I agree with you that 35 hurts (as do other parts of this arc), but isn't that kinda why it's so good? It wouldn't hurt if we didn't love the characters so dang much.
Why, why, why couldn't Usopp be here for this part? T__T
Nooooo kidding. ;_;
Iceberg: 呆れたもんだ。てめー それでも 一船の船長か? Viz translates as "And you call yourself the captain?", but I read this at least partially as "Are you such a one-ship captain?" Maybe I'm over-interpreting, though.
Yeah, I'm with Viz on this one. If you want to be more literal: "And you call yourself the captain of a ship?" Iceberg using それでも doesn't make sense with your interpretation. ("And you call yourself a one-ship captain"?) Also, think of how quickly Luffy changes his mind. Which is more likely to affect him: implying that he's too attached to Merry, or implying that he's a bad captain?
Oda, stop making me laugh when I'm sad, you bastard.
Hey, that's why we all love this series, right?
Is this the first time someone officially refers to the Merry as their nakama?Could be. A couple volumes back
( ... )
I agree with you that 35 hurts (as do other parts of this arc), but isn't that kinda why it's so good?
Very true! As you know, I'm normally allergic to anything in my entertainment that makes me sad, but Oda is the only one who can get away with it. Bastard.
Learning that Merry can't be repaired is a huge emotional event because the characters make it that way.
Great point! After we get through this arc, I have to remember to ask mangaroo what her takeaway is.
[Do we even need to protect this at this point?]I was spoiled on the Merry before Water 7 (inadvertently clicked on the wrong thing back before I learned to avoid spoilers), but the weird part is that I somehow got the number of the manga chapter/anime episode mixed up and thought "it" wasn't going to happen for ages yet, so I spent the entirety of Water 7/Enies Lobby thinking they were going to find a way to fix Merry this time. So in the end, I guess I wasn't entirely spoiled after all, because the event still came as a shock.
Thank you for the clarification on the Japanese!
Even though it's painful, I sort of like that this
( ... )
I don't think ANY of the readers really thought of Merry as more than a ship
Thank you. Leading up to this, I thought I was just the most insensitive person on the planet. I mean, I knew Merry was special to Usopp, but I didn't think she was a nakama. (I'm sorry, Merry.)
I sort of like that this arc touches on what it means to be the captain of a ship
I think that chracter development is what makes this volume brilliant instead of just tragic.
Just a short remark now - more later, probably! (but oh, how right you are in how much this volume hurts. DAMN YOU ODAAAAA.
On the way back, Nami discovers Usopp's badly beaten body.
Usopp: "I can't look the others in the face." (cryyyyy)
Nami swears they'll get the money back.This! This, when Nami asks if it was the Franky Family and if they took the money, Usopp replies, "Yeah... I can't fight... I can't look the rest of you in the face!" (and then repeats it.) (Translated from memory of my Swedish translation) Even the very first time I read this, I got this really sinking feeling in my stomach at this point. Because the shame, guilt and self-loathing was so palpable from Usopp, just radiating from the page - so painful, and at the same time it was so obvious that it wouldn't just get better even if Luffy immediately beat them up and got the money back. Because Usopp would still feel awful. And there was still the same situation with Merry
( ... )
This is why I can't take that much pleasure in the curbstomp beatdown at Franky House - because none of it made Usopp feel better at all.
Yes. And it didn't look like it made the guys feel any better, either. :-( Though I'm glad they did it.
Some things can't be healed easily, and some wounds you don't recover from. ;__;
[Enies Lobby]I love that Usopp does find his healing eventually, but he has to take the long way round. Because ultimately, this arc is about him finding himself as much as it is about learning to say goodbye to the Merry.
[Enies Lobby]I love that Usopp does find his healing eventually, but he has to take the long way round.
Sort of. Wish he could have done it without being shown his comrades being ready to sail off without him, though. It's like he just got it confirmed that he's not needed after all. ;_; (I've heard so many arguments this is the wrong way to look at it, but my emotional reaction is still the same.)
Sometimes beating the bad guys up just won't help any.
Good point, especially since Luffy's solution is always to beat someone up.
