One Piece - anime part 14 - Marineford

      One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The fourteenth story arc of the series, Impel Down, originally aired between July of 2010 and September of 2011 for a total of 35 episodes, between 457 and 516.

    After escaping Impel Down the ragtag band of pirates, lead by Luffy, head into the belly of the beast to save Ace.  The Marines are ready and waiting for them and anything White Beard will muster at their headquarters, Marineford.  The ultimate showdown between the muscle of the World Government and the disparate forces of chaos begins here.

 

    All of the strength of the World Government has gathered at Marineford, the headquarters of the Marines.  The three admirals, seven Warlords of the Sea and a vast flotilla of Marines are prepared to face whatever attack White Beard is planning to rescue Firfist Ace.  What was unexpected in all of the planning was a massive jail break at the nearby Impel Down to occur at the same time.  Luffy failed to reach his brother in time and has now gathered with a large group of powerful pirates to attempt the rescue at the zeroth hour.  Ace is put in position and the world is watching, the World Government is eager to wage this battle, confident in their successful outcome.  They want to put the age of pirates to rest once and for all, killing off the last remnants of the days when Gol D. Rodger sailed the seas.

    Garp, Luffy and Ace's grandfather, is present for the execution of his oldest grandson.  He thinks back to how he came to be the care taker for the only son of the worlds most notorious pirate.  Following Rogers execution, the World Government did everything they could to ensure that he sired no children.  Keeping a watch on every known location he stayed at, for months, confirming whether any children born in that time period were his.  A woman was pregnant and through crazy will power, she forced herself to care the child far longer than conceivable, giving birth to Ace and dying in the process.  Garp is now to caretaker of the baby the world is trying to kill.  He enlists the help of a mountain bandit woman named Dadan in both raising and hiding Ace.  A number of years later Ace meets his adopted younger brother Luffy.

    As Sengoku, the head of the Marines, is giving a speech regarding the execution, word comes in that the Gate of Justice has been opened and the closed without any authorization.  He has been following the reports from Impel Down and is not exactly surprised when it is surmised that the prison escapee's are on the ship that passed through the gates.  What does come as a surprise is the sudden appearance of White Beards flagship, the Moby Dick, suddenly surfacing in the harbor.  The attack was anticipated but the method of infiltration was not.  Using the resin from Sabaody Archipelago, White Beard is able to bring his ship as close as physically possible to the platform on which Ace now waits to be executed.  The attack has begun and there is no turning back from here.

    To show his intent, White Beard uses his Devil Fruit power to create a powerful earthquake, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.  White Beard announces his intention to rescue his underling and we see a flashback to how Ace joined the White Beard pirates.  Admiril Akiji uses his Devil Fruit power to freeze twin tsunami's caused by White Beards power before the base can be inundated,  The effort to protect the base leads to the creation of a large front for the pirates to attack the island and the charge begins.  Vice-admirals, and some of the Warlords of the sea face off against White Beards division commanders.  Everyone, pulling no punches with their Devil Fruit powers and raw martial prowess.  Yet no matter the ferocity of the attacks by the pirates they struggle to make much headway into the island.

   Out of frustration for the lack of progress and concern for a man he calls friends, the son of the legendary demon Oars, Oars Jr, makes his move.  The massive pile of violence attacks the landing zone head on, determined to reach Ace, even if it kills him.  Oars Jr. is successful at first, helping the rest of the attacking force to make it onto land.  But before he can reach the execution platform he is cut down by successive attacks from three of the Warlords.  Just as Oars Jr. falls a new attack force falls from the  Bsky, Luffy and the escaped prisoners.  Whitebeard recognizes Shanks' straw hat perched on Luffys head and puts the last peices of a puzzle together in his mind.  After introductions and Luffys declaration to take the title of King of the Pirates some day, the young man rushes to save his brother.

    Luffy is immediately set upon by Admiril Kizaru, who is saved by Ivankov who is in turn attacked by Kuma.  Ivankov tries to reason with Kuma, who was once an ally in the past, but something is wrong with the giant man and he does not respond the his old friend.  Luffy runs ahead but faces old enemies who had joined the Marines after being defeated by him.  As Luffy struggles to reach Ace, the White Beard pirates in turn are struggling to fend off hoards of zombies controlled by Moria.  Things are not looking good for the would be rescuers.  In a desperate attempt to save his brother, Ace tells Luffy to go away, that he doesn't want to be saved by a weakling.  As hope seems to be running out, Jimbei arrives and is able to defeat the zombie hoard with blasts of salt water.  Before the tides can turn Sengoku grabs everyone's attention by declaring that Luffy is the son of the most wanted man in the world, the leader of the rebel faction, Dragon.

 

    Sensing a trap about to be sprung, White Beard, convincing Buggy to work with him, orders the remaining pirate fleet to adjust their positions on the water/ice.  Smoker almost succeeds in subduing Luffy but is stopped by an enraged Hancock.  Ivankov continues to try to reach through to Kuma but is told by Don Flamingo that the Kuma they knew no longer exists.  Kuma had recently completed his prolonged process of full conversion to a Pacifista and had removed his brain only a few days earlier, completely erasing the Kuma that used to exist, replacing it with an automaton for the World Government instead.  Hancock secretly gives Luffy the keys to Ace's handcuffs but he is stopped by Don Flamingo before he can reach his brother.

    Buggy and his ragtag followers inadvertently give Luffy an escape route and he reluctantly pulls back from rescuing Ace while he tries to rethink his plan.  Buggy meanwhile had commandeered a transponder snail that was broadcasting the execution and is trying to use it to further increase his own profile.  Sengoku had ordered the feeds to be cut when the situation started to show the Marines in a negative light.  Yet Buggy's attempt at vanity allows for a feed to still spread to the outside world, continuing to show the battle for Ace.  Sengokus trap springs and an army of Pacifista's attacks form the rear.  Whit Beards suspicions and actions stop the attack from being as devastating as it could have been and the call to push forward goes out.

 

   As White Beard is about to begin his assault on the platform one of his one allies stabs him through the chest, briefly persuaded by Aokiji that Whitebeard plans to sell out his allies in exchange for Ace.  The attack force is suddenly demoralized, giving the Marines the upper hand.  But White Beard is unwilling to let his men lose faith that easily.  Shrugging off the attack and forgiving his ally, the old man jumps into the battle and rushes towards the platform.  The Marines, desperate to stop this final push, raise a series of defensive walls, encircling the pirates.  The segment leading to the execution platform is unable to rise due to the massive corpse of Oars Jr. blocking its path.  In death Oars Jr. has been able to help save Ace.

    Admaril Akainu unleashes a fury of meteor blasts, melting all of the ice in the bay, causing the water to boil.  The pirates are thrown into chaos and despair and the Marines renew their attack, determined to kill every last pirate.  Senguko, sensing the need for urgency, gives the order to execute Ace immediately.  Jimbei throws Luffy at the platform, in the hopes that he can get there in time, as the three admirals bare down upon him.  Just as Ace is about to be executed, Crocodile, who has been sitting on the side lines, decides to intervene.  Having been punished for his failings by the World Government, he isn't exactly eager to see the Marines win this battle.  White Beard as well unleashed a surprise attack by having a still submerged ship surface, landing on the platform.  Garp and Sengoku are no the last defenses to stop Ace from being rescued.

    Luffy, overwhelmed from the battle and facing multiple vice admirals at the same time, finally succumbs to exhaustion and his wounds.  Attempts to reach Ace are fended off by Garp, who knows he has to choose his career over his family.  The Pacifistas and Marines are encircling the pirates and everything seems to be failing for them.  White Beard is gravely wounded by Akainu and Luffy begs Ivankov to inject him again with hormones that will allow him to push past his exhaustion.  Reluctant at first, realizing it will more than likely kill him, Luffy convinces him all the matters is saving Ace.  Ace is overcome by the sacrifices everyone is making for him and is determining to survive this battle, his will to live and escape restored.

    Coby and Helmepo attempt to stop Luffy and Ivankov but are brushed away like insects.  Hancock provides protection for Luffy from the Pacifistas, who are unable to attack the Warlord.  Just as the executioners are about to kill Ace, Luffy digs deep into himself and erupts with a powerful haki, knocking out those with weak enough wills and caused those with strong wills to pause for a moment, taking in the incredible spirit in the young pirate.  The Marines able to recover from the haki move to attack Luffy.  White Beard orders everyone to defend him, seeing the future in him and recognizing the possibility of success.  Luffy reaches the platform but has to face his grandfather.  Garp is strong, but Luffy is able to withstand the assault and defeats him.

