RJ Writing Ink

One Piece Chapter 947 Review/Recap

Straw Hat Luffy’s luck never ceases to amaze me. In the last chapter of One Piece, Luffy was able to free Hyogoro and himself from their collars while Big Mom ran wild. Unfortunately, eating all the Oshiruko earned him the wrath of the amnesiac Big Mom. It’s time to see the results of Luffy’s training in Straw Hat vs. Big Mom, Round 2!

Recap

Luffy figures out that what he did to their collars is the same thing Rayleigh did when they rescued Camie back in Sabaody. With everything that happened, though, he doesn’t know he did it.

Despite Hyogoro thinking he can take the Yonko, she’s still too much for them. The old man tells Luffy that he’s already mastered the Haki technique without knowing it. By letting his Haki enter something else, he can destroy them from the inside; that’s how he got their collars off.

The clash between the two pirates spreads throughout Udon Prison, with Big Mom destroying every the door to every area. Desperate, Queen and the Beast Pirates lure Big Mom in with a jar of Oshiruko. Queen then headbutts her from above, but to his horror, all it does it bring her memories back; then fall asleep.

Queen has his men throw every sea stone handcuff and chain on her, pump her full of tranquilizers, then takes the bulk of the guards to deliver her to Kaido. Udon goes into lockdown, with minimal guards, no communication with Wano, and Luffy now free and at full strength.

We know where this is going 🙂

Review

Remember how I said Kaido should have killed Luffy when he had the chance? This is why. Big Mom’s left Udon’s defenses in ruins, and now Queen’s taken most of the guards with him to deliver the Yonko to Kaido. He was terrified, though, that he forgot that Luffy’s now free to run wild. In a prison with tens of thousands of people who hate Kaido and Orochi, minimal guards, and no way to contact the outside world. In short, he goofed up.

I know I’ve been saying this for the last several posts, but now it’s happening: Impel Down Breakout, Part 2 is here, and it’s going to be awesome.

Luffy’s Prison Break is Coming!

I am concerned about Big Mom now that her memory’s returned. For now, though, she’s removed herself from the equation. Better still, she’s now Kaido’s problem. He’ll have to divert a good part of his forces to keep her prisoner, and even then, I have no doubt she’ll get free. Knowing Oda, it will happen right before or during the night of the rebellion.

After being virtually put on the bus for the entirety of Act 2 of the Wano Arc, next chapter will see Luffy show off his new strength in full. I estimate that Udon Prison, and it’s army of prisoners, will be his by nightfall. I better make some popcorn in advance!

Click here to see more animanga stuff

Edens Zero Chapter 50 Review/Recap

In the last chapter, the Edens Zero gained an unexpected new guest in the form of the mysterious Captain Conner. Thanks to his incredible flying skills, they got to Sun Jewel in less than a day. That’s all well and good, but considering its reputation as the space version of Las Vegas, I’m concerned. I’m almost sure that Sun Jewel has a dark side to it.

Recap

The Edens Zero arrives on Sun Jewel and splits into two groups. Weisz stays with the Three Shining Stars to watch Conner and work on a new weapon. The rest head down to the planet to look for Valkyrie, starting at the Casino Paradise. Rebecca even gets dressed up for the place (for the views).

No sooner do they arrive than a group of masked criminals try and rob the place. Shiki and Homura promptly kick their butts. Before they can decide what to do with them, though, the criminals are enveloped with a bright light and disintegrated.

According to the onlookers, that’s the work of the Scarlet Woman, the protector of Sun Jewel. They say she keeps their planet safe, but Rebecca thinks there’s something wrong with Sun Jewel.

She has no idea how right she is: the Scarlet Woman is an ally of Drakken Joe, whose come seeking out the Edens Zero. Elsewhere, in the Sun Jewel Slums, informants tell Valkyrie that Homura’s come looking for her.

Review

From the moment I heard what Sun Jewel was like, I knew that it spelled trouble. Now my fears seem justified: the planet’s run by a woman who can obliterate people in the blink of an eye. There’s a huge divide between rich and poor; and the worst part is that Drakken Joe’s on Sun Jewel. If he finds out Shiki’s there, he’ll throw everything he has at the Edens Zero crew. This will be their toughest fight yet.

Then there’s Valkyrie. I don’t know what her motives are yet, but I think it won’t be as easy to get to her as Homura hopes. Given what we’ve seen of her thus far, she could be in the slums protecting the people there, which means there’s more going on than meets the eye. No matter how I look at it, I think the Sun Jewel Arc is going to be the biggest battle in Edens Zero yet. Let’s hope Mashima’s up for it.

I Give “The Scarlet Woman” a 3/5. Good start to a new arc.

Click here to see more animanga stuff

Fairy Tail Cameos

I’d know Natsu and Lucy anywhere, and the robber’s mask looks like Icihiya from the same manga. Plus, we have Touka from the sequel, Fairy Tail: Hundred Year Quest

Favorite comic time period

I got confused by the criteria for today’s challenge, as I’m not sure what it means by “favorite comic time period.” In my view, that either means the run for a specific author or comic book series, or an era of comics in general. I’m going with the latter in this case for Marvel Comics, as there’s only one time period I consider my favorite.

Bronze Age of Comics

If I were to describe Marvel about the different ages of comic books, it would be like this. The Golden Age’s their infancy; the Silver Age is their early to mid-childhood, and the Bronze Age is their late childhood and adolescence. That means it has all the angst and issues that come with it.

Lasting from 1970 to 1986, this is my favorite Marvel Era because it gave us some of the best stories that Marvel’s ever put out. The company spent the 1960s laying the groundwork, but once that was done, they started working with darker, more mature stories. Stan Lee even did a three-part story on drug use in the Amazing Spider-Man, despite it going against the Comic Code Authority. I respect that (stick it, Frederic Wertham).

The Death of Gwen Stacy

This was a watershed moment in the Bronze Age of Marvel. In the span of a single issue, Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man’s girlfriend, was murdered at the hands of the Green Goblin. Before that, you never saw a hero fail so badly, or see a major character die so suddenly. Next to losing Uncle Ben, this was probably the worst moment in Spider-Man’s life.

This moment set the tone for the Bronze Age. From here on out, Marvel wasn’t afraid to deal with things like drug abuse, racism, murder, etc. It led to us getting the new X-Men, Days of Future Past, the Dark Phoenix Saga, and more. Henceforth, it’s my favorite comic time period for Marvel.

Click here to see the rest of my comic book related writings, including the 30-Day Challenge