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One Piece Chapter 1007 Review/Recap

If you’ll recall, several chapters ago, Queen unleashed a deadly virus that turns people into ice zombies. And that he didn’t care if it would end up hurting his own men in the process. The virus has been kept at bay for a while, but unless Chopper creates a cure, everyone will die.

Fortunately, we all knew that Chopper wasn’t going to fail. Queen’s in a big surprise this week on One Piece.

Recap

Last chapter saw Boss Hyogoro use the Ice Virus to return to his prime and become a total badass. He managed to take down the captains of Orochi’s former samurai and ninja squads, but now the virus is about to claim him. Worse, his friends can’t bring themselves to kill him even as the ice virus is about claim everyone infected. When his men beg Queen to save them, the pirate cruelly calls them all cannon fodder meant who are only good for dying, destroying any loyalty they had left. Thankfully, Chopper arrives just in time and administers the cure, first to Hyogoro…

…and then to everyone else on the floor.

Furious that his plans were foiled, Queen lunges at Chopper. However, the now recovered Beast Pirates all turn on Queen and choose to protect Chopper, turning the tide in the Alliance’s favor. Oh, and Chopper gives Queen a sorely-deserved punch to the jaw.

In the storage room containing the Scabbards, the group’s woken up to find their injuries all treated. As for who did it, they are shocked to see that it appears to be….Oden Kozuki?!? WHAT THE HELL?

Review

Okay, what the hell is going on. Oden Kozuki is dead. We saw him get shot right through the head by Kaido. And even if he survived that, he was surrounded by enemies in boiling oil. There’s no way he should have escaped. Then again, I’ve seen Luffy escape from equally impossible scenarios. However, I’m going to assume that this guy is an imposter.

Possible imposters aside, everything that happened with Chopper and Queen is exactly as I predicted. Thanks to Chopper saving everyone, the Pleasures and Waiters in the Beast pirates have all defected to the Alliance. That’s potentially thousands of people joining the good guys. Factor in Otama turning the Gifters and Headliners to her side, and their numbers go up even further. The math checks out: the Yonko stand a real chance at losing this war.

As an aside note, this chapter gave us a rather interesting revelation about Momonosuke’s artificial Devil Fruit. Doctor Vegapunk created it using DNA obtained from Kaido himself. That explains why Momo can turn into a dragon. I know Oda wouldn’t drop this kind of information at random, either, so it must mean something. I just don’t know what.

Sadly, One Piece is on break next week, so we’ll have to wait to learn the truth. I can wait, though. I’ve got a lot to think over after today.

I Give “Tanuki-San” A 4/5. Very Cathartic

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One Piece Chapter 965 Review/Recap

Ever since Oda brought us to Wano, I’ve been asking one question: how did Orochi become Shogun? The obvious answer is through Kaido’s muscle, but we’ve seen how crafty he is by himself. I voiced my suspicions about how Orochi rose to power before: he murdered Oden’s father. However, it’s not until this chapter that I got the full picture. At last, we see not only Orochi’s rise, but the vendetta against the Shogun carried by his family, the Kurozumi Clan.

Recap

Four years have passed since Oden left Wano with the Whitebeard Pirates. Needless to say, life’s been great for him: he’s seen so much of the world, he’s leader of one of Whitebeard’s divisions, and he’s wanted by the World Government. In addition, he and Toki have gotten closer, leading to Momonosuke and Hiyori being born. However, Oden can’t help but wonder how he’ll bring his world tour to an end.

Back in Wano, Sukiyaki Kozuki’s deathly ill, and doesn’t have long for this world. Until Oden can return, he appoints a regent to rule in his son’s absence: Orochi Kurozumi, who Sukiyaki says was like a brother to Oden.

Lord Yasuie immediately realizes something’s up, especially when he learns that Orochi’s last name is Kurozumi. Years ago, the previous Shogun remained childless, leading the Daiymo to compete for the title. Orochi’s grandpa schemed to become Shogun using every means necessary, only for it to unravel with Sukiyaki’s birth. As a result, the Kurozumi head committed hara-kiri, and the family lost all their power and wealth. With the help of a mysterious woman who can change her face, Orochi’s clawed his way to the top. It’s the Kurozumi family’s revenge.

In the outside world, the Whitebeard Pirates approach an island whose wildlife’s running in terror. The reason’s made clear: the Roger Pirates are camped there, and Roger wants to have one last bout with Whitebeard.

Review

At first I was going to say I had an iota or sympathy for Orochi’s backstory. He was born into poverty due to circumstances beyond his control. If Game of Thrones taught me anything, the idea of “sins of the father” is a drag. Then Emperor Carnage reminded me that the Kurozumi Clan brought this on themselves. So, screw the Kurozumi.

This chapter at least confirmed several of my suspicions about Orochi: he stole money from Yasuie and Oden. In addition, I’m all but certain he murdered Oden’s father. If Carnage is right, then he’s already dead.

Regarding the mysterious woman, we know at least one thing: she’s dead in the present day. Her possessing the Clone-Clone Fruit is proof of that. As to her identity, here’s my theory: she worked for Kaido to put the Kurozumi family power. That would explain Orochi’s alliance with the Beast Pirates, and why they control Wano. A true snake.

