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

Chapter 1000. Wow. I don’t think there’s likely to be another manga with the ambition to make it this far anytime soon, and I doubt there’ll be another that catches my attention the same way. It’s no exaggeration to say One Piece has to be one of the most ambitious works of fiction ever created in terms of scale. I never would have thought when I was a little kid finding the 4kids pirate rap actually kinda catchy that the dumb cartoon I was looking at then would become important to me in ways I would struggle to fully articulate, but here we are.

Let’s talk about the big multiple-of-a-hundred event. Some were expecting a big lore reveal, the One Piece, the Dawn, the Will of the D and so on. I’ve cautioned lower expectations than that for weeks, but I’ll admit Oda managed to get my hopes up a little for the Will of the D. Maybe we’ll get it at the end of the arc. But even though the start of the battle with Kaido and Big Mom is smaller scale than that, it’s still an absolutely momentous development. Look at how many years of setup have gone into this moment: It was first revealed that Luffy and Law would be targeting Kaido in chapter 696, released in January 2013, eight years ago. But Kaido isn’t the only factor here. Luffy first invoked the wrath of Big Mom in chapter 651, which was released on January 4 2012, nine years ago to the day. Oda’s been building to this battle (and I’ve been waiting for it) for almost my whole adult life. Let’s not undersell the importance of it finally starting.

What else can you say about this chapter? It’s good to see the Minks are still in the battle to at least a small degree. They have as much reason to want to see Kaido fall as anyone, and we’ll likely see a lot more moments like Shishilian’s tears when the deed is done.

Queen being a cyborg, or, more of one that initally expected is an odd surprise, but it does explain the gun from the last chapter. I feel like it would take a bout with either Franky or Sanji for the techology inside him to be fully explained. Shame those two are both otherwise occupied for the moment.

Yamato says someone inside the castle must have saved Oden’s journal. This seems like one of those things that’s either going to be a big deal at the end of the arc, when someone we didn’t expect to be that close to Oden reveals they did it and explains some otherstuff (Hitetsu maybe?) or something utterly mundane like Kawamatsu or Hyori tried to save it but it slipped out of their pocket in the river.

More talk about Luffy’s real dream here, but still nothing substantial enough to guess what it actually is. The phrasing “at the end of his dream” sends my mind racing, but it feels like the kind of hint that’s only going to make sense in retrospect (or could only be translated in a way that gives a proper hint by someone who actually knows what the answer is). Also I don’t think that spit of rock Yamato and Ace are drinking on in the flashback actually fits anywhere in the Onigashima establishing shot, but let’s be real, there are more than enough people around who could have demolished it if they didn’t want it there anymore.

Glad Kin is still holding on. Wonder if any other Scabbards are going to turn up with lost limbs, or even if anyone’s going to turn out to be beyond saving.

God, that final attack is satisfying. I know they won’t all land that easy, but right now I just want more of that. I actually peeked the spoilers for this one, given the length of the wait for it and saw when the attack name was originally understood as Red Rock, which I actually really liked the potential of. Pre-timeskip, Luffy named his attacks after pistols, bullets, bazookas and other weapons he would have seen hanging around pirates as a kid. Post-timeskip, it was animals he trained with. I actually liked the idea of the mid-Wano training being important enough that he decided to draw from the quarry he did it in, and that we might see Gum Gum Pickaxes or Gum Gum Menhirs or who knows what else throughout the fight. But, no, Roc was probably the best choice for this one. A mythical bird for fighting legendary opponents.

Next chapter (another two painful weeks from now) the real battle starts. I can’t see either side of this face-off having particularly good personal synergy, so the safest prediction is chaos and bickering across every front, in and out of both teams. It’s been a pleasure making it through 1000 chapters with you all, here’s to at least a couple hundred more.