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Manga: Chapter 749 (SPOILERS)

June 3, 2014, 6:51 pm
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SPOILERS
Keep an eye out! Read your One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!

NOTE: Due to Oda having his tonsils removed, One Piece will be on break for the next two weeks. It will return with Chapter 750 on 6/23/2014.
Summary
Team Luffy and the fighters from the tournament fight against Pica as they head towards the palace.

Zoro faces off against Pica.

Law reveals who Corazon is.

Thoughts
I like Cabbage's attack names.

This chapter was maybe the worst kind of chapter to go into a break. There were some little nice tidbits and the cliffhanger but it was pretty short. The chapter was only sixteen pages and most of it was some humor scenes with the ex-tournament fighters. I was hoping for something more filling but I guess Oda really needed to tend to his health.

The best part of this chapter was Luffy riding on Moocy up Pica with Jeet and Abdullah. I have written off these characters as nobody of importance when we first saw them. If anything, I was thinking they would be the prisoners who would turn against Luffy and Usopp when the Doflamingo bounties were announced. They are making some comic relief as Luffy will progress closer to Doflamingo.


Now to Zoro and Pica. I am not sure how to feel that Pica is skilled with a sword. I suppose he has to be able to fend for himself if somebody does find his flesh body pass the rocky exterior. I just wish we could have saw a sword on Pica in the past chapters. At this point it feels as if Oda is shoehorning a swordsman to fight Zoro. This always happens in previous arcs but it never has felt as forced compare to here and Punk Hazard with Momet. The last time a random swordsman has appeared was back in Enies Lobby but Kaku had so many diverse techniques that you could have easily forgotten that he was a competent swordsman. 

Hopefully this fight will be a good one. Maybe Pica will be more then meets the eye and use several of his Devil Fruit abilities then his swordsmanship skills. It does makes sense that Luffy's strongest crew member will go up against Doflamingo's strongest force. I just want to either straight up know Pica was a swordsman or see Zoro get challenge by fighting a non-swordsman.


Lastly, the cliffhanger of the chapter! Law revealing that Corazon was Doflamingo's little brother! Are we about to hit a flashback? A plot of a soap opera? Maybe both?

Learning that Corazon was both a commander in Doflamingo's family and his own brother is interesting. We know that Doflamingo places high value to his family but at the same time, the Warlord killed his own flesh and blood. Corazon must have done something to really upset Doflamingo if he killed his own brother. Then again, maybe this is why Doflamingo holds his family in high regards.

That is it! We have to wait two weeks to see where this Corazon business goes. I am wondering how Oda will get rid of all of these ex-tournament warriors. Until next time true believers!

I really like this cover image. It is sweet.


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Manga: Chapter 750 (SPOILERS!)

June 30, 2014, 8:56 pm
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SPOILERS!


We are back and so is One Piece! Read the latest chapter in Weekly Shonen Jump
Welcome back everyone! Two weeks without One Piece felt like a while didn't? But anyway we are back on track and I have to say the wait was definitely worth it but I'll tell you how later on. For now let's summarise what happened this chapter.

Following Zoro's attack on Pica, the Colosseum contestants push on ahead taking on Doflamingo's men along the way while Kyros makes his way through citizens trying to capture him (albeit due to fear of dying rather than money). Meanwhile, Robin's group meets up with Viola and King Riku at the top of the Royal Plateau. Viola has found the key to Law's Sea Prism Stone handcuffs and wonders how she can give it to him. King Riku is opposed to this at first because, well they are pirates.


Preach it Sister!

But Viola makes her point that they are the only ones capable of stopping Doflamingo and that she cannot trust the World Government or the Marines because their idea of Justice made the current disaster by letting Doflamingo own a country. The Straw Hats are sincere and the Marines only listen when its convenient for them. This pretty much reflects my thoughts on the attitude of the World Government and the Marines (or at least most of them).

Leo and the other dwarves remind Riku of God Usopp's heroics by breaking the toy curse and how the Straw Hats are their only hope. Rebecca offers to take the key to Luffy because she can't just sit back and do nothing. Bartolomeo, Leo and Kabu decide to go along to help Rebecca. She is reluctant at first but Viola agrees and together they agree to meet back at the Plateau.


Kick his ass Franky!

Franky finally arrives at the factory and prepares to blast the door open but is intercepted again by Senor Pink. Rematch soon! Luffy and the others also make it to the first level of the Plateau, fighting their way as they go up. The chapter ends with Sabo confronting Fujitora and the rest of the Marines near the Plateau with a wall of fire and shall not let them past both as a Revolutionary and as a big brother.

As I said at the top of this review, this chapter was well worth the two week break. We get a chance to show everyone's side while the action is going on with Robin's group taking the majority. Viola's speech said my basic thoughts on the Marine's actions and attitudes throughout most of the story and was pretty much the best part of the chapter. Although Sabo at the end was great too.

I can predict us seeing more of Luffy and Law's journey in the next chapter and probably more on Sabo's confrontation as well. The other fights and conflicts will be good to see as well especially the particularly short ones this time like Franky's and Kyros'. Not much left to say except I'm looking forward to the next chapter and I hope you all are as well. I'll see you all next time!


Fanboying like the rest of you :P
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Manga: Chapter 751 (Spoilers)

June 30, 2014, 11:16 pm
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SPOILERS
Grab the bull by the horns! Read One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!

Summary
Mysterious figure is sailing under the water. (Coverstory)

Sabo faces off against Fujitora and the other Marines.

Team Luffy makes it to the first step of the New Royal Palace.

Team Robin promises to meet Team Luffy at the Flower Field.

Team Luffy takes a secret passage only to be cornered by Doflamingo.

Thoughts 

So we have started a new coverstory this week. All we can do is speculate based on what little we can see and the title. Based on the small boat and all the fish, I can guess that is Jimbei who is riding in the boat. As for where he is going? The title hints that he is going to find Luffy and friends: "Onward to my Friends". Maybe Jimbei is going to look for Luffy to finally take him up on his off to join his crew.

The bigger question is what will happen to Jimbei. I doubt he will simply find the Sunny with little trouble. The coverstories have always been filled with wacky adventures for the focused character in them so this will be interesting to follow.


We finally get to see more of Sabo's fighting style. It sounds like he uses the excess force of an attack and redirects it into his own attack. "Undue power" kind of gives that impression. It is an interesting fighting style that hasn't been used yet in the One Piece world. Now that Sabo's has the Flame-Flame ability, now he really gives the impression of a dragon with mighty claws.

May we take a moment to discuss how bad Fujitora is at protecting citizens? Lets ignore the fact that he has allowed a madman turn an island into a killing paradise while going after a pirate that has little to do with the source of the chaos at hand. In this chapter, Fujitora said he didn't want to cause widespread ruin by having his meteor being cut by the Birdcage. The problem is that he summoned a meteor in the first place to handle a single foe. Didn't Fujitora even think about the huge impact zone and damage he would cause by his summon? He would have caused tons of damage anyway in the middle of an already chaotic scene.

 What made you think it was a good idea to drop a meteor in a heavily populated area?

Claws vs Swords. It is great to see Sabo fighting something that means so much to him. I am sure he has his own mission to accomplish but this fight is one to protect his little brother. He missed out being there for Ace and that regret is still within him. Now he has the chance to be there for Luffy in any way possible. Even if that means distracting a powerful Admiral and his forces.


Meanwhile, you have Luffy and Law in a bad situation with a bad man. Little Luffy is trap in a well!

This hidden passage to the Flower Field sounded like a godsend to skip all the steps to the Royal Palace. Could you imagine having to battle and climb all those steps while seeing what excuses could be used to leave the Tournament Fighters behind? That looked like a long process to go thought considering that this arc has been long enough already. Too bad things can't be that easy as it looks like we got a trap.

