Chapter 1,043: Let's Face Death Together!!!

[Captain M]

@Yonkou:

TOEI might have confirmed what this week's twist is by the name of two of their newly released WANO OST's so read by your own risk.

! Well TOEI just made sure to everyone now that it was indeed Luffy's awakening with the title for their OST's:
! Luffy ~Awakening~
!

Awakened Luffy Performance

! And going by these titles I really doubt someone is taking over Luffy he just awakened his Devil Fruit.
Those heavy drums though, the Drums of Liberation are here.

Watch these be used for Luffy literally just waking up and getting back in the fight in the anime's version of chapter 1010 instead of meaning anything significant.

I guess I don't know enough about the scoring process to say if a composer would get that kind of info as far in advance as it would have to have happened to be on a CD published now, but it doesn't feel quite right that it would happen that way.

[flandrian15]

@Captain:

Watch these be used for Luffy literally just waking up and getting back in the fight in the anime's version of chapter 1010 instead of meaning anything significant.

I guess I don't know enough about the scoring process to say if a composer would get that kind of info as far in advance as it would have to have happened to be on a CD published now, but it doesn't feel quite right that it would happen that way.

It begs the question whether a composer actually needs to know anything about the manga/anime at all. I think music is more about strengthening a feeling rather than informative so my guess is that if a composer is informed about how it should make the audience feel without knowing the context would be much more usefull then an infodump.

[Captain M]

@flandrian15:

It begs the question whether a composer actually needs to know anything about the manga/anime at all. I think music is more about strengthening a feeling rather than informative so my guess is that if a composer is informed about how it should make the audience feel without knowing the context would be much more usefull then an infodump.

Excellent points. I have a vague impression that some movies are scored as they're edited, music based on and timed to the actual footage, but I can't imagine that's viable for any anime's marathon production schedule, let alone this one, let alone for anything as far ahead as what this seems to spoil.

[King Cannon]

@Captain:

Watch these be used for Luffy literally just waking up and getting back in the fight in the anime's version of chapter 1010 instead of meaning anything significant.

I guess I don't know enough about the scoring process to say if a composer would get that kind of info as far in advance as it would have to have happened to be on a CD published now, but it doesn't feel quite right that it would happen that way.

Well, the titles do use the Devil Fruit term for Awakening. And the significant use of drums is suspect.

[BingBang]

@electricmastro:

Yeah, wisdom king alternatively being guardian diety. For all the people saying Luffy's fruit isn't godly or special, Oda is definitely connecting it to that as such.

Looks like Luffy fruit was maybe the first fruit created xd

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

Yeah that’s it’s dropping immediately the week after 1043 has me thinking it was waiting for this moment. The heavy use of drums and luffys theme. There’s way too much smoke for this to be Luffy gets up after 1010. And lest we forget, toei is extremely literal with titles so I doubt this is a misdirect

[Captain M]

@King:

Well, the titles do use the Devil Fruit term for Awakening. And the significant use of drums is suspect.

Hmm, that's also a good point.

I don't think I know enough about Japanese, anime scoring or what's going to happen in the next chapter to speculate deeper with any kind of reliability haha

[flandrian15]

The drums of liberation explicity being mentioned in the chapter (and later, in the episode) would mean, to me at least, that the absence of drums would be more suspect than the significant use of them.

[wolfwood]

There being an awakening and an awakening being all there is to it isn't neccesarily the same thing tho.

[Daz]

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency by "instinct" or some instant innate knowledge or something

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

[Yonkou Monkey D Luffy]

Yeah I believe that this dropping right after 1043 is way too convinient.
They didn't want to make the same mistake they did with the Denjiro reveal so they actually waited for the twist to happen in the Manga to then release these OST's.
Anyways we are close to Tuesday now we should get at least some answers by then because like the G4 cliffhanger I believe Oda will be focusing on that in the first part of the chapter at least.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Daz:

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

I believe A is the most likely actually because that gives space for Luffy to train it and develop a future Gear 5 with it.

