One Piece Chapter 1104 Review/Recap
Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it, Saturn? Over the course of the Egghead Island Arc, we have seen how JayGarcia Saturn is one of the most vile, disgusting, and reprehensible creatures to ever stain the world of One Piece; Oda knows how to make hate sinks! We have seen try to kill Vegapunk, try to kill Luffy and the Straw Hats, and go out of his way to make the lives of Kuma, Bonney, and everyone they care about miserable. Needless to say, seeing him freaking out as Kuma shows up to protect his daughter is karma of the highest order. And the two week wait we had to endure was worth it to see this touching reunion of father and daughter. And for Kuma to dish out decades of karma on Saturn!
Recap
Saturn is shocked to find Kuma standing before him; after Sabo rescued him, he thought he activated the self-destruct button he had Vegapunk put in him. However, that doesn’t change the simple fact that Kuma’s standing before him. And, in a full double-page spread, Saturn gets punched so hard by Kuma that he flies back into multiple buildings that proceed to fall on top of him.
Truthfully, though, Vegapunk didn’t add a bomb into Kuma’s cybernetics; just a device to remotely deactivate his body. The fact that he’s moving at all is something that can’t be explained by science, but by the power of love.
Regardless, with Saturn down, everyone’s free to move, while Bonney finally has the reunion she dreamt of having with her beloved father, thanking him for everything he did for her and her mother.
The happy moment’s interrupted, though, when Saturn emerges from the rubble and regrows an arm! However, with the Straw Hats now able to move, Sanji and Franky unleash onto Saturn everything they’ve got, only for Kizaru to intervene, much to Vegapunk’s disappointment. Now thoroughly livid, Saturn decides to go for broke: declaring the island infested by a traitor studying the void century and a pirate who awakened the power of a god, he orders a Buster Call.
Uh-Oh.
Review
Can we get another round of applause for Oda? That man knows what his readers want and delivers on it. That epic punch that Kuma used to deliver decades of unpaid karma made the two-week wait worth it! After seeing the Five Elders get away with their actions all series, karma is catching up to them! Or at least Saturn!
I cannot fully describe in words alone how satisifying seeing Kuma do that is. However, the true cherry on top to it was getting to see the reunion between father and daughter. Right when she needed him most, Bonney was saved by her Dad. The man defied all logic and showed up on Egghead Island to protect his daughter. If I ever become a father, I hope I can be half the parent that Kuma is.
Free Will Can’t Be Crushed
All that said, though, I think I have an idea of how Kuma managed to do all of this. Vegapunk’s thoughts show that he did follow Saturn’s orders and put a shutdown device into Kuma after he converted him; just not a bomb. By his own admission, Kuma should’ve been a vegetable. Yet despite everything, Kuma did all of this. Vegapunk thinks it might due to an ability the Bucanneer people have, but until then, I think the simpler explanation is the power of love and free will. Which also ties into what seems to be the overarching theme behind the Egghead Island Arc.
The Egghead Island Arc has this underlying theme to it: no matter how hard someone tries, you can’t fully suppress a living being’s free will. Vegapunk’s sea monsters demonstrated it when they tried eating the Sunny. S-Snake showed it when she defied York’s orders at Luffy’s request. And Kuma is demonstrating it here by punching Saturn in the face. And the best part is that Saturn just doesn’t get it! It does not compute, and now he’s paying the price for that.
There’s also another person who might end up defying Saturn before this arc is over: Kizaru.
After going through this arc, my opinion on Kizaru’s started to improve. Despite the grief he’s given the Straw Hat’s, he’s just a guy doing his job. Even when that job means turning on the people he considers his friends like Vegapunk, Sentomaru, and even Kuma and Bonney. But at this point, he’s reaching his breaking point, and he may end up defying Saturn anyway. Again, free will at work.
Saturn is Getting Truly Desperate
As for the Buster Call that Saturn’s planning, I don’t think we should be too concerned. On the one hand, 100 ships means it will be 10 times as dangerous as the ones that destroyed Ohara and Enies Lobby. On the other hand, though, the fact that Saturn’s resorting to that means one thing: he’s desperate.
No, really! Despite being able to regenerate from Kuma, Franky and even Sanji’s attacks, Saturn’s back is getting close to the wall. Notice how Luffy’s not seen in the chapter? The Marines say that he dissappeared when they weren’t looking. Either someone carried him to safety to recover…or he’s already back up. In other words, we should expect Luffy to re-enter the battle soon, and when he does…karma’s a bitch, isn’t it, Saturn?
That punch made the weeks of waiting for the next chapter of One Piece more than worth it. If this is the way the new year’s starting off, then this could be one of One Piece‘s craziest years to date. Thank you, Oda, and thank you, Kuma!
