I'm really curious: did you know about the Brook/Laboon connection due to spoilers?
I kind of don't know how to answer this. When I saw the cover of volume 46, I thought, "Ah, yes, that's the musician skeleton who becomes a member of the crew." But I did not think, "Ah, that's Laboon's nakama." However, when the narrative unfolded, I was not surprised Laboon's nakama were mostly dead and the last survivor was struggling to get back to him. So I had been spoiled on that much of the story, I just didn't know (or remember?) the specific character to hook it to. The foreknowledge is partly why the Laboon reveal isn't my favorite moment in the volume. The other being that my heart will be heavy until I know that Laboon knows (and maybe until Laboon and Brook are reunited). Whereas Usopp's amalgam designed to spark the interest of the monster trio just amuses me and reminds me how clever Usopp can be.
no subject
I kind of don't know how to answer this. When I saw the cover of volume 46, I thought, "Ah, yes, that's the musician skeleton who becomes a member of the crew." But I did not think, "Ah, that's Laboon's nakama." However, when the narrative unfolded, I was not surprised Laboon's nakama were mostly dead and the last survivor was struggling to get back to him. So I had been spoiled on that much of the story, I just didn't know (or remember?) the specific character to hook it to. The foreknowledge is partly why the Laboon reveal isn't my favorite moment in the volume. The other being that my heart will be heavy until I know that Laboon knows (and maybe until Laboon and Brook are reunited). Whereas Usopp's amalgam designed to spark the interest of the monster trio just amuses me and reminds me how clever Usopp can be.