The Five Elder Monsters Descend on the Planet

One Piece Chapter 1110 Review/Recap

Ever since we saw Sabo’s flashback earlier in this same arc, One Piece fans have speculated on the true nature of the Five Elders. It hasn’t helped that their beast forms, powers, and how they’re summoned seem to contradict most of what we know about Devil Fruits. At this point, though, I don’t think what the Five Elders are matters anymore. They are monsters in mind, body, and action, and now that all of them are on Egghead Island, even Luffy might be in trouble!

Recap

All across Egghead Island, everyone takes notice as more black lightning appears, heralding the arrival of the other Five Elders. Luffy is shocked to see their true, monstrous forms facing him as they emerge from their summoning circles.

In the blink of an eye, the monsters take to the battlefield. Nusjuro (the skeletal horse) begins cutting down the Pacifistas, freezing him with his sword. Within moments, half of the Pacifistas have been taken down. As Sanji looks in the skies above and sees another Elder trying to break into the lab, he calls the others and tells them their only option: run. Unfortunately, their escape is delayed by the fact that not everyone is at the Sunny yet. The worst part is that Zoro is only now finishing off Lucci, putting everyone in harms way. Jinbei chooses to head back for Zoro, though, while Sanji gets Vegapunk to the ship.

At the main battlefield, Luffy’s caught off-guard by the monsters appearing before him. Before he can react, Peter (the wyrm) jumps out of the ground and swallows him whole! Thankfully, Dorry and Brogy arrive in time to bisect the monster in half, freeing Luffy. With a hearty laugh, the two Giants say they couldn’t wait around for Luffy any longer, hence why they came to him.

Review

Once again, Oda has cooked, and the whole world rejoices. Ever since we got a glimpse of their shadowy forms in Mariejois, fans have been dying to know what some of monsters the Five Elders can turn into. Saturn was terrifying enough to look at, being a spider yokai, but the others? I can’t even decide which one is the scariest. Most of them are based on monsters from Japanese mythology, but there are two outliers in Warcury and Peter. The former is a boar from Chinese myths, while the latter is based on mythical serpents and giant worms like the ones found in Dune. If you’ve seen any version of Dune, you know scary they are!

With the Five Elders arrival in force, it feels like the balance has shifted back in the World Government’s favor, at least to an extent. Truthfully, this entire arc has been nothing but a series of escalations, with the Straw Hats/Egghead Island and the World Government bringing stronger and stronger forces to bear on each other. At this point, I want to say that they can’t bring things any higher, but that would be a lie. Oda excels with this type of chaos; if he can think of a way to raise the stakes, he will.

As for whether the protagonists can take the Five Elders and their army now, it’s up in the air. I think Luffy could beat any one of them on his own, but not all at once. Dorry and Brogy might be enough to help, but they’ll need more. Thankfully, Zoro might end up going back to help now that he’s taken down Lucci. The fact that Lucci’s a mere afterthought now shows how far things have escalated. 

Looking at things as a whole, I think the Straw Hats, Giants, and more can still drive away the World Government. With so many powerful enemies around, though, Luffy needs to win soon. The longer the fight drags on, the more danger Vegapunk and Bonney will be. That being said, now might be the best chance for Luffy to defeat the Five Elders. Not only would that destroy the World Government’s credibility, possibly more than whatever Vegapunk wants to tell the world, but it could raise his bounty to new heights. Maybe as high as Roger himself. One thing’s sure, though. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. Those monsters need to go down!

I Give “Starfall” a 4.5/5

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