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One Piece Chapter 1163 Review/Recap

How did Rocks D. Xebec die? When we first learned about Rocks from Sengoku, he said that he fell at the God Valley Incident at the hands of Gol D. Roger and Garp working together. Most of us, myself included, were focused on the fact that there was someone so tough that the future Pirate King and Hero of the Marines had to work together to beat him, but the context still had us shaking our heads. We know that the cover-up that they did it to save some Celestial Dragons was sus, but it turns out that Oda has already given us the answer to Rocks’ death. More importantly, it likely explains King Harald’s own death. They both died because of Imu and their technique, Domi Reversi.

Recap

With Saturn now possessed by Imu, the shadow ruler of the world wastes no time in clearing the field. They proceed to slaughter any unlucky Marines who saw them, sending most of them and the remaining pirate running for the hills. Garp, on the other hand, decides to charge straight in, not caring who Saturn is.

While the other Rocks pirates keep fighting for the treasure, Dragon almost makes it to a Marine ship with Shanks. Sadly, he gets knocked out and drops Shanks, who crawls into a treasure chest.

In the middle of everything, Rocks defiantly calls Imu the king of the bilge rats, while Imu calls him Davy Jones before the two begin fighting. Then Kaido wants a piece of the action, and Big Mom tries to attack him for stealing the fruit. The next thing we know, Rocks, Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido all hit Imu with their strongest attacks at once.

It doesn’t work. Worse, Imu sees Eris and Teach trying to escape, enraging Rocks. But instead of going after them themselves, Imu decides to make Rocks end his own bloodline. Ensnared in Imu’s tentacles, Rocks is subjected to Domi Reversi, and begins to make a terrifying transformation.

Review

It’s official, you guys: One Piece is doing Rocks dirty. I don’t need to be a prophet or see the future to know how this is going to end for him. Imu is going to force Rocks to try and kill his wife and child, and then Roger and Garp will have to put him out of his misery. What an ignominious way to end the story of the man who ruled the seas before Roger came along. So, Sengoku might be right all along: Rocks falls at the hands of Garp and Roger, but not for the reasons he and others who weren’t there were told. It was a cover-up on top of a cover-up to keep the Marines from learning about the existence of Imu. More importantly, it was a way for Imu to keep the free-spirited and morally just Garp working with the Marines. Making him out as their hero would make it impossible for him to abandon them even after learning about Imu, and it would prevent anyone else from learning.

Beyond that, though, did you see how awesome that double-page spread was?!? Six of the strongest people in the world at the time hit Imu with their strongest attacks! That is something that we haven’t seen before or since! If it had been anyone else, they would likely be dead! Unfortunately, Imu isn’t anyone else. In fact, I’m not even sure if they’re human! The fact that Imu was able to take their hits and keep fighting, though, bodes ill for the Straw Hats. If the future King of the Pirates, Rocks, Garp, and three of the four future Yonko couldn’t do any damage, then the Straw Hats are in for it.

Domi Reversi is Truly Horrifying

The most terrifying aspect about this chapter, though, is what Imu does to Rocks. Rocks was someone who could fight on par with Roger and Harald, two of the strongest people in the entire series. Yet not even he was able to resist Domi Reversi. If someone like him is capable of falling to that technique, then what does that mean for Luffy and the others? It’s possible that Luffy might be an exception due to being the next Joy Boy, but I don’t want to risk seeing it.

This chapter does at least confirm something that I’ve already suspected: Imu is responsible for King Harald’s death. He must have used Dommi Reversi on Harald to turn him into a demon, forcing the Giants guarding him to kill him in self-defense. Loki would end up getting blamed for it since everyone already thought the worst about him, and the rest is history. All the more reason why Imu cannot conquer Elbaph, though.

This was a really great chapter. And I mean a really great chapter. We got to see just how terrifying Imu is thanks to scaling them against people many consider monsters. More importantly, we learn how Shanks found his way to Roger, as well as some world-building by showing the powers of the other Rocks Pirates. These next few chapters are going to be heart-breaking, though.

