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One Piece Chapter 1130 Review/Recap

It’s taken twenty-four years and an endless amount of teasing, but the Straw Hats are finally in Elbaph, the home of the Giants! And yes, Elbaph is the official Romanization of the name, so it shall be referred to as such from here on out. We already had some inkling of how massive the Giant homeland would be, but our first real look at the country shows us how mind-bogglingly massive it is. However, as with most of the islands the Straw Hats visit, there’s something, or someone, causing trouble. And if you know your Norse mythology, read Marvel comics or played the God of War games, you’ll know how serious this could be. The name of the potential antagonist for the Elbaph Arc? Loki.

Recap

Back on the Giant Warriors ship, Franky and the other Straw Hats tell their friends they’re calling off the search for Luffy’s group. They’re out of food and water and have found no sign of the Sunny. They’re all certain that their crewmates are alive, though, and will make it to Elbaph on their own. After setting sail again, they receive news about the Egghead Incident. The WEJ blamed the whole thing on the Straw Hats, Dorry, and Brogy, including Vegapunk’s apparent death. Now the Giant Pirate Captains bounties have gone up to 1.8 billion!

As surprised as they are, though, they’re happy that Luffy is on equal footing with Shanks, even remarking that Hadrujin, one of their princes, joined them. He would’ve come, but most of the warriors had to stay behind because trouble is brewing. The other Prince of the Giants, Loki, had killed his father to gain a legendary Devil Fruit and then tried to escape. Thus, the Giants had to capture him and crucify him, calling him the shame of Elbaph and the Cursed Prince.

Luffy Ends up Meeting Loki

Back in Elbaph, Luffy’s group has made it outside, and are amazed at how massive Elbaph is. After hiding from Rodo’s crew members due to their orders to catch intruders, the group tries to cross a massive rope bridge. However, Luffy senses a powerful presence that he’s been following since they awoke. So he jumps off the bridge and down into the forest below. That brings him to a Giant chained against an utterly massive tree. Luffy introduces himself as the future Pirate King, while the Giant reveals himself to be Loki, saying he’s the Sun God and the one who bring the end of the world.

Also, we get this double-page spread revealing Elbaph in full for the first time!

Review

HOLEY MOLEY, ELBAPH IS MASSIVE! AND THAT TREE MIGHT BE EVEN BIGGER!!

I think most fans understood that Elbaph was going to be a massive place since it was the homeland of the giants. However, Oda blew me out of the water with just how big he made it. The Giants, one of the largest races in the world, are dwarfed by their island home and that massive tree. From the perspective of a normal-sized person like Luffy and the others, Elbaph might as well be the size of a continent.

For added perspective, remember that the islands we’ve seen are the mountaintops of the ancient continents that were submerged beneath the ocean during the Void Century. And Elbaph still manages to be this massive. Imagine how big the world tree, Yggdrasil, would be if most of the world weren’t underwater. Utterly mind-boggling! Oda didn’t disappoint when it came to introducing us to Elbaph!

Loki Seems to be Very Dangerous

Awe-inspiring locations aside, the thing that concerns me most about this chapter is the reveal of Loki. If you’ve seen the Marvel movies, then you know that Loki is the Norse God of Mischief. He’s not always depicted as evil, with some versions of him even being good people. However, he’s often shown to be very cunning and dangerous. It sounds like Oda stayed true to the source material. In Norse mythology, the other Gods of Asgard had to imprison him when he became too much, only for him to be freed at the time of Ragnarok, AKA the end of the world. If Loki thinks that that is what being the sun god means, then the world is in trouble if he were to escape.

This chapter hammered home how little we still know about the Sun God, Nika or what it means for Luffy. Is Luffy supposed to be a savior or a great destroyer? Maybe both! We don’t know!

The Mark on Luffy isn’t a Mistake or Chance

There’s also something else that Robin pointed out: the X on Luffy’s arm in the photo of his Gear Fifth form. Was that mark always there and we never saw it, or is it something new? Either way, Oda doesn’t add stuff on a whim. He makes sure everything is connected, so it’s going to come up in the future.

