One Piece Chapter 938 Review/Recap

Dang it! The Alliance had it all planned out, but now all their allies are getting caught left and right. To be fair, though, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. All that’s left is for the Alliance to come up with a new plan in this chapter of One Piece.

Recap

As seen last chapter, Zoro one-hit KO’ed Kamazo. Due to getting stabbed, though, he passes out while Gyukimaru runs away.

Back at Kin’emon and the Minks hideout in Kuri Village, the group’s worst fears are confirmed. Orochi has learned about the Kozuki Clan’s secret message, and his men and the Beast Pirates are arresting people left and right.

As for Kyoshiro, he’s called off Komurasaki’s wake to prevent grieving people from rioting.

In Ebisu Town, the Straw Hats are trying to convince Law not to go after his crew, as that’s what Kaido wants him to do. Shinobu even wants to kill them to keep them from talking. Kanjuro calls her out on this, saying that without the aid of the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates, they won’t win.

Just then, Tonoyasu enters, and he recognizes Shinobu and Kanjuro. He then reveals how he saw the Kozuki Clan’s symbol going around the capital, and he wants in.

Back in Ringo, Zoro awakens after Toko and that woman treated his wounds. He wants to get his sword back, but has no choice but to stay put and heal. The woman then makes good on her promise and feeds Zoro.

She then explains that she’s running because Toko infuriated Orochi. As for her, she is searching for her brother, who she hasn’t seen in 20 years. His name… is Momonosuke Kozuke. Her name is Hiyori Kozuke, his younger sister.

I knew it!

Review

It hasn’t been officially declared that Komurasaki’s really Hiyori, but the One Piece Wiki seems to be working under this assumption, and it adds up with everything we know.

First, we know that Hiyori was never sent into the future like her brother and the Kozuki retainers with him, meaning that she would be an adult by this point. Second, Momonosuke mentioned her at the same time that Komurasaki was introduced. That was a big clue. Then we have Komurasaki mentioning that her father was a Samurai. But the biggest clue was what Kyoshiro said about calling off Komurasaki’s wake.

The only reason is because there would be no body for a wake. Meaning Kyoshiro faked her death. Whether that means he knew who she was is up for debate. It all adds up, though.

On another note, the Alliance’s plans are in jeporady. Orochi’s thugs and the Beast Pirates are on alert and arresting Kozuki loyalists left and right. Orochi was already paranoid, but getting him to let his guard down now will be near impossible. With Luffy’s freedom from Udon Prison on the horizon, though, that could shift things back in the Alliance’s favor.

Then there’s Tonoyasu. He seems to know Shinobu and Kanjuro, but they either don’t remember or don’t recognize him. Could he be another retainer for the Kozuki Clan? Either way, he is willing to fight, so he must be tough. It’s a great disguise, too. No one will pay attention to fool when they’re too busy laughing at them, but fools can be very dangerous.

The manga is on break next week, so we will have to wait two weeks to learn what happens next. However, I am very intrigued by what’s going on and the recent developments. This is shaping up to be my favorite arc since Dressrosa.

I Give Chapter 938 a 4.7/5

Some Stray Observations

• Nami did beat Sanji’s face in for spying on her and Robin in the bathhouse. So Sanji, was it worth it? Because you’ll probably never get married at this rate

• If Hiyori really was Komurasaki like everyone says, then I think she looks cuter without that flashy jewelry

Eden’s Zero Chapter 37 Review/Recap

There’s an old saying: sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire. When people are going to play dirty and cheat, there may be no other recourse but to cheat back. And in this chapter of Eden’s Zero, the crew decides to beat Jamilov at his own game.

Recap

As Amira said at the end of the last chapter, she’s a government agent whose mission was to go after Drakken Joe. She had planned on doing it by getting into Jamilov’s good graces, but she made one mistake: she put innocent people in harm’s way.

Homura demonstrates how great she is with a sword, though, and proceeds to send Amira running with her tail between her legs. Actually, if Amira didn’t log out fast enough, Homura could have ended up killing her. Also, this is Amira’s real face:

Back in town, the crew’s processing Hermit’s suggestion of beating Jamilov by using cheats. Rebecca’s dead set against it.

Weisz, though, doesn’t mind stooping to that level.

