I love you, Oda but actually be so fucking for real rn. If you “kill” Sabo off one more time Imma riot.

Im just kidding though, Oda can keep doing what he's doing. I’m happy to have him back :).

But also dont you dare even think about doing that again Oda. You play too much.

One Piece 801 // One Piece 1082

They both put their whole heart into these ships for their kings 🫡🏴‍☠️👑

besides being not normal about the truth of the shanks/buggy 'betrayal' and not normal about their break up scene in the rain etc etc. i am also Not Normal about the fact that buggy has kept this to himself for years (decades) but he now trusts the cross guild enough to trust them with this secret, this burden that he's carried all this time. like. stop i'm not normal about buggy telling his two scary boyfriends about his biggest trauma and insecurity i will cry

Thinking about Buggy's dream speech

And Bonney's powers' caveat

STOPPP this hits too close to home 😭😭😭😭

I love 2 things from chapter 1082 and both flesh out shanks and buggy:

1. Is that shanks seemed to already know something when Roger died, which just makes me way more interested in his plan if it has been in the works for this long.

2. That the reason buggy actually hates shanks isn't the map or fruit but because he feels he turned his back on Roger. I love that despite buggy being a fraud, he is still a true pirate at heart and I would love of he got the eye patch.

Was hoping for some Cross Guild content inspiration for Salt Vows and this chapter did not disappoint.

Cackling.

Now I’m just picturing Shanks’ reaction to Mihawk & Co. pulling up to Laugh Tale in Cross Guild’s new brig:

He stared up at it, his wide eyes taking in the giant clown figurehead mounted above the crossed swords, before lifting to the cheerful circus tent that took up most of the main deck.

After a stunned beat, his tone accusatory, “You once told me my ship was garish,” Shanks said.

Mihawk’s expression didn’t budge, his arms crossed where he stood, as though his rigid posture could keep his dignity aloft by sheer force of will. “It is garish.”

“And what the hell do you call that?” Shanks asked, throwing his only hand out to the abomination in front of them.

“It serves a function,” Mihawk deadpanned. Then with visible reluctance, conceded, “The structure itself is, regrettably, sound.”

Mouth still agape, Shanks just stared up at it. Then said, “At least it has a decent set of cannons.”

Mihawk said nothing.

A long beat passed.

“They shoot confetti, don’t they?”

“Shut up.”

(Also Buggy pulling a Roger and inspiring his men to go after One Piece!! Maybe the next Pirate King was under our (red) noses the whole time. Luffy better watch out.)

Chapter 1082: Setting the Stage

Wait, so you expect me just to... move on from 1081? That’s rude. I’m still in mourning 😭

Sigh. Fine.

On a lighter note, the cover illustration this chapter is adorable.

It made me smile, which I desperately needed after the devastation of last chapter.

On to the chapter, which continues to set the stage for the race for Laugh Tale:

We see the first major casualty of Cross Guild: T-Bone. 

It’s interesting that of all the Marines that could have become victim to the Cross Guild bounties, it’s T-Bone, one of the few genuinely good ones. That shows that, for all fandom was cracking up at the idea of Cross Guild pulling a Reverse Uno card on the Marines by putting bounties on them, it’s actually quite a damaging thing to do. It’s a stark reminder that these people we’re following, have, in some cases, come to feel affection for, are pirates.

Perhaps it’s inevitable T-Bone would become a victim of the Cross Guild bounties; when we first met him back in Water 7, he’s described like this:

His hobby is saving people and he’s willing to do anything to help others “even if it destroys this body of [his].” When we see the man who apparently killed him for his bounty, he’s utterly pathetic:

His family was starving to death; it’s easy to imagine T-Bone willingly giving himself up so this man could claim his bounty for his family’s sake considering what we’ve seen of the man. But now the Marines are down one of their best men and are worse off for it.