[RomanceDawn]

@Daz:

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

I wonder… The rule of cool would be Luffy just goes ham and destroys Kaidou profeciently but I don’t know. Unless other characters distract Kaidou or ware him down just a little more for Luffy to catch him at his last 1/16 of HP I still see Kaidou putting up some resistance. I think Oda will try to avoid the idea that this awakening is so strong that had it been available from the start it would have changed the fight entirely. The smile suggests Luffy might have an innate idea of what he can do at the moment and will do it well. I think Luffy willl do it relatively well and surprise himself with his new tricks but Kaidou will be well within fighting shape to recognize what is happening and put up his last ounce of resistance.

[puffing.cinema]

@Coookie:

We were talking on the Discord and wondered: Can we even trust Zunesha? It's a senior who casually breaks into a child's mind and tells him stories of an alleged Messiah while on a walk, never mind that it's a criminal with a sizable 800 years sentence. And it's stopping in front of Wano, as if it is not allowed within 100km of the country. Would you entrust your child to someone like that? I would certainly hope not.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - Zunesha being framed as senile being that keeps sprouting about The Worlds Mysteries to unknowing kids made me WEAK

@Yonkou:

TOEI might have confirmed what this week's twist is by the name of two of their newly released WANO OST's so read by your own risk.

I read people saying that it's a bit of Toei's way of making and naming music. There's a Tsuna Awakens OST around and it was used as example. Learning a bit about the schedule of the anime and the manga production I'd say it's really unlikely, but maybe it's…fate...

ANYHOW, I was thinking to my buttons that we don't really have a clear timeline, so...maybe...Nika is not the same as Joy Boy in the sense that they are the same title - but looking at the series theme of inherited will - maybe Joy Boy is the title of someone that can achieve Nika's state of mind...? Yeah, we just saw something akin to a possession in the manga, but Oda has a lot of margin to play that around the very next chapter. I think that Luffy came back by his own will, and Joy Boy will be more like a mindstate then a new character or a Messiah. It can become something funny if played side by side to Kaido's drunk modes.

[Yonkou Monkey D Luffy]

@RomanceDawn:

I wonder… The rule of cool would be Luffy just goes ham and destroys Kaidou profeciently but I don’t know. Unless other characters distract Kaidou or ware him down just a little more for Luffy to catch him at his last 1/16 of HP I still see Kaidou putting up some resistance. I think Oda will try to avoid the idea that this awakening is so strong that had it been available from the start it would have changed the fight entirely. The smile suggests Luffy might have an innate idea of what he can do at the moment and will do it well. I think Luffy willl do it relatively well and surprise himself with his new tricks but Kaidou will be well within fighting shape to recognize what is happening and put up his last ounce of resistance.

Agreed. Kaido has to go down in a Whitebeard like way, where he still stands tall even after falling. I don't think Oda would have Luffy just stomping the Strongest Creature of the series even after he fought so many people.

[black-leg jex]

@Daz:

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

I think we can get A and still have a cool Kaidou smackdown. Just have Luffy going ham with his new powers that not even he has full control of yet because no one else is going to no what's going on.

Then the next arcs (Elbaf or Vegapunk) serve a purpose of explaining Luffy's awakening / devil fruits to both him and the audience.

[Daz]

@Robby:

Please tell me this is case of sarcasm not coming across in text and you don't actually mean this. Because YIKES if you're not being sarcastic.

Desa already covered this, but yeah, its sarcasm. Its my attempt to consolidate a lot of the typical responses I've gotten as a certified OP grump, especially in recent years- rebuffs of criticism of the "Oda clearly did what he wanted/planned, you're just mad he didn't do what you wanted" or "you say this new development is jarring compared to prior events, but thats because your interpretation of past events is overblown/flawed". Its the "whoever said Whitebeard ever had principles?" Principle.
For sure both of these types counterarguments can be used with merit, but taken together they can also be used as a sort of all-purpose rebuttal to any and all criticism of the series, and yeah, I'm a bit weary of it.

I could've perhaps layed on the sarcasm even thicker but I'm honestly not sure how I'd do that.

[theackwardstation]

@Daz:

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency by "instinct" or some instant innate knowledge or something

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

Or (C) Luffy is possessed and it's not his conscience using the power.

Btw, Luffy was using Ryuo to wield CoC, so it was not instinct or innate knowledge.

