#king-ace-the-turtle

It cracked me up too. Couldn’t resist. XD

I wonder how Buggy will cope with such a flashy competitor, now Bon Clay will join the team? (I am totally assuming he will join. He’d better...)

He is still traumatised about it. He almost couldn’t scrape himself off the floor when Luffy and the others bounced off to see the new ship. xD

Ah, thanks! I didn’t quite understand the system. So Spandam is even weaker than the average Marine? Can this man become any more hateful? xD

sparktehfox said: I told you you wouldn’t be able to completely hate CP9! Don’t look too much into douriki, though. It doesn’t stick around. Also, here’s some things about them that doesn’t affect the story.

This is CP9 as kids.

Kumadori keeps mentioning his deceased mother but she is actually still alive! Her name is Yamanbako and she is also an assassin.

With the exception of Kalifa, Kumadori and Spandam, the CP9 agents are orphans raised by the World Government to be elite soldiers.

As for where this info comes from, Oda hold something called the SBS (Shitsumon o Boshū Suru, “I’m Taking Questions”) where fans send him mail and he responds. Sometimes people ask him about things in the story or about the characters and he’ll provide answers, though sometimes he just jokes around! Oh! One more thing you might like. Robin and Usopp cut the hair of the crew!

That link is so tempting, but I think I’ll click it after this arc’s done. I don’t want to affect my perception of the characters (I still think Lucci’s pure evil, even though he was acting up in 266, lol).

Oooh, yes. I’ve heard about the “Taking Questions” thing. I like that Oda does that. He’s very considerate to his fans. ^_^

saisai-chan answered: fun fact: Kumadori’s overdramatic acting about how he’ll joing his mother here is really hilarious b/c Oda answered in the manga question corner that his mom is alive. oh, and Jabra’s girlfriend dumped him for Lucci. lol

She dumped him for Lucci? That is beyond funny. Just the thought of Lucci being in a relationship with anyone is so alien it makes me laugh. I guess it’s a one-sided thing, right?

meheartonepiece said: Douriki is present only in this arc tho, so it’s just to give us an idea of their strength. Also, a normal marine soldier has 10 douriki, so Spandam is weaker than the average soldier XDDDDD

Spandam is weaker than the average soldier. That boggles my mind. I hate how he managed to climb so far up the chain of command. Yet he is also hilarious. I don’t get him, argh! xD

aoitsukikage said: I’m glad you’ve now seen the true beauty of CP9!  They might be assassins, but they’re so ridiculous at times that it’s hard to completely hate them, I think!!

You’re definitely right. I don’t hate them anymore. The illusion has blown away and they have been revealed as... petty, bickering humans. Was it too early in the arc for Oda to do this? Maybe. He could’ve kept it up a bit longer...

x-chick303 answered: My favorite part of this episode was when Kalifa said Spandam’s mere existence was sexual harassment.

That was really funny. Spandam was genuinely flustered. In an AU, I can see Spandam being an evil HR manager.

greatninjadragon said: most of the info about the strawhats, as well as other info about one piece, come from a Q&A section called SBS that’s published in every volume of the manga where Oda answers questions people have about the series (even the joke ones).

Yeah, sparktehfox mentioned and I think I’ve been told about it before (inexchange definitely mentioned it). It’s how I know Nami would be Swedish (despite being red-haired. She should be Scottish, grr!) xD

half-man-half-lime said: Uh-oh, how much did you see?

Luckily only the truncated part tumblr lets you see when you click on the notes on a post. Jakem-10 caught me just in time. Spoiler averted! ^_^

tempus-nexus said: Hey, did you ever get around to watching any of the movies? I remember you were planning to watch some of them.

Oooh, good point! I forgot. Thanks for reminding me! I’m working on another project just now, but I could watch it during breaks. ^_^

aoitsukikage said: Sanji’s animal being a duck is, I think, a bit of an inside joke since Sanji’s VA also voiced Carue (Vivi’s duck).  The goat is just because goats are known to kick things :P. And most of the info comes from Q&As done in the manga volumes!

I know, right? He’s pretty good too. ^_^

edwinflores428 said: Keep trucking through these episodes, you’re doing great! you’re getting closer and closer to Eneis Lobby.

