Chapter's out
https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/viewer/1020060
Break next week.
Chapter 1106: On Your Side
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One thing I really like about the Bonney reveal is how it hits Saint Saturn right in the arrogance. I'd bet anything that Saturn never once considered that anybody on Egghead would have higher authority than him. I also like how it's a nice payoff to the whole hierarchy of command bit.
A long while back, in an early Egghead chapter thread, I equated the command hierarchy to the Three Laws of Robotics. Pacifista will obey anyone present with X authority, unless those orders are countermanded by anyone present of Y authority or higher, anyone present with Y authority will be obeyed unless countermanded by anyone present of Z authority or higher, etc. As a result, I can't help but think of this as Saturn getting Zeroth Lawed.
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《Lost in translation》In JP chapter, Kizaru said that Bonney and Kuma would be "piled on top of each other to make four". This is an old saying from over 300 years ago, meaning that the bodies of a man and woman in love are piled on top of each other and slashed off at once.
About the title, Oda chose ‘きみの味方’, not ‘君の味方’. Both are translated as ‘On your side’, but the former gives JP fans a more peaceful impression thanks to hiragana, not Kanji. Thus, Oda successfully emphasizes that Kuma cares so much about Bonney.
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Bonney having a higher command with any pacifista's that look like Kuma was great payoff. With so many things going on, you wouldn't think about it being the case, but makes a lot of sense. I assume this will include S-Bear, so this helps even the odds overall with the numbers.
I didn't read the spoilers, but I had caught wind that the arrival wasn't who most were expecting. My top guess was Black Beard, with the Grand Fleet being behind that, so I was trying to think my next guess. A few hours before the chapter, I was brewing in my mind the idea of the Cross Guild being the ones to show up, my main thought being that with so many Navy there, it would be lots of bounties for the picking (weak reasoning, but was something that just came to mind). With the reveal being Dorry and Broggy, I think it works well. I fully expected them to help out the crew again at some point, and this is a good way for the Straw Hats to go to Elbaph next.
My main question in my mind is how long this conflict will continue. Personally, I feel this will be a Straw Hat victory, but in so far that instead of decimating everyone they cause the buster call to back off, which considering the last few encounters with it, shows growth for the crew against the world government. Also feel Saturn will have some sort of limitation that will cause him to back off despite being so seemingly OP. Give readers and the crew something to ruminate on with how they will eventually take on people that can't sustain damage.
Egghead keeps on delivering
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Egghead remains unpredictable and fast-paced. Never would have guessed Dorry and Brogy, hope we're told soon why they abandoned their duel, though seems like the implication is that it's Nika related which I would be fine with. Bit awkward that random marines recognize them instantly, could've made one of the vice admirals a giant or something, but whatever. Really enjoyed this one overall. Where the hell are the blackbeard pirates though lol?
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Army of Dads
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Saul is supposedly the captain of the New Giant Pirates, but they refer to Hajrudin as the captain as well recently. Maybe because Saul wants to stay hidden. Weird that the wiki has applied want fans have assumed in the past, but not this which is all but not said. Probably learned its lesson.
Saul is older than Hajrudin, but slightly closer to Dorry/Brogy in age when comparing.
Things are moving quick. VP possibly dying and Bonney inheriting the Pacifista is already here. With the way Robonosuke is waking up, Mk 3s are working for Bonney, and the Giants are here, what is the point of escaping? Might as well make Egghead a stronghold like Wano. I still think this will be an escape, but this was a huge shift. Need some balance.
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Pinned by
Shift
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@Cockycent said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Saul is supposedly the captain of the New Giant Pirates, but they refer to Hajrudin as the captain as well recently. Maybe because Saul wants to stay hidden. Weird that the wiki has applied want fans have assumed in the past, but not this which is all but not said. Probably learned its lesson.
Saul is older than Hajrudin, but slightly closer to Dorry/Brogy in age when comparing.
Things are moving quick. VP possibly dying and Bonney inheriting the Pacifista is already here. With the way Robonosuke is waking up, Mk 3s are working for Bonney, and the Giants are here, what is the point of escaping? Might as well make Egghead a stronghold like Wano. I still think this will be an escape, but this was a huge shift. Need some balance.
Where was it said Saul was captain of the New Giant Pirates? My understanding was he was just in hiding on Elbaf after the Ohara Incident.
Looking over the chapter, did I miss a speech bubble or is it never outright said that Bonney is top of the hierarchy? I feel like something got left out there, or is more implied than stated.
I said in the spoiler thread, and probably elsewhere, that I wanted the Straw Hats to beat the Buster Call rather than merely escape it, but didn't think it was likely given how much bigger this one is vs Enies Lobby. That said, I'm happy to take what we're getting this chapter as a good middle-ground.
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
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That was a hell of a chapter.
@sgamer82 said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Looking over the chapter, did I miss a speech bubble or is it never outright said that Bonney is top of the hierarchy? I feel like something got left out there, or is more implied than stated
Like two full pages dedicated to it.
After the pacifistas turn on the marines, theres a whole bunch of text about it.
