Captain M Entertainment

Whew, I’d really hoped to get through this before the next chapter’s spoilers dropped, but life just gets in the way sometimes. Hoping to be back to a degree of normalcy next week.

Good to have One Piece back from its break in this busy time though, and I’m happy to be getting (at least a little of) exactly what I want from the Holy Knight confrontations. Off the bat, Yamato’s cover story takes a big, expected step toward giving them their own crew. Thirty chapters deep though, is there really time to recruit any more Beasts Pirates besides the dino siblings?

Gunko talks about the World Government wanting to use the giants as a mercenary force, and the chapter takes the time to emphasise that, from little things like Ripley carrying Franky as he fights to the gorgeous spread of the crew ripping apart the nightmares. The average, noncombatant giant might be beatable by the best of humans, but I would wager there are more average giants than there are top level humans, and the potential of a fully trained giant fighting alone or a moderately trained giant supporting a top level human is terrifying to consider.

I’ve repeatedly hyped myself up for the creative potential of Gunko’s arrow powers in a fight, referencing Soul Eater’s use of a similar power multiple times, and the reality does not disappoint. I love the redirects of both projectile and close range range attacks, I love the zippy way she moves around to dodge and strike along the arrow lines, and man do I love Usopp freaking out when the arrow points to him, and Nami trying to pull it to another target. Funny how Saul’s group didn’t seem to try that for the kids. But I wonder if the the arrows being physically tangible but immovable to other people could be key to fighting Gunko. Imagine just hopping on top of one and charging up it the wrong way to meet her attack with your own.

We also get confirmation that the Holy Knights share the Five Elders’ regenerating properties. I’m happy to see this. The power scale for raw, physical might more or less hit a ceiling with Kaido. Trying to pull out another gang of enemies who are just stronger would have verged on late Dragon Ball levels of absurdity, so making these guys undamageable puzzle bosses is a smart move. They can be a serious threat without raising questions about why they can’t solve all the World Government’s problems on their own.

Plus, I’m curious about what the weakness will ultimately be. Joyboy’s haki seemed to dispel the Elders’ demonic forms, but it didn’t do any apparent physical damage, and the Holy Knights don’t seem like they can transform like that. I hope the answer is a bit more interesting (and less monster trio exclusive) than just haki.

Finally, holy moley, Usopp went for the kill. Even as the most “normal” Strawhat, this is a look at how he might measure up to a an actually ordinary, undefended human, and it sure makes a statement. And we’ll just be sticking a pin in Brook knowing about the Holy Knights out of hand. Iiiiiiinteresting.

The confrontation ends with the Strawhat group ejected from the svar, so I guess they’re being sent to the Underworld to pull Luffy and Loki into the battle. And speaking of battles ending, it’s a little disappointing to not have seen more of Killingham and Summers’ ones. There are hints – Killingham being able to induce sleeplike states even adults after all and Sommers’ field of thorns. I think seeing a bit more of the futility of fighting with Sommers could have gone a long way to make Robin and Chopper agreeing to hide make sense. As it is, it feels a little abrupt, even callous of them to accept Saul’s sacrifice so readily.

The last lines of the chapter are a big lore hook, implying again a level of familiarity between the Holy Knights and Harald. But contrary to all previous build-up, Sommers here suggests Harald either defied or outright betrayed them by changing the country’s culture. So not as bad a guy as we thought? But if he’s not, why did Loki kill him, and if it’s because Loki is evil, why is he being set as a parallel with Luffy earlier in the chapter. The mystery keeps building! This arc’s flashback is going to be something else.

Seeing Gunko in action gives me a good feeling about the direction of the arc. Good, old school puzzle powers and a bit of mystery building for the flashback, increasing both Harald and Loki’s moral ambiguity. We’re in the early stages of a new volume with nowhere for the momentum to go but up. I see a good few weeks ahead.

Yeah, I think this is the end of volume 112. Oda has lately favoured rallying moments and bits of intrigue over dire and desperate cliffhangers for recent volume endings, so Dorry, Brogy and Scopper leaping into the fray is the perfect moment to cut things and leave readers excited to see what’s coming next.

That said, it’s also starting to feel like we’re moving into the middle stage of the arc where the pacing slows for the action to play out. The set pieces are building bigger and bigger, but I’m finding myself with less to say each week because it’s just the stuff already established playing out. Which is fine, and normal, and a necessary part of any big shonen arc, and they all feel better on the reread than they do to wait on week by week.

This week’s one big lore piece is the ancient facility in the opening scene. The art here is awesome with deep shadows and overgrown detail that really emphasise the age, and that 3000 year figure almost certainly making this First World tech is crazy. I thought it would be years before we came back to that. Glad that it gives Lilith something tangible to do in the background instead of just fading away as well. What’s rough is the spoiler providers assuming this is a robot – I’m not saying there’s no chance of that, but it’s far from as certain as the summaries suggested. Yeah, that dome at the top looks a decent bit like the heads of the robots from Castle in the Sky, but there’s no body. And yet, the perception of it as one is almost certainly going to persist in the fanbase and overshadow any other theory. To shout out another possibility I’ve already seen, there was a comment suggesting the top section as a cylindrical segment of a rocket. I’m not convinced enough to put money down on that, but I still like the idea.

