One Piece 39
Finally, things are looking up! (I haven't started 40 yet... gotta get on that. But 41 is making me cry too much. ;_;)
Volume 39: Contest/Struggle
368
[Cover Arc: Miss G-W et al land on Vacation Island]
Sogeking's theme song.
[Anyone who has not watched the anime is required to go to Youtube RIGHT NOW. I was first exposed to this revelation through the anime, and by the time the song was five seconds in, I was laughing so hard that I missed about five minutes of dialogue and had to rewind. LOCK ON!]
[Also, this was pretty much the point at which I concluded Oda was a bona fide genius (not that I didn't have ample evidence of that before). I have never gone from crying to laughing so fast.]
I love Sanji's "let's just humor him" response, and the fact that Franky goes along with it without blinking.
[Usopp, how are you so awesome. HOW.]
Sanji lays out the plan to recapture Robin.
"Don't you want to know where Sniper Island is?" *ignore* *ignore* "It's in your heart!" *ignore*
Sanji wants to know if Franky is strong, at which he takes offense. "SUPER strong! And this week's me is extra strong."
Back on Rocketman, Nami is ready for battle.
Paulie is very offended that she changed her clothes in front of them. The Franky Family approve. ("Nice, harenchi!")
Paulie wants the Square sisters to cover up, too, but no one is listening to him.
Mozu: "Shut up wai na, prude." (照れ屋, literally "shy guy")
Kimi: "Prude!"
Luffy is mad that he can't stuff any more meat into his pockets.
Zoro asks if Nami changed her weapon, but Nami says Usopp did it by outfitting the weapon with dial technology.
Nami and Luffy, in the depths of gloom: "His final work…" (遺作 implies "posthumous.")
Lucci and the CP-9 agents are absorbing the news that there is an intruder on board.
(Oh god, the pigeon not only has its own coat, it's crossing its wings.)
Lucci orders Corgi to search for them, since it's not like they could have got off the train.
While T-Bone and his men are checking out Car 7, there's a knock at the door. (I love the Strawhats' cheery faces when the door opens.)
Sanji and the others slam the door closed again and nail it shut. (Franky: "That is NOT how you hold a hammer." Usopp: "Shut up.")
When T-Bone breaks through the door, they find no one there. Meanwhile, all the marine forces have been summoned to the rear of the train. T-Bone realizes too late that it's a trap. They discover that the two rear cars were unhooked from the rest of the train, with nearly all the marine forces on board.
[T-Bone: "I was too late!" (遅かった!) I think this is a joke on his usual catch phrase, "just in time." (間に合った).]
Sanji is waving. "Bye, y'all! Have a nice trip! Watch out for sea kings."
Sogeking calls Sanji Sanji-kun (in general, his speech is more formal than Usopp's, and in the anime, his voice is deeper).
Sanji, Usopp and Franky take out the next batch of "small fry" (mostly men in black) in Car 5.
Sanji and Usopp are stunned to see that bullets can't hurt Franky (well, not from the front). He explains about being a cyborg. His back is vulnerable, because he could only do modifications from the front. (Love Usopp poking him with a needle. Franky: "I'm not your science experiment!!")
Franky further shows off the cola refrigerator in his stomach, which everyone finds very impressive (until they remember they've got more important things to worry about).
Heading into Car 4, they find the head waiter, Wanze.
(Has anyone ever done a "most annoying One Piece villain" list? This guy is way up toward the top of mine. I think his anime voice was done by the same person who did the goat-trio on Skypiea, just for extra irritation.)
Wanze shows off his special skill: he can shoot ramen out of his nose. (I am CERTAIN this must be hilarious if you're eight. And have a Y chromosome.)
Wanze says if they want to pass, they'll have to get through him.
369
A man in black explains the current arrangement of the cars: Wanze in 4, Nero in 3, the rest of CP-9 in 2, and Robin in 1.
Lucci says he doesn't care how many men they lose, as long as they can recapture Franky alive. Their only job is to deliver Franky and Nico Robin to Enies Lobby.
LOL, even Mr. Anonymous Gov't Agent recognizes Sogeking as Usopp. "Well, there are the two prisoners… although one of them was wearing a weird mask… and a blond guy I've never seen before." Kaku guesses, correctly, that Sanji must be one of the Strawhats.
Lucci tells the others to concentrate on Franky. The Strawats will never be able to take Robin.
"Mad, Mad" Wanze (hey, it says so on his coat: MAD) challenges the intruders to a battle of "Ramen Kenpou".
Wanze's "humorous" characteristic is that he still has the same idiot expression on his face even when he claims to be terrified.
Sanji is pissed off that Wanze claims to be a cook. He says he'll deal with Wanze while the other two go on ahead (or around).
Franky and Usopp decide to cross over the roof to the next car. Wanze says it's no use; they're just going to run into CP-9's newest member, Nero.
[I really CANNOT be bothered to go into the details of all the fights… so tedious. I just tried to pick out the funny moments.]
Wanze has difficulty fighting Sanji because he keeps getting distracted by the curly eyebrows. (Sanji: "Like you can talk about someone else having a weird face.")
Wanze can "train" noodles to form a suit of armor. "Men's Formal Wear!"
(OK, this is kind of funny. 麺 (men) = noodles. Most of Wanze's attacks start with men-something.)
Sanji is annoyed with Wanze for playing with food. (Nice call-back to Sanji's flashback story.)
Franky (who is randomly posing on the roof of the train car for some reason) runs into Nero, the sea-weasel of CP-9. (シャウ! I assume this means "hisss.")
Nero claims to be a user of "four powers" (the other CP-9 agents can use all six).
Franky doesn't hesitate to fight dirty (he is an underworld boss, after all).
In the train, Robin is startled to hear a knock at the window. "Longnose-kun!"
[I will never, never get tired of the joke that absolutely everyone can see through Sogeking's disguise except *spoiler*.)
370
"Sogeking" is introducing himself to Robin. "Hajimemashite!"
He says that Sanji-kun and some thug named Franky are on the train, too, and that Luffy-kun and the others are on another train just a little bit further back. ("Sounds like they have quite a few people with them…")
Usopp wants Robin to escape with him by crawling back along the exterior of the train (with the help of the extra Octo-shoes he brought along - how big is that bag of his?), but Robin refuses to go.
