#chapter 1000

so, there have been all of theories and meta about how wano is structured like a kabuki play (or jo-ha-kyū). from the use of acts as framing devices, the abundance of masks and actors who are not what they seem (kanjuro, denjiro, hiyori, etc), and the general traditional aesthetic, it is the predominant motif/theme of the arc.

and so, a lot of people have theorized that wano will follow the typical structure of the play - that there will be about five or so acts, and that act three (the current act) will end in tragedy.

but after chapter 1000, i’m not so sure that’s the case anymore.

because kabuki is a traditional form of japanese theater. it fits right in with the traditional aesthetic of wano and its character. and if this arc was just about that, following the journey of the nine samurai as they took their revenge against kaido, then their loss in chapter 1000 would be the tragedy that ends act three.

but then luffy, and the other supernovas, show up

they are outsiders. they’re not from wano, and they don’t fit in to its aesthetic (with the exception of zoro, but even he’s not as traditional). hell, they’ve even discarded their disguises and robes, and are now wearing their more typical looks, making them visually out of place.

and as such, they are not bound by the rules of the play as the other wano characters might be.

their arrival has prevented the tragedy that was supposed to happen, thus breaking the typical structure. from here on out, wano might abandoned the play structure entirely, as our protagonists shake up how the story was supposed to go.

and this makes sense, given the larger structure of one piece itself, for two reasons.

1.) luffy typically faces the big bad of the arc twice. once early on, where he loses, and then again towards the end, where he wins. this is that second fight, which usually means that this is the final fight that will result in victory. i have a hard time seeing this fight ending in tragedy.

2.) wano is a parallel to marineford. in fact, the whole new world saga has similar story beats to the grand-line saga (alabasta and dressrosa, luffy’s brother showing up, whole cake island and enies lobby aka a crew member leaves and luffy goes against an seemingly unstoppable force to rescue them, etc and etc).

now, marineford ended in tragedy. luffy lost, big time. and that was used to push luffy and the straw hats forward, to make them stronger and ready to take on the new world. it ended the first half of the story, and starting the second. the tragedy of marineford had a narrative purpose.

but wano doesn’t need that. luffy doesn’t need another motivating event like that. in fact, since we are nearing the end of the story, to have our protagonists lose so thoroughly again could be detrimental to the build up of that narrative.

it makes more sense to me for wano to end in an unambiguous triumph for luffy and his allies, to show how much he’s grown and how far he’s come.

Alright Chapter 1000!!

Unfortunately this is the last Nico Robin page for the Volume. But don’t worry, next time we’re gonna be getting plenty more pages, because Sanji’s gonna ask Robin for help!

I commissioned the wonderful @erijaime for another One Piece image, which I unintendedly did in honor of chapter 1000 I didn’t commission it with 1000 in mind but it just worked out that way. My two favorite boys in One Piece currently.  Yamato’s inclusion to Wano, and One Piece, was very welcome and he’s quickly become a character I love.  Seriously I can’t recall a faster fall for me.  And his dynamics with Luffy are awesome.  Yamato for Strawhat crew!

As an aside I realized earlier today that one of the first coms I ever got from Eri was from back when the Wano arc just started in 2018, and it’s wild to think of where the arc has gone since. I’ll be rebloging that com as well cause I love it too.