#opanalysis

[whirlybirdwhat]

you know what I just realized while watching the TS Arc?

The Ennies Lobby Arc... its about reclaiming dreams, that you are never too young to chase them, to live them.

Its no coincidence that this arc, pre-Thriller Bark, focused on the only adults of the Straw Hat Pirates.

The adults, who had given up their dreams. Robin, because she was too worried about living another day, and later, her friends living another day. Franky, whose ships had killed his beloved Tom, who was too afraid to sail on his Ship of Dreams, because he felt like he had too much responsibility to chase them.

They are adults, who have left behind this ‘dream’ stuff and been realistic, something that often happens in the real world.

But then - Luffy came along, and showed them that no, you can chase your dream, you can leave this - the past, your responsibilities (this point in reference to the Franky Family), your regrets - behind and be free no matter what life you have led, no matter how old you are.

To hammer this point in at a different angle, we have the thing with Usopp - who did give up his dream (to become a brave warrior of the sea) no matter how briefly. But even then, he reclaimed it!

One Piece has always been about dreams, and that theme is explored in almost every arc - so its no wonder Ennies Lobby has such a theme like this - that even expands into Thriller Bark as Brook realizes his dream can still happen.

Its a powerful one, and the characters chosen to drive that theme forward, the adults, the doubter of the group, show everyone that no - your dream is still out there! You can chase it, no matter how old you are!

[sunnyul]

I love how Sanji didn't gain the ability to disappear out of the blue. When you think about it, "disappear" has always been an important keyword that well-describes Sanji's character.

As we all know... One of Sanji's biggest dreams was to become an invisible man and disappear so that he could peep on women, but that's not all.

Disappearing was also a method he frequently relied on or wanted to rely on to protect his nakama. He always disappeared to carry out secret missions and sabotaged the enemy behind the scenes. He hoped to disappear from the people he cared about when he thought he couldn't escape the Vinsmokes.

The word "disappear" may also be a trauma to Sanji, since all his father wanted from him was to disappear from his sight so that he could forget about his existence. Now he can disappear of his own free will and capitalize on it, but he was once forced to do it by none other than his own parent.

To sum up, disappearing was Sanji's dream, one of his tactics to protect his nakama, and also a part of his terrible childhood trauma. Who deserves the name "Stealth Black" more than he does? Let's see if his new ability adds another interesting facet to his character.

[writesailingdreams]

Rook | OP ch. 857 response

Rook | OP ch. 857 response

“…this all makes me feel oddly relieved”

Spoilers below

(more…)

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[mellorinc]

CARROT FOR 11TH STRAWHAT

theories ( one and two )  //  (( click to view hi-res! ))  

[mariegeoise]

Does that mean after all these years big mom is still not aware that she ate Mother Caramel?

[writesailingdreams]

The Pirate King’s Seed: Just How Similar is Ace to Roger

or How Much Does Biology Create Personality  “Gold Roger, the “King of the Pirates” had achieved it all. Wealth, fame, and power had all been his. Not surprisingly, the final words he spoke before they lopped off his head inspired adventurers throughout the world to sail the seas. ‘My treasure? Why, it’s right where I left it… It’s yours if you can find it…but you’ll have to search the whole…

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[sunnyul]

Why do you dislike the current arc though?

I’m disappointed in the current arc, but that doesn’t mean I dislike it. As for the reasons for my disappointment, they are as follows:

There was so much hype building for the Tea Party but I personally found it pretty lackluster. It was a very brief, small-size event and although the newly introduced guests had a lot of potential to make it big, they’re forgotten by everyone now.

Pudding was such a promising character but what is there to expect from her at this point? Now she’s nothing more than Sanji’s faithful assistant who fawns over him. She didn’t necessarily have to be a villain, but at least her reasons to switch sides could’ve been more convincing.  

The Vinsmokes fell into Big Mom’s trap way too easily for their notorious reputation. Oda did redeem them recently but their characterization is still very sloppy and confusing and that really doesn’t do Sanji’s sufferings justice.

I’m not against the idea of Sanji winning Big Mom’s favor with his cooking skills, but isn’t the outcome a bit too obvious? Sanji’s ability as a chef is literally unparalleled, and that means there isn’t any heated competition or suspense involved. 

Brulee’s mirror world has made everything too easy for Luffy & co. I didn’t like how it was used again and again whenever there were things to be taken care of. 

Up to now, Big Mom’s was depicted as nothing more than a feisty child with zero control and exhibited none of the traits a Yonkou should rightfully have. Everyone’s treating her like a baby / crazy old lady to be coaxed, not a leader they look upon. 

The entire arc has been centered around escaping Whole Cake Island, not fighting back. I know that was the original plan but you can’t help but feel that compared to previous save-our-nakama episodes, the crew seems less desperate and focused.

Whew, guess that got a bit too lengthy 0_0; In sum, I think some characters with a lot of potential were wasted (especially female ones like Reiju, Big Mom and Pudding) and the overall plot seems to lack tension.

Now, I usually try to focus on the good parts only so please don’t think that I hate this arc because this post is so long! This is my favorite character’s arc after all, so I’m going to stick around until its end no matter what.  

[mellorinc]

carrot & pedro: master and apprentice (?)

i always found it strange that carrot was part of inuarashi’s musketeers but wears nekomamushi’s guardians’ cape? 

we know that she’s a ruler’s bird (which makes her active 24/7, as well as moving from one protectorate to another) so it hardly matters what squad she’s in. but that being said, we also know that wanda seems to be carrot’s caretaker/close friend/stand-in-mum, and practically her overseer in the musketeers, but why is she wearing a different cape? 

wouldn’t it be more logical to wear the blue cape that represents the musketeers seeing as she was part of them? but then i remembered:

pedro--he’s the captain of the guardians--which then leads me to think: pedro is carrot’s mentor. it’s totally not a big deal, considering how tight-knit the mink community seems, but i feel that their relationship is a bit deeper than what we see from the surface. 

during the entire arc, we interpret that their bond is mostly because they are from the same tribe, however, it seems that carrot and pedro’s interactions were close and familiar, quite like carrot and wanda’s (i mentioned it on this post before). 

another point that makes me think of it this way, was because pedro vouched for carrot’s combat ability. all minks are natural born fighters, but how often do they get to display their skills? excluding the jack incident, they don’t leave zunisha unless they’re going on a pirate trip, and it’s impossible to locate the island so i doubt they get invasions at all. so the only other explanation i can think of is during training.

another thing i’ve noticed is that the musketeers use rapiers and agility, while  the guardians rely more on their strength. carrot displays the use of both fighting styles; although she’s never been seen with a blade, she uses her speed to her advantage--and relies naturally on the strength of her claw attacks + electro.   her main weapon: those paws! where would she have picked it up if she was with the musketeer squad?

i’m thinking that sicilian would be more likely to teach her how to fence, but like i said, there is no indication that carrot fights with swords. it’s highly possible that she was trained under the guardians--under pedro--and later stayed with the musketeers to stay close to wanda. 

i honestly hope to see more of carrot and pedro’s story in the next chapter, i want to see how her anguish at his demise comes to play in the arc...seeing as oda would never let somebody accompany the strawhats without an important reason.