She's surprised to hear that Iceberg is still alive and that he told the others what she said, but she still won't change her mind.
"I never once said I wanted anyone to save me!"
Attracted by the noise, Corgi comes in and finds Robin looking very strange, with bandaged arms sticking out of her cloak.
(LOL, I think it's kind of adorable that Robin still hides Usopp even though she's claiming she wants no part of this rescue attempt.)
In Car 4, Sanji is having difficulty with the fact that his feet keep getting stuck in Wanze's noodle armor.
"Are you noodle-sorry for underestimating me now??" (menboku = to be ashamed; it would not normally be written "men" in katakana.)
Wanze assumes that Sanji only fights with his feet, but is startled when Sanji pulls out the kitchen knives. Sanji says normally, he considers hands and knives to be sacred chef's tools, but since Wanze insists on fighting with "ingredients," he'll show him how a REAL chef operates.
On the roof of the third car, Franky is fighting Nero.
Both of them are baffled by the other's abilities ("Why doesn't my rankyaku work on his weird body?" "How can he walk in mid-air?").
[Trivia: the four arts Nero knows are Rankyaku, Soru, Kami-e and Geppou.]
20 minutes until Puffing Tom arrives at Enies Lobby.
371
[Cover arc: Hina is relaxing on Vacation Island while Jango and Fullbody search for Mr. 3. I love those guys!]
Luffy keeps calling "Puffing Tom" "Bashing Tom."
No matter how wet he gets, Luffy still likes riding on the train's nose.
Inside the car, the Franky Family and assorted other idiots are playing "Gomu-gomu no 300 Pound Cannon". (LOL) Zoro and Paulie are Not Amused.
Idiots: "We're bored." Zoro: "Polish your weapons or something!"
[Haha, no wonder every third fanfic has Zoro polishing his weapons when he has nothing better to do.]
Luffy spots another train on the tracks ahead.
Zambai figures out that it's only the last two cars of Puffing Tom, which have somehow been set adrift.
Haha, in the "everyone's shocked" picture, Lulu is adjusting his hair and it's popping out of Chopper's hat.
Luffy uses his Gomu-Gomu no Rocket to hop over to the other train and check it out.
[Hee, Luffy's bullet-ridden "NOT THERE" semaphore]
[Now Lulu's hair is coming out Zambai's nose. That's a little disturbing. Two frames later, it's back on Lulu's head - gotta love the little attention marks over the cowlick, in case we weren't paying attention.]
Love Luffy's conversation with Zoro: "Cut it. 'Sin the way." Zoro: "K." (きれ。じゃま。〜 ああ。）
Zoro effortlessly splits the oncoming train into two parts.
[I hope those government guys were ok in the end. They're not all bad, after all.]
Aw, it's been a few volumes since someone marveled at the fact that Zoro's not even the captain. Natsukashii!
They pass a sea king that has been split in half, and Zoro correctly deduces that someone up ahead of them is very, very strong.
T-Bone apparently made up his mind to catch up with the Puffing Tom ON FOOT. He's worried about what might happen to innocent civilians if "those criminals" get free.
Zoro and T-Bone face off, and Zoro successfully knocks T-Bone off the tracks.
T-Bone: "He anticipated my move!?"
I like when Zoro respects the strength and integrity of his foes. (And, LOL, two frames later he's fast asleep.)
Oh, good, the surviving marines (who apparently turned their split cars into boats) are going to rescue T-Bone.
Luffy is back on Rocketman's nose. "Allll right! I'm gonna knock that pigeon guy flying!"
372
[Cover Arc: it appears that Mr. 2 may have broken out of prison since we last saw him, when he was about to be taken into custody after Alabasta.]
Franky and Nero are still battling on the roof of Car 3.
While attacking, Nero comments that he hasn't yet mastered Shigan (so he still needs to use guns).
Nero manages to shoot Franky in the back, having figured out his weakness, but Franky keeps fighting.
Franky figures he'll be invulnerable as long as he lies on his back. (LOL)
Franky's next technique is to turn into a backwards "Centaur" (which is basically useless, but admittedly it looks cool).
Sanji uses his kitchen knives to slice all of Wanze's armor away (but not to cut him, because kitchen knives aren't for cutting people). Then he finishes the job with his feet.
While Sanji is dealing his final kicks to Wanze, Wanze taunts him by saying he knows nothing of Robin's true nature.
By the time Sanji is done, Wanze's weird face has been transformed into a handsome one. Wanze is furious. ("Give me back my individuality!")
(Ahahaha, a successful career in plastic surgery a la Black Leg is launched…)
Sanji informs Wanze that he committed three crimes - he pretended to be a cook, he wasted food, and he insulted "our nakama."
At last, Sanji finishes his fight and knocks Wanze into the next car, where the four agents of CP-9 are waiting.
373
At first Franky's Centaur move doesn't seem to be worth much, but in the end he pins Nero down.
With his raw strength, Franky punches Nero straight down into the car below - right in front of the other CP-9 agents.
Franky and Sanji are standing together in Car 3, looking into Car 2 where their opponents are lying unconscious/stunned.
Nero crawls to his feet and says he doesn't care any more, he's going to kill Franky.
Lucci gives him three seconds to run. When Nero is too slow, he kills him where he stands.
[At least, he looks pretty dead? I dunno, maybe he'll turn up alive again later.]
"You're not a 'superman' until you master all six powers. Kid." He tells Kalifa to report that Nero was too weak for them to use.
Sanji and Franky are disgusted. "Those are the agents of justice?" "Can't tell who's the bad guy here."
Lucci rebukes them for kicking the door in so rudely.
Sanji: "I was raised all wrong." (Ahaha. 育ちが悪りーもんで.)
Lucci tells them to give up on Robin. He says that some people are simply born under an "unlucky star" (不幸な星のもとに). The world is better off without them.
(I KNEW I was right about that star language Aokiji used being important.)
"For instance… if there were a demon that could burn the world to ashes… and the only person with the power to awaken it was an innocent eight-year-old girl… don't you think, for the good of humanity, she ought to die by someone's hand?"
Now, Lucci says, Robin is a "real criminal" (本物の犯罪者), but in the beginning, she was no more than that (i.e. an innocent little girl). Ever since she could remember, her very existence has been a crime.