Sadly, Weisz has no real knowledge about coding, something that Hermit points out. She also points out that the reason that Jamilov hasn’t been banned is because he has other players banned by using their accounts. And just when I thought this guy wouldn’t sink any lower.

Compared to Jamilov, though, Hermit’s a programming goddess.

She then proceeds to take away all of Jamilov’s cheats, and then, just for the heck of it, turns Shiki into a giant monster.

Holy cow, she’s good.

Review

This chapter did not do much in the way of revealing the plot, other than what Amira told Homura. The government is making an active attempt to apprehend Drakken Joe. While we only have Amira to use as a lens, it’s possible that the GIA is using morally dubious means to accomplishing that. I.E. letting innocent people be killed in order to get in the graces of Joe’s men.

The big takeaway for this chapter is that we get a glimpse of what Hermit’s capable of. She’s a programming goddess who can rewrite data at her leisure. I can see why she was part of Ziggy’s crew back in the day. If they can convince her to join, then the Eden’s Zero would be even stronger. One thing’s for sure: I am looking forward to the next chapter

I Give Chapter 37 a 4.5/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 36 Review/Recap

I want to apologize for how late this came out. I had a hard time trying to find a place that had the images I needed for this post. But here it is, the new chapter of Edens Zero. And honestly, I have mixed feelings about it.

Recap

Picking up where we left off, Shiki is still shocked that Homura’s betrayed them, or her disregard for the NPC’s being sentient. When Shiki refuses to stand out of her way, Homura and the mosnters proceed to shoot at him directly. Only, the arrows are blocked by…Homura?

Unlike the other one, this new Homura in fact looks like the real one. According to her, she woke up in Digitalis in a jail cell. It took her two days to bust out and then track everyone down. And her tendency to blurt out what she’s thinking confirms it’s her. Which means the other one is an impostor.

Jamilov, though, doesn’t give two cents and just starts killing everything in sight.

As the impostor tries to escape with Homura in pursuit, Shiki and the others stay to deal with Jamilov. Easier said than done.

Thanks to him hacking into Digitalis’ data, he’s stronger than the game can hope to control. The only way to beat him is to fight fire with fire. Or, as a suddenly talking Hermit says, cheats with cheats.

Meanwhile, Homura is chasing the fake down, who proves to be hard to catch. The impostor then transforms into her true form, Amira of the Galactic Intelligence Agency. She can copy someone not only in appearance, but right down to their memories and personality, hence why she’s even blabbing about that. She was trying to get in with Jamilov to get to Drakken Joe, but now that that plan’s gone south, she’s just going to be make Homura disappear.

Review

I knew it. I knew that Mashima was going to pull this plot-twist on us from the beginning. Have to admit, though, he did have me fooled about Homura turning traitor for a while. While some might think of this impostor as a cop-out, and it is, it also serves a greater purpose.

I don’t know who this GIA is, but judging by their name, they are affiliated with the main governing body in Edens Zero. My guess is, this was part of a plan to capture or eliminate Drakken Joe. Even so, being willing to let innocent people die to do so is wrong, and Shiki has made it clear that he won’t abide by it.

No matter how the Digitalis arc turns out, it appears that the crew of Edens Zero has made two new enemies in the GIA and Drakken Joe. I can’t wait to see where this goes.

I Give “Chapter 36: The GIA” a 3/5

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Captain Marvel Review

The year 2018 was a big year for superhero movies, and Marvel reaped the most benefits. Black Panther gave us a cultural icon, Into the Spider-Verse gave us the best Spider-Man film yet, but the movie with the biggest impact was the one Marvel had spent years building towards, Avengers: Infinity War.

Needless to say, Infinity War was a huge hit, with the ending leaving fans in shock. Even if you haven’t seen it, you’ll probably have seen this meme that was inspired by the ending:

So, yeah, it didn’t end well for the heroes. But the post-credits scene offered us hope as Nick Fury sent a message to someone with this symbol on them:

Sadly, we’d have to wait another year to see the sequel, Avengers: Endgame, and there were two more MCU movies out between then. While Ant-Man and the Wasp was fun, its overall purpose was to put Scott Lang in position for his role in Endgame. All that’s left is the Marvel Universe’s trump card, and the person who I think will have a huge role in defeating Thanos, Captain Marvel.

