To me there are two main strands of this volume: the struggle of the Strawhats in the tower which in general turns from distress to victory in this volume (not for everyone against individual opponents, like how Usopp couldn't handle Jyabura and Monster Chopper needed saving himself in the end, but as a collective effort); and Spandam bit by bit forcing Robin over the bridge in his abusive shithead way, an agonising journey that's finally halted in the last chapter. The continuous battle between Luffy and Lucci is of course part of it too, but since it isn't resolved here it doesn't yet feel as significant as the other scenes. (But practically it is of course essential that Luffy engages Lucci, keeping him from the rest of the crew so that victory on that part can be possible - as shown very clearly here when he allows Franky to slip past on his way to Robin.)
I don't know if I have anything more to say about Sanji's lines to Usopp here. I love that moment so much. ♥♥♥ (In one of my fics Usopp tells him, when it happens to come up and Sanji is self-deprecating, that "those words saved me just as much as your kick did", and I sincerely believe that's true.)
...Although one plot hole I never could figure out is how Usopp got ahold of the keys he shot to the bridge where Franky could pick them up and free Robin. Didn't they come from Jyabura and Kaku? But he was up on the roof or on the way there when they were defeated, right? How could Sanji and Zoro transmit the keys up to him?
Although one plot hole I never could figure out is how Usopp got ahold of the keys he shot to the bridge where Franky could pick them up and free Robin.
Oh, wow, you're right! How did I miss that?
Now that is going to bug me. Maybe Sanji and Zoro went up to the roof first - but in that case, why were they down below later?
And I actually wondered (even before you said anything) whether Sanji was expecting Usopp to go up to the roof at all. I mean, when he told Usopp to figure something out, had he already guessed what Usopp could do to help, or was he just expressing confidence in Usopp's ability to think of something? Because later, when he and Zoro meet up, he says something about "the others are probably on their way to Robin now." If he didn't expect Usopp to go up to the roof, I was thinking that maybe he only realized where he was when he started shooting/singing.
Ah well, perhaps best not to look too closely at the plot holes.
The continuous battle between Luffy and Lucci is of course part of it too, but since it isn't resolved here it doesn't yet feel as significant as the other scenes. (But practically it is of course essential that Luffy engages Lucci
LOL, I felt like I needed a keystroke macro after a while for "Luffy and Lucci are still fighting." But you're right, it serves an essential function in keeping Lucci pinned down, I hadn't really thought of it like that. (I was just thinking of it as a standard "boss fight has to be saved for last" thing).
That kind of reminds me of an entry that someone wrote on TV Tropes (not sure if it's still up anymore) about One Piece actually being a subtle deconstruction of Shonen tropes. The big toughest-hero-versus-toughest-villain fight here doesn't actually accomplish anything in and of itself; all it does is neutralize both parties while the secondary characters are the ones actually saving the day.
Also, I think that Zoro vs. Kaku was always my least favorite of the Enies Lobby fights. Maybe I'm just used to Zoro having the most serious fights in any given arc (vs. Hachi, vs. Mr. 1, etc.), so the endless stream of jokes really rubbed me the wrong way. There was also no real dramatic tension - did anyone actually think that Zoro was going to lose? He doesn't even have a handicap, like Nami, Chopper, or Franky did. Even Sanji was facing tougher odds, with Jyabura's whole "Tekkai Kenpo" schtick.
The Asura power-up that Zoro whipped out at the last moment just bugged the crap out of me. It's like Oda went "Okay, everyone else got a shiny new power-up, and we don't want Zoro getting left out!" and just threw in the first thing he could think of. There seems to be no real effort involved in it, nor any particular advantage, and if I remember correctly, it never shows up again.
Everyone else's power-ups got at least one line of explanation (except maybe Sanji's, but his is rooted in basic physics so it arguably needs no explanation), and more importantly, gave them an explicit advantage. Zoro's, lacking both, just looks inorganic and weak.
Also, I think that Zoro vs. Kaku was always my least favorite of the Enies Lobby fights.
Heh, and it's probably my favorite fight, for the same reason - I like the silly. But I can see why it wouldn't appeal to someone who likes the serious fights.
I didn't realize this was the first time he had used Asura, but you're right. The wiki says it has been used on two other occasions.
FWIW, I think he needed Asura to beat Kaku. The giraffe jokes undermine the degree of threat Kaku presents, but he is a strong enough fighter to hold Zoro at bay for a good amount of time.
I don't know if I have anything more to say about Sanji's lines to Usopp here. I love that moment so much. ♥♥♥ (In one of my fics Usopp tells him, when it happens to come up and Sanji is self-deprecating, that "those words saved me just as much as your kick did", and I sincerely believe that's true.)
...Although one plot hole I never could figure out is how Usopp got ahold of the keys he shot to the bridge where Franky could pick them up and free Robin. Didn't they come from Jyabura and Kaku? But he was up on the roof or on the way there when they were defeated, right? How could Sanji and Zoro transmit the keys up to him?
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Oh, wow, you're right! How did I miss that?
Now that is going to bug me. Maybe Sanji and Zoro went up to the roof first - but in that case, why were they down below later?
And I actually wondered (even before you said anything) whether Sanji was expecting Usopp to go up to the roof at all. I mean, when he told Usopp to figure something out, had he already guessed what Usopp could do to help, or was he just expressing confidence in Usopp's ability to think of something? Because later, when he and Zoro meet up, he says something about "the others are probably on their way to Robin now." If he didn't expect Usopp to go up to the roof, I was thinking that maybe he only realized where he was when he started shooting/singing.
Ah well, perhaps best not to look too closely at the plot holes.
The continuous battle between Luffy and Lucci is of course part of it too, but since it isn't resolved here it doesn't yet feel as significant as the other scenes. (But practically it is of course essential that Luffy engages Lucci
LOL, I felt like I needed a keystroke macro after a while for "Luffy and Lucci are still fighting." But you're right, it serves an essential function in keeping Lucci pinned down, I hadn't really thought of it like that. (I was just thinking of it as a standard "boss fight has to be saved for last" thing).
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Also, I think that Zoro vs. Kaku was always my least favorite of the Enies Lobby fights. Maybe I'm just used to Zoro having the most serious fights in any given arc (vs. Hachi, vs. Mr. 1, etc.), so the endless stream of jokes really rubbed me the wrong way. There was also no real dramatic tension - did anyone actually think that Zoro was going to lose? He doesn't even have a handicap, like Nami, Chopper, or Franky did. Even Sanji was facing tougher odds, with Jyabura's whole "Tekkai Kenpo" schtick.
The Asura power-up that Zoro whipped out at the last moment just bugged the crap out of me. It's like Oda went "Okay, everyone else got a shiny new power-up, and we don't want Zoro getting left out!" and just threw in the first thing he could think of. There seems to be no real effort involved in it, nor any particular advantage, and if I remember correctly, it never shows up again.
Everyone else's power-ups got at least one line of explanation (except maybe Sanji's, but his is rooted in basic physics so it arguably needs no explanation), and more importantly, gave them an explicit advantage. Zoro's, lacking both, just looks inorganic and weak.
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Heh, and it's probably my favorite fight, for the same reason - I like the silly. But I can see why it wouldn't appeal to someone who likes the serious fights.
I didn't realize this was the first time he had used Asura, but you're right. The wiki says it has been used on two other occasions.
FWIW, I think he needed Asura to beat Kaku. The giraffe jokes undermine the degree of threat Kaku presents, but he is a strong enough fighter to hold Zoro at bay for a good amount of time.
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I know what you mean, but this still makes me laugh since we're talking about a guy spinning so fast his leg turns red-hot.
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