"The one worry in the back of my mind was seeing bonney killed by the father she loves. if you were to harm the daughter you lvoed so much Kuma, it would be a tragedy beyond compare!
Therefore I inserted a directive into each unit made to look like Kima. That even if the mightest authority in the world should command it... even if the the entire world should be your enemy...
Understand this Bonney, Kuma will ALWAYS be on your side.
THis is just a selfish wish of mine, and it means... I know what comes next!"
And then Vegapunk gets stabbed.
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So is Bonney just going to leave with all the Pacifista and Kuma without getting to interact with Luffy some more after this?
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This should not be an escape, this should be a win and an execution. The arc has been talking about a shocking thing that’s gonna happen and there’s only one thing that could shock and that’s An elder’s demise. It should come at the hand of Bonnie or Kuma to close the justice circle.
If Kuma lives, I Don’t know how Bonney becomes a strawhat unless Kuma himself joins. And what’s gonna happen with all the pacifistas?. If they aren’t destroyed here, I suppose the giants could take them all to elbaf. Maybe vegapunk could reprogram them not to obey the marines anymore if Bonney is not around.
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This seems like a good time to reshare Mom Piece. She picked up on the Luiffy is a god angle back in Little Garden.
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I get the idea in principal and am less bothered by the Nika Nika No Mi stuff than a couple of years ago, but could Luffy...not laugh like a maniac while his allies are being stabbed to death and bleeding out? This is just super weird.
Other than that, pretty great chapter. I really like the rather focused 7-8 pages on the Vegapunk/Bonney/Kuma "resolution" without much jumping around. Feels like there were now multiple chapters in a row with a focus on the relationship. That is really were One Piece is at its best.
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I will add, there is a world of difference between the fan and official translations in one key phrase: "A buster call is a trivial matter" vs. "this buster call is futile"
The former suggests that Luffy alone could decimate a fleet of 100 ships with ease; the latter means that even with a buster call, the World Government's attempts to capture Nika are futile, doomed to fail.
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This should still be an escape, not a victory. The force is too large, even with the unexpected aid of the Pacafistas, Dorry, & Brogy.
Zoro is apparently so evenly matched with Lucci that Jinbei was needed as a reinforcement. Franky, Robin, and Stussy are seriously injured. Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper are combat ready. Stella has been stabbed, Shaka and Pythagoras have been killed, and Atlas is injured. Kuma is currently unable to move. Even if Luffy could fight Saturn, who's gonna handle Kizaru? Realistically, Luffy fights Kizaru and Saturn remains an untouchable force, much like Big Mom on WCI.
If a severely handicapped Straw Hat crew (Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Jinbei, Chopper, Nami, and Usopp) can handle Lucci, Kizaru, Saturn, 9 Vice Admirals, and a fleet of 100 ships, there really wouldn't be much tension moving forward.
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Before it felt like something special to Zunisha to be able to hear Luffy's heart, and I was wondering if the Bucanneers having a tone that mimics it meant his heartbeat was audible like that to anyone.
As of this chapter, we get confirmation the "Nika rhythm" is his actual heartbeat that is so loud it can be heard by others as a sound that follows him.This can't be good to his health, can it? I wonder if the Gears (and all other stuff) supposedly eating away Luffy's life will actually have a real consequence at some point. It would be interesting if Luffy came to an understanding that Gear 5 is something that will definitely kill him at some point and is still going at it without a care.
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I'm actually suspicious of Zoro vs. Lucci at this point. It's gone on for awhile now without any outside signs of disturbance. A win from either side seems like a boring outcome right now. I'm wondering...maybe a Lucci triple cross? I feel like we need more after saving this for so long.
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@Robby said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
That was a hell of a chapter.
@sgamer82 said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Looking over the chapter, did I miss a speech bubble or is it never outright said that Bonney is top of the hierarchy? I feel like something got left out there, or is more implied than stated
Like two full pages dedicated to it.
After the pacifistas turn on the marines, theres a whole bunch of text about it.
"The one worry in the back of my mind was seeing bonney killed by the father she loves. if you were to harm the daughter you lvoed so much Kuma, it would be a tragedy beyond compare!
Therefore I inserted a directive into each unit made to look like Kima. That even if the mightest authority in the world should command it... even if the the entire world should be your enemy...
Understand this Bonney, Kuma will ALWAYS be on your side.
THis is just a selfish wish of mine, and it means... I know what comes next!"
And then Vegapunk gets stabbed.
That's exactly what I'm referring to. The fan-scans put specifically that Bonney was on top of the command structure, the official translation more implies it than anything.
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
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Where last week's chapter was all the slow setup, this one is 100% slow payoff. It's the turnaround for all of Egghead's tension, and Oda lets it breathe for an uncharacteristically long time, giving us pages and pages of relishing the Buster Call fleet's destruction and the ultimate demonstration of Kuma's love for Bonney. And I think this truly is the end for the Egghead Arc - Luffy's back on his feet, the Pacifista are completely under control, the giant robot is moving and the freaking giants are here for backup. For Saturn and Borsalino to overcome all of that and put the Strawhats on the ropes again would be a reset on par with Wano's legendary 'raid failing' theory. There's a bit still to do, but it's time to start wrapping up and winding down.
