I like that Commodore Yarisugi got to show off a bit (insofar as a character in a cover story can) by beating down Coribou. I have to admit, he's surprisingly buff, although the one-piece swimsuit and bow-tie are a bit too…"unique" for my tastes... :P
Having said as much, Caribou is a bastard (as if we didn't already know), abandoning his brother like that...
Onto the chapter's main focus. Setting aside any potential translation-based issues until a decent translator can get hold of the script ("Sol", Mangapanda? Really?), I'm glad to see Tashigi give Monet a reasonable fight even though the snow-harpy clearly had her outclassed. Obviously, I'd like to have seen more, and she definitely has a long way to go, but I feel it was a good start and it allowed the gender-equality aspect of Zoro's character to come back to the forefront for the first time in a long while.
On that subject, I feel it is important to note that this is an ongoing issue for Zoro's story, and for good reason. Despite what some may claim, I do not feel that his pact with Kuina all those years ago truly "resolved" anything on the matter, especially in light of her death. Remember, the deal was not "I promise to cut up men and women equally", but rather "we'll become the two strongest swordsmen in the world, then fight each other to decide who is the best". Since Kuina died, Zoro hasn't had a true rival who was female - and indeed, most of the males he encounters are beneath his ability.
At the same time, I don't think it rises to the level of "ZOMG, Zoro's sexist!" either. To my knowledge, Zoro has never gone out of his way to seriously beat down those weaker than him without reason. Nor does he care for those who do. The fact that Tashigi and Monet are demonstratively weaker than him and he treats them accordingly, does not somehow mean that he thinks it is their sex that holds them back.
That's all I am going to say on the subject. I still stand by my belief that Tashigi, more than anyone else and possibly even more than Mihawk, deserves to be Zoro's ultimate opponent and I greatly look forward to the day that she starts to grow into that role.
@Warp:
Next week: Law looking for a hat.
Why bother?
ROOM + SCAN + SHAMBLES = Hat