Overall, I liked this chapter, as it ties both halves of this flashback together. We got to see Wano’s fall to Orochi, and more of Oden’s adventures. Now we’re poised to see Oden finally join the Roger Pirates. If we’re lucky, we’ll see some more of the Roger Pirates final voyage. I, on the other hand, am asking if Toki and her kids went with their dad to Raftel.

I give “The Kurozumi Plot” a 4.5/5. Things are heating up.

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One Piece Chapter 962 Review/Recap

A few weeks ago, Act 3 of One Piece’s Wano Arc started, to fans joy. However, it then immediately shifted into another one of Oda’s world-building flashbacks. In this case, it’s the origins of Oden Kozuki and his retainers, the Nine Red Scabbards. The last chapter saw Oden take up residence with Yasuie after his dad disowned him. The legend of Oden continues to grow in this chapter! Also, Orochi proves that he was always a slimeball.

Recap

After two years of living with Yasuie, Oden gets bored and decides to head to Kuri. At the time, it’s a place so lawless that even the Shogunate gave up on it, making it perfect for Oden. Denjiro and Kin’emon insist on going with him, much to his dismay. Along the way, Oden documents his adventures as he comes across several of the future Nine Red Scabbards. Most of the time, he ends up beating them up and they end up deciding to follow him out of respect.

After traveling for some time, Oden finally enters Kuri on his own and fights against Ashura and his men. By the time Kin’emon and the others reach Oden, they find out he beat all of them. Thus, he straightened out everyone and made Kuri into a livable place. As a result, his father took back the disownment and made him the Lord of Kuri. Rather than deal with a bunch of stuck up people from the capital, he appoints his friends as his retainers. With that, the Nine Red Scabbards are formed, while peace reigns in Kuri. Six years pass, and two mysterious strangers wash up on the beach of Kuri to be found by Kawamatsu.

Review

In my opinion, I think that Oden Kozuki’s life leans heavily on tall tales and Japanese legends. While I understand the importance of world-building, though, I don’t think it necessary to go into detail on the backstories of the Nine Red Scabbards. Previous chapters established enough for us to get the picture.

Through his travels in Wano, though, it’s clear that Oden never gave up on his goal of leaving the country. He saw Kuri as a twisted mirror of the prison he thought Wano was, hence why reined it in. With the arrival of Inuarashi and Nekomamushi in Wano, though, he may finally get his chance to leave.

This chapter seemed to do little for me other than hyping up Oden more. After the last chapter’s revelation that Orochi started as Yasuie’s servant, I wanted to see what the jerk was like in the past. Sadly, this chapter almost wasted that chance. The only hint we got was that Orochi clearly stole money from Yasuie and tried to blame it on Oden. Even back then, he was a snake.

As interesting as these flashbacks are, I look forward to getting back to the present. I want to see the war and Orochi’s head on a pike by this time next year!

I Give “A Daiymo and His Retainers” a 3/5. Give us more important stuff!

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One Piece, Chapter 961 Review/Recap

Last chapter of One Piece gave us our first look at the life and times of Oden Kozuki, and his life was crazy. His father couldn’t take it anymore, so he had to disown him. At that moment, though, the capital came under attack. By a boar so big, that it’s called the “Mountain God.”

Recap

Thanks to Kin’emon stealing its child, the Mountain God Boar devastates the Flower Capital in search of its kid. Entire sections of the city and its people get eaten, including Tsuru. Furious, Kin’emon tries, and fails, to slay the Mountain God. However, Oden then lures it in using its child, and with his two swords, he slays the Boar and saves everyone inside.

Even though he saved the city, everyone still blames him for the Mountain God’s attack. His disownment holds up, and thus Oden leaves the Flower Capital. He’s not alone, though: Kin’emon and Denjiro are so impressed by what he did that they choose to become his followers. Thus, the trio heads to stay with Lord Yasuie, where they meet his new servant: Orochi.

….what?

Review

If it were in any other story, seeing Oden slice the Mountain God Boar in half would be all kinds of badass. Considering how we’ve seen Zoro do similar feats before, and most of the heroes and villains have done crazier stuff. In other words, its not as impressive. It makes for one heck of an origin story, though, and this is Oden started to rise to world renown.

Now, for the elephant in the room; or rather, the snake. I’ve had theories about Orochi’s backstory, and now it looks like we have our answer. He was a servant of Yasuie. What puzzles me more, though, is what led him to betray his country and even kill his former Lord? Then again, he looks like the kind of person who would brown-nose anyone to advance in life.

While seeing the backstory for the Wano characters is fine, I felt it was a little unecessary to see Oden kill the Mountain God. We’ve seen crazier feats before, so we didn’t need the affirmation of how strong Oden was. I hope that this flashback doesn’t run for too long, as I want to see the war for Wano play out. Regretfully, we’ll have to wait two weeks for that to happen.

I Give “The Mountain God Incident” a 3/5. Cool, but not Amazing.

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