversation with Yamato "Momonosuke, you can talk to the elephant? Then Oden was right, you will be the one to lead the world to the dawn.") 2. Various people waiting for Joyboy (Kozuki Sukiyaki, King, Yamato, presumably Kaido as well). This all kinda suggests that world waits for the return of Joyboy. The whole narrative around it is kinda convoluted though, because story suggests at first that Yamato thinks it's Momo, but later they find out Joyboy is instead Luffy, despite Momo being the one who talks to Zunesha etc. Anyway, I'm getting offtopic, just wanted to explain why animals make me think of Joyboy lol.
That comment from Chopper and Bonney is interesting. "The letters are too big, it's too hard to make out". Some people pointed out those letters might be readable and it's one of the rare moments we see proper writing in OP world. They kinda do look like stylized english letters (I can definitely see the E and O). But you know what I'm thinking? Letters on poneglyphs are also big which can make them... too hard to make out. Hm?! Are you seeing my vision here?? What, you think it's too simple and someone would figure it out already?? Nah, people like to overcomplicate things (and I'm not immune to that either). They don't expect child-like answers. Anyway, I might share in separate post (this here is not the place) me reading two words from poneglyphs (no, not the infamous pandaman in katakana from Alabasta's poneglyph lol), it will not be what you expect though. No ancient languages, no mingled syllabes of Japanese alphabets, no runes. No codes or ciphers. You will actually probably laugh.
Anyway, that book Robin is sitting on. Curious about the title? History of... we can actually make it out, I think. Yep yep. It's most likely four-letter word. Second letter looks very distinct and it can only be a G (look at the rounded shape, no other letters does that this way on the lower half of the letter). The third letter is most likely R. Last letter is most likely A, though we see the least of it so this one and the first one are the most debetable. First letter can also be an A.
Which gives us AGRA. History of AGRA. That's the name of a town where the famous Taj Mahal is located (a heritage that didn't yet inspire any OP location so far). Is it a hint or is it just an easter egg of some kind? (but why would THIS be an easter egg lol) I dunno, but it was funny to guess around just by looking at keyboard letters, LOL. Keep in mind I'm only convinced 100% for the letter G and like 80% for letter R, hahaha. Not sold on A's, we see way too little of them to be sure, and if there's more letters than four, then only GR stays likely.
Also look at the cover of the Archeology book Robin was holding. What's that sign on it? :D looks a lot like the sun symbol we see in so many places in One Piece, like on this collage I made before for my Red Line-All Blue half-baked theory. Pasting the image below for the convenience:
Right? It's even made up of two shapes on the book cover. One looks like crossbones or crossed blades, and the other looks like a cross. And together they look a bit like a compass :D compass would be more fitting for a geographical book than archeology, but oh well. Is that the symbol of the world? Some kind of ancient religion? Symbol of ancient civilisation consisting of two fractions joined together? Did they go separate ways and fought each other in Void Century?
It kinda reminds me of some historical archeology book covers like this one: The Historical Turn in Southeastern Archaeology, the subject in this one is searching for common roots and connecting the vision of the pre-colonial to post-colonial native culture. Like pre-void century state of the world to post-void century's one? :D I remember King Cobra mentioning the difference between pre-void century and post-void century world was huge, so it makes sense some books would exist that try to explain or fill the gaps. Would be definitely one of the books from Ohara's collection. Damn, this all sounds more and more like our anthropology, archeology and history, trying to paint a picture of the past world based on some old preserved documents only 😭 this is too real, Oda.
What, you think I'm crazy making so many assumptions based on one image of book cover Robin was holding? Why not, sometimes you need to be daring not only in OP theories, but also in scientific world, or you might never get any answers or even directions which way to go to get anywhere. The time and other researchers will definitely confirm or deny your hypothesis or even take it further. That is, when the science actually works like it should...
Luffy is really disappointed with Elbaf and you can feel his frustration. This isn't the Elbaf from his dreams lol. I bet a lot of the fandom also feels this way. I kinda like the unexpected twist, it adds to the bigger picture of the world which is indeed changing. Less and less warriors and more businessmen, peace-seekers and political alliances. It's almost like OP world shifts from post-war state towards capitalism.
And we learn that Giants and humans marrying each other is actually possible (we suspected that ever since Lola and Loki, right?). They also can have children. Which makes you think, other races mixing with each other is *also* a possibility. Fishmen and humans, minks and humans, for example. I think we should stop shying away from this thought anymore. It's pretty much confirmed at this point.