There is something funky going on here.

Too bad this smells like a funky plot that involved the Funk Brothers. Strange that they only allow Luffy and Law to go into the well and didn't let anybody else though. They are also mercenaries which means their work can be bought. So maybe Doflamingo did hire them to lead Luffy and Law into a place that puts them at a disadvantage.

Now, I wonder if this is the real Doflamingo. Would he leave his perch to actual destroy Luffy and Law? This could be a String Marionette made from the Birdcage to corner Luffy and Law.

This is beginning to look a lot like Alabasta with Luffy facing Doflamingo for the second time. Maybe this time Luffy will figure out the weakness in Doflamingo's abilities. Luffy has always been an smart fighter and the more you fight with him, the better the chances for him to figure out weaknesses. Even if they are completely stupid. Looking at you "Water Luffy".

Until next time true believers!

Where do the Marines fine such genius like the guy firing a canon at the LOGIA user?
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Manga: Chapter 752 (SPOILERS!)

July 9, 2014, 10:55 pm
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SPOILERS!

I'm not kidding, heres a new chapter! Read One Piece in Weekly Shonen Jump
Hey guys! Lets go right into it shall we? When we last left off, Luffy and Law were heading towards the the top of the Royal Plateau  but suddenly hit a dead end when suddenly Doflamingo shows up!

Luffy tries to attack him but Doflamingo repels his punch and attacks Moocy the bull (not the bull!), so now they have no way of escaping. Doflamigo laughs and questions Law about teaming up with Luffy because hes not impressed with how idiotic Law is being and even says Law was much more ruthless as a kid.


MOOCY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Law tells him to shut up and saying that he'll never be like Doflamingo because he was saved by Doflamingo's brother, Corazon. Doflamingo prepares to attack again but is slashed by Abdullah and Jeet (two of the battle royal combatants), which reveals that this actually isn't Doflamingo but one of his string puppets. We also learn that despite how "nice" Kelly Funk seemed last time, he actually tricked Luffy and Law into going in the tunnel but was struck down by the Doflamingo clone.

In typical Luffy fashion, they all get out of the tunnel by using Elephant Gun upwards so now they can continue to climb up to the top while onlookers (like Chinjao) follow them as they head up to the third level.

Meanwhile at the former Royal Plateau, the Tontatta tribe have a way for Robin, Rebecca and Bartolomeo to get to the flower fields...stag beetles. Leo explains that these beetles will get them to their destination by jumping...what? They jump off the cliff and they manage to float down while the stag beetles spin around like little helicopters and when they reach a rooftop they have to kick off it and they'll rise in the air again.

Okay I think you're enjoying this a bit too much

The next couple pages show brief glimpses of fights like Franky's which has him distracting Senor while the dwarves (who recently arrived) try to open the factory's entrance. We also see Zoro clash swords with Pica, Sabo attacking Fujitora and Cavendish catching up with Luffy and saying he has a plan.

We see Doflamingo (the real one this time) at the Royal Palace and asks Trebol and Diamante if they remember when they first met Law and apparently he was crazy as a child. Doflamingo (still with his grin on) says he had hopes that Law would've been his right-hand man ten years from that point but he'll have to kill him now.

The chapter ends with Doflamingo remembering this encounter as we see a young Law asking Doflamingo if he can join his crew (with GRENADES strapped to himself) and that he wants to destroy everything he sees since he was raised somewhere called "the white city" and doesn't have much longer to live.


In all seriousness, this is really screwed up

What a hodge podge this week, we get focus on just about all of the sides this time which is good although the main focus was definitely on what was happening with Luffy, Law and Doflamingo which was perfectly fine. The beetles thing actually seems clever to me as running across to the flower fields would take too long, all Robin's group need to do is to survive the flight from any attacks from below.

Its very safe to say that we will probably get a flashback chapter if not next time then somewhere down the line. It'll be fun to speculate in the meantime like where is this "white city" and what could be so bad about it to screw up Law so much? Well hopefully we'll know next time and I'm looking forward to it, I hope you all are too. Now if you excuse me, I need to play some more Unlimited World Red on my 3DS so see you all next time!

Also HEADS UP, the manga is once again on a break next week so we'll see you again in a couple of weeks.


Here's your fanservice of the week!
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Roger's List: Top 5 Opening Themes of One Piece

July 18, 2014, 11:30 am
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What are the best of the BEST? That's what Roger's here to tell you.

Ahoy fellow readers. Roger here. It's been a busy summer so far, but I finally found some cruse time to give you all another list. For those of you out there actually taking some time off this summer, time to kick back, take in the sun, and enjoy some sweet tunes on the best album there is, the One Piece album. How do I know it's the best? Well, because it is quite literally titled "BEST ALBUM." For any other anime series, this would probably be pushing it, but not One Piece.

Let's not sugar code things, this music is amazing. From the opening themes to the ending themes, to the background scores, and even the songs the characters sing in the actual show, the music of One Piece perfectly captures and enriches the heart and spirit of adventure that the anime has brought to it's viewers for the past 15 years. Today we will be focusing strictly on the Opening Themes, the songs that get you pumped and ready to watch some One Piece right from the get go. For many, all 17 of the shows current opening music numbers are amazing songs in and of themselves, but which ones of them are truly the best? I'm here to chime in with my 2 cents berries.

This is Roger's Top 5 Opening Theme's of One Piece.



In order of release.

#2 Believe



I know, a lot of people are still most fond of the first opening theme "We Are," and rightfully so, but personally, I really like the second theme even more. At this point in the anime, all five of the original Strawhats from the East Blue have finally come together. We've taken the time to explore each one of their back stories, their hopes and dreams, and they have finally cast away whatever hurdles were keeping them back to the wind and are ready to take their ambitions and run with them, as they set sail for the adventure of a lifetime. "Believe" perfectly parallels the acceleration that the show itself underwent at this point with a fast paced guitar riff that has a much quicker beat than the original theme. The lyrics themselves are all about following their dreams, something they once thought was impossible, now fully believe they are capable of, thanks the their newfound strength from their friends.

The English version of the song is not that bad either.



#6 Brand New World

Before this theme, our heroes had underwent just about their worst stream of bad luck in their entire journey. They just had their first encounter with a Marine Admiral (which did not go well at all). Their beloved ship is damaged beyond repair. Usopp is mugged and subsequently quits the crew in refusal to give up on the Merry. He even engages in a duel with his Captain that results in one of the most brutal and heartbreaking fights in the shows history. Robin disappears and the crew gets accused for the attempted assassination of Iceberg resulting in the entire town trying to hunt them down. Then, to put the cherry on top of this crapcicle, the whole frame for Iceberg's murder was set up by the world government's most elite group of assassins to capture Robin and brutally overpower the Straw Hats.

Yet despite all this, as soon as they hear that Robin turned herself in to protect them, that's all they need in order get their second wind and jump right back into the fight, and that is what Brand New World represents so powerfully; the Strawhats will to rise up every time you think they've been pushed to their limits. It's a theme with yet another fast paced melody as the show races towards one of it's greatest confrontations at the Marine Judicial Island.


#11 Share the World

Share the World has one of the most unique beats of all the One Piece openings. It's almost a rap, but I like it. It's fun. It also has one of the more unique messages of all the themes. The song itself is titled Share the World, with the emphasis on 'share,' which coexists with the series current theme of showing just how big the world of One Piece really is, and just how many colorful characters inhabit it.

For a quick headcount, this is the portion of the series in which we meet a new Admiral, a new Warlord, the Pacifista's, the Celestial Dragons, Mermaids, the former Pirate King's first mate, AND all nine other members of the Supernovas. That's a huge chunk of important characters in just a few short arcs. Share the world. There's plenty to go around.


