RJ Writing Ink

One Piece Chapter 1031 Review/Recap

Remember when Sanji started using that Germa Raid Suit, and how everyone thought that it was so cool? That may no longer be the case. On the one hand, it’s unlocked his latent super-soldier abilities. On the other hand, Sanji’s worried that it’s going to turn him into a psychopath like his brothers. As the fight for Wano reaches its climax, Sanji grapples with the notion that he’s becoming a soldier of science.

Recap

After burying Big Mom under a mountain of metal, everyone thinks that Law and Kid beat. Unfortunately, all they managed to do was make her angry. She gets up, sucks the souls out of any nearby Beast Pirates, turns them into Homies, and even drains a year from herself to power up even further. Thus, the two pirates continue to fight the Yonko.

In another section of the castle, Brook and Robin are fleeing from the CP0 Agent’s. Meanwhile, Drake rejects Apoo’s offer to team up, and holds him off while Yamato heads to the armory to stop it.

In another section of the Castle, Sanji’s freaking out. The more his body changes, the more he’s worried that he’s become a monster like his brothers. Not helping the fact is that he seemingly attacked an unarmed Geisha! When Queen finally corners him, Sanji does some soul-searching about being himself or this ‘soldier of science’, and then smashes his Germa suit. Afterwards, he calls Zoro and asks him that if he ends up losing it, then he wants Zoro to take him down. The two pirates agree, before continuing their battle, with Sanji unleashing his full fury on Queen.

Review

Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting things to get this bad for Sanji. I understand where he’s coming from on this. Having seen how sadistic his brothers are, I don’t want him to end up like them. If that means destroying the Germa suit, then it’s for the best. However, there’s two things that should be worth noting here. First, notice how Sanji’s eyebrows now curve in the opposite direction, like his brothers? That probably means his body’s awoken his latent enhancements. Secondly, there’s the fact that he seriously considered becoming a monster for Luffy’s sake. He’s willing to throw his code of honor away if it means helping Luffy. That just shows how Sanji is to his found family. Which is also why I know he won’t end up like his brothers.

We’ve all known Sanji for decades now, and the Straw Hats have known him for years. He’s not a monster, regardless of what he may think. More importantly, he’s got his real family, the Straw Hat Pirates, to keep him grounded. Also, I don’t buy that Sanji attacked that geisha. The moment came out of context; for all we know, she did that to herself to on Queen’s orders to mess with Sanji and get him to use the suit. It doesn’t matter if he’s a soldier of science or supreme chef; Sanji’s just Sanji.

Also, we all know that Sanji ends up becoming a jerk, Nami will kick his ass;).

Good chapter, overall. Didn’t expect it to be this emotional.

I Give “Soldier of Science” a 4/5

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Amphibia S3 Ep. 6A/6B Review

Can you believe that I’ve never seen RuPaul Andre Charles before today? Now that I have, I deeply regret this, as I was clearly missing out. However, that ends today, as RuPaul joins the cast of Amphibia as the lovable, yet threatening, Mr. X.

Also, Anne learns not to underestimate her parents. She had to get her smarts somewhere!

Mr. X

Having defeated Andrias’ robotic assassin for good, the Boonchuy-Plantar family feels on top of the world. So to celebrate, Anne takes them to see their first movie in theaters. However, their final fight comes back to bite them with the arrival of the FBI, led by Mr. X, voiced by RuPaul himself.

I thought that Dr. J became my favorite human character outside the girls, but Mr. X is on another level. I love RuPaul as Mr. X. He’s flamboyant, silly, does poses that would make the Ginyu Force proud. Plus, he wears Heely’s! How many government agents do you know that where Heely’s?

Despite his mannerisms, Mr. X proves to be very good at his job, seeing that the Plantar’s are talking frogs, and coming close to cornering them. Were it not for Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, Anne and the Frogs would’ve gotten caught. Even then, he just treats this as a setback.

On the one hand, RuPaul’s new character could be a very persistent threat to the heroes on Earth. On the other hand, Mr. X seems genuinely motivated by the desire to keep people safe from perceived threats. Should Anne reach out to him and explain everything, including the looming threat of Andrias, he might be willing to help. Or not. I just want to see more RuPaul now. I’m a fan of RuPaul.

Sprig’s Birthday

It’s time for another one-off adventure, and this one is especially sweet: it’s Sprig’s birthday!!! Unfortunately, due to the deadly nature of Amphibia, it’s people do little to celebrate birthdays. Feeing bad, Anne insists on giving Sprig a human birthday, with all it entails. It goes as well as you’d think.

I thought that this whole thing was a very touching gesture. The Plantar’s are Anne’s second family, so of course she wants Sprig him to enjoy himself. At the same time, you can tell that she’s got some ulterior motives, even if she doesn’t realize it. She insists on making this Sprig’s best birthday ever, and while it seems like she’s doing it for her ego, I think there’s a deeper motive.

There’s the very real possibility that the series will end with the means to travel to and from Amphibia being destroyed. Thus, Anne and the Plantar’s will be permanently separated. Therefore, Anne wants to make sure her adoptive brother won’t forget her. Really, though, she’s got nothing to worry about. Especially not after she got him that sweet telescope.

So, that was the episode. RuPaul’s now a recurring character, and Anne and Sprig’s surrogate sibling bond grows even stronger. Good episode.

I Give “Mr. X” and “Sprig’s Birthday” a 4/5 Each

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Stray Observations

• I couldn’t help but laugh at the joke about how the 20 minutes of trailers there are in movies!

• References to Spider-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog in the movie theater. As well as that Twilight-esque movie!

• PENNYWISE!!