Chapter 900: Bad End Musical (Break)

desa

So for chapter 900 Oda got to do a disney musical song. Good for him. That transition trough BIg Mom's mouth was prime animated movie/show. I could definitely see it as a villain song and the ending of the song reminded me of Cell's song in DBA.

I really liked the chapter visually. Big mom really has a kid partway when she's eating the cake and I liked that very much . You really get that she's going to her past. And I liked the parallel of the despair with the happiness but I kept thinking how I would enjoy it more if it was animated.

Now what I think of the development will have to wait the next chapter. I liked the visual but the choice to make it will be judge on how Oda get them out.

vlad Dracul

we did not see sanji that much this chapter,
especially in the last few panels when everyone panics

you can see the vinsmoke siblings are loosing as well, except sanji

so my bet, sanji does not only save them all thru the superb cake,
but he will protect his crewmates with brute force or an upgraded kicking move (just like zoro did btw)

i know everyone in that arc was like "sanjiiii now is the time to shine, he has to fight xxx-guy!",
and yeah now is the time :D

p.s.: remember how they all faced big moms ship at first, this time no more running ;d

tbh i did not care alot that sanji did not show us his "new hell" moves yet this arc, but this time around it would fit in perfectly

edit
did not see b4, but otakufan recognized it as well :D

Razh

@otakufan:

A mirage tempo is perfectly in line with what Nami is already know to be capable of (provided there is an appropriate image nearby that she can use for her purposes - i.e. another burning ship)

Pudding doing some form of memory editing would either require her to be capable of rewriting the memories of hundreds, if not thousands of people at once (i.e. everyone on or near Cacao Island), or that she had spent an unknown amount of time systematically targeting each individual that was present without getting caught and this is all something the BMP are remembering after the fact (which is little different than the "BM's just hallucinating this" argument).

That doesn't sound like an option to me, considering Nami looks scared shitless and the flag is floating in the water.

Of course, the flag might have fallen off on its own, but that would be Kubo level of trolling.

I was more suggesting Pudding managed to alter BM's memory. Maybe, somehow. The option is still in the air in my opinion.

Just like BM's weird hallucination. It's pretty clear she isn't quite "there". Is it an aftereffect of her devil fruit, some inborn defect or a result of a third party devil fruit? Beats me. I have a feeling it might be related to BM's origins and that we were deceived in some way.

Basically, anything would be better than a mirage tempo. Mirage tempo could maybe buy them a minute before they are discovered, otherwise BMP become jobbers once again.

Btw, forgot to mention. Love how Smoothie is now Daifuku's side kick.

vlad Dracul

and i'll add to my post that chopper's expression is more "an angry/concerned doctor version", because someone is acting reckless, rather than "their lives are in danger" kind of expression
that's why luffy's expression is a mixture between a little shocked and worried as well

you know usually chopper panics with nami and brook together, too

(and by looking even more into that important panel, nami looks like giving orders to jinbei, and him listenting to her)

kaedro

This post is deleted!

Long John Silvers Rayleigh

Fantastic yet odd chapter, feels like I'm gonna need to see the resolution before I can feel confident about how I feel. The creeping danger mood that came after the expected bliss of big mom was great. The last two cliffhangers that felt like the usual breaks to help the strawhats (not that those themselves were bad) were stopped by the forces of Big Mom. Brulee in particular got her own revenge by ferrying in the candy jacketed bullets and bringing oven into range of the fishman and mermaids helping the strawhats.
Loved the juxtaposition of the song mixed with the big mom pirates countering them. The germa are taking some hard hits even with their raid suits probably helping out a bit. No wonder Wano is gonna involve multiple supernovas, a bunch of elite samurai, the entire mink forces and the marco pirates. The Yonko aint nothing to **** with.

