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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

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523-525: "A Surprising Fact! the Man Who Guarded the Sunny!", "Deadly Combat Under the Sea! the Demon of the Ocean Strikes!" and "Lost in the Deep Sea! The Straw Hats Get Separated!"

A New Challenger Appears...?

These were good episodes. There was world building, with all the underwater scenes and explanation of how the OPverse and its technology works. There was action (the Caribou pirates ramming Sunny and the Kraken fight). There was comedy (Franky’s nipple lights, anyone?) and there was genuine tension (would the air inside the bubble last? Where have Luffy, Zoro and Sanji gone?)

There were also two big reveals.

And this was one of them.

Oh. My. God.

While Sentomaru got his ass burned by Marine HQ over letting the Strawhats escape, Rayleigh had found a comfortable grass tussock. The perfect place to sit and let a fit of nostalgia wash over him.

Could not believe it when I saw that straw hat on young Roger’s head. Luffy’s beloved hat not only belonged to the infamous Yonkou, Shanks, but has sat on the head of the Pirate King himself. I wonder if Roger and Shanks had a moment when the straw hat was passed down, like Luffy and Shanks did at the start of the story?

Rayleigh and Roger’s first meeting was great too. Luffy really does have a similar personality to Roger. He never cared that Rayleigh stole the ship. He just wanted a ship and someone chill to sail with. And Roger had Big Ambitions.

“Hey. Nice ship,” Roger said to Rayleigh.

“I stole it. My house burned down so I live here now.”

“Cool. What’s your name?”

“Rayleigh.”

“I’m Roger! I think we were destined to meet, Rayleigh?”

“Destined?”

“You wanna turn the world upside down with me?”

At the time, Rayleigh reacted like most of us would in that situation. Who was this madman and why was he trying to convince him to set sail.

But Rayleigh must have crumbled.

And the rest is history.

The tear in Rayleigh’s eye as he remembered his old friend was touching. Roger’s death and the break up of the crew must still affect him. But here he is, still alive, happy living with Shakky, coating ships for a living and ensuring the succession of the next Pirate King, who was at that very moment, heading for Fishman Island on his long-awaited journey.

Good job, Rayleigh. :)

Cyborgs Understand Cyborgs

Have to say, the underwater scenes were beautiful. It really did feel like the Strawhats were leaving the real world behind and passing into a fantastical realm where slow rays of light slanted through clear blue water and the enormous roots of Sabaody’s mangroves dug deep into the bed of the shallower, warmer sea. All the Strawhats were awed by the beauty.

Then, as Sunny submerged and the shadows grew longer and the water colder, Chopper and Usopp began to freak out a little. Didn’t blame them in the slightest. I kept thinking about pressure and what that would do to them if the bubble popped.

But Oda had thought of that and had it covered! I can happily report that the coating bubble is not that easily popped! Sanji demonstrated that the bubble will not burst even under tremendous deep pressure. Objects, like cannon balls and Luffy’s hands, can pass through the coating (not sure what that would do to the pressure inside the bubble, but I’ll go with it).

HOWEVER, sharp objects like sea king fangs or, say, one of Zoro’s swords would pierce the bubble. Similarly, if the Sunny crashed on rocks and the mast or planking shattered and burst the bubble from inside, it would be Game Over.

Apparently, seventy percent of ships heading to Fishman Island do not make it. Luffy and Zoro nearly made the Strawhats a statistic by trying to catch fish because they forgot they were inside the air bubble! Chopper and Usopp smacked some sense into Luffy and he broke out Hancock’s bento boxes instead (because Sanji had almost died from blood loss and was in no condition to cook. xD)

But, as I said earlier, Franky was a shining star of these episodes.

This was one of his crowning moments. He had an announcement to make concerning the identity of the one who protected Sunny with Hatchi, Duval and the Flying Fish Riders.

It was none other than Bartholomew Kuma, the one who spirited them away from Sabaody (and danger).

Franky must have got to Sunny first, as a battered, singed Kuma was waiting for a Strawhat - any Strawhat - to return. There was no ceremony about it. He simply stood, said, “I’ve been expecting you. Mission complete,” and walked off.

Franky told the others what Rayleigh already knew. Kuma was a member of the Revolutionary Army, like Luffy’s dad. He didn’t have much time left, but he had saved their lives at Sabaody. He had agreed to be turned into a World Government cyborg and has now lost his personality. Chopper asked the question I wanted to ask: how could he wait at Sunny if he was completely drained of sentience?

Franky, who is a cyborg and spent two years in Vegapunk’s lab, probably understands Kuma’s predicament more than most. He said that Dr Vegapunk, who modified Kuma, agreed to Kuma’s request to program a mission into his mind: “Defend the Thousand Sunny until one of the Strawhats comes back.”

Kuma has sacrificed so much. It’s good to know that the Strawhats now appreciate what he did for them.

“I don’t know my dad that well, but that Bear guy was a good guy,” Luffy said.

“Make no mistake,” Franky said. “He’s the one who gave us these two years. We can’t ask him why, but only remember that he did it. Bartholomew Kuma turned out to be our greatest ally. But remember, if we meet him again, he’s a killing machine.”

I like Franky. He can be silly sometimes, but the guy is articulate and intelligent. He has a good turn of phrase. I like the way he speaks.