#14 Fight Together

Okay people, here comes the deep stuff. I kid you not guys, I. Cry. Every. Single. Time. I hear this theme. Fight Together is not just a good One Piece theme. It's one of the best songs of 2011 period. the singer's voice, the visuals, the lyrics, and the overall tone of the entire song. I love every second of it. This song embodies all the reasons people love this series. You can like the action, the humor, the art, the over-the-top plots, but the real reason people LOVE this series so dearly and why it has persevered over so many years and continues to go strong to this day is the overwhelming amount of heart and compassion that the characters wear right on their shoulders.

It is so contagious, that we feel the emotions of these animated characters are as real and genuine as if they were people right in font of us. That is no easy task for a fantasy epic populated with Super Powered Pirates, Sea monsters, Fish people, and a million other unbelievable things. Fight Together doesn't let any of that hinder the sincerity of it's message, and it could not have played at a better time in the series.


#16 Hands Up! 

The second to newest One Piece theme, Hands Up! much like my last choice, is a theme that I think is just a great song to begin with. It has a beautiful melody, and it's lyrics represent so well that this is a version of the Straw Hats that has now endured so much and gotten so far, that there is nowhere left for them to look but forward. There is no hesitation left. Everyone is in for the long haul. And in a way, so are the viewers. The show itself is at a point where anyone who has been following it since from the beginning is prepared to spend the rest of their lives (Or Oda's life) following it. We are, quite literally, as committed to this show has the Strawhats are to their adventure.


So those are my Top 5. Of all my lists so far, I feel safe saying this one is probably my most personalized. It's completely my own opinion, my own tastes.

So what are your favorite One Piece opening themes? Heaven knows they all have merits of their own. Feel free to share in the comments below.


Until next time, I'm Roger, and they just made the list.
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Manga: Chapter 753 (SPOILERS!)

July 28, 2014, 9:51 pm
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SPOILERS!
Its no trick, its a treat! Read One Piece in Weekly Shonen Jump
Welcome back everyone! We just had a break so lets not waste anymore time and dive straight back in. Inside the Royal Palace, Bellamy confronts Doflamingo because Dellinger tried to kill him, but all Doflamingo says is that both of them had different goals: becoming a pirate for Bellamy and destroying the world for Doflamingo.

Speaking of Dellinger, we see him along with some of the other officers of the Donquixote Pirates taking down some of the major players from the Battle Royale like Chinjao and Dagama. While this is going on, some of the citizens capture a fellow citizen (being controlled by Doflamingo). They know that it wasn't his fault. They plan on capturing King Riku and "God" Usopp to end this horrific game once and for all using their "prisoners" as bait.


I'm still wondering if this will lead to something or if it'll be pointless

Inside the Smile factory, prisoner dwarves are forced to clean up SAD substance because they still believe that working here will help their princess. Wicca and some other dwarves from outside let them know (via secret bee message...I never thought I would type that) that they're being tricked and urges them to fight back against the human soldiers, which they then do so.

On the second floor of the Plateau, Cavendish, Luffy and Law are continuing to head to the top while Cavendish explains his plan from last time which is essentially to cut a path into the wall to lead up to the next floor and Luffy can take care of the officers because they're close by.

They only just notice that Kyros is also riding on Cavendish's horse, who is worried about Rebecca but Luffy tells him not to worry because she's with some of his crew. Kyros also reveals that no matter how they handle this, he wants to be the one to kill Diamante because obviously he'll want to take revenge for his late wife Scarlet.


Not gonna lie, one of my favourite panels of the arc

Much to their surprise, the Battle Royale candidates from before actually came together to fight Doflamingo's officers to clear a path for Luffy and the others. The chapter ends with Luffy and Cavendish attacking surrounding soldiers so that they can continue.

Not a whole lot to this chapter although the most important part was definitely the Battle Royale combatants coming together to help Luffy and the others. Why exactly they're doing this isn't clear because they all wanted to take Doflamingo down and now they seem to be okay with Luffy and/or Cavendish doing it but maybe it'll be explained later.


I think Bellamy needs to strike out on his own

I can foresee a mutiny in the future with Bellamy and I do want to see where this plan about capturing Riku and Usopp is going because I don't think it would've been put there if it turns out to be pointless later on. We'll most likely see more of the other Straw Hats next time because we only really got to see Luffy's group this chapter.

Overall, still looking forward to how this arc progresses. I hope you all enjoyed reading, let me know what you thought and give me some theories or thoughts if you have any. I'll see you all next time.


I love these guys
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Manga: Chapter 754 (SPOILERS)

July 30, 2014, 8:18 pm
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*IMAGE*
WSJ


Summary
Jimbei accompanies the Seakitty as the Police Seadog leads them to the Seakitty's home.

Kinemon finds Kanjuro in the Scrap Heap.

Team Luffy makes it to the Third Step.

Zoro was able to land a critical strike on Pica during their duel.

Thoughts


We are going to start this review by talking about the ending of this chapter. It was an amazing way to end the chapter as Zoro was finally able to land a powerful blow on Pica.  Throughout this entire battle, Pica has evaded Zoro's attacks one after another and taking no damage. Then Zoro finally lands a powerful blow by using an updated version of his attack.

Lets take a moment to admire the execution of Zoro's attack by Oda. It is a simple technique but impressive nonetheless. One page you are watching Pica attacking Team Robin with Zoro charging up an attack. You turn to the next page only to see Zoro firing a powerful 1080 Pound Phoenix to Pica's face. The attack is just an updated version of the 108 Pound Phoenix but the way Oda reveal it really makes it more impressive then it seems. An attack from Zoro that is powerful and destructive enough dent the massive body of Pica. This attack could have the same power as Franky's Radical Beam. Why has Zoro been keeping this technique so hush when we have a factory to destroy?


Perhaps it was too powerful for Zoro to handle as hinted at the ending of the chapter. Then you had Franky who was eager to take down the Smile Factory.

Is this battle over? Pica has not fainted or gain a blank stare. So there may be more to this battle then we think. Perhaps we will see a conclusion to it next week? Zoro was surely saving his battle prowess for a worthy opponent but so far it looks as if Pica may not be that person. Maybe Zoro's taunting will push more out of Pica to make this a little less one sided.

Such great design!

Next, after many chapters of waiting, we finally get to see Kanjuro. He is certainly a unique design for a samurai. He has an interesting design that reminds me of Japanese theater, Kabuki. Then his use of a paintbrush for a sword hints ties to Japanese calligraphy. This connects well with his ability that involves drawing. Overall, Kanjuro is just a result of smart and interesting design.

It was nice that Kanjuro hinted at how he was able to hide from Trebol's far reaching goo. This could perhaps lead to an explanation of how Kanjuro's ability works and is. Just like Kinemon's, it looks to be heavily tied into Japanese culture which has been a common theme in our guests from Wano.

Killer nutcrackers!

Lastly, we have Team Luffy up against nutcrackers. There is not much to say here. I wonder if Sugar is now awake and has turn some of Doflamingo's henchmen into killer nutcrackers. If Doflamingo had put some strong fighters on the step below, what madness does he has for the people (in this case Luffy) that make it to the third step.

It is nice to see the story moving again. Hopefully we can continue this pace in next week's chapter. Until next time, true believers!

It is a bird! A badly drawn bird!

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Manga: Chapter 755 (SPOILERS!)

August 12, 2014, 9:29 pm
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He's recovering from Zoro's coolness last time. Read One Piece in Weekly Shonen Jump
Kicking off this week, Kanjuro (who we finally got to see last time) uses his powers to paint some badly drawn ladders so that the trapped citizens and soldiers can escape the trash heap beneath the underground harbor. Meanwhile in the SMILE factory, the dwarves continues their counterattack against Doflamingo's goons because they were lied to about Princess Mansherry.