Ironically, despite being one of the strongest superheroes in the Marvel universe, and even sharing the company’s name, those who wear the title of Captain Marvel aren’t as famous as heroes like the Avengers. Nor have they had an easy life. The original was a Kree warrior who became one of the universe’s greatest heroes, but whose career was cut short when he died of cancer.

The next one, the son of the original, went temporarily insane and destroyed, then remade, the entire universe.

As for Carol Danvers, just click here and you’ll see. Given the history behind the character, you can bet I was excited for Captain Marvel. And, even though this is coming later than most, I just wanted to give my review for the origin film for the Avengers trump card, Captain Marvel.

The Plot

I’ll just go over the bare bones of the plot for this. Taking place thirteen years before Iron Man, the film stars Carol Danvers, an amnesiac soldier with the ability to fire energy blasts from her body. Part of an elite squad in the Kree Empire, Starforce, she fights their shape shifting enemies, the Skrulls. But when a mission goes wrong, she gets separated from her comrades and stranded on Earth with the Skrulls in pursuit. Teaming up with a younger Nick Fury to get home, Carol instead discovers her past on Earth as well as secrets that change everything she thought she knew.

The film’s plot seems like a mixture of past Marvel films. It has the sci-fi, retro pop culture elements of Guardians of the Galaxy (some of the Kree from GOTG appear in younger forms) and the spy-thriller elements found in Captain America: Winter Soldier. If you have seen the source material and the other films, you can expect what will happen in Captain Marvel. While this makes the plot a little bit predictable, it doesn’t make it any less fun. When it comes down, isn’t that all that matters?

Our Two Heroes

I will be upfront about my opinion on Carol Danvers: I like her. She’s strong, confident, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. As shown in flashbacks, she has had to spend her entire life having people look down on her because she’s a girl, or just make passes at her. So how does she respond? By being as sassy as hell, and it is awesome to watch.

Some of my favorite moments with Carol have to do with her dealing with guys who tried hitting on her. In a flashback, some loser tries to show her the meaning of the word “cockpit”, and she beat the guys face in. When a biker tried to hit on her, she stole his bike.

I see why some people would complain about Carol being portrayed with a feminist agenda in mind. She doesn’t always act strong and tough, though. The movie reveals that, deep down, she’s troubled by her insecurities about her past, or the lack of one. It reminds us all that, for all her power, she’s still human and has to deal with those problems.I liked Carol Danvers, and that’s enough for me.

Nick Fury

Of course, this film wasn’t just about Carol Danvers. It was as much an origin story for another character, one that we’ve already known for years: Nick Fury.

The Fury that we see in this film hasn’t turned into the cynical, tough-as-nails spy. He thinks that the most important days in his career are behind him with the Cold War ending, but the events of this film open his eyes.

His adventures with Carol teach Nick that there are threats in the cosmos that he couldn’t begin to comprehend; threats that ordinary people won’t be able to stop. It also taught him how much a single, extraordinary person can do in the face of impossible odds. When you look back on the MCU with Captain Marvel in mind, Fury’s actions show how much of an impact Carol had on him. The end of the film even shows that she’s what inspires the concept of the Avengers.

At the same time, the film also makes a notable effort to humanize Nick Fury, much to the audience’s amusement. The trailer showed us that Fury’s a cat person, but did you know he loves the 60s singing group the Marvelettes, and can sing a good rendition of their hit “Please Mr. Postman”. Or how he got his eye-patch. Rumor has it that he lost his eye when the Kree destroyed it for refusing to talk. The truth is actually funnier.

The point being, this film did a great job at giving fans the origins to one of the most important characters in the MCU.

References and Easter Eggs

Being that this film was set in the 1990s, you can bet that there were millennials who were on the hunt for references to 90s culture alongside the normal Marvel Easter Eggs. Here are a few of the 90s pop culture reference I liked the most:

• Blockbuster- I remember seeing the trailer for Iron Man at my local Blockbuster 11 years ago, and now it doesn’t exist except for one store somewhere in the US.
• Internet Cafes- I don’t remember these, but they look like ancient. We still have them today, but I think now they’re called Starbucks
• Slow Computers- Thank god our computers are a thousand times faster than they were in 1995.
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Never saw the show during its run, but I know it was one of Will Smith’s defining roles. Loved how casually Monica Rambeau mentioned the show.