My favourite thing about the Luffy scenes in the opening pages is the gang of Marines who try to cuff him being knocked straight up off the island for their trouble, seen from a great distance. It's such an Asterix gag, and I have tremendous nostalgia for Asterix gags.
The slow lead into Vegapunk's big reveal puts all the weight of the arc on this one moment where the love of a father proves more powerful and is given the chance to overcome the world's greatest authority. In isolation, it's perfect for everything we've seen from Kuma and Bonney, and just the right final act of defiance for Vegapunk to gamble on. The build up of all the inner monologue last chapter about the tragedy of a father being made to kill his daughter only to find that the very same thinking was the inspiration for Vegapunk to turn that possibility on its head. Many have speculated that lineage factor or something like it would lead the clone Pacifistas into joining the original Kuma in defending Bonney, and having it be a deliberate choice from Vegapunk, brings the little found family of labrats from the flashback full circle. On paper, you couldn't do this better. In context, however...
In context, these great ideas are soured slightly by how hit and miss the Pacifista authority settings and Saturn's scientific vigilance have been the whole arc. It's cheapened by Vegapunk pulling out a secret act of defiance already last chapter. Frankly, if I was doing a rewrite I'd scrap the whole self-destruct bit - just make it a shutdown switch implemented as directed and overcome by Kuma's will. Saturn never threatens to check for scientific deceptions, Vegapunk's big choice is only a secret final person at the top of the authority hierarchy and it comes out all at once here. What we have now is one thing too many, and it doesn't let the one that really matters have the power you would want it to.
But either way, it happens, and we spend several pages revelling in well-earned carnage. The destruction of the fleet is beautifully rendered and full of lively detail.
Punk seems badly wounded when we cut back to him, but come on, this is One Piece. I'm not unhappy with the way Gear Five's euphoria overwhelms Luffy's traditional instinct to get mad if his friends get hurt in the way some others are, but it is a noticeable change. I can't help wondering if there's a story beat building over this. If Luffy is properly enraged, or saddened, or otherwise torn from the driving Nika emotion, would he lose access to the form? It would also be interesting to see a scenario come up that can't be resolved unless Luffy calms down and takes it seriously, but with Gear Five's incredible ability to warp the environment and people around it, I have a hard time of thinking what that could be.
Whatever 's been going with him up to this point, Borsalino is done playing. His promise to end it quickly demonstrates some sympathy to Kuma and Bonney left in his system, but he's all in at this point. But with a direct order, right in front of his boss, there wasn't really room for hesitation on this front.
Luffy is back and fully revealed and identified as Nika at last with some great, fun bouncing backgrounds. It's a significant moment for Bonney to finally witness this, but I'm not sure what I expect her to make of it yet. Will she follow him? Idolise him? Or perhaps this little girl is going to be frustrated her god couldn't appear sooner, especially if her father's wounds prove fatal. But that's for the future.
And then, yes, the giants arrive. Dory and Brogy back in action some 900 chapters after Little Garden. Triggers are being pulled on some of the series' longest-haul setups. Very, very curious that they've already fully identified Luffy as Nika, presumably just based on a bounty poster. I would have guessed they were only following Saul's will to prevent another Ohara, but it runs deeper. Seems like we're going to learn a lot about Nika and Joyboy on Elbaf.
As Egghead reaches this conclusive point, I find myself reflecting on story structure in big serialised works like this. Conventional wisdom says you need a darkest hour followed by a turnabout leading into the climax. But it's hard to do that on 20 pages a week with obsessive fans like this. Ideally, the reversal of the situation would happen all at once in a big, sweeping heroic moment, but when your cast is this large and this scattered, and your page time this limited, the reversal comes as more of a cascade, one problem being solved after the other. But that takes weeks in real time, in which people are going to complain that the tension is gone, and then talk themselves into thinking that's because that wasn't the real lowest point yet and it's still coming. Dispelling the tension in a single chapter - with a single moment, without the arc drawing on after and without it being so predictable that everyone sees it playing out - can be done (Shanks arriving at Marineford and Merry appearing at Ennies Lobby are the best examples) but the setup it takes is intense.
Wano suffered really badly for this. So much going on that by the time we start unpicking knots and resolving fights there's still three and a half volumes of content to go. Egghead's conflicts are at least a little more concentrated, so it should be smoother sailing.
And as a final note, the giants' arrival makes the Blackbeard Pirates' ship's presence even more mysterious. I imagine they're being opportunistic, planning to salvage one important thing from the ruins while everyone else is distracted with each other. Oda did allude, in his end of year statement, to having an outline that skipped over Elbaf though, which makes me wonder if Blackbeard was originally going to be used to force the story into a final stage post Egghead and has now been replaced in his role by the giants...
Well whatever. Elbaf is coming, and I can't imagine a more anticipated arc outside of Laugh Tale itself. The next few months are gonna be awesome.
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@sgamer82 said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
@Cockycent said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Saul is supposedly the captain of the New Giant Pirates, but they refer to Hajrudin as the captain as well recently. Maybe because Saul wants to stay hidden. Weird that the wiki has applied want fans have assumed in the past, but not this which is all but not said. Probably learned its lesson.
