Ah, has it really been a month? With College work and whatnot, it only felt like its been a 2 week break…
Well, now that I've gone over and read the chapter for a third time, I believe I can finally give my take on the opening curtain to "One Piece Part 2".
Before I discuss the chapter though, Allow me to say that this has truly been a good week for me in regards to One Piece.
Not only did the much anticipated and long awaited for One Piece New World Saga start, but this same week I finally received my Brand - Spanking - New HD English subtitled One Piece: Strong World & Episode 0 OVA DVD. I found only a handful for sale on Ebay and almost all of them were $79-$99 dollars. However, I have my Nana watching over me so I found one Brand New English subtitled Strong World & Episode 0 DVD for ONLY $25 + FREE SHIPPING! Now that was truly a lucky find. If any of you want the name of the seller to get your copy too (he has more than 10 available), then just let me know. :happy:
Now, on to the chapter discussion. First off, I really enjoyed the homage the color spread payed to Chapter 1: Romance Dawn and how both Luffy and Nami are in the exact same positions. This truly makes me feel like this is the dawn of a new, exciting adventure. Additionally, on the first color page in the bottom left hand panel (the scene where luffy picked up his straw hat) greatly reminded my of shanks for some reason. I don't know why, but I liked it none the less.
Color Pages: +10/10
Next off, I was surprised that Oda would immediately shift straight to the Sabaody Archipelago so soon, as I was under the impression that Oda would enlighten us more on the current state of world affairs before switching to re-unite the Strawhats, but that was a foolish error on my part, Its completely Oda's style to let us wonder and find out for ourselves as the story continues. I must that, unlike some readers here, I instantly knew that something was amiss with the "Straw Hats" "Recruitment Poster". There was no way that Luffy would choose any new nakama in that sort of fashion, but it did pique my interest.
Mystery/Curiosity: +10/10
At Pages 7-10, we at last see the Straw Hats on the archipelago, and I'm quite amused at how much Brook's popularity has grown over the last 2 years and how much that same popularity would be affected by his re-joining of the Straw Hats. Like most others have said, I would have also preferred if brook remained true to his gentleman skeleton persona, but I'm sure that his new look will grow on me. As for Sanji, I really love his new look and have no complaints there, only that I caught on to the fact that Oda switched his hair around to his right side after the 2nd time around, lol.
Brook/Sanji Appearance: +9/10
After Brook & Sanji we learn from the barkeep about how Marine HQ moved to the New World, as well as the hint that the "Four Emperors" may be complete once again. This only serves to feed my curiosity of what the new HQ and fourth emperor would look like. I absolutely loved the double-spread of the Fake Straw hats sitting around the table; they looked like true villainous scum to me, especially that Fake Luffy. But who am I kidding, they reek of Bellamy Fodder. What a Shame.
Villain/Enemy Appearance: +8/10
As for Nami….
+100,000,000/10
Seriously, more than half of her naked ass and pubic region is exposed. Not that that's a bad thing….. but I almost exploded in my pants....:ninja:
cough cough
Anyway, The altercation between Nami and the fakes was pretty enjoyable, as well as the timely arrival of Ussop; who I am very pleased with appearance and costume wise. No doubt that both Nami and Ussop hav leveled up tremendously.
Bar Fight Scene: +9/10
The small talk between Sanji, Shakky, and Duval was nice and pleasent, and Robin looks very much like a spy or agent, especially with those cop glasses. Chopper looked remarkably similar to how he appeared in Movie 10. It was also very humorous to see the rest of the Fake Straw Hat Crew.
and No, I won't go into the cucumber scene. Moving on...
Robin/Chopper appearance: +10/10
Lastly, the end scenes where Fake Luffy nonchalantly shoots a man and his lover/fiance/girl before a crowd of horrified, powerless people as one of the Straw Hats walks by was a great throwback to the Saint Charloss/Zolo scence 2 years prior. Props to Oda for that.
At Last! Luffy has finally arrived into town and the confrontation is about to heat up! It will be such a small wait for the next as compared to the month long wait we've been through...
Total Score: 95/100