One Piece - Amazon Lily +
+ Marineford Arcs (406-489)
Well, alright. I have a whole bunch of different feelings to share with y'all.
That old Luffy gets incapacitated in some way -> crew fights with underlings -> Luffy shows up in time to face the final boss and save the day structure that was starting to annoy me back then was ignored during Sabaody and crushed here, so for that I'm happy. On the other hand, what the fuck, Toei? I've been hearing comments like "the anime turns to shit after some point" since I started watching this show about a year ago, but I never really gave them any serious thought. But I was wrong. Stuff moved at a snail's pace back then, and now it moves at a rock's pace instead. It's absolutely horrible. I can't imagine waiting an entire week to watch a single episode filled to the brim with repeating footage and useless filler scenes, so my plan of going forward with the anime instead of catching up with the manga is now dead. I'm already buying the new manga volumes that are being released here in Brazil, so all that's left is for me to start reading them once I finish the anime's Fishman Island adaptation... Which I imagine will be absolutely terrible to watch.
I don't have any strong feeling towards Amazon Lily (AKA the "Stop Sexualizing Luffy Arc"). While I can't say I had a blast with it, I can't say I hated it either. It was stupid and ok. I often caught myself laughing at all the Luffy's Balls antics, and it did introduce me to the awesomeness that is
Still, the effects of the increasingly terrible pacing started to show up, with a couple of episodes ending up being voids of emptiness, and the excitement from Sabaody quickly quieted down.
In summary:
- Marguerite = the hawtness.
- I'm really thankful for Luffy's nakama, because
- Bath scene = the hawtness.
- I just love the
As for the rest
The Good:
- Zoro
- Robin
- Franky
- Sanji
The Bad:
- Nami
- Chopper
- Usopp
- Brook
And so...
Arc! AKA the "Oh My God Toei Just Kill Me Now Arc"! What a load of toxic waste.
I mean: it's not your fault, Oda. The idea behind the whole arc is awesome, and I bet the execution is awesome in the manga. But in the anime it's a freaking torture session. Nothing less, nothing more.
If all that crap wasn't enough, Toei broke some kind of record by managing to effectively spoil the following arc with the OP when they showed
Absolutely infurating.
One last complaint:
As for the positive points...
But, yeah. I believe in Oda, so I trust that I'll have fun reading through this arc in the manga.
In the end, though, all that matters is:
Marineford Arc, AKA the "Everyone is Insanely Overpowered Arc". Oda goes "You think Enel was a pain in the ass? Oh, little child, c'mere a second and I'll show you something amazing."
Goddamn.
Let me get this out of the way:
I'm having a harder time remembering all the stuff from this arc (that I finished just two hours ago) than from the previous two... And that's because, even with the increasingly terrible pacing I mentioned above, this arc still has so much stuff happening in each episode. Most of those events are inconsequential in the larger picture, but all the characters involved are so important that they stick with you. Like that
Let me go with a list again here because it's easier to remember stuff that way.
- Oda once again proves that he's second to none in creating character designs that make sense in the world of the series but are still quirky enough to stand out on their own. Just like with the Supernovas in Sabaody, here he introduces a shitload of new characters and all of them are great. So alongside the
you get a bunch of minor and not-so-minor characters that despite their status still manage to cause a big impression, like... All of
And Marco, man. Dat
- So many good moments and mindfucks. Right off the bat they
Phew. What a freaking ride.
- The one moment I hated:
It was awesome. It's not my favorite arc - Enies Lobby still holds that title -, but it probably would be had I started it without knowing its biggest twist beforehand. I'm guessing things will slow down a lot until the final final arc now, because holy shit, but I'm still looking forward to what comes next.
Also, I haven't forgotten, Oda. The WTF lingers on.
Previous impressions: Arabasta, Jaya + Skypiea, Davy Back Fight, Water 7 + Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark, Sabaody Archipelago.
Impel Down
Well, alright. I have a whole bunch of different feelings to share with y'all.
