Egghead lingers on for one last coda, but it’s worth staying for, closing those last few emotional openings that we’d all been wondering about. But there’s kind of not a lot to say about it. The things that happen pay off the arc’s buildup in ways that make sense, and they all work well in those functions. To try and overanalyse what makes them work would just sound like ‘this is a good ending because it follows up on this, this and this happening earlier,’ and at that point I’m just recapping the arc. But we don’t need to go too deep to know this is a good chapter. It just has to be read for the feeling that it works to come across.

The Vivi and Morgans dynamic has proved unexpectedly fun since they got paired up, although I don’t think Wapol contributes quite as much to it. Morgans is still such an enjoyable character on the whole, chasing only the money, whether that means defying the Government to tell the truth, or defying the truth to put a dramatic spin. His attitude toward the world sinking is the ultimate show of how it’s all about him. Big fan of Vivi’s ‘don’t expect to live through it anyway’ attitude here. That’s a girl with nothing left to lose. It makes me very excited to see what her role is going to be in the upcoming arcs and the series’ finale.

I’m happy to see Sentomaru making it out, even if it’s rough how left in the lurch the guy must be now. Too bad for him he couldn’t make it to the giants’ ship. But if Sentomaru is escaping alone, what will come of Stussy and (maybe) Edison? I’m still betting on a cover story.

Borsalino’s breakdown absolutely steals the show this week. It hits home the subtext that’s been building through the arc to make him a much more nuanced figure than I think anyone would have guessed from his introduction at Sabaody. Maybe more surprising is Sakazuki’s acknowledgement of his own insensitivity. Makes you wonder what kind of conversation went down between him and Garp post-Marineford…

It’s good seeing the crew acknowledge their failure to save Vegapunk and process it in different ways. Even with a way to soften the blow and move on almost immediately, there’s good characterisation in Zoro’s harshness, Franky and Jinbei’s rationalising, and Luffy’s despondentness. On the pick-up, I speculated last week that the links between Vegapunks would be a justification – they clearly share the stella’s memories from before their creation. Lilith is obviously taking on traits and functions from the fallen satellites, but it’s not clear how much of their minds and memories are coming with that data. And how is it being transferred with the connection to Punk Hazard severed? Hopefully she stays in the limelight through Elbaf so we can see the actual capacity at which the others are alive through her.

I’m a big fan of the art showing how small everyone is compared to giant furniture as well. That makes me excited for the Elbaf setting.

The last party scene makes for a beautiful spread, especially finally seeing Jinbei as a part of one of these. The new outfits so soon is an interesting touch as well. Are these the Elbaf fits, or will we get new, viking-inspired ones after making landfall?

And the final stinger might just be the guy drinking with Crocus from that one cover story! I’ve waited so long, please don’t let it be a fakeout. What’s with the ‘war-land’ epithet and ominous rumble on the Elbaf establishing shot though? Not sure we’ve seen those before. A somewhat ominous lead-in to the new adventure.

The short pagecount and another break are definitely unfortunate, but with a new island on the horizon, I’m more excited than upset. Oda’s obviously been waiting to draw this one for a very long time, so I’m keep to see what he’s got in store.