Silver D.ragonoid

[proceed for full-on spoilers]

[proceed for full-on spoilers]

Before I dive into the chapter, the cover for volume 111 was released and I need to share it. I personally really love it.

I like the simple composition here and that color reveals! Loki rocks that pink hair (I was hoping it’d be pink or purple) but I think I’m too dumb to get what his tattoos are supposed to resemble. Maybe wings? Seen other people mention flames ‘cause of the red, but I’m rly lost here. Ragnir seems to be a metallic blue here and I hope that color will stay and not turn into normal grey. Seeing the straw hats in their signature colors for this arc makes me happy. I love how Oda plays around with fashion, his designs are cool and diverse, and I think it elevates the world-building and characters that they change outfits so often and aren’t bound to one style/color. Yet, I feel like we rarely see them wearing their signature colors outside of merch or advertisements, so I appreciate having them all wear them at the same time(at least till they change outfits again). I’m wondering if the rest of the straw hats are doing the same.

Usopp stands out tho. Not only because he’s not wearing his yellows, but also ‘cause his color pallet is crazy. I think putting purple, pink/salmon, red, and orange next to each other without a gradient is such an eyesore, I actually don’t get the vision here. However, I do get the Obelix reference with the orange beard and striped pants, and think that’s lovely<3 I like that Chopper’s helmet is in the color of his original hat and lol those antler extensions xD I vibe with the general style of the outfits, especially those boots and gloves. I like the brown/earthy tones, especially on Luffy. It’s nice to see him in colors we usually associate with pirates for once. The gold on his helmet is very striking, probably to invoke a crown or the straw hat. Can’t wait to see these in the anime and fan art (low-key motivates me to draw too).

On to the chapter!

The sequence of titles recently - “Mountain-Eater”, “Scopper Gaban”, and now “An older woman”? Damn, Oda, you’re serving me. I’ve got some ideas already but I’ll voice my speculations afterwards.

Nami is so real here. I’d be frustrated too. And I feel sorry for Rodo for still trying to cover for them.

Yippie! More of Franky and Ripley! Every page dedicated to Franky is a good page<3 The last time we saw him, he was shocked at the Harley mural and wanted to get Robin asap but he’s chill now, which leads me to believe that he either memorized or copied it and will show it to her later. In general, sending Franky on this excursion and making him the first one to see it wasn’t arbitrary. He is probably the only other person on the crew (besides maybe Jimbe) who understands what a huge deal this is. On Water 7, Franky and Robin were both persecuted for their knowledge from the void century. Franky only destroyed the plans for the Anti-Pluton after seeing that the straw hats would protect Robin, including her knowledge of the real Pluton, and supported her from that point on.

But you know what? Fuck that sus-looking branch and interesting world-building for now, ‘cause I’M BUZZING.

LIGHTNING? You mention LIGHTNING? TWICE? GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I SENSE THE ENEL STOCKS RISING. OH MY GOD I THINK I’M GOING CRAZY. Like, yes, I know I need to calm down ‘cause this doesn’t have to be about Enel. He’s by far not the only one who could set this tree on fire, but you have no idea. YOU HAVE NO IDEA I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIS RETURN AND HOW MUCH COPIUM I’VE BEEN SNIFFING. PLEASE LET ME HAVE THIS FOR NOW AT LEAST BEFORE MY HOPES ARE SHATTERED. LET ME ENJOY THE DELULU-LAND FOR A GLORIOUS MOMENT. I’m gonna think about him and stay crazy till proven wrong. I’m a fake-god believer. *takes a deep breath* Moving on…

First of all, BASED. Jarul is so real for this. And yeah it’s a good joke. He’s the oldest giant and humanoid on the planet, so good luck finding someone older. But I can’t help but think that, since they’re talking about tastes, this doesn’t have to mean someone who’s older than him, he could just mean someone closer to him in age in general. We also don’t know if he’s only into giants or if a human 50+ woman would count too. These interpretations would allow him to still find someone. I’m rooting for him.

Second, Usopp gassing up Nami is so sweet. Her being happy for him is great, too, because she was the one with him on Little Garden when he formed this dream. I love their dynamic. (note how she changed her mind here and stayed because she understood this was important to him)

I appreciate Rodo for being the only one who gives a flying fuck about Scamrock. And I would’ve loved if the scene just ended here:

Poor Loki. Imagine bleeding to death and hearing someone arguing for letting you die. But do you see what I see?

:3

Oh my god what am I witnessing. ZORO, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK???

