Chapter 1141 reaction
[proceed for full-on spoilers]
Before I dive into the chapter, the cover for volume 111 was released and I need to share it. I personally really love it.
I like the simple composition here and that color reveals! Loki rocks that pink hair (I was hoping it’d be pink or purple) but I think I’m too dumb to get what his tattoos are supposed to resemble. Maybe wings? Seen other people mention flames ‘cause of the red, but I’m rly lost here. Ragnir seems to be a metallic blue here and I hope that color will stay and not turn into normal grey. Seeing the straw hats in their signature colors for this arc makes me happy. I love how Oda plays around with fashion, his designs are cool and diverse, and I think it elevates the world-building and characters that they change outfits so often and aren’t bound to one style/color. Yet, I feel like we rarely see them wearing their signature colors outside of merch or advertisements, so I appreciate having them all wear them at the same time(at least till they change outfits again). I’m wondering if the rest of the straw hats are doing the same.
Usopp stands out tho. Not only because he’s not wearing his yellows, but also ‘cause his color pallet is crazy. I think putting purple, pink/salmon, red, and orange next to each other without a gradient is such an eyesore, I actually don’t get the vision here. However, I do get the Obelix reference with the orange beard and striped pants, and think that’s lovely<3 I like that Chopper’s helmet is in the color of his original hat and lol those antler extensions xD I vibe with the general style of the outfits, especially those boots and gloves. I like the brown/earthy tones, especially on Luffy. It’s nice to see him in colors we usually associate with pirates for once. The gold on his helmet is very striking, probably to invoke a crown or the straw hat. Can’t wait to see these in the anime and fan art (low-key motivates me to draw too).
On to the chapter!
The sequence of titles recently - “Mountain-Eater”, “Scopper Gaban”, and now “An older woman”? Damn, Oda, you’re serving me. I’ve got some ideas already but I’ll voice my speculations afterwards.
Nami is so real here. I’d be frustrated too. And I feel sorry for Rodo for still trying to cover for them.
Yippie! More of Franky and Ripley! Every page dedicated to Franky is a good page<3 The last time we saw him, he was shocked at the Harley mural and wanted to get Robin asap but he’s chill now, which leads me to believe that he either memorized or copied it and will show it to her later. In general, sending Franky on this excursion and making him the first one to see it wasn’t arbitrary. He is probably the only other person on the crew (besides maybe Jimbe) who understands what a huge deal this is. On Water 7, Franky and Robin were both persecuted for their knowledge from the void century. Franky only destroyed the plans for the Anti-Pluton after seeing that the straw hats would protect Robin, including her knowledge of the real Pluton, and supported her from that point on.
But you know what? Fuck that sus-looking branch and interesting world-building for now, ‘cause I’M BUZZING.
LIGHTNING? You mention LIGHTNING? TWICE? GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I SENSE THE ENEL STOCKS RISING. OH MY GOD I THINK I’M GOING CRAZY. Like, yes, I know I need to calm down ‘cause this doesn’t have to be about Enel. He’s by far not the only one who could set this tree on fire, but you have no idea. YOU HAVE NO IDEA I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIS RETURN AND HOW MUCH COPIUM I’VE BEEN SNIFFING. PLEASE LET ME HAVE THIS FOR NOW AT LEAST BEFORE MY HOPES ARE SHATTERED. LET ME ENJOY THE DELULU-LAND FOR A GLORIOUS MOMENT. I’m gonna think about him and stay crazy till proven wrong. I’m a fake-god believer. *takes a deep breath* Moving on…
First of all, BASED. Jarul is so real for this. And yeah it’s a good joke. He’s the oldest giant and humanoid on the planet, so good luck finding someone older. But I can’t help but think that, since they’re talking about tastes, this doesn’t have to mean someone who’s older than him, he could just mean someone closer to him in age in general. We also don’t know if he’s only into giants or if a human 50+ woman would count too. These interpretations would allow him to still find someone. I’m rooting for him.
Second, Usopp gassing up Nami is so sweet. Her being happy for him is great, too, because she was the one with him on Little Garden when he formed this dream. I love their dynamic. (note how she changed her mind here and stayed because she understood this was important to him)
I appreciate Rodo for being the only one who gives a flying fuck about Scamrock. And I would’ve loved if the scene just ended here:
Poor Loki. Imagine bleeding to death and hearing someone arguing for letting you die. But do you see what I see?
:3
Oh my god what am I witnessing. ZORO, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???
I’m right with Luffy and I can’t remember the last time Luffy said smth like this to a friend. I get that Zoro thinks he has to be the voice of reason. I get that he respects ancient giants because multiple crew mates nearly died during their fight with Oars, and then his encounter with Kuma happened. I find it low-key cute that Zoro uses kicks like Sanji when Sanji’s absent. But he’s being quite the opposite of reasonable. As Luffy said, a man is dying, and basically torturing him even more is beyond cruel. Why would he kick his wounds first and THEN check the blood? Wouldn’t checking the blood be enough? Is Luffy an idiot? Yes. But Zoro’s line of thinking here is crazy. Because he already knows Luffy’s going to free him anyway. And Zoro is the one who unlocks the cuffs. He was like “I’m rly scared of this giant crashing out so I’ll just kick him real hard and then free him. Should be right.” Bro what??? If Loki didn’t plan to crash out before, now he will for sure and Zoro will be his first target. And I want to point out the irony that Zoro was in the exact same situation when Luffy found him. He was tied up, starving, with an insanely exaggerated bad reputation, and if Luffy had listened to other people’s warnings Zoro wouldn’t be alive. I know Zoro cares a lot about his reputation but by now he really should have learned that most of the time what they hear about someone isn’t true. Maybe Zoro thinks this is another Whiskey Peak situation, but I think in reality he’s just looking for a fight. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t relax and get drunk during the feast. But this isn’t Whiskey Peak. This isn’t about a bad guy luring them in by pretending to be good. The giants are confirmed allies, everyone was warned about Loki, and not even Loki put on a nice act. He simply offered a deal. In fact, he was confused by Luffy’s antics and displayed anger. And if the words of his “online friend” are anything to go by,
he’s acting tough to hide a soft core - like Law, like Zoro. In Wano, Zoro and Luffy were really close and on the same wavelength, but now it’s the opposite, and I need to see them overcome this - and I hope it’ll be cathartic.
