Art for the second chapter of the second Law novel. What's Penguin got a hold of baby Hakugan for. Trespassing in the designated chef's kitchen? I'll need to read it (put it into translate). Also, lookit, seems that Law meets Kikoku, which is fitting, given that the title of this instalment is Kikoku no Toki (Kikoku's hour // Kikoku's time).
Here is a post
on twitter from the author, Sakagami Shusei (/坂上秋成) . Art is by Nishimura Kinu (西村キヌ).
I know i'm late. I was at work. I'll post some Zoro and Law shots soon!
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Sometimes I wonder if the scene above is widely known? Or the one below.
In the scene above, chapter 525, Ace is in Impel Down awaiting execution. Garp gestures with an open palm, trying to explain what he knows about Roger, Ace's biological father, but Ace doesn't want to hear. I know, in theory, Garp could have busted Ace out of prison (we hope), but his face tells of his disconcertion with the situation that Ace is in. (The anime is a different creature).
The scene above is followed in this post by the scene below from chapter 551 where Roger asks Garp to take care of his unborn child (Garp has a recent flashback, then a more distant one. He's on Ace's execution platform).
Before I go further, I want to say that I'm not particularly a fan of the marines, but I am a fan of nuanced writing, and the complexities of humans and humankind. I also try not to think about things in a polarising manner.
Systemic abuse and injustice exists in institutions, and is rife in institutions such as the military, but I don't think that all members of institutions are systemic abusers due to belonging to the institution, although you can argue that by dint of being in the system they perpetuate it.
However, people also have many reasons why they're in a system, including that many might not recognise that they are part of one that can generate harm. I also believe that people can change, but that not all people do.
Anyway, back to the meta and Garp. I've recently seen some discourse stating that Garp spoke badly to Ace about Roger, and I'm not all across the board with One Piece, so I might have missed it. In the manga scenes I could dig up, the opposite seemed to be true.
Returning to the panels above, Roger selects Garp to look after Ace because he knows how vindictive those at the top are, and after recent God Valley reveals, the upper echelon stop at nothing to not only wipe out clans, but to force the members of those clans to wipe out each other. Roger also trusts Garp as much as any of his shipmates (important for later in this post).
From recent chapters, we also know that Roger and Garp fought together at the behest of a possessed Rocks to stop him (Rocks) from slaughtering a truckload of people—civilians, pirates, slaves, marines, and celestial dragons, one presumes. We assume that Garp and Roger also know that Imu ordered possessed Rocks to kill his own wife and child (they fortunately escaped, but I don't know if or when Garp and Roger learn that).
Obviously, Garp did not succeed in fulfilling the request as seen in the panel above where Ace is set to be executed, although he did up to age 20. But Garp's face on the side panelling where
he recollects Roger's words to take care of his son, is the face of a man haunted by this fact (that he has failed). Roger's words are repeated here. Why Garp can't act we don't know. I'm assuming the World Government would have gone after Luffy, perhaps. I don't know. I'm gauging that from recent events. Or he's just married to the job.
The two panels above of Garp sitting on the execution platform with Ace, (Sengoku standing above), include flashbacks. Ace argued in 525 convincingly against Garp's query of why Ace hadn't lived the way that Garp wanted him to, that the navy would not have accepted Luffy or himself having come from criminal stock. But, maybe the navy would have. Joining might have been the safer future, or seemed that way. Garp saw World Government initiated and/or approved horrors at God Valley.
However, more in the manga than in the anime, I feel Oda draws Garp as an emotionally tortured man. Returning to the two manga panels above, Sengogku tells Garp that he'll dispose of him too if he tries anything (to save Ace), and Garp retorts that if he'd been going to do anything, he would have done it long ago.
In the anime only, he'd also been talking with Ace in Impel Down about Luffy, and laughing about, and outright approving, his exploits (525; punching the celestial dragon, I think). Ace smiles. True, he also talks about his "fist of love" being ineffective against Luffy at the aftermath of Enies Lobby, but he didn't arrest him.
Anyway, we know Garp goes to fight Akainu after Ace is killed (maybe his faith in Luffy was endless before that point, but I don't think so). Sengoku stops him. Garp's grief is shown below. He was at Ace's birth.
