As expected, this chapter begins a series of animal theater / reader request covers. Interestingly, the two squirrels seen playing as Luffy studies are the zombie Risky Brothers from Thriller Bark. The real Risky Brothers are part of Lola’s crew, the Rolling Pirates and just appeared in the Capone cover story arc.
Video Review
It was cool to see Marco actually holding his own against an Emperor. His Phoenix flames seem to damage Prometheus, which was interesting. We already know that they have a restorative property for physical injuries. I wonder if the fact that he damages Prometheus in any way relates to the fact that Big Mom’s Devil Fruit derives its power through transferring souls or life force from one person to another.
Big Mom retreats from Marco, which was interesting. We saw that she was unable to use Prometheus, and says she’s out of souls to use. The fact that she doesn’t even try to use Napoleon suggests that it is indeed the soul aspect of her Devil Fruit countered by Marco’s flames rather than the fire element to Prometheus attack.
So far, the battle between Carrot and Perospero is playing out exactly as expected. I have said in past videos that I believe Carrot will join the Straw Hats, and I think having a significant character moment during this story arc is going to go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.
Carrot here remembers Pedro’s final words, instructing her to keep moving forward. I think what’s interesting about this scene is that it shows Carrot is still contemplating the meaning of Pedro’s sacrifice. She’s still searching for an answer. I believe that Pedro’s death fills the same narrative purpose as a tragic flashback for other members of the crew, which instilled in them a motivating desire to pursue their dreams.
Pedro believed so strongly that Luffy and the Straw Hats are meant to fulfill a long-held Mink prophecy of a coming New Dawn. I talked about this at length in my video analyzing the recurrence of moon symbolism throughout the series, but it’s important to note that the ancient societies, particularly those entrusted with Road Poneglyphs all have myths or legends with sun and moon / day and night motifs. From which we may deduce that the prophesied ‘New Dawn’ is inherently connected to One Piece.
Moon Symbolism: The Mystery of One Piece Revealed
Carrot says she knows Pedro’s sacrifice is in some way related to this war in Wano, but it also relates to the greater narrative arc of the series and thus can only be fully understood once One Piece is discovered and the True History revealed. Perhaps through Oden’s journal which Yamato holds will reveal this connection, inspiring Carrot’s continued adventures with the crew beyond Wano. She seems intent on understanding and honoring the reason Pedro gave his life.
It will be interesting to see what role Wanda plays in the battle against Perospero. While she and Carrot may work together to achieve victory, I feel like it will be more impactful if Wanda is defeated, leaving Carrot alone to face Perospero. Wanda, as a character, really hasn’t had much development and thus seems more ancillary to the narrative arc of the series as a whole.
I’m still unsure what role Big Mom is going to play in the battle. Being infected with Queen’s Ice Demon plague would prevent her from reaching Luffy and Kaido and make the battle in the Performance Hall even more chaotic.
I’m guessing Marco’s phoenix flames will be in part the solution to curing the virus. We see that Brook was touched by one of the ice demons, but because he’s just a skeleton, he’s immune to the virus. Chopper seemingly has a revelation, but is infected before he can say more. I was hoping Chopper’s skill as a doctor would shine here, but it seems Marco’s now more likely to save the day. Perhaps Chopper will communicate some critical detail to him before succumbing to the virus.
Interestingly, Queen is surprised that Sanji, the son of Vinsmoke Judge, is part of Luffy’s crew. This implies there may be some connection between Queen and Judge. Just as Caesar Clown was conducting research for both Kaido and Big Mom, it would make sense for Germa to have contacts throughout the New World. I wonder if the Queen’s biological weapons are in any way related to Germa’s technology.
When the Tobi Roppo were initially introduced, I suspected they were far too powerful for the weaker members of the Straw Hats to fight. But when the crew started to break apart after the performance hall entrance in 989, a fight between Nami and Usopp and Ulti and Page One seemed like a good fit. Nami and Usopp have always had a sibling like relationship. It seems now those initial reservations were well founded as we see Nami and Usopp were completely outmatched.
This leads to what is, in my opinion, the best scene of the chapter when Ulti threatens to kill Nami unless she admit Luffy incapable of becoming Pirate King. Usopp, though incapacitated, thinks that it’s okay to renounce Luffy in this case. Nami begins the sentence, but can’t bring herself to say what Ulti demands.
Even if it means losing her life, she says Luffy will surely become the Pirate King. It’s always nice to see just how strongly the Straw Hats believe in Luffy.
But wait! The diminutive kunoichi Tama rides in to the rescue atop Komachiyo. I was honestly really surprised by Tama’s sudden appearance. I suspected that the fourth act would see a change in venue largely due to the absence of Tama, Tenguyama, and Hiyori on Onigashima. I suppose this may answer the question of who the mystery character was that was following Robin and Jimbei at the start of the raid as they entered Onigashima.
I can buy Tama stowing away aboard one of the ships before they departed from the mainland, but Komachiyo is actually quite large. This leads me to believe that she may have arrived separately from the rest of the alliance, perhaps with the other characters presently absent like Hiyori and Hitsugaya.
Tama’s ability to control Smile users will likely be critical to turning the tide against Kaido and pairing her with power with Usopp’s sniping skills likely provides a delivery system.
Tama relied on the element of surprise here to rescue Nami, but I suspect she and Komachiyo will not be able to hold their own against both Ulti and Page One. Perhaps together with Usopp and Nami they could emerge victorious, but I think a retreat is also possible. I suppose her power could work on real Zoan users, not just smile users, but that seems overpowered, so I’m not sure how I feel about it if that turns out to be the case.