It turns out that my thoughts about the Ringo covers have, unsurprisingly, taken up a ton of space, so here we go. Part four of my series of pinned posts about the Wano cover arc, focusing on the Ringo covers and beyond, weeeee!
Arriving in Ringo leads to the delightful trio of Cho, Kiku, and Yamato meeting up, many pretty environment scenes, panels with cool perspectives, shoujo vibes, and us quickly learning about an interesting part of Wano's history.
The temple for Moria having a big piece missing out of the gate pillar and it generally being run down could suggest an attack. Perhaps Kaido and Orochi didn't allow it to be maintained during their reign. All of the swords and the axe around Moria's grave are not katana either. Maybe they are the weapons Moria's crew fought with and there was a battle nearby.
Even on the covers, Oda finds a way to make the contrast between Wano of the past and Wano of the present pretty interesting.
"Time to munch on apples and return to the Flower Capital!"
The group is preparing to leave Ringo while carrying a bushel of ringos. I like the wordplay. Onimaru appearance! He's a very sweet and precious fox. And it's really sweet how Wano's people have accepted Kaido's kid and also are not holding a grudge against Ulti and Page One, and have welcomed all three.
It's surprising to see these three casually here. This is a sudden shift away from learning about Moria, but they are still in Ringo. Something else may happen in the region or on the way to, possibly in the Capital. Perhaps the Beast Pirates we haven't seen are going to trouble. Or something to bring Kiku and Cho back into focus.
We've not gotten a cover blatantly saying the region we will go to this directly, at least not without having a defined goal at the next location. It makes me wonder if this is too easy, if there will be some last point made here in Ringo. A battle in the region, along the lines of Moria's and Kaido's battle, could be a fitting finale of this cover arc.
Or maybe we'll see Yamato pointing out the flaws of how Wano/the Daimyo system is currently run to Momo somehow. That would make good use of the fact that Yamato has seen the country and gotten to know the people now. Momo offering the Daimyo a chance to leave or do something else would be nice to see.
Remember, Wano is the kind of culture where they hide their problems behind a smile and don't mention them. Momo hides his hunger when we first meet him, Kin'emon says being bitten by a shark doesn't hurt, Tama also hides her hunger, Kiku gets insulted when Izo asks her if her injury hurts. The culture teaches its people that leaving is bad, toxic loyalty, and to hide their pain/problems. That's part of why the way Orochi used the Smile fruits was such an effective and cutting scheme.
If this isn't the final entry, a scenario where the flaws of the Daimyo system are brought up and addressed could work too. And in the long term, I'd enjoy seeing Moria return to Ringo and meet with Kiku and Cho.
"The shrine to Oden and his companions overlooking the Flower Capital."
1160's cover is here and it's quite the stunner. It's very sweet to see the completed shrine to honor Oden and everyone, that was mentioned as something the Kozuki folks want to have built in 1052. And this cover provides another really nice perspective with a wide view to look upon the beauty of the Flower Capital. How wondrous a sight Wano is.
The Moria reveal will likely be something that is focused more on in the main story, and we may also see the current flashback overlap with the Oden flashback. This cover arc seems about done however.
If we see Sukiyaki on the covers, aside from him potentially paying respects at the shrine built for his son and sharing some interesting history, I'd like seeing him commenting on how he maybe felt that he let Oden down in the past.
Sukiyaki never really supported Oden's desire to be able to leave Wano, didn't allow such a thing, especially not after he became a Daimyo, and it eventually lead to Oden wanting to leave so badly that he turned his back on his country when they needed him.
This is kinda weird to think about, though for the sake of an example, if Oden were still alive and a Daimyo, I wonder if Momo would have the law changed which makes it illegal for citizens to leave.
It would be good for Wano and for Momo for him to learn to avoid making the same mistakes that Sukiyaki did.
Chapter 1161's is a sentimental cover for this blog. I was hoping we'd see this. It's such a nice shrine dedicated to many of Wano's fallen heroes.
It's sweet seeing Kin and Momo visiting the shrine. If this cover serial continues, I would enjoy seeing Kin'emon telling Yamato and Momo stories of some of the heroes they are less familiar with, and for the stories of them to be shared with all of Wano's kids. That locals and those from overseas all worked to fight for Wano.
We learned something new about Moria at his shrine, learning something new about some of the heroes here could be neat. If this counts as new, I noticed that Izo's family name, Hanayanagi, is not written on his lantern. Similar to Ace, he views Whitebeard as his father, and have left behind his family birth name.
"Sir Luffy, Wano is once again at peace!"
A nice cover to bring this pilgrimage to a close! Yamato is wearing the cloak that Kin and Momo wear and Momo and Yam look good enjoying their oden skewers. While Kiku, Ulti and Page One, have matching cloaks. I still do wonder about the potential meaning of those six being visually designated as two trios by their respective matching cloaks.
Kiku, Ulti, and Page One each have sun cloaks, Kin’emon-Momo-Yamato moon cloaks.
Kin’emon and Ulti having a chat is cute and since Page One is not here, I’m curious if he decided to spend more time in the Ringo region. Kin'emon and Momo and Yamato and Ulti would surely be a very loud and raucous quartet. The quiet company of Kiku and Cho would undoubtedly be preferable for Page One.
Kiku being perfect, and the reveals of Moria being raised in Wano and Kanjuro's betrayal being kept as a detail only the closest members of Kozuki clan are aware of aside, I think the part of the current covers I liked most is seeing everyone accepting Yamato, which Kaido said would not happen, and Yamato not repeating Oden's mistakes.
Moria not being included in the shrine with many other characters has me wondering if Kin is oblivious to Moria's history in Wano, but Kiku and Cho do know his history.
And it is nice that Yamato finally got to know people of Wano who are alive in the present and spend time in the place he prepared twenty years preparing to fight for. That connection felt missing during the arc to me, which is part of why the character didn't really resonate for me until this cover arc.
So all in all, we see the status of Wano and what the prominent characters are up to after the defeats of Kaido and Orochi, a detailed conflict with established baddie Who’s Who, which results in Ulti and Page One becoming allies, and a cool Tama kick! We learn a good amount of Moria’s past, that Kanjuro’s betrayal is seemingly not being made public knowledge, and the Kanjuro who the group knew as their friend is being honored, which is very very generous of Kin'emon. Yamato and Wano’s people also prove Kaido wrong by the fact that Yamato has been accepted by Wano. Yamato is given food, Kaido took it away.
Getting to see the characters finally relaxing, having had to deal with Ryokugyu attacking prior when they were having a party, is nice too.
Most importantly however, is that Kiku and Cho have formed a sweet and badass working relationship. Chrysanthemum and moonflower. Kiku and Shakky parallels have been established too. So I’m going to be keeping a close eye on Shakky’s story in the chapters. Pretty good for a cover serial if you ask me. A lot happened for one of these, it set up Wano's status and Moria's history for later, and I’m satisfied with it. Ulti and Page One being redeemed perhaps a bit too easily, and the locals not getting more focus with each other and their own established dynamics are the parts I didn't love, but it's still a very good cover arc to me.
The main hook I’m looking forward to seeing more of Ringo natives Kiku and Cho knowing so much about Moria, to the point I imagine they have met him and perhaps spent time with and helped him throughout his childhood. And Moria and Perona possibly traveling to Ringo now that Kaido is gone.
Cover serials by # of chapters:
And how many we've spent in Ringo and post:
