One Piece Vol 21
Jul. 29th, 2012 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sara_tanaquilLivy wrote his history in pentads or decads (groups of five-ten books). What's a group of 20 books? Insanity? Anyway, we're starting a new one!
Let's face it: some shounen fights are just more fun than others. A mixed bag in this volume.
Volume 21
General volume note: it's kind of embarrassing how long it took me to notice that the covers of volumes 21 and 22 make a full-size picture, showing the villains against the Strawhats.
187
Kohza is determined to get to the royal palace to demand Cobra's surrender.
The royal soldiers guarding the entrance to the north block (where the royal palace is) are shocked when Vivi appears before them, demanding to be taken to Chaka.
In the city streets of the south block, Mr. 2's battle with Sanji continues.
Mr. 2 is amazed that Sanji's kicks can keep up with his "okama kenpou."
LOL Mr. 2's attack, Okamai-nakkuru (オカマい拳: "Don't mind me okama knuckles"). A pun: doozo o-kamai naku (どおぞお構いなく) is a polite phrase meaning "please don't trouble yourself on my account." The katakana in the attack name emphasize the part of the phrase pronounced okama. 拳 (ken) means fist and is the same character found in 拳法 (kenpou), but here it's glossed "nakkuru", knuckles.
Next attack: "Okama kenpou: Seedy Swan Dance Party!" Check out the wasted swans in the background. This is not a pun, just a totally ridiculous attack name. urabure means to run downhill or go to seed. The ties suggest drunk salarymen, though I have no idea what the wrapped boxes indicate - presumably the same thing.
Mr. 2 and Sanji are pretty much a dead even match, skill-wise. <3
Mr. 2 tries to use his "montage effect" to come up with the weirdest face possible and immobilize Sanji with laughter... but the face he comes up with looks almost exactly like his own. LOLOLOL
Who is the person that Bon Kurei is talking about, the one who couldn't fight back "because of friendship"? Do we know? The Japanese is fairly specific: "I knew a man like you once..." (過去にこんな奴がいたわ。友情によってあちしに手も足も出せなくなった男.)
Sanji has a pretty good idea what's coming, thanks to their meeting with Mr. 2 on the Merry.
He tries Usopp first, but Sanji has no problem kicking fake-Usopp in the face.
Sorry, SanUso fans!
Sanji claims he's not so stupid as to be affected by mere appearances, because a person is what's on the inside ("the heart").
LOL, I think Mr. 2 is crushing on Sanji. ("So chic!")
Until Mr. 2 tries putting on Nami's face... which, of course, Sanji can't resist. /facepalm
Shift to the palace, where Vivi is meeting with Chaka.
SO much love for Vivi in this scene. She sounds just like her father ("the kingdom is its people"). Chaka hasn't seen her since she was fourteen and probably still thinks of her as a little girl, but she doesn't hesitate to get in his face and give him orders. Vivi! <3
In this moment, she looks every inch the queen. I'm guessing she'll be queen by the time we meet her again, judging by Cobra's state of health when we saw him last. :-( I don't want Cobra to die -- but I would LOVE to see Queen Vivi.
"Destroy this palace!"
188
The soldiers are horrified, because the palace represents 4000 years of history.
The moment where Chaka kneels to Vivi. "It shall be as you command, Vivi-sama." <3 <3
(おっしゃる通りに. Keigo was MADE for scenes like this. Although, thanks to Princess Bride, "As you wish" [Viz] makes me wibble almost as much.)
Switch back to Mr. 2 and Sanji. Sanji just can't fight Nami's face, no matter how hard he tries.
Sanji's eyes bulge out into hearts, and Mr. 2 HITS them with a karate chop.
LOL the hearts on DON! when "Nami" threatens to strip. ("It's just soooo hot here.") The English did a nice job of adapating that into the English sfx.
Sanji finally figures out Mr. 2's weakness: he can't use his okama kenpou unless he returns to his original form.
Mr. 2 joins the ranks of people who shouldn't play poker, ever. (Yet another thing he has in common with Chopper and Luffy.)
Mr. 2 unveils his "ultimate attack" (swan-feet with the speed and deadly accuracy of bullets).
(Love Sanji's reaction to Mr. 2 trying to explain that one swan-foot is male and the other female. "Like I CARE?" 知らねえよ.)
LOL, I can't believe the "you've got something on your face" trick actually worked on Mr. 2.
Sanji closes in for the kill.
When Mr. 2 has to admit he's beaten, he asks Sanji to finish him off (Crocodile will just kill him for failing anyway), but Sanji spares his life and offers him a hand. ("It was a good fight.") Bon Kurei is moved to tears by the gesture, aw.
The mood is somewhat spoiled by the fact that Sanji kicks him one last time before he takes Usopp's goggles back.
This scene reminds me a lot of Zoro's fight with Kaku -- that same grudging respect for a foeman worthy of one's steel, combined with a lingering trace of snark/hostility. "Have you considered joining a zoo?"
Battle in the Southern Block of Alubarna: Victor - Sanji. Spoils of war: a new friend. (AW!)
(The phrase, "a small friendship" [小さな友情], is the same one Mr. 2 used when his men asked him why he was in such a good mood after meeting the Strawhats.)
Back at the palace, the royal army makes preparations to blow the palace up.
Vivi apologizes to Chaka for leaving him and Pell alone to deal with the rebellion for two years, without Igaram.
Chaka says he'd like to give a big dinner party for Vivi's pirate friends when the crisis is over. <3 (Vivi remembers Luffy saying "Feed me till I die!")
Crocodile suddenly appears on the roof of the palace, saying he can't allow "Miss Wednesday" to destroy the palace that is about to become his.
In the northern part of the city, near the parliament building: Zoro & Nami vs Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.
Zoro is, of course -- lost. (LOL at the poor ducks trying to point him in the right direction, and failing. Also, the arrow pointing at Nami in the distance as Zoro runs off to take a "shortcut.")
(Zoro: "What is that stupid woman doing, wandering off!" Nami, running from the enemy: "What the hell is that idiot swordsman doing!")
Mr. 1 recites from the "Guidebook for Assassins": Begin by eliminating the weak.
190
Zoro finally catches up with Nami.
Mr. 1 ate the "supa-supa" (slice-slice) fruit, and can turn any part of his body into a blade.
(I gather that supa-supa is the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board, while Buggy's bara-bara fruit is the "sound" of scattering into many pieces. Most of Mr. 1's attacks seem to have the syllables "supa" in the name somewhere, even if only as part of another word.)
Zoro was invited to join Baroque Works after he killed the man who was at that time Mr. 7, but he rejected the invitation.
Zoro says it was their fault for turning down his one condition -- he said he'd join if they made him the boss.
(Interesting, considering how quickly he accepted Luffy as his captain.)
"You guys gonna invite me too? Though, at this point I wouldn't take your boss' sorry job if you begged me."
Zoro has a talent for trash-talking his opponents. <3
Mr. 1 challenges Zoro, while Miss Doublefinger goes after Nami (who has, prudently, disappeared).
Flashback to Nami asking (blackmailing?) Usopp to make her a better weapon.
LOL, "Usopp's Workshop" is a block of wood three foot square, but it has stairs (!) and he takes his shoes off before entering. Is that the Special Edition Hammer he's working on? Also, Chopper. <3
I really like that Nami doesn't want to be the weak one who always has to be rescued. She's not really the user she likes to let people think she is. Her affection for Vivi is endearing, too. (Her chance to be the big sister that Nojiko was to her?)
Not that she has any compunction about manipulating Usopp into doing her a favor, or weaseling her way out of paying for it. ^_^;; Characteristic Nami -- it's precisely when she feels vulnerable and is at risk of letting her true feelings show that the manipulative witch persona gets turned on full blast.
(Random moment of Usopp love: Usopp saying "Are you saying that there is something that I, the great Usopp, cannot do?" このウソップ様 <3)
Back in the present, Nami makes up her mind that it's time to take a stand and fight.
Miss Doublefinger calls Nami "ojouchan," so creepily patronizing.
Miss Doublefinger ate the toge-toge (thorn-thorn) fruit, and can create thorns from any part of her body.
Poor Nami, trying to use her new weapon and producing nothing but party tricks. (The sad thing is, the weapon can do everything she boasts it can -- if she could just stop making pigeons fly out of it.)
191
Nami is still fighting with Miss Doublefinger, or trying to. She says she'll curse Usopp if she dies.
Nami realizes she's been reading the wrong part of the instruction manual. “Master these tricks, and you'll be a big hit at parties!” Instructions for fighting are on the back of the sheet.
Miss Doublefinger calls Nami "kitten" (koneko-chan), ew. (What is it with the creepy enemies seeing her as a kitten?)
Nami reminds us she survived as a thief for 8 years.
She begins trying out the real capabilities of the Clima-Tact: heat ball, cool ball, thunderball...
Instruction manual: “These techniques are not yet fully developed, so please stick to party tricks.”
Nami uses her knowledge of weather to figure out how to combine the techniques. (Usopp himself didn't realize how the weapon worked. "This boomerang trick is a great way to go out and relax after parties...")
The manual warns that Tornado Tempo is a last-ditch technique.
Nami can create mirages.
Nami has begun to master her weapon.
192
Sanji returns Usopp's goggles to him.
LOL, poor Usopp all wrapped in bandages. (All a guy needs is some badly-wrapped bandages to recover from having his skull smashed like an egg. Chopper must be some doctor.)
The goggles are the newest model from the North Blue. (The back story was in the Daddy Masterson filler episode, which was based on some original [canonical] material that never made it into the manga.) Usopp is super happy to get them back, not so happy about the fact that they're all smashed up.
Usopp yells at Eyelashes because he finally showed up after all the fighting was over.
Sanji and Chopper take off for the palace, telling Usopp to hurry up. ("Hey! At death's door, here!")
Switch back to the palace, where Crocodile has just appeared.
Miss All-Sunday is guarding the gate against the royal army.
Crocodile nails Cobra to the palace gate, yikes. (I wish Oda would stop crucifying the good guys. It's upsetting.)
Cobra apologizes to Vivi for not being able to take advantage of her information to save the country. T_T
Vivi calls her father "Papa," aw.
Crocodile tells Vivi that Luffy is dead.
Crocodile has only one question for Cobra: he wants to know the location of “Pluton.”
Switch back to Nami.
I'm glad that Nami is getting stronger and using her knowledge and blah blah blah, but the weather stuff is boring.