Even though it doesn't make Usopp feel better, I still find the takedown a little satisfying, because you know that they're doing it out of love for Usopp. (I really love the panels of the four of them getting ready to kick ass.)
Is this the first time someone officially refers to the Merry as their nakama?
No, Luffy did before... was it at Jaya, or right before it? It was one of the ship-patching scenes. Luffy said, "Don't worry, Usopp! Merry is one of us!" plus something more I forget. Usopp was all moved, right before Luffy hammered too hard breaking off a part of the side, causing Usopp to yell at him instead.
I think Usopp remembered that and it was why Luffy's initial surface cheerfulness - that catalogue-browsing and all - when he woke up would have seemed so incongruous to him, leading him to believe Luffy was just pretending because of the missing money. If Luffy had been serious from the start... well, maybe it would still have gone the same way. It's really hard to say. Just like with Zoro last volume, it's easy to see why Luffy acted that way - he does that a lot in times of hurt when there's no-one to hit, pushing things away and trying to cheer everyone else up - but it was so, so unfortunate this time around.
I had the same reaction to reading that comment! WHAT.
Yes, Usopp is being a stubborn idiot and a jerk to Luffy (and Luffy is being a stubborn idiot too, argh), and I do think the fault for the fight is more his than Luffy's, but I have always agonized along with him because it is SO CLEAR that this is all coming out of his own self-doubt, his feeling like he isn't good enough to be one of them. And ultimately, when you doubt yourself in a situation like theirs, it's not just yourself that you hurt.
It would never have occurred to me to be angry at him, jeez. His insecurities are pretty understandable, considering the group he's a part of.
[Water 7/Enies Lobby]This arc is so necessary for Usopp, because he truly would have been a liability to the crew going forward if he hadn't learned to see himself as an essential member of the crew with his own unique talents.
[Enies Lobby] This arc is also necessary because SOGEKING. I can't wait for that part, it is my favorite EVER. (Also, the New World callback, OMG, I die laughing every time.)
I'm not looking beneath the cut or at the other comments! I haven't read 35 yet. I just wanted to update you on the library situation so OP summaries don't distract you from other business: I have renewed volumes 35-36, so I have until March 3 to return them. I have hold requests on 37-38, but do not know when they'll be available.
Avert your eyes! Take your time, and thank you for letting me know.
35-36? For some reason I thought you had 34-35. Can you confirm (maybe in email) whether or not you have 36 yet? (I might have spent a chunk of last night doing 36 after I got completely fed up with doing other work for the rest of the day. I have weird methods of stress relief.)
But either way, I can wait as long as you need to post whatever comes next. I want you to be able to take your time and enjoy this arc.
I didn't see the "maybe in email," but don't worry. My eyes are majorly averted. I can confirm that 36 is sitting at home, wondering why it didn't get to come to work with me like 35. Being taunted by 31-32, who don't yet know they're going in the book drop tonight.
[I gather you didn't know about the fight before reading the volume? I wondered if you might have seen any of this in the anime, or something. I tried really hard to protect that spoiler, because to me it is one of the truly gut-punching plot twists in One Piece. It came as a complete shock to me, in spite of the fact that the opening credits of the anime actually showed clips from the fight. ("Why does it look like Luffy and Usopp are fighting? That's so weird.")]
I love Iceberg declaring to the official's face that he's not in.
I love Iceberg, period. So adorable. (I forgot to mention this, but he also has a speech quirk, which is really hard to translate, or, er, pronounce: he frequently begins sentences with んま〜.)
[Future crew spoilers]Future crew spoilers: I KNOW, ARGH. (Also, that tells me you know something, so thank you. I kind of thought you would, but I couldn't be 100% certain you would remember what you've seen of future crew portraits.)
SBS - confirms that Nora was named after Norland.
( ... )
I can no longer comment on this volume because I have read volume 36 and I am very upset and can no longer comment neutrally and without spoilers on anything that precedes 36. You guys did a very good job of protecting me.
[Spoiler (click to open)]My slash heart is broken. And my devoted, competent *spoiler* heart is also broken.
[Spoiler (click to open)]Aw! I am sad that your heart is broken, but very excited that you've read 36, because I already have a draft done and was dying to hear your reactions to it (but I know you're crazy busy, so I didn't want to pester). Anyway, I will throw 36 up there so you can vent safely.