Speaking of Marines, it’s also good to see Sengoku and Tsuru. They chat about the danger Cross Guild represents to the Marines before Hina drops a bomb on them:

I have to wonder if we’ll see Sengoku and/or Tsuru follow after Garp to Hachinosu. Tsuru has her granddaughter to think about while Sengoku has his close friend--and, though he doesn’t know it yet, Blackbeard has just wiped out the crew of his sort-of grandson. Moreover, it’s possible Blackbeard recovered the Hearts and brought them back to Hachinosu as prisoners. Wouldn’t that be interesting to see Sengoku faced with Law’s crew?

Meanwhile, we also get some great comedic relief with the Buggy vs. Mihawk and Crocodile dynamic.

The Cross Guild ship is hilarious.

And Buggy knows that’s not going to sit well with Mihawk and Crocodile. 

He’s right.

Interesting that Mihawk says they need to establish overwhelming power when we just saw two captains worth 3 billion defeated and possibly in need of new direction. What did Law say back on Punk Hazard about surviving in the New World? You either join an Emperor or you try to become one.

I have a hard time imagining Law aligning himself with this group (even if he would fit the whole former Warlord vibe; Law’s far more likely to reunite with the Straw Hats, I think) but Kid? (Assuming he survived, of course. This is One Piece, so I feel pretty safe in that assumption.) Kid’s going to want revenge against Shanks for destroying his crew, and who better to get him close to Shanks than Buggy?

We also get some further elaboration on the grudge Buggy has been holding against Shanks -- and it’s completely unexpected.

Buggy thought Shanks was going to follow in Roger’s footsteps, but when Shanks decided to hold off, Buggy felt betrayed. This is... weirdly wholesome? And earnest? Like, Buggy had so much faith in Shanks as Roger’s successor that Shanks not immediately going for Laugh Tale comes across as a betrayal. Buggy is disappointed in Shanks.

(It’s also interesting to consider how Shanks and Buggy are the inverse of one another. Shanks is the strong head of a notoriously weak fleet while Buggy is the comedic relief figurehead of a group of more powerful pirates.)

So, Buggy decides he’s going to do what Shanks refused to do for all those years.

Why does Buggy, of all people, have me up in my feels now? Rude.

A lot has been said about Blackbeard being a dark parallel to Luffy, but Buggy has his own parallels to our favorite rubber boy. Back at Marineford, Mihawk noted what Luffy’s true strength is:

And Buggy has a similar ability, which he puts to use in this chapter:

So, at this point we’re seeing all four Emperors making moves toward finding the One Piece.

Meanwhile, surprising absolutely no one, Sabo is fine:

He wasn’t on Lulusia when it was blown up; he was evacuating some people from Lulusia who wanted to join the Revolutionary Army. We’re on the verge of learning what really happened at Reverie...

So, any bets on how many chapters it’ll take to return to Sabo’s story?

(Anyway, I’m going to crawl back into my hole and continue crying about Law, Bepo, and the Hearts.)

One Piece-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 1082)

Haven’t written anything in a while on here manga-wise but there’s no way I miss talking about such a banger One Piece chapter. To start off with we get an adorable cover of Chopper mistaking Zeus for cotton candy. It’s good to know our collective son is being fed. It takes a fandom to raise a human animal hybrid after all. Jokes aside, I’m going to be diving into spoilers for this chapter below the “Keep reading” so check it out if you’re curious. Also, ya’ll should probably hold onto your butts cause this one’s gonna go a lot of places.

R.I.P T-Bone. As a lover of weird and offbeat characters in One Piece, I am genuinely crushed by T-Bone’s death. If you don’t remember, as he was mainly a minor antagonist in Water Seven, here are some reminders. 

