Chapter 1,033: Shimotsuki Kozaburo
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Honestly after reading the official translation I don't think Zoro meant Luffy with his last statement. At the very least it's not as unambiguous as the spoilers led us to believe.
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That was a damn good chapter, love that Sanji and Zoro's fights are getting the focus they deserve
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Honestly after reading the official translation I don't think Zoro meant Luffy with his last statement. At the very least it's not as unambiguous as the spoilers led us to believe.
Yeah, this. I went from thinking that he means Luffy and Kuina, to just Luffy, and now back to Luffy and Kuina again haha.
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I love how Zoro reprised his own dream and Kuina in this chapter and hope for victory next chapter. Maybe it's time for Sanji to call the All Blue back in his own storyline too.
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With all that back and forth, I'm expecting the action to switch again to Sanji and both fights to end simultaneously in a few chapters.
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I think Sanji and Zoro's fights ending in the same chapter is likely.
If I'm not mistaken, Volume 102 ends in chapter 1,036, right? If so, next chapter could be Sanji's. Then 1,035 may have both fights happening simultaneously, and chapter 1,036 (first of 2022) has the finisher, opening the way for Volume 103.
However, if this is the end of the fights, we will still have a lot of things to resolve: Drake, Apoo, CP-0, Usopp going for Kin'emon, Yamato stopping(?) Kanjuro's monster, Marco and Izou going for the monster as well, Big Mom vs. Law and Kid… still a lot of threads beyond just resolving Luffy vs Kaido.
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Man what a great chapter!
This is usually why One Piece fights are so good! Well Straw Hat fights anyway. Zoro get's to show a bit more emotion for once in a long while. He gets to recount some of his past that I thought certainly would be left only to the SBS. It almost looks like Kitetsu's curse is playing out for a second there and we get a full on rationalized explanation for it. Plus Zoro struggling with his new power up makes it feel even more deserved now.
While future sight plus Katikuri's abilities seem a little too overpowered when combined I'm starting to see how a King or Queen would be able to handle someone like him. Thank goodness these two Calamity battles are lasting a heck of a long time. As the Flying 6 were beginning to be dispatched one after another I thought for sure the Calamaties would last no more than 2 full chapters each. By this point I'm glad they've been going on for so long and Oda jumping between the 2 gives me the impression that these fights are really lasting.
King is coming out of his shell and continues to actually talk. Earlier on in the fight I thought for sure he'd be just another silent boss fight. Glad he's speaking to Zoro and we are learning a bit about the both of em.
Queen continues with the Lunarian exposition drop. Seems like Oda wants Sanji to know this stuff first hand so that he can be aware of what he is. If Sanji believes that he is Lunarian that might help his psyche going forward. The explosion, fiery kick and sturdy body do resemble things that Sanji has done. I'm all in on the Lunarian space being angle.
The eyebrows and possible invisibility still seem very Germa though. The Raid Suit 100% jump started Sanji's latent DNA. I'm pulling for mostly Lunarian with smidge of Germa, the invisibility part. Watch King turn invisible…
My theory is that King hides his face because he has embarrassing curly eyebrows like the Germa kids. We never got to see Judge but maybe the eyebrows themselves come from a Lunarian trait. But then this goes against my Devil fruit theory with the eyebrows being by products of devil fruit shenanigans.
Oh and last thing. Once again I declare that I hate Sanji getting such a durable body, be it Lunarian or Germa! Queen is even continuing on about how King can't be beat, Lunarians could survive in any environment but they were nearly wiped out by something. If these are lasting abilities within Sanji I hope we get to learn how such abilities can get circumvented. However King gets defeated hopefully we get insight on how Sanji's new defenses aren't completely haxed.
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One thing that I've seen people discussing is how Zoro was able to learn CoC coating so quickly but it's actually not that at all but Enma's ability to draw out your Haki. Zoro had trained to keep his Haki stabilized, deliberately holding back but once he decided to go all out, the Katana drew out everything he had, including his CoC Zoro previously didn't even know about (see chapter 1010). Zoro making those fodder pirates faint is also just a side effect of it.
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One thing that I've seen people discussing is how Zoro was able to learn CoC coating so quickly but it's actually not that at all but Enma's ability to draw out your Haki. Zoro had trained to keep his Haki stabilized, deliberately holding back but once he decided to go all out, the Katana drew out everything he had, including his CoC Zoro previously didn't even know about (see chapter 1010). Zoro making those fodder pirates faint is also just a side effect of it.
