#urashima

I CANTTTT (oh and shimas there too ig /j)

I began a part two since this post was getting pretty lengthy.

Part three.

Part four.

Character locations and status:

Kin'emon - Castle in the Flower Capital. Momo's surrogate father.

Momo - Castle in the Flower Capital. Shogun of Wano.

Hiyori - Castle in the Flower Capital. Toko's older sister.

Toko - Castle in the Flower Capital. Hiyori's little sister.

Otsuru - Flower Capital. Teahouse owner.

Urashima - Flower Capital. Turned over a new leaf.

Neko - Flower Capital. Yakuza with Hyogoro.

Hyogoro - Flower Capital. Yakuza.

Denjiro & the Kibi kids - Kibi. Daimyo of Kibi.

Osome & Chuji - Kuri, working in Okobore Town, at the teahouse it seems.

Inu - Kuri. Daimyo of Kuri.

Shinobu - Amigasa Village, Kuri. Otama's ninja teacher.

Tama & Komachiyo - Outside Who's Who's base.

Speed - Outside Who's Who's base.

Yamato - Outside Who's Who's base.

Who's Who - At his base in Udon prison.

Onigashima, how'd it get there I wonder?

Momo just chilling. Seems a bit sad.

Kin'emon being paternal, sending Yamato on an errand to learn about being responsible with money. aww

The pilgrimage is routed out.

Hiyori & Toko have new kimonos! Cute! And that bento box looks delicious.

Hi Miss Tsuru! Nice to see you again. Wonderful and kind as always. Like Hiyori & Toko, you're wearing a new kimono as well. Pretty!

And ayo?! Urashima appearance? I was wondering what happened to him. Loving seeing cameos of familiar faces, perhaps he's starting to change his ways, now that he's lost his status as the Yokozuna.

Awww! Big hug for the big kitty! Love how wholesome these covers have been. Fingers crossed a future one is Yamato meeting with Inu, Onimaru, and Komachiyo. The dogs putting the "Wan" in Wano.

The journey begins! Cue the 2011 Hunter x Hunter opening. Will the plants from Ryo's attack in 1054 & 1055 still be growing I wonder?

I think I'm beginning to see the direction of this cover arc. Kaido's absence, and how his legacy still effects Wano/how Wano will continue to move past from it.

Onigashima in the first entry is a remnant of Kaido's rule, much like the weapons factories here, and Yamato is dealing with being Kaido's kid. No one can escape their past.

There is likely a range of how much various people have begun recovering from Kaido's reign. The people in the Flower Capital have had at least a week to get to know Yamato, and gave a big happy send off for the pilgrimage to go well.

Though this cover seems to be the first time he's been around people from outside it, it makes sense for these kids to be sacred and react like this initially. Maybe now is a good time to share medicine and food?

"Denjiro, Daimyo of Kibi, sentences the children."

Denjiro has been given the title of Daimyo! Same title Oden had in the past, since he never became Shogun. I'm so proud of Denjiro!

"Sentenced to eat oden with the person they hate."

Man I love Denjiro. Everyone eating together reminds me of when Izo and Kiku were first found by Oden. Extra kudos to Denjiro for not calling the kids brats.

It's cool seeing a building in Kibi, the one that Denjiro and co are in. Don't think we've seen one there before. I love that Denjiro just has ingredients for Oden on hand. Feels like he is returning the favor to Oden for sharing food with him in the past. Now he is bringing people together in the present.

Him during this cover arc also reminds me of how Oden reprimanded those guys who were going to execute Neko, Inu, and Kawamatsu. Man I love Denjiro.

"Preventing an abduction on the road to Kuri."

A mysterious abduction attempt! Who will the culprit be?

It's a nice detail to have a defunct weapons factory in the background here, making a quiet point that Wano is still recovering.

"The rebuilding of Oden Castle & Foreman Minatomo's disappearance."

Rebuilding Oden Castle now? When everyone who would live there is already set up else where? Odd choice though will see where it goes. Minatomo, where did you run off too? And it's Home, Ashura Doji's bull, helping to carry lumber! Happy to see the fella is going well.

"The girls from the soba shop in Kuri have gone missing."

Hi again Some! Seems that you are working at the teahouse full time now? That's a nice development. Soba being served is a nice way of tying in Sanji's role during early Wano. Also want to note that the title of the chapter shares the kanji with those of the Payback War.