One dwarf called Mouji (who is Mansherry's aide) is eager to rescue the princess and accidentally rushes into a room labeled "Keep Out" which was supposed to be the room Mansherry was quarantined in but because her illness was a total lie, the room is just a simple storage room, so they then decide to open the main entrance to the factory. While this is going on, outside Franky hears the dwarves (due to his SUPER hearing) and tricks Senor Pink by saying an old lady is in distress in a nearby alley.


Further proof that Franky is a superhero

Back inside the dwarves are noticed by the boss of the factory, a large woman called Kuween who won't let them go so easily and begins sucking them up with a vacuum cleaner. Suddenly Franky opens the door much to the joy of the dwarves, Kuween figures out who Franky is very quickly and tries to attack him but Franky stops her by grabbing her but the dwarves seem to think that hes suddenly in love and hugging her.

Senor finds out that Franky lied and rushes back to the factory fast, but Franky suplexes Kuween right into Senor. Kuween is of course pissed and wants to tear him to pieces but Franky calms her...by...kissing her? At first Kuween looks flattered but then gets angry because she wants Franky to take responsibility and be her boyfriend...what?


Thats one way to deal with your enemies

Senor tells her to butt out of their fight and that its her own fault for acting that way. Franky pitches in, saying that shes being naive after just being kissed once and they both proclaim that they are true heartbreakers which sends Kuween and Senor's fangirls swooning and so the two continue their manly fight.

Close to the Royal Palace, Pica is mad at Zoro for letting Robin and the others past him and the two proceed with their battle. Speaking of Robin, we see her and the others continue to fly towards the Royal Plateau. Leo gets contacted by the other dwarves, letting him aware that Princess Mansherry isn't in the factory and she could be in the Palace.

At the old Plateau while citizens are heading up to capture Usopp and King Riku, Viola gets contacted by the dwarves regarding Mansherry also. Riku tells Viola to use her ability to locate Mansherry and ensures them that Doflamingo won't hurt Mansherry since she has a mysterious power that he wants and right now, its the kingdom that needs her power. The chapter ends in an unknown room in the Royal Palace, where we see Princess Mansherry in a small cell crying and begging Leo to save her.


Remember, shes supposedly bratty so this probably won't last

Obviously, Franky's side was the main part of this chapter. It certainly was a...creative way of dealing with Kuween because she is not his real target, Senor is. Of course their fight isn't done yet, so who knows what'll happen after that. Aside from that, the stuff regarding Princess Mansherry was the most important because we know why she has been captured by Doflamingo although we still don't know what this "power" of hers is.

We got a few glimpses of Zoro's battle and of Robin's group as well so we'll hopefully see more of them next time as well as continuing Luffy's journey to the top. Its all exciting stuff so keep reading guys, stay tuned for next chapter and I'll see you all then.


Yeah, I'm pretty stunned too
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Manga: Chapter 756 (SPOILERS)

September 1, 2014, 11:48 am
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Lets get dress up for some One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!
Summary
Viola has found Mansherry's location within the castle.

Team Kinemon reunites with Team Usopp.

Team Robin falls in the Third Step to join Team Luffy while Rebecca flies on to the Fourth Step.

Sugar has woken up and proceeded to make toys out of Doflamingo's men.

Thoughts
 

This chapter was not exceptional but it did set up to be something that can be great later on. The chapter was actually boring and that considering I read it twice to make sure I got everything. The colorspread was nice but nothing to be excited about. What we should be excited about is that One Piece is now seventeen years old. I just wish the colorspread was more festive. Maybe have the crew throwing a big party with some close characters like Vivi and Jimbei. Something that said, "HAPPY 17th Anniversary!"

Instead we got this. So let work with what we got.

 Calm down Sugar!

First off, it is nice to know that Sugar is back up and moving. Based on the past few chapters, I am not too surprise about that. It explains all the Headcrakers that Team Luffy has to deal with. The girl doesn't look too sane either as she has a heavy vendetta against Usopp. It has left her seriously scarred as even the slight of anything long scares her. That makes sense due to how much long things were in Usopp's scary face.

This may lead up to another fight between Usopp and Sugar. That would explain why Oda has set it up to where the citizens of Dressrosa now have a way to reach King Riku and Usopp. Usopp may not be in the best condition to fight but maybe he can muster something up if it is just a one-on-one fight between him and Sugar. Trebol was there last time to lay the beat down on Usopp but perhaps we will finally get that Usopp fight. I know I have been waiting for it.


Another thing that was set up is a grudge match between Diamante and Rebecca. This is basically a rematch from the Colosseum seeing that their last battle didn't end well. She is facing the man that killed her mother. This may not end up too well.

Both fighters have similar abilities as it allows them to dodge each other attacks. The difference is that Dimante's has some offensive power to it. So it will matter if Rebecca can find a way to cut though this fluttering man.


Most likely, Luffy and Kyros will jump into the battle once things get tough. That is if they can make it though the field of zombie nutcrackers. Robin and Bartolomeo can handle Gladius so the question is how long will it take Luffy and Kyros to reach Rebecca.

This was clearly one of the set up chapters but it was pretty lackluster. Hopefully the payoff will be grand as we are moving though Dressrosa. I am not too much of a fan of this pacing so I am hoping we can get though things after the one week summer break.

So, until next time true believers!
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History Of One Piece: Captain Morgan Arc Overview

September 1, 2014, 1:08 pm
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Hello everyone and welcome back to History Of One Piece, where I chronicle, review, debate, and analyze the various arcs of One Piece. Today I take a look at the Captain Morgan Arc as a whole and point out some things I noticed upon repeated viewings. That's right guys. We are finally done with the Captain Morgan Arc!
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Manga: Chapter 757 (SPOILERS)

September 2, 2014, 10:30 am
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SPOILERS

We run because we want to read One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!

Summary
Jimbei, Sea-Kitten, and the officer finds the home that belongs to the officer. (Coverstory)

Luffy, Law and Kyros climb to the Final Step using invisible stairs made by Bartolomeo.

Sabo and Fujitora continue their fight.

Team Luffy arrives at the Flower Field to assist Rebecca against Diamante. Law is freed from his shackles.

Thoughts


This was a great chapter! We are getting closer to the end game and it really shows in this chapter! Even better, we got to see the spirit that has always been in One Piece. The idea that everything relies on the success of Luffy and everybody giving it their all to help him succeed.

We see this every arc where people are left behind or split off so that Luffy can advance to fight the big boss. It is a shonen trope. What makes this worth noting is that Robin, a character in the series, is admitting this.

And it is executed greatly! I am glad that Oda gave all the characters single panel recaps instead of doing his usual recap pages. Especially since we just had one of these chapters a few weeks ago. These pages and the scenes with Bartolomeo and Cavendish really deliver the point that everybody is giving it their all to make sure Luffy goes on ahead.

"Our Captain is worth the risk of our lives!!!"
-Robin

A beautiful quote from maybe one of the smartest people in One Piece. It is understandable hearing this from Robin who witness first hand why Luffy is worth staking their lives on. After all, this is the man that led the crusade to retrieve her from the clutches of the World Government. Robin saw that Luffy had put down his life for her and now she knows that she must do the same thing for him. Prior to that experience, Robin was fighting for something else. Remember at Skypeia, she only fought because the ruins was being destroyed by Yama. Now compare that to today where she is fighting not only for the faith of this country but for Luffy.