Usopp gets a really fun joke quietly slipping in that he wants to fight as the giants get ready to fight the nightmares. We get what looks to be a broad division of labour for the coming set piece with the Strawhats and Collun (surprised he wasn’t at the school, but he still gets to fill his expected role as the one kid fighting back, so it’s not that big of a shock) taking on the human-size intruders while the giants face the big ones. There’s some good, quick logic from Brook and Jinbei picking out the number of enemies and the fact that giants might have trouble pinning down a threat so small, as well as Nami getting on Collun’s good side to get access to a boat they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

It’s neat that Gunko is a Soul King fan. Crazy it’s taken this long for that to come up, actually. And cool that it’s an enemy instead of an ally, for that potential drama. If her pantsless state is all for his sake I’ll crack it though. And the whole conversation that follows is a fascinating reminder of how evil the Celestial Dragon mindset is. These guys have seemed pretty affable so far (outside of the whole kidnapping children thing), but reading between the lines of Sommers executing enslaved musicians for missing a note. That’s an insanely cruel pastime to so casually bring up. And the only objection at the table is for making fun of Gunko’s interests.

Attention to detail check: the Great Erik still shows the charred evidence of being shot at by Marine ships and getting ignited by Mars’ fire break on Egghead, as well as the figurehead being haphazardly tied on after Nusjuro severed it.

For all the feeling that this set piece is just starting to build, the nightmare monsters seem like they’re going down fast. Dorry and Broggy knock down three in a single panel at the end of the chapter while the other adults fell the draugr, accounting for a decent portion of the creatures from the reveal spread already. Almost too easy. Makes me wonder if these monsters are really gone, or while the children sleep will Killingham be able to pull infinite copies from their minds? How many back to back Hakoku Sovereignties do we think the captains have in them? This could be the thing that makes it properly desperate and high-stakes that the Strawhats find and take down the Holy Knights.

And I hear we’re getting another colour spread next week to celebrate the anime returning. I wonder if it’ll be a normal one, or if Oda will draw something specifically for the spot the anime’s up to, as he’s done for movies, games, the live action show, the Ryuma OVA and the Heroines novel. Maybe fully and officially coloured versions of the Five Elders’ monster forms? We can only hope.

Oda shows no sign of hitting the breaks on Elbaph this week. It’s amazing how different his storytelling feels for this arc and Egghead compared to the bloat of Wano. Whether it’s a second wind from reaching the final saga, a response to feedback or personal feelings about how Wano turned out, or fear that he wouldn’t reach the end before he gets too old to do so, Oda is choosing to go foot to the floor.

But even within this new, fast era we can see growth and adaptation. Egghead felt underpopulated without a single named lab assistant outside the main Vegapunks. Nothing in the arc would have changed if the island had been staffed entirely by robots, a flaw that stood out in a series so full of large and vibrant casts that make its settings feel fleshed out. Elbaph will not face this accusation despite reaching a state of open conflict before the end of its second volume. Kids, teachers, warriors, leaders and animals, all with different personalities and interpretations of the local mythology. There’s enough going on to give the impression of a large, functioning society of individuals. And yes, Elbaph is advantaged by so many giants having been introduced earlier in the story, but I’m still impressed.

The first big forward movement of the chapter is the Holy Knights’ attack on the Walrus School, with a very unique set of powers. If I’m reading between the lines properly, Killingham can put people to sleep (what limitations are on this that kept him from outright disabling the adults too?) and Sommers can manifest people’s fears. It’s very cool how the children’s fears take on a rougher look with crayon-like textured shading. I think these things will look great in the colour manga a few years from now, given splotchy, bright tones that can stand out even more from the sharper surrounding art. Will any adults’ fears that get pulled out take on the same style? And which character is inevitably going to make Sommers do the Enel face when they say they have no fears?

We also get a fun new application of Gunko’s arrows in leading the unconscious. This brings to mind the hypnotic suggestions of Miss Goldenweek’s painting (coincidentally, a power also showcased in an arc with giants) and the possibility of arrow traps that redirect her opponents’ attacks or movements in more favourable directions. Again, I refer to Medusa from Soul Eater for how creative and visually distinct this kind of power can be. And if Luffy could be tricked back into the unthinking instinct mode he used to dodge Enel’s Mantra, would he be totally at the mercy of the arrows like the sleeping children?

Also in this sequence, we’re meeting more school staff. I guess that’s why they call it the Walrus School then. Wonder if this guy has any connection to Islewan from Whitebeard’s fleet. They can’t both have a walrus Devil Fruit, right?