By the same token, Hyogoro seemingly equates the technique for "cutting steel" with the same kind of advanced "Ryou" techniques he was trying to teach to Luffy, so it's entirely possible that Zoro's been tapping into higher-level applications of haki since as far back as Alabasta, at least to a limited degree.
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By the same token, Hyogoro seemingly equates the technique for "cutting steel" with the same kind of advanced "Ryou" techniques he was trying to teach to Luffy, so it's entirely possible that Zoro's been tapping into higher-level applications of haki since as far back as Alabasta, at least to a limited degree.
Absolutely! Even though Oda probably hadn't planned any of the haki stuff back then, if you re-read the scene where Zoro learns how to cut steel, it becomes very clear that Oda later carefully tried to make the haki concept fit that and similar scenes (e.g. Zoro foreseeing where the debris from Daz' attack would fall; his memory of Koushiro deliberately not cutting a sheet of paper, him unlocking the steel cutting technique after taking a brutal attack).
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Still not enough Zoro background
He's definitely not a Shimotsuki then why the huge resemblance to Oshimaru former lord of Ringo ?
It reminds me of Naruto being a successor of Ashura while the two shares 0% bloodline unlike Sasuke & Andura who are indeed the same bloodline
I found that a complete bs and i hope it's not the case with Zoro & Ryuma
He could give us an explanation that Zoro's Grandpa who's probably fled from Wano with Kozabura had married the sister of Oshimaru and had Zoro's father born outside of Wano thus it makes sense ! but in reality we got nothing but questions .
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Spanish says "amigo" (masculine), Portuguese says "amiga" (feminine), French says amie (feminine). Guess even official translations are a bit confused. I'd lean on Kuina as a call back to what Zoro said against Mihawk
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i wonder if Oda had that concept of swords having personnality when he introduced the cursed swords in loguetown. It's nice to finally have an explanation even though it is a bit late in the story and it would have been better sooner.
I also wonder if it is related to the other concepts such as haki or voice of all things. Can it be done with other objects than swords ?Will Robin tell us what are the lunarians ? I suppose she knows about them. King seems to play with Zoro so far. Maybe the king haki awaking will change things.
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Spanish says "amigo" (masculine), Portuguese says "amiga" (feminine), French says amie (feminine). Guess even official translations are a bit confused. I'd lean on Kuina as a call back to what Zoro said against Mihawk
I don't see what is confusing. He made the promise to Kuina ans she was a close friend. Why are people puzzled ?
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i wonder if Oda had that concept of swords having personnality when he introduced the cursed swords in loguetown.
When I first read the logue town arc (more than 13years ago…), I had thought that Oda had something like Bleach (for bankai) in mind.
I'd say that yeah, he probably had that somewhere in mind. But it's always hard to really understand a processus of creation throughout 20years and more...--- Update From New Post Merge ---
I don't see what is confusing. He made the promise to Kuina ans she was a close friend. Why are people puzzled ?
I think we just want to know if it's Luffy, because that's sweet to call him his best-friend, lol
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Still not enough Zoro background
He's definitely not a Shimotsuki then why the huge resemblance to Oshimaru former lord of Ringo ?
It reminds me of Naruto being a successor of Ashura while the two shares 0% bloodline unlike Sasuke & Andura who are indeed the same bloodline
I found that a complete bs and i hope it's not the case with Zoro & Ryuma
He could give us an explanation that Zoro's Grandpa who's probably fled from Wano with Kozabura had married the sister of Oshimaru and had Zoro's father born outside of Wano thus it makes sense ! but in reality we got nothing but questions .
I don't like how everything is connected but there is a lot more to be revealed here. Remember Denjiro holding Wado Ichimonji in the first chapter of the Oden flachback (even Greg mentioned that in his column)? What was that all about? That was also AFTER Kozaburo had left Wano. So somehow Wado Ichimonji and probably Zoro's mother got sent to the East Blue way after Shimotsuki village was founded.
EDIT: Why are people still confused about Zoro's last line? Both promises - the one to Kuina and to Luffy - are shown as flashbacks in this chapter. There's nothing to debate.
