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

We’re about halfway through volume 101 now and Oda definitely seems to be using this book to wrap up the crew battles and leave only the final round against Kaido for 102. The end is close. And man, people complain about fights being so much offscreen and only getting one chapter, but there were a lot of back and forth action beats in this one chapter alone. I don’t feel shortchanged on Franky and Sasaki at all.

The colour spread this week is overshadowed by the absolutely magical Where’s Wally crossover (hey has anyone got the full size digital rip of that yet?), but that doesn’t mean it’s got nothing to offer. The scenario recalls the final part of the escape from Impel Down, but in a much more fun and lighthearted way. I really like Jinbe’s kimono and I adore Franky’s hair. Definitely a win for Oda.

Apparently the scan version used Triceracopter instead of Heliceratops for the title, and to be honest I don’t know which one I prefer. They both sound hilarious.

I think I said in the last discussion thread that I wanted the claw in Queen’s hair to be used in battle, and Oda has opened this chapter with exactly what I asked for. I’ve gone off Sanji as a character in recent years, but I’m looking forward to getting back to this fight.

Luffy’s alive again down on the sea, ready to track down Momo and make his way back up. The narration namedrops the submarine being the Polar Tang. I know that came up in an SBS, but is this the first time it’s been mentioned in an actual chapter?

There’s not much to say about Sasaki’s design and powers that isn’t just a babbled stream of praise for Oda’s creativity and humour. This is possibly the most fun use of a Zoan type since Kaku. The spinning frill absolutely slayed me, and the backwards accelleration gag is gold. It really is just a fun piece of work. Show me the paleontologist who could prove this isn’t what dinosaurs actually did. Where’s the fossil record? I liked how hard the General Franky was pushed during the fight. It can take serious damage that disables limbs and weapons in a way Oda isn’t often willing to do in the human fights. Franky being forced to eject and fight on his own at the end was the right move, making it clear it’s Franky very much has his own power, he’s not just relying o the robot to fight for him. I wonder if it’ll get an upgrade or a redesign when he repairs it?

Kaido’s hybrid form is looking good here. The hunched forward pose with the fail whipping around behind him shows it off a lot better than its reveal. I’m not sure what to say about Yamato’s new form because I’m not sure what it’s meant to represent. Feels like it could be any number mythical things it could be just from what I know, and there’s plenty I don’t. It’s definitely cool looking, but without knowing what it’s meant to be, how do you judge whether it achieved that? Hopefully we’re not left hanging too long. It’s not like Oda to leave contentious details about Yamato up for debate for long periods of time, right? Right…?

So that’s chapter 1019. None of the big plot hints of the past two, but it was classic One Piece fun the whole time. It’s hard to say where we’re going after this. Oda might want to spread the Strawhat climaxes out by doing any number of the other fights waiting to conclude (and even start). Let’s look at what we’ve got to go…

Brook and Robin vs Black Maria
Sanji vs Queen
Drake vs Apoo
Killer vs Hawkins
Dog vs Jack
Cat vs Perospero
Raizo vs Fukurokuju
Marco vs King
Law and Kid vs Big Mom

Plus a moment for Zoro now that he’s healed and the chopping of Orochi’s last head (which I assume Denjiro will take). And probably some kind of conclusion for Kaido and Yamato’s fight.

That’s 14 conflicts to wrap up (assuming Usopp isn’t going to get a moment to himself too) but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll all get their own full chapter. I could see things like the presumed defeats of Marco and Yamato being used as a stinger in someone else’s chapter, and Oda could definitely double up some of the Scabbard fights in half a chapter each as well. There’s definite potential to wrap up everything except Sanji, Zoro and the clash against Big Mom (and of course the final Kaido clash) in the five chapters left of this volume. But we’ll see where Oda takes it.