Saul is older than Hajrudin, but slightly closer to Dorry/Brogy in age when comparing.
Things are moving quick. VP possibly dying and Bonney inheriting the Pacifista is already here. With the way Robonosuke is waking up, Mk 3s are working for Bonney, and the Giants are here, what is the point of escaping? Might as well make Egghead a stronghold like Wano. I still think this will be an escape, but this was a huge shift. Need some balance.
Where was it said Saul was captain of the New Giant Pirates? My understanding was he was just in hiding on Elbaf after the Ohara Incident.
I said Saul is supposedly the captain due to 1066, so it was never said.
Dragon says their captain was a strange man covered in bandages
The pirates collecting the books look like Gerd and Hajrudin
Figure with bandages as Dragon described and Shaka is recollecting the captain.
Robin flat out asking if the captain is Saul and Shaka not revealing it.
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I just don't want to see Luffy defeat Saturn, unequivocally. Luffy vs. Kizaru should be the big fight, if there is one. The Straw Hats need to escape, not achieve a conclusive victory here. Egghead is going to end up in WG control one way or the other, so there's no point in standing their ground and fighting here, especially with so many people like Robin, Stussy, and now Franky & Stella already seriously wounded.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
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I just reread the chapter and freak, Dorry and Broggy reuniting with the Straw Hats is so hype!
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@StrawHatJedi said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
I just don't want to see Luffy defeat Saturn, unequivocally. Luffy vs. Kizaru should be the big fight, if there is one. The Straw Hats need to escape, not achieve a conclusive victory here. Egghead is going to end up in WG control one way or the other, so there's no point in standing their ground and fighting here, especially with so many people like Robin, Stussy, and now Franky & Stella already seriously wounded.
I disagree. If the Straw-Hats escape, it's largely just more of the same Marines attack Straw Hats, Straw Hats flee. I think, even if Saturn himself isn't taken down, that this absolutely should be some kind of big victory for the Straw Hats' side. Something worthy of the name Egghead Incident. The pattern of the Straw Hats' interaction with the Navy as a group ever since Logue Town has been either "fighting retreat" (Alabasta, Enies Lobby's Buster Call, Dressrosa) or "outright loss" (Long Ring Long Land, pre-Time Skip Sabaody), with an occasional "Enemy Mine" (Punk Hazard).
It's at least one reason my initial thought from the moment I realized the Sabaody supporting cast was reassembling that this would be the ideal time for an admiral to be defeated (the Marines are the last big obstacle besides the other Emperors and the World Government, Kizaru is perfect to be beaten because he isn't too new for his defeat to diminish the admirals [Ryokugyu] or too honorable to be an enemy [Fujitora], and he's beaten the Straw Hats before, so we have a baseline with him).
I hoped to see the Buster Call defeated, and am fine with it happening with the giants' help.
@Cockycent That makes sense, I can see where that might imply Saul was a captain. At least of the group in Ohara.
Waldorf: You know Statler, after watching the last one thousand episodes of One Piece, I think I've come to a conclusion.
Statler: No you haven't.
Both: DOHOHOHOHOHO!
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@sgamer82 My biggest contention with the outright victory outcome is the toppling of Saturn. I feel like it's too soon and too significantly weakens the World Government's threat level to not only break a mega Buster Call, but also topple both an Admiral and an Elder ... before we even really know exactly who / what the Elders are, no less. And then add to that the fact that the superweapon requiring the Mother Flame is nullified by the reactor's destruction and Bonney is a trojan horse for all Pacafista the world over.
It's also coming hot on the heels of the Straw Hats scoring a major victory on Wano. Win followed by win, followed by win.
I do think Luffy vs. Kizaru would be a fitting matchup; Toppling an Admiral shouldn't be a 'sub boss fight', for lack of better descriptor.
I could see Saturn's powers perhaps being limited in the Blue Seas below, leaving him as a looming threat in the future.
I also think the WG needs to recover York so that she can begin building a new reactor. Else, the superweapon which destroyed Lulusia is just a non-threat. The reactor has to be destroyed, else they could just go around vaporizing entire islands. But it still needs to be something which will return in the future.
I am okay with a victory here provided three conditions, one of which is met by Dorry & Brogy's arrival; the victory can't be unassisted, especially with the crew already pretty battered. The second, I really don't think toppling Saturn would do the story any benefits. Third, Kizaru has to push Luffy to his absolute limit. I really, really don't want this to be an easy victory for Luffy, even at full power.
Luffy steadily progressed in strength all the way up until chapter 1043 and every victory felt hard-earned. Then he miraculously transformed into Nika. I just don't like the idea that every battle from that moment forward will be a breeze for him. Kaido didn't awaken. Big Mom didn't awaken. Please, let Kizaru awaken his logia. No antagonist since Katakuri has used awakening.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
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@Robby said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
This seems like a good time to reshare Mom Piece. She picked up on the Luiffy is a god angle back in Little Garden.
Thanks for this. I am super intrigued by this lady and her evaluation of the story. The way she described that Luffy is some form of a god really put into clear words a feeling that I had as far back as East Blue.