I hope the library coughs up the next few volumes for you soon. (Oh god, do we really have to wait until vols 38/39 for BEST SPOILER EVER? Gah!)
Comments 40
Why, why, why couldn't Usopp be here for this part? T__T
Nooooo kidding. ;_;
Iceberg: 呆れたもんだ。てめー それでも 一船の船長か? Viz translates as "And you call yourself the captain?", but I read this at least partially as "Are you such a one-ship captain?" Maybe I'm over-interpreting, though.
Yeah, I'm with Viz on this one. If you want to be more literal: "And you call yourself the captain of a ship?" Iceberg using それでも doesn't make sense with your interpretation. ("And you call yourself a one-ship captain"?) Also, think of how quickly Luffy changes his mind. Which is more likely to affect him: implying that he's too attached to Merry, or implying that he's a bad captain?
Oda, stop making me laugh when I'm sad, you bastard.
Hey, that's why we all love this series, right?
Is this the first time someone officially refers to the Merry as their nakama?Could be. A couple volumes back ( ... )
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Very true! As you know, I'm normally allergic to anything in my entertainment that makes me sad, but Oda is the only one who can get away with it. Bastard.
Learning that Merry can't be repaired is a huge emotional event because the characters make it that way.
Great point! After we get through this arc, I have to remember to ask mangaroo what her takeaway is.
[Do we even need to protect this at this point?]I was spoiled on the Merry before Water 7 (inadvertently clicked on the wrong thing back before I learned to avoid spoilers), but the weird part is that I somehow got the number of the manga chapter/anime episode mixed up and thought "it" wasn't going to happen for ages yet, so I spent the entirety of Water 7/Enies Lobby thinking they were going to find a way to fix Merry this time. So in the end, I guess I wasn't entirely spoiled after all, because the event still came as a shock.
Thank you for the clarification on the Japanese!
Even though it's painful, I sort of like that this ( ... )
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I spent the entirety of Water 7/Enies Lobby thinking they were going to find a way to fix Merry this time.
Wow, it would have been so awful to put the readers through this heartbreak and then have Merry's demise be in some OTHER arc down the road.
A little like the "nobody dies in the present" thing. OH WAIT.
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Thank you. Leading up to this, I thought I was just the most insensitive person on the planet. I mean, I knew Merry was special to Usopp, but I didn't think she was a nakama. (I'm sorry, Merry.)
I sort of like that this arc touches on what it means to be the captain of a ship
I think that chracter development is what makes this volume brilliant instead of just tragic.
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On the way back, Nami discovers Usopp's badly beaten body.
Usopp: "I can't look the others in the face." (cryyyyy)
Nami swears they'll get the money back.This! This, when Nami asks if it was the Franky Family and if they took the money, Usopp replies, "Yeah... I can't fight... I can't look the rest of you in the face!" (and then repeats it.) (Translated from memory of my Swedish translation) Even the very first time I read this, I got this really sinking feeling in my stomach at this point. Because the shame, guilt and self-loathing was so palpable from Usopp, just radiating from the page - so painful, and at the same time it was so obvious that it wouldn't just get better even if Luffy immediately beat them up and got the money back. Because Usopp would still feel awful. And there was still the same situation with Merry ( ... )
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Yes. And it didn't look like it made the guys feel any better, either. :-( Though I'm glad they did it.
Some things can't be healed easily, and some wounds you don't recover from. ;__;
[Enies Lobby]I love that Usopp does find his healing eventually, but he has to take the long way round. Because ultimately, this arc is about him finding himself as much as it is about learning to say goodbye to the Merry.
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Sort of. Wish he could have done it without being shown his comrades being ready to sail off without him, though. It's like he just got it confirmed that he's not needed after all. ;_; (I've heard so many arguments this is the wrong way to look at it, but my emotional reaction is still the same.)
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Good point, especially since Luffy's solution is always to beat someone up.
Even though it doesn't make Usopp feel better, I still find the takedown a little satisfying, because you know that they're doing it out of love for Usopp. (I really love the panels of the four of them getting ready to kick ass.)