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Absolutely! Even though Oda probably hadn't planned any of the haki stuff back then
I'm sure Oda planned haki from the beginning. I mean, not the specifics, but the general idea of haki has been present in Chapter 1, covered very covertly in Baratie (re-read it, Krieg believes Mihawk's feats can only be explained through some mysterious power, and points out Zeff may know a way to deal with DF users in the Grand Line, reason why he wants his journal. Also, Zeff talks about Luffy's "spear"/determination being superior to all of Krieg's weapons), and present in Zoro's "breath of all things" moment.
I also remember a scene of Jango questioning how Luffy survived being hit by his chakram in the head, hinting at some hidden power, and both Mihawk and Arlong feeling Zoro's aura, the later thinking to himself that that's the kind of person he couldn't let live.
To me, there was always hints of a hidden "ki"-like power in One Piece. The details may have been fleshed out later, but I was sure of it since I started reading, so I was always seeking any moments that implied a hidden aura or power was behind some characters' strength.
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This chapter's got some great action and good old strawhat fight feels to it, but it's definitely nothing more than that for me. Nothing about the sword lore or continued sprinkles of Lunarian particularly tickles my interest, so it's pretty much just a "sit back and enjoy" chapter for me. King's getting great and Queen still going. I hope these fights keep going for awhile.
Ideally, we see Zoro successfully draw blood or damage King's suit again early next chapter and then move on to other things again. Personally, I'm itching to see Luffy and Kaido make some real progress like the other 3 big fights have in the past set of chapters. I'd rather see a small bit of progress in that fight before we get back to Sanji anyway. Also seeing Hiyori's trap for Orochi finish playing out is definitely a must.
One thing that this chapter brought to mind. If Zoro is to be as messed up and out of commission as he should be for awhile after this arc, it'd be fun to see him stuck giving Brook some pointers on this stuff. Brook's fruit seems to have typically allowed him to skip most of these issues as a swordsman, but it'd still be nice to see them bonding on it and it'd give Zoro something to do instead of just being a lump waiting to heal.
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I'm sure Oda planned haki from the beginning. I mean, not the specifics, but the general idea of haki has been present in Chapter 1, covered very covertly in Baratie (re-read it, Krieg believes Mihawk's feats can only be explained through some mysterious power, and points out Zeff may know a way to deal with DF users in the Grand Line, reason why he wants his journal. Also, Zeff talks about Luffy's "spear"/determination being superior to all of Krieg's weapons), and present in Zoro's "breath of all things" moment.
I also remember a scene of Jango questioning how Luffy survived being hit by his chakram in the head, hinting at some hidden power, and both Mihawk and Arlong feeling Zoro's aura, the later thinking to himself that that's the kind of person he couldn't let live.
To me, there was always hints of a hidden "ki"-like power in One Piece. The details may have been fleshed out later, but I was sure of it since I started reading, so I was always seeking any moments that implied a hidden aura or power was behind some characters' strength.
We cannot know for sure but to me it seems more like Oda just had many different things that could have had a "ki"-explanation and later wrapped them all under the Haki mantle. Like when Shanks scares away the Lord of the Coast in chapter 1 - Initially, that was surely just meant to show what a serious, impressive guy he can be. But if you re-read it now, it totally looks like a Haki scene.
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I don't see what is confusing. He made the promise to Kuina ans she was a close friend. Why are people puzzled ?
Well, what causes the confusion is Redon's statement and this discrepancy in "official" translations. I don't think the context is that confusing tbh.
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If he's talking about Kuina, that's weird to me because I wouldn't call that relationship a best friend kind.
If he's talking about Luffy, that would be more accurate but weird for him to say that out loud at that time.
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I'm going with Kuina, if the english translation is to be believed, that seems like the best fit for the way Zoro said it. It also just makes more sense.
Imagine how good Wano would be if every straw hat got treatment like sanji and zoro are getting just now, some real character development/drama stuff. This is what OP has been missing for a long, loooong time. -
My reading is that Zoro is talking about Luffy and Kuina.
After reading this chapter I feel like the whole Lunarian thing will end up being only a King thing. Queen's comments will play a part when these 2 fights come together again and Sanji will help Zoro to figure King out. That or they will end up only being a hype tool.
Kozaburo's look is pulled straight from de SBS session of anthropomorphization of Zoro's blades lol
Despite enjoying a chapter that is 95% focused on only one nucleus of characters, I still feel like it end up being a light-weight one. Not much was done here, but it was a nice read nonetheless. My gamble is that next chapter we go back to Sanji's fight, and 2-3 chapters down both All Stars are taken out in the same chapter.
