One Piece - General Discussion

[Lantern7]

Editor's Note:

Discuss One Piece Here!

 

This is the place to talk about others talking about One Piece. For instance:

 

One Piece exhibition in Taiwan draws in fans, many of them in costume.

 

Trailer for U.S. DVD/Blu Ray release for Film Z. Word of warning: this is a post-timeskip story, so most of the crew will be looking different. Also, Chopper is dressed as a cow. I'm sure there's a reason for that.

[Lantern7]

This Week: Blueno "Six Powers" the shit out of Usopp and Sanji, drops some backstory on Robin, and escorts her back to CP9. Yokozuna derails Rocketman, separating the train from the bulk of the Franky Family. After a talk with Kokoro, Yokozuna joins the alliance. Franky tries to cheer up Robin, but to little avail. CP9 lands on Enies Lobby with much fanfare, and Franky has a heart attack noticing the hole in the ocean below where the Naval HQ is located

 

Well, that's that for the Water7 arc. Next week, we get new credits and a new venue. From here on in, it's all about Enies Lobby, the hah-hap-happiest place on Earth . . . if you're an a-hole government agent. And thanks to the teaser following the episode, we find out Luffy is one pissed-off pirate, as he seeks to do what the bulk of the main cast hasn't been able to do: save Robin. Also: Sniper King meets the gang officially. Trust me . . . it is golden. And yes, his theme music comes out again.

 

I guess I'm excited, even though I've seen the first 12-13 episodes of the ninth season. I figure that things will pick up once the quantity of ass-kicking increases.

[lathspel]

[as] started the series with the Foxy Pirates, and it was hard to sit through as a new viewer who didn't really care about this crew.

In contrast, Water 7 really made me care about these people, and as a result I am looking forward to Enie's Lobby a lot more. This looks like it's going to be awesome!

So does Franky have the blueprints on him or in him? Because I can't imagine CP9 is planning to run back out to Water 7.

[Sandman87]

I'm just the opposite. For the most part Water7 entertained me a lot less than Foxy & crew.

 

I think you're right about the blueprints. Specifically, I think he's got them built in to his body now.

[lathspel]

I think if I already knew this crew, Foxy wouldn't have bothered me. But because it was my first arc, and because the stakes didn't seem that high, it just felt weak and oddly paced to me.

[Lantern7]

Despite the bleakness of Robin and Franky's current fates, I'd say this was a nice pick-me-up. The Straw Hats, Shipbuilders and Franky Family reunite. Sniper King manages to fool only Luffy and Chopper (the two most naive crew members). And Luffy eschews conventional wisdom by looking for Robin himself, in the most-heavily secured Naval base there is. You gotta love it.

 

As usual, Toonami isn't putting in translations for the kanji, so I'll have to guide you through the additional members of CP9. Kumadori has the "Yo-Yoi!" verbal tic, seems to be based on kabuki theater, and can't kill himself because of his use of Iron Body. Fukuro's tic is "Cha-Pa-Pa!" and he has a zipper for a mouth. Jabra is the dude with the beard and 'stache. And you should know Spandam by now, since he needs an ass-whumpin' worse than even Rob Lucci.

 

Also, the credits have been shortened again. Here are the full credits for "Brand New World." Watch out for potential fights and spoilers. From what I remember, the closing credits features fan art. And for the sake of comparison, here's the second song/video from Sniper King, subtitled, with Luffy and Chopper's reactions.

[Sandman87]

From the full version of the opening credits I see that we'll eventually be seeing the evil pirate with the feather boa who made those two other pirates fight to the death in the first episode that Toonami ran. Also a Bozo the Clown pirate.

 

The full closing credits are cute. Looks like they decided to some feature artwork of the characters that kids had sent in.

 

Luffy and Chopper will fall for anything, won't they? They're certainly buying the whole Sniper King thing. Speaking of which, they can stop playing his theme song now. Or at least just play little snippets of it instead of the whole thing.