 

    In a last ditch effort, Kizaru is able to melt the key with his light beam.  Luffy find that Mr.3 has been hiding on the platform who quickly crafts a replacement key with his wax power.  Ace is free at last and the platform collapses as the Marines unleash everything they can on him,.  Not hampered by the sea stone shackles, Ace is able to use his Devil Fruit powers and retaliates with a massive fire attack.  With Ace free at last the pirates only goal is escape.  White Beard knows he is dying and gives one final order to his men...to run away and live another day having succeeded in their goal of rescuing Ace.  he old pirate lord understands that he will be dead soon and uses the last of his strength to hold back the Marines so his men can flee.

    The Marines, whipped up into a fervor, begin to indiscriminately attack the fleeing pirates.  Buggy is able to revive his transponder snail, inadvertently broadcasting the slaughter to the shocked world.  Akainu mocks White Beard as he dies, saying he never amounted to anything and failed to be as powerful s Roger.  This provokes Ace, who turns to defend the honor of his dying captain.  Akainu overcomes Ace's fire power with his own magma power.  Luffy scramble to save Ace's vivre card only to expose himself to an attack by Akainu.  Ace jumps to block the attack on Luffy moments before it lands, causing Akainu to punch a hole clear through Fire-fist.  Luffy understands that his brother is dead and breaks.  Before Akainu can kill the shocked Luffy, Jumbei jumps in to rescue him and escape with the remaining pirates.  Fleeing into the bay and desperate safety.  Enraged by the attack on Ace, White Beard uses the last of his strength to emit a powerful earthquake, almost destroying the entire island in the process.  he quake creates fissures allowing the pirates to be physically separated from the pursuing marines, buying them some precious seconds to escape.

     Amidst the chaos Blackbeard arrives with his crew.  He tells White Beard that the entire point of becoming a Warlord of the Sea was to gain access to Impel Down with a plan to release some of the most dangerous prisoners for his new crew.  The plan succeeded more easily than he expected and he is now on his way to take over the New World.  Blackbeard delivers the killing blow to his old captain and begins a secretive process to absorb his devil fruit power.  Armed with the powers of two Devil Fruit, something that is unheard of due to the fatal result in such attempts, Blackbeard makes his strength known to everyone watching.  The world, through Buggy's broadcast, see's White Beards death and hear's his final words proclaiming that One Piece is real.

    Before Blackbeard can destroy the entire island, Sengoku jumps to fight him.  Jimbei is desperately trying to escape with the useless Luffy in his arms.  Akainu punches through Jimbei with enough force to gravely wound Luffy.  Jimbei dives into the water to keep the admiral at bay.  Recognizing the need to protect the wounded Luffy, the other remaining powerful pirates do everything tney can to distract Akainu and the other Marines.  Before they can figure out an escape route, a submarine surfaces, captained by Luffy's peer, Trafalger Law.  Through Buggy's unwitting assistance, Jimbei and Luffy make it to the submarine and Law agrees to help his rival.

 

    With the retreat in full effect now, the pirates scramble to safety, as the blood thirsty Marines hunt them down without mercy.  Koby begins to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the carnage, receiving the internal dialogue of everyone around him.  Their lust for destruction begins to chip away at his sanity as the trauma of the situation unlocks a latent power within him.  He begins to scream to make the killing stop, before the overwhelming weight of the event destroys him.  As if a god heard his prayer a new person appears on the island, someone able to command others to heed his words.  Red-haired Shanks has arrived and through the shire will of his words convinces everyone to stop fighting.  This allows Law's submarine to make its escape as he begins the intensive surgery on both guests.  The war has ended and the Marines declare victory with White Beard and Ace dead.

    The world celebrates the death of two notorious pirates and the resilience of the Marines.  But the loss of such a powerful and influential element in the world of piracy exposes many islands to more brazen banditry and lawlessness, at the hand of those who feared upsetting the great old pirate.  Is the supposed new found peace worth the sudden increased danger from less scrupulous pirates?  Law was able to save Luffy, but he needs a place to recuperate and recover.  The only option for safety is back at Amazon Lily.  Hancock, still retaining her title of Warlord of the Sea, eagerly agrees to allow Luffy and Jimbei to stay on a neighboring island.  As a surprise to everyone Rayleigh arrives as well, sensing the young pirate may need some assistance.  Rayleigh plans to train Luffy in the ways of haki, to give him more control over this ability that is so powerful in him.  Luffy struggles with the loss of his brother, the loss of his crew and his failure to accomplish any of his goals.  

 

    Luffy agrees to the training and puts off his plans to reunite with his crew at Sabaody.  Instead he concocts a plan to send a secret message to his crew in a way that is sure to reach them, no matter where they are in the world.  He, Jimbei and Rayleigh return to a devastated Marineford.  While the Marines claimed victory they were somewhat weakened and have spread their power throughout the seas, particularly in the New World where Blackbeards actions pose a severe threat to global stability.  The three pirates arrive unopposed, using the power of their identities to stave off any interference from the forces repairing the island.  Everyone is too startled by the sudden reappearance of two of the central figures in the war while being accompanied by the most legendary living pirate.  Luffy rings a symbolic bell to recognize the end of the war and has a code drawn on him, taking full advantage of  crew of reporters also being there.  The plan works perfectly and Luffy, with his hidden message, appears on the front of every newspaper, seen by every member of his crew.  The message, meet again in two years time.  The crew immediately recognizes the message and changes their resolve to focus on getting stronger and then meeting in the designated time.

    This was an incredible end to a story arc that has been building since the Straw Hats entered the Grand Line.  Between the events at Impel Down and the fallout of the war at Marineford, everything Luffy and his crew have encountered and overcome has culminated into this moment that the world of One Piece changes and everyone's attention shifts focus to the New World.  We find ourselves at a crossroad though, the story has reset to something similar to where the story originally started.  Luffy is on his own, without a ship or a crew.  He still has his goal of becoming the King of Pirates in front of him without any really understanding of how that goal will be accomplished.  He knows no more about how to find One Piece than he did in the beginning.  In reality though, he has a ship and a crew and has set a plan in motion to reunite in two years time so they can pick up where they left off.  Luffy has gained so much knowledge and ability in the months following Coby fishing him out of the sea.  He has gained powerful allies, incredible companions and a greater understanding of the dangers that he faces.  For once he has experienced devastating loss with the death of Ace and has to learn to overcome that grief so he can continue to push forward.  et in spite of everything he witnessed his only fear is that he is not strong enough.  He has no doubt that he can overcome the strengths of the people he will face but recognizes he is not yet at a point to ensure his success and it hurts him.

 

    Following the bulk of the arc we get a multi episode flashback about how Ace and Luffy came to become brothers and the ordeals they faced as abandoned children in a cruel world.  Experiences that imprinted them with their particular world view and the motivation it took to push them to the levels they achieved.  In Luffy's case...he still has a ways to go before he can catch up to his brother, who will no longer be able to see that growth.  It will be interesting to see how everyone has grown and changed in the two years they have before they meet up again to resume their voyage and finally head off to Fishman Island.

One Piece - anime part 13 - Impel Down

      One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The thirteenth story arc of the series, Impel Down, originally aired between October of 2009 and June of 2010 for a total of 35 episodes, between 422 and 456.

    Luffy crashes on a jungle island, the home of the ferocious amazon tribe.  After being brought into the city, mistaken for a woman, his true nature is revealed and his life is forfeit.  He escapes the women, only to return to the village in search of a ship.  Their leader, Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has returned with their one and only pirate ship.  He seeks her out to get help in reuniting with his crew.  After surviving another execution attempt by the women, he wins over the hearts of the tribe and Hancock, trough severe love sickness agrees to help him.  Instead of trying to find his scattered crew though, they are on their way to the infamous prison Impel Down, where his brother Fire-fist Ace is set to executed.

 

    Luffy is hidden inside of Hancocks guest quarters onboard the navy ship, as they make their way to Impel Down, preparing to face the full power of White Beards pirates if and when they attempt to rescue Ace from execution.  Hancock continues to petrify any Marines that get close to revealing the stowaway.  Before its too late they arrive at the prison, which is already heavily guarded.  There is a day and a half left until Ace is to be executed at the prison.  Hancock makes a request to talk with Ace before she joins the rest of the Warlords of the Sea.  The request is granted but she must first undergo a strip search, threatening to reveal Luffy.   Before anything can happen, Hancock petrifies the woman conducting the search and freezes the cameras in the room.  Luffy is able to hide himself in the ceiling and when the woman is revived its as if nothing unusual had happened, so far so good.

