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One Piece Chapter 1035 Review/Recap

After a week-long break, One Piece is back, and we are nearing the climax of the Wano arc. Most of the Beast Pirates officers are down, the enemy’s in complete dissarray. If Luffy can beat Kaido, then the Alliance will win. However, next to the Yonko, there’s one last obstacle standing in the way of victory: King, the enigmatic Lunarian swordsman. What is King, exactly, and why is he considered so valuable? Regardless, though, that’s not stopping Zoro from surpassing him and taking him down. The clash of the swordsmen reaches its peak!

Recap

After a long, grueling battle, Sanji manages to kick Queen to the curb…only to promptly pass out from the effort. Elsewhere, Sanji manages to land a solid hit on King, noting that without his flames, he’s faster, but his defense goes down. As a result, King’s mask falls off, revealing his face to Zoro and some nearby Beast Pirates. King slaughters the other pirates, before turning his full attention to Zoro.

With Enma continuing to suck his Haki dry, Zoro knows he’s got to finish this fight soon. Using his newfound knowledge to his advantage, Zoro puts King on the backfoot. With both fighters nearing their limits, they put their all into one last attack. Despite claiming that a mere human cannot defeat him, though, King reaches his limits. Using the last of his strength, Zoro cuts right through King’s final attack, breaking his sword and part of his right wing in the process.

Review

And another one bites the dust! With Queen out of the way, there are only three major enemies left for the Alliance to fight: King, Big Mom, and Kaido. I’m not counting Orochi, because at this point, I think it won’t take much effort to kill him. Also, until the manga says so, I’m not counting King as down for the count; though I think it might be the case.

In any event, I enjoyed this chapter for a number of reasons. The insight into King’s past and how he met Kaido at a World Government facility on Punk Hazard is a neat parallel to Zoro. The two are swordsmen for their captains, they were the first to join their crews, and they were rescued from bad circumstances. There really is no difference between them, save for the fact that the Straw Hats intentions are more pure.

That’s the end difference between Kaido and Luffy. Kaido only wants to be Pirate King for the power. Luffy wants it for the freedom and adventure. That’s why Luffy will win. And with all the major officers now beaten, we can focus on the main event: Big Mom and Kaido. I’m so hyped for the final fight between Luffy and Kaido. I hope Oda lives up to the hype about it. This will be a battle for the ages. In the meantime, Zoro’s one step closer to being the best swordsman in the world.

I Give “Zoro Vs. King” A 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 996 Review/Recap

I’m only going to say it once: I cannot wait for the One Piece anime to get to Onigashima! The chaos, the fighting, the stakes! It’s getting so good. Right when you think one side’s got the upper head, a new player enters the stage and ups the chaos even further. And that’s just what this chapter is, in a nutshell: chaos.

Recap

Thanks to Tama’s timely arrival, Usopp and Nami are able to escape from Page One and Ulti, though Usopp’s in no shape to fight. That giant monkey that Tama brought with her holds the two pirates off while the others escape. Nami’s worried that the ape can’t hold them off, but Tama reminds them that they’re also Samurai who came there to fight. They’re going to bring down Kaido!

In another location, Yamato’s fighting a losing battle against the Beast Pirates and he knows it. Yet he refuses to leave Shinobu or Momonosuke behind. At that moment, Franky comes running in as he tries to escape the giant Hatcha, who then makes a giant hole in the floor with his club. Yamato uses that as a chance to escape into the basement., but not before taking out Hatcha as thanks. In another part of the basement, Law finds one of the Poneglyphs. Alas, it’s not a Road Poneglyph, so he decides to keep looking.

Meanwhile, Kidd and Killer are going on a rampage, gathering up as much metal as possible as they fight their way to the rooftop, where Kaido has the Scabbards on their last legs. At this point, another player returns to the fight: Big Mom! Rather than focus on the fighting in the main hall, she’s going to the roof to join Kaido.

Meanwhile, Luffy, Sanji, and Jinbei are halfway to the roof, mowing down anyone dumb enough to get in their way. Unfortunately, Sanji seems to stop dead in his tracks as he hears this enchanting melody being played. Uh-oh.

Review

Like I said: pure. Chaos. This is a full-scale war that we’re witnessing, the biggest since Marineford. I knew that this whole thing was going to get crazy, but I think that Oda’s outdoing himself with the fighting and chaos, jumping back and forth between dozens of major and minor characters.

Having to focus on so many people at once can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it helps readers get the bigger picture of what’s going on. On the other, it requires dividing a limited amount of time even further, thus shortening how long we can stay with everyone. Hence why I can’t wait to see how this turns out in the anime; animation has more freedom to focus on what needs to be focused on.

In short, this chapter was good, but I don’t think that it was great or a game-changer. With the 1000th chapter coming up, though, I hope Oda can change that.