A tiny cloud appears over Miss Doublefinger's head, turning into a thundercloud that electrocutes her.
Nami issues a tornado warning.
193
Nami prepares to use her ultimate technique.
Even with spikes sticking through her foot, Nami says her pain is nothing compared to Vivi's. <3
Tornado Tempo looks like another party trick until it takes Miss Doublefinger out.
Battle in the North block behind the parliament building: Victor - Nami. (Love Nami doing a fist pump of victory in the background.)
Switch back to the palace.
“Pluton” is an ancient weapon of terrible destructive power, named after a god*, said to be sleeping somewhere in Alabasta.
*Interestingly, the Japanese doesn't specify "the god of death," though the English does. The English is correct, of course, but I find it interesting that Oda left that detail unspecified.
(Pluton [Pluto], for those who don't know, is another name for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Pluton is the correct spelling of the name in Greek, suggesting that Oda did his research.)
The weapon was Crocodile's goal all along. He wants to capture Alabasta and build it into a powerful military state strong enough to defy the World Government.
Vivi didn't know about the weapon, but Cobra and his ministers did.
Cobra claims not to know where Pluton is.
Crocodile reveals that a bomb is set to go off in the central plaza in 30 minutes, at 4:30 pm. The bomb will destroy everything within a radius of 5 km.
Crocodile demands that Cobra show him where the Poneglyphs are inscribed.
First mention of Poneglyphs. Japanese for Poneglyph: 歴史の本文, the principal (true? original?) text of history. In terms of etymology, "glyph" I get, but Pone puzzles me -- I have no idea where Oda is going with that part. (Oda seems to have mastery of a remarkable number of obscure Greek roots, and he generally uses them in a way that indicates that he knows exactly what they mean.)
Cobra reluctantly agrees to lead Crocodile to the Poneglyphs.
Chaka has reached his breaking point.
Switch to the battle between Zoro and Mr. 1.
Location: North block in front of the parliament building (Nami's fight was behind it).
Zoro realizes that he can't defeat Mr. 1 unless he can cut iron - but by the time he beats him, he will be able to cut iron.
194
Mr. 1 says no swordsman has ever been able to beat him. Zoro points out that Mr. 1 has never fought him.
Zoro says no one's ever managed to remain standing after one of his attacks before. Mr. 1 retorts that Zoro has never fought him before.
Zoro calls Mr. 1 "octopus-monk" (タコ入道, i.e. "baldy") because monks shave their heads, and I guess "octopus" is an insulting term for a bald person (because octopi look bald?). Mr. 1 does look a lot like the martial monk type.
Zoro flashes back to a lesson with his sensei.
Sensei says that in this world, there are swordsmen who can cut nothing, but they are the ones who can also cut iron. The strongest sword protects what it wants to protect and cuts what it wants to cut. A sword that injures everything it touches is not a sword at all, in his opinion.
Zoro lifts an entire building off his head and throws it at Mr. 1.
195
Cover arc: the mermaid Keimi and the starfish Pappaug emerge from the mouth of the sea-boar.
Zoro still doesn't understand what it means to cut nothing and yet cut iron.
Mr. 1 can create other kinds of blades beside swords (his arms turn into a bunch of whirring circular saw blades).
Zoro refuses to die with his back to his opponent. <3
Zoro survives the falling rocks by knowing where the rocks won't fall.
Zoro's first use of observation haki, although he doesn't realize it.
He describes the sensation as being like sensing the "breath" of an inanimate object. To cut nothing is to know an object's breath -- this is the power to cut iron.
Zoro demonstrates that he can brush a leaf lightly aside but slice a rock in two.
Mr. 1 falls to Zoro's sword.
Zoro: “I owe you my thanks.”
I can go on becoming stronger.
Let's face it: some shounen fights are just more fun than others. A mixed bag in this volume.
Volume 21
General volume note: it's kind of embarrassing how long it took me to notice that the covers of volumes 21 and 22 make a full-size picture, showing the villains against the Strawhats.
187
Kohza is determined to get to the royal palace to demand Cobra's surrender.
The royal soldiers guarding the entrance to the north block (where the royal palace is) are shocked when Vivi appears before them, demanding to be taken to Chaka.
In the city streets of the south block, Mr. 2's battle with Sanji continues.
Mr. 2 is amazed that Sanji's kicks can keep up with his "okama kenpou."
LOL Mr. 2's attack, Okamai-nakkuru (オカマい拳: "Don't mind me okama knuckles"). A pun: doozo o-kamai naku (どおぞお構いなく) is a polite phrase meaning "please don't trouble yourself on my account." The katakana in the attack name emphasize the part of the phrase pronounced okama. 拳 (ken) means fist and is the same character found in 拳法 (kenpou), but here it's glossed "nakkuru", knuckles.
Next attack: "Okama kenpou: Seedy Swan Dance Party!" Check out the wasted swans in the background. This is not a pun, just a totally ridiculous attack name. urabure means to run downhill or go to seed. The ties suggest drunk salarymen, though I have no idea what the wrapped boxes indicate - presumably the same thing.