 

Why did the other Straw Hats seem surprised that Luffy just ignored the plan and charged in? I've only been watching a little while, and even I know that's how he works.

 

With that zipper Fukuro looks like a rejected wannabe Cenobite.

[Lantern7]

Sandman87 . . . the beginning of the credits is where they usually stick folks we've seen already. "Bozo" is Buggy the Clown, with the Chop-Chop Fruit powers. He was in one of the first arcs, and we're not going to see him again for a long while. I think the new stuff kicks in around 1:15.

[Sandman87]

So the previous set of credits was an anomaly. Damn, I wanted to see me some evil clown pirate.

[Lantern7]

This week: Luffy goes sickhouse on the guards. The Franky Family and Galley-La alliance breaches the first gate, only to run into a pair of awesome giants. And that's basically it. I don't see shonen heroes kick this much ass, so seeing Luffy in action is a treat.

[Sandman87]

Luffy's "robot" schtick with the guard was hilarious. Dumb, but hilarious. He could probably have taken out that entire group of guards in about 1/100th the time if he'd just attacked normally.

 

I'm curious to see just how many cups of coffee Director Spandex (or Spudman, or whatever) is going to accidentally spill by the time everything is over and done with.

[Galileo908]

I enjoyed the Foxy pirates, even if I knew it was all filler going in to it. But when the Water 7 arc started I was like "shit got real in this show."

 

Yeah, that dumb 4Kids dub kept me away from this series until [as] picked it up. And I regret not getting into this sooner.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Galileo908

[Lantern7]

I watched the 4Kids dub. I understand why it was hated, though I sometimes imagine Sanji with a Brooklyn accent. You can check out past episodes on the Funimation site for the current dub . . .  and Sandman87? The first few episodes include Buggy the Clown, whom you've expressed interest in.

[Lantern7]

The Galley-La/Franky Family alliance manage to take down one of the giants.CP9 reunites. Luffy does his thing (kicking ass/taking names) while his crew continues to wait.

 

Nice to see that CP9 is as dysfunctional as any other anime organization, though I'm guessing that because the three new faces are screw-ups. Also, Spandam is classified to be weaker than your average guard, which sounds about right. Also, Jabra has a Devil Fruit power.

Basically, he can transform into a wolf-man

, but I guess that's pretty obvious. Oh, and Spandam has something for his subordinates:

actual Devil Fruit

. You know, because things are so unevenly balanced as it is.

 

Quick note: Usopp invented Nami's weapon, the Clima Tact, so she would have to ask him how the newer model works. Usopp has to feign ignorance because he's Sniper King now, even if the only person being fooled by the disguise is Chopper.

[Sandman87]

Nice to see the Franky crew kicking some ass finally. Good thing the giants weren't going barefoot.

 

The "gift" that Spandam has looks like some kind of fruit. Whatever it is, I just hope that it doesn't make the person who eats it more irritating. The three new guys are irritating enough for the entire world government just by themselves.

 

Spandam is having a good day...so far. The group that he sent to Water 7 came back with a bonus prisoner, and he managed to go for an entire episode without spilling his coffee again.

[lathspel]

Partly Spandam is having a good day because he's underrated his guard casualties by two orders of magnitude, though.

I liked how the one guy gave a rundown of the CP9 depth chart. I'm predicting he'll bounce off of the Straw Hats in a while too, for comparison, but maybe will underrate the ones who aren't physical fighters (the big three).

[Lantern7]

The Alliance beats the other giant, but they run into the Watchdogs. Luffy continues to go sickhouse on the Marine personnel. Rocketman gets a boost over the main gate from Yokozuna, and use the giant as a soft landing pad. Spandam continues to be a pain in the ass. Believe me, he does get worse.

 

Gotta love Zoro's plan to jump the gate: "We fall." Cut to the other Straw Hats: "I HATE YOU!!!!" Of course, Sniper King takes credit for the plan when it succeeds, much to Chopper's delight.