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If he's talking about Kuina, that's weird to me because I wouldn't call that relationship a best friend kind.
If he's talking about Luffy, that would be more accurate but weird for him to say that out loud at that time.
Well that's what he calls her in chapter 50 when he's facing Mihawk – a promise to a close friend (親友). In chapter 1033, he says -- a promise to my captain and a close friend (親友). So I think it's clear it's Kuina.
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It's honestly a beautiful callback and it shows Zoro never forgot why he's still running towards his goal.
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Really good chapter. I'm glad we're finally getting more Zoro flashbacks.
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This what I really need in One Piece. A tight, focused battle where we learns everything about the combatants. Zoro remembering his past and King taunting him, that was sooo good! Even the Queen part, Oda does that to further foreshadowing Sanji's upgrade. One can only hope we get a full chapter finisher to King and Queen each to further explore them (especially Queen damn I love that guy).
Also, did King used Diable Jambe on Zoro?!
Oh yeah, about swords, just like what I said in spoiler thread, "legendary weapon chooses its wielder" and "swords have personalities", are common tropes in Japanese media so I'm all for it!!
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I really am surprised the Orochi cliffhanger last week didn't lead directly into a resolution of his arc, but instead we're getting Lunarian lore, Shimotsuki lore and sword lore, so I can hardly complain. Well, I can a little. Despite the awesome developments and some really great panels, and contrary to popular opinion, I don't think the actual action of this chapter flowed as well as it could have. Something in the choreography just didn't click for me this week.
Oda's obviously making a mystery out of King's powers. Does he heal with fire like Marco or turn into it like Sabo? Or is his body simply impenetrable and he sparks when struck like Mr 5? It's all very vague and I think it's strange how it overlaps with so many Devil Fruits. And then, "jackpot" implies there's some luck involved in what effect occurs and when. So what's the deal?
Queen offers some actual information on King's race and their importance. How interesting that they lived on the Redline and were revered as gods while the current rulers of that continent style themselves as the descendants of gods. Interesting too that the current nobility call themselves "dragons" now that we know the previous deity-apparents could fly and use fire as a weapon. The question then becomes if the Celestial Dragons really did descend from the Lunarians, breeding out the fire and wings over the generations, or if they usurped them violently and took their divine status for themselves. I'd bet on the latter. It's hard to imagine a species so adaptable goes extinct without a little outside help.
The panel of Zoro cutting through King is spectacular, but unfortunately the action choreography starts to stumble soon after. King uses his Imperial Deep Pride Stake again still without explaining what's being shot - a stretching attack like Luffy's? An air-slash type projectile? - which makes the flow of the battle really hard to visualise. He said it's just a pterodactyl thing, not a Lunarian one, so there's no need to keep it an mystery the same way. And then Zoro calling it a beam only muddies the water further. But the sequence over the next couple of pages where Zoro loses his swords is where I really take issue.
So Zoro drops all three of his swords when hit, and King's attack also damages a huge chunk of the island, building up a threat of either Zoro or his treasured swords falling off the side. Seemingly confirming this, Zoro leaps through the debris to save Kitetsu and King says he's "killing himself" to save the sword. But instead of pressing his advantage and edgeguarding, King quickly circles around and kicks Zoro back toward the safe ground at the centre of the island, into the side of the skull dome. The framing initially suggests Zoro jumped off the island to chase his swords, but he can't have fallen that far if he can be thrown in a straight line to the wall like that. It feels weird to me that Kitetsu was so precariously flying among the rubble but Wado Ichimonji is just conveniently planted in the ground near where Zoro lands, with Enma not too much further off. I think this sequence really needed a better lead-in panel showing the trajectories of the three swords so we have a better idea of the positioning and stakes ahead of time. But even with that, it feels out of character for King, who previously tried to end the fight quickly by dumping Zoro off the island, to go out of his way to send Zoro flying in the most advantagous direction the disarmed swordsman could have asked for. None of this is helped by King snapping rapidly between human and dinosaur forms between panels, increasing the feeling that we're missing beats and that each moment is disjointed from the one before it.
And it's a shame this sequence trips over its feet the way it does because we don't usually see opponents make a dedicated attempt to separate Zoro from his swords in the middle of a fight. King tried it once with his strange mechanical blade on the Live Floor, but he doesn't have any follow through now he's in a spot to literally drop them off the island. And the fact that weapon theft isn't just a gimmick, that he could still hold his own whether Zoro is armed or not, would have made him all the more unique. It can't help feeling like a little bit of a missed opportunity.