Mr. 2 and Sanji are pretty much a dead even match, skill-wise. <3
Mr. 2 tries to use his "montage effect" to come up with the weirdest face possible and immobilize Sanji with laughter... but the face he comes up with looks almost exactly like his own. LOLOLOL
Who is the person that Bon Kurei is talking about, the one who couldn't fight back "because of friendship"? Do we know? The Japanese is fairly specific: "I knew a man like you once..." (過去にこんな奴がいたわ。友情によってあちしに手も足も出せなくなった男.)
Sanji has a pretty good idea what's coming, thanks to their meeting with Mr. 2 on the Merry.
He tries Usopp first, but Sanji has no problem kicking fake-Usopp in the face.
Sanji claims he's not so stupid as to be affected by mere appearances, because a person is what's on the inside ("the heart").
LOL, I think Mr. 2 is crushing on Sanji. ("So chic!")
Until Mr. 2 tries putting on Nami's face... which, of course, Sanji can't resist. /facepalm
Shift to the palace, where Vivi is meeting with Chaka.
SO much love for Vivi in this scene. She sounds just like her father ("the kingdom is its people"). Chaka hasn't seen her since she was fourteen and probably still thinks of her as a little girl, but she doesn't hesitate to get in his face and give him orders. Vivi! <3
"Destroy this palace!"
188
The soldiers are horrified, because the palace represents 4000 years of history.
The moment where Chaka kneels to Vivi. "It shall be as you command, Vivi-sama." <3 <3
(おっしゃる通りに. Keigo was MADE for scenes like this. Although, thanks to Princess Bride, "As you wish" [Viz] makes me wibble almost as much.)
Switch back to Mr. 2 and Sanji. Sanji just can't fight Nami's face, no matter how hard he tries.
Sanji's eyes bulge out into hearts, and Mr. 2 HITS them with a karate chop.
LOL the hearts on DON! when "Nami" threatens to strip. ("It's just soooo hot here.") The English did a nice job of adapating that into the English sfx.
Sanji finally figures out Mr. 2's weakness: he can't use his okama kenpou unless he returns to his original form.
Mr. 2 joins the ranks of people who shouldn't play poker, ever. (Yet another thing he has in common with Chopper and Luffy.)
Mr. 2 unveils his "ultimate attack" (swan-feet with the speed and deadly accuracy of bullets).
(Love Sanji's reaction to Mr. 2 trying to explain that one swan-foot is male and the other female. "Like I CARE?" 知らねえよ.)
LOL, I can't believe the "you've got something on your face" trick actually worked on Mr. 2.
Sanji closes in for the kill.
When Mr. 2 has to admit he's beaten, he asks Sanji to finish him off (Crocodile will just kill him for failing anyway), but Sanji spares his life and offers him a hand. ("It was a good fight.") Bon Kurei is moved to tears by the gesture, aw.
The mood is somewhat spoiled by the fact that Sanji kicks him one last time before he takes Usopp's goggles back.
Battle in the Southern Block of Alubarna: Victor - Sanji. Spoils of war: a new friend. (AW!)
(The phrase, "a small friendship" [小さな友情], is the same one Mr. 2 used when his men asked him why he was in such a good mood after meeting the Strawhats.)
Back at the palace, the royal army makes preparations to blow the palace up.
Vivi apologizes to Chaka for leaving him and Pell alone to deal with the rebellion for two years, without Igaram.
Chaka says he'd like to give a big dinner party for Vivi's pirate friends when the crisis is over. <3 (Vivi remembers Luffy saying "Feed me till I die!")
Crocodile suddenly appears on the roof of the palace, saying he can't allow "Miss Wednesday" to destroy the palace that is about to become his.
In the northern part of the city, near the parliament building: Zoro & Nami vs Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.
Zoro is, of course -- lost. (LOL at the poor ducks trying to point him in the right direction, and failing. Also, the arrow pointing at Nami in the distance as Zoro runs off to take a "shortcut.")
(Zoro: "What is that stupid woman doing, wandering off!" Nami, running from the enemy: "What the hell is that idiot swordsman doing!")
Mr. 1 recites from the "Guidebook for Assassins": Begin by eliminating the weak.
190
Zoro finally catches up with Nami.
Mr. 1 ate the "supa-supa" (slice-slice) fruit, and can turn any part of his body into a blade.
(I gather that supa-supa is the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board, while Buggy's bara-bara fruit is the "sound" of scattering into many pieces. Most of Mr. 1's attacks seem to have the syllables "supa" in the name somewhere, even if only as part of another word.)
Zoro was invited to join Baroque Works after he killed the man who was at that time Mr. 7, but he rejected the invitation.
Zoro says it was their fault for turning down his one condition -- he said he'd join if they made him the boss.
(Interesting, considering how quickly he accepted Luffy as his captain.)
"You guys gonna invite me too? Though, at this point I wouldn't take your boss' sorry job if you begged me."
Zoro has a talent for trash-talking his opponents. <3
Mr. 1 challenges Zoro, while Miss Doublefinger goes after Nami (who has, prudently, disappeared).
Flashback to Nami asking (blackmailing?) Usopp to make her a better weapon.
LOL, "Usopp's Workshop" is a block of wood three foot square, but it has stairs (!) and he takes his shoes off before entering. Is that the Special Edition Hammer he's working on? Also, Chopper. <3
I really like that Nami doesn't want to be the weak one who always has to be rescued. She's not really the user she likes to let people think she is. Her affection for Vivi is endearing, too. (Her chance to be the big sister that Nojiko was to her?)
