One Piece Chapter 1114 Review/Recap
Monkey D. Luffy is a lot of things. He’s the future King of the Pirates, a bearer of the ‘Will of D,’ and a goofy idiot who’s changed many people for the better. But ever since the events in Wano, One Piece fans have known him to be the second coming of the ancient figure Joyboy. And despite knowing little about him beyond his powers and legacy, we’ve debated like crazy about who Joyboy was. Most agree that Joyboy was a messianic figure, a pirate Jesus. That logic would make Luffy the second coming of pirate Jesus, meant to save the world from evil. As Dr. Vegapunk explains in his potentially posthumous message to the world, that belief might be correct. As the Five Elders become desperate to stop him from blowing the whistle on them, Vegapunk begins to explain his “sins” to the world, and spreads the name of the original Joyboy. And anyone who has met Luffy is going to figure out that he’s the next pirate Jesus!
Recap
After hearing Vegapunk’s warnings about the world sinking into the sea, the reactions of people around the world are all over the place.
Some start freaking out. Others (like the people of Mocktown and the Marine fleet at Egghead) think he’s full of it or lying. Many are skeptical of his claims, though. Until, that is, the recording of Vegapunk accurately predicted the “earthquake” that led the sea to rise by a meter. It wasn’t a normal natural disaster.
The Five Elders, though, enter full-blown panic mode. They desperately try to find wherever Vegapunk’s sending out the broadcast and kill everyone left on the island. Saturn plows past the Straw Hats to make it to the power room that houses the Mother Flame. Luffy, meanwhile, re-enters Gear Fifth and tries to damage Warcury. Once again, it doesn’t work.
As the chaos continues to unfold, the recording of Vegapunk explains his two great sins. Firstly, he wanted to create a source of infinite energy, only to fly “too close to the sun” as he puts it. His second sin? To pursue his dream, he defied the World Government and studied the Poneglyphs and the Void Century, and even he could only learn a fraction of what happened. What he was able to learn, though, is the key to what may come. Nine hundred years ago, a man was born in an advanced and bountiful kingdom, and like the Sun God, Nika, from Elbaf’s myths, he had a rubbery and stretchy body. That man, Joyboy, became the first to take to the seas, the first to become a pirate.
Pirate. Jesus.
Review
…Holy cow. I can’t…I don’t even know where to start with this! There’s just so much that I have to talk about. Luffy being the Second Coming of pirate Jesus is just a small part of this insane chapter. First, though, we gotta give Oda props once more. When we first started this arc, we thought it would be a breather after the events in Wano, but in a series that’s already seen plenty of chaos, this is peak!
First things first, though: Dr. Vegapunk’s explanation about the “earthquake.” We already knew it was caused by Im using the Mother Flame to wipe an entire island from existence. Since that made the sea rise by a single meter, most fans put two and two together. If the Celestial Dragons keep using the Mother Flame, any land below the Red Line will be swallowed by the sea. And, as Doflamingo point out, all it would take is five meters to do so. It may not sound like much, but given how real-life scientists are saying the same thing thanks to climate change, we know Vegapunk’s right.
A&Mu: Atlantis and Mu, or Atomu?
I’ve seen some fan reviews speculate that this is Im’s ultimate endgame for the world, and judging by how badly the Five Elders are panicking, they might be right. And the Mother Flame could be their means of doing so!
Speaking of which, this chapter gave us our first look at the Mother Flame, and fans had a lot to say about it. Firstly, there’s its appearance itself. I’ve seen people on the Reddit Discord note how similar it is to depictions of the sun in Enel’s cover story. Then there are the initials on the machine containing the Mother Flame: “A&Mu.”
I’ve seen two theories what Oda wants those to mean. One theory thinks it’s a reference to “Atomu”, or “atom.” As in the atom bomb. In real life, the atomic bomb was created by a group of scientists that included Oppenheimer and Einstein. The latter of whom came to regret his role in doing so, since it gave humanity the means to destroy itself.
The other theory is the initials are a reference to Atlantis and Mu, two advanced civilizations that people have tried to find for decades. Either theory could be right, but we won’t know until Oda decides to tell us.
Luffy’s Friends Will Know He’s Pirate Jesus
What’s most important about this chapter, though, is that the recording of Vegapunk has begun to reveal the existence of Joyboy during the Void Century. Again, we still need to learn more about Joyboy beyond what Oda’s hinted at, so if Vegapunk’s about to tell everyone about him, that’s big news, for two reasons. First, just telling the world about Joyboy and the Void Century might be enough to wake a lot of people up to the World Government’s lies and deceptions. Global revolution would begin! Secondly, anyone who’s met Luffy is going to realize the same thing we have: Luffy is the next pirate Jesus.
I’m not joking. Anyone who has met and gotten to personally know Monkey D. Luffy will likely put two and two together. They’ll realize that he’s the second coming of pirate Jesus, and, hopefully, openly throw their support behind him. Not that Luffy would care about being called pirate Jesus, though.
Governments Rise, Governments Fall, the World Government Shall Lose it All
This chapter was straight-up fire and more than worth the wait. The revelation that Joyboy was the first pirate. The sight of the Five Elders unable to stop Vegapunk from exposing them. The Iron Giant walking across Egghead. And most importantly, thanks to Edison, the Straw Hats have a way to get the Sunny into the sea! The World Government is on the verge of losing everything in one fell swoop. Not bad for a man who compared his dream of unlimited energy to the sin of flying too close to the sun.
I loved the name to this chapter, by the way. I know that the story of Icarus is meant as a lesson on arrogance, but in this context, I say Icarus shouldn’t regret what he did. If anything, he should’ve made his wings harder to melt! And the surprise appearance of Saul in Elbaf!
I’m more than happy to wait another two weeks for this!