    Meanwhile, pirate captain Buggy, who had been captured while attempting to find the lost treasure of Captain John, see's his opportunity and uses his chop chop fruit powers to finally escape from his cell on the first level of the prison, the area reserved for the least important criminals. His escape is noticed and the the first level goes on alert, with guards being sent to recapture of kill him if necessary.  Buggy's untimely escape blows Luffy's stealthy infiltration and the two have to team up to evade the pursuing soldiers.  Luffy isn't sure where his brother is being held in the massive complex, but some of the other prisoners have suggested he is on level 5.  He forces Buggy to help him get there, in exchange for the armband he's wearing.  Buggy lets it slip that the trinket is a map to where Captain Johns treasure is.  Luffy is more than willing to exchange it for help getting to Ace, but Buggy will take the earliest opportunity to leave him and resume his escape.

 

    The two pirates destroy their way through the first level, crashing through guard houses and prison cells alike.  hey find themselves in the torture area of the level, the Crimson Forest, where the trees are razors and the grass is spikes.  Using Buggy's powers they easily traverse the hellish landscape and reach an access pit to the second floor.  Luffy jumps down without a second though.  Buggy is about to leave him but is distracted by an attack from a guard which causes his body to fall into the pit as well.  Facing no choice but to follow, he too plummets down to the second floor, the floor of wild beasts.  They soon face the fearsome guards of the second level but they end up being more bark than bite and Luffy easily defeats them.  In a prison brake, orchestrated by Buggy to improve his standing among the other pirates, Luffy reunites with Mr. 3 from the long disbanded Baroque Works (see arc two and four).  He tells them he will be willing to show them the way to level three.

    In preparation for the release of the One Piece movie, Strong World, the story is paused for a four part filler arc that ties in with the events of the movie.  The movie deals with the only pirate at the time to have successfully escaped Impel Down, Golden Lion Shiki, who has cut off his own legs to facilitate his escape.  This small side story takes place after Thriller Bark and finds the Straw Hats landing on an island of friendly inhabitants who are ex-patriots of the East Blue.  Over time they have built their village to be a replica of famous sites in the East Blue...mostly sites important to the origins of the Straw Hats themselves.  They are welcomed like kings and celebrated.  Meanwhile a pirate crew has been instructed by Shiki to retrieve a large beetle named Boss, who is a member of the village.  His capture is payment for them being accepted into his coalition of pirates.

    Luffy and crew are not willing to let their new friends happiness be trampled on by these new pirates and throw everything they have at them to protect the little East Blue.  While at first the pirate captains net making devil fruit power proves too strong for Luffy, Sanji and Zoro, the villagers gain the courage to also fight the invaders.  The beetle, Boss, also arrives after only partially recovering from the fight with Luffy to defend his home as well.  In an moment where the beetle chooses his own sacrifice for their safety, Luffy knocks sense into him and the Straw Hats escape, ready to fight even stronger than before.  The invasive pirates are quickly dispatched and peace is once again restored to this hidden monument to the most infamous rookie pirates from the East Blue.

    We return to the prison break and Mr. 3 has joined Buggy and Luffy.  They find themselves being chased by the revived monsters guarding level two until Luffy gets tired of running and beats them all into submission.  Mr. 3 and Buggy plan to use Luffy as bait and make their way to the exit.  Instead, Luffy and the biggest monster on the floor crash through the ceiling of level 3, dragging the other pirates with them.  The three amigos find themselves wandering the deadly heat of this floor, looking for the way down to the fourth floor.  There is little relief from the oppressive heat and before they can make much progress the guards, on high alert no, capture them.

     All three of them are bound in a net with the Level 2 boss, Minotaurus, surrounded by guard captain Saldeth and a group of guards.  The group breaks free of their bounds and flees again, with the revived Minotaurus hot on their heals.  In their escape, Buggy and Mr. 3 abandon Luffy again, planning to make their way to the surface.  They encounter Baroque Works Mr.2, Bon Clay.  They tell him what Luffy is planning and free him as they try to make their way out.  Luffy is attacked by Saldeth as he nears the stairs, Bon arrives in time to offer his aid, as he wants to continue to support him in his efforts.  At this time Hancock has finally reached Ace and tells him in secret what Luffy is planning to do, bringing the older brother to shock and dismay.

    Luffy and Bon reach Level 4, noticing the boiling vat of blood and the extreme heat.  The warden of the prison, Magellan, finally done with escorting Hancock, can turn his attention to the rapidly growing problems of the prisoner riot on 2 and Luffy's decent towards his brother.  He has amassed the strongest guards on Level 4 and is charging his vice-warden with guarding the entrance to Level 5.  Luffy runs into the dangerous warden soon enough and chooses to face off against him, ignoring Bon's protests.  The warden has the devil fruit power of poison and quickly subdues Luffy who relies on physically touching his opponents.  In the confusion, Buggy and Mr. 3 attempt to escape at the stairs but are stopped by vice-warden Hannybal.  Bon flees in terror, abandoning Luffy once he realizes their death is at hand.

    Luffy is beaten by the overwhelming power of Magellan's poison and is dragged off to a cell on Level 5, were he is left to die.  Bon defeats Hannybal and steals his identity, hoping to rescue Luffy to make up for abandoning him earlier.  Level 5 is a frozen hell and Bon pushes himself to near death trying to save his dying friend.  He is frantically searching for a prisoner who disappeared from their cell years earlier and had been spotted wandering the forests of Level 5.  The next thing he knows is waking up in a strange space and finding a group of people enjoying themselves, a far cry from being prisoners.  His questions are answered when the leader of the group appears and gives a performance explaining their hideouts.  It is none other than the person he is searching for, Emporio Ivonkov.  The enclave of escaped prisoners exists in the hidden spaces of Impel Down and provides refuge for those who find it.  Ivonkov, which their devil fruit powers has made the space a sanctuary for anyone seeking freedom from the constraints of society regarding their gender identity or sexual orientation.  These efforts are enhanced by their ability to change someones hormones, sometimes instigating a gender reassignment.

    Ivonkov has taken in Bon and Luffy at Luffy's request to save the dying Bon, even with his own fatal condition.  Ivonkov agreed to care for Bon as well as Luffy but is uncertain if the treatment will help save him.  Luffy is bound in a sealed room and has spent the past ten hours in agony, screaming in his unconscious state.  Ivonkov imbued him with a potential path to survival, at the cost of shortening his life.  The rest is up to Luffy' body to fight the infection.  Bon is unwilling to leave his side and shouts encouragements at the sealed room until his is spitting blood.  His dedication to his friend inspires the residents of the enclave, who join in the chant.  The support works and Luffy overcomes the poison much faster than anticipated.  He is ready to continue, as time is running out for his brother.  He lets is slip that his father is the infamous rebel Dragon, a man Ivonkov is close to.  This makes them choose to aid Luffy any way they can and the fight is one to Level 6, where Ace is being help.

    The trio of Luffy, Ivonkov and another man reach Level 6 too late though, as Ace is on his way to be transferred to the Marines.  Magellan knows they are there and sets traps to seal them into the Level while he heads to the surface.  The man who shared a cell with Luffy asks him to free him and he will help him get to his brother.  The man is the disgraced ex-warlord fishman Jimbei.  He was stripped of his title and thrown in jail because he opposed the plan to execute Ace.  He wishes to help Luffy free the man he calls friend.  Before they can leave another prisoner asks to be released to help with the struggle.  Another ex-warlord, Crocodile.  Luffy does not want to free him but Ivonkov convinces him to do so, based on secret information they can use against him is he decides to betray them.  Now with their number increased to five, they head off to catch up with Ace.  On their way to Level 5 they regroup with Bon and the rest of the enclave, who join the mission to reach the surface.  It is time for the hidden prisoners to make their move and fight for real freedom.

    The group easily makes it to Level 4, where they begin to release prisoners, in order to create more confusion and increase their strength.  At the same time Buggy and Mr. 2 are releasing prisoners on Level 2 for a very similar reason.  Everyone's efforts may be in vein as Ace is placed on a Marine ship and sets off for Marine Headquarters.  After his ship leaves another arrives, unannounced, containing Black Beard and his crew.  Given the sudden chaos in the prison, the warden elects to release a dangerous prisoner, the ex-prison manager who had been lock up for murdering prisoners, Shinryu.  Magellan tasks him with confronting the warlord and stopping him if necessary.

