(no subject)

[moveyourdeadfros]

We open up this chapter with something I can only describe as love and nostalgia in inked and drawn form- the Strawhats are building a castle out of LEGO. There is just nothing about this image that isn’t fantastic in some way. Robin using her arms to lift blocks, Brook in a LEGO-hat, Nami feeding a LEGO-dog, Luffy looking like he is seconds away from putting some bricks up his nose… this image, man. This image is LOVE. Colorful, glorious love.

Back on Fishman Island, fishpeople and merpeople alike are celebrating Fisher Tigers blow against the Tenryuubito, while the royal palace debates what to do now that their people have fallen into hot water with the surfacers. Otohime, who met and spoke with Fisher knows that there is no stopping him from continuing the fight against the slave trade, nor quenching his anger against the humans that perpetuate it.

And the dramatic edge of this discussion is significantly lessened because oh my god the king is cradling widdle Shirahoshi and it is-



-the most-



-adorable thing that I have ever seen in my whole life. Otohime continues on her quest to spread goodwill between humans and water-dwellers, but runs into resistance everywhere as quite frankly, the merpeople see nothing wrong with what Fisher did and think the humans were in the wrong for oppressing them in the first place. Otohime however has something to say about that.



This is pretty intriguing stuff- in the long term she knows that they could never win a war against the surface dwellers and that it is in their best interest to cooperate with them. But how do you convince a people who see the humans as slavers and violent brutes of that, when everyone from the wealthy…



To the poor all see Fishers violent resistance as the righteous way?

Back on the Grand Line the Sun Pirates make quick work of a marine ship sent there to scout out their activities, effectively demolishing the ship in short order. The Rear Admiral onboard orders the Sun Pirates to give them their slaves, a request which Fisher promptly denies in the politest possible fashion.





The ship is soon surrounded as Fisher tells the humans he will lett hem go without killing any of them… except Arlong, as Arlong does, gets a liiittle to enthusiastic.



Okay, so Jinbe can do this-



Which, if you let me gush for a second, is so fucking badass like he punches a guy THROUGH A MAST… but that doesn’t kill him? All their attacks produce NO fatalities? Man, if it wasn’t for the fact that pretty much EVERYONE in One Piece is so much stronger than regular human beings in our world, I would totally call bullshit. The attack sends waves all the way back to Marine Headquarters as it ends up at the table of one particular vice-admiral…



Strawberry (yes, that’s the name of the guy with the do that puts Marge Simpson to shame) basically tells Borsalino that they have no useful info on any of the Sun Pirates except their names, and the scene feels like fan-service meant to show a younger Borsalino: unless of course this turns out to be foreshadowing of a showdown between Fisher Tiger and Borsalino, which would be so awesome I’m unsure the structural integrity of my cranium would remain as it is.

Back with the Sun Pirates Fisher explains to Arlong that if they killed humans, they would stoop to ’their level’: which Jinbe points out doesn’t make sense because the humans are already trying to kill THEM and they need to fight fire with fire. Fishers response is that they’re not about killing humans and getting revenge, but freeing slaves and spreading freedom to a world that suffers opression beneath the Tenryuubito. They are not murderers, and they will not commit actions that will inspire more hatred and fear against the Fishmen. Arlong, ever the diplomatic silver-tongued snake that he is gives his view on the matter:



And is promptly reprimanded by Jinbe. I could just watch Jinbe smack Arlong up his head all day, it never gets dull. Later that evening Fisher divulges to Jinbe that to Otohime and her idealistic dream, there’s probably not that much difference between him and Arlong, and ominously exposits that his own demons might be the greatest threat he’ll have to face on this trip…

And so it continues. The Sun Pirates battle, queen Otohime attempts to negotiate peace, Jinbe and Fisher Tiger ends up with higher bounties than Arlong which pisses him RIGHT the hell off, and it all goes on until one day, where the locals of an island convince the Sun Pirates to let a young girl, a slave that Fisher freed but which cannot sail to her home island on her own, tag along.



This is Koala.



This is the crew she’ll be sailing with. I foresee this ending in nothing but smiles and gumdrops. Once onboard, the Sun Pirates make an unsettling discovery.



Koala never stops smiling. Arlong loses his temper and smacks her (and Hachi holds him back because Hachi is a good guy), whereupon Koala rips of some fabric from her pants to wipe away all the blood, repeating a voew to make herself useful to the crew and that she will never make any fuss so please don’t kill her. Jinbe is, as would we all, wigged RIGHT the fuck out by this display as another crewmember tells him this is common behaviour amongst ex-slaves… whereupon Fisher Tiger takes the girl into his cabin and BRANDS her, covering the mark of the Tenryuubito with the mark of the Sun Pirates.



Which is… well, not the NICEST way to go about things, but the Sun Pirates aren’t exactly nice people. And judging from Fishers face the look pretty much says it all - he hates what he has to do, but thinks that someone has to do it. Personally I would’ve liked to see at least one panel where Koala transitions from plastic smile to genuine tears, that would have made the last panel of the page more effective rather than as abrupt as it is right now.

And welp- so much for Arlongs weird ass moment in the earlier chapter where he told Jinbe off for attacking the unconscious soldiers. Here he’s the good old fashioned murderous psychopath we all know and love. What a twist. Suffice to say, their trip to take Koala home is SO not gonna end well- this is after all not the story of how the totally radical Sun Pirates managed to save every slave in the world and overthrow the government and had way rocking parties. I’m not sure what the point of the page with Borsalino was, but I have faith it’ll pay off in some awesome way sooner or later. This chapter was mostly character development and a contrast between Fisher and Otohime, and without a doubt the beginning of the end. We’ll simply have to see what awaits us after the ”inclusion” of Koala into the Sun Pirates…

Comments

[alwaysuserubber.livejournal.com]

OKAY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TIME

FORGET ABOUT THE WHOLE GIVING BIRTH THING

HOW DID QUEEN OTOHIME EVEN HAVE SEX WITH KING NEPTUNE IN THE FIRST PLACE, GOD DAMN

[harisentai]

... how big are his sperm

[sutureourfuture.livejournal.com]

I'm not even going to begin describing the theory I heard about. Just read this and let your imagination take it from there.

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4566584_fish-eggs-fertilized.html

[ningen-demonai.livejournal.com]

THEY'RE FISH

FISH NEVER ACTUALLY DO IT

AFAIK

[moveurdeadfros.livejournal.com]

I like how this is a chapter about racial issues, and the struggle of pacifistic ideals versus violent resistance and the worth of patient diplomacy contra immediate gratification and activism.

And the most important thing on everyones mind is how do fishpeople do it.

[sutureourfuture.livejournal.com]

are you really that surprised




also if anything bad happens to Koala i'm going to throw things ;_;

[moveurdeadfros.livejournal.com]

Let us be reasonable here Zoro. It is a flashback, and so far every other character introduced has been shown to be alive at a later stage in the comic.

I am preparing the projectiles to be thrown ;_;

[sutureourfuture.livejournal.com]

FUCK YOU BLACK BORDERS OF DEATH