The thing I remember the most about the 90s, though, was sadly not referenced in the film: 90s Nicktoons. Growing up, Nickelodeon was where I watched my daily fix of cartoons. Granted, some of the ones I really liked didn’t come out until after 1995, but they at least could have included a Rugrats cameo.

Stan Lee Cameo

But the biggest easter egg was always going to be the one that would bring tears to our eyes: Stan Lee’s posthumous cameo. It’s still hard for fans to accept that Stan’s really gone, and unless Marvel decides to just include images of him in future films, 2019 will probably mark the last of his cameos. Aside from the opening paying tribute to the film, Captain Marvel had one of Stan Lee’s best cameos. And it got very meta.

1995 saw the release of Kevin Smith’s film, Mallrats. At the time, it didn’t perform well in the box office, and critics bashed it pretty hard. Since coming out on home video, it has become a cult classic. One of the more memorable moments is when Stan Lee appears as himself to offer romantic advice to one of the main characters. In a nod to this, Stan’s cameo in the film has him practicing his lines for Mallrats while riding the subway. It’s a moment that equally nostalgic and makes fans want to chuckle at the joke.

My Verdict

I don’t care what the haters have to say, I don’t care what the other critics have to say about this. I liked Captain Marvel, and I thought that it was a well-written way to lay some extra groundwork for the MCU. It basically answers the question few may have thought to ask: what inspired Fury to create the Avengers? Now that we know, the MCU is better as a whole. It may not have lived up to the stakes that were set by Infnity War, but to be fair, nothing Marvel does between then and Endgame would live up to it. This movie is like the last piece to the eleven-year long saga that Marvel has been building up to. This film is the calm before the final storm that will rip through the MCU in one month, and I am grateful for that.

Some people may complain that Captain Marvel isn’t good enough to stand on its own as a film, but the MCU has proven that it doesn’t have to. It’s part of a larger universe, and it fits into it very well.

I Give Captain Marvel a 4/5

Click here to see my reviews for various films.

One Piece Chapter 937 Review/Recap

Given how Zoro’s pretty much a samurai, I knew he’d fit right in in Wano. Sad to say, though, his involvement in the Wano Arc has been pretty limited so far. So, it’s nice to see that he’s getting some focus in this next chapter as he fights to get back the Shusui. But like the rest of the Straw Hats, he gets roped into trouble.

Recap

As Chopper, Big Mom and their group head to Udon Prison, Big Mom and O-Tama bond over their love of the dessert Oshiruko. Chopper, though, is freaked out, since he lied about their being any at Udon prison.

Good thing that Queen brought some with him. It’s his favorite food and he won’t share it with anyone else.

As for Luffy, he’s beaten everyone Queen’s thrown at him so far, and he hasn’t even used his Devil Fruit powers yet! He’s trying to get his armament Haki to the level that Rayleigh showed him while training so he can beat Kaido.

Back at the Ringo Bandit Bridge, that bandit, Gyukimaru, still thinks Zoro stole the Shusui from Ryuuma’s grave. In his time, Wano was coveted by all the world as the “Gold Country”. When Ryuuma beat them all, no one dared to mess with Wano, and he became a sword god after he died.

The bandit then drops an interesting piece of info: Shusui wasn’t always black. It became black from Ryuuma’s many battles, intriguing Zoro.

Before they can continue (or rather, Zoro can), they’re interrupted by the sound of a woman crying for help while carrying none other than O-Toko.

It’s quick to see why: they’re being pursued by this bandaged, scythe-wielding man named Kamazo. He’s an assassin hired by Orochi to kill O-Toko for laughing at him.

Zoro agreed to help them in exchange for food. The bandit, though…

And then, Zoro gets stabbed.

But like the badass he is, he grabs one of Kamazo’s scythes and uses it for his Santoryu to finish the guy.

Review

I really liked this chapter. It gave Zoro some much needed time to shine in a country that, by all accounts, should be paradise for him. Japan is renowned for being the home to the Samurai, some of the greatest swordsman in history. Their talent at fighting is part of the reason why no foreign powers messed with Japan after they closed of their borders for centuries. Truly, this is Zoro’s element.