Also whoever Ripley's husband is, he sounds like a sulky brat xD that excuse is so lame! What did she like in him?! I guess he really has to be a great warrior if she excuses him lol. Who's your bet on her husband? Chances are, we know him, especially since Ripley calls him young. Is it someone from Shanks crew? Is it Yorki? Many want him to be Scooper Gaban. I don't get the hype about Scooper Gaban tbh. We know literally nothing about that guy, where's all that hype coming from?! Is it just because he was part of Roger's crew? LOL. Anyway, sorry if you expected analysis on who Ripley's mysterious husband-not-husband is, but I think this requires mathematical skills I don't have. We just know he's kinda young and a really strong ex-pirate who can take on Giants in the fight. Maths is my Achilles feet. To narrow down your candidates you need to consider things like age of Ripley, age of Roger Pirates, age of Collin, possible age of Yorki, ages of Shanks crewmates and other candidates, my head is already spinning from simply imagining all the numbers LOL.
I can say this though: they're clearly still not OLD, because the phrase is "they will be the only one to grow old" which suggests they're not yet at that stage, they're just foreseeing it. And I think that actually excludes Roger Pirates, bye bye Scooper Gaban. Shanks crew is definitely a possibility, hypothetically, but it would mean they're not a current crewmate anymore?
Aaaand the rest of the crew has now Elbaf outfits as well :D half of it thanks to Rodo, half of it thanks to Gerd. So it seems Gerd has the same hobby that Rodo has, which is sewing clothes for humans. Match made in hell, those two, lol. She's in seventh heaven here btw and Rodo was as well when we saw him sewing the clothes and doing his roleplaying game. She can claim all she wants how much she despises him, but imagining them on a sewing date is just too perfect.
This page got so much hype, because woooo mysterious ability. Yeah, I get it, I heard it a hundred times already how it must be something related to bandages or tying things (even though we see no knots). I like the idea of calling it mira mira no mi (has a nice ring to it) which is mummy mummy fruit :D
If I should add something from myself here, it's that those bandages are in very specific spots. Are they tightening up on the veins, inspired by this pumping measuring device for blood pressure (you usually do it on the arm like this, and thigh might be because some of the most important arteries are there)? I can imagine how squeezing arm and thigh strongly enough could make someone pass out tbh. I also hate the pumping sensation sooo much of these blood pressure measuring devices lol. Anyway, taken from the mighty internet, like always: Anything that increases pressure on the artery walls can lead to elevated blood pressure. Look at the giant's face, it's so dark, like it's red, which means blood is flowing to his face! When you faint you usually go pale instead. But, your face can go red from increased blood pressure, apparently! And when the brain senses that, it sends an impulse for the body to relax (which is why the Giant falls down, like suddenly weakened) and eventually this can lead to fainting. Hm, but using the bandages like that suggests some kind of medical knowledge from the girl.
For example, I would have not guessed any of that, without googling stuff and you know, I like to google all sorts of things (the more you know :D), like "what condition leads to blood flowing to the face" (high blood pressure) and then "symptoms of high blood pressure" (you get shit tons of results for that, but some list things like "weakening the body" and "even fainting"), then ask "what can cause high blood pressure" (among your results you can get the line i found about artery walls), now time for a bit of imagination and then you feel like you have a "gotcha!" moment. Add some hit-and-miss google asks in-between as well, for the good measure, haha.
The girl also has her face hidden with bandages. She seems kinda impatient and down-to-earth, if not to say, a bit bossy, right? And very serious. That's as far as my first impressions go, lol.
Typo warning. Anyway, hi Stansen! It's so nice he could find a moment to talk and bond with Luffy :D this reminds me how much Oda cares for all of his characters, no matter how insiginifcant they might feel to us, right? I learned to really appreciate it after Oda delivered us the Bartolomeo-Shanks confrontation, which I thought would be ignored for the sake of more important plot.
Just a cute shot of the Strawhats that are on the feast currently. Special call out to Zoro there, drinking on his own instead of socializing, with hs back turned, lol. That reminds me he isn't the most social out of the Strawhats, actually, he's one of the least social crewmates.
Franky, Robin and Chopper stayed at the library with Saul. And we know that trouble is brewing in the castle not far from here (interesting that no one seems to have noticed it with observation haki). Now here's the question: will the God Knights just waltz inside the tavern and ask people politely where Loki is? Lol, if so, that will be a sight. Or will they go straight into battle-mode, noticing the Strawhats? :D oooor... will they join the feast? The girl seems down to earth, but what if she's secretly a glutton too? But can she eat with those bandages on? xD
So this is one of the Elders. I admit I forgot we saw them already in Big Mom's flashback, my bad! He indeed looks like a big mountain, haha. It's interesting he's over 400 years old. That means he's the second generation after the Void Century, right? He must have heard stories... but seriously, what's with that sword in the head?! I admit it's kinda hilarious and fits the Elbaf's vibe, but eh, he didn't have that in Big Mom's flashback yet. Is it related to whatever happened to King Harold, perhaps? Or is it unrelated whatsoever.