Thank you! The guy who interrupted Usopp and Robin’s chat said it’s close too. I can’t wait, argh.....

king-ace-the-turtle said: Wanze’s really weird. The first time I heard about him and his ramen kenpo, I thought he was a filler villain. ^^;

He does have filler-villain vibes, doesn’t he? I don’t blame you. I would have thought the same as you if I’d been told about him before this arc.

meheartonepiece said: The only reason Sanji doesn’t slaughter everyone w knives is bc he wants 0 risk of harming his hands, since that’s what he uses to cook. Wanze is an exception bc he’s also a cook, and unfortunately this is the only fight in which he uses knives unless some other fight later on takes place in a kitchen w another cook

I kind of like that Sanji sees his hands as too precious to risk. Yeah, he’s a great fighter, but his great love is cooking. It makes sense to treasure the safety of his hands (I know from experience what it’s like to (temporarily) lose the use of a hand. It’s not great). Besides, we already have a great swordsman on the Strawhat crew. Sanji’s kicks fit a combat niche.

blogquantumreality said: Hee! Franky was SUPER in his fight :P I liked the Japanese puns that got explained in the fansubs. And Sanji has shown he’s a versatile fighter, even if he prefers not to use his hands normally. And LOL at Zoro and Chopper XD

There were more word puns this episode. Franky’s hentai transformation into a centaur was interpreted by Nero as ‘pervert’ and he just nodded, like, “Oh yeh...” xD

deesorceress said: Sanji’s eyebrows make even less sense when you finally see the other one. (But that won’t be til the episodes reach somewhere in the 500s.)

The Impel down arc won’t be until the 400s so you’ve got a way to go.

HOLD UP.

Sanji has another eyebrow? D:

aoitsukikage said: Sanji showing off his knife skills makes this one of his coolest fights in my opinion, and while he does make it pretty clear he won’t use knives as weapons against anything but food, it would definitely add another layer to his fighting style.

It certainly made me appreciate just how brilliant a fighter Sanji is. He’s super versatile. Unfortunately, he treasures his hands too much. Still, his kicks are pretty badass and have carried him through this far. I think he’ll be okay. ^_^

half-man-half-lime said: Helmeppo’s dad was named Morgan, and had an axe in place of an arm. The one with the iron fist is Fullbody, the marine who fought Sanji and became bros with Jango. And you know, when you think about it, Tom’s sentence makes a small amount of sense. To most of the world, Roger is seen as a horrible criminal. If someone made weapons for Osama Bin Laden, the world wouldn’t look too kindly, would it? (Of course that’s just that one point of view. Of course it was still wrong.)

Ah, that’s it! Axe-Hand Morgan. Isn’t he still at large? The last I remember he escaped from Coby and Helmeppo.

Sad as it is, Tom’s sentence does make sense when you look at it from that perspective. I kind of liken his situation to the deals the US made with Nazi scientists. You do something for us and we’ll pardon you. Hence the Sea-Train.

zaziecurie said: The series is (in)famously of plot convenience/plot armour, I’ll admit. As for Robin: you might not completely forgive her due to her past actions, but you’ll understand her sadness and coldness to others. aka: a cinnamon roll too good for this world.

Awww... a cinnamon roll too good for this world. I love that. xD

And I don’t mind a little plot armour, as long as it doesn’t ruin the suspension of disbelief (and you do need a lot of that to watch and enjoy shounen, admittedly). 

inexchangeforyoursoul said: You didn’t see Impel down yet- that prison was just a bigger facility to store the bunch of dangerous nerds in (or near) Alabasta temporarily. Security in ID is… well, let’s just say that they wouldn’t have been able to pull the jailbreak off.

Ahhhh... I thought that was Impel Down. Thanks for that. It did seem a little easy for them to break in. If the ID arc is coming, I guess I’ll see just how tight the security is first hand. ^_^

blogquantumreality said: It *is* interesting how there’s this theme of reaching for the highest goal you can, and how so many people find out how seriously prepared you need to be to give it all to get there. Even just going into the Grand Line takes serious nerves of steel!

Luffy is definitely a special case, though he does realise you have to have a great crew to help you. They wouldn’t have got far at all without Nami. ^_^

tempus-nexus said: Yes. That actually is what Mihawk did. He sailed his coffin raft across the Grand Line, back through Reverse Mountain, and halfway through East Blue, just for shits and giggles to follow Krieg and beat him again. That’s literally what he did.

Oh, good! I’m really fond of Chopper’s normal VA. How long until she’s back, in terms of episodes? ^_^

saisai-chan answered: a little translation note: they’re actually called the ‘Gates of Justice.“ and yeah, Spanda is an asshole with a god complex. there will never be a character you’ll hate more hen him. all the CP9 are based off animals btw; he’s a panda (Spanda(m))

Gates of Justice? Oops, what did I call them? Justice Gate? I must have copied the subs. Yeah, Gates of Justice sounds much better.