At the same time, the chapter foreshadows how Luffy will possibly escape: Big Mom wants oshiruko. Queen has oshiruko, but won’t share. Big Mom gets mad, and we know how that song and dance goes.

Despite his brief appearance, we learn that Luffy is trying to increase his Armament Haki to the same level as Rayleigh, which will make his rematch with Kaido more even. Given that it’s Luffy, he’s going to get stronger.

But the big revelation of this chapter was what Gyukimaru said about the Shusui: it became black from fighting. While reading the chapter, I just remembered something: Hawkeye Mihawk’s sword is also black. Did he do the same thing Ryuuma did? More importantly, if Zoro could do the same thing with his other swords, he’ll get even stronger! That’s something the Alliance needs!

I am very satisfied with how this chapter turned out, and now I’m pumped for what happens next!

I give this chapter 4.5/5

Some stray observations:

Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 6 Review/Recap

This post would have been up sooner, but there were technical difficulties. In the midst of the dubbed premiere of episode 6 of Sword Art Online: Alicization, it. froze up.

Fortunately, I can be very resourceful. I went online to a website I know I can trust to get me the latest episodes of animated shows, and I watched it from there. So here it is, my review/recap of Sword Art Online: Alicization, episode 6

LINK, START!

Recap

The episode picks up where the last one left off, with a very pissed off Asuna demanding one thing from Kikouka: Take me. To Kirito. RIGHT. NOW.

Kikouka then explains the reason why they basically kidnapped Kirito from the hospital: because a hospital wouldn’t be enough. Johnny Black’s attack damaged Kirito’s brain too much for normal tech to heal him. But with the STL, they can create a new neural network, saving his brain. Asuna is happy with this, but Rinko wants her own answers: what is RATH really doing.

Kikouka drops a bombshell: the whole purpose of Underworld is to create a bottom-up AI. Unlike a top-down AI, which is programmed with knowledge to respond to situations. But they can’t respond to situations they don’t know the answer to. Yui may be an exception due to her bond with Kirito and Asuna, but that’s about it.

A bottom-up AI, though, is recreating the human brain through technology. They use the STL to scan people’s mind and souls, then put them into a virtual environement where they can grow and learn like normal humans.

Key thing to note: they can’t just copy an adult’s fluctlight or soul. The copy can’t stand the fact that they’re a copy, go crazy, and kill themselves. So, they have to raise them from infancy. Hence, why Underworld exists. Combine that with accelerating the time in Underworld, and they have an entire civilization.

The only problem is, they refuse, or can’t, go against the Taboo Index. They have no real free will, to choose what to do. Or who to kill. RATH wants to create bottom-up AI to fight in wars so human beings wouldn’t.

Asuna is obviously pissed at this, and so would Kirito if he weren’t in Underworld. But the reason he was in Underworld in the first place was part of an experiment: to see if a human could break the Taboo Index. That led to Alice breaking the Index, and then the Axiom Church took her away, and RATH was too slow to react.

After explaining this to her friends in Alfheim Online, Asuna gets to see Kirito. Afterwards, Rinko tells Asuna that she had helped Kayaba create SAO. She then looked after Kayaba, and she begs Asuna for forgiveness.

In spite of all that happened, though, Asuna’s grateful for being in SAO. It’s how she met her friends, Yui, and Kirito, and she’s grateful for it.

Review

I get why some people don’t like exposition in a story: they want to get on to the fun stuff, like the fights and the plot. But I appreciate it when they do this stuff anyway. It’s necessary in order to explain the backstory behind the characters and their motivations.

This was the episode that was meant to explain everything that was going on: Underworld, Kirito’s involvement, Kikouka’s motivations, and how important Alice really is. It’s necessary to move the plot forward. And honestly, I liked it. Especially considering how next episode, it’s back to the Underworld for the forseeable future.

The only thing I didn’t like was how the whole “reading the soul” thing seems like bullcrap that’s delving into rabbit holes I don’t want to get into. A lot of philosophical, moral, and scientific issues are being brought up here. Right now, I just want to see cool sword fights. Still, I appreciated how Reki Kawahara thought everything out and gave explanations.

Overall, this episode gave me back hope for this season of SAO. And if it doesn’t pan out like Karandi says, then I got the second half of the season to look forward to. Or I can just switch to Rising of the Shield Hero. That’s a good anime.