Last thoughts. We see the throne's room in the castle. It's empty, but there are some interesting details. The throne itself seems to have been cut at the right shoulder's height. Was this Loki's ax? Or...
Look, isn't it a bit suspicious that God Knights are here? They could have appeared like that before in Elbaf and assassinated King Harold without anyone knowing, and blamed it on Loki. With no witnesses and God Knights pinning the blame on him, he would be in serious disadvantage, especially if people also believe him to be cursed since birth and about to bring the end of the world, you know? Loki would be the perfect scapegoat to pin the murder on. Meanwhile, Government has a long history of betraying their supposed allies as soon as they don't need them anymore or they simply think it's safer this way, or whatever really. And look, the guards don't even know who those God Knights are or how they got into the castle, this is clearly NOT pre-arranged arrival or a common occurence!
The God Knights want to find Loki. Somehow, him being chained is saving his ass for now and other giants not giving out his location "in case you want to free him", are helpful in protecting him, whether it's intentional or not. Yeah, I wonder... do they want to get rid of the last witness of what they did to King Harold? Is that related to Loki's blindfold and special bounty somehow? He didn't actually *see* who did it? Does it make any sense?! I dunno, but I totally dig this option for now. Simply because it seems *fun*. More fun than to imagine God Knights collaborating with Loki to end the world together (why would they even do that? Especially when the Giants are officially Government's allies and consider Loki the enemy of the state?).
As for the magic circle, someone pointed out (I'm so sorry I don't remember who it was anymore) that the letters look a bit like bolded poneglyphs. Yeah, sure, why not. I like how the smoke looks like white flames. I really want to know more about black magic in One Piece. Did they use to have wizards?! Did they once summon a devil?! Gimme some sort of spell, please :D
I hope I entertained those of you who reached the end of this post :3 I can't wait for the spoilers for the new chapter ngl.
Finally I could catch up with my commentary! I have a looot to say about those chapters, in a slightly different style this time. But first of all, let's do a survey, I'm curious about people's thoughts on this :D
Why didn't Saul try to find Robin earlier?
Because he's also a hiding fugitive now
He felt awful and thought he didn't have the right to face Robin
He thawed from ice only recently (cough cough maybe read the last chapter again)
There is some other reason why he couldn't leave Elbaf
He wouldn't be able to do much for Robin anyway
Voting ended onDec 16, 2024
And now we're moving on to the chapters :3
Shanks bragging about Luffy? Cute! But you know what, if I didn't know Shanks, I would buy that. But he's bragging to a kid about Luffy for no reason? Nah. He's ditching responsibility on Luffy here. YES. Shanks decided it's too much pain to refuse the kids so he gives Colin a new target to nag to instead, lol. Yeah, okay, that's the Shanks I know and recognize now, haha. You can choose to believe in Shanks' doting nature here. or you can think, like me, that Shanks basically shoved Collin to Luffy for a change LOL. "Remember him" uhum. I missed this side of Shanks, the walking mischief, lol.
I like how defensive Luffy is about Sunny! He's never gonna make the same mistake he did with Merry when he called them just a ship instead of a crew! Here, Luffy is ready to punch faces for his crewmate, the Sunny :D
A cute moment of girl solidarity (between Nami and Robin), cool to see that in a shonen manga, even if it's brief :)
Gerd seems to have really liked Big Mom and is regretful it ended the way it ended. I wonder what is the unforgivable thing though... semla? Giant warrior dying without any honor? or perhaps breaking the marriage promise (Lola and Loki)? We have a lot of candidates here, but clearly Gerd has one thing in mind in particular, hm.
We also learn that Elbaf consists of three realms: of heaven, of sun and of dead. It's interesting because it can be applied to the One Piece world in general, the highest point The Red Line was the realm of the gods (so kinda heaven), lower one of sun (people worshipping sun god) and of dead (beyond the sea level, as there is literally a whole civilisation under the water. Also fishmen island, located on the bottom of the sea, dreams of surface and being part of the "sun" realm).
Speaking of Elbaf, seems the village changed a bit since Big Mom's times that we saw in the flashback. Now Elbaf is located on the cloud level but it seems it wasn't always like that. Perhaps after whatever disaster Big Mom caused, the Giants decided to move up and seclude themselves from human visitors? It's possible Vegapunk helped them with that too.
It's interesting that the island is called Elbaf, but the country itself is called Warland. It suggests once upon a time there might have been a different country located there (maybe Giants originally did live in the clouds, like in the Jack and the bean stalk fairytale. We did see an enormous bean stalk before!). Yet, there is a god called Elbaf as well, which is kinda confusing, unless it's some sort of God Usopp situation there, lol.