"She can't make people happy except by disappearing. That's the misfortune (不幸) that she bears."
"That woman should have died 20 years ago. I am truly happy that she will die before it's too late (手遅れになる前に)."
[UGH, Lucci, take your smarmy compassion somewhere else.]
Lucci seems to be taking a grisly pleasure in describing the tortures they plan on visiting Robin with before she dies, but Sanji shouts him down. (THANK YOU.)
Robin bursts into the compartment, despite Usopp's attempts to hold her back.
Behind them, Corgi is unconscious (apparently Usopp and Robin beat him up).
Robin throws Usopp over toward Sanji. (Hey, Robin! He's injured!)
Robin says apparently they won't understand unless she spells it out for them.
(Lucci and the pigeon are laughing in unison, ugh, creepy.)
Sogeking is so polite, he even calls Franky "Franky-kun."
Usopp grabs Robin (using a smoke screen) and makes a run for Car 3.
374
[Cover arc: Miss G-W and the others are really bad at disguises.]
LOL, I didn't get this joke until I read it in Japanese: Luffy is screaming "KAERU!"
The others want to know why they should turn around after they've come so far (kaeru = return home), but Luffy says that's not it - there's a frog (kaeru = frog) on the tracks. Yokozuna is blocking their path.
On Puffing Tom, Usopp thinks they've succeeded in nabbing Robin and severing the connection to the car holding the CP-9 agents, but Kalifa manages to hold on to Car 3 with her whip.
Lucci tells the others not to kill any of the Strawhats - that was the promise.
Sanji's kick is almost strong enough to break through Blueno's "tekkai."
Meanwhile, Robin is using her powers to pin Usopp down.
(T__T Stop that, Robin!)
Franky: "Why are ALL of you nakama so goddamn stubborn!?" (Hee!)
Franky pushes Blueno and the others back onto Car 2, hoping to give Sanji, Usopp and Robin a chance to escape.
He says that there are teams that can't ever get back together, no matter how much they might want to. He can't bear to see that happen.
(見てられねーのよ！希望したってもう二度と元にはもだらねーチームもあんのによ！)
(Aw! serrende pointed out the significance of this line. Franky doesn't want to see the Strawhats broken up like Tom's Workers were.)
Robin is still insisting that she has no intention of escaping. Sanji says all they have to do now is deal with this "Buster Call" thing, but Blueno - opening a door right into their car - says that the Buster Call is the problem.
Lucci explains to Franky that Blueno's devil fruit power enables him to open a door through the atmosphere and travel to any point he wishes.
[Now, THAT would be useful. I wonder how long the range is?]
Blueno stabs Usopp. (Aw, Sanji is so upset that he calls Usopp by his real name - he did it earlier when Robin threw Usopp across the car, too.)
Usopp tells Robin that it's OK. "You're still hiding something, aren't you? That doesn't matter." Pirates, he tells her, can't leave the crew without the captain's permission. "Believe in Luffy!"
[Aw. Hypocrisy, maybe, but I like to think Usopp is trying to give Robin the advice he wishes he'd given himself. It may be significant that he *doesn't* call Luffy "Luffy-kun" here.]
Robin walks through Blueno's door. Before he goes, Blueno tells them about Robin.
Once, there was an incident in which a certain island was burned to ashes by the Buster Call, until not a trace remained. The only survivor was a young girl, Nico Robin.
To her, the "Buster Call" is a nightmare she can never escape. The memory of that terror was implanted in her when she was just a child, and now that terror is being directed at her nakama. She's lost all power to resist.
Sanji: "Just how rotten are you people!!"
Blueno says they "deeply sympathize" with "that woman," but this is all for the sake of justice.
(Self-righteous complacency might be the seventh power they were trained in. Jerks.)
Lucci announces that they have both prisoners back in custody, and Enies Lobby is within sight on the horizon.
"Open the gates."
[The SBS explains how Zoro ended up in the chimney, LOL forever.]
375
[Cover Arc: Hina spots the former Baroque Works agents from the pictures Miss Friday and Mr. 13 drew - apparently in exchange for lots of donburi. "Hina discover."]
Franky is surprised and pleased to hear that Iceberg is still alive.
"That jerk Bakaberg… よかった!"
Robin tells him that he should probably keep that quiet, since CP-9 doesn't know he's alive. Franky says that's what people call "kindness" (親切).
Franky reflects that with the both of them, the government will have the two keys they need to awaken the ancient weapon, and they'll surely use it to end the age of pirates.
That wasn't the future that his shishou risked his life for. (そんなくだらん未来の為じゃねー.) Franky has no intention of letting himself be taken into custody.
Franky tells Robin that she ought to go back to the Strawhats, too, but Robin insists that she can only hurt them by being with them.
Remembering what Tom told him about ships being neither good nor bad, Franky tells Robin that simply existing can never be a crime.
[So much love for Franky here. I love that he makes the connection with what Tom tried to teach him.]
The Franky Family vehicle is trying to catch up with Rocketman. Apparently the frog knocked the train right off the track (I guess the King Bulls let go when the train went flying). They're sticking to the tracks, hoping the Rocketman will make it back somehow.
Ahead of them on the tracks, they see another train car set adrift. (Presumably this is the one Sanji and Usopp are on, but they don't know it yet.)
Meanwhile, Yokozuna is clinging to the nose of the Rocketman. Luffy is furious. "Don't ribbit me! I'm gonna eat you!"
Kokoro says she's trying to find her way back, but she's having a hard time with the currents. Nami says that as long as Kokoro knows where they're going (Kokoro has an eternal log pose), Nami can steer through the currents. "I'm the navigator!"
Kokoro steps out to speak to Yokozuna. "No, I wasn't kidnapped, silly!" Chimney is surprised to see that her grandmother can talk to frogs.
Chopper: "Is granny a frog?"
Lulu: "She is kinda more frog than human."
Mozu: "You guys are going get your asses kicked later, wai na."
Kiwi: "Wai na."
Kokoro tells Yokozuna she understands why he keeps challenging the train. Ever since Tom was taken from him, he's wanted to get stronger, so his beloved person (大好きな人) would never again be taken away before his eyes.
"Time to show us the fruits of all that training! Your beloved (大好きな) Franky has been taken away, just like Tom."
They're in hot pursuit - is Yokozuna with them? "Gero!!"