He is one of the most lionhearted and kind character’s of One Piece, looking after both his subordinates and innocents. To me, the most logical way for T-Bone to have been killed is to have seen the citizens' plight and laid down on his sword so that he could get the reward money for his family. That’s the kind of man T-Bone was. He transcended the Marines as an institution and stood up to the strawhats as he believed them to be villains on the way to enact evil. After having his car disconnected and facing Rocketman bearing down on him, he faced Zoro in a one move duel, losing but having Zoro acknowledge him in the process. In a certain way he was also used to foreshadow Ryuma in Thriller Bark as he was skeletal looking and a swordsman. But most of all, he was an unquestionably good person in a world where muddled alliances and the forces of the world can waylay and mislead someone from their dreams and ideals. In my heart you will be missed T-Bone.

Moving on, with a heavy heart, I do want to take a second to talk about old One Piece, specifically Water Seven. As I went back to get screenshots I couldn’t help but marvel at the art of Water Seven. While Oda’s art has probably gotten better, his paneling in those days was in my opinion, at the height of Shounen paneling, matching up with the original Dragon Ball in terms of fluidity of action but bringing such a heavy emotional weight to the characters and line work that it really felt like the peak of his art style. His art has gotten a lot more refined but I really missed the adventurous romantic feel of his pre-timeskip art. As a whole, as things get more dense and locked in, the lack of romanticism and sense of adventure is really felt at times. Despite that, it has been replaced, for the most part, with other equally amazing things. Though I can’t help but miss it at times. 

Talking about the actual chapter again, I’ve looked favourably on the Marines in the past, like Garp and Koby, but if I spend an extended period of time thinking about them, that pleasant taste turns to ash in my mouth. Because the Marines as an institution, are broken and corrupt, more intent on perpetuating themselves than they are with forward momentum and progress. As is the territory with institutions. It’s a portion of why policing doesn’t work in real life. Living in Japan, with their harsh views on crime, Oda would know better than most. Despite what this chapter seems to be about, this chapter is actually exploring what I believe to be one of the main themes of One Piece, the inevitability of institutions. There are probably punchier and more accurate ways of conveying this theme, such as systemic oppression and such, but this really resonates and covers the full gamut of ideas that I believe Oda covers. I will expand on this as we move along but I wanted to put it out there so it would be on the back of yalls mind.

I absolutely despise Sengoku. Like as a person. As characters I don’t think there’s any that I actively dislike because the way Oda characterizes just works on me. I need to make that distinction because I think my dislike for Sengoku is something Oda has purposefully generated within me and others. Talking earlier about Koby and Garp and Hibari and T-Bone and other marines, there is a very important distinction to be drawn in that regard as well. And some very important points to be made. Marines that are on the younger side, like Koby and Hibari and Tashigi, are people that have joined the Marines to do good without having yet become fully complicit in its evils. But they have done so because it is, despite its flaws, the best way they can make a difference and not be stopped. It’s the inevitability of the institution, where despite it’s evils it must provide some sort of benefit, and where those with dreams must filter through it and make it greater just to have a shot at their dreams. People like T-Bone and Smoker are clearly different from similarly old people like Garp and Sengoku and Aokiji in that while the former may be in the Marines, they do their best outside of its systems, being forces of good in spite of their association. The latter on the other hand, as a result of their complicity, whether or not they have good hearts, have become tools of the Marines oppression. Garp’s name is repeatedly used to strike fear into the hearts of pirates and as a symbol for common people to look up to, despite his best attempts at changing them from the inside. And the argument for changing the Marines from the inside itself is such a flawed argument as can be seen with Garp himself. Trying his whole life to change things ended up with him being ground into the dirt while watching his grandson be murdered by a coworker. Dragon must have realized this as well and so created an organization to oppose it. The revolutionary army are an institution itself but one built on the premise of opposition rather than self perpetuation. They are meant to end when the World Government and Marines do. Though I do believe Oda also doesn’t think that to be the answer as our hero is a Pirate. Arriving at the end of this paragraph I just realized I didn’t address the moment that made me go on this tangent. As pictured above, Sengoku hears of T-Bone’s death and rather than mourn the man who many looked up to, he worries what it will do to morale. He wonders how the institution of the Marine’s will keep going. If he was ever a good man, the ways of the marines have corrupted him to think this way. In a way Cross Guild, another institution, also occupies a similar area as the Revolutionary Army, but Oda makes it even clearer that it’s not the way as our first big introduction to it is through the death of such a great character. 

