One Piece Chapter 1187 Review/Recap
On the last piece of One Piece, Brook finished telling th Straw Hats about how Shuri was brainwashed by Imu and helped destroy Esperia. Meanwhile, Loki continued to do battle with Imu, but it was clear that the Giant was in a losing battle. Fortunately, Luffy had finished eating everything at the Walrus School to recover his strength. With Straw Hat back at full power, he jumped in and gave Imu one of the most satisfying of punches in the entire series! Luffy is about to whip somebody’s ass! HARD!
Recap
Imu was caught off guard by Luffy’s surprise attack, but he doesn’t let that stop him for long. He summons these black flames onto Loki’s body near his previous injury, and then he turns them into a sword that runs him through! Loki is sent flying all the way back to Brook’s group, and Ragnir ends up hitting the ice block holding Shuri, prompting it to melt. Imu tries the same thing with Luffy, but he dodges it.
Meanwhile, Zoro and Sanji are currently confronting Sommers and Qillingham, respectively. Sommers says that they’re too awesome to be beaten right now and they’re going to take the Giant kids with them, but Zoro boasts that Qillingham won’t be making it out alive. As for Sanji, he won’t hit a fake monster woman, but he’s smart enough to know that Qillingham is the real target. And that his weakness is Conquerer’s Haki, something he has the potential to unlock. But to do so, he has to become a King himself if he wants to make Luffy THE King.
And Luffy? He’s standing face to face with Imu in Gear Five, who calls him Joy Boy, who responds by telling him not to call him whatever he wants. He’s Luffy, the man who’s gonna be the King of the Pirates!
Review
It should be pretty clear to us by now, but I’m going to say it anyway: we are near the climax of the Elbaph Arc. The fact that we are about to see the Monster Trio face off with the strongest enemies of the arc is proof of that. And judging by just how locked in they are, I think that we are about to see them whip the bad guys’ asses! But for now, let’s go over the state everyone is in.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed that Loki might be out of the fight. Given how strong he is, I wanted to see him and Luffy tag-team Imu to run the tyrant out of Elbaph for good. Yet, it also makes sense when you think about it. He was already beaten up by Shuri and Shamrock earlier, and I doubt he had enough time to get to full strength. Add in everything he’s done since then, and he must be exhausted beyond belief. However, that doesn’t make him weak. If anything, the fact that he’s held his own for so long shows just how strong he is. Plus, Ragnir did manage to melt the ice trapping Shuri.
At this point, I’m calling Shuri a wildcard in the fights to come. There is the risk that she could still be under Imu’s mind control, but I don’t think that will be the case. Imu was already losing control of her when Brook got to her, and that was before he decided to show up on Elbaph. He might be able to power up Sommers and Killingham, but I think he’ll be too focused on Luffy to notice. If Brook can get through to her, she could be the deciding factor in defeating Imu and the God’s Knights.
Sommers and Qillingham are gonna Die
Speaking of the God’s Knights, they are screwed. Zoro and Sanji are the two strongest members of the Straw Hats after their captain, the former already has Conquerer’s Haki while the latter’s almost certainly about to unlock it. The question is, how does Sanji do that? Based on what Gaban said and what we’ve seen of other users, I think that means casting away any doubts and uncertainties someone may have and having total faith in their abilities. I’m guessing this because, looking back on the manga, one trait most characters with Conquerer’s Haki all share is a supreme confidence in who they are and what they want to do. I’m guessing that, in Oda’s eyes, that is what being a King is meant to be about.
Luffy is gonna whip Imu’s Ass!
And now we get to the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Luffy vs Imu. From the moment that Oda introduced him to the story, I think we all knew that Luffy was going to fight Imu one day. As the demon who rules the world from the shadows, he’s responsible for much of the pain and suffering the World Government has inflicted on the cast throughout the series. If not directly, then indirectly by enabling people to be the worst versions of themselves. Not only that, he’s the ancient enemy of Joy Boy, the one whose will Luffy has taken up. And while part of me wishes that Luffy knew how important that is, I think it’s more fitting that he doesn’t. He’s not trying to be Joy Boy or Nika or continue their story, but to tell his own story, hence why he tells people that he’s Luffy. Which, ironically, might be the reason why his Devil Fruit chose him to have Joy Boy’s powers!
Either way, this is beyond exciting for One Piece fans! The kind of excitement that you only get in a Shonen series when the main protagonist is about to fight the big villain that has been built up for years. Like when Goku was about to fight Frieza on Namek! And I have full confidence that Luffy is going to whip Imu’s ass all the way back to Mariejois, no matter what the fans might say! I can’t wait for the next chapter to see what will hopefully be one of the most important battles of the entire series!