I Give “God Valley Battle Royale” a 4.5/5

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Solar Opposites Final Season Review

It was a fun ride while it lasted, but after five years, six seasons, and four specials, Solar Opposites has come to an end. It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that one of Hulu’s best original animated series is over, but there comes a time when things have to come to an end. Given everything that it was up against, though, it’s kind of amazing that it’s lasted as long as it has. It started out being overshadowed by Co-creator Justin Roiland’s more famous show, Rick and Morty. Then, it was marred by the controversy brought about by the allegations against Roiland himself. Either one could’ve ensured Solar Opposites suffered a premature end, but I weathered both of them. Now, it’s got its own dedicated fanbase and identity and all the better for it. But did this final season manage to land on its feet?

Honestly, yes.

The Solar Opposites Took a Lot of Attention

In the past, I have normally spent the better part of my reviews focusing on the secondary plots, AKA The Wall and the Silvercops. However, a big part of this final season is also one that surprised me the most: the episodic plots felt better than the serialized stuff this time around.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always enjoyed seeing whatever it is the Solar Opposites are doing each episode. With the lion’s share of the serialized elements reserved for things like The Wall, though, most of the things the Solar Opposites do tend to be one-off. Story elements do carry over from past episodes, but everything still feels self-contained. Since this is the final season, though, it feels like the showrunners wanted to give everyone as satisfying a conclusion as possible. They requires character growth, and that requires more serialized storytelling. And the season starts off on a very strong note, with the first episode seeing most of the machines the Solar Opposites use to make money getting destroyed.

The Solar Opposites Grow as a Family

Without the ability to make diamonds and other forms of cash, the Solar Opposites are forced to buckle down and start making changes to their lifestyles. They have to sell most of their tech just to get by, meaning they can’t bail themselves out as much anymore, and have to adapt to Earth more than ever. This isn’t the first time that they’ve had to do so, but what makes this different from the Season Three finale is that this time, they really can’t fall back on their sci-fi tech. Ironically, by pushing themselves outside their safety net, the Solar Opposites are able to thrive like never before. Yumulack and Jesse have to start applying themselves at school, and they discover that they’re geniuses. So much so that they’re able to become the best students at school and co-student council presidents. Terry, after a stint loving romantasy novels (and meeting the fairies who write them), he starts writing his own, and they do so well, they become best-sellers! He even manages to get them made into blockbuster films by the end of the series!

Yet all of that pales in comparison to the character growth showcased by Korvo, and it starts with the return of their old CO, Commander Zarck.

Korvo Has Come into his Own

For those who don’t know, Zarck was the one originally supposed to be in charge of the mission, but to prove to everyone how badly they needed him, he used a machine to erase their memories of him. By the time they remember him and he returns at the start of the season, they’ve all but gone native. Yet Zarck’s return forces Korvo to step and prove once and for all that he’s the better team leader while Zarck doesn’t play much of a role afterwards. It shows just how much Korvo has come into his own as a leader and a character. Yet even that is overshadowed by what is the culmination of Korvo’s entire arc throughout the show. When the Pupa starts to prematurely terraform the Earth, Korvo makes the decision to destroy its means of doing so, making it so that they can never fulfill their mission. The Korvo of Season One wouldn’t have hesitated to let the process go through, but he’s grown to love Earth just as much as his adoptive family has. That’s some good character development.

It also turns out that Korvo made the right decision, not just for Earth, but for all Shlorpians everywhere.

What a Twist with the Silvercops!

Throughout the final season, one sub-plot that remains largely on the sidelines is that of Glen and the Silvercops. Last season, Glen joined the Goldcops to go undercover in the Silvercops to bring them down. This leads into the series finale where Glen (now called Dodge) returns to Earth with the Silvercops where we get the biggest twist in the entire series: the Silvercops created the Shlorpians!

For centuries, the Silvercops had been manufacturing Pupas and using them to create Planet Shlorps that they could then destroy. While the Shlorpians would go out and terraform other worlds, they would harvest the resources for money. It’s an intergalactic scam that’s killed countless people and made the Shlorpians the most hated beings in the galaxy!