"Hey, Mugiwara! We got another nakama here!"
Luffy: "Got it! Say, Granny, are you really a frog? Or a monster (怪獣)?"
Kokoro" "Either is fine."
[LOL forever *spoiler* hee!]
Nami finds a current they can ride back to the track. Zambai says to be sure to pick up the rest of the Franky Family - he thinks they can help.
Luffy and Yokozuna are now both perched on the nose of the Rocketman, eager to make up for lost time (this is kind of ridiculously cute).
Puffing Tom has arrived at Enies Lobby. Franky is making as much trouble as humanly possible (he's biting some marine's head).
The main gates swing open.
Franky is amazed by the sight of Enies Lobby, which appears to be an island suspended in mid-air by a narrow spit of land, surrounded on all sides by waterfalls.
Spandam receives the report that Lucci has arrived. He rejoices that for the first time in five years, "all eight" of the CP-9 will be together again.
But he's a bit upset about what he's read in the paper. Apparently there was a mission that didn't go so well.
Spandam complains that all they had to do was kill three division commanders of the Revolutionary Army, but they ended up killing 23 people.
[Speculation]Wonder who the targets were?
We meet the three remaining members of CP-9: Kumadori, who acts and talks like a Noh drama actor (he keeps threatening to "take responsibility" and slit his belly); the wolfish-looking Jabura; and Fukurou, a large man with a zippered mouth. (When he opens the zipper, he always says too much. Chapapa!)
Kumadori tries to commit seppuku, but he can't kill himself because he cast "iron body" first.
Jabura: Oh, hurry up and die!
Spandam: That's enough, you guys! ARGH, I spilled my coffee! Hot hot hot! … And I hear they couldn't use Nero, damn it. Oh well.
(This panel makes me laugh and laugh. Dumbest villains EVER.)
Meanwhile, the Franky Family has joined forces with Sanji and Usopp. They are very moved to hear that Franky tried to sacrifice himself to save Robin.
The Rocketman catches up with the Franky vehicle.
Luffy: "Sanji! And… who's that?"
(I find it absurdly cute that the entire Franky Family calls Luffy Mugiwara-san.)
Everyone prepares to begin the assault on Enies Lobby.
376
[Cover Arc: Hina takes out Miss G-W and friends. "Hina attack."]
Neither Luffy nor Chopper can see through Sogeking's disguise, LOL forever. (Never going to not be funny. Never never never.)
They are THRILLED to meet an honest-to-goodness hero, complete with cape.
Everyone else - including Chimney and the Square Sisters, laughing so hard here - can tell exactly who Usopp is.
(Notice Chopper getting Sogeking's autograph. We get to see the autograph in a later SBS.)
Chopper wants to know where Sniper Island is. Sogeking: "It's in your heart!"
*hugs Chopper a million times*
Sanji explains the Buster Call situation to Nami and the others.
Luffy is furious (Nami has to point out that he's not supposed to be furious with Robin).
LOL Luffy stomping off to "punch everything" because he's just so frustrated. At least he's focused on the goal of saving Robin.
He also mentions that he has a new technique he wants to try out.
Paulie draws a rough map of Enies Lobby for them.
(What would an arc be without a map with lots of little x's marked on it?)
Paulie and Zambai advise the Strawhats to hold back and let the rest of them go ahead to create a distraction. The Strawhats need to avoid pointless fighting so they can concentrate on taking out the big guns.
Luffy agrees. "Got it!"
On the horizon, they can see Enies Lobby, and behind it, the Gates of Justice.
Kokoro says that the water beyond the Gates of Justice is swarming with sea kings. Normal ships can't pass through those waters. The navy has some way of navigating through them - she doesn't know how.
[Post-Enies Lobby]First mention of marine ships being able to navigate through the Calm Belt. This will go unexplained until Coby explains about the marine ships having kairouseki hulls.
When they turn around, Luffy is just disappearing over the iron fence. He went on ahead. Of course. (Sanji: "Didn't he say "Got it!"? Everyone else: "Yeah, you couldn't expect him to just sit around.")
The Franky Family prepare to crash through the iron fence. Ahead, Luffy leaps up onto the top of the main gate (the first of the gates).
When the marines start shooting, Luffy jumps down on the other side of the gate and heads for the island gate.
Someone tries to contact headquarters, shouting that "one person" has gotten past the main gate and is on his way to the island gate.
The guy on the den-den mushi is trying to say that he thinks the invader is Strawhat Luffy.
More reports are coming in - a vehicle drawn by King Bulls is attacking the main gate.
Spandam can't make any sense of the reports he's hearing.
Meanwhile, Kokoro, on the Rocketman, still carrying the other five Strawhats, is getting ready to break through the front lines.
377
[I like the eight-on-eight lineup in the cover illustrations.]
Luffy tries to ask politely to be allowed to pass (who on earth taught him that?), but of course it doesn't fly.
Luffy easily fights his way through the guards at the island gate and leaps up to the top, and then over.
Spandam is horrified to hear that someone got past the island gate. Where are Oimo and Kashi?
The marines explain that it's the middle of the night, so they were sleeping. Spandam tells them to wake EVERYONE.
Jabura doesn't think a single intruder is any big deal. They can take care of him. But Spandam says that just having one intruder penetrate as far as the island of justice is a disgrace.
Meanwhile, the main gate is fully occupied with the task of fighting off the Franky Family and Galley-La.
Spotted in the fray: Paulie, Zambai, Mozu, Kiwi, Lulu, Tileston.
Some poor marine has Lulu's cowlick growing out of his nose. This upsets him.
The three largest members of the Franky Family (I don't think they're quite giants, but they're BIG - the "Kairiki Destroyers") push their way through the main gate.
[Has there ever been an explanation of why some humans, besides giants, are oversized? Whitebeard is, and so is Blackbeard's entire crew.]
Kashi and Oimo (who are REAL giants) hop over the island gate. Getting out of bed is hard, but work is work.
The Franky Family find themselves facing a pair of bona fide giant guardians.
(LOL, apparently when Oimo says his own name [オイも], he means "me too.")
Meanwhile, inside the island gate on the island proper, Luffy is surrounded by approximately ten thousand marines.
Marines: "How many DOZENS did you bring with you? There are ten thousand of us."