[Xelloss]

I have re-read the relevant bits of Chapter 1037 and I'm wondering if by any chance we might have misunderstood the Gorosei's words. I don't have access to the official translation now, but the fan made translation says:

• That's impossible!! That fruit is nothing but a legend now, even for us. It hasn't awakened for centuries!
• How else do you explain the World Government giving a specific devil fruit a unique name?!
• They were hiding the fruit's true name from the annals of history?!

We now assume the WG gave Luffy's fruit the name "Gum Gum", which would be a "fake" name, whereas the "real" name, and thus the real nature of the fruit, is different.
Maybe it's a stretch, but what if the thing goes actually the other way round? That is, a certain historically important devil fruit is commonly known by a fake name (which is "unique" and perhaps non-descriptive of its nature), because its real name has been erased from history, as we know the WG likes to do. And now the Gorosei are learning that the real nature of that fruit is something that wouldn't be particularly interesting, if it weren't for its history, i.e. the Gum Gum fruit.

[DEE JAY]

am I dreaming or is there a lot of sadistic comments? Luffy dead… long live Joy Boy %$£*%##~!:??, are you okay? lol, Luffy's not dead and won't die until the serie's over, Joyboy is like Cavedish/Hakuba _ Naruto/Kurama _ Asta/Liebe _ Deku/Previous ONE4ALL owners etc....

[Dany]

@Daz:

So what're we gonna get
A) Luffy needs to gradually work out what the heck his new abilities are and how to use them, or B) Luffy instantly using his newfound abilities with high proficiency by "instinct" or some instant innate knowledge or something

Judging by the prior King Haki powerup I'm going anticipating B, because it allows Luffy to transition immediately into cool Kaidou smackdown mode

C) A mix between the two.

Remeber after the "king haki powerup" Luffy still lost because he supposedly was not handling it very well. So this time, I expect Luffy to get help from Marco, Momo, and Yamato until he gets the hang of his new ability. Then Kaido will also "awaken" and Luffy will be the only one left to finally defeat him.

[mr.french]

I think Luffy is going to become incredibly goofy and playful with his awakening powers, mirroring Kaidou's weird modes. He will be serious at some point to eventually knock out Kaidou. The time Kaidou is knocked out will give time for Momo and Zuneisha to kill Kaidou for good.

Unless… Kaidou understands after his knock out that Luffy is the legend, the Joy Boy of prophecy, and flies into the sky and beyond (to return later) accepting defeat after Luffy has saved everyone. Possibly changing his outlook on life, because Luffy's haki to make allies and friends is just that immense to even affect even Kaidou. To the point of not persisting in Wano. To await the point of where Joy Boy can change the world, then Kaidou returns.

[SuburbanErrorist]

@King:

Well, the titles do use the Devil Fruit term for Awakening. And the significant use of drums is suspect.

@Captain:

Watch these be used for Luffy literally just waking up and getting back in the fight in the anime's version of chapter 1010 instead of meaning anything significant.

I guess I don't know enough about the scoring process to say if a composer would get that kind of info as far in advance as it would have to have happened to be on a CD published now, but it doesn't feel quite right that it would happen that way.

The OST's are definitely using the word "Awakening" in the title as in DF awakening. 覚醒 is the word Oda uses for awakening in the Manga.

This word is never used for when luffy comes back from being knocked out in the series, and it doesn't even make sense to use it for "waking up". It's 110% Luffys DF awakening OST.

[Monquito]

I would like Luffy just being able to turn stuff into rubber and manipulate it.

I imagine Law getting smacked into the skull but it bounces back because its just rubber now.

And Luffy being able to headbutt Kaido with the Onigashima skull itself.

[ea77]

@Xelloss:

I have re-read the relevant bits of Chapter 1037 and I'm wondering if by any chance we might have misunderstood the Gorosei's words. I don't have access to the official translation now, but the fan made translation says:

We now assume the WG gave Luffy's fruit the name "Gum Gum", which would be a "fake" name, whereas the "real" name, and thus the real nature of the fruit, is different.
Maybe it's a stretch, but what if the thing goes actually the other way round? That is, a certain historically important devil fruit is commonly known by a fake name (which is "unique" and perhaps non-descriptive of its nature), because its real name has been erased from history, as we know the WG likes to do. And now the Gorosei are learning that the real nature of that fruit is something that wouldn't be particularly interesting, if it weren't for its history, i.e. the Gum Gum fruit.