Finally, King smashes Zoro through the floor and we end up in a basement space that's probably the same sub-Live Floor level Yamato and Momo used to escape from Right Brain Castle after downing Hacha. Good continuity that it exists to be used at all, but I'm a little disappointed it wasn't on Yamato's mental cross section of the castle in chapter 1030 if it was going to come up again so soon.
I really hope to be able to look back on this fight favourably after it's done. Maybe the rough-feeling choreography will read better after King's explained his Lunarian and pterdoactyl powers in detail. Maybe we'll learn a bit more about him to justify him saving Zoro from falling off the side for Kitetsu. Hopefully it's just a blip in an otherwise robust showdown with enough good on either side to forget this one weak point. But right now the action is being carried by all the interesting exposition that's happening alongside it. Well, that and some great impact panels, even if the steps between them don't fully make sense.
The sword lore flashback was genuinely interesting though. The talk of philosophy behind blades, how they're tools made for murder, feels kinda brutal, almost edgy by One Piece standards, but it makes sense. Where spears, bows and even some guns find dual use in hunting, and axes and many blunt weapons echo craftsmen's tools, hunting swords are all but unheard of (and even when they do exist, are mostly used to deliver the coup de grace to an already-wounded quarry). Even in the near-deathless world of One Piece, swords are made almost exclusively for people to kill other people with. Putting that in words lends a gravitas to holding the weapon. And the idea of holding a sword and feeling it wanting to fulfill that purpose is a genuinely unnerving thought.
The flashback ties together a few scattered SBS details in a more concrete form, presumably both as a recap and for the magazine/anime only readers. Shimotsuki village. Kozaburo. Kuina's heritage. (Still nothing about Zoro's own liniage though.) I think it's news that Kozaburo was a pirate before founding the village though. And he was apparently good enough at it to be wanted by the Navy. I think the timeline on that one would put him before Roger's day. I wonder if we'll hear talk of a legendary samurai crew in history books or flashbacks at some point in the future. Something to keep an eye out for.
I did also enjoy the little flashbacks for Kitetsu and Wado Ichimonji during the chapter. It's great attention to detail that Zoro doesn't just have three generic swords, he has swords with names and history and specific moments in the story tied to them that get remembered. The attention to detail is what makes One Piece.
Zoro confirms what was hinted on the roof and unleashes his king's haki. I don't think I have any feelings on it that I wouldn't have gone through in any one of the many moments of foreshadowing, but it's a really cool moment when he reveals it. What I find interesting is that the smoke that usually comes off Enma is coming off all three blades now. I had kinda figured it was Enma's thing since no one else's haki has ever produced quite the same effect. I don't think it'll be anything particularly meaningful, no one in a million special techniques, but it's just interesting how unique the effect is.
And I really did like the final line, whether you take it to refer to just Luffy or him and Kuina both, it's a sweet note to add to Zoro's journey up to this point. Despite my complaining that the lost sword sequence wasn't executed quite right, this chapter can't help feeling like a celebration of Zoro and his role as Luffy's right hand. Now that he's found his feet with Enma, the rest of the King fight should click smoothly into place, and my expectations are high. But I don't think it's coming next week. There's Orochi and Queen at least to wrap up first. I'm gonna be on the edge of my seat to a return to this fight the whole time though.
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So Zoro drops all three of his swords when hit, and King's attack also damages a huge chunk of the island, building up a threat of either Zoro or his treasured swords falling off the side. Seemingly confirming this, Zoro leaps through the debris to save Kitetsu and King says he's "killing himself" to save the sword. But instead of pressing his advantage and edgeguarding, King quickly circles around and kicks Zoro back toward the safe ground at the centre of the island, into the side of the skull dome. The framing initially suggests Zoro jumped off the island to chase his swords, but he can't have fallen that far if he can be thrown in a straight line to the wall like that. It feels weird to me that Kitetsu was so precariously flying among the rubble but Wado Ichimonji is just conveniently planted in the ground near where Zoro lands, with Enma not too much further off. I think this sequence really needed a better lead-in panel showing the trajectories of the three swords so we have a better idea of the positioning and stakes ahead of time. But even with that, it feels out of character for King, who previously tried to end the fight quickly by dumping Zoro off the island, to go out of his way to send Zoro flying in the most advantagous direction the disarmed swordsman could have asked for. None of this is helped by King snapping rapidly between human and dinosaur forms between panels, increasing the feeling that we're missing beats and that each moment is disjointed from the one before it.