Seems Giants are really big on hospitality. "You guys can have leftovers. The feast is for the Strawhats!". Curious, considering the fact this country seems to be off-limits to humans in general, not counting exceptions like Shanks or Luffy and their crews.
Strawhats reactions to the rainbow bridge are priceless (who can blame them tho? I would react the same way!). Seems indeed anything can be possible in this world, even sailing on rainbow like it's a water highway. Apparently it makes a "kira kira" glittering/sparkling sound, which is a nice little detail. Even Robin is shocked, this is the first time she sees something like that, and she saw and knows sooo much more things than any other Strawhat! The only person unsurprised (but still excited) is Lilith, because as a Vegapunk she visited Elbaf before :)
We finally found out what the sunstone does and why is it so important for Elbaf. Apparently it's based on real life viking device used for navigation. Is it a relic from ancient kingdom (and can Vegapunk recreate it)? Is that why Brook is innocently singing Binks sake here?! maybe not haha but who knows, Brook is a walking mystery!
Elbaf is indeed impressive. It would be so awesome as a video game setting, which you can explore any way you want ❤ That castle looks actually pretty similiar to the lego castle Rodo build huh. It's so nice that Luffy and Usopp got their panels here too, with the callback to their promise; to one day visit the land of the giants. And here they are, merely two years later :D
Everyone's reactions is either impressed/dumbfounded or excited. With two exceptions! Sanji isn't even looking (lol, he's already in his heaven, huh), and Lilith? Lilith is acting proud of herself there, grinning happily. Like I said, it's not her first time in Elbaf and it's likely Vegapunk actually helped with his cloud manufacturing technology on Elbaf before! If that's the case, her proud grin is more than justified here :D
I saw many people really worried that these frames above are foreshadowing the final crew, hinting that Lilith and Bonney are indeed the last Strawhats. Well, if that makes you anxious, then don't worry: they're not the last Strawhats (they're at least not present on 13 Strawhats as cats picture). And if that made you on the contrary happy because you really want Lilith and Bonney to join, then welp, I'm sorry? They're still gonna always be Strawhats friends tho! Bonney actually is likely to be next gen of Strawhats, together with Tama once they both grow up, who knows :D
Let's address this. I know many people reeeeally jumped on the hype train that this is about time flowing differently in Elbaf, but I think the hint as to what it means lies in Little Garden arc actually. Why? Because both times we had a callback to Lous Arnote and that must be related imo. In Little Garden log pose took a year to reset (apparently because of poor magnetic field of the island? Not that it's ever explained about Little Garden in particular though). It's possible on Elbaf it takes *even longer than a year* hence don't linger too long (but also don't regret in case you do :D). Could people get stuck there? Is that why those humans in dead realm can't just leave the island? I'm aware my explanation is way too simple (now log pose has three arrows instead of one, after all), but I kinda like it this way, lol. Time shanenigans though? Uneccessarily complicated imo.
Speaking of Little Garden...
Those beliefs could explain why Loki is kept alive despite posing such a big danger to the world, it means he has divine protection and god decided Loki is "right" (and was right to kill the king). Giants trying to kill Loki are in "the wrong" then and end of the world is supposed to happen. Or are there suddenly exceptions to this Elbaf's rule?
Luffy's reaction in Little Garden makes me think that Luffy has similar reason for striking the deal with Loki now. He dislikes when people are judged by gods and whoever decided Loki's fate at birth must have been a god (who else, really?). Loki being imprisoned is also part of the same reason, I guess. Why wouldn't Luffy want to help him, actually? Though I am curious what exactly Loki promised to give him in exchange for the deed. Maybe it is related to Shanks or maybe to something else, hm.
This promise also gives us a potential time frame limit for this arc. "Don't linger too long" says Louis. Giants really rush for the feast as well, like they're afraid if they don't start fast enough they will run out of time to celebrate with the Strawhats somehow. And then there's Loki who told Luffy to get the key to his chains "till morning of next day" (unofficial translation) / "akatsuki ni" (fancy way of saying "in the event of"; original version). And while I recognize it's just a mistranslated figure of speech, let's not forget Luffy himself isn't well versed in fancy ways of speaking, so he *might* have taken it literally (akatsuki = dawn), like a child would as well that doesn't know of this phrase yet. That could give the arc some sort of direction.
