One Piece 53

[sara_tanaquil]

[Potentially spoilery comment on this volume (OK to read after reading the volume)]So, mangaroo, you're not super attached to any of the Strawhats besides Luffy, right? I mean, you won't mind if we don't see them for... a while? /facepalm

On with Volume 53! From Shabondy to Amazon Lily.

Comments

[lego_joker]

Oh, Amazon Lily. One of the shortest arcs in One Piece (comparable to some East Blue arcs, for one), and yet one of the funnest

[sara_tanaquil]

yet one of the funnest

I have to admit that Amazon Lily is not a favorite with me, but Hancock just keeps getting more adorable. And I really can't say why I love her so much.

Is there any significance to the fact that Robin was the last one vanished?

I've never seen it in shipping terms, but it has occurred to me that that having her go last is extra poignant in terms of her deep-seated fears of being ripped away from her nakama.

declaring Luffy the Boy Who Liv... er, the Chosen OneMaybe I have less vulnerability to this due to having read less shounen, but I think it's interesting to reflect on just how many people in the New World can command haki (I know not all of them have King Haki, but still). That makes it a bit less of a sword-from-the-stone thing, and more of a reminder of the absolute gulf between those with real power in the One Piece world and those without. (Can you imagine if Shanks had bothered to use his haki on Higuma back in the day? He could have crushed him like an ant. Like Zoro said on Jaya, "Fights where

[wednesday_10_00]

I think it's interesting to reflect on just how many people in the New World can command haki (I know not all of them have King Haki, but still).

The one-in-a-million comment made me start thinking about how many people we've seen with King Haki (7-8? probably more that I'm not thinking of), and what the population of the One Piece world is supposed to be.

[off-topic, but: I always laugh in the Kuroneko Kareshi series when the narration says the cat people are .001% of the population--but didn't Shingo go to a bar specifically for gay cat men? And don't get me started on probable leopard inbreeding. Oh, whatever. Don't expect logic in the cat porn, Denise.]

[lego_joker]

Ah, on Shanks... I was just thinking about that scene today, and I think that for all of Oda's smooth storytelling and quick adjustments, Romance Dawn is one of the places where the seams really begin to show. It's pretty obvious there that at the beginning, he didn't REALLY plan for OP's power levels to soar into orbit like it has now. Shanks was presented back then as a powerful and respected but still ordinary pirate, and getting his arm bitten off by a sea king was an entirely reasonable plot point

[wednesday_10_00]

I mean, you won't mind if we don't see them for... a while?

This made me laugh.

[spoilers for next couple of volumes]
There is some really awesome stuff in the upcoming volumes, and some stuff that is...not so awesome. (In particular, I remember Impel Down seeming to take FOREVER.) I do think Oda did a good job of making us care for the characters--new ones and old ones--we see while the other Strawhats are sadly absent.


I'm almost kind of sad that Viz translated it as the latter, even though that's correct, since I think the real power of the line came from not originally understanding what it meant.

Totally agreed. I like your translation better.

"Here it comes! Her 'I'm looking so far down on you, I'm looking UP!' pose!"

[Why does this always make me laugh so hard.]

I don't know, but: me too. I love Hancock. (Maybe Luffy can convince her to stop kicking kittens.)

his best chance is to break into Impel Down

Okay, seriously: WORST. ADVICE. EVER.

[mangaroo]

So, mangaroo, you're not super attached to any of the Strawhats besides Luffy, right? I mean, you won't mind if we don't see them for... a while? /facepalm

Where's Zoro? What have you done with Zoro?

I did think Luffy was kind of awesome in this volume, for taking such good care of petrified Marguerite and shielding the snake sister's back from view.

Now take me to Zoro.

[sara_tanaquil]

Where's Zoro? What have you done with Zoro?

What? He's right here on the couch next to me, purring.

... oh, that Zoro. He's mine, all mine! MWAHAHAHA!

*relents*

Go read the first few chapters of volume 54. You'll find out what's been going on with Zoro and the other Strawhats. But I was serious when I said we weren't going to see much of them for a while to come.

(I am honestly a little glad I wasn't a weekly reader for this part of One Piece, although another part of me is sad I didn't get to experience it that way. Fandom is hard.)

[mangaroo]

No Zoro, no peace! (Sadly, I lack a social justice warrior icon.)