#chapter 852

And surprise, surprise. As soon as Luffy’s free and he knows Jinbei will protect Nami, he’s GONE. BTW JINBEI HAS ALL HIS PARTS SO DID HE LOSE  YEARS? IS HE AN ACTING SH NOW OR WHAT!? I NEED TO KNOW!

But look at him struggling just to get some answers out of ONE guy. His arm is still gushing blood, and he’s in pain, AND wheezing.

He can’t take on a single strong enemy like this, never mind whoever Smoothie may be sending his way. Luffy might FIND Sanji, but I have a feeling it’s Sanji that’s going to be saving Luffy’s ass when he does. 

The Vinsmokes and Sanji

Someone please take a minute to gush over little Sanji in this panel with me because this is the cutest fucking thing I honestly want a figure in THIS EXACT POSE he is completely adorable.

And, it turns out, his adorableness is completely by luck. He could have just as easily turned out to be sadistic and apathetic like his brothers, and it wouldn’t have been his fault.

As much as I hate everything the Vinsmoke brothers did to Sanji, it’s completely NOT THEIR FAULT. It really, honestly isn’t.

And that DOESN’T mean you have to like them, and it DOESN’T mean that you have to forgive them for being the way they are. But it does mean that you can’t blame them for CHOOSING to think they way they do. It’s not a choice.

Judge edited out the emotions needed to choose to be a good person. If you can’t FEEL sympathy, you’re not going to sympathize with others, and you’re not going to understand people who do. You don’t blame someone born blind for not being able to see, even though they’re SUPPOSED to be able to see. You can’t blame the Vinsmokes for not being able to be decent human beings, because the capacity to BE that was robbed from them before birth.

On top of that, with the drug Sola took to counter the operation, AND the fact that she was carrying quadruplets, it’s a miracle all of them survived to term. I’m sure Oda isn’t super savvy when it comes to all the ins and outs of pregnancy, but the more babies, the more risk involved. I wouldn’t be surprised if Judge planned it out this way, just so he wouldn’t have to wait through multiple pregnancies to see how his child soldiers were turning out.

Which makes Reiju and Sola’s (Sora?)roles in Sanji’s childhood clearer. Out of the entire family, only Sanji was like them. He’s Sola’s secret miracle baby. Probably the ONLY one of the sons she sees as an actual, real child. And probably the only one of the brothers that Reiju actually thinks of as a REAL sibling.

 And yet, any help that Reiju might offer Sanji against their brothers as children would have made him a bigger target for them and for Judge, because it would just further emphasize the fact that Sanji came out “wrong”. 

Sola and Judge seem so different personality-wise, I’m thinking that this marriage was not consensual. 

This would explain why Sola was forced to have an operation while pregnant that would change her children for the worse. I’m thinking there’s a lot more to this relationship, but I’ll save that for a separate post.

It’s probable that the drug Sola took gave Sanji a little bit extra in the empathy department, which would be a factor contributing to his selfless nature and willingness to self-sacrifice. 

BTW am I the only one who was kind of happy that Sanji said “Luffy and the others” instead of “Nami and the others”? I like to see moments where Sanji lets it slip that he cares about the guys just as much as the women, so even though it’s a small detail, it kinda made me smile. Especially since I’m anticipating some great Sanji and Luffy moments in the future.

Sanji’s realizing that being willing to sacrifice isn’t always going to be enough.It must be a scary realization because giving his life isn’t ever going to guarantee the lives of his friends. There’s a feeling of power in deciding to sacrifice yourself to save others, so he must be feeling pretty powerless after realizing he can’t protect them,

Reiju 

We knew Reiju was going to end up an ally this arc, Oda’s been building up to it, but now he’s in full-on redemption mode. 

 We see from the flashbacks that Reiju clearly loved her mother, and she rightly holds no grudge against Sanji for their mother’s death. When Sanji left, Reiju was alone with four males, three of whom are genetically incapable of love, and one who might as well be. The loss of her mother, with whom Reiju was allowed to express her emotions, and then the separation from normal, emotion-feeling people must have been very difficult for her. She would have had to show no weakness, or else be seen as a target.      

Now, we have Reiju willing to sacrifice herself (wonder where she learned that?) to see that the other Vinsmokes are killed. She’s been trapped by Judge all these years, and obviously unhappy if the thought of death doesn’t faze her.

And now she’s trying to talk Sanji into saving himself by bringing up his crew. I love when characters outside of the crew acknowledge how special being a part of the SHP really is. This is the friendship version of“don’t let them get away”.

While Sanji just isn’t going to allow Reiju to die ON PURPOSE (what kind of a fool would plan to die? I knew that line would connect to something eventually) if anyone were to die this arc, my money would be on her (and hopefully Judge). Oda wants us to care about her, and she’s remorseful about what she’s done (willingly or not), so I’m sure she’ll have some sort of ultimate redemption by the end of the arc. 

Next chapter we’ll probably see who Smoothie is sending to deal with Luffy  unless Oda decides to shift to Brook/Big mom, Pudding, Chopper/Carrot, and/or Jinbei/Nami.

Maybe we’ll meet Commander Startch? I need Sanji to go save Luffy and