I’m right with Luffy and I can’t remember the last time Luffy said smth like this to a friend. I get that Zoro thinks he has to be the voice of reason. I get that he respects ancient giants because multiple crew mates nearly died during their fight with Oars, and then his encounter with Kuma happened. I find it low-key cute that Zoro uses kicks like Sanji when Sanji’s absent. But he’s being quite the opposite of reasonable. As Luffy said, a man is dying, and basically torturing him even more is beyond cruel. Why would he kick his wounds first and THEN check the blood? Wouldn’t checking the blood be enough? Is Luffy an idiot? Yes. But Zoro’s line of thinking here is crazy. Because he already knows Luffy’s going to free him anyway. And Zoro is the one who unlocks the cuffs. He was like “I’m rly scared of this giant crashing out so I’ll just kick him real hard and then free him. Should be right.” Bro what??? If Loki didn’t plan to crash out before, now he will for sure and Zoro will be his first target. And I want to point out the irony that Zoro was in the exact same situation when Luffy found him. He was tied up, starving, with an insanely exaggerated bad reputation, and if Luffy had listened to other people’s warnings Zoro wouldn’t be alive. I know Zoro cares a lot about his reputation but by now he really should have learned that most of the time what they hear about someone isn’t true. Maybe Zoro thinks this is another Whiskey Peak situation, but I think in reality he’s just looking for a fight. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t relax and get drunk during the feast. But this isn’t Whiskey Peak. This isn’t about a bad guy luring them in by pretending to be good. The giants are confirmed allies, everyone was warned about Loki, and not even Loki put on a nice act. He simply offered a deal. In fact, he was confused by Luffy’s antics and displayed anger. And if the words of his “online friend” are anything to go by,

he’s acting tough to hide a soft core - like Law, like Zoro. In Wano, Zoro and Luffy were really close and on the same wavelength, but now it’s the opposite, and I need to see them overcome this - and I hope it’ll be cathartic.

Chopper got promoted from emergency ration! It’s cute how Luffy bonded with Loki’s buddies like during his training arc. I’m sorry I’m sounding like a Loki apologist before anything was confirmed at all. I just can’t help but think that these two idiots would be besties. Loki, don’t mess this up. Oh, look, another idiot’s falling from the sky! And my princess finally joins the mess!

Naww this is cute :3

I’m split here. Hajrudin is a trustworthy guy for sure, but on the other hand, Loki didn’t try to befriend Luffy yet. It’s possible that his information about Shanks isn’t true, but his offer to destroy a crew of Luffy’s choice was genuine for sure, and that’s it. He didn’t try anything else to convince him. I can’t help but root for someone who was tortured and left to die by government fuckers. Loki surely did bad things in his life but I doubt he’s gonna be Elbaf’s final villain. I think his role will be very complicated.

Yippiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieee, my babygirl finally runs freeeeeeeeeeeeeee~

Sorry. Damn. What a glorious panel. I’m awestruck. The perspective and foreshortening are [I’ve tried to come up with a word for too long now, you catch my drift]. Chef’s kiss. I guess Ragnarök is finally coming. I’m so hyped for this. Ragnir as a blend of Ragnarök and Mjölnir is a classic Oda masterstroke. Love the name. We're really combining Loki and Thor again, are we. I can’t believe how it must feel to get up after sitting for six years straight. I honestly believe next chapter Loki is just gonna fall like a tree. Bro can barely breathe and probably needs to get used to having legs. Maybe he takes one swing at Zoro for revenge or to break his last cuff(if he even needs to - more on this later), but that’s it. If he actually starts full-on rampaging I’ll be very surprised.

Anyway, it’s convenient to have Gerd here - Zoro had just mentioned her. Is Sanji here to cook, to provide some brain cells, or ‘cause we need the monster trio together? Or… to have the monster trio away from the others? I hope it’s not the latter… I can’t handle the other straw hats going through shit right now *sweats* I know the god’s knights are up to some shit, but if the library gets burned down or Robin gets kidnapped again, I’ll sit there like :|

details corner:

just wanna highlight the funny :)

also, adding Excalibur to the list of suspicious references to our world’s stories…

ma man, what are you doing? XD T-T I don’t know which thought is funnier: that he put his head in his crotch on purpose or that it was an accident.