    Luffy and the rest reach Level 2 where they encounter the demon guards, defeating them, easily.  Shinryu joins Black Beards forces instead of stopping them as the warlord proceeds unopposed with his plan.  Meanwhile vice-warden Hannyabal tries to stop Luffy but only succeeds in delaying him.  In a last ditch effort Hannyabal uses the last of his energy to attack Luffy but is stopped by the arrival of Black Beard.  This is the first time Luffy meets Black Beard since he went to Sky Island.  Black Beard tells him the original plan was to capture Luffy and offer him up to the World Government in hopes of being made Crocodiles replacement.  Instead he was able to defeat Ace first for the same result.  Having achieved his goals, he has no desire to fight Luffy and lets him continue with his prison break.

    Buggy and Mr. 3 reach the first level, followed by an army of escapees.  Luffy and his party are stopped by Magellan, who finally catches up to them.  Two other stay behind to give Luffy and the rest the time they need to keep going, stalling the Warden long enough with their defeat.  They soon meet up with Buggy and Mr. 3 who are trying to plan their next step.  Before they can figure out where to go from there, Magellan arrives, confirming for Luffy that his new friends lost.  While they turn to face the Warden, Jimbei is able to float a door to carry he, Buggy, Crocodile and Mr. 1 out to the Marine flotilla, in order to procure a ship.  The fight with the poison spewing Warden seems impossible.  Ivonkov arrives, after recovering from the beating he took earlier and lends all the power they can to stall Magellan even a little bit.  Time is running out and the ship isn't arriving as fast as they need.  in a last ditch effort, Ivonkov uses one of their attacks to propel the group of escapees out to sea, attempting to bridge the gap from the prison dock to the ship.

    The brazen plan works, and everyone lands on the deck of the stolen Marine ship.  Unfortunately they face the next obstacle.  The Gates of Justice, the gateway to lead them out of the prison, are closed and will require someone to authorize them being opened.  There is little chance of that now, given the situation at the prison is well known by those in charge.  When all hope is thought lost, the gates begin to open, allowing the ship to escape.  Other Marine vessels are chasing after them but find their way blocked when the gates immediately close again.  They have done it!  They have successfully escaped Impel Down and are once again on track to attempt to rescue Fire-fist Ace.  Before we see the arrival of the pirate army to Marineford, we are updated on the status of the scattered Straw Hat pirates.  None of them know the incredible event unfolding at the center of the world government, an event that was started by their captain in order to save his brother.  

    The culminating story line continues to develop at a steady pace.  While much of the success the pirates see is due to plot armor, it doesn't detract from the quality story in general.  Everything is coming to a head and the world will be a completely different place when the dust settles.  Luffy, only focused on saving his brother, doesn't even understand what his actions are doing.  He has no care for making an impact on the world around him or changing things.  Right now his only concern is to save Ace.  He isn't even aware of what his actions are doing to reshape everything around him.  This entire sequence of events cements Luffy's personality.  He has little concern for anything outside of protecting those he cares about.  It's difficult to even fathom why he wants to claim the title of King of the Pirates, when he clearly has little interest in actively being a figure of change.  He doesn't consider the consequences of his actions not does he approach anything with long term goals in mind.  He lets his current situation guide him through his responses with little forethought.

    In general I wasn't a fan of the members of Baroque Works.  Particularly the debacle that was the series of events leading up to the Straw Hats landing on Alabasta, but the inclusion of a few key top members of Baroque Works as central figured in the Impel Down arc worked really well.  It was quite amusing to watch Buggy work so hard to set himself up as a heroic pirate, attempting to put himself in a better position once he makes it back to sea.  The introduction of Jimbei and Ivonkov set up Luffy to get closer to meeting his father, the leader of the rebel faction.  Things are beginning to coalesce quite well around the Straw Hats being at the front lines of the new era in the world and its being done in a way that doesn't feel forces.  Sure they are being introduced to key characters which will help realize that future goal, but its done with a guiding hand instead of a forced narrative.  It will be really interesting to see what all of the set up that has been building since at least the Sky Island arc will lead to.  When we started this journey all we knew was Luffy needed to get to the Grand Line in order to begin searching for the One Piece.  When he got there he seemed to meander about without a clear goal, letting the winds push him aimlessly towards his incorporeal goal.  Slowly things began to reveal themselves for a grander plot, particularly when people began to tell them about the New World, something none of the Straw Hats had even been aware of.  Its fun that the Grand Line represents a barrier of entry to far greater things and acts as a barrier for knowledge as well.  Those that are bound to the lands of their isolated areas only know that the Grand Line is a place of danger and mystery, but understand little about what actually exists there.  Then you ave all of the people who just happen to live in the Grand Line and they don't even know about the things beyond it.  All of the power players in the world are heading into the New World, chasing after glory and adventure, unsure about what is actually there.

    I say it at the end of each arc review, this story has consistently been amazing since the terrible Foxy Pirate segment.  With each new development the struggle for survival grows by leaps and bounds.  In a short period Luffy and the rest have found themselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation and they are all essentially still children!  It feels like we are coming to a point of no return where everything will climax incredibly then pull back to a baseline of normalcy before diving headlong into the next long reaching arc.  Luffy is about to throw himself into the lions mouth to try and save his brother.  He will survive...as the show has gone on for almost 1100 episodes at this point, but he won't be able to escape unharmed.  I know there is a time skip in the near future and it feels natural to occur following the end of the Marineford arc.  Spending time to search for his lost crew mates would be a terribly boring waste of narration since the scale of the story has escalated so much at this point.  The trick will be to resume the story and keep up a respectable pace of threat and danger.  There is no way the next few arcs will be as threatening as what is currently going on, but they will still need to be ones where it is hard for the pirates to truly feel safe.  From here on out, once they rejoin their docked ship, they will be heading into continuously dangerous waters.  I can't wait to see how things unfold and what moving into the New World will mean for their story.

 

   Up next though, we still have to see how the raid on Marineford transpires and if Luffy and his new collection of companions will be able to accomplish, versus the full strength of the World Government.

One Piece - anime part 12 - Island of Women

     One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The twelfth story arc of the series, Island of Women, originally aired between July of 2009 and October of 2009 for a total of 14 episodes, between 408 and 421.

    The trip to the Sabaody Archipelago has destroyed the Straw Hats.  The overwhelming strength of both Warlord of the Sea Kuma and Admiral Kizaru was too much for them to overcome.  Kuma, using his devil fruit power eliminated each member of the plucky pirates one by one, intentionally dispersing them far out into the sea.

 

    Luffy finds himself encased in a bubble, flying rapidly through the sky, unable to stop.  He resigns himself to his moving prison, overcome with the destruction of his friend at the hands of Kuma.  His dreams nothing but a memory at this point and he waits.  A few days past, allowing him to sleep and gain a mighty appetite.  His bubble begins to lose its altitude and his crashes into a cliff on the interior of a heavily forested island.  After killing and eating a giant beats his appetite continues to drive him to ravenous consumption, including random mushrooms on the forest floor.  Unfortunately, one batch of mushrooms are more a threat to him than he is to them.

    A group of scantly clad women come across the prone form of Luffy, who is slowly being turned into a new home for the last batch of mushrooms he consumed.  Recognizing the danger he is in, they take him back to their village to attempt to save him.  The save him from the parasitic mushrooms but realize he is a man in the process.  The island Luffy has crash landed on is Amazon Lily, men are forbidden from stepping foot on it and the fierce warrior women protect their home with ruthless efficiency.  Luffy escapes from his prison with most of the village trying to kill him.  In the ensuing chase Luffy and one of the Amazons, Margaret, end up being flung into the surrounding jungle.  The appearance of Luffy on the island becomes complicated for the women with the imminent return of their ruler, Boa Hancock, the Snake Princess and one of the seven warlords of the sea.

 

    As Margaret chases Luffy through the forest, the Snake Princess' pirate ship is returning the the waters of her home island.  Waiting for them is a Marine ship and a vice admiral waiting to deliver a message and ultimatum.  The warlords of the sea are being summoned together in preparation for a confrontation with White Beard.  Luffy's brother, Ace, is going to be executed in seven days and they expect a massive rescue attempt to take place at Impel Down.  The vice-admiral presents the ultimatum of show up to fight for the World Government or be stripped of your title and protection.  Hancock, not wanting to show weakness to her crew, rebuffs the demand and uses her powers, turns everyone on the ship to stone, with the exception of the vie-admiral.  He tells her she has a limited amount of time to given him her answer or face the consequences.  Hancock dismisses him and their ship heads home.

