This is embarrassing, because I'm really glad to see a new post, but I can't think of anything to add!
Love Brook's introduction though. Already we get to see a bit of how strong he is and how sad and touching his story is, though we only see the barest bones (whistles) of it here.
Luffy pushing the zombie back into the ground is such a classic. :D
Pretty sure the bit where he's trying to tame Cerberus, before he smacks him into the wall, is a homage/callback of a scene from Nausicäa of the Valley of Wind, where Nausicäa befriends the little animal Teto (but unlike Luffy, doesn't smack it into the wall when it bites her).
I really do like the sense of darkness and mystery in this volume, as we only slowly learn about what's going on but in a very different - a more gentle, ghost-story manner than the "agent thriller" feel of the Water 7 mystery and reveals, heartbreak aside. If that makes sense.
edit: Oh, re the peeping scene in Alabasta - Chopper expresses a question mark there, I think? And the next moment, post-Happiness Punch, he shows no remnant of nosebleeding unlike the other peepers. I do think Oda retconned Luffy's participation there later on (he did nosebleed!), but I don't think Chopper's was needed - it looks pretty clearly to me like Chopper just went along with what the others were doing, as an SBS a couple of volumes later on also stated./edit
Ah, your interpretation of the Alabasta peeping scene sounds about right. I haven't reread that in a long time. Anyway, in this scene there would be no pressure for him to follow the crowd, because Usopp has better sense than to try to intentionally peep on Nami ever again even if he wanted to. She'd charge him!
It's interesting to compare Thriller Bark to the mystery reveal in Water 7. It does seem to take a long time to put all the pieces together - I had to resist the impulse to cross the t's and dot the i's by explaining things the reader isn't supposed to know until a certain point. But yes, much less tension behind waiting for the reveal, I guess because there's less at stake?
Love Brook's introduction though. Already we get to see a bit of how strong he is and how sad and touching his story is, though we only see the barest bones (whistles) of it here.
Luffy pushing the zombie back into the ground is such a classic. :D
Pretty sure the bit where he's trying to tame Cerberus, before he smacks him into the wall, is a homage/callback of a scene from Nausicäa of the Valley of Wind, where Nausicäa befriends the little animal Teto (but unlike Luffy, doesn't smack it into the wall when it bites her).
I really do like the sense of darkness and mystery in this volume, as we only slowly learn about what's going on but in a very different - a more gentle, ghost-story manner than the "agent thriller" feel of the Water 7 mystery and reveals, heartbreak aside. If that makes sense.
edit: Oh, re the peeping scene in Alabasta - Chopper expresses a question mark there, I think? And the next moment, post-Happiness Punch, he shows no remnant of nosebleeding unlike the other peepers. I do think Oda retconned Luffy's participation there later on (he did nosebleed!), but I don't think Chopper's was needed - it looks pretty clearly to me like Chopper just went along with what the others were doing, as an SBS a couple of volumes later on also stated./edit
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It's interesting to compare Thriller Bark to the mystery reveal in Water 7. It does seem to take a long time to put all the pieces together - I had to resist the impulse to cross the t's and dot the i's by explaining things the reader isn't supposed to know until a certain point. But yes, much less tension behind waiting for the reveal, I guess because there's less at stake?
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