#ep 96

I'm no psychic, but this feels unsettlingly ominous. I hope he survives this arc wholly based around war and chaos...

love ace's face here. he's just having a blast watching these two idiots.

zoro lifting cartoonishly large weights will always be a great gag, and a personal favorite of mine.

I LOVE YOU KAROO!!! MY BRAVE SOLDIER!!! GO ON AND SAVE THE KINGDOM! he's so fucking cute here!!!!

i really like what they do with the colors here. crocodile has some incredibly moody environments.

i love these little guys! they have such a fun and aesthetically ambiguous design! they really are weird and wacky and violent. one piece is weird, but it's a good weird. also, poor usopp...

luffy having an army of martial arts mammals is so funny, and i absolutely 100% love it.

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mid-episode eyecatch character tracker 1: nami mid-episode eyecatch character tracker 2: vivi

running total: luffy: 80 zoro: 32 nami: 27 usopp: 21 sanji: 21 vivi: 8 chopper: 3

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they even know how to play the drums! they have mastered the karate and the music! love that for them.

this is actually a fascinating plot device. like, weather is not often something used to push a plot forward, but i really like the more... subdued motivations here. it really feels like a political drama (at times, you know what i mean). this is a really interesting take on what could have very easily been a revenge/murder story. there's definitely some political intrigue involved. wonder if the king has a spy in his court or something.

again, another real-world meteorological phenomenon. this arc is very unique so far.

one piece is very black and white with it's villains, but i'm wondering if there is more to this story here in alabasta...

Kudou Yuusaku

World Famous Mystery Novelist

I bet Natsu wishes he could be reunited with Igneel. Sometimes I wonder if he ever feels sad or lonely.