Luffy has only known Bartolomeo and Cavendish for a short time but he has left his mark on them. Cavendish may only be staying behind to avenge his fallen horse but he has admitted that he will do what he can to make sure that Luffy is the one to take down Doflamingo. Meanwhile, Bartolomeo sacrifice his weapon and defense to allow Luffy, Law and Kyros the chance to go up to the final step. Then at the same time even took a few bullets for the sake of Luffy to make sure nobody stops him. That was without his barrier! Amazing! Everybody is ready to give it their all for Luffy which isn't the first time this has happen and it won't be the last. Now the stakes are higher then ever before and everybody knows.

Elsewhere, the fight between Fujitora and Sabo is heating up. It looks as if the fight has become a one-on-one match between these two top ranked men. It is interesting that we are getting some nice battle scenes. I know that as a writer, Oda doesn't want to reveal too much of Fujitora's ability because we are surely going to see more of him later on. After all, he is only the sideshow.


I just love how Sabo said he doesn't care if Fujitora is blind. This guy knows that this blind swordsman was made an admiral for a reason and Sabo shouldn't let his guard down.

Though, I wonder if we are going to have a repeat of the last time Ace fought a much stronger opponent alone. You all remember how Ace vs. Blackbeard ended.

Lastly, the scenes at the Flower Field. Things went exactly as I said they would. Rebecca would be cornered by Diamante and then Team Luffy would come in at the last second to save her. That was pretty disappointing as I would have liked to see Rebecca try to do something but it should have been expected. Based on her last performance in the coliseum, Rebecca was in no right mental state to fight against Diamante.

"I won't let you take my family. NOT AGAIN!!!"
-Kyros

Those were some powerful words coming from Kyros who is ready to seek revenge against the man who has terrorized his family for ten long years. What was even more powerful was the words that Kyros said afterward to Rebecca about not needing to fight anymore.


This girl has been fighting for so long and she never once hurt anybody. Rebecca's fighting style revolved around this idea of not hurting anybody. So this must mean a lot to Rebecca to hear from the father that she had forgotten about for so many years yet was always there for her.

So we have the champions of the coliseum ready to duke it out. This will be interesting as we seen that having one leg won't stop Kyros from taking down anybody. After all, he has had ten years to hone his combat skills on one leg. Clearly Diamante knows of the fame that Kyros has amounted. I wonder if Rebecca will disobey her father's orders and join the fight as well. It would be cool to see a Father-Daughter finisher move on Diamante.


One more note: Law has finally had his handcuffs removed. His coolness certainly diminished now as he became the joke of the last dozen chapters. Poor Law had to suffer from the madness of being a rag doll on Luffy and several animals' backs. At least Law was true this his word about being able to handle the Headcrackers easily.

This was an amazing chapter and I can tell we are going to have many more after this. The perfect set up for things to come! Now that Law is freed and Luffy is itching to beat up Doflamingo, things are going to get rough.

Until next time, true believers!

 I just wanted to include Franky in this review.
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Manga: Chapter 758 (SPOILERS!)

September 9, 2014, 10:00 pm
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SPOILERS!



This chapter in a nutshell. Read One Piece in Weekly Shonen Jump

Continuing from last time, Kyros gets ready to fight Diamante while Luffy and Law head towards the Palace. Rebecca asks "Lucy" if he can really beat Doflamingo. Luffy tells her not to worry and gets the typical "I'm Luffy and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates" shtick.

When Diamante is about to prevent Luffy and Law from proceeding, Law uses his powers in the nick of time to teleport them to a garden in the Palace. Sugar gets wind of their arrival and plans to turn the two of them into toys. That way they'll be forgotten forever.


I must admit, this is the creepiest Sugar has been so far

Meanwhile at the Plateau, Usopp reminds everyone of how bad it is that Sugar has regained consciousness. After forgetting Robin when she was turned into a toy, he doesn't want anything like that to happen to his crew ever again and plans to stop Sugar. Usopp decides to attack Sugar all the way from the Plateau which should be impossible but he doesn't have a choice because he is the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates.

King Riku asks Hack and Tank to help protect Usopp while he takes aim because the citizens who are trying to capture them are getting closer. With the aid of Viola's sight, Usopp can determine the location of Luffy, Law and the recently arrived Sugar.


FANGASM

Viola points out the exact location of the three and Usopp takes aim. Suddenly while focusing, Usopp starts to see the auras of the three and with that, finally fires a shot just in time. What Usopp fired is a special weapon known as the "Bagworm Star" which boosts itself twice after a couple seconds following each other and as the wrappings unravel, the final round which is supposed to "evoke trauma in the target" turns out to be a little replica Kanjuro made of the face Usopp pulled which is what caused Sugar to fall unconscious before, which does the same again. Luffy and Law are safe...for now.


Serves you right, you brat

As Usopp is being tied up by the villagers, Viola and the others speaks for the audience at how truly amazing that was. The chapter ends with Luffy and Law finally reaching their destination: Doflamingo with Bellamy by his feet and Trebol by his side. The long awaited decisive battle is about to commence.

I should start with the obvious: Usopp was a true hero in this chapter. He saved both Luffy and Law and has made up for any cowardice he has shown previously and has once again, proven his worth as a Sniper for the Straw Hat Pirates. That and he is now a Haki user! The way in which he defeated Sugar was classic Usopp as well because he couldn't exactly attack a little girl...even if she is 22 years old. In any case, we'll see if he keeps up this momentum.


FINALLY!

We're also starting to get to the big final fight of this arc which I am of course, really excited to see how Luffy and Law kick Doflamingo's butt and possibly see a bit more of Law's backstory to tie up the loose ends. Overall, this chapter made me seriously happy to see Usopp prove his worth in particular and now I'm ready for the this last battle.

That is all I have to say this time, leave a comment if you wish to bask in Usopp's awesomeness or any other words about the chapter I may have missed. Thanks so much and I'll see you all next time!


It was great Luffy, but unfortunately not the highlight of this chapter
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History Of One Piece: Romance Dawn Trailer

September 10, 2014, 7:08 pm
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Hello everyone and welcome back to History Of One Piece, where I chronicle, review, debate, and analyze the various different arcs of One Piece. This video is a trailer for the next chapter in History Of One Piece and is also an update opening theme for the series.
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How To Fix One Piece: 4Kids English Opening

September 16, 2014, 10:28 am
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Many people aren't happy with the 4Kids dub of one piece. The biggest gripe most people have is that they changed the original theme song. Here's my solution to the problem.

 
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Manga: Chapter 759 (SPOILERS)

September 16, 2014, 9:14 pm
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SPOILERS
Don't get sad! Get glad with One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!

Summary
Jimbei saves a capsized ship filled with sailors. (Coverstory)

The Headcracker Soldiers that Sugar made returned back to being human.

Luffy and Law begin their battle against Doflamingo and Trebol.

Thoughts

The big fight between Doflamingo and Luffy has begun. We have waited a long time for this but it is proving to not be so easy. Doflamingo continues to act as the puppetmaster who hides backstage while letting others do his fighting. May it be his marionette: the Dark Knight or Bellamy under the control of his Parasite String. Either way, Doflamingo is refusing to get his hands dirty with fighting commoners. 

I guess it shouldn't be unexpected as this has been Doflamingo's style the whole time. Even back in Marineford, Doflamingo rarely battled himself and instead decided to ride around Jozu like a pony under the control of Parasite String. What we haven't seen before is Doflamingo's ability to control the emotions of his opponents as we saw in the first half of this chapter where he provoking Luffy into rushing in mad at him. This is exactly what Doflamingo wants because a Luffy without a plan is a Luffy that is bound to fail.


We have seen Luffy battle when he doesn't have a clear head and it usually leads to defeat. When Luffy has been given time to think then that is when we see Luffy at his best. A best example of this was Luffy in Alabasta. We saw him rush at Crocodile the first time. Luffy got his butt handed to him on a sandy platter during this battle. The second time Crocodile and Luffy battle, Luffy did better after figuring out Croc's weakness. Luffy may have lost this match but he bounced back with a better plan and gave it his all.