    As the princess returns home, the women hunting for Luffy become more desperate.  Hancock is approached by their previous leader, an old woman named Nyon, who tells the younger woman to accept the demands from the World Government to continue to protect their lands existence.  Hancock throws her out of a palace window in anger and goes to take a bath.  When the princess or her two sisters bathe the entire city is put on alert and the palace is closed off from anyone entering it.  There is a legend that they had defeated a terrifying gorgon but been cursed with the gorgons eyes on their back as a result.  Now if anyone were to see the marks they would be turned to stone.  As she is bathing, Luffy is back in the city, searching for someone he can convinces to let him use their ship.  He ends crashing into the bath as Hancock is enjoying her relaxing time alone.  He sees the marking on her back but it does not turn him to stone.  Luffy also recognized the markings but before he can question her about it her sisters rush in to investigate the commotion.

 

    Luffy once again finds himself a captive of the Amazons.  He is brought to a arena for judgement and summary execution.  His executioner is a monstrous cat, which he quickly dispatches.  In an effort to plead for his life, Margaret reveals that she is the one who initially brought him to the island, not knowing he was a man at first.  For her confession, Hancock turns her and two friends into stone statues, horrifying Luffy.  Hancock then sends her two sisters to put him out of his misery.   They transform into creatures, revealing their Zoan type devil fruit powers to him.  The gorgon sisters use the hika power to predict Luffy's movements, causing him trouble in the fight.  In addition to that their physical attacks do damage to him, even though his body if rubber.  The battle does not last long as Luffy, determined to protect the statues of the women petrified because of him, summons his own battle spirit and busts through the sisters defenses.  He sends one flying towards the crowd, about to reveal the mark on her back.  Recalling they would rather die than have anyone see them he jumps to cover up her markings.  Knowing the danger the mark possesses the crowd flees the arena.

    The sisters admit defeat.  Hancock tells him that he can either choose to have the three woman returned to normal or be given a boat.  With out hesitating he chooses the woman to be saved.  The selflessness of his action moves Hancock to tears and she invites him to share in their feast, marking her return home.  Luffy is taken to the palace where they learn of his attack on a World Noble.  Hancock reveals the nature of their marks as symbols of ownership by celestial dragons.  She and he sisters had been kidnapped ten years earlier and sold into slavery.  During their time they were given devil fruit for amusement and it eventually helped them escape and return to their island.  During the feast, Luffy learns from Nyon that Hancock is one of the Warlords of the Sea and is being summoned to help protect the prison Impel Down while they prepare to execute Ace.  Luffy's only hope of getting there in time is to get a ride with Hancock.  He rushes to ask her to let him join the voyage but finds he suddenly bed ridden.  Nyon realizes it is a deadly affliction that has stuck down previous rulers of their land...Hancock is madly in love with Luffy.

 

    Hancock accepts this 'disease' and finds herself more than willing to help Luffy get to the prison to try and save his brother.  They leave immediately, meeting up with the vice-admiral, who is still waiting outside of their island.  Luffy has wrapped himself around her body and is hidden in her cloak.  Hancock restores all of the frozen Marines and the two pirates board the ship, headed to the worlds most infamous prison.  The place where all of the World Governments power is gathering in anticipation with a battle against White Beard, one of the 4 emperors of the sea.

    Meanwhile, we see short segments of the fates of the other members of the Straw Hat pirates.  Nami finds herself on a sky island that has dedicated its self to studying weather.  While there she learns of a rope technique for controlling wind that she can pair with her normal attacks.  Frankie lands in a frozen land full of more advanced machinery than he can imagine.  Due to the lack of cola, tea is instead supplied to keep his restored body active, turning him from a wild hooligan into a reserved and polite aristocrat.  Chopper ends up on a small jungle island where he has to avoid being eaten by large birds and hungry natives.  Sanji lands on an island filled with beautiful woman only to come to his senses and realizes it is a safe haven for drag queens.  Robin finds her self in a frozen land known as Tequila Wolf.  She is brought to safety bu a young girl who hides her in a work house.  The residents of the island are enslaved and forced to work on a massive bridge that is spanning between islands.  The residents are captives and prisoners of the World Government and the operation has existed for centuries.  Robin can now count herself as one of its residents as she failed to evade capture.  Zoro winds up on an abandoned gothic villa and ends up becomes the plaything of Perona, who was sent to the same place when she encountered Kuma at Thriller Bark.

 

    Resetting the crew and the story isn't a bad thing, given the way the danger for the crew escalated.  This short arc cools off the treat level quite a bit and settles into a ridiculous story.  The story for the most part is pretty rote when it comes to tales of men dealing with an island of amazons.  It didn't really become something that held my interest until Hancock revealed the nature her sisters markings and how that also tied in with Hachi's forehead tattoo.  She tells about a fishman pirate who was similarly branded and lead a slave mutiny, freeing as many of his kind as he could.  The symbol of their pirate crew was a modification of the brand, in an attempt to conceal it.

    Outside of this setting up Luffy's infiltration of Impel Down and what I sense is the coming apex of the series so far...I know a time skip is going to happen, just didn't want to find out when it occurs.  I suspect its coming soon though.  I am excited for the story ahead and it was nice for the relaxed story in this arc but a lot of it was pretty bad in general.  Next up, Luffy faces the World Government alone in his attempt to save his older brothers life, Impel Down!!!

One Piece - anime part 11 - Sabaody Archipelago

    One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The eleventh story arc of the series, Sabaody Archipelago, originally aired between December of 2008 and June of 2009 for a total of 26 episodes, between 382 and 407.

    The struggles at Thriller Bark almost killed the crew of the Thousand Sunny.  But through Zoro's selfless sacrifice they survived and are reinvigorated to continue on to Fish-man Island...along with the newest member of the crew, the living skeletal musician, Brook.

    With a ship full of treasure and food, the Straw Hat pirates continue to follow the logpose to Fish-man Island.  What better thing to do, to help recuperate, than take a bit of time to pamper yourself!  They do so at a luxurious spa called, you guessed it, Spa Island!  Here they meet two sisters who are trying to find their father, who had left them years earlier for his scientific research.  They are attacked by none other than Foxy and his remaining two lackey crew.  The pirates, aware of the abilities of their opponents, handily defeat them and help the sisters on their mission to rejoin their father and complete his research.

    After this short distraction the crew is on their way forward with the plot.  They find themselves at the other side of the Grand Line, the Red Line.  Using a submarine stored on the ship, they investigate beneath the waves, looking for clues to how to get to Fish-man Island.  The submarine goes deeper than Frankie built it to withstand and quickly surface before the crew is lost to the depths.  Before they can plan their next step a giant sea beast attacks them.  After quickly dispatching it, the monster pukes out a mermaid and her starfish companion.  The mermaid, Kamie, thanks them for rescuing them.  She and her starfish companion, Pappagu, had gotten swallowed a while ago and in that time their friend, who runs a takoyaki stand, had been kidnapped by a gang of slavers called the Macro Gang.  Luffy agrees to help her rescue their friend...in exchange for food.

 

    The Macro Gang has captured Kamies friend in order to set a trap, in the hopes of capturing her, to sell into slavery.  Mermaids can fetch a lot of money on the slave market due to how elusive they are.  The gangs leader, Iron Mask Duval sees another opportunity falling into his lap with the plan, when he learns that Luffy and his crew are with the mermaid.  The Straw Hats arrive at the gangs base to find it suspiciously quiet.  They also learn that Kamies captured friend is the octopus fishman Hatchi, who had previously been a member of Arlongs crew and caused them some trouble back on Nami's home island.  Luffy changes his mind and refuses to rescue Hatchi, forcing Kamie and Pappagu to attempt to do it on their own.  This springs the Marco Gangs trap, whose forces reveal themselves and attack the pirates with full force.  Luffy and the rest jump into action to fend off the gang.  In the process Luffy is knocked into the hideout where he comes face to face with their leader.  In the struggle he knocks off the mans mask to reveal his face...

    The leader, Duval, a large man who had previously been a low key thug and belligerent in a small town, suddenly found his easy life as a thug disrupted when the Marines began to try and capture him.  The reason...he resembles the terrible drawn portrait on Sanji's wanted poster.  Duval sees the answer to all of his sudden troubles before him and eagerly takes the opportunity to defeat Sanji and clear his 'good' name in the process.  Duval underestimates the threat the Straw Hats pose and his gang is utterly defeated.  Sanji, unwilling to accept anyone's life has been ruined more than his due to the terrible portrait, kicks Duvals face with such ferocity that it rebuilds his bone structure, changing how he looks.