I Give “Project Alicization” a 4/5

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I don’t get to say it as often as I want on here, but I love video games. I know many people have heard others say things like:

Video games are a waste of time.

Video games just turn people into couch potatoes and rot their brains.

Video games are too violent for our kids.

I have a rebuttal: video games are like a form of art. They combine the various aspects of knowledge that humanity has cultivated for eons, and they aren’t easy to make.

For the visuals, you need a group of talented artist to bring it to life and come up with the characters. You need people who are good with math, programming, and computer science to build it. You need voice actors to play the characters. And, you need storytellers to come up with a plot.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s go back to the past.

I was finishing up my last year of college, and I was taking a unique class for an elective: Video Games as a Medium For Storytelling. The subject’s self-explanatory: we learned about using games as a medium for storytelling. There are a lot more than you’d think. Life is Strange, the Bioshock series, they’re all story based.

We did a bunch of projects to teach us about storytelling in games, but there’s one project that stuck with me: we each had to create our own video game based on the idea of choice. We could use anything we wanted, it just had to be about choice between good and evil. Then, we’d play each other’s games, provide feedback in class, and use it to improve the final product

I floated around with a couple of good ideas, but nothing ever struck me as good. I wanted to wow my class and make a game so good it wouldn’t need much improvement. While I was sitting around, thinking of ideas, I remembered St. Patrick’s Day was soon. Then a lightbulb clicked in my head, and ideas took shape: St. Patrick’s Day, Seven Leaf Clover, Leprechauns, Irish Mythology. The ideas kept coming, and before long, I had a story.

The premise was simple, but could tell a rich story. It would be about this teenager who belongs to this family with a powerful heirloom: a magic, seven-leaf clover passed down for generations that gave them supernatural luck. But the week before the main character was to inherit it, it gets stolen! Then, just to taunt them, thief leaves a message telling them to try and get the clover back before St. Patrick’s Day or it will gone forever. So you then set out on a quest that takes you to from the streets of New York all the way to the coast of Ireland. I called the whole thing Luck O’ The Irish.

I put everything into this game to make it as fun a text-based game as I could. There were multiple choices for every decision, all leading to one of three endings: good, neutral, and bad. And just for fun, I decided to throw in as many pop culture references that I could possibly think of. That meant gifs, images, or quoting them directly.

By the time I was done, Luck O’ The Irish was a huge hit. Everyone in class said that it was an amazing and hilarious game. Actually, I think I had ended up going overboard with it, because most of the other’s games were as long as mine.
In the end, I got an A+, and I have kept the game on my computer. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I thought it’d be a great idea to post this on my website. So here it is, Luck O’ The Irish. Enjoy, everyone!

One Piece Chapter 936 Review/Recap

All they had to do was stay out of trouble for a few days, then they would launch their master plan. But I think we should know by now that trouble always finds the Straw Hats. This chapter sees them get even closer to blowing everything.

Recap

Picking up where the last chapter left off, Raizo’s shocked that his comrade Kawamatsu is alive. Kawamatsu, though, is eager to get back in the fight. Raizo swears to bust him out, but after getting spotted, he has to run for it.

As for Queen, he has a special way of getting Luffy to cooperate:

The rules are simple: Luffy and Hyogoro will fight inside a sumo ring while wearing special collars. If they step out:

and Queen’s men can go in as many as they want at a time, and can use weapons. The only way Queen thinks he’ll get out is by joining Kaido’s crew.

Then Queen decides to make things fair for some reason and takes the handcuffs off of Luffy.

…… I think we all know where this is going.

Back at the bathhouse, somehow the Beast Pirates have gotten word that the Alliance is inside, and they’ve sent some of their best: X Drake and Basil Hawkins.

They Hawkins proceeds to search everyone for the crescent marking of the Kozuki Clan. Then he spots Nami, and his sword gets caught on her towel and… well…

And as we all knew, Sanji was there, and…

Well Sanji, you finally managed to fulfill your dream: turn invisible, and spy on women. Happy now?

So while everyone’s distracted by the appearance of Sanji and Nami’s “happiness punch”, the heroes get away, only for him to reveal even more bad news:

They’re trying to lure out Law. If they get him, then one fifth of the Alliance’s forces will be in prison. They have to find Law before he does something stupid.