That old Luffy gets incapacitated in some way -> crew fights with underlings -> Luffy shows up in time to face the final boss and save the day structure that was starting to annoy me back then was ignored during Sabaody and crushed here, so for that I'm happy. On the other hand, what the fuck, Toei? I've been hearing comments like "the anime turns to shit after some point" since I started watching this show about a year ago, but I never really gave them any serious thought. But I was wrong. Stuff moved at a snail's pace back then, and now it moves at a rock's pace instead. It's absolutely horrible. I can't imagine waiting an entire week to watch a single episode filled to the brim with repeating footage and useless filler scenes, so my plan of going forward with the anime instead of catching up with the manga is now dead. I'm already buying the new manga volumes that are being released here in Brazil, so all that's left is for me to start reading them once I finish the anime's Fishman Island adaptation... Which I imagine will be absolutely terrible to watch.
I don't have any strong feeling towards Amazon Lily (AKA the "Stop Sexualizing Luffy Arc"). While I can't say I had a blast with it, I can't say I hated it either. It was stupid and ok. I often caught myself laughing at all the Luffy's Balls antics, and it did introduce me to the awesomeness that is
Hancock. (I already knew about the character's existance and the fact that she fell for Luffy somehow, but my mind was kind of blown by her Shichibukai status.)
In summary:
- Marguerite = the hawtness.
- I'm really thankful for Luffy's nakama, because
without them, only an EXTREME ADRENALINE RUSH-mode arc like Marineford is bearable with Luffy as the only Straw Hat getting on-screen time. I absolutely love everything about the way the crew was separated and the consequences of such event, but watching Amazon Lily's initial episodes (the ones before the battle, in which Luffy would only run around avoiding arrows) was an experience that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
- I just love the
Willpower thing. I've said it before: it's completely stupid, but at the same time it's so awesome. So Luffy's got this... Haoshoku Haki, is it? That's awesome. So ominous.
As for the rest
of the crew and their whereabouts... I can easily separate those storylines in the "good" and "bad" groups. Although I'm sure everyone will get out of their respective new homes properly powered-up for the New World, some characters ended up in really boring situations. Nami, for example. Another Sky Island, eh? Cool. But that's that. Hm... I love a good list!
The Good:
- Zoro
getting stuck with Perona is the hottest thing ever. Fuck Kuina's clone, this is the OTP right here.
ended up in the shittiest place possible, and one with an opressive regime, obviously. Otherwise, how would Toei fit in all the mandatory Robin rape imagery? Still, the setting is pretty interesting, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what'll happen there.
is funny as hell, so naturally his unique setting is too. I'm more interested in seeing how Vegapunk fits into all of this than in the kid and the old man.
HAHAHAHAHA
The Bad:
- Nami
ended up in a mindboggingly boring place. It fits her character, though!
is so much stronger than Oda likes to portray him for some reason. Hopefully he'll learn to kick some ass now that's he's stuck in this hell-jungle with the bully birds.
got stuck with an idiot. Great.
just wants some goddamn panties, you creeps. Could be cool, but it's just boring. At least he has battle in store, I guess.
And so...
Impel Down
I mean: it's not your fault, Oda. The idea behind the whole arc is awesome, and I bet the execution is awesome in the manga. But in the anime it's a freaking torture session. Nothing less, nothing more.
My expectations for this arc were absurd, but it's not my fault! They started hyping up Impel Down literally 200 episodes before Luffy actually got there. This shit was supposed to be about an epic solo stealth adventure through hell... But instead, we ended up getting about 25 episodes of Gomu Gomu no Pistols against a million weaklings, Buggy's group of imbeciles, okamas screaming and dancing freaking aggravatingly, and Hannyabal OH MY GOD SHUT THE HELL UP HANNYABAL NO ONE CAREEEES.
If all that crap wasn't enough, Toei broke some kind of record by managing to effectively spoil the following arc with the OP when they showed
not only that Crocodile, Jinbe, Buggy, Ivanovic, Mr. 1, and Mr. 3 escaped Impel Down alongside Luffy, but also that Mr. 2 didn't.
One last complaint:
Magellan is a shit villain.
As for the positive points...
Everyone ditching Magellan behind without even bothering to defeat him! That was delicious. But even more delicious than that... Mr. 2. Fuuuuuuuuuck, man. I don't even know what to say. I need a moment :'(
I honestly thought Luffy would somehow manage to go in and do all his stuff by himself, but was pleasantly surprised by the old faces showing up. Hell, I even like Buggy (when he doesn't get more than 1 minute of on-screen time per episode, that is). The whole secret okama society in the middle of Impel Down was surprising and kind of a relief (at that point I was getting a bit tired of Luffy's hopelessness), and Iva being Dragon's nakama... Is something that'll probably be the cause of some interesting events down the line.
