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One Piece Chapter 1065 Review/Recap

Holy Devil Fruit, people. Oda is back at it with another big chapter of One Piece. We got an even further dive into the mind of Dr. Vegapunk and hints as to why he split himself into separate entities. On top of that, we just got a major hint regarding the Void Century and the Ancient Kingdom. Considering how both connect to Joy Boy and the One Piece, this could be huge. 

Recap

As Punk Lillith continues to lead the Straw Hats along (except for Zoro and Brook, who stay on the Sunny with Caribou,) they’re amazed at the level of technology found on Egghead Island. That is, until they encounter a Seraphim version of Jinbei. 

A skirmish breaks out between the Straw Hats and the Seraphim, but try as they might, their attacks have no effect. Amidst all this, the Punks watch the fighting while eating, using the bathroom, and coming up with new ideas all at once.

Eventually, though, Punk Shaka, the logic, shows up and forces everyone to stand down. Frankly proceeds to gush at Vegapunk about the entire island’s something out of the future, begging to talk with him some more. However, Punk Shaka refutes this, saying Egghead Island’s like that of the past. Not unlike that of an Ancient Kingdom from 900 years ago. Meanwhile, Luffy’s group stumbles upon a junkyard filled with a mecha similar to the one used by Lillith.

Review

Well, once again, there’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get started.

More about the Seraphims

Firstly, let’s start off with the most obvious thing, the presence of Seraphim Jinbei. Given what we’ve seen so far, it’s likely that all the Seraphs are cybernetic clones of the Seven Warlords, modified with Lunarian DNA. The real question is how many Warlords they used. Did SSG merely use the pirates who were part of the Warlords when the series began, or did they include the ones who joined since then? I shudder at the idea of what a Seraphim based on Buggy, Edward Weevil, or God help us, Blackbeard, could do. 

Furthermore, we’re starting to see just how tough the Seraphims are in comparison to the Straw Hats. Despite the massive power-ups they got in Wano, the Straw Hats couldn’t make a dent in one, and not even Sanji could damage it. If that’s the case, they’re even scarier than we already thought, and they were dangerous enough. Worse, it seems that they’ve inherited the genetic memories of their templates. In this case, the Jinbei Seraphim knows Fishman Karate. 

Why Vegapunk Split Himself into Satellites

This chapter also served to confirm, at least to me, why Vegapunk split himself into “Satellites,” or Punks, as I call them. The man’s overflowing with so many ideas for technology and inventions, but he’s hindered by things he considers trivial. Eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom, etc. It’s almost like his head’s so full of ideas that he’s desperate to get them out before they overwhelm him, hence why he splits himself into the Punks. Six versions of himself, six times the work.

I can oddly sympathize with what Vegapunk might be going through. I’m sure many of us wish we had another version of ourselves to help get everything we want done at one point in our lives. It’s frustrating beyond belief, I know. But maybe he won’t have to deal with that for much longer.

Enter Franky. Franky’s idolized Dr. Vegapunk for years now, even completing some of his earliest ideas and inventions for himself. Could Vegapunk’s interest in the Straw Hats partially stem from seeing a kindred spirit in Franky? If so, maybe Vegapunk could declare Franky his successor. Either that, or Vegapunk joins the Straw Hats. He’s too cool for the World Government, anyway!

Not Inventing, Reverse Engineering! The Ancient Kingdom’s Legacy

I heard somewhere that Dr. Vegapunk once said that he wasn’t as great a genius as people thought him to be. At the time, I thought he was being modest. However, if what he said in the final panel is true, then he was being serious. He’s not creating new technology; he’s reverse-engineering it all from remnants of the Ancient Kingdom. 

The Ancient Kingdom, the one that created the Poneglyphs. They’re intrinsically connected to the Void Century, Joy Boy, and the One Piece. If Vegapunk’s implying that they possessed the level of tech found on Egghead Island, then…just how advanced were they?!? 

If all this is true, then everything Vegapunk’s created is technology he reverse-engineered from the Ancient Kingdom for the World Government. It’s not unheard of. I’ve read about advanced technology from ancient history that took centuries to rediscover. It also makes me even more grateful that the World Government doesn’t have access to the Ancient Weapons (I hope!)

The fact remains, the Egghead Island Arc could reveal a lot about the history of the world of One Piece. I’m hoping that we learn more as the story continues. It’s going to be amazing!!!

I Give “The Six Faces of Vegapunk” a 4/5

One last thing. I went to see the new movie, One Piece Film: Red last night, and holy cow did I love it! If you want to see my thoughts on it, please read my review here!!

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One Piece Chapter 1019 Review/Recap

So One Piece just got back from the now expected two week break between chapters. And now they’re about to go on another two week break, since next week’s the start of the Olympics. However, Oda knows what to give us to keep us psyched up until then. In this case, we see Franky’s General Franky Mecha fight a, I kid you not, Triceracopter.