This was a really great chapter, and it made the wait for Elbaph worth it. Sadly, Oda is going on a two-week break to do research and help with the second season of the Live-Action One Piece. Knowing him, though, he’s got something good planned when he returns! I’m looking forward to learning more about Loki the giant.

I should also note that the day I’m posting this also marks the 25th anniversary of the One Piece anime. Although it’s on break until April, it’s still amazing to see how far it’s come in that time—and we’ve still got a long way to go!

I Give “The Accursed Prince” a 4.5/5

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Rick and Morty S7 Ep 9 Review

In a show like Rick and Morty, life and death are worth as much as a pack of gum one gets at a gas station. By this point, fans have seen the show’s cast die multiple times, only for it to get reversed, faked, or an alternate version of a character. While Rick might not be immortal, he’s got so many ways to come back that he gets pretty close to it. It is funnier when Rick’s latest scheme involves him doing something no one ever thought he would do: get into the afterlife via death by Bigfoot.

Bigfoot Sends Rick and Morty to Valhalla

In his latest experiment/scheme, Rick manages to confirm something that people have debated about for years: there is an afterlife. There are multiple versions of the afterlife based on everyone’s beliefs. He’s not interested in reaching any of them whenever he dies for good, though. He wants to use their energy to power himself up even more. Since he’s still a stubborn atheist, though, that’s almost impossible. Rick soon finds a workaround by getting into one of the easiest afterlives: Valhalla, the realm of the Norse Gods. So, to get in, he takes Morty to Norway and lets himself be killed by a captive Bigfoot.

No, really. That’s his whole plan. He’s had Bigfoot held captive in a Pokeball and lets him out just so he can be brutally killed, and it works. He gets into Vahalla and hijacks that “afterlife energy” for himself. 

Like a Video Game, but Deadlier

There are several funny aspects about this initial part of the episode that had me laughing. Firstly, there’s the fact that he’s used Jerry as his guinea pig so often that his late grandmother’s tired of welcoming him to Heaven. Secondly, there’s the fact that, as Dan Harmon states, Rick is dying so he can have adventures. The idea that he could use it to reunite with his Diane and original Beth doesn’t even seem to cross his mind. 

Lastly, there’s the fact once the residents of Valhalla realize what Rick’s up to, they try to rush his tower, only for it to turn into a real-life tower defense game. In hindsight, most depictions of Vahalla are a lot like modern-day battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and PUBG. They kill, die, celebrate, kill again, rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately, things take a turn south when Bigfoot tricks Morty into letting him out and kills him, sending him to Valhalla. 

Rick, Morty, and Bigfoot vs. Evil Pope

The plot only gets sillier from here on out. Bigfoot’s abducted by the Vatican so the Pope can use him to kill their enemies with the promise of letting him kill Rick’s still mindless clone. Then, when Rick and Morty make it back, the Pope steals that afterlife energy for himself. So the three team up to take down the Pope…and they die and get sent to Valhalla.

Whether the show intended it to be, this episode plays out a lot like a video game. Rick, Morty, and Bigfoot try to beat the final boss, only to die, go to Valhalla, and then respawn (with Bigfoot getting a human body). They then try again and again, each attempt getting more ridiculous than the last. As a gamer who’s sometimes spent hours trying to beat that one enemy in a game, this entire montage made me laugh. And while this isn’t the first I’ve seen a fictional version of the Pope that’s evil, it’s still funny. Perhaps more so due to Rick’s refusal to believe in religion, despite this and multiple episodes proving there’s some truth to them. 

A Very Silly Episode with Bigfoot

In the end, though, Rick has to swallow his pride and give up on his new power source to beat the Pope. Thus, the entire point of this adventure was rendered pointless. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad episode.

I’m not sure why, but seeing Rick and Morty (and Bigfoot) go through all of this over and over again seemed funny to me. It may be because I see similarities to a video game in this episode, but I found it enjoyable. The jokes were funny; seeing Rick kill the residents of Valhalla right as they respawned was funny. And seeing them try to drive the now-human Bigfoot away at the end like a parody of those animal films was hilarious. 

This just hit all the right notes for me. While I’m still concerned about what the show’s going to do with its season finale next week, this was one of the season’s better episodes. 

I Give “Mort: Ragnarick” a 4/5

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