The Elbaph We Admire has Returned to us!!!

One Piece Chapter 1172 Review/Recap

The God’s Knights are so screwed. If I could have the displeasure of talking to them right now, I couldn’t begin to tell them how screened they are. Now that Luffy and Hadrujin know the real reasons behind King Harald’s death and the flashback is over, now comes the part of the story where the Straw Hats start hitting back. It’s a very formulaic type of storytelling, but Oda makes it so spectacular that I can’t even complain. And the best part is that it’s not just the Straw Hats Imu has to worry about. They’ve managed to awaken not just one sleeping giant, but an entire nation of them.

Recap

As the group minus Luffy and Loki makes their way up to the sunland, Scopper explains the situation. There are three enemies in the form of the God’s Knights trying to kidnap the Giant children. If they get to the ship, it’s over. Gunko’s guiding them with her arrows, Sommers is guarding them with his thorns, and Qillingham’s nightmares are preventing anyone from getting near them. When they get up there, though, it’s even worse than they thought: it’s chaos. The school and library are on fire, Dorry and Brogy are possessed, Nami and half the crew are captured, and Brook’s up and disappeared!

The group decides to divide and conquer. Part of them heads to rescue the Straw Hats, others to protect Jarul, and the rest to save the kids. And that is when Jarul decides to make a speech to all of Elbaph. A speech so epic that I have to explain it in my own words.

Harald’s Speech in Jay’s own Words

“Listen up, young’guns, because I’ve got some things to say before I die. King Harald was a great man who wanted us to join the World Government and show everyone that us Giants of Elbaph aren’t so scary. But he was betrayed by monsters who only sought to use him and our country as weapons. And on a fateful day fourteen years ago, I saw those monsters send a demon to make him bend the knee and slaughtered all his guards when he refused. Harald gave his life to protect Elbaph, but not before he gave Loki the chance to strike down this evil before it could enslave us all!

We could have told everyone the truth of what happened, but Loki knew that this would make us cry out for blood and become the warmongering nation we once were. So I kept silent while Loki bore the rage of our nation on his back as he set out to sea to avenge his father. He may be tactless and has given us a lot of grief over the years, but he ain’t no patricidal punk!

We thought that it was all over that day, but on this day, fourteen years later, the World Government has sent three more demons to our home to enslave us by taking our children hostage. And they did all of this because they thought Harald being a reasonable guy meant that we would roll over like B*****! But they ****** up, because they have no idea who they’re messing with!

Listen up, Demons! You can make us burn our schools, our libraries, and try to erase who we are, but if you think that we’re going to submit and be patient like Harald, you’re wrong. If you think that your thorns, arrows, demons, and nightmare illusions would be enough to break us, then you bastards have no idea who you’re messing with! If the ancient prophecies say that the world will one day be split in two, then so be it! We will never bow or bend to their authority, and we will protect the peaceful world that Harald dreamed of. From this day forth, the World Government is the enemy of ALL ELBAPH! WHAT SAY YOU, WARRIORS OF ELBAPH?”

Elbaph Declares War

All of Elbaph erupts into cheers and cries of defiance as the Giants begin to take up their weapons. The warrior spirit of Elbaph has reawakened, leaving everyone fired up (and Usopp in tears!) At that moment, Dorry and Brogy reach Jarul, but so do Hadrujin and Zoro’s group…and Zoro has a plan!

Review

The following basically sums up my reaction to this chapter:

Haven’t I been saying it since the Knights appeared in Elbaph? They came to do some BS to make the Giants of Elbaph submit and become their warrior slaves for the final war that’s fast approaching. Not only was it not going to work, but I said that it was going to reignite the Giants warrior spirit and make them take up arms once more. Of course, I think people who have come to understand Oda’s writing style by now likely thought the same thing, so I can’t be smug about it. And while I’ve heard that some people are saying this chapter sucks, I want to explain why I think it’s the opposite.

Firstly, there’s the map Oda drew showing the current situation. As this person on Twitter pointed out, having a map drawn means that Oda is taking us on a long ride. This is going to be a battle fought on multiple fronts, which means that the Straw Hats and New Giant Warrior Pirates ha E to divide and conquer. Which, of course, means we can expect a lot of big fights going forward. We’ve got Zoro and Hadrujin’s group fighting Dorry and Brogy, Road and Gerd are going to try and rescue the kids, and the rest are likely going to save the others and the school and library. And that’s not even getting into Luffy and Loki’s inevitable arrival.

Speaking of Loki, I’m so glad that Jarul decided to clear his name. He may be a trouble-making delinquent, but he does love Elbaph in his own way, and genuinely regrets having to kill his own father. Even better, Jarul was able to keep Harald’s good name intact with the way that he phrased the truth of the massacre. As much as I think the whole truth should be known by all, now is not the right time to reveal that. It would just confuse everyone, and that is not what Elbaph needs. It needs to be focused on going to war.

This is the best of What Harald and Ida wanted for Elbaph

Having gotten to know Harald and what he stood for, you would think that the Giants taking up arms again would spit in his memory. However, it’s the opposite. Before Harald changed his ways, the Giants of Elbaph ran around picking fights with everyone for the love of the game. Thanks to Ida, Harald saw how messed up that was and how there was more his people could offer the world than violence. At the end of her life, though, Ida had realized that the warrior ways of Elbaph were not inherently evil, and could be used for good. Say, some jerkwads come barging into your home, kidnap your kids, and try to make you do what they say.

What we’re seeing is the fusion of the ideals of Harald and Ida in the best way possible. Instead of fighting each other or fighting a war for tyranny, the Giants are fighting to defend themselves from it. And once the Knights are dealt with, they’re undoubtedly going to throw their support behind Luffy in the final war. Loki will get his wish to destroy the world. Or rather, the World Government, which needs to go!

Speaking of Loki, I can’t wait to see what he and Luffy can do teamed up. Between them both, I dont think the God’s Knights stand a chance. In addition, I think Zoro’s plan is to have Dorry and Brogy restart their rivalry and get them to fight each other. As for Brook, it’s looking more and more like the theory that Gunko knew him when he was alive is right. Maybe they were friends before Gunko became Imu’s servant. If that’s true, then even the Covenant with Imu can’t fully break someone.

I dont care what anyone says about this chapter. It was meant to set us up for the rollercoaster ride we’re about to ride. And that epic speech (which I urge you to read) made it all worthwhile. The Giants are about to bring Ragnarok down on Imu, and it’s gonna be epic!!!

I Give “The Elbaph I dreamed of” a 4/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.