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One Piece Chapter 1129 Review/Recap

The initial leaks for the new chapter of One Piece came out a few days ago, leaving fans puzzled. They revealed the identity of the “Sun God” who took half the Straw Hats captive, but it surprised many. The only person who seemed to have put two and two together was this YouTuber called Tekking101. He somehow managed to get the entire thing right. Instead of some new, potentially dangerous enemy, the “Sun God” is some loser who made the biggest mistake of his life! This Giant’s stupidity is so hilarious that I can’t stop laughing at it!

Tekking101, you have earned the right to use this clip:

Recap

As the inhabitants of the tiny kingdom panic, the “Sun God” goes into a rage. He’s furious that his “living dolls” demolished his room and harmed his pets, though he calls them his temple and guardians in front of everyone. The Straw Hats don’t really care about that. Using a map that Nami stole, they make for the wall on the opposite end of the room, though Luffy does make sure not to destroy the models.

As the “Sun God” continues to fail to capture the Straw Hats and learns how they killed his killer rabbit (lol), he starts to laugh and talk about how evil has come to his creation while he starts using this old-fashioned way of speaking. He’s speaking like he’s an otaku, and the Straw Hats have no idea what he’s talking about.

In a flashback, it’s revealed that the “Sun God” Rodo, the navigator for the New Giant Warrior Pirates. When their captain swore loyalty to Luffy after Dressrosa, Rodo refused to be subservient to humans and went off on his own. Then his crow went and found the Sunny and half the Straw Hats asleep on it out at sea. They ran into this belt of sea containing mist that knocked everyone out, so he decided to capture them and put them in his diorama.

That proves to be a huge mistake, as the loser gets zapped by Nami and Zeus with a massive thunderbolt. Luffy, meanwhile, uses Gear Fourth to break the wall on the other side of diorama, allowing them to escape to the outside and to another adventure!

Review

So, let me get this straight: this guy, Rodo, thought that it was beneath him and the Giants to serve a human like Luffy? Then, when he managed to catch them sleeping by dumb luck, he thought that it would be a good idea to throw them in his fake kingdom forever? And he expected that to stick?

What a loser! Rodo really thought he could handle the Straw Hats and keep them locked up! That loser couldn’t have done that with them back in Dressrosa, and they’re way stronger now! They have battle Yonko and come out on top! How did Rodo think that this was going to work? I can’t help but laugh at how big a loser this guy is! And while my LEGO-loving part of me does feel bad about his diorama, he did bring this on himself. At least Luffy had the decency to avoid causing anymore damage.

While Rodo might be a loser, I still can’t help but enjoy how he channels a lot of nerdy traits. He worked on his pretend world and clearly enjoys the conflict that’s now taking place in it thanks to the Straw Hats. Plus, it seems like what he was saying about setbacks and character growth was Oda’s way of showing appreciation to the fans. We love his story and the world that he’s created, to the point where some of us might seem obsessed. That, and I did find Rodo calling Nami his Queen a fun bit of meta-humor. Many fans think of Nami as best girl, so it’s pretty funny.

At any rate, it looks like this was just a fun way for Oda to take us directly into the Elbaf Arc. Next week, we’ll probably see the actual country like we’ve all hoped for. And while the Straw Hats still need to find their ship and reunite with the rest of the crew, I’m not worried. We’ve waited for decades to see Elbaf in full, and one loser isn’t going to ruin it for us!

I Give “Living Dolls” a 4.5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1128 Review/Recap

A few weeks ago in our time, half the Straw Hats woke up in a castle made out of LEGO and wearing Viking clothes. Given how massive the place was, along with the giant animals, everyone assumed they were in Elbaf, homeland of the Giants. However, it turns out we were only half-right. Half the Straw Hats are in Elbaf, but they’re in some sort of model of Elbaf. And the person who likely put them there is someone its people call the Sun God.

This is going to be interesting.

Recap

After dealing with the giant cat and escaping the castle, the Pre-Grand Line Straw Hats take stock of their situation, they conclude that they’ve somehow ended up in Elbaf. However, they have no time to celebrate as they run into one of the inhabitants. Surprisingly, they’re the same size as them. The local explains that the land they’re in is a land of gods, ruled by the Sun God, and that if they keep following the road they’re on, they’ll be attacked by the guardians of the god’s temple.

Luffy immediately runs in the direction of the temple in search of adventure, only to hit a literal wall of glass. After breaking through, the gang discovers that the “Elbaf” they were in was really a giant model in an even bigger room.