This was a really good twist. Not only did it reveal that the Solar Opposites did the right thing by defying their mission, but it reframes everything that happens throughout the series. And in the end, Dodge and Goldcops are able to shut the Silvercops down for good, thereby freeing Shlorpians everywhere and the Solar Opposites to be a family. Even better, Korvo gets to travel the galaxy and tell other Shlorpians they can forget the mission and chill. It’s a happy ending for everyone!

At least until the Earth gets destroyed by the Wallians 90 years in the future.

The Wall Stumbled at the End there

From day one, I’ve kept saying that my favorite part of Solar Opposites has been the story of The Wall. For many fans, it was their favorite part of the series. The show took this silly idea of a bunch of shrunken down people living in a terrarium and turned it into this epic that spanned the entire show. At it’s best, The Wall felt like watching Game of Thrones at the peak of its writing. Ironically, though, I can’t help but feel that, much like Game of Thrones, The Wall stumbled on the last lap.

After the events in The Backyard from last season, Cherie decided to stop running from power and just take the reins of The Wall as its Queen. The implication was that Cherie was going to turn into the same kind of tyrant that she spent the entire show fighting against, but much to my surprise, that never really manifests. Especially since two big developments take place: Ringo, AKA the Duke, comes back, having been returned from the dead by the Solar Opposites, and the Wallians unite for the sole purpose of getting the shrink ray from Yumulack. But despite this interesting premise and getting to see Ringo come to terms with his past, none of the new characters from last season return or have any impact on what happens. Having grown to appreciate these newcomers for what they added, it feels a little jarring not to have them in this grand finale.

Cherie Continues to Make Mistakes

I will say this about the end to The Wall story, though: it’s final act shows us how much Cherie has grown as a character throughout the show, and not for the better. During their mission to get the shrink ray, in a moment of vulnerability, Cherie admits that she no longer cares about the other Wallians. All she cares about is protecting Pezlie. This leads to the saddest twist of the entire story; after blackmailing Yumyulack into restoring everyone to normal size, it’s revealed that doing so would end up killing Pezlie. Thus, her team decides to stay small and not tell anyone the truth while forcing Yumulack to make The Wall a better place.

Cherie. Good Intentions, but Doesn’t Think Things Through

This is some pretty good character development on the part of the show. After spending most of her story fighting against tyrants and deception, Cherie winds up becoming that what she fought against. She chooses to lie to everyone about being able to return to normal so that Pezlie won’t be alone in the world. It’s a selfish decision, and one that the distant epilogue shows will ultimately end in most of the world being destroyed. Yet at the same time, you can’t help but understand where Cherie is coming from. She’s just trying to be a good mom to her daughter and give her the best life she can have.

As is the case in real life, things like this can lead people to make selfish decisions that benefit no one but themselves. Yet this isn’t something that’s coming out of nowhere, either. It was shown back in Season Four that Cherie was willing to bend her ideals if it meant protecting her daughter, even if that could lead to other people getting hurt. And, as we come to see, it winds up destroying everything in the future. I don’t know about you guys, but knowing that the world winds up getting destroyed kind of makes the happy ending of the finale feel pointless. Not only do I not like downer endings, but I don’t like happy-ending overrides. In other words, Solar Opposites hit two of my pet peeves.

I’ll Miss You, Solar Opposites!

Despite all of this, though, I still think that Solar Opposites managed to end things on a high note. I think that the series was fun from start to finish, and I’ve already started rewatching some of the older episodes. It’s just that good! More importantly, though, this is the show that introduced me to the work of Mike McMahan, who helped to create my favorite Star Trek series, Lower Decks. I never would’ve gotten into that show had it not been for Solar Opposites! So for a show that started out in the shadow of Rick and Morty, I’d say that Solar Opposites has created something all its own. Not bad for a bunch of weird plant aliens.