Sanji noticing Gerd’s absence was expected but now I’m wondering why his women-senses didn’t notice Nami’s absence. Is he that lost in the sauce or did she just not give him a reason to worry? I’m probably over-thinking this.

speculation corner:

Let me say it here before I read the next chapter and I’ll be proven wrong. I believe Elbaf’s legendary devil fruit is in the hammer. When they explained that it gets passed down from generation to generation, with the information we have so far, it could only be through cannibalism or by having the fruit in a weapon. I’d like to see the cannibalism route too, but Hajrudin being scared of the hammer tells me that’s what we should focus on, especially in a fight. Loki could still be a devil fruit user, but I think the royal fruit is in the hammer and that’s why they were chained up together with sea stone. Of course, Oda could just make up a new rule, or this fruit is just this special, but these are the two options I immediately thought of.

There are so many options for who the ‘older woman’ title could be referring to. It could indicate Big Mom’s return since she has huge ties to Elbaf, and I hope we’ll see a flashback from the situation with Lola. Jarul could also be talking about Mother Carmel because he might have had a crush on her or just misses her. If you think Imu is a woman this could also be a teaser for that, but I doubt Oda would hint at it in this way unless we get the reveal within the next couple chapters. It might be simply teasing a character we haven’t met yet (a giant or holy knight) and thinking too hard about it right now is futile. I am thinking about it anyway because giving “just a joke” this much attention would be weird. But hey, maybe Oda just found it very, very funny.

Now, I wanna entertain the idea that the hollow tree branches might become important, not because they’re flammable but because they’re hollow. I suspect that we’re going to find something in at least one of them. Be it treasure or a poneglyph, people, prisoners, King Harald’s grave or Harald himself who might be alive and in hiding. Just something.

I returned from Delulu-land to discuss the super flammable tree. Besides Enel, there are plenty of characters with fire or lightning powers and motives to set the Adam tree on fire. Big Mom if she returns, Loki with his devil fruit powers and/or “Mjölnir”, or the god’s knights who are probably aware of Elbaf’s weak spot. Even the straw hats could do it on accident for example in self-defense. Loki is most likely I think since Ragnarök starts with him in Norse mythology (but imagine it’s Enel I’ll fucking cry).

simp corner:

not much else to say on this front except that Luffy's cute red nose is super cute and Zoro looks really handsome (and fluffy!) this chapter

I don’t know how this turned out so long again. I didn’t think I’d have this much to say. Thanks for reading my insanity. I’ll be off reading 1142 right away (and see my hopes and dreams be crushed). I can’t wait, I’m still buzzing. Oh and I miss Gaban.

[proceed for full-on spoilers]

Heck yeah, I’m sosososososososo happy we finally got Gaban. Previous chapter made me so happy, you have no idea. And thank you, Goda, for giving me another sexy old man. You’re never gonna hear the end of it. (Maybe I’ll post some thoughts on 1139 later just to scream more about this man.)

Zoro remembering what Colon said about his father already tells me he’s gonna take Gaban seriously. Of course, Gaban just teases Luffy at first, but using the key as weapon is so cool to me. The key looks beautiful in every frame, but this sequence clearly is the highlight:

The way the key bends too to emphasize how hard it was pressed, forced into the floor is chef’s kiss. The crackling in the small frame looks like conqueror’s to me but we’ll see if he actually has it or it’s just a different way of drawing advanced armament.

Tangent - It just confuses me when people online immediately rule out the possibility or say “he can’t have it”. I mean, why shouldn’t he? We’re in the endgame now, so we should expect it to appear more frequently. Feels like some power scalers are just afraid that if Gaban has it, Sanji will get it too, ‘cause of the parallel drawn between them, to which I have to say - 1. Gaban having it wouldn’t automatically mean Sanji will, they’re not the same person, just like Rayleigh isn’t a 1-to-1 copy of Zoro. Imo both Rayleigh and Gaban have a mix of traits from both Sanji and Zoro. - 2. Even if Sanji gets it too, I don’t see why that would be an issue? Just let the old man join the ranks of other hot powerful old men with huge cock COC. Rant over.

Gaban saying the straw hat suits Luffy better than the helmet is so sweet. He already pictures him as Roger :3 But calling Shanks a cheapskate is hilarious xD it makes me curious tho if Shanks actually wants it back and why… sus. I’d usually subscribe to the theory that Shanks realized Luffy will carry on Roger’s legacy and not him since Luffy shares the same dream - also his break-up scene with Buggy supports that - and prepared the way for Luffy. Maybe it’s not that deep and returning the hat is just meant to motivate Luffy and that’s why he doesn’t want to meet him yet - he wants to see him become Pirate King first, but who knows. Why is this man always so sus? But imagine if Gaban met Shanks again and just scolded him for not just giving Luffy the hat, man I love this family.