Doflamingo may have an idea of what kind of fighter Luffy is from past experiences. This is why he is trying to control the tide of the battle by keeping Luffy upset. That way Luffy doesn't have any time to think of a strategy to counteract Doflamingo's string based abilities. Doflamingo must have a weakness after all seeing that he hasn't advice further into the New World and has decided to stay as a Warlord. If Luffy can figure out a weak point in Doflamingo's ability and plan then that is all he needs to start striking hard at the feather boa wearing puppetmaster.

Though, this chapter had an awesome moment at the end where Luffy and Law did a combo attack to land a heavy hit on Doflamingo. Law was able to use his Op-Op ability to swap Doflamingo and his positions. That was just what Luffy needed to put Doflamingo in the line of his Red Hawk attack.

How sweet it was to see this!

That was an explosive attack! It had landed on Doflamingo and he was surprised by this little trick. The problem is that this is only a trick and we know that tricks often do not work twice. Now Doflamingo will be expecting this little antic later and can prepare for it. If anything, this means that Doflamingo should be targeting his attacks on Law as this may tire out Law or at least put an end of any future Op-Op switching tricks.

Another problem with this trick is that it all depends on Law. The Surgeon of Death has said many times during this arc that his ability takes a toll on his stamina. This means that Law can only use it a few times before his ability begins to tire him out. The problem is that Law isn't at top form right now so he isn't going into this battle with a hundred percent.


Lastly, it sounds like Law didn't want to pull this trick so soon. His tone, facial expression and words make it sound like this was suppose to be used later on in the battle. Maybe after Doflamingo was weaken a bit more. The only reason why Law did this was because Luffy had forced him to pull this trick. If Law didn't then he would have taken a Red Hawk to the chest like we saw Doflamingo did. So Law didn't have much of an option here when it came to using this trick.

Luffy and Law were able to land a good hit on Doflamingo but I doubt this will be enough to bring the great Warlord and ex-Celestial Dragon down. Doflamingo doesn't seem like a glass cannon and he has several tricks up his sleeve to turn the table. Just look at what he has: Trebol, Bellamy and a Dark Knight. So this means that Law and Luffy have to think of different ways to get around these three obstacles in order to land more great hits to bring Doflamingo down and raise Dressrosa out from this dark time.

 Poor Bellamy. Remember when we use to hate him?

One last thing to mention, it looks like we are entering a battle of ideals. Doflamingo is under the ideal that you are stuck in the position that you are born in. This is against Luffy's ideal where you fight for whatever position you want. There are several contrasts between Doflamingo and Luffy that it would be an entirely different article to list them all.  Doflamingo was born into royalty while Luffy was raised in the slums. Doflamingo has spent his adult life living like a king while Luffy has spent his childhood seeing how kings have messed with lives. Doflamingo sees people born into classes while Luffy has seen how classes can royalty ruin a person's life. So many things here and all of this coming from some small dialog about how Doflamingo claimed that Bellamy was born a thug and will always be a thug.

Either way, this will be a match that we all have been waiting for. Hopefully it won't be down to the wire for Law and Luffy. Until next time, true believers!  
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Manga: Chapter 760 (SPOILERS!)

September 23, 2014, 8:51 pm
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SPOILERS!


Go Luffy Go!. Read One Piece in Weekly Shonen Jump

Outside the Plateau, Koala scolds Sabo for getting into a fight with Fujitora because it could've lead the Revolutionaries to war. Sabo doesn't care because he just wanted to protect his brother Luffy and so it leads to him getting his cheeks pinched.

Sabo recalls the conversation Fujitora had with him because the Marines in this country can't be heroes. Fujitora is taking a big gamble so Sabo even wishes him luck.

At the Plateau itself, Usopp and the others are released much to their confusion. The citizens have realized the truth about King Riku's "betrayal" 10 years age. Now they just want to be set free from Doflamingo's horrific game.

They beg Riku for his help but Riku has placed all of his faith in Luffy. He simply tells the people to wait. Fujitora shows up out of nowhere stating that he agrees and will also place his bet if you will, on Luffy.


What are you up to Mr Tiger?

Back on the top floor of the Palace, Luffy had just landed a hit on Doflamingo and Law attacks Trebol with a special technique called "Radio Knife" which will prevent Trebol from reassembling his body with his powers. Law tries to attack Trebol again but Doflamingo blocks this. Trebol grabs Law's legs and Doflamingo attacks from above.

On top of that, Luffy gets kicked by Doflamingo. His hands are then bound midair (with Doflamingo's powers) and Luffy is slashed by a sobbing Bellamy. Good lord.

Doflamingo states how he hates being looked down upon. The Warlord then claims there is no way the two could ever defeat him because he is both a Celestial Dragon and supposedly possesses one of the rarest abilities in the world.


Well I hate YOU so I guess that works out

Doflamingo also seems to have daddy issues because his father abandoned the riches and privileges they have once possessed so they can live like "real humans". We see brief moments of him as a child being a demonic brat as well as him seeing his mother dying supposedly due to where they were living.

By the time Doflamingo turned eight, he had seen all of the heaven and hell the world offered. He killed his father and brought his head back to Marejois but still the Celestial Dragons wouldn't take him back because his family was labelled as traitors.

The chapter ends with Doflamingo stating that he would then swear to destroy every part of the world that they controlled. Doflamingo also says that compared to what he has been through, the lives Luffy and Law have lead mean nothing to him and that he doesn't have time for these childish games.


Don't care. I just want you to die already

So yeah, Doflamingo is pretty messed up. Obviously his actions are not justified just because he had a bad childhood. He is truly a dark character with his terrible upbringing (despite his father, not even sure what his mother was like).

Usually with flashbacks like these they try to make you feel sympathetic towards the bad guy, but not this one. Oda has made it clear that this guy was poison right from the start. I seriously wanted to slap Kid Doflamingo when he wanted to buy some slaves or wanting to shoot a person just because he talked back to him.

We at least know why he isn't a Celestial Dragon anymore. I'm debating with myself whether he would've been worse if he still was one or he had gotten worse because he decided to strike out on his own and destroy the world...probably the latter but that is not saying much.

In any case, more than ever before do I want to see Luffy and Law beat the crap out of him but we probably need to squeeze some more backstory out of this before that happens. Namely what happened in Law's past and what kind of person Corazon was. Not to mention that rare power Doflamingo possesses.

I hope we get some more answers next time but overall, we have hope on the horizon in terms King Riku regaining trust from the people and we unveiled some mysteries behind Doflamingo. That is all for now, I'll see you all again next time!


Just in case you weren't entirely convinced Luffy and Sabo are brothers
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Manga: Chapter 760 (SPOILERS)

October 6, 2014, 10:08 pm
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SPOILERS

One Piece is the bomb! Read it on Weekly Shonen Jump!

Summary
Jimbei sees a news story about sea beasts attacking port towns. (Coverstory)

The Marines try to suppress the rioting in Dressrosa.

Luffy, Law and Doflamingo continue their battle.

Young Law is introduced to Corazon. (Flashback)

Thoughts

Before going into this review, lets talk about the coverstory for a brief moment. Why do I have a feeling we are going to be touching back with Hody Jones? Didn't he use sea beasts in his failed attempt of a kingdom takeover? I hope we don't have to see him again. I want to get as far away from Fishman Island and Hody as we can. Literally and figuratively.

We have finally started the Law Flashback. This should be the proper flashback of the arc that explains Law's motivation, the source of the Law-Doflamingo relationship and who is Corazon.