 

ETA: Almost forgot about Chief Justice Baskerville, who apparently has three heads. Because One Piece, that's why.

[Sandman87]

Franky is a lot braver than I am. I wouldn't want any part of Spandam in my mouth. He'd probably taste like sweat and spilled coffee.

 

Luffy unloaded on the marines with an awful lot of different moves during this episode. It was sort of like he was showcasing them in preparation for revealing a few brand new ones in upcoming episodes.

[lathspel]

The Chief Justice is like Goldilocks. I bet he returns a lot of split decisions.

Looking forward to seeing the Straw Hats start their own fights.

I'm slightly surprised we didn't pull the joke where Zoro gets lost on the way to the gate, but I guess Grandma was driving and we trust her sense of direction. Not that there was much she could do to steer anyway.

I am slightly disappointed that after all the buildup about how unstoppable Rocketman was, it only took a medium sized giant and an iron fence to stop him. I figured it would take at least a couple CP9 guys to do it.

[Lantern7]

I was thinking more along the lines of Cerebus than Goldilocks.

[Sandman87]

The Chief Justice is like Goldilocks. I bet he returns a lot of split decisions.

"This one is too hot...this one is too cold...this one is DEATH PENALTY!"

 

I was thinking more of The Dreaded Three Headed Knight from Monty Python & the Holy Grail. I suppose one could also make a case for the three trolls from The Hobbit. I just wonder if the Straw Hats are going to trick him (them?) into physically fighting with himself.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Sandman87

[Lantern7]

Any doubt that Spandam is a limp-dicked pansy with one bollock? Taking a swing at Robin is pretty low, even for him. She's handcuffed and she wouldn't fight back even if the cuffs didn't nullify her powers. Franky's got the right idea . . . bite down on the noggin. Hard. Even if Spandam would probably taste of coffee and shame.

 

Not much else to add, other than it's nice seeing the heroes go double bugfuck with cheese on the Navy. I hope that Nami's use of the Clima Tact was informative . . . she's only used it once between the Davy Back arc and now. And I feel bad for Usopp (getting choked and dropped hard), even though I know he'll play a bigger part in the battle, starting with -- IIRC -- the next episode.

[Sandman87]

That was a close call: Chopper almost found out Sniper King's secret. Also Nami almost cooks all her friends.

i got a kick out of:

"Where's that dumbass Luffy?"

*BOOM*

"Oh, over there then."

I keep expecting Granny to unload some sort of wine based ability on the marines. Or maybe just gross them out by puking on them.

[lathspel]

I expect it will turn out to be handy that Granny is alive and on good terms with the Marines.

I like that everyone takes her at her word that it's a cat.

[Lantern7]

More kicking of Navy ass. More skullduggery from Spandam. One of the bulls reveals that they were saved by the Franky Family. Usopp/Sniper King's absence is discovered. And Luffy comes face to face with Blueno. I wish I had more to say, but I figure most of this episode was set-up for the action to come.

 

While I'm at it . . . here's a sketch of Chopper I got last week.

 

ETA: Speaking of Chopper, the episode had one of my fave tropes . . . Chopper being so shocked by Sniper King's disappearance, his hat jumps off his head. Along with his antlers. That's a cute trait, IMO.

[Sandman87]

I don't see what Robin was getting all bent out of shape about. They promised not to go after the Straw Hats with a Buster Call. They didn't promise to just ignore the Straw Hats in future encounters, and there definitely wasn't an exemption for future attacks on the government itself.

 

When the king bull was talking to Chopper I half expected it to accidentally hit a building.

 

I like the way Zorro was kicking back and casually deflecting bullets.

[lathspel]

I have to agree, Sandman87. I wouldn't expect a safe conduct for the Straw Hats to extend to future invasions of the WG island itself. Crazy as he is, Spondam and Lucci have a solid case.

Robin should've held out for a better deal - I get the impression she just wanted to get it behind her and didn't think about it too hard.