Not that she has any compunction about manipulating Usopp into doing her a favor, or weaseling her way out of paying for it. ^_^;; Characteristic Nami -- it's precisely when she feels vulnerable and is at risk of letting her true feelings show that the manipulative witch persona gets turned on full blast.
(Random moment of Usopp love: Usopp saying "Are you saying that there is something that I, the great Usopp, cannot do?" このウソップ様 <3)
Back in the present, Nami makes up her mind that it's time to take a stand and fight.
Miss Doublefinger calls Nami "ojouchan," so creepily patronizing.
Miss Doublefinger ate the toge-toge (thorn-thorn) fruit, and can create thorns from any part of her body.
Poor Nami, trying to use her new weapon and producing nothing but party tricks. (The sad thing is, the weapon can do everything she boasts it can -- if she could just stop making pigeons fly out of it.)
191
Nami is still fighting with Miss Doublefinger, or trying to. She says she'll curse Usopp if she dies.
Nami realizes she's been reading the wrong part of the instruction manual. “Master these tricks, and you'll be a big hit at parties!” Instructions for fighting are on the back of the sheet.
Miss Doublefinger calls Nami "kitten" (koneko-chan), ew. (What is it with the creepy enemies seeing her as a kitten?)
Nami reminds us she survived as a thief for 8 years.
She begins trying out the real capabilities of the Clima-Tact: heat ball, cool ball, thunderball...
Instruction manual: “These techniques are not yet fully developed, so please stick to party tricks.”
Nami uses her knowledge of weather to figure out how to combine the techniques. (Usopp himself didn't realize how the weapon worked. "This boomerang trick is a great way to go out and relax after parties...")
The manual warns that Tornado Tempo is a last-ditch technique.
Nami can create mirages.
Nami has begun to master her weapon.
192
Sanji returns Usopp's goggles to him.
LOL, poor Usopp all wrapped in bandages. (All a guy needs is some badly-wrapped bandages to recover from having his skull smashed like an egg. Chopper must be some doctor.)
The goggles are the newest model from the North Blue. (The back story was in the Daddy Masterson filler episode, which was based on some original [canonical] material that never made it into the manga.) Usopp is super happy to get them back, not so happy about the fact that they're all smashed up.
Usopp yells at Eyelashes because he finally showed up after all the fighting was over.
Sanji and Chopper take off for the palace, telling Usopp to hurry up. ("Hey! At death's door, here!")
Switch back to the palace, where Crocodile has just appeared.
Miss All-Sunday is guarding the gate against the royal army.
Crocodile nails Cobra to the palace gate, yikes. (I wish Oda would stop crucifying the good guys. It's upsetting.)
Cobra apologizes to Vivi for not being able to take advantage of her information to save the country. T_T
Vivi calls her father "Papa," aw.
Crocodile tells Vivi that Luffy is dead.
Crocodile has only one question for Cobra: he wants to know the location of “Pluton.”
Switch back to Nami.
I'm glad that Nami is getting stronger and using her knowledge and blah blah blah, but the weather stuff is boring.
A tiny cloud appears over Miss Doublefinger's head, turning into a thundercloud that electrocutes her.
Nami issues a tornado warning.
193
Nami prepares to use her ultimate technique.
Even with spikes sticking through her foot, Nami says her pain is nothing compared to Vivi's. <3
Tornado Tempo looks like another party trick until it takes Miss Doublefinger out.
Battle in the North block behind the parliament building: Victor - Nami. (Love Nami doing a fist pump of victory in the background.)
Switch back to the palace.
“Pluton” is an ancient weapon of terrible destructive power, named after a god*, said to be sleeping somewhere in Alabasta.
*Interestingly, the Japanese doesn't specify "the god of death," though the English does. The English is correct, of course, but I find it interesting that Oda left that detail unspecified.
(Pluton [Pluto], for those who don't know, is another name for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Pluton is the correct spelling of the name in Greek, suggesting that Oda did his research.)
The weapon was Crocodile's goal all along. He wants to capture Alabasta and build it into a powerful military state strong enough to defy the World Government.
Vivi didn't know about the weapon, but Cobra and his ministers did.
Cobra claims not to know where Pluton is.
Crocodile reveals that a bomb is set to go off in the central plaza in 30 minutes, at 4:30 pm. The bomb will destroy everything within a radius of 5 km.
Crocodile demands that Cobra show him where the Poneglyphs are inscribed.
First mention of Poneglyphs. Japanese for Poneglyph: 歴史の本文, the principal (true? original?) text of history. In terms of etymology, "glyph" I get, but Pone puzzles me -- I have no idea where Oda is going with that part. (Oda seems to have mastery of a remarkable number of obscure Greek roots, and he generally uses them in a way that indicates that he knows exactly what they mean.)
Cobra reluctantly agrees to lead Crocodile to the Poneglyphs.
Chaka has reached his breaking point.
Switch to the battle between Zoro and Mr. 1.
Location: North block in front of the parliament building (Nami's fight was behind it).
Zoro realizes that he can't defeat Mr. 1 unless he can cut iron - but by the time he beats him, he will be able to cut iron.
194
Mr. 1 says no swordsman has ever been able to beat him. Zoro points out that Mr. 1 has never fought him.