Down in the Underworld, Loki cuts an intimidating figure, not revealing his own power but proving there’s something special about that hammer. The lightning that crackles around it as he winds up the swing is rendered differently to the crackle of energy produced by Haki, but we can see also that the blow calls a thunderbolt from the sky rather than being charged with its own power. And man, I did not expect the ticking clock of the burning tree to be started so soon. Almost too soon. It barely counts as setup if it happens the chapter after it’s first mentioned.

We don’t have much time to go into responses to this here. I’m really curious to see how Luffy’s going to act, whether he’ll demand Loki explain himself or go straight into fight mode to put things right.

The final pages, returning to the school, deliver a stunning piece of art as Norse myths and classic childhood specters alike come to life. I hope Loki and Luffy get to meet the reflections of themselves here. Love seeing that one kid’s mum hidden between two speech bubbles in the bottom left. What’s interesting as well, is the sky. The space above and behind the monsters is filled in with the same rough shading as their colours. Oda doesn’t use screentone like that for clouds or skyboxes, so it’s a part of Sommers’ powers. An extension of the storm that one kid feared, or some indication of a closed space where his power works?

Break weeks are never fun, but I’ll take it here to get the next few events from here in an uninterrupted string, which include the finale for volume 112. Feel like we must be due for a colour spread when we come back as well, so things aren’t all bad.

Man, things are moving in this arc! I expected at least another chapter of transition and chapter before Luffy and Zoro even reached Loki, let alone freed him, but Oda’s wasting no time at all on this one. And we’re still in volume 112, with at least two chapters of it to go. This book is going to be stacked.

But despite the huge plot movements, this chapter finds time for fun and characterisation as well. I loved Nami’s exaggerated and insincere insisting that she was only there for the treasure and wasn’t involved in Luffy’s Loki plan, and then a totally wasted Usopp going crazy at the party a couple of pages later. This arc is a long time coming for Usopp, so I’m glad he gets a bit of fun before it puts him through his paces.

We get a little more Adam Tree lore as Franky learns about the fallen branch of Haugen. This feels like some big, important setup. Fire and lightning being Elbaph’s weakness has to be setup for the final act of the arc. It wouldn’t be One Piece without a ticking clock to the whole island getting destroyed, and an out-of-control fire bringing down the tree could be exactly that, especially if Loki’s big hammer is about to reveal some Thor-like powers. It’s not my favourite way for things to go, feeling repetitive so soon after Onigashima turned into an inferno and Egghead burned under the Marines’ bombardment, but we’ll see what twist Oda decides to put on it. If some bits of the tree have to be lopped to stop a fire, will that maybe give Franky material for a final upgrade to the Sunny though?

I’ve seen the idea float around that we’ve just learned an unexpected weakness for the Sunny, but I don’t think the threat is any greater than to any other wooden ship. Elbaph has a weakness because every part of it is interconnected on the tree, not because Adam Tree wood is particularly flammable or conductive. Not to mention that planks on a ship will be sealed and treated and constantly damp from the seawater, making them much harder to burn than a dry land tree.

Cut to the debate over freeing Loki. I’m not usually into the idea that Zoro is a substantially different character after the timeskip, let alone a worse one, but even for me he comes across way too harsh here. Anyone else remember his first big fight, where kicking a wounded man in the wound was a villainous act? Maybe if he had just prodded the wounds to test for a reaction, or he’d just been blase about Loki dying, or he’d just suggested eating the animals, it could have been a reasonable characterisation moment, but all three of them together just scans as a big much.

(Also did anyone else notice Loki’s wearing gloves now? He definitely wasn’t at first, but they show up around the time Shamrock attacks him. Wonder if the volume release will ink his hands in properly for the early chapters.)

Hadjrudin’s arrival on the scene definitely feels a little rushed, and a little contrived, but it at least manages to be funny. I wonder if it’ll be a factor that most of his group are now “severely injured” or if they’ll shake it off when the time comes to fight. Probably worth noting as well that Sanji and Gerd both escape being hurt and should be going into any future battles at their top capacity.

The final spread is a banger. I’ve said it a bunch of times through Elbaph already, but I love the sense of scale in the art lately. Look at those details!

Some have questioned why Loki was imprisoned with Ragnir in the first place if it’s so dangerous, but I don’t think we know enough about how he was locked up in the first place to say if they had a choice or not. Look at the size of this guy – I don’t think he was dragged down here; more likely he was knocked out against the tree and the chains hastily set up around him where he fell. It might have been too dangerous to try and get the hammer out from behind him first.

A lot of questions linger about what makes both Loki and Ragnir so dangerous. What Devil Fruit does Loki have? What makes the hammer such a big deal, and does it have an inherent power outside the DF/Haki power system? Does the timeline work out for Ragnir having a Devil Fruit (probably not)?

But hey! It’s another no-break week, so answers may be coming very soon. And with the volume so close to its end, they should be big ones.