I honestly thought Luffy would somehow manage to go in and do all his stuff by himself, but was pleasantly surprised by the old faces showing up. Hell, I even like Buggy (when he doesn't get more than 1 minute of on-screen time per episode, that is). The whole secret okama society in the middle of Impel Down was surprising and kind of a relief (at that point I was getting a bit tired of Luffy's hopelessness), and Iva being Dragon's nakama... Is something that'll probably be the cause of some interesting events down the line.
But, yeah. I believe in Oda, so I trust that I'll have fun reading through this arc in the manga.
In the end, though, all that matters is:
Marineford Arc, AKA the "Everyone is Insanely Overpowered Arc". Oda goes "You think Enel was a pain in the ass? Oh, little child, c'mere a second and I'll show you something amazing."
Goddamn.
Let me get this out of the way:
I've known that Ace died since way before I started watching One Piece. I even thought he'd be dead by the end of Arabasta, as I said in the last line of this post! Haha. Before I started watching this arc, I wasn't sure whether knowing that spoiler would affect my enjoyment of it negatively. I'll never know for sure, obviously, but in the end, I think it did. After every single little victory Luffy's side had, I'd think something like "Well, all this shit for naught." I was basically the supreme cynic. Then when Ace stopped doing the Robin and actually said he was happy that everyone cared for him, I was basically numb. I'm pretty sure I'd have cried like a baby when he died after actually being rescued if I didn't know beforehand that his fate was sealed.
I'm having a harder time remembering all the stuff from this arc (that I finished just two hours ago) than from the previous two... And that's because, even with the increasingly terrible pacing I mentioned above, this arc still has so much stuff happening in each episode. Most of those events are inconsequential in the larger picture, but all the characters involved are so important that they stick with you. Like that
five-minute face-off between Hawkeye and the Vista guy from Whitebeard's crew. Your mind goes "Oh, holy shit, Mihawk's gonna fight! Oh, this guy's keeping up! Awesome!", and no more than a few seconds later you get, I don't know, Jinbe punching Moriah or something fanservicey like that. None of that mattered in the end, because no one actually defeated anyone in the war (except for Ace and Whitebeard, obviously), but it was still great to watch.
Let me go with a list again here because it's easier to remember stuff that way.
- Oda once again proves that he's second to none in creating character designs that make sense in the world of the series but are still quirky enough to stand out on their own. Just like with the Supernovas in Sabaody, here he introduces a shitload of new characters and all of them are great. So alongside the
all-stars cast
Whitebeard's commanders and allied captains.
phoenix power.
mislead you into thinking they'll announce to the world that Ace is Dragon's son, only to drop za bomb. What the hell. Little Oars Jr.'s breach of the bay, Whitebeard's power revealed, Luffy's Willpower scream, Crocodile saving Ace from being executed, Whitebeard hugging Squard, Luffy attacking the three Admirals at once, Luffy vs. Garp, Ace's rescue, Ace's death, Whitebeard's death (HOLY SHIT, son), Teach stealing Whitebeard's powers (clearly being set up to be the final boss of the series), the revelation that Whitebeard has no scars on his back, Trafalgar Law showing up, Shanks showing up...
- The one moment I hated:
Akainu: "What's wrong Ace? Chicken?" Ace: "Nobody, NOBODY calls me chicken!" ARE. YOU. FUCKING. KIDDING. ME. At least he died saving Luffy and not just being one-shot after pulling the McFly. What the fuck.
It was awesome. It's not my favorite arc - Enies Lobby still holds that title -, but it probably would be had I started it without knowing its biggest twist beforehand. I'm guessing things will slow down a lot until the final final arc now, because holy shit, but I'm still looking forward to what comes next.
Especially Luffy's and Ace's detailed backstory and the time skip stuff. I love time skips.
Also, I haven't forgotten, Oda. The WTF lingers on.
Previous impressions: Arabasta, Jaya + Skypiea, Davy Back Fight, Water 7 + Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark, Sabaody Archipelago.