Zoro says no one's ever managed to remain standing after one of his attacks before. Mr. 1 retorts that Zoro has never fought him before.
Zoro calls Mr. 1 "octopus-monk" (タコ入道, i.e. "baldy") because monks shave their heads, and I guess "octopus" is an insulting term for a bald person (because octopi look bald?). Mr. 1 does look a lot like the martial monk type.
Zoro flashes back to a lesson with his sensei.
Sensei says that in this world, there are swordsmen who can cut nothing, but they are the ones who can also cut iron. The strongest sword protects what it wants to protect and cuts what it wants to cut. A sword that injures everything it touches is not a sword at all, in his opinion.
Zoro lifts an entire building off his head and throws it at Mr. 1.
195
Cover arc: the mermaid Keimi and the starfish Pappaug emerge from the mouth of the sea-boar.
Zoro still doesn't understand what it means to cut nothing and yet cut iron.
Mr. 1 can create other kinds of blades beside swords (his arms turn into a bunch of whirring circular saw blades).
Zoro refuses to die with his back to his opponent. <3
Zoro survives the falling rocks by knowing where the rocks won't fall.
He describes the sensation as being like sensing the "breath" of an inanimate object. To cut nothing is to know an object's breath -- this is the power to cut iron.
Zoro demonstrates that he can brush a leaf lightly aside but slice a rock in two.
Mr. 1 falls to Zoro's sword.
Zoro: “I owe you my thanks.”
I can go on becoming stronger.
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no subject
Date: 2012-07-29 08:23 pm (UTC)Holy cow, I missed that completely. Thank you.
The ties suggest drunk salarymen, though I have no idea what the wrapped boxes indicate - presumably the same thing.
An SBS in this volume (191/192) mentions a wandering drunk character that a reader spotted in volume 19. He, too, is carrying The Package. Drunk omiyage? For whom? Angry wife?
[I have been told I have to use fujoshi protection.]
LOL! At least these spoilers I can click on.
Anyway, I really can't stand the action parts of shounen manga fights. If it were all just hilarious party entertainment when you want to use your weapon + clever quips, it would be much less confusing. I love that Usopp's silly party favors took Doublefinger down. No discredit to Nami, who fought the battle and wielded the weapon, but the silly things were useful, after all.
(Pluton [Pluto], for those who don't know, is another name for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Pluton is the correct spelling of the name in Greek, suggesting that Oda did his research.)
I just thought plutonium = atomic bomb.
Re: Zoro and The Force: In the English translation, during the leaf/stone demo, Zoro says, "My sword understands my will…" Can you tell which sword he's wielding? Is it the
problem childcursed sword that wanted to cut everything before?...and here I edited to remove an extraneous parenthesis.
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Date: 2012-07-29 08:42 pm (UTC)It used to be that when I would get emailed copies of edited comments, I would check out of curiosity to see what was edited. I don't bother any more, because 9 times out of 10 I can't tell... which doesn't stop me from continuing to obsessively edit my own typos, because that comma would keep me up at night.
He, too, is carrying The Package. Drunk omiyage? For whom? Angry wife?
I noticed that after I wrote my original comment. Mystery!
I just thought plutonium = atomic bomb.
No doubt that's part of it (my spell checker kept trying to change Pluto to plutonium), but I am fairly certain that the use of the proper Greek spelling of Pluto was intended, as well. I'll have more to say about Oda's use of Greek in the proper place.
"My sword understands my will…"
Interesting translation (not wrong, just one of a number of possibilities -- this philosophical-sword stuff is hard to translate without interpreting). The literal Japanese is 刀に意思が伝わる ("the will is communicated to the sword"), with ishi being a very important concept in the One Piece world.
Anyway, it's hard to tell, but I'm fairly sure that's Wadou (the original sword he got from Kuina). He usually prefers to use Wadou whenever using a single-sword style.
I'm glad you pointed out the potential link to Sandai Kitetsu. It will be interesting to see if he can eventually get the problem child to obey his will, as well (leaving that unprotected because as far as I can recall, it hasn't come up... yet).
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Date: 2012-07-30 12:52 pm (UTC)Doesn't he say that the drunk guy is coming back from a wedding? (His daughter's wedding?) If so, the package would be a gift from the newlyweds. (In Japan, guests give cash at weddings [and funerals] and get back
uselessgifts.)(Whether this is related to the swans' package or not, I have no idea.)
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Date: 2012-07-30 05:47 pm (UTC)uselessgifts.I have learned something! I just wish I had the earlier volumes so I could see if drunk wedding guest guy had been carrying a package in his first appearance...where he was drunk for a non-wedding reason. Maybe, in Oda's eyes, all drunks are coming from the money/useless gift exchange celebrations. Though one assumes you don't get drunk at a funeral.
PS Pluto
Date: 2012-07-30 06:19 pm (UTC)Just a follow-up because I was working on the next volume and noticed that Viz seems to be translating the word in question "the pluton" (capitalization unclear since all the text is in comic-letter capitals). Although the Japanese is ambiguous I think it's fairly clear in the original that Pluto(n) is a proper name, not a noun -- especially once we start learning more about *spoiler* later on. Among other things, "Pluton" has quote marks around it in the original.
Re: PS Pluto
Date: 2012-07-31 11:30 pm (UTC)Obviously in light of the revelation that "Poseidon" is a person, "the" seems strange. But it's hard to blame Viz for not knowing what would happen 40 volumes down the road.