Back to the posts stating that Garp contributed to Ace's hatred of Roger (as in, badmouthing him), again, I'm not seeing it. Ace heard plenty of it, as shown in the flashback panels below
where people from Goa are denigrating any hypothetical son of Gol D. Roger's due to a perception that Gol D. Roger was monstrous. But from Garp we have that panel I opened with (below)
where—as stated—Garp tries to tell Roger's side of the story, and in the panels below, Dadan remembers this conversation with Garp after child-Ace refused to run from an enemy far stronger than him, mostly due to wanting to protect his Luffy:
In the panels it is clear to me (and Garp says it) that he didn't hate Roger. He saw parallels with Roger's upbringing and Ace's, and he admired, I think, that Roger and Ace would both defend their friends to the end, both having a tendency to overreact to insults against their friends too (second page above).
Garp seemed to understand the loneliness that either Ace or Roger had, although we haven't learnt about Roger's upbringing yet. Shanks also said that there were times that Roger should have run away, and Gaban touched upon it lightly in 1163, and Roger declares to possessed Rocks that he will not let him go after his crew in 1164.
That's all a little beside the point—Garp says, that Roger's friends trusted him completely, and he also says that even as a navy man Garp did not hate him. Roger, returning to near the beginning of this post, says that he trusts Garp as much as he trusts his crewmates.
That trust for crew is apparent in the latest chapters too. And, sure, Garp could have told Ace about Roger's good points before Ace got to the stage of deep self-loathing, but Dadan could have too (having had that conversation with Garp), and maybe Ace just didn't want to hear it. It's quite the legacy to carry. Seems like Dadan did pass on some information, and I don't think she alone speaks positively about Roger.
Garp deserved Dadan's scorn after Ace's death (panels below). I also really understand that a lot of people watched One Piece as children, so they have a deep emotional investment in the story (particularly Ace's death). Even rereading these panels makes me tear up, and I came to One Piece as an adult.
During and after Ace's captivity and execution (by Akainu) Garp is in pain too. Maybe he should have died alongside Ace. Maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe he could have saved him. In the world of One Piece, all things are possible.
The story is complex. But of course analysing the story and its characters is a sign of good storytelling imo. Oda doesn't give Garp a lot of dialogue in these scenes, but his face is expressive, and the flashbacks do narrative legwork as well. Dadan declares that Garp has always put the job ahead of family. Maybe this is a situation like Oden dancing in the streets in Wano, or Garp is just a flawed character.
The story isn't finished yet. Garp might not get a redemption arc, if he needs one, or maybe that's what he's going through now. He, along with most of the father figures of One Piece, was hands-off, and also harmful, and also helpful in some ways to his grandsons. He did save Ace initially. There are these scenes from chapter 0 too (released for Strong World at the same time as chapter 565).
There is the seeming callousness when Garp first hears of the Celestial Dragons at God Valley, although that's debatable too (Kong might know what's going on in terms of the hunting humans game. He's keeping some information from Garp, as indicated in the panels below, but if Garp knew they'd (Celestial Dragons?) taken Shakky, then we assume he'd know the rest of the leak [depending on how much Morgans leaked]).
In the panels below from 1162, it might be Oda being retroactive, but it seems that Garp didn't know about the Celestial Dragons' sick games, and we know he doesn't care for the Tenryubito. Of course, for sure, the games seem to be ongoing (every four years), and there is such a strong navy presence there that it seems that some information should have got out at some level. The grunts don't appear to be particularly elite.
All up, I guess the end point is that here are a bunch of panels from the manga that define Garp for me. He is possibly an archetype of the foot soldier or common man who lets atrocities occur in the name of duty, but given his rank, he could be far more culpable than that. Or, maybe there's more. Even in that role, he's very human. The manga is also not finished yet, and Oda's great at convincingly diverting and subverting expectations.
Extra commentary reblog here countering some of the above (my writing and reblog).
Okay, definitely a peak chapter with a few surprises, or neat ways of wrapping things up.
I'm not gonna go in depth, so I'll just touch upon a few things (<--liar, liar, pants on fire).
