- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 14,233
- Reaction score
- 10,775
- Age
- 37
- Gender
- Male
- Country
-
Hello MH and welcome to my the review of this wonderful chapter nr.602. Why is it wonderful, because the feeling of friendship, and camaraderie is underlined well in this chapter, and like previous chapters in this new arc, it’s setting up the new adventure, which will lead to the New World, through Fishman Island.
Please gather around the fire and let’s start
The title is pretty obvious, as it indicates the direction of the next journey, which is under water therefore it’s downwards. The explanation given on the edge of the cover is actually the title that was given by us by the spoiler translators as well. Though that has a bit confusing meaning, as starboard is the right side of a ship, so hard to starboard would mean hard to right. But as it explained, it is a actually a wordplay, so I guess the title chosen by the translator is the best as it fits perfectly to the content of the chapter and the current circumstances.
The chapter takes off were it ended last week. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, defeated the Pacifistas pretty easily, and in the whole turmoil they managed to find an exit towards the ship. It’s like last years news that Fake Strawhat crew was assembled and they stirred up events in Shabaody. The arrival of the original members as well as Dark King Rayleigh’s appearance in the middle of the conflict eclipses them by far. Luffy promises that he will be the Pirate King, and with tears in his eyes the Dark King greets him and offers his well wishes.Go straight to the top!. It sounds like it’s a very easy thing to accomplish, when it comes out from the mouth of a man that has been there already, but these well wishes are the result of the hope that has entrusted and the hard training that has been given to Luffy.
But training and hope are not the only things that Rayleigh can offer. The marines came in pretty large, numbers, and this is a normal thing because they mobilized to catch one of the most wanted rookies. Even though the ones who are facing now are not rookies anymore and they are much more powerful than they were 2 years ago, the enemies are a group of people who actually trained them and were their guides during these past years.
The first one to enter the stage is the Dark King himself. With one slash of the sword he creates a line and with a menacing tone he stops the marines from chasing Luffy and his friends. The scene is very similar to what happened at the auction, back when … was kidnapped. With one gaze he manages to stop the marines, and even though he makes a friendly request, it’s more like a challenge.
The second Perona, who turns out to be the one who helped Zoro get to the island first. As glamorous as ever
, she offers a hand to the fleeing party. As we’ve seen in the past as well, her power is to influence people’s hearts and make them feel worthless and expendable. Though even without this power the poor soldiers can be categorized like this, the priority is obviously escaping and setting sail as quickly as possible.
This is one side of the friendship and camaraderie I mentioned in the beginning of the review. Though this time it’s mixed with master-student relationship, it’s basically the same. Rayleigh and Perona are not the only ones who brought their respective acquaintances from the Strawhat crew. As the marines are closing in to the Thousand Sunny, each of their paths is severed by allies of our main characters. Giant insects from Greenstone, the old crew of scientists from Weatheria, and even the newkamas from Kamabakka Kingdom.
The scenes are funny, yet their have a certain sadness as well, each of these groups offering their well wishes to their respective people.
Heracles and the insects ambushed some marines and utterly defeated them, whereas the newkamas used their sexiness to distract and defeat the marines. The similarity in these 2 groups is pretty funny. The sight of the giant insect is indeed terrifying, but I don’t really know if the newkamas rise to their level. The insects are warriors and as their leader Heracles who wishes good fortune in war for Usopp, the newkamas are having fun,neither of them seems to use any kenpo, yet we can spot similar terrified faces on the face of the marines. One newkama even swallowed a marine, which is pretty funny I think, as we can see a similar panels with the insects as well.
So we have Dark King, Perona, the insects and the newkamas directly engaging the marines. The other reinforcements are bit more subtle then this. The scientists of Weatheria are covertly making rain, rendering the marines and their equipment useless. It’s to be noted that the gentle old folks are not using anything destructive, even if they are covert, and the reason is to not harm any civilian, who has the bad luck to be there in that exact moment.
These teams cleared the way and erased every resistance that Luffy and co. could’ve met in their way towards the Sunny. But even so they had a much safer route than expected, choosing an air route to arrive at the destination. This support was offered by one of Chopper’s friends bird who probably brought Chopper to the island as well.