The flashback montage where the crew is coming to save her was neat - almost brought a tear to my eye.

[Lantern7]

Man, there was a lot of tears this episode. And snot. And false advertising, what with Luffy and Blueno getting shoved towards the end.

 

I think that the giants of Elbaf were explained nicely for those who missed that arc. They really did make an impression on Usopp, who resolved to be a man after meeting the two giants on Little Drum Island. And his meeting with the guardians of Enies Lobby means that things are going to shift dramatically against the World Government. Serves 'em right for gunning down Sodom like that.

 

ETA: One trope was on display . . . supporting characters having their own distinctive laugh. That's how Usopp was able to identify the giants to their comrades.

[Sandman87]

I still think it's cute that Chopper hasn't connected Usopp and Sniper King.

 

I'm starting to get mighty curious about what Popeye the Kabuki Man can do that's special, outside of the standard CP9 power set. I'm sure he can poke/whack people with his Buddhist monk's staff, but what else?

[Lantern7]

Trailer for Season Six, Voyage Two.

 

ETA: Just found this on Cheezburger . . . Franky Cola! SUPER!

[Lantern7]

This week: Gomorrah gets gunned down, but he's still filled with fighting spirit. The giants turn on the Navy, and are being led by Sniper King. Blueno gets the upper hand on Luffy, demonstrating his freaky Door-Door powers. Oh, and Kalifa and Kaku help themselves to Devil Fruit provided by Spandam, because CP9 isn't powerful enough. I didn't see the power displays on the last DVD that I saw, so it'll be a while before they come into play. What are the Devil Fruit powers? Well . . .

 

Kalifa:

Bubble-Bubble Fruit, turning her into a Soap Woman. Her schtick is to "clean" her opponents, leaving them drained and slippery. I don't think it's as stupid as I make it sound.

Kaku:

Cow-Cow Fruit, Model Giraffe, turning him into a Giraffe Man. And even with his kickass Six Powers, it does come off as pretty dopey, especially with Jabra laughing at him the whole time.

 

Anybody else notice Hattori drinking? That Is one bad-ass bird.

[Sandman87]

Blueno using his Door Door powers to make Luffy dizzy was unexpectedly hilarious. I wonder if he can do sliding doors too. Even better, maybe he can use them like The Spot to make Luffy punch himself.

 

Anybody else notice Hattori drinking?

He's pretty plump too, which makes him halfway to being fresh ortolan. Now we just need a hungry Straw Hat...

[Sandman87]

No wonder CP9 was able to capture him. He's been trying to power up with Pepsi!

[Lantern7]

From "Talk Like A Pirate Day": Singing like a pirate. I'm hoping that my library system gets the sixth season DVDs so I won't have to wait for Toonami, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Also from the Funimation YT feed: teaser for the One Piece podcast going to Japan.

[lathspel]

Door Door powers are officially crazy. But who's holding Luffy's feet once Blueno comes back upstairs?

I'm not liking Lucci's new look. And, based on the lingering camera, I'm guessing Khalifa is getting the melon power, if you know what I mean.

Sniper King, you are officially redeemed.

We never got an explanation for why Luffy is stronger now, did we? Was it all the food Nami brought at the beginning of the train ride?

[Sandman87]

We never got an explanation for why Luffy is stronger now, did we? Was it all the food Nami brought at the beginning of the train ride?

All of them are stronger now. After Iceburg explained the situation to Nami, she indicated that the Straw Hats had been fighting at reduced strength because of the pain and confusion they felt over Robin's leaving. Now that they know what's really going on, that Robin didn't really betray them and is trying to sacrifice herself for them, they aren't holding back.

[Lantern7]

This week: Luffy activates Second Gear! We won't find out how awesome that is until next week, so we have to "settle" for Zoro and Sanji kicking ass on a grand scale. Also: Spandam gets pantsed via battle report. Serves him right.

