One Piece - General Discussion

[Sandman87]

Looks like the bad guys are using some sort of Essence of Living People to animate their zombies (souls maybe?), but there's some personality leakage too. Thus the dog-penguin-zombie acting like Sanji.

The Straw Hats need to learn the most important lesson in zombie fighting: Knock them down, and then run away while they're getting back up. Otherwise it's a never ending game of whack-a-mole.

[Lantern7]

Biggest disappointment was that Toonami's Tumblr showed a scene that wasn't in this week's episode. I hate when that happens, because it gives away kickass scenes. Also waiting for Moria to fully reveal himself, so I can share the sketch I got of him.

[lathspel]

Thanks guys, I have a working theory now.  Stealing shadows is a pretty creepy way to power your crew.

I'm guessing it's going to take some brains to rescue our crew mates.  I predict Dr.  Chopper saves the day in the end.  

[Lantern7]

Mashup with One Piece and Captain America: Civil War. Zoro-as-Thor is pretty inspired, though I'd probably put Robin in Black Widow's role.

[Sandman87]

More wacky hijinks with Absalom and his warthog girlfriend chasing after the Straw Hat low-power team. Franky & Robin do some light demolition & go for a quick flight. Monkey D. Spider is not amused.

[Lantern7]

Brook makes a dramatic entrance, sings a song, and messes up the monkey spider. Franky makes a killer set of nunchuks (he just takes his regular ones and sticks 'em in pillars). And we see how Sanji, Zoro and Luffy were abducted, as Moria stays in the shadows for the most part. Oh, and Kumacy turns out to be the perfect hiding place for Usopp, Nami and Chopper, and Kumacy can't do shit about it because nobody respects his opinions.

Just remembered the "Namizo" lie. Oh, Japan. You so crazy,

[Sandman87]

In the interests of good taste I will refrain from making the comments that naturally spring to mind regarding beating up someone who looks like a monkey and who sprays sticky webs. Just this once.

Nami is cruel, giving the Wedding Warthog all that encouragement. I doubt Absalom is ever going to be able to let down his guard now.

[Lantern7]

Well, Absalom has no problem going invisible and kidnapping Nami to marry her . . . so fuck him. Getting chased by Lola is the least he deserves.

[lathspel]

Love Dr. Chopper's face when he finds out Nami is a man. "Oh!".

Isn't he a) a doctor, and b) someone who burst in on her showering a few episodes ago?

[Sandman87]

Yes, and yes. He's also apparently as gullible as can be. I bet Luffy would have believed it too if he were there.

Hey, do you suppose maybe there's a devil fruit that causes a gender swap when someone eats it?

[Lantern7]

Chopper is bright, but I think he's the youngest Straw Hat and, like Luffy, is a little gullible. Sniper King, anyone?

Bon Clay from the Alabasta arc could change his face. Dunno about the fun bits. There's another character I could mention, but this is a non-spoiler thread.

ETA: Here is the spoiler thread link for those who would be interested.

[Lantern7]

This week: Shadows 101 with Brook! Gekko Moria is finally revealed, which means I can share this sketch of him. And Chopper is still unable to effectively hide.

[Sandman87]

The tune that Brook "hums" when he gets ready to do his special sword attack reminds me of some of the music from the old computer game Myst.

That's the first time since the series started up on the current Toonami that I've seen Robin get pissed off at one of the other Straw Hats. She's usually so even-tempered. Brook better watch out.

Luffy can eat his way out of a cage! It's nice that he's getting lots of iron in his diet.

Kumacy should start relaying messages through the other zombies, since he's not allowed to talk to Parasol Girl. Either than, or get a little chalkboard to carry around.

[Lantern7]

Brook's off-camera story to Franky will be revisited soon, and it ties into the Straw Hats' history as well. I think Oars will be up and about soon. He's a fiercesome guy, even without the immense size. Nice to see Brook being a badass. I don't think he's in Zoro's league, but he does well with zombies, especially with the salt.

[Sandman87]

Moira plans to put Luffy's shadow into a zombie that's approximately the size of Galactus. Given Luffy's appetite, it wouldn't surprise me if Oar tries to eat the world.

[lathspel]

Nice touch that the reason Brook fell into the zombie battle was that he was falling from a prior battle with his soul zombie (not "jumped" as he claimed).

I like that Brook is pretty scared by Thriller Bark too, even though he's a skeleton.

[Lantern7]

This week: Nami, Usopp and Chopper go on the run again. Honestly, it doesn't bother me, but I can see where it would bug others. They bug out after Moria revives Oars with Luffy's shadow. Oars immediately wants food, so you know he's got Luffy's essence. N/U/C wind up getting saved by Robin and Franky, both of whom are exorcising shadows with salt. Bad news: no "new" episode next week, because Toonami will be running a Hunter x Hunter marathon. If anybody has seen ahead of the Toonami schedule, feel free to post on the All Episodes thread. I've seen the first three DVDs for Season Six, and I'm up for reminiscing.

[Sandman87]

Heh. "MEAT!" Sounds like I wasn't too far off the mark about Oars wanting to eat the planet. Moira should be worried, 'cause he looks like the only thing on the island so far that's big enough to make a decent sized snack.