The reunion is full of joy and energy as expected, each of them having quite expected reactions. The first to arrive was Brook though, and he is praised that he was able to leave the glory and celebrity, just to return back to them. He opens up the stream of the comical scenes, and with some well placed words he manages to hurt himself, mostly his chest, even though he doesn’t have one
. But the most noteworthy reactions are that of Luffy and Sanji. At the sight of the two beauties on the ship, Sanji can’t hold back his heart and it is seriously pumping out blood through his nose. The comical relief is indeed perfect for this moment, because it retains the energetic and fast pace, and transmits the joy and happiness to the readers even better. But everything is topped by Luffy’s reaction to Franky’s upgrades. As we are used, Luffy’s eyes turn into stars and he is overwhelmed by the coolness and manliness of his shipwright.
Pretty funny scenes in fast progression, but the conflict with marines is not over. They really gathered in huge numbers, and as expected from an organization that hunts pirates, they try to cut of the sea route as well, and ambush the Strawhat crew from behind.
The ground forces are pretty much wiped thanks to the reinforcement groups I mentioned earlier, but it seems like nobody knows what is going on, except Usopp. As we were told last week he was taught how to use Haki, more precisely Color of Observation, and from the serious look from his face, it an be concluded that he knows that the marines are being halted by friendly forces. This is indeed impressive, because that means that his range of using this technique is pretty wide, a very important feat for a fighter such as him. And I think that he recognizes that his friends from Greenstone are also there, so the seriousness on his face is mixed with a bit of sadness as well.
As I mentioned before marines are present on sea as well, but their intrusion doesn’t last long.
The Pirate Empress is as lovely as ever, and she manages to stop the marines. Her intervention would be in the category of subtle as well, because she didn’t really engage the marines in battle, she rather used her Shichibukai status and her beauty to help her beloved Luffy. With this Luffy managed to surprise his mates once again. His friends and relationships are always a mystery to the crew, the first was Garp and Dragon, then his friendship with Shanks one of the Yonkou. This time it is revealed that he managed to befriend a Shichibukai, which only causes normal surprise to the female side of the crew. The others are just swayed by her beauty, Sanji even managed to get himself petrified, even through googles.
What I like in these reunions, is that Oda never manages to forget a single character. We didn’t just see the main people helping Luffy and co. we’ve seen their colleagues, their crewmates, and we even get to hear some words from the girl whose life Luffy saved back on Kuja island. Hebi sisters are there as well, and Oda doesn’t take a break here, he even shows that Hancock is controlling the marines like puppets.
These scenes and the multitude of characters, all allies of the SH crew, reminded me of the chapters, scenes where the different bounties of each member was shown. We never missed on reaction from each acquitance made on every single journey these people undertook. The little village from East Blue from where Luffy comes from, Usopp’s girlfriend, Vivi from Alabasta, Kureha, Coby and we’ve even seen Dragon and Smoker sharing their reactions with us.
This way Oda keeps everyone in the story, there is no neglecting of any character, and somehow makes the reader feel that this world is pretty small, and everyone can hear from each other and share their feelings with each other very easily. But we know this world is vast. Even what we’ve seen so far, is less then a quarter of the size of this world. We have 4 major seas, the Grand Line with different routes, and lots of undiscovered islands.
But the most important journey is just ahead, and that feeling is shared with us in a most typical, yet pleasant way.
With some unexpected self-criticism from Luffy he signals the beginning of the new saga, which will lead us in the end to the ultimate adventure and the accomplishment of each of the goals of the Strawhat crew.
The panels is great, the Sunny looks terrific under water as well. This accomplishment is another result of the help received from a friend. Rayleigh amanged to finish the coating of the Sunny, and I bet that his work is as superb as his abilities in combat. We get bits of information about the technology as well. The ship is equipped with floating bags, which enable the ship to remain on surface, but once those bags are removed, and thanks to the coating it will sink and will be maneuverable under water as well. The conditions are similar like sailing normally. The coat expands and enables everyone to breath under it, but the sails are coated as well, and this enables navigation through the water current just like with wind. So basically the ship is one giant scuba diving gear, the coating being the entire suit.
Quick summary/Opinions
Very good chapter, with lots of events. The progression of the plot was fast, yet not a single moment was wasted, we got panels of each and every character involved with the Strawhat crew in the last 2 years. The quick pace was of great help in making the action scenes even better, and the comical relief just reinforced the feeling of happiness, which came from the reunion. What is to mentioned about the comical relief, is that these scenes are well incorporated in the stream of events. We can’t separate the comedy from the actually progression of the plot, as the comedy served the purpose of showing the character’s actions and behavior.
Little character development this week, but I think nobody expects very much when we are just at the beginning. The reactions, the behaviors were typical to each character, which also serves the purpose of binding the story together, giving the feeling that the evolution of the characters is stable, there are no sudden changes, no twists. The power upgrades and the evolution of the personality will be seen later, as different enemies, real ones and conflicts will appear, because honestly the marines and the Fake Strawhat crew were a joke.