Now let’s move on to the meat of this chapter. Buggy and Cross Guild. As we see above, this really down on his luck man was the one who killed T-Bone. Though knowing how strong T-Bone was, being called the ship slasher and being acknowledged by Zoro, as well as how kind he was, it’s easy to believe he let himself be killed to save this man's family. But it’s also through this interaction that we get a repeat of the theme that I mentioned earlier, The Inevitability of Institutions, as well as a great bonus where we see the inherent romanticism of Buggy. Buggy and his lackeys, Mihawk and Crocodile, have propped up Cross Guild to be an institution for Pirates, a much more successful version and iteration of both the Utopia Crocodile wanted and the Pirate Kingdom Blackbeard wants. They have made themselves the doors one must walk through. But this need also sets up the way that Buggy will later reject this monolithic thinking. 

As we see here, these institutions make it so that now, even to live, you must subscribe to one of them. As much as Cross Guild claims to be pirates, they are an entity in and of themselves. Because the whole dream of piracy is the freedom of not having to cater to anyone else's whims or conform. Cross Guild aren’t pirates, they’re Cross Guild. Another thing I want to comment on is the In the Flesh chants. Obviously the dramatic irony makes it funny since most of it is just cloth, but it’s also such a great representation of the makeup of Cross Guild itself. By propping up Buggy as the leader of Cross Guild, he comes to represent something that is mostly not him, just like how his giant persona isn’t him. 

In the panel above incorporates One Piece’s trademark humour, and later levies it into an emotionally resonant and stirring declaration. I know most people are freaking out about Sabo returning but I can’t get over how much I love Buggy. And his crew pulling a similar stunt to Barto Club, and having him be the figurehead of the ship actually also highlights how close Buggy is to Luffy as well. Also I love Buggy’s crying face, it’s so pathetic. 

I know this panel is mainly played for laughs but I can’t help but feel sorry for Buggy. He really hasn’t done that much wrong to deserve this. And seeing the meeting room, it seems Mihawk, the edgelord that he is, really enjoys his torture. Remember, Mihawk’s full name is Dracule Mihawk, the first part being based on the famous Vampire who’s namesake in turn was known to impale and torture people. It’s really interesting how, other than the mentor and goth side of Mihawk, we also get to see his sadistic side here. But Buggy’s declaration that his life wasn’t supposed to be like this really calls my attention. While Mihawk and Crocodile argue about how to make sure Cross Guild and Crocodile’s Utopia can stay afloat and perpetuate its own system, Buggy dreams. 

Buggy is one of Luffy’s best foils in the story, their interactions being so explosive that they can’t help but reveal things about each other. Luffy has a lot of parallels in the story from Blackbeard being a cowardly mirror to him to Koby being a weaker version whose cowardice was driven by his lack of strength. Buggy doesn’t have courage or strength and his circumstances had forced him down quite a dark path by the time the two crossed paths. Buggy was someone, who, seeing the potential of his peers, was forced to give up on his dreams and take the route that life gave him. As he stated, he never wanted to be what he became, he genuinely believed in Shanks and probably would have followed him had he set out for the One Piece as Shanks was the reason he gave up on the dream in the first place. Buggy, in an elevated sense, also represents those swayed by the circumstances of their life into having their path chosen for them and filtering into an institution, this time in the form of Cross Guild but earlier in the form of Impel Down. Buggy is someone who was forced to give up on his dreams and Oda shows what dark paths that can lead to but he also loves Buggy a lot because he doesn’t let Buggy fully give up on his dreams. 