 

    With the kidnappers defeated and Hatchi rescued, the Straw Hats are given their promised reward and gorge on his takoyaki.  While feasting, Duval returns and pledges his servitude to Sanji in exchange for making him a handsome man.  He can resume his life as a petty thug without the Marines hunting him down thinking he's a Straw Hat pirate.  Hatchi agrees to help Luffy get to Fish-man Island but they have to go to the nearby Sabaody Archipelago first, to prepare the Thousand Sunny for the journey into the depths of the ocean.  He has a friend who is an expert at coating ships in a resin that will protect it from the crushing depths they need to travel through in order to reach the next island.

     Sabaody is not an island, but rather a collection of enormous mangrove trees that have created a solid surface to allow for buildings and people.  Hatchi warns them that they may encounter World Nobles, also referred to as celestial dragons.  They are descendants of the families that had come together to form the World Government 800 years earlier.  They are essentially above the law and if they feel like it, they have the ability to call on the Marines to dispatch an admiral to come to their aid.  He tells them that what ever a celestial dragon does they are not to react, even if they kill someone.  Sabaody exists in a gray area legally, even though it is close to the seat of the Wold Government.  Slavers and pirates and bounty hunters can move around without much trouble from the Marines...that is unless they cause a problem.  Even with the air of permission, he stresses how important it is for the Straw Hat pirates to refrain from drawing attention to themselves.  In addition to that he and Kamie try to hide that they are fishmen,

 

    After renting transportation they learn their first lesson regarding the ways of the island.  They encounter a man who is begging for help from the shoppers around him.  He is a pirate who has been sold into slavery and is trying to get to freedom.  The problem is a collar clamped around his neck.  He is begging people to help him remove it but they ignore his pleas.  The reason becomes clear when the collar explodes, dealing the man a mortal wound.  Before he dies the celestial dragon who owns him arrives, complaining about how bad of a slave he is and puts him out of his misery.  Hatchi tells everyone to get on their knees and avoid looking at the celestial dragon.  It takes every ounce of self control for Luffy to not avenge the poor pirates pointless death.  Lesson learned.

    On their way to meet Hatchis friend they thwart and attempt by bounty hunters to capture them, their presence on the archipelago has not gone unnoticed.  They reach the place his friend stays to find he is not around.  The woman who runs the bar, Shakki, tells them they have arrived at an interesting time.  Aside from them there are nine other rookie pirates who have bounties over 100,000,00 berries on the archipelago.  It is unusual for so many of the new crop of pirates to be gathered in one place as they all push into the new world, in search of more fortune and adventure.  The bounty hunters are itching to cash in on so many high bounties and the world government surely has eyes on their movements as well.  They head back out to try and search for Hatchi's friend, Rayleigh, heading to an amusement park first.

 

    Unfortunately their fun is cut short when a slaver captures Kamie, realizing that she is a mermaid.  The group rushes into action once her disappearance is noticed even calling Duval to have his gang help them search for her.  They know the best place to find their friend is the slaver auction hall but how are they going to get her back without fighting for her.  Duval and his gang spread through out the archipelago, gathering up the pirates, who have begun to spread out trying to track her down.  They get to the auction hall after the days sales have already begun and discover that some of the celestial dragons are there, further complicating their plan.  Nami is resolved to spend all of their treasure from Thrill Bark if necessary to buy Kamie.  Those chances are squashed when the same celestial dragon they had encountered, killing the runaway slave, out bids everyone with an astronomical price to add the mermaid to his private collection.  Luffy throws the place into chaos when he arrives, making a crash landing and ready to fight everyone, done with playing nice.  Hatchi restrains him, revealing his fishman nature, causing the gathered humans to reveal their anti fishman racism.  Luffy can no longer contain his anger and punches the celestial dragon, putting everyone life in danger.

    The Marines arrive swiftly, surrounding the place and a call is placed to have the nearest admiral arrive to end the disturbance.  In the confusion, Hatchi's friends Rayleigh, who had been captured himself, breaks out of his cell and removes his collar.  He appears in the middle of the melee and saves Kamie from being killed by another celestial dragon, reuniting with Hatchi at last.  Introductions are brief, but they learn that Rayleigh was once Gol D.Rodgers second in command and in one of the most wanted people on the planet.  He eagerly agrees to help them, given their relationship with Hatchi.  As they prepare to leave Luffy encounters two other rookie pirate captains, a first time meeting peers.  The three captains face off against the gathered Marines, showing off their physical prowess to each other in a display of strength, easily defeating the soldiers.  Once the threat is neutralized everyone scatters, fearing the imminent arrival of an admiral.

    Back at Shakki's bar they come up with a plan to coat the ship and leave as soon as possible  Unfortunately it will take Rayleigh three days so the crew needs to hide as much as possible given the sudden attention they have drawn by defying celestial dragons.  They agree to split up and meet back at the ship once the coating is done.  Unfortunately they don't get far before the weight of the World Government comes crashing down around them.  The admiral who has been dispatched is Kizaru and his arrival sends everyone into a panic, wishing to flee his wrath, even if they are not the primary target.  He is after Luffy and his crew but will arrest anyone else he comes across.  Kizaru is not alone, with him are replicas of Kuma known as Pacifistas.  They do not share Kuma's devil fruit power but are incredibly dangerous on their own.  The Straw Hats exert almost all of their energy taking one of them down and just when they think they can return to trying to hide, Kizaru arrives.

    Once again, at the end of their limit, faced with utter annihilation, the Straw Hats face a danger greater than anything they have ever encountered.  Kizaru, one of three Marine Admirals, has the ability of light at his disposal and is impervious to any physical attack.  To make things worse, more Pacifistas arrive along with Kizaru's nephew.  Before Kizaru can kill Zoro, Rayleigh arrives to try and buy the rookie pirates time to escape.  Even though Kizaru is distracted by the arrival of the highly wanted pirate, the Straw Hats escape seems impossible.  The real Kuma arrives, coming to the archipelago for a separate matter, and begins to attack the Straw Hats as well.  Instead of using his air expansion powers he uses his ability to 'disappear' anyone, as he had done to Perona at Thriller Bark.  One by one the Straw Hats are removed from existence until all that is left is Luffy, who has fallen into the pits of despair and terror.  And lastly Luffy is hit with Kuma's strange attack and the Straw Hats pirates are no more.

    Oh and then we have some filler episodes set in the feudal Japan world...a palette cleanser if you will.

 

    The story just continues to be really solid and well crafted, ever since the terrible arc that was Foxy.  From Water Eight, through the intense struggle that was Enies Lobby and then into the mortal dangers of Thriller Bark, the story has been full speed ahead, pushing these whimsical pirates up against one danger after another.  They nearly got wiped out in Thrill Bark.  Bt now, facing an Admiral and Kuma they were definitely out classed.  They have ambitious goals, at least Luffy and Zoro, but its these last few fights that really make you wonder if they can retain their optimistic confidence that set them on this journey so long ago.  Luffy recognized this time that they had no chance to survive and was doing everything he could to keep everyone alive.  But in the end, their luck and tenacity has run out and the overwhelming power of their foes has outdone them. 

    Kuma's ability doesn't make someone disappear from existence though,  Kizaru's nephew explains that he can hit someone with such velocity that it sends them flaying through the sky....sending them far away form where they were hit, essentially throwing them to the other side of the ocean.  The Straw Hats are not dead, they suddenly find themselves scattered to the winds and now we will move into some stories that will find them coming back together.  They have come so close to their newest goal only to have their gains erased in an instant.  They are now without a ship, there is no treasure and they do not have each other.  It could be a long road to pick up where they left off from and they may be different before that happens.

 

    The Sabaody arc has really ramped up the story telling and world building.  We have been seeing slices of the powers in the World Government and as Luffy becomes more infamous they begin to pay more attention to him.  He and other members of his crew are also benefiting from an amount of protection from some of those same power, for a variety of reasons.  For unexplained reasons some members at the top of the decision making tree want to see them survive into an unknown and potentially radical future.  Yet they can only grow and succeed on their own in the end and right now...they are at the bottom again.  At this point as well the show is into its tenth year and the production values are noticeably improving.  Over all the series is keeping at a slowly improving pace between both story its telling and the way its telling it.  But how long can it keep this pace up?