Another element that binds the story together, was the little recollection of Luffy and Rayleigh, brief and seemingly insignificant panels, but it was enough to reinforce the cohesion of the story, not to mention the cover, which every week presents us a different moment in somebody’s life from the past 2 years.
The art was rather simple, nothing spectacular, except the doublespreads of course, which share the excitement that was on the ship, but nothing special besides that.
9/10 is a pretty good mark, for a very good chapter as it really nailed several criteria that I consider when giving a mark for a chapter. Please note that every mark stand for the chapter as individual, and taken out from context, as past events and plot progression don’t really count.
Predictions/Want to happen
If there won’t be any trouble on the road, such as new monsters, or maybe a coated enemy ship, then we should arrive at Fishman Island by the end of next week’s chapter. What will happen during the road is pretty hard to predict, but the most probable event will be the accounting of each other’s training. Now I don’t know if such thing can be done in just one chapter, I think some major information will be revealed next week. I think this, because Luffy started his speech and his first order after 2 years with saying that he wants to talk about a lot of things with the crew. Maybe Rayleigh didn’t just trained him, maybe some more history or the current balance of powers of the world, the situation in the New World, who knows. But I know that I’m expecting Robin to talk a little bit. Actually this is where I arrive to the I want this to happen part of the review. One of the most influential people in the world is unquestionably Dragon. His actions so far were pretty covert, but once there’s a revolution brewin, there’s no telling when it will erupt. I very curious of what did Robin find out during her trip, especially since her role in the story is connected tightly to one of the most important mystery: the will of D, and the World Government’s secret.
But I’d rather stop here, and let you guys predict some more, or just post your opinions about the chapter or the review. In the meantime please enjoy this wonderful chapter, with a little gratitude to the people who managed to deliver this chapter to us.
Credits
Don’t forget to post, and…I’ll see you around!
Mata ne!
Please gather around the fire and let’s start
The title is pretty obvious, as it indicates the direction of the next journey, which is under water therefore it’s downwards. The explanation given on the edge of the cover is actually the title that was given by us by the spoiler translators as well. Though that has a bit confusing meaning, as starboard is the right side of a ship, so hard to starboard would mean hard to right. But as it explained, it is a actually a wordplay, so I guess the title chosen by the translator is the best as it fits perfectly to the content of the chapter and the current circumstances.
The chapter takes off were it ended last week. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, defeated the Pacifistas pretty easily, and in the whole turmoil they managed to find an exit towards the ship. It’s like last years news that Fake Strawhat crew was assembled and they stirred up events in Shabaody. The arrival of the original members as well as Dark King Rayleigh’s appearance in the middle of the conflict eclipses them by far. Luffy promises that he will be the Pirate King, and with tears in his eyes the Dark King greets him and offers his well wishes.Go straight to the top!. It sounds like it’s a very easy thing to accomplish, when it comes out from the mouth of a man that has been there already, but these well wishes are the result of the hope that has entrusted and the hard training that has been given to Luffy.
But training and hope are not the only things that Rayleigh can offer. The marines came in pretty large, numbers, and this is a normal thing because they mobilized to catch one of the most wanted rookies. Even though the ones who are facing now are not rookies anymore and they are much more powerful than they were 2 years ago, the enemies are a group of people who actually trained them and were their guides during these past years.
The first one to enter the stage is the Dark King himself. With one slash of the sword he creates a line and with a menacing tone he stops the marines from chasing Luffy and his friends. The scene is very similar to what happened at the auction, back when … was kidnapped. With one gaze he manages to stop the marines, and even though he makes a friendly request, it’s more like a challenge.
The second Perona, who turns out to be the one who helped Zoro get to the island first. As glamorous as ever
, she offers a hand to the fleeing party. As we’ve seen in the past as well, her power is to influence people’s hearts and make them feel worthless and expendable. Though even without this power the poor soldiers can be categorized like this, the priority is obviously escaping and setting sail as quickly as possible.
This is one side of the friendship and camaraderie I mentioned in the beginning of the review. Though this time it’s mixed with master-student relationship, it’s basically the same. Rayleigh and Perona are not the only ones who brought their respective acquaintances from the Strawhat crew. As the marines are closing in to the Thousand Sunny, each of their paths is severed by allies of our main characters. Giant insects from Greenstone, the old crew of scientists from Weatheria, and even the newkamas from Kamabakka Kingdom.