[Sandman87]

Second Gear is good. I want more of it. I'm curious to see if it lets him copy any of CP9's other tricks. The only unfortunate thing about it is that after Luffy activated Second Gear, the shots of him from behind all showed a single large wisp of steam coming from his butt.

 

The Judge doesn't seem too impressive so far. All robe and no gavel, one might say.

[Lantern7]

"The Judge"? You mean the guy with the ball and chain? Or the three-headed guy?

 

Second Gear is awesome, but the steam comes off the body. It's like watching a freshly-slain Titan decompose, except Luffy is still alive.

[Sandman87]

Sorry, the three-head guy.

[Lantern7]

This week: Luffy goes sickhouse on Blueno using his new Second Gear technique. You can read more about its secrets here. Also fun that Luffy had another technique ready --

the limb-expanding Third Gear

-- before Blueno's register came up empty. Speaking of which, I think I'll get a sketch of the big guy, as well as the Devil Fruit-empowered CP9 agents. I already got Kaku and Rob Lucci . . . why not the rest?

 

In other news: Zoro still has directional issues. And Sanji has his own issues "protecting" women.

[Sandman87]

Someone needs to tell Spandam that the booger hanging from his nose isn't a good look.

[lathspel]

Luffy's next act was going to be turning into a Titan, but now we probably won't find out for a while.

[Lantern7]

Oh, right . . . because he was going to bite into his thumb. No, what will happen is even better . . . though we're going to have to wait about 30-odd episodes to see what it is.

[lathspel]

It almost feels like the news of how long we are going to have to wait should be under spoiler tags, because now I'm a bit disappointed.

I was going to complain that One Piece spreads it's fights over more episodes than almost any other show, but then I realized that each arc is about 90% action, so it's hardly a fair comparison. Plus, a fair amount of exposition and flashback usually goes in the middle of each fight, so really OP pacing is pretty close to ideal.

(As opposed to Shippuden, where for some reason I have slept through the last ten minutes, two weeks running. And I watch it off DVR, so it's not like it's because it's super late at night.)

[Lantern7]

Sorry for the late topic start . . . I needed my sleep for New York Comic Con last week, where I got sketches of Blueno, Kalifa and Franky. The main story: The Straw Hats reunite and come face to face with CP9. In other news, an all-cola diet has side effects for Franky, as he unveils his Coup de Vent attack. Actually, it's supposed to be "Coup de Boo," because -- IIRC -- "boo" is Japanese for "fart." You gotta love the sheer panic of the Navy goons as Franky bluffed about causing a mile of destruction.

 

Not much else to add, save for the action getting curtailed in favor of Robin's backstory in future episodes. Also, Zoro overcomes his lack of directional sense by cutting upwards, almost killing Nami and Chopper in the process. Good times.

[lathspel]

I have to admit getting minor chills when the whole crew (minus Robin) was reunited at the edge of the roof, facing off with CP9. I like backstory but I'm hoping we don't lose momentum!

[Sandman87]

If that's what Franky can do with plain old cola, I wonder what he could do if he added in a few Mentos.

[Lantern7]

Robin's backstory: revealed in part. The operative phrase: "It can always be worse."

 

Man, Chibi!Robin is cute. And precocious. But like I said on TWoP, she's got the saddest story of all of the Straw Hats, past and future. The only news for me is that this is the end of the DVD for me. The next forty-odd episodes will be new to me, though I have read the manga. I also got the post-Enies Lobby arc from the library, and that's been pretty cool. It's just a shame that Toonami won't double up on episodes so we can catch up, because it's a good story. It'll probably take forever to get through, though.

[Sandman87]

Li'l Robin: Cute as a bug's ear.

I'm a little curious as to why Li'l Robin had eaten the Devil Fruit at such a young age. Maybe she just stumbled across it when she was at that age where everything has to be tasted?

It looks like each individual giant has their own unique weird laugh.

Man, that library is tall. I wonder if the librarians have parachutes in case they fall off the ladders.