I Give the Final Season of Solar Opposites a 4/5

One Piece Chapter 1162 Review/Recap

Despite everyone believing that there would be no new chapter this week, Oda managed to pull it off. His dedication to his story is impressive; concerning, but impressive. After reading this chapter, though, I can understand why he was so eager to want to get it out. The God Valley Incident manages to get even crazier and crazier by the minute, and it might be about to hit its climax. If we thought the Five Elders transformation on Egghead Island was scary, then what Rocks faces at God Valley is flat-out terrifying!

Recap

The chaos in God Valley continues! With Rayleigh having saved Shakky, the two lovers run for it while the other pirates start going after the remaining treasure. In the midst of the chaos, Kuma and Ivankov get their hands on the Paw-Paw Fruit, only for Big Mom to snatch the fruit that turns someone into a dragon. She wanted to give it to her son Katakuri, but Kaido grabbed and ate it first.

Garp, meanwhile, comes across the bodies of the slain citizens and slaves of God Valley and is rightfully horrified, unaware of what was happening. Kuma, meanwhile, starts helping people escape the island with his new powers.

Meanwhile, Rocks manages to save his wife and son, only for them to be pursued by Garling and the demonized members of the Davy Clan. Eris gets Rocks to let her escape on her own, telling him to meet her in Lulusia. Reluctantly, Rocks lets her go on ahead and proceeds to beat Garling and the others’ faces in.

While everything else is going on, Imu speaks to Saturn, who tells him that things are not going to plan. Deciding enough is enough, Imu takes control of Saturn and has him turn into his monstrous form, it’s Haki catching the attention of everyone on the island! And in the final page of the chapter, we see the likes of Rocks, Whitebeard, and Kaido in his dragon form standing side by side as they’re preparing to face down what Rocks calls “the world.”

Oda, you absolute madman! I can fully understand why you were so determined to get this chapter out. You just made the stocks of everyone who isn’t Garling and Big Mom shoot sky high!

Let’s start with Garp. He has officially beaten the allegations against him about supporting what the Celestial Dragons did at God Valley. His genuine horror proves that he really had no clue what they were doing. In fact, what he goes through on that island makes him question justice itself; it was truly a battle royale with things like morality flung out the window! I always thought that it was weird that Garp and Roger would team up to save the Celestial Dragons by taking down Rocks, but now I’m doubting if that even happens. For all we know, that might be a cover story the World Government came up with to hide the existence of Imu. Considering how embarrassing something like that was the only excuse they could come up with, it shows just how bad things got.

As for Big Mom, this chapter has her straight up embarrassed by Kaido, who took his Devil Fruit right out of her hands and ate it in front of her. And the grin on his face as he did it was priceless. He trolled her! All of Big Mom’s talk of Kaido owing her for the fruit was just her coping with the embarrassment! Kaido might be a bad guy, but I can’t help but smirk at his actions. And also smile at seeing how he mastered his fruit right away.

Garling is Mid

This chapter also pretty much shattered the hype around Garling, as he outright lost against Rocks. In fact, I think the entire God Valley Incident has shattered the aura of invincibility that the God’s Knights have. Gaban already proved they can be beaten, but these last two chapters have shown how they’re no match for the Rocks or Roger Pirates in their prime. It shows how much the Straw Hats have to go to be at their level, but it gives me hope.

Speaking of hope, despite what he grows up to be, seeing Teach and his mother seemingly escape God Valley is still a heartwarming sight. Say what you want about Rocks, but he did love his family and protect them like a parent should. As someone on Twitter pointed out, this also explains why Blackbeard names his flagship the Sabre of Xebec. It was the last thing he ever saw of his father. It was also heartwarming to see Kuma save all those people. I only hope that they got to live happier lives after all this.

The OG Monster Trio

The big highlight of the chapter, though, has to be that final panel. Rocks, Kaido, and Whitebeard, three of the strongest pirates of all time, are getting ready to face off against Imu himself. This is the second time that Rocks meets Imu, but this also retroactively confirms that Kaido and Whitebeard had some idea about who was really in charge of the world. In other words, they knew way more than we thought.

I am more than happy to wait for Oda to rest for the next week until we get the next chapter. This was absolute chaos, and that is when One Piece seems to be at its best.