We can get an idea that Law has led a pretty rough life. Something has happen to this kid to have given him such a negative outlook on life at such an early age. We may not know what has given Law this outlook on life but at least we can feel more sympathetic towards young Law in comparison to Doflamingo. While Doflamingo had all the makings of a sympathetic backstory, the attitude that Doflamingo had as a kid while it all happen shows that he didn't mature but instead used it twist his already twisted views on life. Meanwhile, it looks like Law came from somewhere that has no future and clearly he doesn't. So might as well take out as many people as you can.



Then we have Corazon who isn't a nice person that has several issues going on. The first thing to note is that he is mute. It will be curious to see how Oda pulls off a character that can't talk. We all know that Oda can do miracles with facial expression but the difference between Corazon and other characters is the eyes. Just like Doflamingo, Corazon also wears sunglasses. They say that the eyes are the windows to one's mind. You can express so many things with just your eyes which we can't see in the cases of Doflamingo and Corazon. So it will be interesting to see how Oda will make Corazon express himself. Even more interesting is how did he lose his ability to speak and does it relate to what evils Doflamingo has committed in the past.

The next thing to note is that he doesn't like kids. Based on that, I am going to guess that during the flashback that Corazon and Law will warm up towards each other. After all, Corazon is held in high regards to Law to the point that the Surgeon of Death claims that he was the one who saved his life.


That leads me to what I wanted to talk about next. The ability of Op-Op Fruit and what it could do. We knew that is was able to move around body pieces, swap minds, move people but now it can also grant a person immortality. Is it possible that Corazon at one point had the Op-Op Fruit and was either being trained or expected to be trained to use the Immortality Surgery on Doflamingo. Instead, due to him eventually growing to like Law had used it to save his life in return to giving up his own. 

That is all just speculation for later on in this flashback. It has just began and we got nowhere better to go. Luffy is stuck in the floor below with the Dark Knight and Bellamy. Trebol is nicely cut up and clearly stuck like that for a long while. So it is story time with Law and Doflamingo.

Hopefully it will be a good story.

Until next time, true believers!

Trebol's situation in this scene looks so funny.

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History Of One Piece: Captain Buggy Arc Introduction

October 8, 2014, 7:28 pm
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Welcome back to History Of One Piece, where I chronicle, review, debate, and analyze the various arcs of One Piece. Today, we gear up to talk about the Captain Buggy Arc and welcome an awesome new person to the History Of One Piece family.
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Manga: Chapter 761 (SPOILERS)

October 13, 2014, 9:40 pm
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SPOILERS
Wake up and read One Piece on Weekly Shonen Jump!
Summary
Jimbei and the sad Kittenfish goes to the port that was attacked. (Coverstory)

The Doflamingo Pirates recall the history of Flevance while Law remembers what happens in his home kingdom.

Law stabs Corazon and Buffalo witness it.

Thoughts

This was a really deep, heavy and meaty chapter. It was packed with everything that supports the claims that One Piece is more then just a "boys" manga as it had elements of human rights issues, mass genocide, and trauma. Not the type of things you expect when reading manga during your Monday lunch break.

This chapter was a massive info dump of history with bits of fanservice on how the Doflamingo family members all looked like when they were younger. Lets start with the fanservice and then moved into the history dump.


Sixteen years can change a lot concerning how a person looks like. I am not talking about the obvious such as Baby 5, Buffalo and Dellinger. The adults have gone though a lot of changes throughout the years which I love. It makes you wonder what has happen to these guys to make them change so much.

Lao G use to be fit and muscular. You can tell that this man kept his body up until well into his early elderly years. He was built and looked rather like Garp currently does. I am guessing that age eventually caught up to him during the past sixteen years and he just couldn't outrun it. Literally. It is a shame because I am still curious what brought this old man to Doflamingo over sixteen years ago.

Machvise is another character that has gone though a massive change over the years. He is now big but back then he was still big but knew how to carry his weight. You can tell that the guy had some muscles under all that fat back then. Now he looks like to be all fat. An effect from his Devil Fruit ability?


Giola must be a victim of "Only Young Woman Looks Good in One Piece" because she clearly looked good when she was younger. Oda really needs to work on his women as of late but I guess age does take away from one's beauty. Male or female as we saw with Lao G. Unfortunately, there is a little bit of bias here with one of these characters. Either way, Giolla clearly has her place in the Doflamingo Family back in the day.

Senor Pink is somebody who should have stuck with how he looked like sixteen years ago. Senor Pink looked much more handsome and well worth the title of "Oh Senor~". The guy clearly hit the gym a lot and pulled off dashing. What ever happen to him in five years that made him so...ugly? Senor Pink was so much better looking in the past.

Baby Five is a rather unique character. According to this flashback, she has always had this this maid theme. You can tell this by her trait of serving tea which was seen in last week's chapter and this week's. It is curious and I guess she really liked acting like one. It doesn't seem like this trait carries on as she grows up but she sure does like dressing up as one. It also looks like her trait of falling in love with anybody who "needs" her is a recent development. Though, it looks like her and Buffalo have been together for a long time as partners of sorts.


Now time for the history dump. Just like all pieces of history in One Piece, this one isn't pretty.

The story of Law and the land of Flevance isn't a pretty one. The involvement of the World Government in this story paints it as the vile organization that it has been depicted as. It not only knew about the dangers of White Lead but allowed Flevance to continue to mine the mineral and endanger the health of the citizens of Flevance for generations to come. The worst part is that this illness literally plagues the country for generations to come.  Then to make matters worst, the World Government stood by idly and did nothing to help the country even after knowing it isn't contagious.

Just be glad I didn't include the image of the burning hospital.


Law has clearly suffered and has been scared by his childhood. He witness governments and kingdoms turned against him, the death of his own family and friends. It is pretty harsh. What really got me was the fact that the sick nun, kids and Law's sister all died in what could be considered horrible ways. Lammy got burned to death. Law's parents got shot. We can only suspect that the children and nun were either gassed or shot. Either way, those are all graphical ways to die and it felt a bit uncomfortable for a manga aimed at children. Even more, this was all done to rid the world of this infection. The soldiers wearing gas masks used the word "purge". Just take a moment to think about this word and how it was used in reference to a nun, doctors, a hospital of sick patients and children.

This was a pretty dark chapter of One Piece and it is these dark chapters that keep the older fans interesting. It would be really interesting to hear a child's opinion on this chapter. If anything, it sets up an interesting start for next week's chapter.

So what did you guys felt about this chapter? Share your opinions in the comments!

Until next time, true believers!

I don't think he meant alive bodies either.


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Roger's List: Top 5 Dumbest Strawhat Moments of One Piece

October 17, 2014, 4:00 am
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"Okay, Okay! I'm Back. I swear."

Hey guys, sorry for the hiatus. Extraneous circumstances have left me without sustainable internet for the last few months. But now that I'm up and running again, let's not waist any more time. Roger's List has officially returned.

I'm sure we are all well aware that One Piece, as brilliant of a story as it may be, is choc full of characters doing inexcusably stupid things. That goes double for our main protagonists. In fact, half the conflicts our heroes run into seem to originate from them making complete idiots of themselves. But which moments exactly are the dumbest of the dumb. That's what I'm here to decide. This is...

Roger's Top 5 Dumbest Strawhat Moments


5. Usopp Goes for a Swim in Skypiea
You know, I thought this guy was suppose to be the smart one.
  
So the Straw Hats arrive at Skypiea and find themselves among a sea of clouds. Upon first arrival, it appears the clouds, at this altitude, act very similar to water, in the sense that creatures live beneath them and ships can float above them, so it only makes sense that people would be able to swim in them, right? So, who among the Straw Hats would be so bold as to test the waters of this theory?