Meanwhile, Zoro has traveled to the Ringo region in the northeast in search of his sword, Shusui. It was stolen from him some time ago, and according to the bandit who took it, he returned it to the grave of tits previous owner: the hero of Wano, Ryuma.

Zoro doesn’t care. The Shusui was given to him by Ryuma’s zombie, so it’s his by right. So, he decides to fight the bandit, get Shusui back, and take the man’s weapons for the Alliance.

Review

…..I had no idea that Queen was that dumb. He just voluntarily took the sea stone cuffs off of Luffy, giving him access to Haki and his Gum-Gum powers. And after all the training he did in prison, he’s probably gotten a lot stronger. None of the Beast Pirates will be able to beat him.

I’m a little disappointed that Raizo ended up getting the wrong key, but I think I know who that key might be for: Kawamatsu. It has to be; it’s too convenient otherwise.

Now, the only thing stopping Luffy from doing a follow up to his breakout at Impel Down is that collar on him. There’s two thing that can happen at this point: Luffy’s going to beat up every last guard in the prison along with Queen, get that collar off, and lead an army of prisoners to freedom. Or, Chopper and Big Mom’s group will arrive, wreak havoc and do the same thing. Either way, Luffy’s getting out soon.

And as for Sanji, I’d be mad at him for spying on girls, but I saw this coming a mile away. Besides, Nami will probably charge him a fortune.

As for Zoro, I am really looking forward to seeing a classic sword fight. And when he wins, the Alliance will get some badly needed weapons.

The big fights coming in nine days, and the Alliance needs all the help it can get. But the Straw Hats have a way of doing the impossible. They got this.

I Give This Chapter 4.5/5

Some stray observations

• I can’t believe X Drake is weak against women. To be fair, so is Sanji.
• I wonder how Kaido will punish Queen when he finds out that Luffy busted out because of him?
• How big do you think the third act is going to get? Because I’d say pretty big.

Eden’s Zero Chapter 35 Review/Recap

My readers, I will be blunt about this: I don’t know what’s going on right now. By all intents, it looks like Homura’s turned on the crew of the Edens Zero, and we still don’t know why. At the same time, I have seen Mashima do this kind of thing before, so until I see actual proof, I won’t believe this to be an actual betrayal. For now, though, the recap

Recap

As the Edens Zero crew is fighting the monsters, Homura goes to the forest to speak with Jamiroff. He’s waiting for his army to kill the townsfolk and bring him the players so he can kill them, and begs to let her work with him.

Meanwhile, Shiki takes the unwilling Hermit back to the town, using is Gravity Ether Gear to fend off the monsters. Hermit’s convinced that Shiki somehow stole Ziggy’s powers, because she doesn’t trust humans. She even goes so far as to say they don’t have a soul. Shiki says that while some may not (i.e. heartless monsters), since Hermit was Ziggy’s friend, she’s his friend.

As for everyone else, they’re holding their own. Rebecca’s doing her Elie-gunslinger thing, but Pino and Weisz are at a major disadvantage since they can’t use their powers. There’s just too many monsters for them to deal with, though, and they start to move on the NPC’s.

That’s when a monster boss, the Shinobi Troll, that the crew met earlier jumps in to protect the people, saying its his job as an NPC. Shiki then returns, and then trounces the mosnters.

Jamiroff finally shows up on the battlefield, and orders his army to slaughter everyone. The Shinobi Troll (nicknamed Shino-Chan) uses himself as a living shield, but is filled full of arrows and falls unconcsious. Or dead. I can’t tell really.

Just then, another arrow’s aimed at the girl that Shino-Chan was protecting, and Shiki takes the shot into this arm. To everyone’s shock, it’s revealed that the person who shot him was Homura herself, who coldly declares that they aren’t friends.

Review

Okay, what the heck is going on here? What is Homura really after by betraying everyone? I know that it has something to do with wanting to meet Drakken Joe, but what could her motivation be?

We know that Homura has Valkyrie’s Ether Sword, so she either wasn’t lying about being her student, or she stole it from Valkyrie somehow. Either way, we still know too little about who Homura is.