I Give “The Island of the Strongest” a 3/5

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One Piece Chapter 991 Review/Recap

It’s been two weeks since the last chapter of One Piece, and if you’ll recall, things got even crazier than they already were. X Drake got outed as a spy for the Marines, forcing him to flee from the rest of the Beast Pirates. Knowing he can’t survive on his own, Drake takes a gamble and asks Luffy to join forces with him and take down Kaido. We know Luffy will say yes, but how will the rest of the Alliance react? The battle continues now!

Recap

Even though everyone else tells him to not let Drake join their side, Luffy agrees without a second of hesitation, much to the irritation of Jinbei, Franky, and Zoro. They don’t have time to argue, though, as Ulti and Page One show up, hot on Luffy’s trail. Usopp and Nami manage to lure them away, though, leaving the others to head to Kaido’s location.

Unfortunately, each of the Straw Hats ends up getting into their own, separate battle. Franky and Jinbei are attacked by the Numbers and have to break off from the group. Zoro and Drake clash for a moment, but then team up against Scratchman Apoo, only for Queen to start shooting at them with a gatling gun! The whole place is in chaos!

On the roof of the skull, the between the Beast Pirates, Scabbards, and Minks nears its climax. Jack and the others were beaten, but the only ones left for the Alliance are the Scabbards and Izo. Realizing that the Minks in their Sulong forms are too strong, Kaido orders Jack to retreat. He will take out the Scabbards himself. With a mighty breath, he wonders how long his enemies will be able to escape, only for Kin’emon to cut right through it, proclaiming that if they die, they’ll take Kaido with them.

Bad. Ass.

Review

Holy cow, this war is getting so incredibly amazing! I don’t think it’s reached the level of Marineford yet, but considering how the fighting’s just started, we’ve got a ways to go.

As for the Straw Hats, I’m worried at how they’ve all be separated from each other. If they want any chance at beating Kaido, they may need their combined power to take him down. It’s not that I don’t think Luffy can do it; it’s just that it would make things a lot easier. Especially since I just remembered that Queen has those plague bullets on him. Those things could slaughter the Alliance troops.

If I’m remembering things right, then the only Straw Hats still headed to fight Kaido are Luffy and Sanji. If they team up with Izo and the Scabbards, they may stand a chance of winning. However, we haven’t seen Kaido at his full power yet, so it’s going to be a tough fight. This arc is getting more and more epic by the minute and I love it.

I Give “Let us Die!!” A 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 985 Review/Recap

Well, One Piece goes on break for two weeks, only to come back and pull off a big plot twist. One that, honestly, caught me off guard. In hindsight, though, I think I should have seen it coming in the end. This chapter sees the Wano Arc take a new turn with the unveiling of the New Onigashima Plan.

Recap

In the rear entrance to Onigashima, the Scabbards are confronted by the traitor Kanjuro. Their former comrade knew that the Scabbards would come, even if no one had spotted them yet. It didn’t matter, though: Momonosuke was about to executed in front of everyone. Furthermore, Kanjuro beat the snot out of the kid when he tried to escape. Enraged, O-Kiku clashes with his former friend, while the Scabbards take on ink clones of themselves and Beast Pirate members.

Inside the castle, Yamato reiterates that he wants to bring down his father. Kaido’s kept him in Wano since he was eight, even resorting to explosive cuffs to keep him in line. Otherwise, he’d have left with Ace years ago. Luffy gets the cuffs off, but says warns him he’ll take down Kaido either way. As for Kaido, he announces his master plan with Big Mom in attendance, the New Onigashima Plan. They plan on turning Wano into a Pirate Empire known as New Onigashima. With the strength of the Beast and Big Mom Pirates, they plan on seizing the Ancient Weapons, conquer the world, and gain the One Piece. However, Orochi objects to them taking the Flower Capital. In response, Kaido lops his head clean off.

Kaido then declares that Wano is dead. In its place will come New Onigashima, with Yamato as its Shogun. Orochi’s followers are ordered to choose to become pirates or die. Panicking, Luffy rushes to get to the stage and save Momonosuke before it’s too late.

Review

Let’s recap, because a lot happened this chapter:

• Kanjuro’s facing the Scabbards.
• Kaido and Big Mom are now in the same location
• Big Mom’s captured Zeus, along with Nami and Carrot (Sanji will not like that)
• The Yonko plan to turn Wano into New Onigashima
• Kaido apparently killed Orochi and told his men to join or die.

Did I miss anything? Good, because this was a development I did not expect. Yet I feel like I should have. Orochi may be Shogun, but he’s just a puppet of Kaido’s. Now Kaido simply has no need for him, so he tried to off him. However, I don’t think Orochi would die so easily. I want to see him face justice for his crimes!

Regardless, this New Onigashima Plan’s throwing the conflict for a loop. But this may be a good thing for the Alliance. I can imagine Orochi’s forces will start fighting Kaido and Big Mom’s, and even each other. That will distract them even further. Thus, when the Alliance strikes, they can use the chaos to their advantage.

Bottom line, though, Luffy has to take down Kaido for good. Otherwise, Wano’s a goner. I don’t think the stakes have ever been this high in One Piece, though, and I love it right now!

I Give “The New Onigashima Plan” a 4/5

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