Sirxxx

Wow, you step in BM's territory, don't expect your ship to survive! This is why Luffy needs to awaken his shit already and learn how to rubberize his damn boat

@.access:

Just quoting myself from the other thread:
"BM hallucination wouldn't work because how could she hallucinate about those things? I mean, she is hallucinating alright, Carmel and the kids as angels and all that stuff, but the rest? How would she know the Germa kids were fighting against her pirates at Cacao Island? How would she know which kids were there fighting them (like the guy with the black gloves)? How would she know bullets that could harm the Germa were about to arrive at that point? How would she know Judge was not there, but at the coast? And that Snack was there to fight him and not somewhere else? Or about his bandages over the right eye? Or that Luffy couldn't stand by himself, all his bandages and was missing a tooth? Those kinds of inconsistencies are usually looked over by other writers, but I would expect Oda to do better than that."

Plus, BM thinking the SH/Germa/Sun Pirates were defeated when she is not the one engaging them in a fight does very little to help them get out of their predicament.

I'll fix that for you: Big Mom is hallucinating because of the deliciousness of the cake; her soul is feeling the same effects. And what giant piece of her soul showed up in this chapter? The ship, of course.

I say the only part of that ending sequence that was a hallucination was the one we saw from the Mama Chanter's perspective–the destruction of the Sunny.

Either way, I really hope we just go right to the next arc from here!

@Count:

Am I the only one who finds it very hilariously ironic that the Straw Hats never tried to restock on cola in the country literally made out of different types of food?

Hmmm…...I blame Sanji >:-(

Dranza

@Sirxxx:

Wow, you step in BM's territory, don't expect your ship to survive! This is why Luffy needs to awaken his shit already and learn how to rubberize his damn boat

I'll fix that for you: Big Mom is hallucinating because of the deliciousness of the cake; her soul is feeling the same effects. And what giant piece of her soul showed up in this chapter? The ship, of course.

I say the only part of that ending sequence that was a hallucination was the one we saw from the Mama Chanter's perspective–the destruction of the Sunny.

Either way, I really hope we just go right to the next arc from here!

Hmmm......I blame Sanji >:-(

Party next chapter haha

Imagine Vinsmokes get held captive though. Trying to think how they would escape. Bege needs a way out too.

Seafarer33

@Blissed:

Thing about Mirage Tempo is between the ruined Jolly Roger and the fire, it wouldn't make any sense.

On the contrary. Escape 1on1:

Mirage Tempo any other burning ship where the Sunny stood seconds before (there isn't a shortage of them thanks to Sun Pirates and Germa's attacks)
evade/repel enemy fire and dive underwater thanks to coating / Jinbe / Wadatsumi / secret Sunny mode
leave your tattered flag behind for extra persuasion (I think the flag is genuine, no way the Sunny didn't take some flak if that scene with the chanting ship really took place)
and voilà, you've just bought yourself a precious few minutes that will get the Sunny out of enemy range.

Note that this is only one of several possible outcomes; I'm not saying this mirage option has to be the one, just that it can work.

Whatever happens, I'd prefer this or hallucination over "everything's real but cake made Mama in a good mood, she forgives the Straw Hats and grants them a free pass".

.access timeco.

@Sirxxx:

I'll fix that for you: Big Mom is hallucinating because of the deliciousness of the cake; her soul is feeling the same effects. And what giant piece of her soul showed up in this chapter? The ship, of course.

I say the only part of that ending sequence that was a hallucination was the one we saw from the Mama Chanter's perspective–the destruction of the Sunny.

Two problems, though: (1) as far as we know, the only homies made of her soul are Napoleon, Zeus and Prometheus, Mama Chanter not included; (2) even if we assume the Mama Chanter was made of her soul, not a single time we saw any of those said homies suffering from BM's conditions: they didn't shattered with her on the wedding, they didn't go berserk when she went, they didn't starved when she did, why they would hallucinate with her?

Seafarer33

@Razh:

That doesn't sound like an option to me, considering Nami looks scared shitless and the flag is floating in the water.

If we have to be honest, Nami is scared shitless almost as easily as Usopp. Fortunately it doesn't prevent her from being efficient when she's really needed.

Also yeah, it's amazing how Smoothie has consistently been depicted as nothing more than a fancy cocktail bartender. She will truly have earned her status as the biggest joke of this arc…

Count Mario

I don't like Luffy purposefully letting his flag get burned as a diversion after how much prideful weight flags are given if they are defended or destroyed in Drum and Enies Lobby.

.access timeco.