And there it is. With just those words, driven purely by dreams, Buggy injects such a heart-stirring sense of romanticism back into the series. Because here's the thing. We already know Luffy’s unwavering goal has been the One Piece. And he is the most romantic character in the series in terms of love for adventure and exploration. But it’s been a constant and now he has the strength and clout to do all of it without barriers. Buggy is chasing that dream while impeded by some of the strongest people in the verse. In the face of such strong adversaries, Buggy dares to blindly dream and it reminds me so much of Luffy at the beginning of the series, looking down a Sea King as it stood in his path. Crocodile and Mihawk are monstrous but Buggy actively defies them. I love One Piece ya’ll.

So is Buggy a bad guy? Or just a fool who couldn’t hold onto his dreams as the waves of reality slammed into him? Here, he rekindles those dreams by verbalizing the feelings that drove him and every other pirate out to sea. A dream of freedom and treasure. The dream that you could aim for something other than what life had laid out for you. 

This is by far, one of my favourite speeches in One Piece. It reminds me of Rogers speech and delivered by such a pathetic character, hits so much harder. By doing this, Buggy defies Crocodile and Mihawks desires for a self perpetuating kingdom as there is now an end goal and really stands for the ideals of the series itself, a blind dreaming hope, the desire to chase after impossible dreams, and the love of the journey itself. What matters to these people isn’t that they’ll get to the treasure, it’s that they tried to. And were free while doing so. 

Not me crying at Buggy D Clown. One Piece gets me so emotional sometimes. It’s so beautiful. But asides aside, let’s wrap up some other thoughts in this final Buggy panel before getting to Sabo and the Revos (good name for a band?). First of all before we get to what this symbolizes for the series itself, I want to say a few more things about Buggy. His situation of failing upwards has always been shown in a comedic light but I believe it shows the insidiousness of the world. Because while the lower rank people, like the man who killed T-Bone, have to get filtered through these organizations to live, so does someone like Buggy, who doesn’t have the strength to resist such a fate. If you don’t have the strength to resist these institutions, they will use you as tinder, as fuel. Luffy isn’t in an institution because he’s strong. Almost every other character in the series doesn’t have a choice against it. Wheen you think about it, Buggy’s story really is a tragedy. Somewhere along the way, through necessity of survival his values got twisted. He’s always been a dreamer through and through so I think that’s why it’s sent him on an upward trajectory. But it all began with Luffy, who not only set him on the right path, but also gave him hope when he broke him out of Impel Down. 

And now the other purpose of this panel. With Buggy declaring his hunt for the One Piece, all 4 Yonkous are now on the hunt. Do ya’ll realize what this means? What the structure of the next arc is going to be? So this part is going to be mixed with some speculation and some evidence, but I strongly believe the next arc is going to be a showdown at Elbaf for the last poneglyph with every major Yonkou involved, with the final arc possibly after getting the One Piece or at the location itself being a showdown between Luffy, the Revos and the Marines. Or it very well could be a final showdown with all the involved parties at Elbaf. That all depends on how fast Oda wants to end things. I believe one of two people could be the man with the burn scars. The obvious choice is Jaguar D Saul. And that would be the way to go if Oda wanted to end the series faster, as him having the writings of Ohara as well as the last poneglyph would also set the Revos and the Marines scrambling after him. The other could be Scopper Gaban, the third prominent crew member of the Roger Pirates. That would be the final Roger Pirate marking Luffy’s journey and a great source of info. The last possible bead we had on him, if it wasn’t Shiki the lion, was him drinking with Crocus. But effectively, having one person hold the last key to the One Piece makes it so that the four Yonkou’s are on a collision course with them. I would love to see a Mad Max style race where the Yonkou’s are forced to clash purely for the love of adventure and their dreams, instead of ideological differences setting them against each other. It would be a really romantic and fun way to cap off some character’s journey’s. 

Moving on once again, we see some new Revo’s and I particularly love Ushiano and Ahiru. While the other two are also very cool, I love Ushiano’s way of speaking and his character design, he reminds of Barney but if he was soft and lovable. And Ahiru’s character design is just so great. I don’t know if anyone remembers Nami’s early character sketches but she was supposed to have a bionic arm so I’m really glad to see that return in another character. 