Here you go, 16 chars of official trans

[Xelloss]

@ea77:

Here you go, 16 chars of official trans
https://scans-hot.leanbox.us/manga/One-Piece/1037-015.png

Many thanks. So Stephen's translation doesn't say the fruit's new name is unique, but the Gorosei's words could still possibly mean the opposite of what we think. I wouldn't say it's likely, but it could be.

[x20a]

@ea77:

Here you go, 16 chars of official trans
[qimg]https://scans-hot.leanbox.us/manga/One-Piece/1037-015.png[/qimg]

Was the fruit inside the strawhat the entire time?

[vlad Dracul]

as the days are closing in for the next chapter, i get some gear second chapter ending vibes (now)

[MonkeyDLuffy_]

This chapter has me thinking… Excluding Zoans... transformations in One Piece are pretty rare. Body manipulation like that of Logia, Baby9, and katakuri are not transformations. Gears are not transformations they have time limits because his body is trying to return to its manipulated state. . A transformation is a users body taking a different form like a zoan where the user does not need to consciously maintain it once you've transformed.

It appears that luffy's body is transforming into another state. Aside from Bon Clay, Robin(Maybe), who has non Zoan transformation. Are their any... or is transforming a dead give away that its a Zoan.

[blue-san]

It is not exactly transformation, rather
a) Logia = made out of substance
b) Paramecia = Just produces that substance

So Bon Clay simply produced it, didn't transform… Same stuff with Katakuri, but awakaning just allowed him to turn environment into it as well, which I still think is one of the most bizzare things. Mochi vs Rubber I mean. Cause I mean Mochi, lol....

[Monquito]

I'm feeling tempted at avoiding spoilers for 1044, tho its been sooo long since the last time I did it that I might fail at the end, but I'll try.

[Watch-man]

From teories that I seen I liked a lot one that Luffy has space manipulation devil fruit.

Meaning till now he could change only his own shape. Appearing to be rubber as his body is simply altering its shape within some limitations.

This way Luffys awakening could be not only making everything around him appear bouncy but for example if he could strech floor or walls at will he could avoid attack/ place someone in line of his attack just by using awakening. His imagination would be only limit to ways of using such power. I guess tree sap or mythical zoan model sun god is more likely but I liked space bending the most. Cannot wait for new chapter..

[Deicide]

@Watch-man:

From teories that I seen I liked a lot one that Luffy has space manipulation devil fruit.

Meaning till now he could change only his own shape. Appearing to be rubber as his body is simply altering its shape within some limitations.

This way Luffys awakening could be not only making everything around him appear bouncy but for example if he could strech floor or walls at will he could avoid attack/ place someone in line of his attack just by using awakening. His imagination would be only limit to ways of using such power. I guess tree sap or mythical zoan model sun god is more likely but I liked space bending the most. Cannot wait for new chapter..

That, like most Luffy DF theories, fail when you consider immunity to lightning.

(I'd also argue that it would also not give him blunt immunity except as an active defense)

[electricmastro]

@Watch-man:

From teories that I seen I liked a lot one that Luffy has space manipulation devil fruit.

Meaning till now he could change only his own shape. Appearing to be rubber as his body is simply altering its shape within some limitations.

This way Luffys awakening could be not only making everything around him appear bouncy but for example if he could strech floor or walls at will he could avoid attack/ place someone in line of his attack just by using awakening. His imagination would be only limit to ways of using such power. I guess tree sap or mythical zoan model sun god is more likely but I liked space bending the most. Cannot wait for new chapter..

May or may not have to do with the resin bubbles at Sabaody, which also hold in air.

[RoboBlue]

@Xelloss:

Many thanks. So Stephen's translation doesn't say the fruit's new name is unique, but the Gorosei's words could still possibly mean the opposite of what we think. I wouldn't say it's likely, but it could be.

It sounds like the fruit had a nickname exclusively used by the WG.