I Give “God Valley Battle Royale” a 4.5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1161 Review/Recap

The God Valley Incident, AKA the Trojan War of the One Piece world. We now know that this war between the Rocks and the Roger Pirates, the Marines, and the God’s Knights was part of an elaborate trap for Rocks. The Celestial Dragons wanted to wipe out his family and kill him in the process. Officially, though, this started because all the pirates wanted to rescue their beloved Shakky. And none was more determined than Rayleigh, who realized that not going after her was a huge mistake. Which is why the God Valley Incident is more than just a major historical event; it’s also a love story.

Also, Garp stans are going to get ton of mileage out of what happens!

Recap

The island of God Valley has become an island of nightmares. The Celestial Dragons are trying to flee to safety. The God’s Knights are killing anyone who isn’t doing what they say. The Marines are trying to get ahold of the situation, Kuma and Ivankov are making their move, and the pirates are fighting everyone, including each other! It’s chaos!

And amidst all this, Dragon is spotted by one of the Knights and is almost killed. It’s only thanks to Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido (and Shiki) showing up that he’s able to survive. And then he sees his dad show up and start fighting all of them. Sadly, he’s unable to retrieve Shamrock, but he is able to save Shanks, who hit his head on the ground. The pirates run from Garp, who just shrugs off all their attacks like the beast he is!

The fighting eventually makes it to the center of the island, with the Rocks and Roger Pirates coming in from both sides to rescue Shakky. She had already taken out her guards and was about to make her escape when Sommers arrived. However, instead of moving her, he decides, “screw it. I’m just gonna kill her so no one wins.” Right before he can lay a finger on her, Rayleigh swoops in and yeets him away like he’s nothing! Now safe thanks to the man she loves, Shakky breaks down and starts crying, prompting Roger and Scopper to do the same before declaring their intention to get away.

Recap

Wow, what a chapter. I’m starting to understand why the World Government wanted to cover up the God Valley Incident afterwards. And to think that Dragon, Ginny, Kuma, and Ivankov were caught up in the middle of all this and survived.

We all knew that something would happen that would keep Dragon from saving both Shanks and his brother. What was surprising, though, was that the only reason Dragon survived was due to fate being at work or pure dumb luck. As sad as it is knowing he could only save Shanks, I still think he should be proud of this fact. Thanks to him, Shanks would basically be adopted by Roger and his crew. Roger is a far better father figure than Garlin could ever be. And thanks to that, Shanks was able to return the favor by saving Dragon’s own son years later, setting the entire story in motion. Talk about karma!

The most surprising thing, though, has to be seeing Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom all running away from Garp. I’ve seen people joke about how weak it makes the future Yonko look, but think of it this way: they had yet to reach their peaks and weren’t as strong as we would see in the future. What was even more exciting is the fact that Garp, in or near his prime, was able to tank Big Mom’s attacks. It just goes to show you how great the gap that Luffy’s generation has to overcome is. They’re close, but not quite there. At least we see proof that the God’s Knights can be beaten.

God’s Knights Still Suck

Speaking of the God’s Knights, this and the previous chapter do a good job of reminding us of how they’re the worst. It was bad enough seeing that coldly killing all those innocent people. But they reach another low when we saw Sommers beat up Shakky while spouting that sexist garbage. If they think a woman who can stand up for herself isn’t beautiful, they don’t know what beauty is. I’m so glad that Rayleigh put him in his place.

Speaking of which, Rayleigh and Shakky’s reunion might be one of the few net positives of the God Valley Incident. I know it’s cliché to see a woman get rescued by the man she loves, and that someone might consider it out of date, but it works. And seeing Roger and Gaban crying tears of joy for their friend is honestly pretty wholesome. Knowing Roger, as soon as they escape, he’ll want them to get married on the Jackson so they can celebrate. And so he can officiate it.

It’s pretty obvious by now that Oda intends to tell us everything that happens at God Valley, and I cannot wait to see what happens.

I Give “A Song of Love Bound Under a Hail of Arrows” a 3.5/5

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