Jinbe was scared shitless of the big wave seconds before sailing through it. He was scared shitless of BM getting on the Sunny moments before punching her out. We saw him scared shitless last chapter when they were surrounded, so I'm pretty sure he would have been able to do something if Wadatsumi hadn't arrived first.

Actually, the only reason I know he didn't saved everyone and the Sunny by himself now is because we didn't saw him screaming "THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO NOW! WE CAN ONLY DIE!!!"

Blissed

@Seafarer33:

On the contrary. Escape 1on1:

Mirage Tempo any other burning ship where the Sunny stood seconds before (there isn't a shortage of them thanks to Sun Pirates and Germa's attacks)

evade/repel enemy fire and dive underwater thanks to coating / Jinbe / Wadatsumi / secret Sunny mode

leave your tattered flag behind for extra persuasion (I think the flag is genuine, no way the Sunny didn't take some flak if that scene with the chanting ship really took place)

and voilà, you've just bought yourself a precious few minutes that will get the Sunny out of enemy range.

Note that this is only one of several possible outcomes; I'm not saying this mirage option has to be the one, just that it can work.

Whatever happens, I'd prefer this or hallucination over "everything's real but cake made Mama in a good mood, she forgives the Straw Hats and grants them a free pass".

I never saw her forgiving them. Ironically, that option is seemingly off the table (assuming Big Mom actually isn't paralyzed/falls unconscious, which would kill said theory right then and there) since:

Her crew firmly believes that the cake is poisoned, that said poison simply didn't work. So this implies
They believe that all the credit goes to Pudding (Actually it was all her idea amusingly enough, though they don't know that Sanji helped of course)
Assuming Big Mom can still move, it should take a while to reach Cacao Island. And if that's the case, then that means what we're seeing is real, meaning the damage would've already been done regarding the Sunny, meaning things can only get worse moving forward before she shows up.

So basically for the forgiveness theory to even have a chance at happening, you'd need a scenario where both Big Mom and Pudding show up, along with Pudding willingly revealing the truth of what happened. And even then, it still isn't guaranteed she'd forgive them due to all the reasons that have been discussed a million times in the past as to how it makes little to no sense for Big Mom or her crew to ever do such a thing. Not to mention it'd be shameful for the Straw Hats to just sail off with their permission after the Sunny took a big hit like that.

@.access:

Jinbe was scared shitless of the big wave seconds before sailing through it. He was scared shitless of BM getting on the Sunny moments before punching her out. We saw him scared shitless last chapter when they were surrounded, so I'm pretty sure he would have been able to do something if Wadatsumi hadn't arrived first.

Actually, the only reason I know he didn't saved everyone and the Sunny by himself now is because we didn't saw him screaming "THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO NOW! WE CAN ONLY DIE!!!"

Ah, your avatar is creepy :(

Hedron

@Count:

I don't like Luffy purposefully letting his flag get burned as a diversion after how much prideful weight flags are given if they are defended or destroyed in Drum and Enies Lobby.

Yeah.
Also for the same reason I don't think the flag can stay there, I can see Jinbe symbolically taking it back

KageKageKing

@Twitter:

[hide][/hide]

Newgate

@Sads:

Okay how is Oven not a Sweet Commander?

The question is how Oven is not affected by sea water.

Hedron

@Newgate:

The question is how Oven is not affected by sea water.

He's just putting the hands in the water like Kuzan did

mandingobeard

@O:

rough end for One Piece so Oda was rushed to end it for good on the 900 th chapter…
and the One Piece will obviously stay a mystery

That would be great!!!! If from now on we would follow the blackbeard pirates!!!

It would have that 'a game of thrones' vibe where you dont know who is gonna win and who is gonna die!!!

ODA would be GOAT if he would have killed the strawhats involved in this mission and just continued the story with the other characters in the story, like Zoro, mihawk etc

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

couldnt there be seastone in the cake??!!!!

maybe that was the thing whispered by pudding.

That she did put something in the cake...