As for her betrayal, the reason I’m not convinced it’s genuine is because Mashima pulled this stunt before in Fairy Tail. In one of the arcs near the end of its run, it looked one of the main heroes, Gray Fullbuster, had gone over to the dark side by joining a Dark Guild and severing his ties with his friends. Turns out, he was working undercover in order to stop said guild’s plot to slaugther an entire city.

Working on that logic, and considering how Mashima seems to be reusing a lot of his old material, he could be doing the same thing with Homura. Or it could be genuine. But if she ends up joining them for real because Shiki gives her some “power of friendship” speech, I will be so mad. It’s an overused trope!

What I did like about this chapter is Hermit’s remark about humans not having any souls. It’s both a reversal on the statement that robots don’t have souls or hearts, and a very real represenation of how some people can act. I’m not joking, humanity has done some pretty nasty stuff throughout recorded history. And there are jerks that act like they have no soul. But there are also plenty of people who care about each other and are good and kind.

I don’t know what Hermit went through, but I am very eager to learn about it. That could take a while, though! Something tells me that next chapter is about explaining Homura’s betrayal.

I Give This Chapter 3/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 5 Review/Recap

I’m just going to come out and say it: Karandi, you were right. I had high hopes for Sword Art Online, and I still think that the show’s going to get a lot better. Especially considering what’s going to happen in the second half of the season. For now, though, it’s going to going at a slow pace.

There, I said it. That said, I made a promise to review every episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization in dub form, and I aim to keep it. So, LINK START!

Recap

Remember when Asuna was the main heroine of the anime? Yeah, good times. Say what you will about the dub, but I think hearing a character be voiced by a VA you’re a fan of can make a dub better. In this case, Asuna’s voiced by Cherami Leigh.

I’ve been a fan of Cherami Leigh since I first heard her play Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail, and I’ve followed her work ever since. Next to Lucy, I think Asuna’s one of her best characters. She brings about a feeling of confidence and strong-willfulness, but also has a sweet and caring nature to her voice. It’s why I was so quick to like Asuna, and Sword Art Online.

Asuna’s taken a back seat in some of the series adventures, but she’s still my favorite, and this episode focuses entirely on her efforts to help Kirito.

After Johnny Black attacked Kirito, we learn that he was taken to the nearby hospital where he was stabilized. Thanks to the drug, his heart stopped for more than five minutes.

In the medical field, five minutes is the limit that the brain can go without oxygen. After that, brain cells begin to die. If Kirito’s to make a full recovery, he’ll need the best treatment in the world. That’s where his acquaintance from the government, Kikouka (who I just realized is voiced by Matt Mercer) comes in. He’ll take Kirito to the best medical facility in the world.

Only, Asuna and Suguha can’t get to him, because he’s not where they said he would be.

Realizing quickly that something is up, Asuna and the others start digging around, and they confirm that Kirito had been loaded onto a helicopter that then traveled outside of Japan.

The group nearly gives up, but then Asuna remembers someone that Kirito had spoken to: Rinko Koujiro,, Akihiko Kayaba’s former research partner and lover. Rinko had been getting emails from Kikouka to work with him on the big project Kirito was a part of.

A few days later, Rinko arrives at Rath’s main location: a giant ocean facility called the “Ocean Turtle”. Her and her assistant, May- Asuna. It’s Asuna in disguise.

As soon as she’s onboard,d Asuna ditches the disguise and flat out tells Kikouka “Take me. To Kirito. RIGHT. NOW.” And then the episode ends.

Review

I will be honest with you guys: I do not think that this part of the story really requires more than one episode to finish. Whereas the last episode was focused more on the action, this one was all about the exposition. Moving the plot forward with dialogue is important, but if it’s not interesting, then we get bored quickly.

Hell, if SAO: Abridged were to get to this part, they would probably skip all the way to Asuna ditching her disguise and then give us a quicker answer like she used her and her boyfriend’s contacts to track him down. That, or they’d make a joke about that heart monitor app doubling as an actual tracking device. Abridged Asuna would do something like that.

My point, this and whatever’s going to happen in the next episode could have been placed inside a single episode.

As for the show itself, as long as the second half of the arc is epic, then I will put up with whatever they throw at us. Granted, I know what’s going to happen (read the light novels) but I still want to enjoy it.

I give this episode 2.5/5

Karandi, I hope you’re reading this!

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