The Perona cover was cute. I read a meta the other day (and might have reblogged or had it queued) where the author supposed that Mihawk might be the survivor of similar human-hunting games, which is why he calls his own "prey" rabbits (or one Roronoa Zoro at least).
Thinking about that, and also the sick "games" on God's Valley, the cover of Perona chasing the White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland shout-out), with Mihawk looking on (below) takes on a bit of a darker tone. I don't think the requester meant it to have darker implications, but considering the events it's paired with, parallels will be drawn!
Also, Big Mom gets her height back (almost on par with Whitebeard in the panel below). She's taller than all of these guys, except for perhaps Rocks (in his non-demonized form), and the gorosei, Imu, etc.
Rocks doesn't become a demon not in control of his faculties straight away, and he has a few words for Imu, guessing (or so it seems) that Davy D. Jones was the king of the world (page below). Imu contradicts Rocks, but the World Government (WORLD) also would surely not acknowledge Roger as a true king, so it could play into this. Or it's that the word "World" is carrying a lot of weight at the moment.
I've included the whole page above, because there's a lot of information in there. For sure, why is Imu scared with his claims that Davy's and those bearing the intial "D" mean nothing? Rocks calls him out. The will and promise of Davy that
Rocks' talks about is tantalising. Eris and Teach are still fleeing in the last panel (above), but just in general (ie: not from their errant, transformed husband and father).
It seems that Joyboy and Davy D. Jones are not the same entity, but are spoken in the same breath by Rocks (panels above), there definitely is a connection in threat-level at least, and in Imu's hopes to obliterate them. However, Imu also says that both (Joyboy and Davy D. Jones) will fade with the end of the Davy clan, so who knows? (or is he specifically referring to Rocks?). Also, that second long panel (above and repeated below) clarifies that
Imu definitely has his eye on the giants, and especially on Harald's naivety and therefore his pliability. Rocks' loyalty is admirable. Ahh, and you can see part of the reason why Teach turned out the way he is and why he thought his Dad was monstrous, because after Imu and Rocks finish their tête-à-tête, Rocks (after lying about on the ground for a bit and it seems either
Domi-Reversi-'ing Kaidou (?!?), or just wiping him out? (cos, he would be a menace! Doesn't have the streaks rising from his eyes, so he's out for the count, I think) [and side note, I love LinLin's concern], and also K-O-ing Big Mom, and it seems defeating Whitebeard,
(all of which results in an inevitable One Piece fire and one half of the cleaved mountain toppling)
...after all of that, Rocks
...goes after his wife and child. At least Eris knows what is going on, but that would have been Teach's last view of a father he perhaps never knew. LUCKILY for them, however...
the kindhearted eight-year-old (?) slave Bartholomew Kuma is still around. And a very dejected Dragon, still crippled with Catholic-adjacent guilt (understandably, however, his rifle across his back is brings to mind a penitent bearing a symbolic cross) seems unable to move.
Kuma fortuitously, and just in the nick of time–
–saves Eris and Teach from certain death either by marauding demonised husband (as in, turned into a demon, but thereafter, demonised, for sure), or marine cannonball fire (aimed for Rocks, I think) aimed for escapees, same as Akainu sinking a boatload of civilians off Ohara (thanks for pointing that out in your post @crinj-centralecentral).
I hope Kuma got himself out of there soon after, and had already sent Iva and Ginny. I love him. Maybe he saved Dragon. I'm figuring that Eris might have still been fatally wounded.
But wait!, that's not all...
Imu has charged Rocks with killing everyone left on the island, and Rocks sets out to that, starting with Garp and Roger (actually, I think he first chases some of Rogers? crew). Garp and Roger are up for it, as seen below, either one or both bellowing at him to "Bring it on!"
BUT, it seems that not only Roger, but Garp (and Rocks too) have
the Voice of All Things, or the ability to hear voices, and also to communicate telepathically. Rocks begs for Roger and Garp to kill him, as many predicted. I guess that others being able to hear voices means there is hope for these guys in the panel below:
Marauding Domi-Reversi'd giants above, turning on their own people in Elbaph. Dorry and Brogy at the fore. Additionally, Loki having his eyes covered ties into that whole internal world, ability to talk to animals, etc. that Luffy, Momonosuke (and Chopper) have (I hope!). (Shirahoshi too, of course).