I guess this all possibly points towards Elbaf arc taking place in the span of one day. It might be a giant adventure (because everything is giant and we're in land of giants), but it won't be long. But then Dressrosa took place in span of one day and it was like 100 chapters, so it's worth keeping it in mind too, lol. I'm just saying it's possible the arc will be one day long in universe time, no idea how long it will be in terms of chapters ofc. Elbaf does have a lot of links to Egghead and feels like a complementary arc to it, kinda the same way Zou led to the Whole Cake Island with it's premise of kidnapped Sanji. But Egghead was waaaaay longer than Zou haha (maybe the length proportions will be reversed in this case? :D).
Before I move on to the next chapter, I will do a compilation of Gerd, Rodo and the rest of Giant Pirates, because they deserve some attention too.
Let's start from Gerd. She *clearly* has a thing for humans, lol. She finds them cute, kinda like pets or dolls, and some of the things she says, when you stop and pay attention to it, makes you raise an eyebrow at her, lol. "I'm not like Rodo!" "I don't go around trapping humans in cages!" "He didnt give you any choice when he put you in there!" (unofficial translation, it's worth noting that in official one it's toned down a bit). Excuse me, Gerd...? Did you just suggest that it's alright to trap humans in cages as long as you have permission? 😂
Yeah, don't believe her when she says she's not like Rodo. She totally is and she fawns over humans to the same extent he does, lol. She just remembers not to put them in cages before asking if it's alright with them, lmao (yes, sorry, I really find this remark too funny). Look at how happy she is that she can carry Luffy&co around or stay with them even a tad bit longer, enthusiastically offering her help. She's a fangirl, alright. And what is Rodo if not a fanboy, lol. They kinda deserve each other.
I mean, yes, of course Rodo is way more creepy. He doesn't even try to hide his fanboyism after all, and he doesn't care about consent much in his roleplaying games. He's kinda this reclusive fanboy never leaving his basement, not having any friends (or having only one or two) and spending most of his days immersed in his roleplays 24/7. That's some dedication! In comparison, Gerd is like a closet fangirl, trying to keep it as private and unobvious as possible. But look at her! She's going to Rodo's castle just because she heard he snatched a small ship. Small ship means small humans, of course she wants to see them! Look at how excited she is despite claiming she's only doing her duty. Nah, girl, you're not fooling us. And look at Goldberg and his knowing smile, he *knows* her true reason to go there too.
Of course, despite being so happy to see humans, she wouldn't bond over that with Rodo. That's because Rodo is insufferable with his fanboyism, no brakes, exposing it without any shame. It's like looking at herself in a distorted mirror, it would rub her the wrong way. That's why she insists so much on how different she is from Rodo, because she knows what *boundaries* and *brakes* actually are. But who knows, maybe she is slightly jealous that he can be so open and unrestricted about it. She might complain about him all the time, but it still wouldn't stop her from going to his place, as long as he might have some tiny humans around.
Goldberg is like this friend who sees their two companions dancing obliviously around each other, trying to deny their actual feelings. He even says that Rodo would be happy to be called the disgrace of Elbaf (by Gerd specifically!), because Rodo would probably think it's a compliment, lol. Imagine how fun it must be to sail with him, he would navigate while roleplaying all the time, earning constant hits from Gerd, lol.
For those who remember my theory on pirates and their treasures (pair of characters sharing things/treasures together and being each other's treasures as the result. For example, Nami and Nojiko both treasure Bellemere's tangerines, their bond is also symbolically shown as them sharing twin bracelets, which leads to conclusion that they're also the most important people in the world for each other), well, Rodo and Gerd share some theme like that too, actually! For example, Rodo and Gerd wear same type of shoes and furry accessories on their calves (no one else from Hajrudin's pirates has it!). Also Gerd wears a striped pattern on one of her legs that looks oddly similar to Rodo's striped mantle. They also have really similar passion for humans, which creates a deep bond (even if Gerd dislikes that connection for now). They're definitely coded as characters significant to each other, though I dunno what's the actual nature of their relationship (friends? siblings? lovers?), not that it matters, because they're hilarious together anyway.
They're really quickly growing on me and I wonder which way this little side story will go. Oda writes all of his side characters and develops them even if he has no intention to reveal their full backstory (for example, he designed All of the 85 Big Mom's Children, even though he admitted he will probably not even need it! But all those details and backstories were still created and are kept in his magic notebook). That's why I believe I sniffed out the relationship between Rodo and Gerd accurately, even if I might be misinterpreting some details here and there about it. The hints are definitely there tho.
It was also revealed that Rodo still considers himself part of the New Giant Pirates! Despite disagreeing with Hajrudin and not wanting to serve itty bitty humans, he never *left* the pirate crew, like many people suspected he did! Seems it's actually Hajrudin who wants him out of the crew now, not the other way around, lol. But that's a bit odd, because it's true Rodo was against humans and thought not much of them and refused to serve them as the result. And yet in current timeline he's kinda humans-obsessed all of a sudden??