Back on track, Luffy getting angry at someone shitting on his loved ones is in-character but since we’re on Elbaf he does seem to escalate quickly. Going Gear 4 against Loki and now Gear 5 against Gaban first thing, from 0 to 100, strikes me as a bit weird. Maybe this will be explored later. Gaban cutting off the tower of a giant castle casually is wild. This was just a teaser. It reminds me of when Zoro cut the tower during his fight with Kaku on Water 7, but much bigger. This panel is cute, I love them :3

The helmet and horns merging with Luffy is a cute touch, but them teaming up to jump an old man is funny xD Also, what’s Luffy’s plan with the axe? Probably Gear 5 shenanigans, but Wano showed us that Luffy + blades don’t go well together xD Also mmh yes Gaban has sexy eyes, thanks Oda, much appreciated. I thought we’d have to wait much longer before he reveals them.

That this would only be a quick vibe-check and that Gaban surrenders was very clear to me from the start, but the way he goes about it is still hilarious. I didn’t even see at first how Luffy and Zoro crash through the rubble xD I thought it was from the impact of Gaban dropping his axes. BUT THIS!??

Comedy gold. “Don’t take it seriously. It’s just a joke.” and “We could have died.” - “You’re not dead, are you?” This is straight-up online prankster speak. It makes me imagine that Gaban in our world would be an old man with a tiktok account where he uploads stupid pranks and is just a menace to society. His account wouldn’t be very popular, maybe one random viral hit, but it’s his hobby after retirement. He crazy - but I’m beyond charmed. And if this was just casual fun for him, shit, what’s gonna happen when he’s serious? Oh my god, this is already so long, I should speed this up… Gaban’s parting words make it seem like Elbaf is going to be destroyed this arc, which was expected anyway, but does it mean we won’t see him again this arc? Damn, that’d be a bummer. I really hope we’ll see him anyway.

Luffy and Zoro still don’t know who he is lmao. Gaban appears for two chapters just to flex and throw some axes at Luffy and Zoro, says “it’s just a prank, bro” and leaves. What a chad.

About the God’s Knights… so, if they’re allowed to have family, does their family know about their immortality? How much do the knights know in general? Curious, curious. Also, what happened to Saturn’s family? Will they face punishment, too, or maybe they won’t ever know what happened? Very excited to explore these factions. Thankfully, we’re getting there.

I love how both were introduced. Both aren’t prepared but in opposite states. Absolutely adore Killingham’s kirin form! He looks so cool and fun, and I’m worried I’m gonna like his personality as well. The fact his name could be pronounced either as ‘kirin’ or ‘killin’ is genius. Sommers’s beard looking like a cross in reference to his sainthood and Ju Peter is a cool detail. Is he just randomly sitting in his military coat while in his undies? What is bro doing??? If the tattoo on his arm is the mark Killingham is referring to, this might have huge implications for Shanks. It sparked some cool theories about his lost arm. I’m usually not one of those who talk shit about how it makes no sense that Shanks lost his arm to that fish, I just accepted it as part of the storytelling, but if Oda decides to make a bigger story with this setup about how Shanks tried to reconnect with his family after Roger’s death, got the mark, and then gave up his arm to get his freedom back as Luffy gave him hope for the future, that would be pretty cool. Oda pulls off retcons like no other. But maybe they mean the sign on Killingham’s arm? Or is it a family crest? Perhaps both are just family crests and the mark refers to something invisible?

Anyway, Goonko blushing and turning away from Sommers till he’s dressed while she walks around in just panties is hilarious. I wonder how she’d react to Franky or that it’ll be a point of connection lol. Or maybe it’s just because he’s a God’s Knight. She wasn’t introduced as saint, so it’s possible she was just a normal person or a slave who got elevated to a holy knight. By “game” Scamrock probably means one like on God Valley. A native speaker confirmed that they’re written the same way in Japanese. I wonder, however, if it means they wanna fight all of Elbaf or he’s just talking about the children. We’ll see.

details corner:

[just some details I wanna point out for whatever reason.]

I can’t explain why, but the way the tree branches grow through the walls doesn’t sit right with me. The walls obviously weren’t built around it but it also doesn’t look like what happens to structures when trees try to find a way through. Probably this is just flavor and I’m overthinking it. Or maybe it shows that the damage was done long ago, in a battle, and later the plants filled the holes? I think this is more likely.

 I can tell Oda had so much fun drawing this skirmish:

more key appreciation:

We don’t only get to see Gaban slicing the tower, but also the impact far down on the ground.