That's the crux of it (short chapter commentary, my arse!).
Asides:
Shakky, I would have liked for you to do some more, but too many cooks spoil the broth, and there are enough players already:
I know that Sommers got you good, but you are an Amazonian.
Also, it seems that Rocks' crew at the upper echelons, maybe, the guys who were in it for devil fruit, or for the genuine well-being of Shakky, or a form of kinship, did have a loyalty to their leader. I think that Big Mom, Whitebeard and Kaidou are demonstrating that.
They are schemers, though (except maybe Whitebeard), that's clear. But those more driven to kill each other for treasure (or to sell each other or allies into slavery) don't seem destined to survive (as we know they didn't, ultimately. Not all died on the island). (Screencap of Shiki and Captain John below. Shiki escaping with John's treasure).
Don't get me wrong. I know that Big Mom and Kaidou would do whatever suited them best at any given time, but they were there, fighting the biggest threat on God Island, along with Roger, Whitebeard, Garp and Rocks. I'm sure I've missed some (most of the marines and Celestial Dragons and Rogers' crew stuff). Also, there are all of the other Domi Reversi'd Davy clan. Wonder what they're up to right now.
Garp witnessed (see below) Koby's immense bravery (above and below) at Marineford.
In the frames below, you can see 16 year old Koby challenging Akainu and stating that the navy is uselessly wasting marine lives, because they are still fighting (and the marines are often the victims of "friendly fire") when there is no need to. He challenges Akainu with a conscious risk to his own life (Koby is sure that he will die, but he says what he needs to say in order to remain humane if not human).
Koby is willing to die to try and save the lives of others (above). He has no guarantee here. Garp definitely knows who Koby is, asking, "Is that Koby?" (we later learn he has been training with him, and the cover stories show him as Garp's chore boy, etc.). Akainu has no clue who he is. Whether Koby's fellow marines would be collectively punished or not for Koby's actions is a moot point, because Akainu is making sure they die anyway and then readies himself to also kill Koby (or to put him severely out of commission). However, there are still parallels with—
—a seventeen-year old Dragon (above), on God Valley (decades prior), who also knows that if he defies the Celestial Dragons (and the navy, World Government), not only does he put his own life in danger, but the lives of his whole troop (top of the screen-cap shows Dragon stating: "If I help a civilian, my whole squad will be slaughtered". The official uses "beheaded".).
It's treason. Yet, the Celestial Dragons are obviously in the wrong, hunting down unarmed, shackled, persecuted civilians to their death, for their own sick pleasure. A deliberate "waste of human life", to borrow Koby's words. And if Dragon doesn't help them, then he is also complicit in the death of civilians, even if following orders, and/or protecting his troop. Nonetheless,
Dragon does fire off his tranquiliser gun (above) and takes down a Celestial Dragon who had been targeting Kuma. I know some folks are thinking that he's flippant here ("Crap, I fired off), and maybe he is with the translation word choice, but Dragon is obviously confused and frightened by this whole situation. He did the right thing, yes, but I do not think he is a cavalier as Luffy might be (with words) regarding his actions here. @nukearth has let me know that it is shimatta tsui, which is still casual in form, and also damn it for an unintended mistake. Thank you.
I think he weighs up the possibility of what if the gun had had real bullets (because the consequences aren't just immediate, they spread more widely, and he and his troop would probably be punished just as severely for this kind of action, and he values life, maybe even if it's a Celestial Dragon). It's still incredibly brave.
The official translation of that row is above with Dragon saying, "Oh Damn, I've really done it now..". I'm assuming the "damn" is chikusho, or kuso, but he might be saying something else (bets on Kuso, considering it also has the meaning of 'shit' or 'crap', but is used quite regularly in the same way we use 'damn'). Anyhoo, Dragon shoots a Celestial Dragon and then (or he already has?) finds these—
—cuties: Shamrock and Shanks Figarland (screencaps above), and at the behest of their mother, runs somewhere to try and save them (he rescues Sabo later in the story too [not this chapter]. Must've given him intense déjà vu). And then his father, Monkey d. Garp arrives at God Valley (below)—
—hurling cannonballs willy-nilly. The official translation is quite funny too, with Garp stating: "Here I am, Baby!" (yes, the translators do seem to have the Garp-Rogers ship in mind. Haha. Or rivalry.) The scans say, "I'm here, Folks!!!"