Re: PS Pluto
Date: 2012-07-31 11:36 pm (UTC)Poor Viz, it's hard to be clairvoyant.
Re: PS Pluto
Date: 2012-07-31 11:47 pm (UTC)Poor Viz, it's hard to be clairvoyant.
For sure!
In the conversation Garp has with Ace about Luffy's father, I kept wondering if the poor Viz translator had Garp calling him "your father," because at that point everyone assumed they had the same father. How I would hate having to translate this series...
Why on earth am I having this conversation on my phone? I'm going to sign off now before I inadvertently post some huge unprotected spoiler here.
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Date: 2012-07-30 01:02 pm (UTC)YAY!
Zoro is, of course -- lost. (LOL at the poor ducks trying to point him in the right direction, and failing. Also, the arrow pointing at Nami in the distance as Zoro runs off to take a "shortcut.")
Though I do actually like the scene with Zoro learning to cut (and not cut) iron, I think this is my favorite part of this volume. I just love Zoro getting lost gags.
random side note:
How, in all his months running around with Ace and Sabo (not to mention all the times Garp left him alone in jungles and whatever?), did Luffy not get a better sense of direction?
Zoro's first use of observation haki, although he doesn't realize it.
I don't know why it didn't occur to me that Zoro (and Sanji?) might also learn haki. Thank you for pointing this out.
(I'm finally getting into new [for me] material. Pretty soon I'll be going back to earlier entries and reading all the spoiler cuts.)
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Date: 2012-07-30 01:24 pm (UTC)(Can I post the next volume yet? so amazing whiiiiiine)
Re Marineford spoiler: Luffy's learning potential is limited and specific, I think. ^_^
Re: 597: has there been no explicit reference to this in what you've read so far?
Wow, I can't believe you're almost caught up! I would love to see your reactions to the earlier spoiler cuts when you get a chance.
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Date: 2012-07-30 01:39 pm (UTC)has there been no explicit reference to this in what you've read so far?
Not yet. I'm just getting to the start of the Fishman Island fight (at least, I think so; the Strawhats are sort of missing right now), so that could change shortly, though.
I'm sure I will have new comments for the old posts.
Mostly unrelated: My (ginormous) Noppin order is being packed up now. Reportedly, they are "trying" to fit it in one box. (Oh god, shipping might break the bank.)
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Date: 2012-08-01 12:51 pm (UTC)So...still no, as of the end of volume 66.
Nooooooo, Jinbei, go with them! ;_;
Do you think Luffy will need to defeat Big Mom before Jinbei can go with them? Or do you think it'll be something else we don't know about yet? (Probably some of both, knowing Oda?)
side note: I'm not sure why Luffy needed to give Big Mom all the treasure after threatening to kick her ass and claim Fish Island as his, but...<3 I can't wait for this confrontation to happen. At first I was thinking that Big Mom would turn out to be Lola's mom, but by the incident with the dessert factory, Big Mom seems like such a jerk I hope I was wrong about that.
also, random: lol forever at the exchange after Luffy uses haoshoku to take out 5,000 minions (Zoro: "Luffy, you took out too many!" Luffy: "Did I? Sorry!").
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Date: 2012-08-01 02:06 pm (UTC)Jinbei: so you got that far. ^__^ (Jinbei had better join eventually or there will be RIOTS.)
I think Big Mom, yes, and who knows what else Oda will wrap in there. (Fans are already talking about the "Big Mom" arc that hasn't even happened yet, LOL.)
I was sure Big Mom was going to turn out to be Lola's mom, too! But I agree, the glimpse we got was much creepier than I expected. Maybe that will turn out to be a fake-out of some kind?
LOL Luffy and Zoro. (My favorite nakama-competition moment is Franky telling Chopper to stop using monster form because it makes his super-robot form look lame by comparison.)
The Fishman Arc was pretty lame in terms of enemies, and a lot of people complained about it not having enough opportunities for the crew to bond post-timeskip, but it had some great plot revelations (Poseidon!) and some wonderful character moments (Chopper's were some of the best -- Nami refusing to let Jinbei apologize to her is another one of my all-time favorite scenes).
I can't wait to see your reactions to Punk Hazard. It starts off slow, but gets amazing pretty quickly. When will your order with One Piece 67 arrive? ^__^
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Date: 2012-08-01 02:31 pm (UTC)Fans are already talking about the "Big Mom" arc that hasn't even happened yet
lol!
Maybe that will turn out to be a fake-out of some kind?
I wondered about that, too. We'll see, I guess.
Franky telling Chopper to stop using monster form because it makes his super-robot form look lame by comparison
I loved that! Also, all the reactions from Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy seeing Franky's weapons (and always Nami and Robin: しーん, hahaha).
I sort of thought the point of the Fishman villains was for them to be super lame compared to the Strawhats coming off of two years of training, so I didn't have a problem with that. And I agree that there were a lot of really great character moments (LOVED Chopper telling Zoro that he was happy to be a monster to help Luffy). It also seemed like it was setting up a bunch of stuff that will be important later (so maybe like Skypeia in that sense?).
When will your order with One Piece 67 arrive?