Who knows, maybe that changed the moment he learned that Gerd likes humans? Maybe he decided to learn to like them because she likes them? He clearly likes Gerd (he even calls her Gerd-taso and acts like a simp lol) so it's not impossible. They just disagree on details (like serving humans or not locking them in cages). Maybe Gerd at first took it on herself to teach Rodo about humans, but it got out of hand and she created a fanboy monster by accident, hahaha.
It's also worth noting that Rodo at first was kinda worried when he realized Strawhats got lost and he thought it will lead to trouble. But then he put them into his lego city anyway. Perhaps he wanted to show them to Gerd, lol. After all she seems to visit him awfully lot and it's always about humans. Damn, he might even keep humans there just so she visits him, like a bait. And it seems to work super duper well! And that phrase "itty bitty humans"? Might have been Gerd's slip of tongue that Rodo caught up on and adopted ever since :D
"Let's get you locked up again before the others catch on" what are you on about, Rodo! They already know?? Or does Gerd and Goldberg not count?! Does it mean he thinks he can bribe them to stay quiet about it?? I mean, I guess I can imagine Goldberg roleplaying together with Rodo for fun, they're probably actually friends. But Gerd?? Was he gonna give her one of the Strawhats to keep forever, a peace offering or a love gift, without realizing That Won't Make Her Happy (I mean, it would make her happy, but she would also feel disgusted, because you don't treat humans like dolls, no matter how adorable they are!).
And yeah, Rodo's Gerd-simping moment was very Sanji-style, "she must be here to save me!". Actually, scratch that, he's worse than Sanji, 100% submissive princess-in-distress, treating Gerd as his hero. Maybe Gerd defended him from some bullies once, when they were both kids, and he wouldn't leave her alone ever since. And since Rodo seems to be always living in his fantasy worlds, he doesn't even realize Gerd doesn't like him or is not trying to compliment him with the words she says, lol. Damn, it's really fun to speculate about those two :D Maybe I'm so into it because I never had the opportunity to analyze arcs chapter by chapter like this and never paid that much attention to side characters before. And Elbaf is more my type of a fun arc than sci-fi world of Egghead was ;)
This scene has such Nami-beating-up-Luffy vibes to it, lol. Even Goldberg joined in. Rodo is definitely insufferable but he's also like, kinda fun. I get it now when Oda said that he always creates characters that he likes, so that in worst case they at least have one fan. All of Oda's characters have so much charm and thought put into them!
Speaking of pairs, Hajrudin and Loki were on my mind lately as well. They share some interesting similarities. Loki has his eyes covered, Hajrudin wears helmet with those protective pieces around his eyes (he had it since Dressrosa actually!), but they kinda obstruct his view? Like, look at Dorry's similar helmet - he has a clear view, so Hajrudin's variation is not a regular thing! I feel like it's showing us the connection between him and Loki (both having obscured eyes). I know the story suggested they're brothers and kinda against each other, but Brogy and Dorry also are "opposing/fighting each other" and yet no one would argue how special their bond is. It might be the same type of thing between Loki and Hajrudin.
Who knows what was Loki's real reason for killing his father? Maybe he did it for his brother somehow. Why did Hajrudin wanted the flame flame fruit in Dressrosa? Was it to free his brother perhaps? Whatever it is, I'm sure their bond will turn out to be important and somewhat explored in this arc (probably not the main focus though, they're just side characters after all? Though Loki did get his own double spread, so who knows, who knows).
Holdem's back! I forgot he existed, ngl, haha. Actually, he probably has no idea that Yamato is on the enemy's side, because when the raid happened, Holdem was in Udon, unaware of Yamato switching sides! Maybe the title of the chapter relates to him as well, he's not threatening Yamato, he might be expecting praise from Kaido's son for not giving up despite Beast Pirates' defeat. But also he's just trying to survive by robbing people. Yamato looks a bit like he's in a pickle, huh. Always having to prove on which side he is and clearing various challenges thrown his way (human children bullies, going against his previous friends), dang.
Oooof, this was like a punch to the guts. But it was needed. This emotional bomb dropped so we can remember and focus on Robin's suffering. Olvia, Clover and Saul all made efforts so Robin can live, but at what price. That life was a pure nightmare for her and we should never forget it.
This is such a powerful moment as well. Can't believe we had to wait so many years to see a scene like this 😭😭
In the couple of last chapters we saw a lot of Robin's reactions, showing surprise and being exicted and happy. It's the first time we ever see her that open with her emotions, just allowing herself to experience things. It's a joy to see and a reminder that she came a long way since Enies Lobby. She's able to act so unrestricted and honest, and it also makes her look younger again.