When are we gonna find out what she said and what her 3 eye power ability is?!?!

there are to many questions left,IMO

DEE JAY

I am not one of those that says BS every week about how weak a chapter could be… but.. TBH, I didn't like this ending, I was waiting for something epic. now again, I know they'll survive/escape somehow but that ugly mama should've fainted... I can't stand OVEN defeating all the fishmen with one blow... and Oh yeah, I am not a big fan of Big mum's chants -__-' I prefer Thriller Park chants.. lol w/e

See you in 2 weeks

DarkHamster

@DEE:

I am not one of those that says BS every week about how weak a chapter could be… but.. TBH, I didn't like this ending, I was waiting for something epic. now again, I know they'll survive/escape somehow but that ugly mama should've fainted... I can't stand OVEN defeating all the fishmen with one blow... and Oh yeah, I am not a big fan of Big mum's chants -__-' I prefer Thriller Park chants.. lol w/e

See you in 2 weeks

I like Oda displaying how tremendous the forces SHs are up against. A yonkou is no joke by themselves but with a large fleet at its heel, then you don't f*ck with them…...but this feels like a cliffhanger for cliffhangers sake, which I don't care for. We've gotten enough of that this arc and seems cheap.

KageKageKing

-MC does something amazing against Yonko Crew.

"Yonko shouldn't be this weak!"

-Yonko Crew does something amazing against MC.

"Meh. MC is okay, plot armor."

….....

SuperJew

@Jabra:

https://www.mangapanda.com/one-piece/655/3

They sailed a literally burning sea before, with fishbones floating at the surface.

Gotcha, thanks (to all) that pointed that out.

Maju

@DarkHamster:

My theories on what is happening?

1.) it's somehow faked/not realA. Nami used her mirage tempo

how many times have i seen this option in the last 20 hours?

mirages don't work that way..you can't use a mirage to show something that doesn't exist..it's a light reflection,not a magic trick.

imperioonepiece

@KageKageKing:

-MC does something amazing against Yonko Crew.

"Yonko shouldn't be this weak!"

-Yonko Crew does something amazing against MC.

"Meh. MC is okay, plot armor."

….....

Actually, I'm really happy for this cliffhanger. I was hoping to see more of what a Yonkou can do against a couple of pirates. It was awesome!

But… well, I don't like to sound like I would like Straw Hats to be killed, but it was a nice demonstration of power!

onemoment

Oh hey, I have this video review of this chapter: :ninja:

!

cloudrivera

What are the chances Oda switches to Wano in 2 weeks and we don't find out what happened to the crew for months?

Maju

@cloudrivera:

What are the chances Oda switches to Wano in 2 weeks and we don't find out what happened to the crew for months?

that would be unlike the Oda i know,but he is the euthor so he can do whatever he goddamn pleases

YoungWhite

Some of theories y'all are coming up with are ridiculous.

How would BM have hallucinations about things she should have no knowledge of?
Do the you guys seriously not know how mirages work? You can't create a mirage of something non-existent.
There is no way Pudding altered anybody's memories let alone Big mom's. It's just not realistic.
@cloudrivera:

What are the chances Oda switches to Wano in 2 weeks and we don't find out what happened to the crew for months?

I was thinking this too but with the reverie.

The ending of this chapter kinda mirrorred the beginning of the arc which could mean that this is the ending of it.

AvocadoInTheRain

@cloudrivera:

What are the chances Oda switches to Wano in 2 weeks and we don't find out what happened to the crew for months?

It's worse than that. It will cut to the Reverie for ~20 chapters, and then we'll go to Wano.

Long John Silvers Rayleigh

@AvocadoInTheRain:

It's worse than that. It will cut to the Reverie for ~20 chapters, and then we'll go to Wano.

20 chapters without luffy is a major stretch plus a cliffhanger ahead of that. Hasnt happened since the gap in alabasta between robin saving luffy and luffy saving vivi. I think oda cliffhangering luffy's death for more than a chapter or two is too much for a shonen. Shonen jump I think would heavily be against their kid audience thinking he's dead for 20 chapters while they go back to secondary characters.

Chams

Loved loved loved everything about this chapter! The faces Big Mom makes, the dreadful despair, the big mom's pirates comeback and the memories from the other orphans and Mother Caramel.

Sads

https://www.facebook.com/sads07/videos/912684472225691/
Haven't posted a review in a while (I couldn't figure out how to post Facebook videos here) but HOLY SHIT this chapter… I have thoughts.

