I have a million things I want to be posting about (and I am hoping to get to some of them tomorrow), but I feel like I just need to get this off my chest first, because I can't put it into a more general post where people might get spoiled.
The following contains serious spoilers for the latest chapters of One Piece in Shounen Jump (specifically, chapters 731-736, including chapters from Dec. 16 to Feb. 3 - inspired principally by having read ch. 736 last night).
( OMG OMG OMG )It kind of kills me not to be reading first in Japanese (there is so much that even the best translation can't capture), but at times like this it's worth the sacrifice.
Incidentally, for anyone who is wondering how I keep up with the latest chapters but doesn't want to click on spoilers - besides buying Japanese volumes when they come out, I subscribe to Viz Manga's online subscription to
Shounen Jump Alpha, which, as of relatively recently, is fully simultaneous with releases in Japan (the magazine in Japan and the matching Shounen Jump Alpha chapter both come out on Mondays). Also, chapters no longer expire after a year is up; you get to keep them forever (on your ipad or for viewing and re-downloading online), just like magazines piled up in the closet from the old paper days.