Granted her argument is far better spoken and articulated than what my 18 year old brain could come up with. But even 20 years ago as a 4kids anime only watcher(lol) it felt like there was something divine about Luffy. The Little Garden stuff never once gave me that idea(especially since it never aired) but instead the constant shock and aww Luffy put people through during the East Blue.
I don't read any other manga and I haven't watched any other anime series since Card Captors or the first few seasons of Pokemon. So I'm not particularly aware of persistent tropes in Japanese media or what have you. So with that said, constantly seeing background characters in aww of Luffy always struck me as regular folk witnessing the divine.
Krieg's underlings could barely process what they were seeing, watching their captain get knocked down over and over. The way the villagers of Cocoyashi were slack jawed watching Arlong and his gang get slapped around. These side characters were watching events that seemed nearly impossible, like God himself was intervening in their lives.
When side characters look at Luffy like that, I buy it hard. When they question things about their own lives or the reality of their world in relation to Luffy, I buy it so hard. Oda has always been so good at the onlookers gawking. I don't know if my read/interpretation was what he was going for but the god angle was exactly how I saw it. A Jesus or messiah type of deal.
It was Smoker at the end of Logue Town that really sealed the deal. Then Crocus at the end of the Twin Capes that put a stamp on it.
Really didn't like the 5 Elder dialogue right before the awakening but I'm pretty pleased with everything else.
This awakening is going to kill Luffy isn't it?
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@StrawHatJedi said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
@sgamer82 My biggest contention with the outright victory outcome is the toppling of Saturn. I feel like it's too soon and too significantly weakens the World Government's threat level to not only break a mega Buster Call, but also topple both an Admiral and an Elder ... before we even really know exactly who / what the Elders are, no less. And then add to that the fact that the superweapon requiring the Mother Flame is nullified by the reactor's destruction and Bonney is a trojan horse for all Pacafista the world over.
It's also coming hot on the heels of the Straw Hats scoring a major victory on Wano. Win followed by win, followed by win.
I do think Luffy vs. Kizaru would be a fitting matchup; Toppling an Admiral shouldn't be a 'sub boss fight', for lack of better descriptor.
I could see Saturn's powers perhaps being limited in the Blue Seas below, leaving him as a looming threat in the future.
I also think the WG needs to recover York so that she can begin building a new reactor. Else, the superweapon which destroyed Lulusia is just a non-threat. The reactor has to be destroyed, else they could just go around vaporizing entire islands. But it still needs to be something which will return in the future.
I am okay with a victory here provided three conditions, one of which is met by Dorry & Brogy's arrival; the victory can't be unassisted, especially with the crew already pretty battered. The second, I really don't think toppling Saturn would do the story any benefits. Third, Kizaru has to push Luffy to his absolute limit. I really, really don't want this to be an easy victory for Luffy, even at full power.
Luffy steadily progressed in strength all the way up until chapter 1043 and every victory felt hard-earned. Then he miraculously transformed into Nika. I just don't like the idea that every battle from that moment forward will be a breeze for him. Kaido didn't awaken. Big Mom didn't awaken. Please, let Kizaru awaken his logia. No antagonist since Katakuri has used awakening.
If Saturn was alone, I could see more likelihood in him getting defeated, but with Kizaru there, I feel like an Admiral getting defeated is enough.
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This shit is so bad and this guy is on the floor dying laughing. This is why Smoker couldn't stop thinking about him.
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Mhh, not a real fan of what the savior and god of the giants will mean for the story moving forward. Are the giants there because Shanks sent them, they want to rescue their sun god, rescue an old friend Luffy or is it Saul who asked them to rescue Vegapunk?
I’m also curious what’s up with Blackbeards ship, who is on it, will they land on the island once everything is over or will they come in and be another obstacle or potential ally in the fight against Saturn and Kizaru?Bonney getting the control of the pacifista who look like her dad is cool, I had the idea that something like this might happen after Vegapunk started his monologue in the last chapter.
But ultimately it feels like Vegapunk is the smartest person in the world when it suits the plot, but otherwise is a stupid old man.
Bonney seeing the sun god in Luffy might mean that they, Kuma, his army of clones and Bonney might be coming with us to Elbaf. Since the giants are the worshiper’s of Nika.
I hope Oda doesn’t forget that there are other strawhats besides Luffy.
An interesting idea I came across is that thanks to Dorry and Broggy the crew will learn more about Vivi, as she was part of the crew when they first met on Little Garden. -
Reading Dorry and Brogys laugh at the end real put me in a good mood. Go get them warriors of Elbaf
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@StrawHatJedi said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
@sgamer82 My biggest contention with the outright victory outcome is the toppling of Saturn. I feel like it's too soon and too significantly weakens the World Government's threat level to not only break a mega Buster Call, but also topple both an Admiral and an Elder ... before we even really know exactly who / what the Elders are, no less. And then add to that the fact that the superweapon requiring the Mother Flame is nullified by the reactor's destruction and Bonney is a trojan horse for all Pacafista the world over.
It's also coming hot on the heels of the Straw Hats scoring a major victory on Wano. Win followed by win, followed by win.