I'm getting a lot of Katakuri vs. Luffy vibes from King and Zoro after this chapter. They both took Luffy and Zoro deathly serious as threats to be eliminated at first, so now it wouldn't surprise me if King is matching Katakuri in gaining respect for his opponent and wanting to have a full fight at their bests. King mostly switched to trolling Zoro while he struggled to get his swords back and Enma under control and kicking him back to safety falls in line with this. It's possible King even intentionally kicked Zoro to his other swords. Even the final bit oozes "You good now? Toys aren't broken anymore? Finally ready to fight like a man?"
I'd certainly be happy with them ending their fight with mutual respect for each other. It'd be nice to get that with at least 1 major beast pirate fighter, and we all know Queen needs to be slammed under Sanji's heel.
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So Zoro drops all three of his swords when hit, and King's attack also damages a huge chunk of the island, building up a threat of either Zoro or his treasured swords falling off the side. Seemingly confirming this, Zoro leaps through the debris to save Kitetsu and King says he's "killing himself" to save the sword. But instead of pressing his advantage and edgeguarding, King quickly circles around and kicks Zoro back toward the safe ground at the centre of the island, into the side of the skull dome. The framing initially suggests Zoro jumped off the island to chase his swords, but he can't have fallen that far if he can be thrown in a straight line to the wall like that. It feels weird to me that Kitetsu was so precariously flying among the rubble but Wado Ichimonji is just conveniently planted in the ground near where Zoro lands, with Enma not too much further off. I think this sequence really needed a better lead-in panel showing the trajectories of the three swords so we have a better idea of the positioning and stakes ahead of time. But even with that, it feels out of character for King, who previously tried to end the fight quickly by dumping Zoro off the island, to go out of his way to send Zoro flying in the most advantagous direction the disarmed swordsman could have asked for. None of this is helped by King snapping rapidly between human and dinosaur forms between panels, increasing the feeling that we're missing beats and that each moment is disjointed from the one before it.
I completely agree with the lack of flow of the scene you're describing here. That said, regarding the text I highlighted, only Kitetsu was falling off the island. Zoro lost the grip of the other two swords only after King kicked him back. You can see Wado Ichimonji flying in the panel where Zoro is hitting the ground, just before Zoro finds it next to him.
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I completely agree with the lack of flow of the scene you're describing here. That said, regarding the text I highlighted, only Kitetsu was falling off the island. Zoro lost the grip of the other two swords only after King kicked him back. You can see Wado Ichimonji flying in the panel where Zoro is hitting the ground, just before Zoro finds it next to him.
Funnily enough, Enma seems to be the only one specifically shown leaving his hand when he takes the hit, so he did lose at least one extra besides Kitetsu.
In the panels where he's leaping toward Kitetsu he seems emptyhanded, but one panel's pretty zoomed out and the other keeps the hand he's not reaching with out of shot so it's hard to say for sure. You're right that Ichimonji is still in the air when he hits in the wall though. What's up with that?
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Funnily enough, Enma seems to be the only one specifically shown leaving his hand when he takes the hit, so he did lose at least one extra besides Kitetsu.
https://i.imgur.com/UOduauR.png
In the panels where he's leaping toward Kitetsu he seems emptyhanded, but one panel's pretty zoomed out and the other keeps the hand he's not reaching with out of shot so it's hard to say for sure. You're right that Ichimonji is still in the air when he hits in the wall though. What's up with that?
Yes, everything is awkward from a visual point of view. Anyway, I assume Zoro quickly put the swords back in the sheathe while he was falling down, or at least Wado Ichimonji. Maybe Enma stayed behind safely on the ground after the panel you uploaded. Only Sandai Kitetsu was truly falling off the island and then Zoro grabbed it. When King kicked him back, Wado Ichimonji flew away from his sheathe in that other panel.
Or all the swords were all over the place from the beginning and we saw Zoro finding them in that order, conveniently all close to him.
Weird. But it's nothing that kills my enjoyment, though.
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Yes, everything is awkward from a visual point of view. Anyway, I assume Zoro quickly put the swords back in the sheathe while he was falling down, or at least Wado Ichimonji. Maybe Enma stayed behind safely on the ground after the panel you uploaded. Only Sandai Kitetsu was truly falling off the island and then Zoro grabbed it. When King kicked him back, Wado Ichimonji flew away from his sheathe in that other panel.