And CP9 are based on animals? Oooh, let’s see if I can gues! Lucci is the pigeon guy/lepoard. Blueno could be a bull (dat hair). Kaku could be some kind of bird with a long bill and I have no idea what Califa is based on. 

king-ace-the-turtle said: Impel Down is only really for major criminals on the Grand Line. The sorts of bounties Zoro dealt with mostly ended up in local prisons and the like.

So people like Gol. D. Roger and Crocodile would likely end up there, not random fodder bounties. Wait... a thought has just occurred to me. Crocodile was a major criminal. Would he have ended up in Impel Down? *fngggh*

meheartonepiece said: Yeah, the bounties in east blue were probably not high enough to be shipped across the grand line to get to impel down apart maybe from Arlong but he was never reported so… Also I loved how chopper was so scared he almost suffocated Zoro XDDDDD

Ahhh, I get it. Impel Down is where the big boys, girls and fish go (like Crocodile? *hopes*) I wonder what happened to Arlong. I remember he was taken away by Marines. Is he in Impel Down too?

blogquantumreality answered: Woohoo! The Rocketman moves! XD Luffy is such a babychild sometimes XD And as for EL and ID, I think they’re not places people like to talk much of if they can avoid doing so. The WG having a hideous prison probably gives people pause.

It was hilarious how he wanted to ride on top of the train and only stopped when it accelerated so quickly he got knocked off and almost died. xD ID and EL seem like those kinds of places parents use to scare kids when they’re little. “If you don’t eat your vegetables, they’ll take you away to Impel Down!”

greatninjadragon answered: Spandam doesn’t care about helping the world, rather having power. The only redeeming element to the guy is that he suffers painful accidents a lot

I cannot wait to see Spandam suffering a lot of painful accidents. I feel bad saying this now, but I probably won’t soon enough. xD

inexchangeforyoursoul answered: Anddd you can read the two cover stories now, congratz~ Ngl, the mention of ID is the only thing that may be deemed as a spoiler. Which is everything but “huge” considering all the stuff hinted at way too obviously in the comments at times.

Oooh, brilliant! So I can read the Miss Goldenweek one and the Enel one, am I right? *cursor already hovering over the folder containing the Miss Goldenweek story*

tempus-nexus said: I’d say Lucci isn’t so much the exception as he is the least visible one. They are comrades who trust each other absolutely - they have to, to do the jobs they do. But he’s a professional, and he maintains a strict attitude at all times. There’s something extra about CP9 that you can check out, once it’s all said and done, that’ll give you a better idea of what I’m talking about. So no more for now.

Ah, okay. I totally get what you’re driving at with Lucci. I’ll wait until the end of this arc (or maybe longer, I’m not sure) to check out the extra stuff. ^_^

shashoom2-0 said: I’m sure the series will entertain you for the distant future, seeing as there’s still 10 years of the story left, Oda doesn’t half ass anything xD. You are not ready for Enies Lobby, no one is ever ready for Enies Lobby! So, I have a question, when ya eventually do catch up with the anime, do you intend to continue watching or will you switch over to the manga? Personally I’m a manga only guy cause I find that the anime tends to screw around with some of Oda’s work ie pacing etc - this is most apparent in Skypeia (amazing in the manga, lackluster in the anime).

Once I’m caught up with the anime, I’ll continue watching it, but I know I’ll end up reading the manga. It was the same with Naruto when I started watching it. You probably know how it is. MOAR STORY. CANNOT WAIT. RIGHT NAO, DAMMIT. If the manga’s sitting there, flipping its pages invitingly, then how could I resist?? D:

blogquantumreality said: IMV Lucci is the closest to an actual psychopath the CP9 gang have got, although Spanda wins the prize for being so shamelessly self-serving with a God complex.

Yeah, they do seem a little scared of him. I guess they can trust him, though. He hasn’t killed any of them yet. xD

sparktehfox said: Actually, with Lucci, I believe he actually views the true CP9 members as his family. He’s been with them, the true members that is, not Spandam or new recruits, since he was a child. They grew up together and actually care about each other. That said, I think they are the only ones he excludes from his Dark Justice. Regarding the “new arc” thing, some people view this as one long arc with three parts and other think of it as three separate arcs. I won’t delve into that, though. Lastly, I see you keep bringing up hope for Tom but I’ll tell you now, seeing as it isn’t revisited, that Tom is gone. Franky and Iceburg already have come to terms with this so that’s why it isn’t brought up. However, I can’t delve into details regarding, Enies Lobby, Marineford, or Impel Down. You’ll need to keep watching for that!

A dysfunctional family of killing machines! Woo hoo! CP9 birthday party celebrations must be a riot. xD