I do think Luffy vs. Kizaru would be a fitting matchup; Toppling an Admiral shouldn't be a 'sub boss fight', for lack of better descriptor.
I could see Saturn's powers perhaps being limited in the Blue Seas below, leaving him as a looming threat in the future.
I also think the WG needs to recover York so that she can begin building a new reactor. Else, the superweapon which destroyed Lulusia is just a non-threat. The reactor has to be destroyed, else they could just go around vaporizing entire islands. But it still needs to be something which will return in the future.
I am okay with a victory here provided three conditions, one of which is met by Dorry & Brogy's arrival; the victory can't be unassisted, especially with the crew already pretty battered. The second, I really don't think toppling Saturn would do the story any benefits. Third, Kizaru has to push Luffy to his absolute limit. I really, really don't want this to be an easy victory for Luffy, even at full power.
Luffy steadily progressed in strength all the way up until chapter 1043 and every victory felt hard-earned. Then he miraculously transformed into Nika. I just don't like the idea that every battle from that moment forward will be a breeze for him. Kaido didn't awaken. Big Mom didn't awaken. Please, let Kizaru awaken his logia. No antagonist since Katakuri has used awakening.
I get the feeling the Kizaru fight might be cut short now that Dorry and Brogy have stepped in, or else what's stopping them from making an ultimate attack against him
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@sgamer82 said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
That's exactly what I'm referring to. The fan-scans put specifically that Bonney was on top of the command structure, the official translation more implies it than anything.
I didn't read the fan scans which were obviously more blunt, but that's... pretty explicit. Combined with what's happening in the chapter with two of the highest ranked guys around in the vicinity? I don't think there's much room to come to any other conclusion beyond "any Kuma bot will obey Bonney above all else."
I mean I guess it's possible that Imu could have a secret fourth law built in, but other that than it's pretty clear.
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@onemoment said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
I'm actually suspicious of Zoro vs. Lucci at this point. It's gone on for awhile now without any outside signs of disturbance. A win from either side seems like a boring outcome right now. I'm wondering...maybe a Lucci triple cross? I feel like we need more after saving this for so long.
I was thinking about this too, there's definitely something going on there. I was actually considering a Stussy betrayal, just because that seems to be her thing at this point and her vampire stuff has yet to be explained. Maybe the whole thing with Lucci was a set-up.
Speaking of which, they apparently left York alone. That seems like it could be dangerous, with her having authority over the Seraphim and all. And the Bonney trick shouldn't work with them beside S-Bear.
There's also the BB pirates. If Oda wants to turn this into more of a mess than it already is (which he usually does) he definitely can.
And for the the Strawhats side, there's actually no confirmation that Dorry and Broggy are the ones who saved the researchers. There could be more people coming. I think it makes sense that if the Strawhats are going to come out on top and become public enemy #1, it'd be thanks to what Mihawk called the most dangerous power.
I don't think Saturn being defeated here would really detract from the WG threat, depending on how it happens. At the end of the day he's just a lackey. He's less Big Mom in WCI and more Vergo in Punk Hazard. If he puts up a good fight, we know there are another 4 guys like him, plus the holy knights, and of course the guy at the top is likely on a completely different level.
And I can actually see Vegapunk dying here. Wano changed the paradigm from 'nobody ever dies in One Piece no matter how dramatic the death scene or how serious the injury' to 'nobody ever dies in One Piece no matter how dramatic the death scene or how serious the injury, except when they randomly do', but the more important factor here are the Satellites. I can see an scenario where only two Vegapunks are left, an evil one so the WG can keep doing evil science and another one on the good side, likely Lilith since she was the first introduced as Vegapunk and the irony of being the evil one. And of course it's the two hot chicks that survive.
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@Sengokusgoat said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
And I can actually see Vegapunk dying here. Wano changed the paradigm from 'nobody ever dies in One Piece no matter how dramatic the death scene or how serious the injury' to 'nobody ever dies in One Piece no matter how dramatic the death scene or how serious the injury, except when they randomly do', but the more important factor here are the Satellites
Regardless of who bites the dust, to me the biggest unknown currently - but maybe also the decisive factor - is the matter of Punk Records.
- Does it stay alive if the Stella, as a body of flesh with a beating heart, breathes his last ? Logically it should not, but we've known biology to work in unexpected ways if Oda wishes it to.
- Assuming the Vegapunk Stella is still alive at the end of all this, how do they shield Punk Records from whatever the World Gov may keep throwing at the island even after the Buster Call fails? At one point there were theories of sending it to space and I'd love to see that, but there hasn't been any build-up to it until now and time's running short. We've also seen Vegapunk teleport, so there's this possibilty as well eventhough we don't know how far it allows him to travel
- Can the satellites still operate without either of these functional ? I would tend to say yes, since York had no problem wanting to get rid of every other Punk. To them, Punk Records is an archive and not their operating system.
All in all, the story seems easier to wrap up if the main Vegapunk isn't around anymore. He is dealt some karmic justice for what he did to Kuma, Punk Records disappears along with him and a couple satellites are left behind to serve as somewhat diminished versions of the world's greatest scientist. Neither side gets an unfair advantage, the huge brain and the sum of spoiler material it holds is out of the picture. The world has its shocking event which can even - bonus - be pinned on Luffy since, hey, he and his giant allies destroyed that marine fleet that was trying to protect Vegapunk.