Or all the swords were all over the place from the beginning and we saw Zoro finding them in that order, conveniently all close to him.
Weird. But it's nothing that kills my enjoyment, though.
Yeah, definitely didn't break the whole chapter for me either, just a little disappointing it couldn't have been communicated better. Oda's usually so consistent that these kinds of missteps really stand out, even when they're small.
I'm getting a lot of Katakuri vs. Luffy vibes from King and Zoro after this chapter. They both took Luffy and Zoro deathly serious as threats to be eliminated at first, so now it wouldn't surprise me if King is matching Katakuri in gaining respect for his opponent and wanting to have a full fight at their bests. King mostly switched to trolling Zoro while he struggled to get his swords back and Enma under control and kicking him back to safety falls in line with this. It's possible King even intentionally kicked Zoro to his other swords. Even the final bit oozes "You good now? Toys aren't broken anymore? Finally ready to fight like a man?"
I'd certainly be happy with them ending their fight with mutual respect for each other. It'd be nice to get that with at least 1 major beast pirate fighter, and we all know Queen needs to be slammed under Sanji's heel.
I definitely can see that happening as well. It's a good trope for these kinds of fights. King's definitely turned a lot harder and faster than Katakuri if that's the case though. Maybe it's just because the mask makes it so hard to read what he's thinking and feeling about Zoro or anything else. He's a real enigma so far.
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Last 2 pages with Zoro declaring himself ready for Emma as the others are fainting is cool.
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Each chapter the dragon clouds under Onigashima look healthier. Looks like Metroid's Ridley is pulling the dragon clouds now. It's Momo of course but doesn't quite look like his dragon form to me.
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Each chapter the dragon clouds under Onigashima look healthier. Looks like Metroid's Ridley is pulling the dragon clouds now. It's Momo of course but doesn't quite look like his dragon form to me.
You mean that page where we see him dragging Onigashima/ trying to pull it away?
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Funnily enough, Enma seems to be the only one specifically shown leaving his hand when he takes the hit, so he did lose at least one extra besides Kitetsu.
In the next panel, you can see Zoro has an empty mouth so he has lost Wado at that time too and it should be next to Enma when he is kicked back to the island
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Chapters like this make me even more foolishly hope for a strawhats-focused Elbaf arc or whatever is next.
Zoro being a charachter, let alone alikeble one, was something that was sorely missing for over 10 years.Chapter in general is… kinda bad? I mean nothing of the lore is new to the reader, it's silly tat Zoro wouldn't" have time" to put the pieces together in the two weeks of relatively calm preparation for the raid but has it during a duel for his life, the minions just poping out of thin air only to be knocked out by coc, 0 progress on any plotline, heavy handed retcons...
but again the charachter stuff is good enough to make it for me, but please now get on with it. -
Zoro’s "best friend” (親友) in the last panel probably refers to Kuina, not Luffy considering he has used the word 親友 only for Kuina in his life. BTW, Smoker described Zoro as Luffy's partner (相棒) and Roger called Rayleigh his "partner" as well.
pics
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! For anyone interested in Japanese fans' thoughts about "best friend" on Twitter, this link would be helpful with google translation.
"best friend Kuina Luffy"
https://t.co/5d2PVapgkG
Seems like most JP fans believe "best friend" refers to Kuina :) -
The entire context of the chapter points to it being Kuina.
Really, the only reasons people think the "best friend" is Luffy are: (1) because Redon said so, based on the image that showed only flashback-Luffy in that page, but ignoring the whole context of the rest of the chapter, and (2) people wanting a wholesome Zoro declaration of friendship while ignoring the context of the chapter.
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Again, how is this even a discussion? In the course of this series, Zoro made two important promises: First, to Kuina that he‘ll become so famous that his name will be known in the heavens. Second, to Luffy that he‘ll never lose against anyone until he becomes the best swordsman (I know Zoro lost fights after that but never against a swordsman). Both promises were referenced in this chapter. His best friend is forever Kuina - the end.
