#ch287

First off, good on Oda for showing Noland writing in his log book, since that’s the book that sparked this entire Skypiea adventure in the first place. Secondly, I think this really shows off Noland’s own brand of Romanticism. His ship is on its last legs, his crew is freaking out, they’re in the mother of all storms...and he’s completely calm. His journey has been a “miracle”, not some terrible plight he’s lucky to have survived. (Note again that use of religious language).

Unsurprisingly, he’s the first one to hear the ringing of the golden bell, which reminds me a little of how Usopp was the first to hear the Going Merry’s voice at the tail end of Enies Lobby. 

Oda has used a hodgepodge of visual elements from various native/indigenous peoples when depicting the Shandorians, but this script here looks specifically Mayan, with the feathered snake being an important deity in that (and many other Mesoamerican) religions.