Luffy: "Yeah, it's just me. Now MOVE!"
TBC
Volume 39: Contest/Struggle
368
[Cover Arc: Miss G-W et al land on Vacation Island]
Sogeking's theme song.
[Anyone who has not watched the anime is required to go to Youtube RIGHT NOW. I was first exposed to this revelation through the anime, and by the time the song was five seconds in, I was laughing so hard that I missed about five minutes of dialogue and had to rewind. LOCK ON!]
[Also, this was pretty much the point at which I concluded Oda was a bona fide genius (not that I didn't have ample evidence of that before). I have never gone from crying to laughing so fast.]
I love Sanji's "let's just humor him" response, and the fact that Franky goes along with it without blinking.
[Usopp, how are you so awesome. HOW.]
Sanji lays out the plan to recapture Robin.
"Don't you want to know where Sniper Island is?" *ignore* *ignore* "It's in your heart!" *ignore*
Sanji wants to know if Franky is strong, at which he takes offense. "SUPER strong! And this week's me is extra strong."
Back on Rocketman, Nami is ready for battle.
Paulie is very offended that she changed her clothes in front of them. The Franky Family approve. ("Nice, harenchi!")
Paulie wants the Square sisters to cover up, too, but no one is listening to him.
Mozu: "Shut up wai na, prude." (照れ屋, literally "shy guy")
Kimi: "Prude!"
Luffy is mad that he can't stuff any more meat into his pockets.
Zoro asks if Nami changed her weapon, but Nami says Usopp did it by outfitting the weapon with dial technology.
Nami and Luffy, in the depths of gloom: "His final work…" (遺作 implies "posthumous.")
Lucci and the CP-9 agents are absorbing the news that there is an intruder on board.
(Oh god, the pigeon not only has its own coat, it's crossing its wings.)
Lucci orders Corgi to search for them, since it's not like they could have got off the train.
While T-Bone and his men are checking out Car 7, there's a knock at the door. (I love the Strawhats' cheery faces when the door opens.)
Sanji and the others slam the door closed again and nail it shut. (Franky: "That is NOT how you hold a hammer." Usopp: "Shut up.")
When T-Bone breaks through the door, they find no one there. Meanwhile, all the marine forces have been summoned to the rear of the train. T-Bone realizes too late that it's a trap. They discover that the two rear cars were unhooked from the rest of the train, with nearly all the marine forces on board.
[T-Bone: "I was too late!" (遅かった!) I think this is a joke on his usual catch phrase, "just in time." (間に合った).]
Sanji is waving. "Bye, y'all! Have a nice trip! Watch out for sea kings."
Sogeking calls Sanji Sanji-kun (in general, his speech is more formal than Usopp's, and in the anime, his voice is deeper).
Sanji, Usopp and Franky take out the next batch of "small fry" (mostly men in black) in Car 5.
Sanji and Usopp are stunned to see that bullets can't hurt Franky (well, not from the front). He explains about being a cyborg. His back is vulnerable, because he could only do modifications from the front. (Love Usopp poking him with a needle. Franky: "I'm not your science experiment!!")
Franky further shows off the cola refrigerator in his stomach, which everyone finds very impressive (until they remember they've got more important things to worry about).
Heading into Car 4, they find the head waiter, Wanze.
(Has anyone ever done a "most annoying One Piece villain" list? This guy is way up toward the top of mine. I think his anime voice was done by the same person who did the goat-trio on Skypiea, just for extra irritation.)
Wanze shows off his special skill: he can shoot ramen out of his nose. (I am CERTAIN this must be hilarious if you're eight. And have a Y chromosome.)
Wanze says if they want to pass, they'll have to get through him.
369
A man in black explains the current arrangement of the cars: Wanze in 4, Nero in 3, the rest of CP-9 in 2, and Robin in 1.
Lucci says he doesn't care how many men they lose, as long as they can recapture Franky alive. Their only job is to deliver Franky and Nico Robin to Enies Lobby.
LOL, even Mr. Anonymous Gov't Agent recognizes Sogeking as Usopp. "Well, there are the two prisoners… although one of them was wearing a weird mask… and a blond guy I've never seen before." Kaku guesses, correctly, that Sanji must be one of the Strawhats.
Lucci tells the others to concentrate on Franky. The Strawats will never be able to take Robin.
"Mad, Mad" Wanze (hey, it says so on his coat: MAD) challenges the intruders to a battle of "Ramen Kenpou".
Wanze's "humorous" characteristic is that he still has the same idiot expression on his face even when he claims to be terrified.
Sanji is pissed off that Wanze claims to be a cook. He says he'll deal with Wanze while the other two go on ahead (or around).
Franky and Usopp decide to cross over the roof to the next car. Wanze says it's no use; they're just going to run into CP-9's newest member, Nero.
[I really CANNOT be bothered to go into the details of all the fights… so tedious. I just tried to pick out the funny moments.]
Wanze has difficulty fighting Sanji because he keeps getting distracted by the curly eyebrows. (Sanji: "Like you can talk about someone else having a weird face.")
Wanze can "train" noodles to form a suit of armor. "Men's Formal Wear!"
(OK, this is kind of funny. 麺 (men) = noodles. Most of Wanze's attacks start with men-something.)
Sanji is annoyed with Wanze for playing with food. (Nice call-back to Sanji's flashback story.)
Franky (who is randomly posing on the roof of the train car for some reason) runs into Nero, the sea-weasel of CP-9. (シャウ! I assume this means "hisss.")
Nero claims to be a user of "four powers" (the other CP-9 agents can use all six).
Franky doesn't hesitate to fight dirty (he is an underworld boss, after all).
In the train, Robin is startled to hear a knock at the window. "Longnose-kun!"
[I will never, never get tired of the joke that absolutely everyone can see through Sogeking's disguise except *spoiler*.)
370
"Sogeking" is introducing himself to Robin. "Hajimemashite!"
He says that Sanji-kun and some thug named Franky are on the train, too, and that Luffy-kun and the others are on another train just a little bit further back. ("Sounds like they have quite a few people with them…")
Usopp wants Robin to escape with him by crawling back along the exterior of the train (with the help of the extra Octo-shoes he brought along - how big is that bag of his?), but Robin refuses to go.
She's surprised to hear that Iceberg is still alive and that he told the others what she said, but she still won't change her mind.
