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First and foremost, happy 21st anniversary to the One Piece Manga, here’s to many more years of this great series! Well guys, this is going to be my very first review/discussion of a One Piece chapter. I’m going to try to not just recap the chapter, I’ll put in my two cents and tailor this more as a discussion. I’ll break down the chapter by sections and discuss things I found interesting and we can go from there.
Part 1: Amigasa Village: O-Tama and Hitetsus’ home
Well, Luffy starts this chapter off with breaking the news to O-Tama that Ace is dead (hurts every time mane). O-Tama couldn’t believe it, went on to call Luffy a liar and shortly after passed out from shock. O-Tamas master didn’t like the fact Luffy brought on the news to her in such a harsh way, oh and by the way, we find out her masters name, Tenguyama Hitetsu. We also find out that he is a Blade smith, I’m certain this is a detail that will come back into play as he arc progresses.
As Hitetsu goes on with his plot setup dialogue, he brings up two things I want to talk about. First, one of my personal favorite Supernova, X Drake. It sounds like Drake was the one responsible for destroying there village, leaving it in this wasteland state. Hitetsu also mentions that Drake defeated FIVE samurai. Let us ponder on that revelation. Drake, new Headliner of the Beast Pirates, was able to defeat FIVE of the highly acclaimed and hyped up samurai from Wano country. My main man X Drake is packing some serious power and I cannot WAIT for him to go off this arc. Hitetsu then brings up something a lot of us fans have been dying to hear about, what Ace was doing in Wano (we knew he came to Wano because during the Marineford arc, we found out that Ace made a straw hat for Oars Jr in Wano).
Anyways, Luffy decides to go and find a doctor and food for O-Tama, in the process he gets his new Wano Arc wardrobe. My captain is looking fresh to death in the Kimono with his cursed sword… oh yeah, Luffy took one of the 21 great grade swords, Nidai Kitetsu. Now, where have we heard that name before? Oh yeah, it has the same name as Zoros Sandai Kitetsu! Again, this plot point will come into fruition in the future as well.
Part 2: O-Tama and Luffys Convo
After O-Tama regains counciousness she eventually explains why Ace is so precious to her. She wanted to go out to sea with him when she was 5, but Ace refused to take her, she needed to be stronger and he told her that he will take her if she became a Kunoichi when she got older. This is a direct parallel to Luffy and Shanks. Luffy wanted to go with Shanks when he was around the same age as O-Tama and Shanks told him a very similar thing. I just thought that was a really cool thing Oda did.
Part 3: The Fateful Reunion.
Now, my favorite part of the chapter, FINALLY, captain and vice-captain are reunited once more! Seeing Luffy and Zoro be excited to see each other was heartwarming. Shortly after their reunion, we run into our first big obstacle of the Wano arc, fellow Supernova, Basil Hawkins, new Headliner for Kaido and the Beast Pirates. The chapter ended with a set up for a fan moment that was a long time coming, the clash of Supernovas!
Verdict
I really enjoyed this chapter. It set up a lot of things for the future, filled in holes in the past, and gave us great character interaction.
Predictions
So I’m hoping next chapter we’ll get to see this confrontation of Luffy and Zoro vs Basil Hawkins and his subordinates. We haven’t seen Luffy and Zoro team up to fight in a long time and I can’t wait to see the glory of the captain and vice-captain teaming up post time skip.
I want to bring up something a lot of the community has been asking. Where is Law? He was part of the Wano group that dispatched from Zou, we’ve seen everyone from that group except him and his crew. Now, what I think is happening with Law is that he is in communication with X Drake. Law is a very meticulous individual and although Drake has been part of Kaidos crew for nearly 2 years, I do not believe Drake is happy working for Kaido. If you remember, X Drake entered the New World looking to pick a fight with Kaido. It seems they have some history, and all of this may be part of Drakes plan to eventually defect and attack Kaido. Also, if you remember Laws flashback in Dressrosa, X Drake was also present on that island where Corozon ended up dying. I believe Oda purposely set up Law and Drake being connected in this flashback to bring it full circle this arc.
Closing Remarks
Well I did my best! First review/discussion is in the bag and I’m sure I’ll find my flow and improve as time goes on. This ended up being a little more recapish than I would have liked but I have to start from somewhere. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to ask on our twitter. Until next time, TO BE CONTINUED ~ S