Sirxxx

@.access:

Two problems, though: (1) as far as we know, the only homies made of her soul are Napoleon, Zeus and Prometheus, Mama Chanter not included; (2) even if we assume the Mama Chanter was made of her soul, not a single time we saw any of those said homies suffering from BM's conditions: they didn't shattered with her on the wedding, they didn't go berserk when she went, they didn't starved when she did, why they would hallucinate with her?

Yeah, I forgot that the homies have random pieces of soul, not necessarily Big Mom's. We've never gotten any indication that the giant ship has Big Mom's soul, so yeah, unsupported theory is unsupported. Sigh.

AvocadoInTheRain

@Long:

20 chapters without luffy is a major stretch plus a cliffhanger ahead of that. Hasnt happened since the gap in alabasta between robin saving luffy and luffy saving vivi. I think oda cliffhangering luffy's death for more than a chapter or two is too much for a shonen. Shonen jump I think would heavily be against their kid audience thinking he's dead for 20 chapters while they go back to secondary characters.

How long do you think the reverie is going to take? That had a whole lot of build up going into it.

.access timeco.

I forgot to mention, but the more this guy appears, the more I fall in love with his character design:

Not surprising, he was the only son introduced in Cacao Island we didn't got any info on…

@Blissed:

Ah, your avatar is creepy :(

…...... yeah, I don't get it. I thought this panel was so cute in the chapter, but once I added the colors and placed it there it is creeping me out. Maybe it takes a while...

EDIT: Ok, I thought "I will apply some filters, maybe it looks less creepy"

I love it now.

AvocadoInTheRain

@.access:

…...... yeah, I don't get it. I thought this panel was so cute in the chapter, but once I added the colors and placed it there it is creeping me out. Maybe it takes a while...

It looks like satan made manifest.

10/10

Miss Saturday

@Ukimix:

"Presumably"… hehe, then you see what you write is just one possibility among many others. Yeap, also it's possible the panels about her allucinations are only few ones, not all the panels of the chapter.

I said presumably because we didn't see Carmel in that group shot with all of them. Not that it matters too much cause none of them are really there. But I mean.. yeah, it's only a possibility.

@.access:

Just quoting myself from the other thread:
"BM hallucination wouldn't work because how could she hallucinate about those things? I mean, she is hallucinating alright, Carmel and the kids as angels and all that stuff, but the rest? How would she know the Germa kids were fighting against her pirates at Cacao Island? How would she know which kids were there fighting them (like the guy with the black gloves)? How would she know bullets that could harm the Germa were about to arrive at that point? How would she know Judge was not there, but at the coast? And that Snack was there to fight him and not somewhere else? Or about his bandages over the right eye? Or that Luffy couldn't stand by himself, all his bandages and was missing a tooth? Those kinds of inconsistencies are usually looked over by other writers, but I would expect Oda to do better than that."

Plus, BM thinking the SH/Germa/Sun Pirates were defeated when she is not the one engaging them in a fight does very little to help them get out of their predicament.

Why is that an inconsistency, though? I think it's not gonna be as specific as you're making it out to be. Big Mom is hallucinating their "complete and utter defeat" – her own way; what we're seeing on page is specific to the reader cause that's what we know to be happening. So what we're seeing is not necessarily the same as what she's seeing in her mind. And her not being the one to engage them helps A LOT, because if she WAS the one who engaged them, they would be 100% dead. Like I said, this arc was never going to end on a Big Mom vs. (someone) one-on-one; she had to be handicapped or taken out somehow. I personally thought the cake would make her sleepy and pass out, but this is a close second and will help the Strawhats in the long run if she thinks she killed them.

also fuk u for beating me to that icon. I was almost finished coloring mine ; __ ;

KageKageKing

I believe the second half of the chapter would play like this in the anime.

Or something like School Days.

Bond en Avant

I don't think I'd be very satisfied if the next chapter reveals this whole thing was a mirage or a hallucination or a memory fruit ability.
Regardless of whether any of these options are even feasible, I'd be extremely disappointed if it were a fake out.
So I'm banking on the Sunny being truly seriously damaged, with the Strawhats defeated and maybe captured.

