Guys, I'm not joking when I say this, but I think this may be the best chapter Oda's ever done. It's so, so packed with content. Follow me through the pages!
1: Hahaha Capone has Pekoms' glasses
2-3: Brilliant two part joke setup with the garuchuu with the women, then him refusing the men, then Nami refusing him
4: Plot info and some screen time for the other Straw Hats & Ceaser
5-6: Pekoms being a mink begins to come full circle. As readers we already knew he was a mink, but we didn't really put two and two together about what would happen when he'd actually come home. Interestingly enough, we already did this in anticipation for Bepo, knowing that most likely he was a mink. It doesn't help that Oda cast Law's crew in a friendly light and Big Mom/Capone in a negative one this entire time to setup for this. None of this is exactly shocking, but Oda does this stuff impeccably well. I admire his execution.
The fact that Pekoms is, indeed, a mink gives more depth to the world. He's not just a furry lion on a yonkou's crew, he comes from a place that has history and has family. Oda's just happened to have the Swirly Hats and the reader happen to be there when Pekoms comes home. Sanji's quip about how Luffy already defeated Doflamingo is excellent. It makes you recall the entire weight of the arc that was Dressrosa and reminds you that the story is finally starting to break into the next level. Now that entire 100 page arc is recent history and the waves of it will come crashing down. We also finally find out why Big Mom needed Ceaser, and of course it's a despicable reason because he's a despicable person. Shame on you, guys in the next nakama thread who believe he could be redeemed and join the crew :P
7: The flow of the conversation is excellent. After reminding us about Dressrosa, Oda reminds us of the obviously and intentionally half-finished Fishman Island arc from earlier. One of those threads was Luffy's fight with Big Mom which was a serious moment that has serious consequences. It was a rookie threatening a Yonkou, of course it's a big deal.
8: One of, in my opinion, the most badass moments in One Piece. A pirate's meeting. Conducted by one of the coolest cats of the Straw Hat crew. It's also very, very important that on the page earlier, Sanji nodded to Capone to conduct the meeting, not to Pekoms. This foreshadows the seriousness of their 1 on 1 later on.
9-11: Chapters and chapters and years of setup and build up come crashing down. We've known about the conflict between the Straw Hats and Big Mom's crew for a while, but so many chapters had passed since we saw those things that they faded into the background. Pekoms being a mink, and Big Mom's crew wanting Ceaser are also played into effect here.
Next, something interesting happens. We knew Pekoms was one of the big players in Big Mom's crew, so Capone joining up with them it would make sense that he would follow the veterans like Rockstar on Shanks' crew. But he's not any rookie, he's a supernova, and we're reminded of that.
The supernovas are some of the coolest characters I've seen in anything. The impact that they had in Saboady as these extremely heavyweight characters was intense. They were a stark reminder that Luffy was not the only pirate gunning for One Piece. The fact was, every opponent Luffy had fought up to that point that was a pirate didn't really talk about One Piece or really care. Some of them even laughed at him. So it was nice to finally see a group of strong, interestingly designed pirates who any one of them could kickstart the next golden age.
And Capone is a member of that group, so obviously he's going to show that he deserves the title of being called a supernova. We also finally see what his incredibly unique ability is called, and a better idea of what it does. All while getting Oda's signature incredibly badass Capone "Gang" Bege complete with Fire Tank Pirates Captain and Bounty 300,000,000. I love how he talks about how he's riding the waves Luffy's generating. It's so, so cool to see how the ripples of the actions of the main characters and crew impact other players.
12-14: Capone may have seemed a bit slow, like Paulie from Goodfellas, but it's nice to see that he's actually quite sharp. Not as much as say, Ace from Casino, but more than Nicky Santoro. It also helps that he's obviously designed like a capo, but he's also the captain of a now-renowned crew who have built up enough of a reputation to ally with one of the Four Emperors. A good showing of the skill and abilities that allowed him to do all that.
15: After all of that, the story takes a completely unexpected turn. Sanji's last name is revealed, and the fact that he apparently comes from a well known family and has two brothers. And he's about to get married to one of Big Mom's daughters. I won't talk about the endless possibilities that could be mined from this new plot development, but it's incredibly clever.
You know, I just told a co-worker this not too long ago. I was pretty mixed on Dressrosa at first but near the end I began to love it. I re-read all 100 chapters and was blown away by how it all fit together in the grand scheme of things and the isolated coolness of some of the characters and stuff we saw. And of course culminating with the formation of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. But Zou was when I started to get a feeling that One Piece was finally about to enter the endgame. When I say endgame, I mean Oda will still probably be working on One Piece for the next 10 years, but One Piece as a story is finally beginning to enter the final phase. As long as that phase may be.
I told him that I honestly believed one day One Piece would get so insane from all the hundreds of setups that Oda has done that have yet to pay off, that towards the end of the story, One Piece will be so packed and dense, that one chapter will be like the entire 12 episode season of One Punch Man. This chapter just confirms that for me. It tells me we're headed toward that direction. We won't get there just yet, but we've set sail for it at the very least :^)
I wonder who Sanji's two other brothers are? Maybe characters we've already seen?
I can't sleep because of you , i'm so fucking hyped for the next couple of years of OP