This text was originally written for Arlong Park forums’ discussion thread.

This was a great chapter that got a lot out of the way really quick. We’re nearly at the end of volume 94 here, with the next chapter likely being the last one, so it’s going to be interesting to see what Oda does to top Big Mom vs Kaido as an end-of-volume cliffhanger.

Poor Law can’t catch a break even in the colour spreads, but too bad for him, I reall like this one. Every part of it seems to be in motion. Nothing’s just sitting still. It’s a piece with so much energy in it, which makes it a joy to look at.

We have to be near the end of an act here with the status quo changing so dramatically in both Oden and the Capital. However, I hope that a solution is found for the imprisoned samurai before the act switches over. We don’t need another whole act of building up to prison breaks. Even if the answer is just “these guys have their own plan that they’ll execute on the night of the battle. And I wonder what new roles the crew is going to pick up now they’re effectively barred from the Capital. Franky’s role is pretty obvious, but who knows for the rest. (and speaking of Franky’s role, the panel with all the decrepit ships is my favourite of the week. It’s so damn detailed).

The Law situation is an odd one. It’s hard to imagine what his plan is aside from trading his own life for his crew’s. If we knew more about Hawkins’ ability to predict the actions of people (as opposed to broad things like survival odds) we might be able to make a better guess based on his actions, but it’s all still a bit vague. When his crew puts him before the plan, is that something Law expects, or are they about to get in the way? There’s just not enough info right now!

Robin and Tama’s moment is a cute one. I like the interpretation that Robin feels a kinship with the girl, having become a government target at a similar age.

Kaido and Big Mom’s meeting was great to finally see after all this build up. We get another little hint at Rox, which we’ll hopefully learn more of in the future. It’s an interesting relationship the two have, where he orders her freed but a fight starts right away. Will they stop at talk after doing the obligatory conqueror’s haki dick measuring contest? Will an outside factor such as news of Luffy’s breakout or the arrival of Big Mom’s crew interrupt things? Or will we just cut away and come back to this later (that’s my bet)?

So yeah, great chapter, rough time for a magazine break, but I expect the next one to be a volume and perhaps an act finisher, so things can only get bigger and better.