Zoro believed Franky but wanted more. What was Kuma’s motive for all the weird shit he’s pulled over the years? Why would he agree to become a WG killing machine?

Kuma is still a mystery. I don’t think I’ll find out more about him until more is revealed about the Revolutionary Army.

A Familiar, Bovine Face In The Briny Deeps

While the Strawhats talked about Kuma, something approached in the shadows. Sunny was sinking fast. The silence of the deep ocean was unsettling. Whitebeard whales drifted past. Usopp was on alert. Seventy percent of ships sunk was not good odds in his book. It was just as well he was on the look out because he spotted the Caribou pirates’ ship approaching at speed!

Then they rammed Sunny!

(Honestly, that was dumb. It could have taken out their ship too. Do they even know how bubble coating works?)

But how had they caught up so quickly.

Turns out the Caribou Pirates had Mohmoo to help pull them through the water.

How cute is Mohmoo, though? (The subs called him Momoo. Is that the correct spelling?) Nami instantly recognised him, ran up to him and said, “I’m Nami! Remember me? I was there at Arlong Park!” I’m not sure how Mohmoo felt about Nami but he definitely saw Luffy and Sanji (and he cried and fled. Poor Mohmoo. Can’t the Strawhats just adopt him?)

Oh, and I was so blinded by Mohmoo’s cuteness, I forgot to mention that the Caribou Pirates tried to board the Sunny but got dragged away by Mohmoo, leaving Caribou himself alone on board the Sunny with the Strawhats looking at him like this.

You Were Saying...? Part I

Look at them. Even Usopp is like, “Dude... you fucked up.”

Once he was tied up, Nami asked where he’d found Mohmoo. Apparently, they just caught him. Lots of experienced pirates have sea cows to pull their ships.

Of course, this was like a red rag to a bull. Luffy decided then and there that he wanted a pet sea monster.

Only you, Luffy.

Luckily, as the ship sunk further, a prime candidate stared out of the murky depths with huge yellow eyes.

Luffy Just Punched Out Cthulhu

Lord Cthulhu A Kraken emerged! A vast, tentacled abomination with fragments of whole ships stuck between its teeth.

This was the point Caribou must have thought: I am trapped on a ship with absolute lunatics.

For Luffy had set his heart on that evil Kraken to pull his ship.

“I have a good idea. Let’s tame him. He can pull our ship!”

Usopp, Chopper and Nami were not for the idea.

Brook just looked at it and thought, “It has not bones. I have bones. We’re opposites, ehehehehehe...”

Robin sketched the tentacled abomination. Franky complimented her drawing.

Zoro said he didn’t mind helping Luffy, as long as he had a plan.

“Yes,” Luffy said. “I have one. But our problems is that we’re in the sea.” (lol)

For a horrible moment, I thought something bad might happen to Mohmoo. But no. Everything was fine. Well, for Mohmoo and everyone on Sunny. The Kraken popped the Caribou pirates’ bubble and wrecked their ship. I was like, damn, those guys are all dead. (And Zoro made his “too soon” jellyfish joke. Mihawk would be proud.)

Luffy decided he would fight the Kraken. Coribou showed them how to use individual bubbles so they could fight outside the one protecting Sunny. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji leapt into the bubbles and the fight was on!

I liked how Oda used Franky (rocket launcher), Chopper (guard point) and Robin (gigantic hands) to protect the Sunny. Oda is good at inventing clever ways to have as many Strawhats participate as possible. (It also shows their teamwork is as solid as ever!)

Wasn’t sure about Luffy and Robin’s DF techniques working underwater, or Sanji moving out of the bubble entirely (mainly because of the extreme pressure. At that depth, they would have been crushed) but Oda’s Universe, Oda’s Rules.

Plus, Zoro got carried away and slashed the Kraken (I wonder how much the bubble restrictions will impact their fighting styles?)

Then a cute little shark wearing a jumper (yes, a jumper) popped out of its severed tentacle, thanked the Strawhats for helping him and swam off.

WTF... XD

Oh, and the ship hit a downward current and all hell broke loose.

You Were Saying...? Part II

Usopp woke up to darkness and freezing cold. Nami, Franky, Robin and Chopper were all awake, fine and still on board. But Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were nowhere to be seen.

Huge fish with glowing eyes stalked the Abyssal waters. Searching for Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, they encountered huge poisonous jellyfish, carnivorous tubeworms, faceless crabs, huge blob fish, dodged undersea volcano vents (Oda has done his research!) and were almost munched by a massive angler fish.

Then, as if cute a shark wearing a jumper wasn’t weird enough, a Sea Bonze (?) which is a deep sea monster that looks like a man, bopped the angler on the head and told it off!

“Ankoro! How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t eat ships! Captain won’t be happy.”

Then an ominous, shadowy wreck sailed towards the Strawhats. Holy crap, I thought, that’s the Flying Dutchman. (I remember reading about that when I was a kid. The ghost ship doomed to sail forever and never make it to port). Then there was a teaser of an oddly familiar fanged face.

That isn’t Arlong, is it?

“What’s wrong? Snake? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!”

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #sanji #usopp #nami #tony tony chopper #nico robin #franky #silvers rayleigh #dark king rayleigh #shakky #gol d. roger

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