These panels aren’t even on the same page because of how long it fell. I like how it emphasizes Elbaf’s scale but also Gaban’s powers. Yet, I wonder if anyone noticed it. Like, an entire building breaking and crashing down should be heard far, right? And is the location where it landed important or was it just for scale? Hm…

this handle is a statement. Peak character design as always.

Goonko being annoyed by Killingham’s behavior is funny. Among these four, she seems to be the only one who cares about manners and “respect”. But I’m also curious about Killingham. Is falling asleep anywhere just a random quirk of his or is it because he’s constantly busy running around and can’t catch a break? I hope it’s the latter, at least it’s the vibe I got from his very first impression.

R.I.P. snail. (at least I think it died. otherwise I’ll have many questions)

speculation corner:

Uhm, most of my speculations were already in the main section. Maybe I’ll handle this differently next time. But I still have more to talk about. First of all: Zoro.

He got a lot of focus here, many reaction shots. And I can’t help but notice that he’s been incredibly tense, ever since they left Wano, more than usual. He’s constantly on edge, sweating, blood-thirsty and looking for a fight. Zoro is cautious when it comes to protecting his crewmates, but I can’t help but feel like he’s been even more cautious and serious recently, even anxious. I wanna say maybe this wasn’t intentional and is just how Oda uses to write him nowadays, but it’s Oda. He writes every scene, every panel, especially his main cast with a lot of attention and intention. Zoro usually doesn’t interfere in Luffy’s battles unless asked. He was really scared for Luffy’s life here. For Gaban this was just a test, but for Zoro this was serious. I hope this is all setup for Zoro breaking in the near future or having to learn some lesson. Until then, I’ll keep observing Zoro like a creature under a microscope and dissect him after every chapter.

Could this be future sight? I’m not saying it has to be, however, I hope he has it. And I hope Gaban teaches some of the straw hats some haki - like Usopp. ffs please can Usopp’s observation haki be acknowledged again, even once? It wasn’t since his display on Dressrosa. I can’t anymore.

Another completely unrelated speculation regarding Gaban I wanna leave here: Ripley might not be his only love and Colon might not be his only child. I think there’s a possibility it’s an open relationship and Gaban travels a lot to spend time with his family, ‘cause he FOR ONCE is a present father. Oh, and Gaban being the burnscar man is still on the table.

Imu gives his underlings magical powers, but what happens if a random person manually draws a summoning circle? Would it also work? When Brook was “summoned”, would it have actually worked if they’d drawn the correct one? Who would come out? A random God’s Knight, a random Elder, Imu, or something else? The devil itself? Davy Jones? I hope we get an answer to this. Like, I just wanna know if it’d work at all.

simp corner:

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH GABAAAAAAN YEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE’S SO HOT! HE’S SO GORGEOUS! HE’S SO COOL! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I COULD PUKE!

No fr he’s the entire reason I wanted to start with these reactions. I had the idea to start overanalyzing One Piece from chapter 1 and create long posts about specific characters or themes for a while now, but the decision to yap about the latest chapters as they come out only came in 1139 with fucking Gaban. I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT HIM. And I can’t get over this chapter. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S LEAVING ALREADY??? He blessed us with his presence for only two chapters and that’s it? How long will I have to wait till I see him again? This fr makes me fucking cry T-T I was so excited for him since the Oden flashbacks and am sooooooooooooooooo happy he’s the mystery man. I love axes as weapons and he wields TWO??? That goes so hard. I lololove his long, fluffy hair. The sunglasses look so cool. And now his old man design is so fucking cool as well. I love the braid in his beard so much. The old man fit looks great on him (and I can imagine Sanji rocking that one day just as well). Oda just knows how to do it. Bless him. And even in this chapter, I couldn’t help but get distracted by how prettily, beautifully, sexily, well he drew him here. Down to his fucking posture.

heck, I’m so in love with this old man. I will miss you so much, Gaban. I hope we’ll see you hang out with your family. (If even one of them dies I’m gonna shit on Oda’s desk)

I hope that, when they adapt this panel in the anime with the new art style, they’ll show off Scamrock’s beautiful hair from this angle. This is all I’m gonna say about him today. Also, uhm, is it just me, or is Sommers kinda… yk… ok I’m sorry I know I need help.

cover:

I don’t have much to say about Yamato’s cover story yet. Little girl O-Tama beating up evil guys is cool. Ulti and Page1 are probably going to join Yamato if he saves them. I’m not a big fan of these two, but Ulti’s dedication on this page is admirable. Two daggers hit her and three just barely grazed her, and she doesn’t care, she only cares about her brother’s safety. (I wouldn’t be surprised tho if she’s the one who got them into this situation lol)