    Next up, the Isle of Woman arc before we get into an arc that seems quite interesting...but more about that when the time is right.

One Piece - anime part 10 - Thriller Bark

     One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro.  The tenth story arc of the series, Thriller Bark, originally aired between January of 2008 and December of 2008 for a total of 45 episodes, between 337 and 381.

    After resting and regrouping following the success at Enies Lobby the crew, with their new shipwright, continue towards the next island, Fish-man Island. 

 

    As they leave the frozen trap of the strange bounty hunter family, the Straw Hats crew are in desperate need of more food.  A suspicious barrel floats towards their ship as they are trying to fish.  The retrieve it,hoping to find some lost supplies, but are surprised when it explodes, launching a flare into the sky.  Before they can worry about what trap it may have triggered they find themselves enveloped in fog.  Their journey has lead them into a fabled section of the ocean called the Florian Triangle.  I place filled with stories of ghost ships and lost crews.  As quickly as the fog arrived so too does a menacing and abandoned ship...with a strange skeleton on its deck.  The skeleton, singing to the clouds around him, greats the crew and introduces himself as Brook.

    The crew is taken aback by the talking, moving skeleton.  Luffy, unafraid of anything, eagerly greats the strange being.  Brook explains that he is a human who has eaten the Revive Revive fruit.  He and his pirate crew had been killed.  The Devil Fruit restored him to life, but by the time his soul found his body again it had decayed to the skeleton before them.  A separate condition of Brook is that his shadow was stolen ten years earlier, leaving him stranded with in the enshrouding fog of the Triangle.  If his body was touched by the rays of the sun, with his shadow missing, he would be burned to nothing.  Luffy wants Brook to join his crew, given he is also a musician, something Luffy ha desired from the start of his journey.  He declines, explaining that his only goal at the moment is to face the man who stole his shadow and get it back.  Before they can plan their next move they find themselves in the trap they had sprung when they opened the derelict barrel.  Brook tells them that they need to flee as quickly as he can and must leave them as well to attend to other matters.

 

    The crew find themselves trapped in the ghost island, Thriller Bark, but beyond that information Brook gave them, they have no idea what to expect.  Nami, Usopp and Chopper decide to take a smaller craft to explore the area they are trapped in, leaving the rest aboard the Thousand Sunny to plan an expedition onto the haunted island.  Their plan doesn't go as they anticipated and the three find themselves the first to land.  Things turn ire quickly as they are chased by a patchwork Cerberus, fleeing across the creep landscape until they run into a creature resembling a vampire who tells them he will help them get to the mansion on the island.  He tells them he is an assistant to the famous doctor Hogback.  Chopper is familiar with the world famous physician and his eagerness to meet him overrides his fear.  Before they can reach the mansion, the vampire assistant lays a trap for them and abandons them in a graveyard full of stirring zombies.  The zombies chase the three all the way to the mansion where they seek refuge from the terror around them.

    Inside the mansion they meet Doctor Hogback and his pieced together assistant Victoria Cindy.  Hogback welcomes them and explains that he is doing important research in the realm of curing death.  He refuses to let them into his laboratory though.  Meanwhile the Thousand Sunny becomes trapped in a giant spiderweb and instead of sticking around to see what made it, the rest of the crew disembarks and heads to the mansion as well.  Chopper, Usopp and Nami are shown to rooms they can stay in for the time being.  While bathing, Nami is attacked by an invisible man.  Usopp and Chopper had been sitting outside to guard her when they here a commotion, rushing into the shower, driving off the unseen assailant.  The three recognize that their are in danger and try to leave the mansion, only to find themselves surrounded by a serious of zombies.

 

    While they are fighting off the surprise zombies inside the mansion, Luffy and the rest beat the Cerberus and encounter the group of zombies the other three first encountered outside the mansion.  As they are about to defeat them all strange ghosts pass through the Straw Hats, causing them to loose the will to fight or live, allowing the zombies to ambush the now depressed pirates.  Inside, the other three escape the surprise zombies through a hidden passage only to find a room full of memorabilia regarding Cindy, learning the truth about her past and death.  They eventually find Doctor Hogbacks laboratory and learn the dark truth of his work, he is reanimating corpses in some unknown fashion.  They are discovered before they can learn the whole truth and a zombie samurai who reminds them of Brook attacks them.

    Luffy and the others are able to shack off the depressing effects of the ghosts and resume beating up the zombies.  Once that threat is handled a group of emaciated men come out of the woods and beg them for help getting their shadows back from the lord of the island, which is in realty a large pirate ship.  The person responsible for stealing their shadows is one of the Seven Warlords, Gecko Moria.  Luffy agrees to help the men and head inside of the mansion.  They find traces of Usopp, Nami and Chopper being attached by the zombies inside.  Furious, the group rushes forward, facing all challenges, to rescue their missing crew members.  The three have been subdued and are being transported to where Moria is along with the doctor, the invisible man, revealed to be the patchwork general of the zombies, Absalom and the strange girl Perona who controls the negative ghosts.

 

    As Luffy and the other crew members fight their way through the mansion, their numbers begin to dwindle, as one by one they begin to be separated from the group, beginning with Sanji.  Absalom rallies the zombie army and awakens his generals to fight off the invading pirate threat, as Gecko Moria begins his plan to create his 900th zombie, using the stitched together corpse of a massive demon from hundreds of years go.  Moria along with the doctor uses his technique of manipulating shadows to reanimate the corpses with stolen shadows, explaining the samurai who reminds them of Brook.  Before Nami, Usopp and Chopper can have their shadows removed, they escape capture and flee hordes of zombies, trying to find a way out of the island and back to the rest of the crew.  They end up hiding inside of Perona's servant, a large stuffed bear like monstrosity.  

    Zoro and Luffy get separated from the group as well with Frankie and Robin facing against a giant spider, the one responsible for the disappearance of the others.  Before the spider is able to deliver the final blow, Brook drops out of the sky, killing the spider instead.  He explains to Frankie and Robin that the zombies, created through Moria's devil fruit power, are susceptible to the ocean.  But since its harder to drown them he uses salt from the sea to suck the shadows out of the zombies bodies.  With this the first real victory they are energized and head off to find the other members of their crew.  AT the same time Usopp, Chopper and Nami, still hidden inside of Perona's servant, witness Gecko Moria remove Luffy's shadow and place it inside of the demons corpse, bringing a terror from 500 years ago back to life.  The shock of the situation causes them to reveal they hiding place.  Absalom abducts Nami in order to make her his bride.  Usopp and Chopper find themselves alone, facing against a legion of zombies.

 

    The reanimated demon, Oars, is alive but not exactly his self, as the power of Luffy's personality is controlling the giant demons body.  He heads out of the mansion in search of food and his ship...driven by Luffy's desires and personality.  Brook encounters the samurai who has his own shadow and begins to dual him, remembered the last time they met fiv years earlier when Brooks shadow was stolen from him.  Usopp and Chopper are able to escape from their attackers and meet up with Robin and Frankie.  They decide to head back to the Thousand Sunny.  Brook had told them that the incapacitated bodies of their crew members who ha their shadows stolen would be returned to the ship.  As long as the original owners of the shadows lived, the zombies would also live.  Brook told them the best plan of action would be to revive those members and regroup for an attack on Gecko Moria, if they wanted to save their friends shadows.

    They return to the shop to find it ransacked and the three crew mates who lost their shadows abandoned among the mess.  The quickly wake them up and update them on the situation and begin to form their attack plan.  The crew learns about Brooks past and how his crew, decades earlier has met the whale they had met when first entering the Grand Line, Luffy becomes more determined than ever to have Brook join the crew.  They head off into the island again, ready for what they will face, determined to retrieve their shadows and Nami.  Luffy heads directly to Gecko Moria, planning to defeat him single-handedly, while the others search for Nami.  Meanwhile Oars is still exhibiting the behavior patterns of the original owner of his shadow.  

    The plan to attack Moria isn't as easy as Luffy hopes.  Moria shows more of his devil fruit powers and uses his own shadow to fend off any assault by Luffy, making it almost impossible to land any effective attacks on him.  Moria sits back and laughs at the futility while bidding time for the return of his newest zombie horror.  The remainder of the crew faces the negative energy of Perona.  Usopp is able to overcome the attack due to his power lack of self esteem.  They leave her to Usopp...who has to face her zombies as well.  The ships supreme liar and coward does what he does best...run away while trying to think of a trap.  Zoro comes to Brooks aid, as Brook struggles against the zombie with his shadow.  Sanji finds Nami, unconscious and about to be wed to Absalom.  In a rage Sanji puts and end to the ceremony.  The zombie generals had been called away from the wedding to slow down Oars but were annihilated in a single attack by the demon zombie.