And here we get to see them interact with Sabo and find out that Ahiru was going to blast him. Ugh, Oda’s just so great with characterization! In about three panels we find out that she has a stoic demeanor, is a shoot first type of character, and worries about and misses Sabo, letting her guard down and being quite cheery around people she just met. And Ushiano is just adorable. I want to hug him. 

Oh yeah, Sabo’s back by the way. So it appears that Sabo did indeed survive the bombing of Lulusia and he’s seen something. His interaction with Koala is adorable and mirrors Koby and Hobari to a tee. 

And here we get the theme of this chapter rearing it’s head back one last time. Another set of down on their luck, weak citizens forced to filter through an Institution. This time the Lulusians through the Revolutionary Army. Oda has, in every instance possible in this chapter, where we look out into the world, highlighted the absolute despair involved in the inevitability of institutions and the forced choices that come with such a world. And is it a coincidence that this only happened when we took a look out into the world, away from our beloved strawhats? No, as we saw even earlier, through Aokiji being forced into the Blackbeard Pirates and the 100 damned souls onto beehive, in a world of inevitable institutions and forced choices, such decisions are forced on the weak. It’s why our protagonist is Luffy, and why he desires freedom. It’s exactly what he fights against, and it’s reflected in his crew as well as he took them away from the lives they thought they would be forced to lead. 

And finally we arrive at the final panel of this chapter. The truth about Mary Geoise. And a promise of a reveal. Oda usually likes to cut away at moments like this to maintain the breakneck pace of weekly releases but I really hope we get to learn what happened. Because it could very well contextualize for us what the next part will look like and whether or not the final confrontation will include everyone. It’s also very sweet that Sabo thinks about now involving his subordinates as it might get them killed. This information could also line up with the potential release of information that could happen from Egghead coming up so it could be saved for that. I’m really excited to see what it brings. Another thing that this chapter, being so good, makes me think about is how I’ll feel about it later when I binge the series. Because it’s always a balancing act between week to week storytelling and making an engaging continuous story. Back in Dressrosa, the week to week was a bit of a slog but on a reread and binge it was frankly amazing. I wonder if the breakneck speed and absolute amazing experience week to week right now will affect it negatively as a whole later on. Well, the only thing we can do right now is wonder and wait for next week.

If ya'll got this far, thanks for reading. I'm super late on this one but I'm glad I took my time because I could let my thoughts develop. And once again, if anyone wants to talk One Piece or any other manga with me in-depth, don't be afraid to hop into my dm's. See ya'll next time.

One piece chapter 1082 spoilers!

I LOVE CROSS GUILD

Prediction time!

The Cross Guild is headed to Zou. Think about it Buggy knows there’s a road poneglyph there and I’m sure there’s at least one Mink in the Cross Guild since they apparently have some natural Zunesha locator. Plus since carrot is the leader now and knowing how Buggy works, he could be like “Yeah me and Dogstorm go way back!” Carrot is the type of idiot that falls for that crap.

Maybe they’ll go to Wano next since Dogstorm and Catviper are actually there? Idk they definitely wouldn’t go there first since it’s officially Straw Hat territory. Whole cake is another possibility since Big Mom is dead but I don’t think Buggy would rush into a freshly deceased emperor’s territory just yet. Although I could see him thinking he’s on top of the world and rushing in there.

DONT MIND ME IM JUST SCREAMING IN JOY OVER BUGGY BEING ACTUALLY BASED AND INSPIRATIONAL THIS HERE CHAPTER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

this is wholesome 🥹

unwell abt all the emotions contained in this panel + how buggy would have wanted to be there by his side when shanks becomes king of the pirates but shanks didn't invite him to that journey and now the only way for buggy to be with him is to concurrence him and also run for the title of pirate king

Spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1082

Buggy really is going through it these days

Buggy being really wholesome about his friendship with Shanks is so cool 😭😭

Yeah, you can deny it, Buggy, but we KNOW you two are bros 4 life