The first 15 minutes of the episode were awfully damn boring.

[Lantern7]

This week: Has anybody ever had salted fish? Seems like a really bad thing to have on Thriller Bark. I'm guessing at least one of Moriah's lieutenants likes it. Also, more about Brook and his hair. I think the revelation comes next week.

[Sandman87]

You beat me to it: There's roughly 1-3 people on Thriller Bark who won't immediately dezombify from eating salted fish, yet they keep one the size of a killer whale in the pantry? And if salted fish will do it, then what about salt water? What about other foods that have just a little salt? In fact, being vulnerable to one of the most common substances in nature just seems like a very bad deal all around. And that's assuming that it's only regular sodium chloride that they're talking about, not salts in general.

Brook shouldn't worry too much about his afro. He can always borrow Luffy's Afro of Ass-Kicking, from the fight with Foxy.

[lathspel]

Not to mention that by the sea, salt precipitates out of the air gradually (and corrodes your stuff).  It's hard to imagine a worse environment for these zombies than a seagoing island.  

I see Oars is stitched up - did Hogback have to put him back together?  Even Moria and Hogback himself have  stitches, although I assume just to look cool.  

[Lantern7]

Not much action this week, unless you count the painting zombies trying to get an eyeful of Nami getting changed. We find out why Brook wants to keep his hair like it is . . . turns out his crew met a young whale at least fifty years ago. And because it's a small world, five of the Straw Hats encountered Laboon on their way to the Grand Line. Luffy sucks at drawing even worse than me.

ETA: New anime on Toonami means different transitions to shows. I liked the one they had going into commercial. "Do skeletons poop?!?" "Oh, yes. I poop."

[Sandman87]

In this episode: Everyone except Nami ends up back at the Sunny and gets on the same page about what's going on. They find that the zombies stole all of their meat, and Luffy is forced to eat cheese. Oh, the horror!

[Lantern7]

What happens when a rubber-man eats too much cheese? Helium farts?

This week: flashback time with Laboon, and Brook takes some damage in his fight with Ryuma. Good thing Brook doesn't seem to have organs, or he'd be in so much pain.

[Sandman87]

7 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

What happens when a rubber-man eats too much cheese? Helium farts?

A balloon with a straw hat on top?

[Sandman87]

This week: Flashback, flashback, flashback. Luffy and Laboon fight just for fun while everyone freaks out.

[Lantern7]

[lathspel]

Toonami was kind of flashbacky this week, wasn't it?  I like that they didn't really show what alive-Brook looked like.  He's always been mostly hair, some teeth. 

Brook is going to look pretty bad-ass after this fight.  Do you think he'll need to wear an eyepatch?  (How can he see now?)

[Lantern7]

I remember reading somewhere that Eiichiro Oda doesn't have any on his characters wear eyepatches. I think it's a pirate trope he steers away from.

ETA: This week? The counterattack begins. Sanji goes Super Saiyan. And a few crew members mistake Oars for a big red wall.

[Lantern7]

This week: Perona's weakness is revealed . . . her Negative Hollows can't do shit when they go through somebody as negative as Usopp. Her reaction compares to that of Eneru, when he discovered his lightning-based attacks couldn't harm Luffy. Meanwhile, Franky gets his build on, Absalom tries to seal the deal with Nami, and Oars gets a new hat.

[Sandman87]

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when the Straw Hats were trying to figure out how to cross that chasm, but it sure wasn't for Franky to build a bridge in 30 seconds flat. Complete with stone balustrade railings, no less.

Usopp harnesses the power of being more emo than thou to overcome the power of the emo girl. Yay Usopp, you show 'em who's not the boss!!

[Lantern7]

Lots of stuff happens this week. Perona verifies that her Negative Hollows are useless against Usopp, though she does get the moral victory of having him slowly back out of her room. Oars' shenanigans more or less block Absalom's attempts to kiss Nami . . . and then Sanji shows up, mad as hell. Oars destroys the zombies sent to get him to knock it off. The main plot is that Ryuma is still having his way with Brook, and Zoro busts in for the save, declaring that he's going to beat Ryuma and take his katana.

ETA: How bad is Usopp's pessimism? The Negative Hallows went negative, and Perona apologized to Kumacy for her treatment of him. That's pretty bad.

[Sandman87]

Negative hollows...in what anime have we heard terms like that thrown around before? I guess that being able to out-hollow the hollows means that Usopp is the Ichigo of this arc. Too bad the zombies figured out how to cover their mouths. Maybe they'll all start wearing masks like Kumancy's.

Thanks to Oars, we now know that the wheel/chain thingy that's hanging from the side of the tower is part of the mechanism for Thriller Bark's rudder. Been wondering about that.

If one of those "pirates vs. ninjas" type arguments ever comes up about afro musician skeletons vs. samurai zombie mummies, the answer is: Skeletons lose.

[lathspel]

Everything about Brook amazes me, just like it does for Luffy.  For example, how does a skeleton get tired and out of breath?  Is it all psychological for him?