Still, I'd love for Oda to not take the easy road and surprise us.
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worst chapter so far in egghead
gear 5 proves once again to be the worst thing ever occurred in this manga, ruined Wano and seemingly will doom every arc moving forward.
whether fights or lore. nothing will be spared from this ugly retcon except rare side journeys like Garp invading Hachinosu.
Dorry and Broggy are now joined with Kuma and the rest as worshipers of Luffy. some people are actually into this and love it so much even though Luffy himself dislikes being a hero not alone being a deity or world savior. Poor Luffy he deserved a better gear, a better writing, a better style and first and foremost a better role as a freaking pirate. next chapter will be Nika's special. enjoy the clownfest. I'll be rooting the invisible blackbeards.
I like Kizaru more than ever, what an amazing antagonist. all the admirals are up to my taste except for the green bitch.
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I felt that the artwork in this chapter was the strongest since Oda's eye surgery. At least, definitely the strongest since that flashback chapter that wasn't finished in time. I greatly enjoyed it.
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@Captain-M said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Luffy is back and fully revealed and identified as Nika at last with some great, fun bouncing backgrounds. It's a significant moment for Bonney to finally witness this, but I'm not sure what I expect her to make of it yet. Will she follow him? Idolise him? Or perhaps this little girl is going to be frustrated her god couldn't appear sooner, especially if her father's wounds prove fatal. But that's for the future.
Well Vegapunk told Bonney it must have been fate they both arrived to Egghead together, so she prob thinks Luffy is doing his best under these circumstances.
And since Elbaf seems like it will be a Nika-exploration arc detailing such of the Sun God lore, going by the Giants saying Sun God, then I imagine Bonney could want to follow them to Elbaf to learn more about this. I'm sure Kuma would too.
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Did the BC manage to fire at least one shot before its threath was completely nullified by factors once again entirely external to the crew, or not even that?
Also I don't get why building up to the PXs retaining emotional attachment from the originals and then having Bonney's supreme authority on all Kumas being by design.
The stab panel was good though. Hope it sticks.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing
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@Alfiere said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Also I don't get why building up to the PXs retaining emotional attachment from the originals and then having Bonney's supreme authority on all Kumas being by design.
No you see, it's only the Seraphim that conveniently retain emotions through their genetic memories, not the regular Pacifistas.
That way you can conveniently handout a get out of jail free card to the Strawhats by having Chibi-Hancock disobey York because Luffy is present (and thus solving the conflict just by sheer luck and without the crew's skills being tested), but at the same time you can have the Kuma clones not reacting at all to the crew that he tried to protect so much.
Ah, but if it's only the Seraphim that can ignore all previous commands and retain their original personality and attachment (just when the situation demands it), why did Chibi-Kuma fight Luffy, the man that Kuma believed to be Nika and that wanted to help at all costs? Or why did Chibi-Jinbe, one of our crewmates, behave so aggressively? Guess we'll have to wait for Goda's input on that.
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@hideoushorrendous said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
worst chapter so far in egghead
gear 5 proves once again to be the worst thing ever occurred in this manga, ruined Wano and seemingly will doom every arc moving forward.
whether fights or lore. nothing will be spared from this ugly retcon except rare side journeys like Garp invading Hachinosu.
Dorry and Broggy are now joined with Kuma and the rest as worshipers of Luffy. some people are actually into this and love it so much even though Luffy himself dislikes being a hero not alone being a deity or world savior. Poor Luffy he deserved a better gear, a better writing, a better style and first and foremost a better role as a freaking pirate. next chapter will be Nika's special. enjoy the clownfest. I'll be rooting the invisible blackbeards.
I like Kizaru more than ever, what an amazing antagonist. all the admirals are up to my taste except for the green bitch.
Gear 5 actually rules though? it's perfectly suited for Luffy.
It also has the added bonus of seriously bumming out people who want sEriOUsNeSs out of this goofy comic
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@electricmastro said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
she prob thinks Luffy is doing his best under these circumstances
That would be a rational way to think about it. Unfortunately, emotions aren't always logical, the emotions of 12-year-olds especially so.
I don't think it's super likely that Oda would do an adversarial/disillusionment arc for Bonney from here - it's just not his style of conflict - but the possibilities are fun to think about.
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@FatDogForMidTerms said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
@hideoushorrendous said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
worst chapter so far in egghead
gear 5 proves once again to be the worst thing ever occurred in this manga, ruined Wano and seemingly will doom every arc moving forward.
whether fights or lore. nothing will be spared from this ugly retcon except rare side journeys like Garp invading Hachinosu.
Dorry and Broggy are now joined with Kuma and the rest as worshipers of Luffy. some people are actually into this and love it so much even though Luffy himself dislikes being a hero not alone being a deity or world savior. Poor Luffy he deserved a better gear, a better writing, a better style and first and foremost a better role as a freaking pirate. next chapter will be Nika's special. enjoy the clownfest. I'll be rooting the invisible blackbeards.
