Oh, it's good to be back! The last chapter felt like it ended kind of in the middle of Sanji's scene, not quite feeling like a natural break point, so it's good to go straight back into it for this one. I appreciate that Sanji's negative reaction to his new powers stems from a fear that he'll lose his emotions the way his brothers did. Getting anxious about turning into someone else or losing your humanity is a much more existential angle than "I don't want these cool superpowers because they have my dad's cooties on them" and I'm legitimately curious to see the development of it. I hope this is the new Sanji angle I've been wanting for years now.
Seeing Big Mom in action here really emphasises how downplayed she's been as a fighter. Whole Cake Island was mostly running away and the rooftop brawl was decidedly Kaido-centric, but she's turning out to be great in a stand-and-fight battle. I love the unhinged look on her face, and the way her poses show momentum and impact despite her rotund, seemingly inflexible figure. If she's to go down here, there better be a few scenes of fighting left. It makes you wonder what could have been if Oda had decided give a chapter or two to Luffy's attempt to fight her at the wedding, rather than letting him throw one punch before the retreat.
I feel Killer is somewhat slept on by the fanbase, even after holding his own among the monsters on the roof, but this chapter makes it clear that Oda's got a whole lot more affection for the guy than us readers ever expected. His fast, acrobatic fighting style makes for some incredibly dynamic panels.
It's perhaps a little odd that Hawkins took damage when Zoro attacked his strawman at the start of this arc but is unaffected by Killer's beheading of it now. But since it was powered by different cards each time, I guess there'll be a copout SBS explanation about the Heirophant transferring damage to the user while Death does not, or only reversed taking damage if the card is reversed or something equally contrived. Takedowns in Wano have been unexpectedly but pleasingly brutal. Hawkins joins the ranks of Who's Who and Black Maria in suffering violent finshers, but taking it to the next level with some permanent disfigurement in at least his lost arm, if not also his slashed-up face. The visual of the deck scattering around him is an obvious end point to a character who uses cards to fight, but damned if it doesn't look great every time. Hawkins' role in the story ends a little flat. He's a character with some great visual design - especially his final scarecrow form, but very little of note in the personality department. I wonder if we'll ever get back to the man with a 1% chance of survival…
With Kid and Law now ready to fight Big Mom properly, the final stage of the battle draws ever closer. I think we might get one or two pages of their fight with her next week to make it clear Kid's a force to reckon with now that he's not hobbled, but then we need to cut away to deal with the last of the scrubs like Apoo, Orochi and Fukurokuju. I still think it's likely we'll be down to just Big Mom and Kaido as enemies before the end of this volume, but Oda definitely needs to keep his foot on the gas if things are going to reach a conclusion that feels decently paced.