#ch 1074

Really enjoying the current arc! Although I do wonder what happened with Law and Kid from time to time, the mysteries of Egghead are really piling up.

First, the cover story is amazing:

Nice little three-way brawl. Although Caesar has his powers, Queen doesn’t seem too cybernetically enhanced yet, although he does have that lovely mechanical arm to strangle Judge with. I wonder if he lost it in an accident or he changed it himself?

The Bubble Shield is cool! And Oda once again does what he does so well and shows without telling: the bubble can withstand a blast from a bazooka at point blank range. Impressive.

I wonder what happened with Pacifista Mark II?

Poor Sentomaru, all shaky and beat :( but the resolve is strong! And he must be quite a beloved fixture on Egghead for the people to care so much about him.

Radio Head dude in the bottom right corner is cute.

Why is it unsettling that your employer tries to reach you in matters pertaining to your work, Sentomaru? Something you’d rather not talk about, Sentomaru? Everything fine at Egghead, Sentomaru?

I wonder if Kizaru is the Admiral in charge of the Special Science Group? His Sabaody interactions with Sentomaru and the fact that he’s on his way now would indicate this to be the case.

And the spread of the week!

a) Zoro makes the future drip

b) York is one tall lady (but Sanji doesn’t discriminate, he loves all the ladies!)

c) Robin, stopping Nami from kicking Robin’s former, unconscious, tormentors says something profound about both women

d) Please Oda, just…give the ladies some trousers, OK?

I do enjoy the ongoing gag of Zoro’s total lack of sense of direction. Not sure if Sanji’s sarcastic here, with tears in his eyes, but Robin’s supportive clenched fist and smile is really cute (although her words are harsh).

And “I always go all out for everything” is such a Luffy statement <3

It’s nice that Luffy and Zoro get a moment to just relax.

However, you guys should really know that it’s a horrible idea to split up into smaller groups when something isn’t right as evidenced by the laser dome being operational. Do not split up! THERE IS A MOLE IN YOUR MIDST (mirroring Stussy, I presume, which in turn mirrors the double-agenting back in Wano). Maybe figure out that before splitting up into smaller teams?

But before we go into the Christie-esque Whodunnit-mystery: a detour to Bonney.

I thought Vegapunk was still with her, up until this panel. She really let him go quite quickly when she found her father’s memories. Maybe not the best writing (she was determined to kill him for quite a while before this and then she just… lets him go?), but understandable from a plot-perspective.

So Kuma was a slave in his childhood and Bonney sees him beaten? Reminiscent of other “see the memories of others” scenes, where the protagonist is helpless in the face of history, unable to change what has already happened. You can only be there and try to understand how it connects to a larger picture.

I just wanted to mention this panelling. It’s a really nice mirroring of father and daughter: Bonney covers, a small girl thrown down on the floor, yet Kuma keeps going (where, we don’t know). But then she looks at him (or his memories) and strengthens her resolve: she will see her father and understand him.

Poor Bonney, all shaky yet resolved :(

That slice of Kuma’s smile is just… ouch.

There’s probably something to unravel here on the justification (or responsibility) of children bearing their parent’s trauma, but I’m not the one to untangle that ball of knotty yarn.

And back to the Whodunnit part of the show!

Who is it? Who cut off the defenses and enabled CP0 to get up? Who is picking off the Vegapunk Satellites one at a time? A new character or someone we’ve already got to know and love or loathe?

a) One theory is that Urogue will play a larger part in the upcoming arc since all other Supernovas have had their time in the limelight. He is large enough to take on Pythagoras by himself, but he hasn’t been shown to have any connection to Egghead or Vegapunk.

b) The klink and klank suggests either a robot or someone with a large wrench.

c) Is it a Warlord-Pacifista, sneaking inside the lab, fulfilling the orders of Lucci and Kaku?

And the return of Beebs!

Vivi is very professional-looking here! Nice shirt!

But now i am itching for the backstory. Why is she at the WENP with Wapol of all people? Where is her entourage and his gold-digging wife? What happened after the Reverye and why was she crying yesterday? What is the timespan of all these events?

I really enjoy Morgans. He understands the role he chooses to play a little too well, taking on the mantle of a Murdoch-type slimeball who’s only in it to shape the world into what he wants. Although the government threatened him earlier and they seem to still be on the run, he’s fine with taking their money when spinning the yarn to support their interests.

There’s probably some other meta hiding here about the role of newspapers and how long we’ve had independent, truth-based journalism and if it’s ever been impartial or always entertainment, but, alas, it’s not a piece for me to delve into.

Vivi I love you I’m so happy you’re okay!!

Less enthused to see Wapol but I guess if he helped Vivi he gets...a few points...

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oh look, Luffy is tired from running around a lot. Guess it's time to feed the "Gear 5 is killing Luffy" believers

wait, he's still tired here?