I like Kizaru more than ever, what an amazing antagonist. all the admirals are up to my taste except for the green bitch.
Gear 5 actually rules though? it's perfectly suited for Luffy.
It also has the added bonus of seriously bumming out people who want sEriOUsNeSs out of this goofy comic
It is pretty fun in what it allows him to do. But i could do without the manic laughing.
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@wolfwood
I hope that someone like Zoro has a talk with Luffy about that, something like at Punk Hazard, where Zoro took Luffy aside and told him to stop playing around and take it seriously.
Chances for that are slim, Zoro probably isn't fighting Lucci at the moment but trying to find him because the cat ran away to free the Seraphims. -
While I like G5 and I think it's a little silly to complain about it in this specific chapter when the entire point of Luffy's arrival is to break the tension, I kinda get where people saying it could ruin the drama are coming from. One Piece has always been very silly, but also has always has extremely serious stuff. That's part of the charm. Oda can go both absolutely absurd, goofy comedy and absolutely dark, heart wrenching drama. And that obviously hasn't changed, if anything we just had the darkest flashback yet.
But what has changed is how Luffy acts in his big fights. He's never been a guy that laughs through things. When he does stupid, gag nonsense like trying to eat Crocodile and use Arlong's teeth, he's 100% serious about it, because he's an idiot whose brain works like that. But he was clearly extremely serious about fighting them. Even for a guy like Katakuri who he didn't have any real animosity towards, he was dead serious in that fight. And Luffy getting serious has always been used as tool to shift the tone of the entire story.
I can see how it could give people some whiplash to have Saturn here gloating to a 12 year old about how he got her sex slave mom killed in some evil experiment, and then the righteous comeuppance comes in the form of hilarious Looney Tunes hijinks. This wasn't too big of a issue with Kaido because Oda never truly tried to make him a truly despicable presence like he does with most villains and framed him more like a insurmountable wall for Luffy to climb. They were both already having fun with their brawl before G5.
And maybe a set-up arc like Egghead just isn't meant to have a lot of dramatic stakes for Luffy. But at some point we're gonna need the main character to take things seriously in order to care about what's going on. We just had a major subplot in Wano about how absolutely cruel it is to force people to laugh no matter what, but now that's Luffy's new schtick apparently. The Kaido fight did try to have some 'serious G5' moments like him restarting his heart thinking about the people he's fighting for and the finishing move, but I'm not sure how well that worked. That kind of energy kinda needs to be built up. You can't just flip a switch and everything is serious now.
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@FatDogForMidTerms Yeah, the constant laughing. None of the gears so far affected Luffy's personality and behavior, and yet Luffy never failed to entertain.
With Gear 5 it's like he's on drugs. I wonder why Oda felt the constant laughter was a necessary element. I mean he's laughing right off the bat, it's not like he finds things more humorous than usual. That he has funny observations during a fight and laughs at them. It's a bit sad when you think about the character a little.
Does Luffy cry inside when this weird ancient persona takes over him?
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That is kind of an interesting question really. Is the DF power itself making him laugh? Like does it tickle him, does his heartbeat sound like Rodney Dangerfield jokes to him perhaps. Or is he channeling this mad Nika diety that always laughs? At the moment i can't think of any DF that seemingly altered your mood as a part of it's power bestowal. But then again we rarely seem people before and after, like was Aokiji lazy to begin with or did his DF make him chill.
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Oh, I kinda like the creepy laughter. It makes it seem like Luffy is at the start of a really long cocaine-fueled bender.
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Guys you realize we are fast approaching 50 chapters of Egghead arc.
To put things into perspective
- Drum + impel down together = 50 chapters
- Logue Town + orange Town + Amazon Lilly + little garden is less then Egghead
IN OTHER words man where are those 20-30 chapters arcs
人事を尽くして天命を待つ
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@blue-san said in Chapter 1106: On Your Side:
Guys you realize we are fast approaching 50 chapters of Egghead arc.
And the Straw Hats have practically done nothing in the entire arc.
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Short arcs died with the timeskip. There's Zou, but that's the kind of stopgap/exposition arc that would have been 5 chapters pre-timeskip. The medium 20-50 chapter arcs are now 60-80, and the 60-80 epic climaxes are now over 100 chapters. It's been like this for a while.
Although to be fair, Egghead just randomly has a whole volume worth of chapters that have nothing to do with Egghead and more like a continuation of the Reverie 'arc' if anything.
But also think Egghead still has a ways to go. Ever since I started reading weekly in Dressrosa, every single arc has gone on longer than people expected. Nobody thought Dressrosa would take that long when it started. They thought Zou was just gonna be a 5-chapter thing. WCI was surely around 5 chapters away from ending for an entire year. People did expect Wano to be a 100 behemoth from the start, but turns it's actually 150.
WCI was the one tripping people the most because unlike something like Dressrosa or Wano, the endgame wasn't clear. And Egghead is exactly the same. But Oda is actually very consistent with arc structures. The flashback is always around the midpoint. Another 40 chapters of Egghead seems absurd, but 20 at least I think is very likely.