    One by one the Straw Hats use their revitalized motivation to defeat Moria's underlings, having overcome their initial lack of understanding in the types of dangers Thriller Bark had in store for them.  As the end game draws near, Luffy struggles to make any headway against the only important foe.  Before he can come up with a plan that will let him overcome Moria's shadow, Oars falls fully under the control of the pirate and returns to serve his master.  Gecko Moria takes this change of fortune to give Oars a mission before he escapes in the confusion...hunt all of the Straw Hats.  Oars, using their collection of wanted posters attached to his arm, gleefully sets out to complete his new task, beginning with Luffy.

 

    The Straw Hats gather together in the courtyard as Oars begins his hunt, ready to do what they can to defeat this new foe.  In the confusion of one Oars attacks, Luffy runs off to chase down Moria, Usopp recognizing the strategy enhances the ruse to distract the zombie demon long enough for him to get away.  The remaining crew however is faced with a challenge they are struggling to meet.  Oars attacks are more powerful than they can withstand and his zombie body means their attacks do little to impede his attacks.

    Seeing the tides turning, Perona, who has escaped from the trap Usopp set for her, decides to leave Thriller Bark on the Thousand Sunny.  There she encounters Nami, who is trying to find the rest of the crew.  Perona and her minions have loaded all of Thriller Barks treasure and food supplies onto the ship for their journey.  Before the two woman can square off a new player arrives.  A large man somewhat resembling a bear, one of the other warlords of the sea Bartholomew Kuma.  He has come to inform Gecko Moria that a new replacement has been selected to fill the void Crocodile has left after his defeat by Luffy.  Kuma causes Perona to disappear when putting an ungloved hand next to her.  He then approaches a terrified Nami, but he leaves her alone and heads off to find the other Warlord.

 

    The others continue to struggle against Oars while Luffy chases Moria through the forest.  Everyone begins o realize that the giant pirate ships position in the Florian Triangle appears to have changed and the fog is thinning.  Dawn if approaching and with it doom for everyone who has lost their shadow.  Moria is able to trick Luffy and heads back to the mansion, where he encounters Kuma.  Kuma informs him that the new Warlord, to fill Crocodiles place will be Black Beard Teach.  At this point the pirates begin to see results form their relentless attacks on Oars.  Moria, who refuses Kuma's assistance in he battle, arrives in time to offer tactical support for his biggest zombie.

    Meanwhile, Luffy is backtracking his failed chase when he encounters the pirates who have been hiding in the woods since their shadows were stolen.  They have a plan to power up their savior, by forcing other shadows they have freed and collected, into him, to power him up.  They are able to force all of their captured shadows into him, causing him to increase in size and power.  The monstrous Luffy heads off to confront Moria and Oars, now on a more even playing field.  Luffy arrives to the battle just as his crew is at their lowest point.  His attacks allow the other pirates to drag the defeated Straw Hats to safety while the final confrontation unfolds between monster Luffy and Moria, who is piloting Oars like a mech.  Luffy is able to beat down the giant demon before the power of the shadows leave his body.  It appears that they have won the incredibly hard fought battle.

 

    Before they can claim victory and force Moria to release everyone's shadows, he draws in as many shadows as he can, mimicking Luffy's monster form and enhancing it with a large volume of consumed shadows.  The Straw Hats, at their limits, stand for one final attack to, unwilling to lie down and die while they can still move.  Everyone pushing their bodies to the absolute limit begin to attack Moria, forcing the consumed shadows to escape his body, weakening it with each attack.  With no regard for his own safety, Luffy uses gear two and gear three at the same time to deliver the final blows to the monstrous foe.  But time may have run out for them as the sun begins to cast its light on the island.

    The timing is impeccable as everyone's shadows return to them before their bodies can be completely annihilated by the sun.  Victory, after much struggle, has finally come to the Straw Hats and the victims of Thriller Bark.  Gecko Moria's reign of terror appears to be at its end.  Now its time to rest and recover from their near death experience.  Or that is what they thought until the ominous shadow of Kuma spreads across the courtyard.  After almost destroying themselves to defeat one Warlord of the Sea, another one has appeared.  Kuma proves just as dangerous as they fear.  He is able to compress and expel air with his palm in devastating attacks.  Everyone, in their depleted states, struggles to dodge the blasts of air.  Kuma tells them that he will let them all go if they give him Luffy's head, at which point he will leave the island.  Refusing to give up their captain, Zoro attempts to stand against the monster Warlord.  Kuma, wanting to finish the fight, compresses a large volume of air and releases it in a powerful blast, hitting everyone on the island, rendering them near death and unable to stop him.

 

    As he is about to take Luffy with him, Zoro, through force of will alone, stands up and offers himself up instead.  Kuma accepts the offer but alters it.  Instead he uses an strange ability to pull all of the physical damage Luffy has sustained out of his body, creating an orb of pain.  He tells Zoro that he will let them go if Zoro absorbs all of the damage Luffy had taken instead.  Zoro, willing to sacrifice himself to safe his friends agrees.  Some time passes and the scattered, defeated pirates, begin to regain conciseness.  They find that Moria and Kuma have both disappeared and Luffy is still there, full of life and vigor, like he has not spent the past 20 hours fighting for his life.  They also find Zoro, standing comatose among a field of blood.  The Straw Hats celebrate their survival and success in rescuing everyone's shadows along with the pirates who has remained hidden among the horrors for years.  They recover from the battle and celebrate.  In the celebration Luffy once more invites Brook to join his crew, telling them they have met his friend the whale and will help him meet him once more.  He agrees to join the crew and continue his journey to explore the seas of the world.  Refreshed and resupplies the Thousand Sunny continues on its journey to fish-man island.

    After a relatively long period between gaining new crew members, we get two new additions in a short period of time with Frankie and Brooke.  Frankie is a bit of a character that doesn't fit in the world of One Piece in terms of design that breaks some of the atmosphere of the show, which is I feel has more per-industrial revolution aesthetic than post.  Frankie is very much modern aesthetic with his ridiculous cybernetics and ravenous consumption of cola, painting him as an outlier.  Brook is very much part of that older era of high sea piracy and fits more naturally with the rest of the crew than Frankie does.  Frankie's personality however is what makes him so lovable, even though his character design is at odds with the world of One Piece, at least in my opinion.  Brook however, while he fits the feel of the story with his design his personality seems to be the least thought out of everyone in the crew so far.  Don't get me wrong, I like Brook as a character, but he seems lack luster and takes parts of other characters personalities to build his own.  He runs on really three modes.  The first mode that we are introduced to is his comedic/pun laden nature.  Continuously making jokes on vernacular in relation to his existence as an animated skeleton.  While not exactly the same, this shares some similarities with Choppers comedic side.  The second personality trait is his desire to see women's panties, which is close to Sanji's woman obsessed side.  The final personality trait, which is a bit more general in terms of the crew, who all exhibit this behavior at some point, is his self sacrificing loyalty.

    Even though Brook appears as a composite character he is a welcome member to the crew and provides plenty of entertainment.  He and Frankie as enjoyable personalities to the cast, who haven't found a new mate in a long time.  The struggles against Gecko Moria and the horrors of Thriller Bark were overall quite enjoyable.  At times the way the heroes overcame their challenges was a bit redundant and lazy, the climax battle and the deflated state the crew found them in when the threat of Kuma arrived was quite good.  This was one of the first times you actually felt a level if concern for the safety of the Straw Hats.  Even with the apparent inevitability of loss in Enies Lobby, you knew they were going to come out on top.  Yet this time, that was more difficult to recognize.  They truly did get beaten quite hard against Moria and Oars.  Their success was more a moment of luck and plot armor than anything definitive.  Then Kuma arrives when they have nothing else to give.  They really did lose to Kuma and only survived the encounter through a mix of plot armor and Kuma's ability to accept an appeal for mercy.  This sets Kuma out as an interesting and problematic opponent for future story arcs, one that will prove to be a struggle they may not be able to over come the next time too.

    Since the terrible Foxy arc, One Piece has been arc after arc top notch shonen action.  Great enemies and greater conflicts that unfold in incredibly enjoyable ways.  Hopefully it can continue to ride this high wave of quality entertainment as we move into the next, shorter arc, Sabaody Archipelago.