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Zoro’s "best friend” (親友) in the last panel probably refers to Kuina, not Luffy considering he has used the word 親友 only for Kuina in his life. BTW, Smoker described Zoro as Luffy's partner (相棒) and Roger called Rayleigh his "partner" as well.
pics
! [qimg]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFXFXqpaAAAS_Hw?format=jpg&name=medium[/qimg]
! [qimg]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFXFX4gaAAAGvxp?format=jpg&name=900x900[/qimg]
! [qimg]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFXFYGiakAU-Z2L?format=jpg&name=small[/qimg] For anyone interested in Japanese fans' thoughts about "best friend" on Twitter, this link would be helpful with google translation.
"best friend Kuina Luffy"
https://t.co/5d2PVapgkG
Seems like most JP fans believe "best friend" refers to Kuina :)Redon is there any truth to that. What’s jackpot mean to imply
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Whoops forgot to post the question alongside the thing.
Did jackpot imply some pleasure to the type of pain he received. -
Personally I don't have a major issue with it being Kuina, it's just weird.
Maybe the use of "best friend" is different in Japanese. Childhood friend or sworn rival I could understand in context.
But seeing "best friend" is odd to me because it's hard to believe from what we know that his friendship with her (by my definition of the word) was ever that strong (enough to surpass his living friends).
Or maybe he wouldn't use "friend" to refer to his crewmates. Then, her being 1st in that category would make sense.
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But seeing "best friend" is odd to me because it's hard to believe from what we know that his friendship with her (by my definition of the word) was ever that strong (enough to surpass his living friends).
I mean, the promise he made with her has only shaped his entire life. Obviously she didn't mean THAT much to him… /sarcasm
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Zoro was always a massive tsundere.
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Finally got around to giving the chapter a proper read. This was frigging awesome, feels like a classic Zoro fight. The focus on the swords and what it means to be a swordsman, Zoro actually struggling, the callbacks to the very earliest parts of One Piece.
Why the hell have all his other new world fight been OHKOs when it can be this good?!?!
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Not like I care a lot about Zoro in general, but Enma being officially his strongest blade (now backed up with it's creator confirming it) bothers me. I hope he will finish the fight with Wado, like he did so many times in the past. Turning it black (instead of Enma) would be my preferred solution.
As for the "my best friend" debate, on the one hand I would have liked the extra weight added to Zoro and Luffy's relationship, I mean we all know that those two have a special bond within the crew.
But on the other hand, Zoro singling out Luffy like that, while relatable, would establish a "friendship hierarchy" within the crew and I believe Oda wants to avoid any kind of official hierarchy at all cost (same deal with first mate or vice captain).Instead he's going for Kuina as his best friend, while the Straw Hats are his family. And in a picture perfect family you love everyone equally, right…
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As someone whose best friend died as a teenager, they tend to crystalise in that form forever.
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Not like I care a lot about Zoro in general, but Enma being officially his strongest blade (now backed up with it's creator confirming it) bothers me. I hope he will finish the fight with Wado, like he did so many times in the past. Turning it black (instead of Enma) would be my preferred solution.
As for the "my best friend" debate, on the one hand I would have liked the extra weight added to Zoro and Luffy's relationship, I mean we all know that those two have a special bond within the crew.
But on the other hand, Zoro singling out Luffy like that, while relatable, would establish a "friendship hierarchy" within the crew and I believe Oda wants to avoid any kind of official hierarchy at all cost (same deal with first mate or vice captain).Instead he's going for Kuina as his best friend, while the Straw Hats are his family. And in a picture perfect family you love everyone equally, right…
When Oden slashed Kaido he left X wound on him so BOTH swords dealt same damage so ultimately its all about Swordsman strength.
Enma was not said to be Zoros best sword, it was said to be Kozaburos opus magnum, with Kozaburo saying it was most serious sword when it comes to cutting down enemies. So its very haki-hungry weapon as it seems but still its all about Swordsman using it to its full potential. Kozaburo viewed sowrds as tools to kill thus for him power hungry Enma was his best sword. Having biggest firepower is not equal as being best tool for swordsman. Sure its handy against someone like Kaido but against Mihawk all that will matter is Zoros skill and "haki roof". So Enma is destruction tool but with it needing all time maximum output of Haki its not good for any long duels as it seems if someone can stop/ redirect/ deflect/ outskill what Zoro can pull off. Like with Luffys Gear Fourth being useless against Katakuri when he was calm and collected. Katakuri was redirecting, deflecting and avoiding Kong Guns that sent him flying and that he was unable to block with CoA. My point is that at highest levels of OP swordsmanship not only firepower matters, so Enma might be best in only one regard among Zoro swords.
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Zoros chapters are awesome