One Piece 55

[sara_tanaquil]

Not sure if this is rushing things, but at one point mangaroo was hoping to walk 54 and 55 back to the library tomorrow, so I figured I'd better post it. Will see if I can get through 56 this weekend.

Comments

[lego_joker]

Awww, yeah. Never mind what I said last time, THIS is one of my favorite parts of not just Impel Down, but all of One Piece. Where no one's allegiances are set in stone and Luffy can make allies (if not friends), out of EVERYONE

[sara_tanaquil]

Where no one's allegiances are set in stone and Luffy can make allies (if not friends), out of EVERYONE.

The most terrifying ability, indeed!

(Full of Marineford spoilers, so mangaroo should not click on it yet, but this vid - The Values of One Piece - legitimately gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Just so well done.)

I just hope Luffy can explain this to Vivi when/if they finally meet up again.That should be an interesting conversation

[lego_joker]

I'm leaning a bit more toward Chaotic Neutral myself. It doesn't come up often, but Luffy's actually kind of dark for a Shonen protagonist, especially in the lawless world of One Piece. As early as Baratie, he watched a marine get gunned down in cold blood and basically gave negative fucks. And of course, we shouldn't forget his first exchange with Crocodile in Alabasta's deserts...

Luffy's not (generally) aggressively violent like the series' villains, but he is an extremely selfish kinda guy... who just happens to value things like companionship above physical things like his own health and well-being.

[sara_tanaquil]

who just happens to value things like companionship above physical things like his own health and well-beingThis is true, but there have been times when we saw Luffy get very angry and exact immediate vengeance on someone he observes violating what he considers to be proper rules of human interaction. It's not just when someone hurts a nakama or a friend. He was angry when Helmeppo threatened to break his promise and have Zoro executed (he barely even knew Zoro then), when Kuro killed his own subordinates, when Kuro mocked Usopp (whom he had also just met), when Bellamy beat up Cricket and mocked his dreams, when Caesar experimented on kids, when Caesar betrayed Blackbeard - those are just the first few that occur to me

[printfogey]

I didn't realise before how much Luffy's using "-chan" in nicknames. Did he do that a lot before this arc?

"A FRIEND!" (友達, pronounced だち.)

Would that be "tomodachi" or something else? Any significance to the spelling or pronunciation?

Luffy: "Oh, right, my dad." (俺の父ちゃん, LOL)

??

Ack, the sheer frustration/anxiety one felt reading this the first time, at Luffy et al only JUST missing Ace on Level 6!! [Marineford]And now in a way it's even worse... And because it's worse I don't feel like re-reading these parts so much as I would have otherwise.It's only because they're in so dire straits I could accept Luffy teaming up with Crocodile in the first place, and even then it's pretty grudgingly. There are other villains in One Piece I dislike even more, but here it's starting to feel like we're supposed to like or admire Crocodile and I just find him as loathsome as always

[sara_tanaquil]

Sorry, sometimes I forget to explain enough of the Japanese!

Would that be "tomodachi" or something else? Any significance to the spelling or pronunciation?

The kanji read tomodachi, which is the normal word/pronunciation. Dachi (the pronunciation written out in furigana over the kanji) is slangy - Bon is especially fond of using it. "Pal"? "Bud"?

俺の父ちゃん

I was laughing because it's so casual. The proper way to say father is "o-tou-san"; Luffy says "ore no tou-chan". There would be nothing special about this if they were a normal teenage son and dad, but it's funny to me because Luffy is talking about a figure of major historical importance that he has never met and didn't even know was his father until like two weeks ago. Not to mention, of course, that he's blowing the big secret of Dragon being his father without thinking twice about it.

it's starting to feel like we're supposed to like or admire Crocodile and I just find him as loathsome as alwaysYeah, it's interesting. I definitely don't like Crocodile any more than I did,

[printfogey]

Thanks for explaining!

...Oh my god, it really was only two weeks ago at this point. The way time works in this story is insane.

[Now in the right place!] I will reluctantly admit that Crocodile does have flair, and I do rather like the way he did things so thoroughly (feeding the Bananadiles a fake key in his trap; adding a timer to the bomb in the clocktower). If you have to be that kind of cruelly grinning villain who gives the heroes a certain amount of time which they can use for escaping or thwarting, it's nice that he has forethinking and back-ups. And it does fit well with his sadism shows itself in some really petty ways - like toward Toto and Yuba, which might actually in the end be what makes me hate him the most.

[mangaroo]

As Hancock is being escorted out of the prison, she asks about Ace's execution, and is told it will take place in 29 hours, at 3 pm the following day.

I would mock the endless countdown, but…*sigh* Make time stop.

They all start arguing about whose special technique made the floor crumble

Y'know, I hadn't realized this was a thing for Luffy until he and Law and…other dude were facing down the marines outside the slave market. I guess he never pulls it when he's part of the "monster trio." (I miss you, Zoro.)

Bon shouts "Because he's my FRIEND! What other reason do I need?"

…and I fall in love forever.

[Incidentally, the Japanese is inconsistent in its use of titles - it sometimes calls Iva queen (jo-ou), sometimes king (ou). I've tried to mirror the original as much as possible.]

That's good to know. I thought Viz was being insensitive when they called Iva a "king of queens."

[LOL Pandaman is on the list too. What did Pandaman ever do?]I loved that, because the chapter-break art shows Pandaman in the background of some

[sara_tanaquil]

Yay, One Piece comments! I have been having a sucky day full of stressful work obligations that were keeping me from playing the new WoW expansion, but now that is all done (for the moment), I'm going out with friends tonight, and One Piece makes everything better!

We all miss Zoro and Chopper and Usopp. :-( I really don't know how the fans survived reading this at weekly chapter release speed.

[sara_tanaquil]

Y'know, I hadn't realized this was a thing for Luffy until he and Law and…other dude were facing down the marines outside the slave market. I guess he never pulls it when he's part of the "monster trio." (I miss you, Zoro.)

Oh, nice observation. I can't remember any time he has been competitive with his own crew. (Am I missing one?) Of course Zoro and Sanji compete all the time, and Zoro has occasionally complained about Luffy not letting him get first crack.

Especially interesting since Luffy and Ace are so competitive (in Alabasta, Luffy complained that he had never beaten Ace even once, and they both acted like they were itching for a rematch in the New World), so it's not like it wouldn't be compatible with fond feelings.

Bon shouts "Because he's my FRIEND! What other reason do I need?"

…and I fall in love forever.

Now you know why I love Bon so much! (It is often hard to be objective about characters when they show up in earlier arcs if you know how awesome they're going to be later.)

Haki! I know you can't subscribe to

[mangaroo]

Squirrel?! What? Where? Aw, I must have missed it. What were we talking about, again? When the Strawhats will reunite? Am I going to have to wait for Romance Dawn?

The library only had volume 56, so I've placed a hold on 57. (Hang in there, Ace!)

[mangaroo]

I know I could edit my existing comment, but i already did that twice for errors...

I'm about to return the books, so I just flipped through to see if there was anything I wanted to say that I forgot while reading your synopsis: I love the picture of Robin and the butterflies. I don't usually like her ability (kinda creepy), but it's so sweet here.

Also, I miss Zoro and Chopper and Usopp.