She's also wearing this cute shirt with crossbones and a heart skull. Showing off that she's a pirate at heart? Or perhaps it's a crossed out heart haha.
This library building looks eerily similar to the island house in One Piece Odyssey! Except that one was half of a ship haha.
A really cute moment. Robin is nervous before meeting Saul again (she says her heart beats really fast, so she's both excited and nervous), but thanks to Saul's little fake show she laughs and says she got nervous for nothing. It's so precious that Saul tried to break the ice, afraid that their meeting will be too awkward otherwise and chose to be so silly about it. Since Robin claimed she stopped feeling nervous, it worked really well to release the tension :D
Also I can't believe the whole scare around Saul "not getting up" was him just roleplaying their first meeting, oh lol. That cliffhanger was worth it, I would happily get fooled again :D This is just so wholesome.
Btw Saul, besides some burn scars, also now has a peg leg.
I also adored that Strawhats decided to accompany Robin, not leaving her even for a moment, taking their duty to protect her seriously. But they're probably just curious as well. Luffy even says he needs to greet Saul and thank him for taking care of his crew, which, to be frank, is such an Ace-like moment?? That's exactly how Ace explained why he wanted to meet Shanks! (just used the word brother instead of crew).
This scene worries me a bit I'm a worry-cat, you should all know it by now, haha. That's because Robin interrupts Saul when he talks about her future (probably wanting to say something like: thanks to their efforts you will finally stop being pursued one day), but Robin is not even interested in hearing about that. I get it, it must be making her sad and she says she doesn't want to talk about sad things anymore, not when she can finally reunite with Saul. But at the same time this dismissal of hers when the talk goes to the topic of her own wellbeing reminds me of Enies Lobby and Robin's self-sacrificing tendencies, you know? Those don't go away just like that and I think they still are lying dormant in Robin. Let's just hope I read a bit too much into that.
As to why I think it was Saul who said the line about Robin's future is because of his speech pattern in the original. Robin uses more refined/less casual language, meanwhile Saul tends to finish his sentences on the "yo" syllabe in this part. He did it even just a frame next to this one as well, so it feels kinda natural it's still him speaking. Though the use of "yo" is kinda nuanced in Japanese, so I might be wrong on that one, keep it in mind :D it could even fit both ways, Saul sharing info Robin didn't have (hence the "yo" to emphasize it) and continuing on with that, or it might be Robin interrupting him by bringing something to his attention she thinks he missed or being slightly pushy in changing the topic (it doesn't suit her too much, but hey, the official translation also seems to suggest this is Robin's line).
Also I just think it would be nice if both Robin and Saul addressed each other with "anta" ❤
Now it's time to cry. I find Robin's line, asking for Saul to praise her, really meaningful. After all, when she was a kid, that was her exact motivation! She learned how to read poneglyphs because she wanted to be praised by the archeologists (and be useful to them), spend more time together with them, but also hoping that her mother would also praise her and take her with her this time. Even when Clover tells Robin to escape she says she would rather die together with them than be alone. The outcome of Ohara was really the worst for Robin who always felt so alone and lost even the hope to ever be with anyone she loved again. Her biggest dream wasn't to be an archeologist because she loved history so much (though yes, she did enjoy it ofc), but it was just to hold her mom's hand and go for a walk together. To live happily with her, like a true family.
Before Olvia died, she did praise Robin for her efforts. Back then I didn't understand it this way and thought it's just an affectionate moment between the two, but it was actually Olvia recognizing what Robin wanted to hear the most :(
Robin had to survive on her very own, which was a nightmare for her already. But Saul repeats the same words to Robin that Olvia did - "Live!" and even gives her hope "You won't be alone, you will meet your comrades!". He knows really well how lonely Robin feels and how much she needs to hear all of that (he might have known her for only a few days, but he really paid attention to her!). He says all of it for her sake. And upon their reunion, he still keeps on doing that actually! Not only praises her for surviving, but also assures her she isn't alone in carrying the will of Ohara.
I think Saul is carrying Olvia's will (besides Ohara's will) here, took over the role of Robin's parent, and damn, he might be doing better job at it than Olvia ever did, no offense to her, but she was the parent who chose her mission over her daughter. It might sound cruel, but she's hardly the first or last parent in OP who did that. Saul, on the other hand, is trying to make things right again, isn't he? He can't fix the whole world so it becomes safe for Robin to live in, but he is still trying to do whatever he can to protect the legacy instead of her, so that one day it can contribute to a better future.