So, will Garp witness Dragon's defection? I think he will. It wouldn't surprise me if he somehow aids his escape, but we'll need to wait and see (possibly Kuma yeets Dragon out of there). As we know, Garp doesn't have a great track record that way (but he did want Ace to know about Roger, but Ace refused).
But, could he have seen in Koby, both in potential and action, the same bravery and determination against huge odds and sacrifice that he witnessed (I hope) in his son, Dragon?
Also, added bonus:
Dragon saves Shanks (above) and
Shanks saves Koby.
Shanks coming to the rescue of Koby in the middle of a battle (above).
If Shanks is an extension of the Roger Pirates, then possibly his arrival is similar to the role that the Roger Pirates play in the God Valley Incident, but we need to see how that plays out.
The landing of the Red Hair Pirates is visually similar (although Shanks and Beckman arrive and fight before the frame below of the whole crew). But also, marine saves baby/Celestial Dragon/ future pirate at great risk to himself <- -> one of the same Celestial Dragons/ crazily strong pirate saves marine (Koby) trying to preserve human life at risk to himself (Koby), and, as Shanks says,
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, THOSE FEW SECONDS OF COURAGE...
... WILL PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCE THE FATE OF THIS WORLD!
Extra PS: In addition to Garp, Blackbeard, and Akainu noticing Koby, there is also this row with the incredulous, "A navy guy?!" after Koby's voice was loud enough to stop the fighting for a second, followed up (fortunately) with Shanks' strength.
Enough rambling. Looking forward to seeing Garp and Dragon's roles on God Valley.
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Okay, I wasn't a fan girl, but I didn't mind him, but with this frame and attitude:
Loki's gone up in my estimation. And especially with the line about Harald (putting the whole page below):
and Gerd losing her fingers (below)
(Seemingly bloodlessly, but maybe it's just scale -- there are drops, and even bone, maybe?)
And Stansen his leg
Oda's really veering into the body horror there. I wonder if he wants a slice of the more edgy manga territory? But, why not (am really hoping one of these doctors, or Nika, or someone has tontatta miracle cure powers).
I can't really figure out what happened to Zoro, but he was okay, cos he was asked to get the kids to the houses that all of a suddent stopped being possessed (sounds suss to me):
Okay, I got it. The two demons flew away, so the houses were no longer possessed, And, the "Zoro!!" is not a command to Zoro, but a cry to others to get Zoro to shelter. However, I think that Jarul's thoughts:
are important. If the kids and Zoro are inside a house that can so easily be possessed, are they free, and what ties Imu to the buildings? Also, it won't be in the official, and it probably will be in TCB scans, but I liked this note:
NOTE: INSTEAD OF REFERRNG TO HIMSELF WITH MU INU USES WA GA , AN ARCAHIC WAY OF SAYING "MY.
Also, seems that Zoro and Sanji are in dire stratis. But if the two wings of the Pirate King aren't symbolic of angels fighting demons, I dunno what is. They'll come back.
Luffy needs to get his strength back. It also seems that Imu freed Gunko (or did he try to destroy her?):
Gaban's shown, so he (and maybe his location and that lift) is gonna be a player.
As are the absent Robin and Saul (and Kuma. Where's Bonney now?).
Also, love to see Lilith's Vegapunk brain reminder (and previously, with Franky power-ups)...
BUT, Oda always introduces kickass female characters, and then nerfs them with domesticity.
I am hoping that both Lilith and Bonney get to contribute. Remember Lilith's introduction and impulsiveness?
(chapter 1162)
Of course, she was shown to be a contradictory sweetie who mourned the loss of the other satellites, and being over the top was played effectively for laughs, but she definitely was a loose canon, befitting the 'evil' satellite title.