The dinosaur enthusiast in me wants to roll my eyes right.

Recap

On the live floor, Sanji and Queen remain locked in fierce combat even as the Minks are busy trying to heal Zoro with their medicine. Progress is slow-going, though, due to the sheer amount of bandages. Elsewhere, Luffy manages to wake up after Law’s crew saves him!

Inside the right brain tower, Franky’s surprised the Headliners defected to their side, but takes the chance to finish his fight with Sasaski of the Flying Six. Enraged by how things are going, Sasaki turns into his hybrid Zoan form, somehow using it to hover like a helicopter. As a result, Sasaki’s speed becomes even greater, and he starts to overwhelm the General Franky. Desperate, Franky puts everything the General Franky’s got into one last attack, wrecking the mech in the process. When even that fails, Franky’s Radical Beam finally does the Flying Six Member in.

On the roof of the skull dome, Kaido and Yamato begin to fight in earnest. As Kaido expresses his pride in his son’s strength, Yamato berates him for how cruel a parent he is. In addition, Yamato reveals his own Devil Fruit powers, transforming into his own, beastial form. The fight is about to get even bigger!!!

Review

Another seems to bite the dust. That makes four of the Flying Six have been taken down by the Alliance. X Drake already defected from them, so that only leaves Black Maria left. With Brook and Robin handling her, it seems like the Flying Six’s defeat is imminent. And when they fall, that will be a huge blow to the Beast Pirates morale. Way to go, General Franky!

At the moment, though, I’m more curious about the Devil Fruit that Yamato ate. I don’t exactly recognize the creature he turned into, but I’m guessing it’s mythical. His Dad’s a dragon, so it makes sense. Hopefully, the next chapter will show Yamato’s true power. He may not win, but if he softens him up for Luffy, I’ll be happy. Who knows? Maybe Yamato will join Luffy’s crew when this is all over.

I think that Oda ended this chapter on the bed possible note. The Alliance continues to gain ground, and Luffy will soon return to the fight. I can’t wait for what comes next.

I Give “Triceracopter” a 3/5

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One Piece Chapter 927 Review/Recap

Having spent much of my life watching anime, it may have been inevitable that I would gain an interest in Japanese mythology. I eventually started to branch out into that after seeing little references sprinkled in some anime/manga that I read. From there, I gained at least a basic understanding of Japanese myths and culture, which I think will be a big help in the Wano Arc for One Piece.

As we saw briefly in the last chapter, Sanji opened a soba noodle stand to help gather allies. At this point, though, he just seems to attract girls, which Robin, Usopp, and Franky note. That changes, though, when three shady looking men that I can only assume are part of Wano’s equivalent to the Yakuza show up.

They demand “protection money” from Sanji to keep running, which is a common tactic of organized crime groups. Sanji refuses, and when they trash his food, he beats the stuffing out of them.

Glimpse of Beauty of Komurasaki

Everyone clears out, except for a little girl named Toko who didn’t get any soba, which Sanji happily gives. The Straw Hats quickly take a liking to her as she runs off to work in the Courtesan’s procession. She is an attendant to the most famous Courtesan in Wano, Komurasaki. They say she is a woman beautiful enough to topple a nation and the perfect woman. We don’t see her face, but if that’s true, the list for the most beautiful women in One Piece may need to be reworked. She’s enough to make all the men fight over her just by passing through.

The procession is headed to a banquet with the Shogun Orochi, and Robin has also been invited. This will go a long way towards helping their rebellion, though I hope that Robin will not be caught.

I fear that the Straw Hats may have attracted more attention to themselves, though. Those Yakuza who Sanji beat up? Their boss decides to contact Queen from the Beast Pirates to send assassins. The chapter ends with the silhouette of Lord Orochi, which depicts an eight-headed serpent, declaring that he will make Komurasaki his.

Japanese Mythology

Now for the mythology, I mentioned coming into play. Orochi is named after the Yamata no Orochi, a legendary serpent from Japanese Mythology with eight heads and eight tails. In the legends, he terrorized a village near the cave he dwelt, forcing a local family to sacrifice one of their eight daughters every year for seven years. Thus, the time has come for them to give up their last and most beautiful daughter, Kushinada-hime.

Then along came a lone warrior on the road: Susanoo, the Japanese god of storms. He had been exiled from the heavens for causing trouble one too many times. When he saw the weeping parents, he promised to slay Orochi in exchange for their daughter’s hand in marriage. Long story short, he did.

I’m bringing this up because it seems like Eichiro Oda is drawing from this and possibly several other Japanese myths. Orochi is, obviously, the eight-headed serpent, but in this case, he’s devouring all of Wano. Could Komurasaki be the daughter? That just leaves us with our Susanoo, the one who will slay Orochi. I have no idea yet, but I am certain it will be either Luffy or one of the Kozuki Clan’s retainers. I’m actually interested to see how it turns out. This is shaping up to be a very interesting arc with Oda going all-out.

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