The raw emotion in this scene, my heart! I can't believe people can read this chapter and be like "pfff a reunion with the supposed dead character, what cheap writing". Come on, Robin deserved this moment of happiness. And it's not like it's a deus ex machina or anything, in fact this reunion is pretty bittersweet. Because Robin will have to leave Saul behind again, it's not like he can just travel with the Strawhats from now on. It's nice that Robin will be able to think that Saul is somewhere out there on Elbaf, wishing for her happiness, but it will always stay a long distance bond between them. Their reunion also can't erase all those years of lonely suffering from Robin's life.
Just like Saul became a parent for Robin, Robin thinks of Saul very fondly too. That's the reason why she's smiling even when she isn't happy, it's all because of Saul's words she always carried in her heart. Robin's smiles are often looking a bit forced, but the reason behind is really deep. It makes her recent, very honest smiles all that more precious too.
Did you ever wonder why does Saul love Robin so much? Why did he dedicate everything to her and Olvia, people who were complete strangers to him? He even lost his place in Navy and became a fugitive as the result. Yeah, sure, we can just shrug and say it's because he's such a nice person, but I think there's more to Saul than that. I would call him an accidental hero - he never actually planned to be one and lots of his heroism is rooted in his feeling of guilt (not unlike Olvia who thought she doomed the whole Ohara, huh). He even called it "karma" at one point. I really think Saul is a deeper character than just a simple good-hearted hero and I wonder if we will catch some new side of him now, on Elbaf too :D
Everyone is bawling besides the Roronoa-I-pretend-I-have-a-heart-of-steel-Zoro and I'm-too-old-for-that-Jimbei, and Luffy. Luffy is too busy being genuinely happy and grinning. And looking a tiny bit proud. And hey, he has every right to feel this way! All the way back in Alabasta, it was him who dragged Robin back to safety, saving her life, and accepted her on his crew. The Robin back then wasn't happy to be alive and thought there's no point in trying anymore. But this moment here? Would have never happened if she gave up all the way back then! And this is thanks to Luffy that she didn't.
This is the moment of turning despair upside down. It's a bit like how Kin said it in Wano "Looking back, it's been nothing but peril after peril, but I was fortunate to meet you..." and a moment later he adds "...at my most desperate state". Except Kin thinks it was both Luffy and Law who managed to turn his fate around (after all Law spared him by cutting him to pieces, that was mercy) and showed him that things will get better, something that Kin lost sight of back on Punk Hazard, succumbing to his rage.
Speaking of previous chapter's survey, let's just agree that Robin indeed changed her hair to celebrate meeting Saul. And if her hair cutting has also some other extra reason, I guess we will find out soon-ish (or later-ish).
Finally, I decided to pick my side as to who I think the mysterious guy in Wano's style of hat is. And I think the answer of "it's Yorki, not Shiki" satisfies me the most. We already had one tearful reunion in Elbaf, let's go for another one, Brook deserves it too! Seems like Elbaf attracts wonders, doesn't it.
I have no idea how Yorki could have survived, but if he did, it only makes sense he would be trying to search for Brook and the rest of the crew. He said that he deeply regretted leaving them and promised he will try to meet them again (if he doesn't die). So i think Yorki was searching for them, but couldn't find them. He was also feeling too guilty before to visit Laboon without Brook (Brook was Laboon's favourite person!). That would also explain why Crocus claimed he had a good source about Rumbar Pirates ditching the Grand Line, because indeed, Yorki's group did, together with him! Maybe he even did give up for a while, and only started to search for Brook again only much later. Maybe he spent a lot of time in Wano, because it was a closed off country - very likely place to find someone who vanished from the surface of the earth, right? Who knows, maybe he met Toki at one point and she send him forward to future (otherwise Yorki would be an old geezer by now, right? he seemed younger than Brook, but Brook spent 44 years in Florian Triangle, I think Yorki's hair would be white by now, at the very least).
Anyway, I won't try to sell you any details of how it all worked, because I actually have no idea myself. I have no clue how Yorki survived his sickness. but if he did (and many things point towards that) he would definitely try his best to reunite with Brook again, even if it was based on irrational hope and wishing for a miracle. But then Brook joined Luffy, got a new bounty, and even became a music star with his own concerts, his fame would reach Yorki finally as well. Which is why he finally decided to visit Crocus and Laboon, and they celebrated together and Yorki is probably promising he will go and see Laboon together with Brook again, or something like that :D I wonder how Brook will react... he's slightly insane (among other things) so he might try to flee at first, lol. This also adds a weight to Laboon on that cover page, doing the big surprised face :D
Since we learned lately that Brook is skilled in cutting people's hair it's possible that was his job on Rumber Pirates crew. Is that why Yorki has kept his hair so long? Because he wants for Brook to cut it again for him? :D