"I never once said I wanted anyone to save me!"
Attracted by the noise, Corgi comes in and finds Robin looking very strange, with bandaged arms sticking out of her cloak.
(LOL, I think it's kind of adorable that Robin still hides Usopp even though she's claiming she wants no part of this rescue attempt.)
In Car 4, Sanji is having difficulty with the fact that his feet keep getting stuck in Wanze's noodle armor.
"Are you noodle-sorry for underestimating me now??" (menboku = to be ashamed; it would not normally be written "men" in katakana.)
Wanze assumes that Sanji only fights with his feet, but is startled when Sanji pulls out the kitchen knives. Sanji says normally, he considers hands and knives to be sacred chef's tools, but since Wanze insists on fighting with "ingredients," he'll show him how a REAL chef operates.
On the roof of the third car, Franky is fighting Nero.
Both of them are baffled by the other's abilities ("Why doesn't my rankyaku work on his weird body?" "How can he walk in mid-air?").
[Trivia: the four arts Nero knows are Rankyaku, Soru, Kami-e and Geppou.]
20 minutes until Puffing Tom arrives at Enies Lobby.
371
[Cover arc: Hina is relaxing on Vacation Island while Jango and Fullbody search for Mr. 3. I love those guys!]
Luffy keeps calling "Puffing Tom" "Bashing Tom."
No matter how wet he gets, Luffy still likes riding on the train's nose.
Inside the car, the Franky Family and assorted other idiots are playing "Gomu-gomu no 300 Pound Cannon". (LOL) Zoro and Paulie are Not Amused.
Idiots: "We're bored." Zoro: "Polish your weapons or something!"
[Haha, no wonder every third fanfic has Zoro polishing his weapons when he has nothing better to do.]
Luffy spots another train on the tracks ahead.
Zambai figures out that it's only the last two cars of Puffing Tom, which have somehow been set adrift.
Haha, in the "everyone's shocked" picture, Lulu is adjusting his hair and it's popping out of Chopper's hat.
Luffy uses his Gomu-Gomu no Rocket to hop over to the other train and check it out.
[Hee, Luffy's bullet-ridden "NOT THERE" semaphore]
[Now Lulu's hair is coming out Zambai's nose. That's a little disturbing. Two frames later, it's back on Lulu's head - gotta love the little attention marks over the cowlick, in case we weren't paying attention.]
Love Luffy's conversation with Zoro: "Cut it. 'Sin the way." Zoro: "K." (きれ。じゃま。〜 ああ。）
Zoro effortlessly splits the oncoming train into two parts.
[I hope those government guys were ok in the end. They're not all bad, after all.]
Aw, it's been a few volumes since someone marveled at the fact that Zoro's not even the captain. Natsukashii!
They pass a sea king that has been split in half, and Zoro correctly deduces that someone up ahead of them is very, very strong.
T-Bone apparently made up his mind to catch up with the Puffing Tom ON FOOT. He's worried about what might happen to innocent civilians if "those criminals" get free.
Zoro and T-Bone face off, and Zoro successfully knocks T-Bone off the tracks.
T-Bone: "He anticipated my move!?"
I like when Zoro respects the strength and integrity of his foes. (And, LOL, two frames later he's fast asleep.)
Oh, good, the surviving marines (who apparently turned their split cars into boats) are going to rescue T-Bone.
Luffy is back on Rocketman's nose. "Allll right! I'm gonna knock that pigeon guy flying!"
372
[Cover Arc: it appears that Mr. 2 may have broken out of prison since we last saw him, when he was about to be taken into custody after Alabasta.]
Franky and Nero are still battling on the roof of Car 3.
While attacking, Nero comments that he hasn't yet mastered Shigan (so he still needs to use guns).
Nero manages to shoot Franky in the back, having figured out his weakness, but Franky keeps fighting.
Franky figures he'll be invulnerable as long as he lies on his back. (LOL)
Franky's next technique is to turn into a backwards "Centaur" (which is basically useless, but admittedly it looks cool).
Sanji uses his kitchen knives to slice all of Wanze's armor away (but not to cut him, because kitchen knives aren't for cutting people). Then he finishes the job with his feet.
While Sanji is dealing his final kicks to Wanze, Wanze taunts him by saying he knows nothing of Robin's true nature.
By the time Sanji is done, Wanze's weird face has been transformed into a handsome one. Wanze is furious. ("Give me back my individuality!")
(Ahahaha, a successful career in plastic surgery a la Black Leg is launched…)
Sanji informs Wanze that he committed three crimes - he pretended to be a cook, he wasted food, and he insulted "our nakama."
At last, Sanji finishes his fight and knocks Wanze into the next car, where the four agents of CP-9 are waiting.
373
At first Franky's Centaur move doesn't seem to be worth much, but in the end he pins Nero down.
With his raw strength, Franky punches Nero straight down into the car below - right in front of the other CP-9 agents.
Franky and Sanji are standing together in Car 3, looking into Car 2 where their opponents are lying unconscious/stunned.
Nero crawls to his feet and says he doesn't care any more, he's going to kill Franky.
Lucci gives him three seconds to run. When Nero is too slow, he kills him where he stands.
[At least, he looks pretty dead? I dunno, maybe he'll turn up alive again later.]
"You're not a 'superman' until you master all six powers. Kid." He tells Kalifa to report that Nero was too weak for them to use.
Sanji and Franky are disgusted. "Those are the agents of justice?" "Can't tell who's the bad guy here."
Lucci rebukes them for kicking the door in so rudely.
Sanji: "I was raised all wrong." (Ahaha. 育ちが悪りーもんで.)
Lucci tells them to give up on Robin. He says that some people are simply born under an "unlucky star" (不幸な星のもとに). The world is better off without them.
(I KNEW I was right about that star language Aokiji used being important.)
"For instance… if there were a demon that could burn the world to ashes… and the only person with the power to awaken it was an innocent eight-year-old girl… don't you think, for the good of humanity, she ought to die by someone's hand?"
Now, Lucci says, Robin is a "real criminal" (本物の犯罪者), but in the beginning, she was no more than that (i.e. an innocent little girl). Ever since she could remember, her very existence has been a crime.
"She can't make people happy except by disappearing. That's the misfortune (不幸) that she bears."