Chopper got promoted from emergency ration! It’s cute how Luffy bonded with Loki’s buddies like during his training arc. I’m sorry I’m sounding like a Loki apologist before anything was confirmed at all. I just can’t help but think that these two idiots would be besties. Loki, don’t mess this up. Oh, look, another idiot’s falling from the sky! And my princess finally joins the mess!
Naww this is cute :3
I’m split here. Hajrudin is a trustworthy guy for sure, but on the other hand, Loki didn’t try to befriend Luffy yet. It’s possible that his information about Shanks isn’t true, but his offer to destroy a crew of Luffy’s choice was genuine for sure, and that’s it. He didn’t try anything else to convince him. I can’t help but root for someone who was tortured and left to die by government fuckers. Loki surely did bad things in his life but I doubt he’s gonna be Elbaf’s final villain. I think his role will be very complicated.
Yippiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieee, my babygirl finally runs freeeeeeeeeeeeeee~
Sorry. Damn. What a glorious panel. I’m awestruck. The perspective and foreshortening are [I’ve tried to come up with a word for too long now, you catch my drift]. Chef’s kiss. I guess Ragnarök is finally coming. I’m so hyped for this. Ragnir as a blend of Ragnarök and Mjölnir is a classic Oda masterstroke. Love the name. We're really combining Loki and Thor again, are we. I can’t believe how it must feel to get up after sitting for six years straight. I honestly believe next chapter Loki is just gonna fall like a tree. Bro can barely breathe and probably needs to get used to having legs. Maybe he takes one swing at Zoro for revenge or to break his last cuff(if he even needs to - more on this later), but that’s it. If he actually starts full-on rampaging I’ll be very surprised.
Anyway, it’s convenient to have Gerd here - Zoro had just mentioned her. Is Sanji here to cook, to provide some brain cells, or ‘cause we need the monster trio together? Or… to have the monster trio away from the others? I hope it’s not the latter… I can’t handle the other straw hats going through shit right now *sweats* I know the god’s knights are up to some shit, but if the library gets burned down or Robin gets kidnapped again, I’ll sit there like :|
details corner:
just wanna highlight the funny :)
also, adding Excalibur to the list of suspicious references to our world’s stories…
ma man, what are you doing? XD T-T I don’t know which thought is funnier: that he put his head in his crotch on purpose or that it was an accident.
Sanji noticing Gerd’s absence was expected but now I’m wondering why his women-senses didn’t notice Nami’s absence. Is he that lost in the sauce or did she just not give him a reason to worry? I’m probably over-thinking this.
speculation corner:
Let me say it here before I read the next chapter and I’ll be proven wrong. I believe Elbaf’s legendary devil fruit is in the hammer. When they explained that it gets passed down from generation to generation, with the information we have so far, it could only be through cannibalism or by having the fruit in a weapon. I’d like to see the cannibalism route too, but Hajrudin being scared of the hammer tells me that’s what we should focus on, especially in a fight. Loki could still be a devil fruit user, but I think the royal fruit is in the hammer and that’s why they were chained up together with sea stone. Of course, Oda could just make up a new rule, or this fruit is just this special, but these are the two options I immediately thought of.
There are so many options for who the ‘older woman’ title could be referring to. It could indicate Big Mom’s return since she has huge ties to Elbaf, and I hope we’ll see a flashback from the situation with Lola. Jarul could also be talking about Mother Carmel because he might have had a crush on her or just misses her. If you think Imu is a woman this could also be a teaser for that, but I doubt Oda would hint at it in this way unless we get the reveal within the next couple chapters. It might be simply teasing a character we haven’t met yet (a giant or holy knight) and thinking too hard about it right now is futile. I am thinking about it anyway because giving “just a joke” this much attention would be weird. But hey, maybe Oda just found it very, very funny.
Now, I wanna entertain the idea that the hollow tree branches might become important, not because they’re flammable but because they’re hollow. I suspect that we’re going to find something in at least one of them. Be it treasure or a poneglyph, people, prisoners, King Harald’s grave or Harald himself who might be alive and in hiding. Just something.
I returned from Delulu-land to discuss the super flammable tree. Besides Enel, there are plenty of characters with fire or lightning powers and motives to set the Adam tree on fire. Big Mom if she returns, Loki with his devil fruit powers and/or “Mjölnir”, or the god’s knights who are probably aware of Elbaf’s weak spot. Even the straw hats could do it on accident for example in self-defense. Loki is most likely I think since Ragnarök starts with him in Norse mythology (but imagine it’s Enel I’ll fucking cry).
simp corner:
not much else to say on this front except that Luffy's cute red nose is super cute and Zoro looks really handsome (and fluffy!) this chapter
I don’t know how this turned out so long again. I didn’t think I’d have this much to say. Thanks for reading my insanity. I’ll be off reading 1142 right away (and see my hopes and dreams be crushed). I can’t wait, I’m still buzzing. Oh and I miss Gaban.
*I wish I'd know a way to scale down images somehow so they're not full-screen every time, but ig I have to live with this *I read the not official release of the chapter first to gather first impressions and have time to think on it, then I reread the official translation and edit if needed. I'm not posting these before the official release to avoid spoilers and mistranslations.