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One Piece Chapter 1190 Review/Recap

Just when I think that Luffy and the other Straw Hats are starting to get on the level of the Roger Pirates, even if only a little, what does Oda do? He pulls a stunt like this to show us just how much growing they have left to do! While Luffy is left helpless against the might of Imu, Scopper Gaban shows up out of nowhere to save his butt. And in doing so, he gives him a reality check that, honestly, I don’t exactly approve of. Even if it is tough love.

Review

On the last piece of One Piece, Luffy was about to die at the hands of Imu. Thankfully, he gets saved by Gaban, who tanks the hit while remarking how ugly Imu is. To the demon’s surprise, he then turns around, goes to Luffy, and tells him to get ass off the ground. In a display of tough love, Gaban bluntly tells Luffy that if any part of him even THINKS becoming Pirate King is still gonna be easy, then he should quit right now.

After that’s done, Gaban resumes his clash with Imu, taunting him about how much Luffy reminds the demon king of Joy Boy. He should know: he as part of the Roger Pirates and learned everything from Joy Boy’s own words. Thus, he wants to ensure that Roger’s own dream is fulfilled by ensuring Luffy lives. That, and the World Government making such a big deal about him pretty much convinced everyone in the know that Luffy was the one Joy Boy was waiting for. Imu actually acknowledges this point.

The two titans’ clash begins to tear up the land, or wood, around them, sending entire sections of branches of Adam falling into the Underworld, crushing mountains underneath like they’re nothing. Luffy starts to recover just enough to see the aftermath. To his shock, he finds Gaban lying on the ground, bloodied, hurt, and missing one of his arms.

Review

Damn Oda! You didn’t need to go that hard with this! But I’m glad you did it anyway!

So, a lot managed to happen in this chapter that I think needs talking about, but like most chapters of One Piece, I liked it.

It took me a moment to understand it, but I was able to realize that what Gaban was telling Luffy wasn’t done out of malice. He was just giving him some tough love by telling him what he needed to hear: he ain’t invincible. Most of his fights since Onigashima have been a cakewalk thanks to Gear Five, but as most of us have realized, he’s still got a ways to go. If he really wants to surpass Roger, he’s gonna need to get stronger and overcome the limitations of his new form. Because even as an old man, Gaban is still way above Luffy and the others!

Speaking of Roger, that one line that Gaban dropped about his captain’s dream was pretty big. I’ve talked at length about how Roger deliberately started the Golden Age of Piracy to ensure that the heir to Joy Boy would appear. This pretty much confirms that theory. Also, shoutout to the image of Whitebeard being included amongst the people who knew the truth about the Void Century and Joy Boy. It’s easy to forget that Roger told him before he died out of respect for his rival.

Again, I don’t exactly approve of Gaban’s tough love on Luffy. I think Luffy already knows that he needs to get stronger, so he doesn’t want to hear about it. That being said, he did it because he knew that he wasn’t going to win against Imu, while Luffy could. That point is made blatant by the chapter ending with Gaban losing an arm. I did appreciate the meaning behind it being his left arm, though. It’s symbolic of the fact that the left arm of the Pirate King’s time is over, and he knew it. I don’t think that Luffy is going to get another save like that, though. If he wants to drive Imu out of Elbaph, it’s up to him and the others.

I Give “One Whose Death is Celebrated” a 4/5

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