Otoshi mae. 落とし前

"The kidnappings weight heavily on Inuarashi, Daimyo of Kuri."

One of my hopes for this cover arc happened! Inu is at the beach in Kuri! Love the vibes here, two dog fellas chowing down on some onigiri. New Daimyo and deliverer of a former Daimyo's sword.

"Ninja training at Amigasa Village."

Otama's ninja training! This is what I was hoping the focus of a Wano cover arc would be. Nice to see it seems to be going well!

"Sword got stolen during nap time."

Yasuie's sword had been taken! Is the thief someone who knew Yasu, or is this a random act of theft? And look at eepy Tama! Dawww. Please let her join in on the effort to recover the sword.

"After that sword thief."

Yayy! Tama tags along to retrieve Yasu's sword as I was hoping, and Komachiyo and Horselina nicely round out the group into a full squad. I love the hustle as they head out, such a lively and dynamic panel.

Komachiyo looks so small here, probably to fit on the cover page. He's usually large enough to fit Luffy, Zoro, and Kiku on his back with room to spare, though I don't mind the weird size scaling here, it's cute.

"Udon Castle under reconstruction at the quarry."

We've arrived in Udon! It's looking nice! Still have to take down the weapons factories but it's good to see that progress is being made on the new castle. I'm wondering where the kidnapper is keeping all of their victims, and if they've gathered multiple swords, where they are storing those as well.

"Holdem attacks! Drop your valuables!!"

I'm liking the way this part of the cover arc is shaping up to be a remix of Act One. And Holdem you piece of garbage! hasn't Tama suffered enough at your hands? Poor Speed too.

I get the feeling that Holdem is going rogue on his own, since it'd be tough to believe he left Udon to follow Yamato, then return to Udon, faster than Komachiyo/Speed can run.

It would be awesome to see Tama utilize her newly learned ninja skills to get away from Holdem. And part of me is wondering if we'll see a Yasuie flashback soon, along the lines of the Vegapunk flashback during the prior cover arc. They both went out giving important speeches to a lot of people.

The French Manga Plus site got a bit mixed up this week. Chapter 1134 seems a little odd, like it's from the future or something. Chapter 1135 is that you?

"I'm different now!"

Hell. Yes. Let's go Tama! Get that jerk!

I am imagining the "Cries in Spanish" meme, but it's "Tama kicks in French." Did Hiyori teach her how to kick like that? Shinobu sensei? Or a bit of both?

"A mysterious base deep in Udon."

Now this is an intriguing reveal. The likeness of the building being Who’s Who masked face is wild, given that he’s another person with a tie to Shanks’ past and Nika, along with Loki and probably the Shanks look-alike in the chapter proper. Who is who indeed? Did Who's Who know these Holy Knights?

Also, I am curious if Tama having listened to Vegapunk’s broadcast will have an effect on the events during this pilgrimage.

"Infiltrate the sketchy hideout!"

Sneak and peak. It's a cat cafe.

"It was Who's Who all along!"

And so we see the kidnapping victims, as Who's Who lives it up at Wano's expense. Looks like he's stolen several kimono as well. Plus seems to have ditched the other Tobi Roppo.

You weren't with Kin'emon. You weren't with Hiyori. You aren't with Otsuru. I mean, you still got Neko & Kawamatsu on top of being perfectly able to show up alone. But look who else is back there? Urashima. This one feels pretty blatant. Urashima had no other purpose in Wano except to serve as an antagonist specifically for Kiku's introduction. Holdem had story beats with Tsuru, Urashima really didn't. We never checked back in on him after, feels like one of those things where even alone his inclusion makes the most sense for making you remember who isn't with Otsuru. Speaking of, seeing her burn for the first time. Kin was right, still beautiful as ever you classy classy dame. Bonus points for getting both Tsurus in this chapter.

Sumo match spectators: I can't believe Urashima is going to marry a peasant girl, Okiku! He's far too good for her!

Amazing antique furisode, depicting a takarabako (treasure chest) over an impressive plum tree in full bloom on a vivid scarlet ground.

I am not a fan of this style of obi (maru obi often have kinda dated patterns, and are super heavy), but this one beautifully picks and enhances all the tones of the furisode.