I was so sure Oars would be able to swim since he doesn't have devil fruit powers, but I was wrong.  Maybe that's all in Luffy's head too?

Ryouma is the bad guy, but I really like his character design, with the torn kimono and the grass shapes on it.  Frankly, with the exception of the ladies and maybe Sanji, the Straw Hat crew look pretty plain next to most of their opponents.  

[Lantern7]

I haven't seen the episode yet thanks to an anime con. I did get this nice chibi sketch of Oars. It's missing one critical detail, but that's a bit of a spoiler.

Zoro has to stick out, lathspel. He wields up to three swords and he's got teal hair. And they got a friggin' boy-reindeer. That knows medicine!

ETA: Saw the arc again. Could've used more Brook, though seeing Moria annoy the shit out of Luffy was necessary. As was the Usopp/Kumacy chase scenes. Watching Absalom and Sanji get sprung over a passed-out Nami was a little icky.

[Sandman87]

A classic cartoon chase through a hall of columns. Scooby Doo and the Beatles would be proud. The only thing they didn't have was two Usopps onscreen at the same time. You'd think Kumancy might be a little less enthusiastic, considering how badly he's been treated.

[Lantern7]

This week: more Luffy vs. Moria and Usopp vs. Kumacy. But the bulk of the episode involves Sanji soundly thrashing Absalom, mostly for finding the Clear-Clear Fruit before he could. Because Sanji wanted to make the world a better place . . . in order for him to turn invisible and peep on naked ladies. And shouldn't Nami be awake by now? What, does Absalom have access to quality roofies?

[Sandman87]

Sorry Sanji, but you don't get to be angry at someone who didn't even know that you exist just because he found a goody that you wanted before you did. That's just lame.

Moria's shadow-looking thingys are rather obnoxious. Luffy resorts to a sneaky attack in order to literally kick Moria's ass. With his foot. Moira appears somewhat peeved.

[Lantern7]

If anybody didn't like the latest episode due to a low tolerance of Usopp, I can't blame 'em. He winds up fighting a losing battle with Perona. Then Kumacy comes in and has his way with him. Luckily, Usopp has an episode, because he puts on the Sogeking/Sniper King mask back on, "purifies" Kumacy, and figures out Perona's trick. We got the theme song in the background. Even if the original version is better (no slight on Sonny Strait), it's still a bit funny.

[Sandman87]

Kumacy is "stronger than the average bear", so I guess the Scooby-Doo chase in the previous episode was the start of a Hanna-Barbara reference trend. What's next, Usopp musing that he's "in deep yabba-dabba-doo-doo"?

The fight between Luffy and Moria continues, and Luffy whips out a "Finger Net" that we haven't seen before in the Toonami run of the show.

[lathspel]

Luffy's finger net power is new.  Good idea!

[Lantern7]

I'll have to check if you are correct. The moves tend to blur in my mind.

From several episodes prior . . . is it bad anime sportsmanship for Usopp to call out an attack, then do something else? I kept forgetting to ask.

[Sandman87]

I'd say no. It's just sly and tricky, which is generally ok. Anime characters usually call out their attacks to power them up...somehow, not to let enemies know what's coming.

[jbrecken]

Is Perona a zombie?  She's the only one of the bad guys without any visible stitches.

[Lantern7]

I think it's just Moria and his main people who aren't zombies. Dr. Hogback might've gotten a hold of Perona. She's covered up except for her face and neck.

I forget if the cockroaches were really mechanical. I would hope so. And Usopp's hammer is a callback to the time he wielded one that "weighed" five tons in the Alabasta arc. That one exploded on impact as well.

[lathspel]

Moria appears to have a couple head stitches - I'm hoping we find out those are functional, not just ornamental.  

I'm a bit sad that Oars has to get to work now.  Like Luffy, it was fun to watch him just blunder about. 

[Sandman87]

Love the way that Usopp really sold the "straining to lift a giant hammer" bit. I guess Ghost Girl fainted?

It's rather annoying that Zorro got his butt kicked offscreen. They owe me a fight scene.

[Lantern7]

We'll be getting the Zoro/Ryuma fight tonight.

ETA: Did Zoro purify Ryuma? Or did the undead samurai burst into flames out of his opponent's pure awesomeness. In other news, I got another DVD from the library, and I'm in favor of Toonami doubling up on episodes so we can get to the insanity of the Impel Down arc. Then again, "insane" applies to most of the stories on this anime.

[lathspel]

I interpreted it that Zoro's attack had a flame component, but that seems too simple.  I liked the misdirection that the flames initially appeared to be Ryuma powering up.  

[Sandman87]

Ryuma said something like "The wound caught fire?", so I guess Zorro knows a cut that sets people on fire.

I noticed during the fight that Zorro's attacks were all slashing attacks, but most of Ryuma's attacks were thrusts. At one point he even adopted a standard foil/epee en garde stance, which is all about thrusting.

 

I keep forgetting to ask this: In the introductory "blah-blah-blah" at the beginning of every episode, the narrator talks about pirates "pursuing dreams greater than they ever dared to imagine." How does one pursue a dream that one hasn't imagined? It makes no sense.