"That woman should have died 20 years ago. I am truly happy that she will die before it's too late (手遅れになる前に)."
[UGH, Lucci, take your smarmy compassion somewhere else.]
Lucci seems to be taking a grisly pleasure in describing the tortures they plan on visiting Robin with before she dies, but Sanji shouts him down. (THANK YOU.)
Robin bursts into the compartment, despite Usopp's attempts to hold her back.
Behind them, Corgi is unconscious (apparently Usopp and Robin beat him up).
Robin throws Usopp over toward Sanji. (Hey, Robin! He's injured!)
Robin says apparently they won't understand unless she spells it out for them.
(Lucci and the pigeon are laughing in unison, ugh, creepy.)
Sogeking is so polite, he even calls Franky "Franky-kun."
Usopp grabs Robin (using a smoke screen) and makes a run for Car 3.
374
[Cover arc: Miss G-W and the others are really bad at disguises.]
LOL, I didn't get this joke until I read it in Japanese: Luffy is screaming "KAERU!"
The others want to know why they should turn around after they've come so far (kaeru = return home), but Luffy says that's not it - there's a frog (kaeru = frog) on the tracks. Yokozuna is blocking their path.
On Puffing Tom, Usopp thinks they've succeeded in nabbing Robin and severing the connection to the car holding the CP-9 agents, but Kalifa manages to hold on to Car 3 with her whip.
Lucci tells the others not to kill any of the Strawhats - that was the promise.
Sanji's kick is almost strong enough to break through Blueno's "tekkai."
Meanwhile, Robin is using her powers to pin Usopp down.
(T__T Stop that, Robin!)
Franky: "Why are ALL of you nakama so goddamn stubborn!?" (Hee!)
Franky pushes Blueno and the others back onto Car 2, hoping to give Sanji, Usopp and Robin a chance to escape.
He says that there are teams that can't ever get back together, no matter how much they might want to. He can't bear to see that happen.
(見てられねーのよ！希望したってもう二度と元にはもだらねーチームもあんのによ！)
(Aw! serrende pointed out the significance of this line. Franky doesn't want to see the Strawhats broken up like Tom's Workers were.)
Robin is still insisting that she has no intention of escaping. Sanji says all they have to do now is deal with this "Buster Call" thing, but Blueno - opening a door right into their car - says that the Buster Call is the problem.
Lucci explains to Franky that Blueno's devil fruit power enables him to open a door through the atmosphere and travel to any point he wishes.
[Now, THAT would be useful. I wonder how long the range is?]
Blueno stabs Usopp. (Aw, Sanji is so upset that he calls Usopp by his real name - he did it earlier when Robin threw Usopp across the car, too.)
Usopp tells Robin that it's OK. "You're still hiding something, aren't you? That doesn't matter." Pirates, he tells her, can't leave the crew without the captain's permission. "Believe in Luffy!"
[Aw. Hypocrisy, maybe, but I like to think Usopp is trying to give Robin the advice he wishes he'd given himself. It may be significant that he *doesn't* call Luffy "Luffy-kun" here.]
Robin walks through Blueno's door. Before he goes, Blueno tells them about Robin.
Once, there was an incident in which a certain island was burned to ashes by the Buster Call, until not a trace remained. The only survivor was a young girl, Nico Robin.
To her, the "Buster Call" is a nightmare she can never escape. The memory of that terror was implanted in her when she was just a child, and now that terror is being directed at her nakama. She's lost all power to resist.
Sanji: "Just how rotten are you people!!"
Blueno says they "deeply sympathize" with "that woman," but this is all for the sake of justice.
(Self-righteous complacency might be the seventh power they were trained in. Jerks.)
Lucci announces that they have both prisoners back in custody, and Enies Lobby is within sight on the horizon.
"Open the gates."
[The SBS explains how Zoro ended up in the chimney, LOL forever.]
375
[Cover Arc: Hina spots the former Baroque Works agents from the pictures Miss Friday and Mr. 13 drew - apparently in exchange for lots of donburi. "Hina discover."]
Franky is surprised and pleased to hear that Iceberg is still alive.
"That jerk Bakaberg… よかった!"
Robin tells him that he should probably keep that quiet, since CP-9 doesn't know he's alive. Franky says that's what people call "kindness" (親切).
Franky reflects that with the both of them, the government will have the two keys they need to awaken the ancient weapon, and they'll surely use it to end the age of pirates.
That wasn't the future that his shishou risked his life for. (そんなくだらん未来の為じゃねー.) Franky has no intention of letting himself be taken into custody.
Franky tells Robin that she ought to go back to the Strawhats, too, but Robin insists that she can only hurt them by being with them.
Remembering what Tom told him about ships being neither good nor bad, Franky tells Robin that simply existing can never be a crime.
[So much love for Franky here. I love that he makes the connection with what Tom tried to teach him.]
The Franky Family vehicle is trying to catch up with Rocketman. Apparently the frog knocked the train right off the track (I guess the King Bulls let go when the train went flying). They're sticking to the tracks, hoping the Rocketman will make it back somehow.
Ahead of them on the tracks, they see another train car set adrift. (Presumably this is the one Sanji and Usopp are on, but they don't know it yet.)
Meanwhile, Yokozuna is clinging to the nose of the Rocketman. Luffy is furious. "Don't ribbit me! I'm gonna eat you!"
Kokoro says she's trying to find her way back, but she's having a hard time with the currents. Nami says that as long as Kokoro knows where they're going (Kokoro has an eternal log pose), Nami can steer through the currents. "I'm the navigator!"
Kokoro steps out to speak to Yokozuna. "No, I wasn't kidnapped, silly!" Chimney is surprised to see that her grandmother can talk to frogs.
Chopper: "Is granny a frog?"
Lulu: "She is kinda more frog than human."
Mozu: "You guys are going get your asses kicked later, wai na."
Kiwi: "Wai na."
Kokoro tells Yokozuna she understands why he keeps challenging the train. Ever since Tom was taken from him, he's wanted to get stronger, so his beloved person (大好きな人) would never again be taken away before his eyes.
"Time to show us the fruits of all that training! Your beloved (大好きな) Franky has been taken away, just like Tom."
They're in hot pursuit - is Yokozuna with them? "Gero!!"
"Hey, Mugiwara! We got another nakama here!"