I don't even have my July order yet, let alone place my August order. Who knows when I'll get OP 67, stupid SAL. :(
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Date: 2012-08-01 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-31 07:12 am (UTC)Mr. 1 isn't that thrilling an opponent for me, but I like Zoro's fight here because his flashback and insight gives a rare moment of spirituality to the series and also a rare moment of openness to Zoro's character, IMO. The way he immediately worries about how the others are doing post-victory - despite his wounds and fatigue - and how we get to see that concern is quite touching.
ETA: Do you mind if I post to my journal about your chapter re-reads with a link? I could use your "one piece" tag in the link.
ETA II: Oh, and don't worry - us Sanji/Usopp shippers can take it! :D It's not my most preferred pairing, but I do like it!
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Date: 2012-07-31 05:02 pm (UTC)I know! I get bored with Nami's weather techniques quickly (not least because it's a pain to figure out all the weather terminology in Japanese), but I love the confidence she gains when she realizes she can use her best assets -- her intelligence, her specialized knowledge and her limitless supply of raw chutzpah. ^_^
Agreed on Zoro, too, although my take on him is that he's not especially closed off, despite all that manly stoicism. If he has something he wants to express, he doesn't have difficulty expressing it. It's just that 95% of his thought processes are given over to swords, training, training, sake and sleep, which doesn't leave much room for emoting. ^_~
By contrast, I'd say that Nami and even Usopp have far more trouble expressing their feelings (and especially vulnerabilities) openly than Zoro does.
ETA: Do you mind if I post to my journal about your chapter re-reads with a link? I could use your "one piece" tag in the link.
Of course, feel free to link! Most of my journal is locked down, so I'm really happy to be making some new friends.
(Not that I mind sharing the locked content, but I prefer not to have it hanging out there on the internet for all to see. But since I locked most of my entries, I rarely make new connections on LJ, which is sad.)
ETA II: Oh, and don't worry - us Sanji/Usopp shippers can take it! :D It's not my most preferred pairing, but I do like it!
The funny thing is, I don't particularly ship San/Uso (I don't ship anyone on the crew really, though I enjoy a good fanfic that makes me temporarily believe in a pairing), but it is amazing how much fodder there is for it if you look. ^_^ Of course, the same material can just as easily be read as nakamappoi, which is my usual preference.
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Date: 2012-07-31 06:24 pm (UTC)I think people often mean different things by words like "shipping" or "OTP" - for me it just means that I'll enjoy reasonably well-written fics and well-done fan art with the couple in question. In One Piece, it's always, for me, within the framework of nine-fold mutual, unconditional and absolute Crew Love or nakamashipping, which I'm guessing is the same thing as nakamappoi. And pure gen which emphasises that is often what I like the best, too.
But you're right, there is a lot of fodder for Sanji/Usopp if one wants to find it! Or for Sanji + Usopp bromance which can be even better. (The actual shipfics out there sadly often come with overdone seme/uke clichés.)
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Date: 2012-07-31 06:49 pm (UTC)In One Piece, it's always, for me, within the framework of nine-fold mutual, unconditional and absolute Crew Love or nakamashipping, which I'm guessing is the same thing as nakamappoi.
Yes! <3 (I made up nakamappoi (nakama-ish) on the spot as a substitute for friendshippy, but I think I might like nakamashipping even better.)
CS Lewis has a lovely comment somewhere about how, when a member of a close circle of friends dies, you don't just lose the friend, you lose the way that person interacted with all the others -- the way they laughed at X's jokes, the way they fought with Y. Depressing talk of death aside, that is exactly how I feel about nakama interactions in One Piece. I love each one of them not only for their individual characteristics, but for how each one interacts with each of the other nakama, which is unique and hilarious and wonderful. And every new nakama added to the mix just makes it better.
Also, bromance is absolutely the perfect word for Sanji-Usopp interaction, romantic or otherwise. <3
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Date: 2012-07-31 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-31 07:48 pm (UTC)...didn't he just run away?
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Date: 2012-07-31 08:06 pm (UTC)In the first fight (in Loguetown), after he defeated her and she demanded to know why he didn't finish her off, he pretty much blurted out the whole Kuina story to a complete stranger. I suppose you could put it down to him being seriously off balance, but it would have been so easy for him to make up some macho bs instead of telling the truth.
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Date: 2012-07-31 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-31 11:45 pm (UTC)I'm still not convinced that Tashigi's resemblance to Kuina is a coincidence, but I guess we'll find out someday.
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Date: 2012-08-01 12:38 pm (UTC)Yes. In particular, I remember years ago, on AOD forums, complaining about how [er, I think this is not a spoiler, since we know he's dead at the beginning of the series, but: Fruits Basket spoiler warning, sort of] Tohru's father's death is the stupidest thing ever, and the general reaction was, "Impossible, Kuina's death is the stupidest thing ever." And...they are both really, REALLY stupid, but I can't say I disagree with that.
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Date: 2012-08-01 05:47 pm (UTC)judging by Cobra's state of health when we saw him last
I dunno, everyone in the room seemed too cheery for Cobra to be near death. However, maybe Vivi will be representing Alabasta at the Reverie because Cobra is still recovering or something?
Oh god, so sorry about the 8 million emails you must have gotten from my comments today. But now I'm on to 22, and then I'll be done until you update again. *phew*
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Date: 2012-08-01 06:14 pm (UTC)