[Chams]

I think we might be mixing two different situations:

1. Luffy's fruit has awakened. He can now use the Gum Gum like a logia, or like Katakuri used his fruit. His body is becoming rubber and he might make the environment rubber too.
2. Luffy is becoming the Joy Boy by becoming stronger and overcoming Kaidou. His return from death means he got stronger.

So, what I'm trying to say is that maybe the fruit and Joy Boy are not that connected. I know that the Gorousei's speech points to that, but maybe Joy Boy's return is just Luffy becoming stronger by awakening his fruit

[Deicide]

@Chams:

So, what I'm trying to say is that maybe the fruit and Joy Boy are not that connected.

This is what I think. They are not related at all.

Joyboy is a D thing. Every D smiles when dying. IMO, that's Joyboy manifesting in them (whatever it means). But Luffy, by clinging to life, brings Joyboy with him.

As for the goo stuff, I think it's Caribou. He was watching the fight since Luffy returned with Momo. He brought the Heart Pirates in his body, that's how they reached Onigashima, and has been watching the fight the whole time. He's seen what happened to Luffy and went to help, because only Luffy can stop Kaido.

The fruit awakening is something else not related to the Gomu Gomu. I still think it's Kaido's. Also, Kaido's fruit was a treasure of the WG in God Valley. The WG went out of its to clone it. The clone is a failure. We still need to know why Momo's fruit is considered flawed. It probably can't awaken like Kaido's can.

Even Kaido's suicidal tendencies can be explained by it: he may be trying to awaken his fruit all this time.

[Ivotas]

Totally forgot Caribou was a thing. Now I really hope the goo thing is him. But I don't see him having such strong nerves to be there during the entire fight without losing his shit.

[Deicide]

Another thing to consider is that we already saw Luffy using a mysterious power in this arc, when he fell in the water and telepathically reached the Heart Pirates to save him.

He was even in water, so it's not related to his DF.

Maybe the Joyboy can comunicate with people, inspire them. Maybe it's Luffy's ability to rally people tunned up to supernatural levels.

After that Kaido speech about the samurai being weak, maybe what's going to happen is that Luffy inspires all the Wano people to rise up.

[Coookie]

If only there was another ability introduced already that has a lot to do with telepathic communication and isn't tied to Devil Fruits or the sea

[Deicide]

@Coookie:

If only there was another ability introduced already that has a lot to do with telepathic communication and isn't tied to Devil Fruits or the sea

We never saw a human talk to others via it before, thought.
Even if it's the Voice of All Things, we never saw anyone speaking in it, rather than just hearing it.

[puffing.cinema]

Redon and Scotch are already hyping the 1044 on tt

and, well, 1043 delivered the storm they said it would, so…buckle up

[andre]

What is tt? Is that a forum?

[ea77]

@puffing.cinema:

Redon and Scotch are already hyping the 1044 on tt

and, well, 1043 delivered the storm they said it would, so…buckle up

TikTok or Twitter?

[Coookie]

Buckle up for disappointment because spoiler providers and editors hyping up upcoming chapters has usually gone very well

[puffing.cinema]

sorry for being unclear, I meant twitter

yeap, I usually agree with you Cookie…but 1043 was everybit the thing they said it would be. A topic for official release with 17 pages of debate; week longs trend topics on social media; reddit and 4chan exploding...Oda is delivering (in the controversy departament).

[Dany]

The hype should come as no surprise if you thought 1044 will continue where 1043 left off.

[Deicide]

1,045 is the likely end of volume 103, so I'd expect it to have some big cliffhanger as well.

[electricmastro]

@puffing.cinema:

sorry for being unclear, I meant twitter

yeap, I usually agree with you Cookie…but 1043 was everybit the thing they said it would be. A topic for official release with 17 pages of debate; week longs trend topics on social media; reddit and 4chan exploding...Oda is delivering (in the controversy departament).

Doesn’t 4chan always explode in controversy? lol

[FelRes]

Chapter 1044 is trending. What would be the biggest troll move Oda could pull for the next chapter? Caribou fakeout?

[theackwardstation]

@FelRes:

Chapter 1044 is trending. What would be the biggest troll move Oda could pull for the next chapter? Caribou fakeout?

It's trending in anticipation for the spoilers… crazy stuff