Why, none other than the crew's trademark coward, of course. Yeah, can't say I saw that coming. Is this the moment we've been waiting for: the chance for the Great Captain Usopp to come out of his shell and show us all just how courageous he can be? Or...is it just the day he happen to take stupid pills?

Unfortunately, it turns out to be the later. Ussop's little test swim appeared to be going fine for a little while, until he swam all the way to the bottom of the clouds, in which he proceeded to plummet out of the sky and fall back toward the surface. Well, no shit Usopp, what did you think was going to happen? You're basically going back the way you came, it's not that hard to figure out. Why does you having a fleeting moment of bravery have to come with a trade-off of you also acting just as equally dumb?

4. Franky Blows Up Vegapunk's Lab
If I recall, our fellow writer Sora found this moment especially super.
 
With Bartholomew Kuma scattering each of the Straw Hatsto a separate islands across the world, Franky finds himself on a winter island that happens to be the homeland of legendary scientist Vegapunk. After some locals inform him that the scientist's abandoned laboratory my have an icebreaker device that will allow him to navigate off the island, Franky wastes no time fighting past the Marines guarding the place and enters the lab filled to the brim with plans and prototypes of vehicles, weapons, and inventions of every type. Now the locals told him very clearly, DO NOT push the self destruct button. But of course, Franky finds a great big button with a skull and cross bone insignia on it, and of course is like, "Gee, I wonder what this does, DURP!"

Now...Franky made a pretty valid point of questioning why Vegapunk would even make a self destruct button in the first place. So if Oda wanted Franky to activate the self destruct intentionally, than why didn't he just write that? Instead Franky sees the pirate insignia on the button and instantly is reminded of his crew and all their fond memories, as if he is mistaking the button for something fortunate. This moment is occasionally compared to Chopper's backstory way back on Drum Island, in which Chopper reads they symbol in reference to a deadly poisonous mushroom, mistaking it's intention. Only that's hardly an excuse, because at the time, Chopper was only an 8-year-old boy. Franky is a grown ass man (35 years to be exact) he should know better.




I suppose it's worth mentioning that Franky blowing up the place did ultimately reveal the entrance to the secondary laboratory, but that was just dumb luck. There is no way Franky would have known that would happen. And there had to be proper entrance to the second lab hidden somewhere. Right?

3. Vivi Blabs the Bosses Identity
Seriously, who makes a mistake like that?

This one is so dumb, it's hilarious.The Straw Hat's discover that the Baroque Works member that lead them to WhiskeyPeak, Ms. Wednesday, is secretly the Princess of Alabasta. She has slipped undercover to infiltrate Baroque Works to identify the organization's leader, codenamed Mr. 0, in an attempt to find out the culprit responsible for instigating a feud between her people's royal army and the rebel forces that threatens an all out war. The Straw Hat's get wind of this plan of hers, but not wanting them to get involved she tries to keep it under wraps, but then she...kinda... well, in a nutshell, this is how the conversation goes:

Vivi: Please don't make me tell you who the boss is!
Nami: We won't. In fact, it's none of our business. We don't even want to know.
Vivi: Oh good, because if I told you guys that the boss is Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you'd all be in big trouble.
Nami: Oh, you mean like you just did right now?
Vivi: (GASP!) Did I just tell you that boss is Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, in my attempt to tell you it was very important for you NOT to know that the boss was Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the--
Nami: JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!
Luffy: Does this mean I get to kick Crocodile's ass?
Nami: You won't get the chance, cause I'm murdering you idiots in your sleep!
Yeah, that was pretty dumb. I mean, if Vivi was the kinda girl who was intentionally trying to get the Straw Hats involved so that they would have no choice but to escort her to Alabasta and the process she gets the protection she needs to get home and stop Crocodile's plan, than I would say she was actually quite clever, if not a little deceptive. But as she is, she's simply a pure heart who would give her own life in place of anyone else, though do to her naive nature, she rarely thinks anything ahead and in process get's in a lot of trouble, thus needs to rely on more competent friends to cover her ass. Gee, that doesn't sound EXACTLY like our main character at all.
2. Zoro Get's on the Wrong Ship
Yes Zoro, we're all well aware how badass you are. Still doesn't excuse how dumb this is.
Believe it or not, Zoro was the first of the Straw Hats to arrive back on Sabaody Archipelago at the end of the time skip, at quite the surprise of just about everyone. For a start, one could have only presumed that perhaps the Straw hat's swordman and unofficial first mate may have learned some much needed manners in the art of punctuality and a sense of direction. Unfortunately, this turns out to be nothing more than wishful thinking, seeing as Roronoa of course cannot occupy himself for a couple measly days to wait for his other crewmates to get here before wandering off and getting himself lost again, and this time is quite possibly the dumbest means yet.
Zoro asks a local to borrow his boat so that he may go fishing. The man agrees and directs him toward his boat docked off a neighboring peer. Only Zoro mistakes the mans boat for the pirate ship adjacent to it. Wouldn't you know it, Zoro falls asleep on the ship just before the Pirates who own said ship come on board and set off for their adventure toward Fishman Island, so that when Zoro finally wakes up and realized how much he's screwed up, he has to cut the ship clean in half, breaking the ships coating and causing it to float back up to the surface.
Now, I understand the reason for this scene was so that we could see Zoro pull off a move we originally saw his master and rival Hawkeye use against Don Krieg's ship way back in the East Blue arc, and in and of itself, it is a neat callback. But in order to set it up means that Zoro would have to be so bafflingly clueless at to not be able to tell the difference between a common fishing boat and a full scale pirate ship. The difference in size should be more than enough, but did Zoro really not notice the black pirate flag on the top of the mast, or even the huge pirate insignia painted on the sail? Is he that heavy of a sleeper that he wasn't woken when an entire pirate crew started marching onto their ship and getting ready for their adventure? And then on top of that, we discover the only reason Zoro made it to Sabaody before everyone else in the first place is because Perona took him. Figures.
And the Number One Dumbest Strawhat Moment is...

While it is very true that Luffy could make up a Hall of Fame dedicated to all his brain dead moments on the show, by this point we're all numb to it, to a point where none of them feel all that out of character. However, it wasn't always like that. In the past, many of us have tried to rationalize his actions by claiming there had to be some method to his madness or that his naive nature simply came from sheer innocence and inexperience due to no formal education. But there was always that one moment. That One thing he did that made us all throw our hands in the air, give up, and declare, "This guy is just an idiot." For me, it was this moment. Upon the very eve of the Staw Hats very first voyage into the Grand Line, Pirate Captain Monkey D. Luffy rips off the mast of his own beloved ship TO STAB A WHALE WITH IT!!!
I hope it was worth it buddy.
You know... for someone who has trained and prepared for their journey to be a pirate for ten years, why would they hinder their journey so profusely by permanently and irreparably defiling their own ship just to pick a fight with a whale? Regardless of his intentions, was it really worth it? As of the time of this article, we all know the Going Merry is doomed to collapse from all it's wounds in about 200+ episodes from now, but honestly, should any of us be surprised? If anything, Luffy should consider himself lucky Usopp's impromptu patchwork was decent enough to get the ship running at all after this stunt, let alone make it a third away around the world to Water 7.
Honorable Mention: Shirahoshi knowing Hordy was the culprit behind her mother's death and not telling anyone.
Yeah seriously, I will never get over how dumb that was. The only reason this didn't make the list is because I've already ranted enough about it in my Top 5 Reasons Why Fishman Island Flopped list.
So that's my list of the Dumbest moments from One Piece. Heaven knows there are plenty more where that came from, so if there are any moments you found particularly dumb, feel free to share in the comments below. Also, if you have a recommendation for another Top 5 One Piece topic for me to tackle, I will most certainly add it to the list.
Until next time, I'm Roger, and these dunces just made the list.
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