Fortuntately, they also manage to find Chopper and free him. Unfortunately, they also run into those guardians, a giant snake, rats, and a crow (or raven). As Luffy and the others proceed to pummel the guardians, the Sun God returns to the room and sees the chaos. Needless to say, they’re not happy.

The group proceeds to hijack the giant cat, and using a map Nami found, they retreat into the model. With the Sun God in pursuit, they plan to bust through the wall on the other side and escape.

Review

Well, this is very entertaining. In the span of this one chapter, we’ve gotten a fusion of Gulliver’s Travels, Jack and the Beanstalk, and elements of Norse Mythology in the form of the guardians. Muginn is the name of one of Odin’s ravens, and Hyllmungandr is a version of the name of the world-eating serpent. Oda must have been wanting to do this for years, because this is the kind of chaos we love in One Piece.

As much fun as it is to see Luffy and the others cause chaos, though, I’ve still got some questions that I want to see answered. How did half the Straw Hat’s wind up in that model/terrarium? Did the one calling themselves the Sun God bring them there? If so, then how did they get to them from their ships? In addition, there’s the fact that they’re referred to as the Sun God. As far as we know, Nika is supposed to be the Sun God, AKA Joy Boy. Ergo, shouldn’t Luffy be the Sun God? If that’s the case, then that would make this person either an imposter or someone else.

My best guess is that this Giant is meant to be a stand-in for Odin. In Norse mythology, he was the leader of the primary group of gods and was heavily associated with ravens and magic. If this “Sun God” is inspired by Odin, then why would they have all those people in that terrarium? What purpose does it serve?

The Sun God is Going to Mess Around and Find Out

Regardless of whether or not this “Sun God” abducted Luffy and the others, they’re about to find out how dumb that decision was. By the time Luffy and the others are done, I’m betting their precious model will be in ruins. Giant or god, no force in existence can hope to keep Luffy locked up!

We’re well and truly into the Elbaf Arc, now. And I think that Oda is about to cook like never before! Let the chaos and fun times roll!i;0

I Give “RPG” a 5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1127 Review/Recap

On the last piece of One Piece, we saw Shanks and Blackbeard make moves to solidify their power. More importantly, though, the Straw Hats were celebrating their escape from Egghead and their impending arrival at Elbaf, the homeland of the Giants! But when everyone woke up from their night of partying, All the Straw Hats that had joined before Alabasta were missing. Even weirder, though, when Nami woke up, she found herself in a Viking outfit and in a place that seemed to be made out of LEGOs.

Plenty of fans seemed to think that, somehow, half of the Straw Hats had ended up on Elbaf while the other half got left behind. As it turns out, those fan theories were correct! But it doesn’t explain why they’re in a place that looks like it’s made out of LEGOs.

Recap

Near the great tree of Yggdrasil in Elbaf, the resident Giants are dealing with numerous problems. A fire’s broken out in the forest, the (giant) bees are falling from the sky, and it sounds like an earthquake’s hit! They have no idea what’s going on!

In the giant LEGO castle (named Big Steinn), Nami’s freaking out. She has no idea where she is or why she has a new outfit or why the place is made of LEGO. She’s barely able to make sense of anything as she and Zeus fend off the giant animals in the castle. Fortunately, they manage to find Usopp. Unfortunately, he’s being used as a plaything by a giant cat. And when Nami saves him from the beast, it gets mad and chases after them.

After quickly realizing that what they’re experiencing is real and not a hallucination (and the cat turns into a lion), Nami and Usopp are cornered with no way out. Just when it looks like they’re about to be cat food, though, the Monster Trio of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji show up and put it in its place. And much to Nami’s dismay, they’re not worried in the slightest about their circumstances. Or when they hear the roar of another animal nearby.

Review

So, it looks like some of the fans were correct. Half of the Straw Hat Pirates have somehow wound up in Elbaf. Of all the ways for Oda to bring them to the island that we’ve been wanting to see since Little Garden, I wasn’t expecting it to turn out like this.

Nor do I think Usopp expected his long-awaited arrival in the land he wanted to see so badly to be so traumatic.

As for how they got there without knowing, I’m as clueless as the Straw Hats are. Nami thought the booze they drink was making them hallucinate, but that’s already been disproven. Truthfully, I’m not even going to bother theorizing, as I’m sure I’ll be wrong. That, and I’m way too curious about the fact that the castle, and many of the other buildings, seem to be made of something akin to LEGOs! Though there might be an explanation for that.

