Man, volume 84 is going to be nonstop action, isn't it? I imagine it'll be remembered as one of the best if it keeps up this kind of pacing.
With the last chapter, I was wondering how Oda would untangle the knot of characters and situations set up for the prison, but it turns out he plan was to just cut the knot, with Big Mom as the knife. Seeing Queen be swung around by his dinosaur neck was incredible.
I think the most interesting thing this week is the conclusion of a subtle little character arc for Luffy. Every since the escape from Whole Cake Chateau (specifically the point in the battle where she shrugged off a Gear Four attack), Luffy's been acting a way we're really not used to for him. He's legitimately frightened of Big Mom. He doesn't want to fight her, despite everything he said about "not leaving foes for later" when he fought Fujitora at Dressrosa. I think the last time Luffy was properly scared of an enemy like this was during the Marineford saga, either for Ace's life or for his crew's, when Kuma came after them. No other enemy has had him flip so suddenly into retreat mode, even the ones like Crocodile who beat him several times before he conquered them. Whether he developed this instinct because of the ease with which she deflected his attacks, the lives of his allies needed to escape her or the sheer amount of firepower she mustered against the crew, Big Mom has done one thing few other villains could: she changed Luffy's behaviour.
Character development, both positive and negative, tends to be understated and slow-burning in One Piece, but it's certainly not nonexistent. Let's talk about Luffy's character arcs in the New World. The first one, I think, starts on Fishman Island when he promises to "protect everything." This isn't something Luffy needs to grow from, necessarily, but it's an assertion that needs to be challenged and then tempered to be more realistic. This happens on Dressrosa, and I wish it had been brought more to the forefront that it was happening. As it's been written it's more of a vague, slow, background development, and a personal through-line for the protagonist could really have unified Dressrosa's generally chaotic lack of focus. Essentially, Doflamingo, manipulator, physical and mental puppetmaster, has the perfect toolset to make protecting everyone and everything impossible. There's no keeping the Birdcage from destroying Dressrosa (though thanks to the teamwork of Luffy's allies its people are saved), Law was nearly outright murdered with no way for Luffy to intervene, and Bellamy, well Luffy had to put Bellamy down himself, even though they'd become friends just hours before. Protecting everything was really thrown out the window there, and I wish we'd been shown more of the turmoil Luffy felt over that instead of just the broad "you hurt my friends, Mingo!!" rage we got. Regardless, Luffy grows from this experience and demonstrates a more realistic kind of resolve through the Tottoland Saga, accepting the sacrifices of Pedro, Pekoms and Jinbe instead of throwing everything away to not leave a man behind. He's far more willing to go for the better net result instead of making it all or nothing, which is a sharp contrast to his attitude at the start of the New World.
The second arc, as established, begins with the Fujitora fight, and is, as with the last one, challenged in the very next major saga. Luffy comes up against a foe he can't defeat now, in the most literal way possible, and is forced to retreat. I don't think he's truly compromised on his decision not to back down from foes perceived to be above his level just yet, as he flung himself right at Kaido and is training to do the same thing again. I think he sees Big Mom as a lone exception to his declaration. We can see from the way Luffy reacts to her storming into the prison he's strongly associated her with the desperation and losses of Tottoland and still sees her as something totally unbeatable, that can only be run away from, even though he's just been training to face her apparent equal, Kaido.
And here, at the end of this current chapter, Hyo gives Luffy the push he needs to get back on track and face her, despite the pain she's caused. Luffy's expressions on the last page of the chapter are fantastic though and through, as he goes from retreat mode, to fighting down those instincts, to that perfect mix of determination and concern in the last panel when he fully commits to the fight. We've talked about great facial acting in Wano already, but it's not at all limited to the locals showing laughter and sadness at once. This is going to be a milestone fight for Luffy, however it plays out, and I cannot wait to see what happens.
(not really sure how advanced haki is meant to have gotten the collars off any more than raw strength or regular haki could have though; kinda hoping we get a proper explanation next week, as nice as the Rayleigh callback was)