(no subject)

[moveyourdeadfros]

We start off with the cover arc depicting that guy from Logue Town who sold Zoro his sword a long, long time ago, who has now put up a picture of Zoro over his bathtub and looking extraordinarily pleased with himself, while his wife looks on with disapproval. We leave this depiction of a marital breakdown waiting to happen and now return to your regularly scheduled Fishman Island hijinxs.

On West Fishman Island we see Dosun, the hammerhead shark guy, chained up after having his tailfin kicked up and down the town by Fukaboshi. Between depressed sobs and constantly changing his speech-quirk (he spouts an onomatopoeia after every sentence, it get’s really annoying) he tells the civilians guarding him that using him as a hostage won’t help: Hodi will sacrifice and kill anyone weak enough to get captured. His tone changes into a more aggresive one as his goons managa to toss him an energy steroid and he breaks out of his chains and smashes the top of a building with a single blow from his caveman club, woving to head for Gyoncorde Plaza and fight the princes. Nice thinking there Fukaboshi, leaving the dangerous villains plotting against your nation in the care of…



… Civilians armed with broomsticks. Well. Let’s head on over to South Fishman Island, where the octopus swordsman Hyozou seems to be hitting the victory bottles WELL in advance.



OR IS HE?



Yes folks, you did indeed just see a Drunken Fencer Octopusman. That is the coolest thing you’ll see this chapter, so savor the sight because we’re going right into Whiplash Country for something REALLY stupid.





Soo yeah. Zeo has a cool inborn ability, fights with iron bolas and sports a silver tongue… and was just punked in the silliest possible way. That certainly bodes well for my ability to stand the sight of him in future chapters. We then have a brief intermission with the princes, where they discuss the possibility of the attack being a trap (but they’re going in anyway because they don’t see any other option), and that they don’t believe the Strawhat pirates are involved in any of this because the mermaids vouched for them and they seem like generally cool people. On Southeast Fishman Island we see, of all people, the ministers of the Right and Left fighting alongside the army and losing badly. Why?



Because even kick-ass ministers got nothing on giant Sea Bears. But when it’s handlers tries to use fire to regain control of the beast, Icaros the giant squidman reacts in a most peculiar way.



The reason he does this is, brace yourself, because when he was little he had a giant squid as a friend, who swam too close to the sun and ended up instantly grilled. In disgrace over his only defining backstory trait being so pants on head idiotic, Icaros stabs the dude expositing about this with…



… Something so silly that I lack words to describe it. Oda mercifully moves on as Hordi descends with his army in a big huge pagespread, carrying the chained up king and ready to get the show started… as soon as Hodi stops freaking the hell out.



It turns out that ever since he was struck by Zoro’s blade, Hordi’s been O.Ding on Energy Steroids just to stay on his feet, and it’s NOT doing his health any favors. The chapter ends with the giant beasts freaking out as something strange happens to their master…

My thoughts on this chapter is that it was mostly filler introducing us to characters that I frankly don’t care that much about and that this chapter did not make out to be much more than a gathering of silly quirks. Dosun was just silly, Zeo felt so ambivalent that I’m not sure if Oda wants him to be a silly character or a serious one, Ikaros was ridiculous and Hordi… well, let’s talk about Hordi. Does he REALLY strike anyone as ”endboss of the arc” material? Arlong was a real bastard, and Hodi’s only claim to fame has been an invasion that was pretty damn smooth, but that seems to be crumbling all around them within mere seconds after encountering the Strawhats. He doesn’t really have a very impressive track record so far, as freaking Hyouzou seems to be a much cooler fight from the little I’ve seen of him. I mean, he can block Luffy’s Jet Pistol and counter it with a poisoned blade AND knows Drunken Style fighting? I want to see THAT guy throw down.

The only part of Fishman Island so far that I’ve really cared about was the flashback section, because THAT presented a conflict and a message that resonated with me and had charismatic characters. These guys are just not threatening villains, they feel like some guys covering up for the REAL villain lurking in the background. They seem like they could get their asses kicked so easily if the Strawhats show up, and maybe, just maybe, that’s the point. Maybe this is really going to be Fishman Islands battle, not the Strawhat Pirates. Or maybe meaning the big climax here won’t be a big ass battle, but something that comes afterwards. After all, there is still the prophecy to consider.