LEGO originates in Denmark, which is part of the region historically known as Scandinavia, AKA the land of the Vikings. It’s possible that Oda decided to have Elbaf take elements from all aspects of Scandinavian culture rather than just their Viking ancestors. Hence why the houses look like they’re made out of LEGO. Honestly, though, I’m not going to complain. LEGO has been a big part of my life since I was a little kid, and if this is Oda paying homage to it, then that’s fine by me.

Welcome to Elbaf, Everyone! The land of LEGOs and Giants

Regardless of how they got to Elbaf, though, the first five members of the Straw Hats have arrived. Chopper seems to be the only one MIA, but I’m betting he’ll turn up soon enough. Truthfully, I’m more worried that their fighting with all the animals will end up getting them on the bad side of the Giants. Sadly, we have to wait two weeks to find out more as Oda goes on break.

Welcome to the Elbaf Arc, people! Here’s hoping it’s worth the wait.

Also, did you notice the way Luffy and the other dealt with the cat is a callback to the alligators from Alabasta?

I Give “Adventure in the Land of Mystery” a 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 1126 Review/Recap

When I first read the leaks for this week’s chapter of One Piece, I had to double-check on Reddit to make sure they were accurate. As trustworthy as people like PewPiece and Redon are, I still had difficulty believing what happened. Specifically, I couldn’t believe what the leaks said that Shanks did. Then again, I should’ve remembered that in the previous arc, we saw Shanks almost single-handedly destroy the Kid Pirates. He may be a nice guy and Luffy’s mentor/father figure, but Shanks can be ruthless when he wants!

And that’s only covering a third of what happened here!

Recap

A month ago, Bartolomeo and his pirates raided the island of Gratel in Shanks’ territory and burned his flag. However, that proved to be a massive mistake, as in the present day, the Red-Haired Pirates have the Barto Club beaten and at their mercy. Barto’s on his knees apologizing and begging for forgiveness, and the Red-Haired decide to let things slide, on one condition!

They have a month to make sure that Luffy drinks this deadly poison…so Barto drinks it himself.

It’s a good thing it was a bluff, though, and Shanks was just testing them. But they still burned his flag, so Yassop sinks their ship; it’s unknown if there are any survivors.

At Pirate Island, Blackbeard’s finally returns and is furious to learn that Koby (and Moriah) got away. However, he lightens up when Kuzan reveals he got Garp.

In addition, they also have Pudding as their prisoner, Augur and Devon are returning with Caribou, and Lafitte is keeping an eye on the Red Port. With the Revolutionaries stopping any food from getting inside, Blackbeard thinks it’s the perfect time to pull off their plan.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat and Giant Pirates continue celebrating their escape from Egghead. However, when they wake up two days later, they have yet to arrive at Elbaf, and the Sunny is gone. And Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper along with her!

When Nami wakes up, she’s in this place that looks like it’s made out of LEGOs and wearing this Viking outfit.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

Review

Of all the ways we could segue into the Elbaf Arc, seeing Shanks go full gangster wasn’t on my list. Then again, neither was seeing Saturn bite the big one, but I’m not complaining about that!

It took me a few seconds to remember that the Barto club had burned Shanks’ flag, and for good reason. That happened in a cover story seven years ago, so it’s nice to see it pay off after all this time. More importantly, Shanks’ secret test of character for Barto was terrifying but also necessary. If Barto had been willing to give Luffy the poison or lie about it, Shanks likely would’ve killed him then and there. And while their survival is in doubt, the Barto Club’s stocks just increased significantly!

Speaking of survival, this chapter confirmed that Garp is alive but now a prisoner of the Blackbeard Pirates. Imagine the uproar if Blackbeard decided to execute him in a dark reversal of Roger’s own fate! Worse, him having Pudding means he could gain the means to read the Poneglyphs. Most importantly, though, the theory that Blackbeard plans to infiltrate Mariejois has some merit. And disguising Devon as Saturn to get the crew inside is a good plan, even if we know it’s doomed to fail. That said, I’m still hoping to see if Teach can pull off raiding the “Holy Land” of the Celestial Dragons.

As for what’s happening to the Straw Hats, I’m lost. There’s a fan theory that it has something to do with Vivi since the missing crew knew her from their time together, but I’m not sure. For all we know, this could be another detour, but I’m hoping it’s not; Oda has made us wait long enough as it is for Elbaf! And with Nami waking up in a house made of LEGOs, my curiosity will make it hard to wait for next week. I must have answers!

Also, is it just me, or doesn’t it feel weird that only a month has passed since in-universe since the events of the Straw Hats’ Grand Fleet story? If the events with Barto happen in the present, that means the Whole Cake, Wano Country, and Egghead Arcs took place over a very short timeframe!

I Give “Taking Responsibility” a 4/5

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