Then maybe Pudding can come and show the truth using her memory powers, proving that Sanji did make the cake, and the Big Mom Pirates have to let them go for saving them.

Quexinos

I'm sorry I didn't read the entire thread but has anyone mentioned that the Sunny has a submarine on it? That's honestly my best guess is they're going to escape with that. It would make sense because the BM crew wouldn't actually know they survived then.

Icefae

I actually love this cliffhanger a lot. I don't know how some of you can claim to definitively know what has saved the Straw Hats… There are a few clear options but we aren't given anything remotely definitive. It's a little frustrating but in a way that feels very fresh. I'm actually looking forward to the next chapter - and I'll be even more intrigued if the next chapter picks up at the Reverie. After all, there are narrative callbacks to the beginning of the arc and even though we know the Straw Hats have survived, this still feels like a pretty strong conclusion.

I would like to see more Vinsmoke/Sanji interaction but Sanji's character has been all but totally assassinated so maybe it's best for me to just not care. I would be satisfied if this was the end of the arc and the other various threads were solved down the road.

Other things on my mind: Oven is a really fucking prominent character this arc. Am I the only one who seems a little surprised by that? He seems to have a pretty sedate design by OP standards and ostensibly weaker than even Sanji, but he hard-counters the entire Fishmen pirates as well as the entire fleet? Also, Oven has been around kicking up dust and rallying people since the Tea Party. Smoothie who? The idea of this being a mirage tempo is lost on me and you guys need to read more stories. Nami has frankly done enough this arc in terms of being incredibly powerful. People are wondering who the two shadowy figures Judge facing off against are? I thought it was very clearly Snack and some other dude who are just meant to look terrifying. I really like the lyrics of BM's song. Her final line in the chapter is supposed to be that Japanese "thank you for the meal" saying, right? I don't think memory manipulation is off the table but it will be difficult to pull off without feeling like the biggest asspull ever. Pudding does seem to be an intriguing mood this chapter and we still don't know what she might have said to Sanji. Cool chapter, sorry I can't be bothered to format this because I'm on a damn phone.

Count Mario

@Icefae:

The idea of this being a mirage tempo is lost on me and you guys need to read more stories. Nami has frankly done enough this arc in terms of being incredibly powerful.

It's not like I want it to be a mirage or think this is how mirages work (not that I think Oda is the type of author to care about making authentic mirages lol). It's the one option that seems require the least amount of convoluted narrative explanations compared to dream hallucinations and altered memories, and does not undercut the drama with a reveal like "we got damaged, but not destroyed". Although I would prefer a mirage but the ship still getting a bit damaged. The suspense here is nice, aside from this giant freaking ship coming out of nowhere without any foreshadowing aside from showing up at Dressrosa. I wouldn't mind the Big Mom Pirates outright winning here, without the Straw Hats being dead of course.

I'm still waiting for Chopper to do… anything impressive. Any day now...

Icefae

Y'know what I think memory manipulation is probably my best guess, since it wasn't properly utilized throughout the arc and specifically because there was a secret unknown moment that we had between Pudding and Sanji. My best guess is that Pudding told Sanji to just keep sailing no matter what (I think this chapter Sanji deliberately says to sail forward) while she somehow messed with the memories of everyone present. We haven't seen her do a mass memory wipe like that but it might be possible that she already had awakened her third eye and had access to a greater power. She does seem to be pretty exhausted this chapter.

Like I said, there are many options to how this went down, but that'd be my guess. Either way, I'm ready for the Reverie.

Count Mario

I don't like memory manipulation given how needlessly complicated that would be. How would Pudding access Big Mom's memories? How would Pudding access everybody's memories to make sure Big Mom doesn't learn the truth? We would also still need to make a u-turn and go back to see what really happened. Along with seeing how the Vinsmokes and Fishmen Pirates stay alive, how Oven gets stopped, and how Pound/Pekoms/Pedro are alive. I've been banking on Pudding using her memory powers on Big Mom (and Streussen) for the entire arc, mainly for showing her what really happened on her birthday. But it happening this way is too messy for my taste.

