#ch473

Another curious aspect about Kuma being so damn big is that sometimes he's literally too tall to fit into the frame of a panel so it looks like his head's been cut off

I'm beating on a little bit of a dead horse at this point, but I really do love how Oda plays with size during this confrontation between Perona and Kuma. This is the first (and only) panel where they're shown together and she's confident enough to fight back. Look how big she is in the foreground, absolutely dominating the space between them. At first she was tiny and insignificant, but now she believes that the tables have turned. This is Perona at her most powerful, and it's depicted beautifully in the art.

Except that power is a mirage. Literally one panel later she is once again made small, as Kuma cuts through her bravado simply by ignoring it. This is their last panel together, and Perona is made to look like an ant picking a fight with a giant. It's absurd, and the reader knows who's going to win before their "battle" even begins. The only way for her to be portrayed as less important would be if she were to disappear, which, without any fanfare whatsoever, she does

It's cool to see all the way Oda plays with paneling and perspective to make Perona feel absolutely tiny next to Kuma

Which I guess he is, at 22 feet and change to Perona's 5'3", but Kuma absolutely dominates the page in comparison to her

And it's interesting to compare these images to Kuma in his backstory, where his imposing frame is presented as protective instead of threatening. If anything, the Kuma of the past went out of his way to seem smaller than he really was

Mildly curious about the accuracy of the translation here. As written, it implies that Zoro already knows that all black blades have special properties, but I could see it also be Zoro saying that hardness is one of the special properties of this black blade in particular.

Chapter 473 marks yet another transition point in the Thriller Bark arc, and while the Straw Hats vs Oars is mostly straight up humor, Oda takes the time to remind the reader that there are actual stakes if they don't win this fight. It's appropriate that this speech by Zoro continues into the next chapter after Kuma's introduced, as it becomes immediately apparent that this new Warlord isn't someone to be trifled with. Oda ratchets up the tension with Kuma, then reminds the reader that the real importance isn't Oars, but the crew's missing shadows