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No, Luffy did before... was it at Jaya, or right before it? It was one of the ship-patching scenes. Luffy said, "Don't worry, Usopp! Merry is one of us!" plus something more I forget. Usopp was all moved, right before Luffy hammered too hard breaking off a part of the side, causing Usopp to yell at him instead.
I think Usopp remembered that and it was why Luffy's initial surface cheerfulness - that catalogue-browsing and all - when he woke up would have seemed so incongruous to him, leading him to believe Luffy was just pretending because of the missing money. If Luffy had been serious from the start... well, maybe it would still have gone the same way. It's really hard to say. Just like with Zoro last volume, it's easy to see why Luffy acted that way - he does that a lot in times of hurt when there's no-one to hit, pushing things away and trying to cheer everyone else up - but it was so, so unfortunate this time around.
The costumed figure mocks Usopp ( ... )
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Yes, Usopp is being a stubborn idiot and a jerk to Luffy (and Luffy is being a stubborn idiot too, argh), and I do think the fault for the fight is more his than Luffy's, but I have always agonized along with him because it is SO CLEAR that this is all coming out of his own self-doubt, his feeling like he isn't good enough to be one of them. And ultimately, when you doubt yourself in a situation like theirs, it's not just yourself that you hurt.
It would never have occurred to me to be angry at him, jeez. His insecurities are pretty understandable, considering the group he's a part of.
[Water 7/Enies Lobby]This arc is so necessary for Usopp, because he truly would have been a liability to the crew going forward if he hadn't learned to see himself as an essential member of the crew with his own unique talents.
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[Enies Lobby]
This arc is also necessary because SOGEKING. I can't wait for that part, it is my favorite EVER. (Also, the New World callback, OMG, I die laughing every time.)
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35-36? For some reason I thought you had 34-35. Can you confirm (maybe in email) whether or not you have 36 yet? (I might have spent a chunk of last night doing 36 after I got completely fed up with doing other work for the rest of the day. I have weird methods of stress relief.)
But either way, I can wait as long as you need to post whatever comes next. I want you to be able to take your time and enjoy this arc.
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I should have read the spoiler before reading the volume.
Chopper wants to examine him because Sanji says his chest hurts.
Double awww. Viz translated that more generically, so thank you.
Iceberg says to tell them he's not at home.
I love Iceberg declaring to the official's face that he's not in.
SBS - confirms that Nora was named after Norland. Seto was the one who named him. Awww.
This was where we learned this? I thought I already knew it. Or maybe I just assumed it?
[future crew spoilers]
Before he goes, he tells Usopp to remember his name - it's Franky.
Franky had better do something freakin' amazing to make me stop hating him. So much Franky hate right now.
The monster trio (foursome?) head for Franky House.
I kinda wanted Chopper to stay with Usopp, but I love the determination and unity with which they approach Franky House.
He can't keep up with the "monster strength" of the others; he'll only ever be in the way. They don't need a weak nakama like him.
Just reading this in summary makes me cry.
Usopp said they ( ... )
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[I gather you didn't know about the fight before reading the volume? I wondered if you might have seen any of this in the anime, or something. I tried really hard to protect that spoiler, because to me it is one of the truly gut-punching plot twists in One Piece. It came as a complete shock to me, in spite of the fact that the opening credits of the anime actually showed clips from the fight. ("Why does it look like Luffy and Usopp are fighting? That's so weird.")]
I love Iceberg declaring to the official's face that he's not in.
I love Iceberg, period. So adorable. (I forgot to mention this, but he also has a speech quirk, which is really hard to translate, or, er, pronounce: he frequently begins sentences with んま〜.)
[Future crew spoilers]Future crew spoilers: I KNOW, ARGH. (Also, that tells me you know something, so thank you. I kind of thought you would, but I couldn't be 100% certain you would remember what you've seen of future crew portraits.)
SBS - confirms that Nora was named after Norland. ( ... )
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[Spoiler (click to open)]My slash heart is broken. And my devoted, competent *spoiler* heart is also broken.
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I hope the library coughs up the next few volumes for you soon. (Oh god, do we really have to wait until vols 38/39 for BEST SPOILER EVER? Gah!)
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