Audity

The title being so conceptual rather than real (and video-game-like, like how there is always a way to get the good end[ing], primarily like in Bubble Bobble where it literally says Bad End) makes me think of certain things that could've happened earlier in the story. Like the cake might not have been poisoned but… something could've been done to it. Anyway I don't know lol, just wanted to point that out.

Icefae

@Count:

I don't like memory manipulation given how needlessly complicated that would be. How would Pudding access Big Mom's memories? How would Pudding access everybody's memories to make sure Big Mom doesn't learn the truth? We would also still need to make a u-turn and go back to see what really happened. Along with seeing how the Vinsmokes and Fishmen Pirates stay alive, how Oven gets stopped, and how Pound/Pekoms/Pedro are alive. I've been banking on Pudding using her memory powers on Big Mom (and Streussen) for the entire arc, mainly for showing her what really happened on her birthday. But it happening this way is too messy for my taste.

I don't like the idea of being shown fake events at all, but I don't think it would be all thaaaat clunky. If Pudding somehow successfully altered the events so that the BM pirates believed they killed the Straw Hats, Big Mom's memories wouldn't even need to be tampered with. I think the Fishmen are in the clear because they can escape through the water, but you're right that it doesn't address the Vinsmokes or Pekoms. I don't care what happens to the Vinsmokes, but Pekoms' grand sacrifice seems entirely worthless otherwise.

Count Mario

@Icefae:

I don't like the idea of being shown fake events at all, but I don't think it would be all thaaaat clunky. If Pudding somehow successfully altered the events so that the BM pirates believed they killed the Straw Hats, Big Mom's memories wouldn't even need to be tampered with. I think the Fishmen are in the clear because they can escape through the water, but you're right that it doesn't address the Vinsmokes or Pekoms. I don't care what happens to the Vinsmokes, but Pekom's grand sacrifice seems entirely worthless otherwise.

But that is the thing. How does "somehow" work in a way that is satisfying? The last time we see her, she's sitting down in an alley reminiscing about Sanji. Anything that Oda shows to present how somehow changes the memories of her entire island is going to look rushed and out of nowhere. And I think the Fishmen will do as well underwater now as a lobster in a boiling pot.

Icefae

@Count:

But that is the thing. How does "somehow" work in a way that is satisfying? The last time we see her, she's sitting down in an alley reminiscing about Sanji. Anything that Oda shows to present how somehow changes the memories of her entire island is going to look rushed and out of nowhere. And I think the Fishmen will do as well underwater now as a lobster in a boiling pot.

I guess I'm glad that I'm not the one tasked with making this cliffhanger have a satisfying conclusion. It just seems to be the most likely scenario. I can sort of imagine that Pudding had awakened her third eye but resented it except to otherwise save Sanji. I think that the final shot of the flag in the water is especially symbolic. Like you said, the iconography is weighty as hell, and in this chapter signifies a clear and definitive loss. It would be bizarre for the Sunny to have made it out of this without memory manipulation and for Oda to have included that shot. Basically, I think a lot hinges on the question as to whether or not that final panel is real or not.

Someone mentioned submarines, and it would be a nice callback to earlier in the arc when they were used, but it's not very climactic and I can't imagine the Straw Hats leaving behind the Sunny to burn at all.

theackwardstation

@Icefae:

I guess I'm glad that I'm not the one tasked with making this cliffhanger have a satisfying conclusion. It just seems to be the most likely scenario. I can sort of imagine that Pudding had awakened her third eye but resented it except to otherwise save Sanji. I think that the final shot of the flag in the water is especially symbolic. Like you said, the iconography is weighty as hell, and in this chapter signifies a clear and definitive loss. It would be bizarre for the Sunny to have made it out of this without memory manipulation and for Oda to have included that shot. Basically, I think a lot hinges on the question as to whether or not that final panel is real or not.

Someone mentioned submarines, and it would be a nice callback to earlier in the arc when they were used, but it's not very climactic and I can't imagine the Straw Hats leaving behind the Sunny to burn at all.

I see it happening if the ship is doomed.

A good way to start the next chapter would be a quick flashback to when the Sunny was hit by the cannonballs, with it slowly starting to burn and sink while the Strawhats rush to get out of it by submarine or jumping to the sea. Then they escape somehow.