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One Piece Chapter 1166 Review/Recap

Okay, Toei. If you don’t give the God Valley Incident a full-on movie treatment, or at least extra-long episodes, then you’ll be doing One Piece fans a disservice. The last chapter of One Piece gave us the fight that fans have been waiting to see since all the way back in the Wano Country Arc, and it did not disappoint. If we’re looking for an accurate comparison, it was like the One Piece equivalent of last gen’s Goku and Vegeta fighting Broly. It’s just that epic! But now we have reached the end of the road for God Valley and must return to the true purpose of the flashback: the life of King Harald. Also, this chapter proves that the God’s Knights are big, fat kill-stealing phonies!

Recap

The fight between Roger, Garp, and Rocks is over, with the former two out cold while the latter is barely alive. That’s when Garling and the other Knights show up to kill steal. Rocks last thoughts are thanking Roger and Garp for stopping him.

Gaban and Rayleigh manage to get Roger and Garp to safety while also telling them that Rocks was dead. They all make it off God Valley as the island, overwhelmed by the carnage, collapses into the sea, leaving no trace behind. Thus, the God Valley incident draws to a close as the survivors go their separate ways.

News of Rocks’ death and the end of the Rocks Pirates spreads quickly around the world, with everyone reacting differently.

Roger and his crew (and Gloriosa) are just happy that they saved Shakky and got a ton of loot. However, they’re surprised to find that the loot came with baby Shanks!

After everything that he experienced, Garp is none too happy to hear he’s being called the “Hero of the Marines,” with him and Sengoku clashing over it. Despite everything, though, he refuses to quit and abandon the rank-and-file. However, he doesn’t stop his son when he decides to resign, even helping him escape prison.

While others celebrate, though, Loki and Harald take Rocks’ death extremely hard. Loki is despondent over the fact that his hero was killed. Harald, however, is despondent and guilt-ridden over letting his friend go to his death. He lashes out at any Giants who attack the innocent to take his anger out, but it’s not enough. Making his mind up, he sails straight for Marineford and begs the World Government to give the Giants of Elbaph a chance, even if it means he’ll become a slave. To show off his resolve, he even rips out his horns in front of the Navy! Little does he know that Imu is watching.

Review

It’s official, people: the God’s Knights are frauds.

Everyone and their mother in the One Piece fandom agrees that Garling is a kill-stealing phony. He couldn’t handle the Rocks or Roger Pirates in combat, so he waited until Rocks was helpless to take the kill. Not only does that Rob Roger and Garp of the credit for ending Rocks, but it means that Rocks the GOAT didn’t even get a dignified death. How Garling could be the dad to a CHAD like Shanks is beyond me! As far as me and the fandom are concerned, Roger was Shanks’ real dad.

Besides the ignominious end to Rocks, though, the big surprise for me was the fact that God Valley sank into the ocean. Or rather, it crumbled into the ocean. Remember, the land we’ve seen in One Piece is just the highest points left over from when the world was flooded. Despite what others think, though, I don’t believe that Imu had anything to do with its destruction. This was just a side effect from the island being unable to handle the weight of all that power being thrown around. A lot of fans have also noted how fitting it is for the remains of a descendant of Davy Jones to be swallowed by the sea.

What makes Rocks’ death even sadder, at least for me, was the fact that he was right to be worried about Harald and the Giants. While I think he did secretly respect Harald’s dream of peaceful coexistence, he was savvy enough to know that that was impossible with those who were in charge of the world. I’ve kept saying from the start of this arc that now was not the time for the Giants of Elbaph to lay down their blades, as the World Government has become an existential threat to everyone. Tragically, Rocks’ death only made Harald double down on his willingness to bow before those that did not deserve it. And it’s likely that this will end up costing him his life.

There’s no telling how much is left in this flashback, but given how monumental the story of Rocks was to Harald’s life, I’d say that we’re about halfway done. If we’re lucky, the manga will wrap things up before the year is out. After that, we can finally return to the present and the fight ahead of Luffy and Loki. Elbaph cannot be allowed to fall to the World Government, or it could doom everyone below the Red Line. Plus, I do think that Hadrujin and Loki were meant to protect their home together. It’s what Harald wanted, and it’s something I support.

I Give “New Stories” a 5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1040 Review/Recap

Good grief, Big Mom, just what will it take to take you down for the count? We all knew that the Yonko were the toughest pirates alive; Whitebeard was a testament to that. However, I don’t think any of us guess just how stubborn they could be. No matter what gets thrown at her, Big Mom refuses to quit. It would be an admirable quality if she wasn’t such a horrible person. That no longer matters, though. No matter how much she wants, her era, and Kaido’s era, is coming to an end. The Worst Generation will rise in their place. Big Mom Falls today!

Recap

Despite Kid and Law hitting her with everything they got, Big Mom manages to hang on for dear life, much to everyone’s shock. Now enraged beyond all reason, the Yonko gives the two pirates a choice: either serve her, or let her take fifty years of their lives as she starts sucking the souls out of everyone nearby. However, Kid and Law don’t flinch, not even for a second. They know that Big Mom’s on her last legs, and that this is a desperate gamble to win; a gamble that they won’t fall for. Law uses his powers to silence her while Kid hits her with another Damned Punk, sending her falling into the hole created earlier.

Down, down Big Mom goes, past the armory room, taking Kanjuro’s fire demon and one of the bombs with her. Utterly powerless to do anything, Big Mom can only curse at Roger and the legacy he created while also promising to get revenge on Kid and Law no matter what while she falls into the hole outside the Flower Capital. The battle between the Yonko Big Mom and the Worst Generation of Pirates is over. The winner: the Worst Generation.

Review

Holy snap, that was epic! We all knew that taking down the likes of Big Mom would take everything the Worst Generation had, and they managed to deliever on it, and then some. Seeing the horrible old hag utterly helpless was so satisfying to watch. However, I won’t believe she’s dead until I see her body in front of us. My guess is that she’ll retreat to Whole Cake Island in defeat.

As a bonus to all of this, Big Mom’s defeat also gave Yamato the opening he needed to freeze all the bombs in the armory. With Kazenbo gone, Orochi’s mad plans can no longer succeed. And his ninja crony seems to have lost to Raizo. I’m a little worried about Zoro, though. You guys saw the part of the island he was on begin to give way, though I think he’ll be fine.

In any event, the final page of the chapter had Momonosuke bring up Joy Boy for the third time this arc. What’s more, he reveals that Zunesha was Joy Boy’s comrade 800 years ago. Another piece of the puzzle of the Void Century and One Piece has just been revealed. Just what could it be, though, will have to wait. We got another two-week break for now. And I’m fine with that. Oda deserves to rest.

I Give “Wasted Words on Young Ears” a 4.5/5

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