Luffy: "Got it! Say, Granny, are you really a frog? Or a monster (怪獣)?"
Kokoro" "Either is fine."
[LOL forever *spoiler* hee!]
Nami finds a current they can ride back to the track. Zambai says to be sure to pick up the rest of the Franky Family - he thinks they can help.
Luffy and Yokozuna are now both perched on the nose of the Rocketman, eager to make up for lost time (this is kind of ridiculously cute).
Puffing Tom has arrived at Enies Lobby. Franky is making as much trouble as humanly possible (he's biting some marine's head).
The main gates swing open.
Franky is amazed by the sight of Enies Lobby, which appears to be an island suspended in mid-air by a narrow spit of land, surrounded on all sides by waterfalls.
Spandam receives the report that Lucci has arrived. He rejoices that for the first time in five years, "all eight" of the CP-9 will be together again.
But he's a bit upset about what he's read in the paper. Apparently there was a mission that didn't go so well.
Spandam complains that all they had to do was kill three division commanders of the Revolutionary Army, but they ended up killing 23 people.
[Speculation]Wonder who the targets were?
We meet the three remaining members of CP-9: Kumadori, who acts and talks like a Noh drama actor (he keeps threatening to "take responsibility" and slit his belly); the wolfish-looking Jabura; and Fukurou, a large man with a zippered mouth. (When he opens the zipper, he always says too much. Chapapa!)
Kumadori tries to commit seppuku, but he can't kill himself because he cast "iron body" first.
Jabura: Oh, hurry up and die!
Spandam: That's enough, you guys! ARGH, I spilled my coffee! Hot hot hot! … And I hear they couldn't use Nero, damn it. Oh well.
(This panel makes me laugh and laugh. Dumbest villains EVER.)
Meanwhile, the Franky Family has joined forces with Sanji and Usopp. They are very moved to hear that Franky tried to sacrifice himself to save Robin.
The Rocketman catches up with the Franky vehicle.
Luffy: "Sanji! And… who's that?"
(I find it absurdly cute that the entire Franky Family calls Luffy Mugiwara-san.)
Everyone prepares to begin the assault on Enies Lobby.
376
[Cover Arc: Hina takes out Miss G-W and friends. "Hina attack."]
Neither Luffy nor Chopper can see through Sogeking's disguise, LOL forever. (Never going to not be funny. Never never never.)
They are THRILLED to meet an honest-to-goodness hero, complete with cape.
Everyone else - including Chimney and the Square Sisters, laughing so hard here - can tell exactly who Usopp is.
(Notice Chopper getting Sogeking's autograph. We get to see the autograph in a later SBS.)
Chopper wants to know where Sniper Island is. Sogeking: "It's in your heart!"
*hugs Chopper a million times*
Sanji explains the Buster Call situation to Nami and the others.
Luffy is furious (Nami has to point out that he's not supposed to be furious with Robin).
LOL Luffy stomping off to "punch everything" because he's just so frustrated. At least he's focused on the goal of saving Robin.
He also mentions that he has a new technique he wants to try out.
Paulie draws a rough map of Enies Lobby for them.
(What would an arc be without a map with lots of little x's marked on it?)
Paulie and Zambai advise the Strawhats to hold back and let the rest of them go ahead to create a distraction. The Strawhats need to avoid pointless fighting so they can concentrate on taking out the big guns.
Luffy agrees. "Got it!"
On the horizon, they can see Enies Lobby, and behind it, the Gates of Justice.
Kokoro says that the water beyond the Gates of Justice is swarming with sea kings. Normal ships can't pass through those waters. The navy has some way of navigating through them - she doesn't know how.
[Post-Enies Lobby]First mention of marine ships being able to navigate through the Calm Belt. This will go unexplained until Coby explains about the marine ships having kairouseki hulls.
When they turn around, Luffy is just disappearing over the iron fence. He went on ahead. Of course. (Sanji: "Didn't he say "Got it!"? Everyone else: "Yeah, you couldn't expect him to just sit around.")
The Franky Family prepare to crash through the iron fence. Ahead, Luffy leaps up onto the top of the main gate (the first of the gates).
When the marines start shooting, Luffy jumps down on the other side of the gate and heads for the island gate.
Someone tries to contact headquarters, shouting that "one person" has gotten past the main gate and is on his way to the island gate.
The guy on the den-den mushi is trying to say that he thinks the invader is Strawhat Luffy.
More reports are coming in - a vehicle drawn by King Bulls is attacking the main gate.
Spandam can't make any sense of the reports he's hearing.
Meanwhile, Kokoro, on the Rocketman, still carrying the other five Strawhats, is getting ready to break through the front lines.
377
[I like the eight-on-eight lineup in the cover illustrations.]
Luffy tries to ask politely to be allowed to pass (who on earth taught him that?), but of course it doesn't fly.
Luffy easily fights his way through the guards at the island gate and leaps up to the top, and then over.
Spandam is horrified to hear that someone got past the island gate. Where are Oimo and Kashi?
The marines explain that it's the middle of the night, so they were sleeping. Spandam tells them to wake EVERYONE.
Jabura doesn't think a single intruder is any big deal. They can take care of him. But Spandam says that just having one intruder penetrate as far as the island of justice is a disgrace.
Meanwhile, the main gate is fully occupied with the task of fighting off the Franky Family and Galley-La.
Spotted in the fray: Paulie, Zambai, Mozu, Kiwi, Lulu, Tileston.
Some poor marine has Lulu's cowlick growing out of his nose. This upsets him.
The three largest members of the Franky Family (I don't think they're quite giants, but they're BIG - the "Kairiki Destroyers") push their way through the main gate.
[Has there ever been an explanation of why some humans, besides giants, are oversized? Whitebeard is, and so is Blackbeard's entire crew.]
Kashi and Oimo (who are REAL giants) hop over the island gate. Getting out of bed is hard, but work is work.
The Franky Family find themselves facing a pair of bona fide giant guardians.
(LOL, apparently when Oimo says his own name [オイも], he means "me too.")
Meanwhile, inside the island gate on the island proper, Luffy is surrounded by approximately ten thousand marines.
Marines: "How many DOZENS did you bring with you? There are ten thousand of us."
Luffy: "Yeah, it's just me. Now MOVE!"
TBC