BUT, for sure, she's not in Imu's class (but does have Vegapunk's genius / is Vegapunk). Therefore, I hope that Oda doesn't just token hand-wave towards that situation. He's set it up. Exploit it, lad (or lass). Let Lilith shine. She's hilarious.
Bonney couldn't age-regress Saturn, but she could do this
to Saturn. True, with Luffy's help, but she does have the ability to embody Nika. Again, she's in no way a match for Imu, but she did (help) take out a member of the gorosei, and has always
been clever with her devil fruit. Also, where's Kuma?
Just a thought, if Bonney can age-express the Elbaph kids to adults, that would be an extra army of giants who might have more power against Killingham's power, and the God's Knights in general.
While we're talking about cuties, how about this one? (below)
Ragnir seems to have some past connection to Imu, as does Loki's zoan form. Ragnir's not having any of it.
Don't believe the hype, but the God's Knights (or Killingham) seem to think that Gunko might've kicked the bucket:
I'll put the whole page in (above), because there are a few things I want to mention. Brook and Shuri / Gunko need to have a reunion (will she be her actual age?), so I don't think she's dead.
Sommers mentions that Imu's body is not meant to be out and about in the wider world. Very interesting, and -- not least of all, at all, Killingham has summoned this:
The God of Rain, "What I find most scary", Dream demon, Zaza. We're told at the beginning of the chapter that Zaza is an onomatopoeia for the sound of heavy, constant rain.
Zaza is brilliant, isn't she/it/they? And I love that the God's Knights (and Celestial Dragons) have their very own children's fears, as outlined by Rosinante when talking to Law about
about the Will of D, and the warning that holders of that initial bring to the Celestial Dragons (including the God's knights). And how the threat of the Will of D. is used to make children behave.
So, Zaza is maybe the more authentic bogey-being, born from Killingham's fears (although, I would have liked to have seen what his dream/nightmare image of those who hold the intial D might have been), and I can therefore forgive Zaza's sudden appearance and explanation (below)
keeping this childhood fear/manifestation in mind, and also because their design is so cool!
Also, new thought, you know who lived above the clouds and who might fear/have feared such a deluge of rain? Perhaps,
Lunarians? Perhaps King is aptly named (I know it's not his birth name). And perhaps the mother flame sought is to replace/replicate that which was lost during a previous Zaza attack (or even of seas rising?) if it’s related to the flames Lunarians have on their beings. Just a digression.
That much rain also brings about the need for Noah's ark, right?
Current known count of the holders of the Will of D on Elbaph Island:
2; Jaguar D. Saul, Monkey D. Luffy, and possibly Clou D. Clover if he is somehow embodied in Biblo?!? (just a long shot). Current number of Nika: 2?
If Zaza strikes the fear of God into the God's Knights, what might some Ds thrown into the mix do to them, and then a D who is also Nika? Honestly, Zaza they brought upon themselves, but all their fears are ready to 'bring about a storm' (I hope).
Special shout outs, Zoro and Sanji passing each other, with complete trust in each other, living up to being the wings of the Pirate King, yada, yada, yada.
And, Sommers is such a revolting character, but he's also funny a lot of the time (he's not forgiven, though). Love his black 'omen/maki' halo hovering overhead while he declares how great he is (below).
Super Summers it is! Hubris before the fall. His thorns were rolling out behind him in another scene.
(Village scenes with Dr Chopper, and Gerd getting her fingers reattached, and Rodo simping, etc., also good).
Am also definitely agreeing with the folks drawing comparisons between the manifestation of Moria's powers, and the demonic bullets/explosions Imu sends out, although a different end result.
Loki seems to be out for the count, and Luffy is currently MIA.
I'm sure that episode 1150 has been discussed on other platforms, but I haven't seen it much on tumblr (the new time has affected reblogs, etc., I think, or maybe my viewing of them). Anyway, manga readers were thrilled to get a frame or two of Bepo (all patched up), calling out "Captain". My Pollyanna take is that Law's just a little off-screen and was also the one patching folks (Bepo) up. He might even be patching up their crew! Likewise, I also took heart from seeing the fake Kid pirates a few chapters/episodes prior. (Chapter 1115 below)
Law's had two covers since 1181 too (although both were Bepo requests!), and starred in an anime short with Luffy.