The scenes are funny, yet their have a certain sadness as well, each of these groups offering their well wishes to their respective people.
Heracles and the insects ambushed some marines and utterly defeated them, whereas the newkamas used their sexiness to distract and defeat the marines. The similarity in these 2 groups is pretty funny. The sight of the giant insect is indeed terrifying, but I don’t really know if the newkamas rise to their level. The insects are warriors and as their leader Heracles who wishes good fortune in war for Usopp, the newkamas are having fun,neither of them seems to use any kenpo, yet we can spot similar terrified faces on the face of the marines. One newkama even swallowed a marine, which is pretty funny I think, as we can see a similar panels with the insects as well.
So we have Dark King, Perona, the insects and the newkamas directly engaging the marines. The other reinforcements are bit more subtle then this. The scientists of Weatheria are covertly making rain, rendering the marines and their equipment useless. It’s to be noted that the gentle old folks are not using anything destructive, even if they are covert, and the reason is to not harm any civilian, who has the bad luck to be there in that exact moment.
These teams cleared the way and erased every resistance that Luffy and co. could’ve met in their way towards the Sunny. But even so they had a much safer route than expected, choosing an air route to arrive at the destination. This support was offered by one of Chopper’s friends bird who probably brought Chopper to the island as well.
The reunion is full of joy and energy as expected, each of them having quite expected reactions. The first to arrive was Brook though, and he is praised that he was able to leave the glory and celebrity, just to return back to them. He opens up the stream of the comical scenes, and with some well placed words he manages to hurt himself, mostly his chest, even though he doesn’t have one
. But the most noteworthy reactions are that of Luffy and Sanji. At the sight of the two beauties on the ship, Sanji can’t hold back his heart and it is seriously pumping out blood through his nose. The comical relief is indeed perfect for this moment, because it retains the energetic and fast pace, and transmits the joy and happiness to the readers even better. But everything is topped by Luffy’s reaction to Franky’s upgrades. As we are used, Luffy’s eyes turn into stars and he is overwhelmed by the coolness and manliness of his shipwright.Pretty funny scenes in fast progression, but the conflict with marines is not over. They really gathered in huge numbers, and as expected from an organization that hunts pirates, they try to cut of the sea route as well, and ambush the Strawhat crew from behind.
The ground forces are pretty much wiped thanks to the reinforcement groups I mentioned earlier, but it seems like nobody knows what is going on, except Usopp. As we were told last week he was taught how to use Haki, more precisely Color of Observation, and from the serious look from his face, it an be concluded that he knows that the marines are being halted by friendly forces. This is indeed impressive, because that means that his range of using this technique is pretty wide, a very important feat for a fighter such as him. And I think that he recognizes that his friends from Greenstone are also there, so the seriousness on his face is mixed with a bit of sadness as well.
As I mentioned before marines are present on sea as well, but their intrusion doesn’t last long.
The Pirate Empress is as lovely as ever, and she manages to stop the marines. Her intervention would be in the category of subtle as well, because she didn’t really engage the marines in battle, she rather used her Shichibukai status and her beauty to help her beloved Luffy. With this Luffy managed to surprise his mates once again. His friends and relationships are always a mystery to the crew, the first was Garp and Dragon, then his friendship with Shanks one of the Yonkou. This time it is revealed that he managed to befriend a Shichibukai, which only causes normal surprise to the female side of the crew. The others are just swayed by her beauty, Sanji even managed to get himself petrified, even through googles.
What I like in these reunions, is that Oda never manages to forget a single character. We didn’t just see the main people helping Luffy and co. we’ve seen their colleagues, their crewmates, and we even get to hear some words from the girl whose life Luffy saved back on Kuja island. Hebi sisters are there as well, and Oda doesn’t take a break here, he even shows that Hancock is controlling the marines like puppets.
These scenes and the multitude of characters, all allies of the SH crew, reminded me of the chapters, scenes where the different bounties of each member was shown. We never missed on reaction from each acquitance made on every single journey these people undertook. The little village from East Blue from where Luffy comes from, Usopp’s girlfriend, Vivi from Alabasta, Kureha, Coby and we’ve even seen Dragon and Smoker sharing their reactions with us.
This way Oda keeps everyone in the story, there is no neglecting of any character, and somehow makes the reader feel that this world is pretty small, and everyone can hear from each other and share their feelings with each other very easily. But we know this world is vast. Even what we’ve seen so far, is less then a quarter of the size of this world. We have 4 major seas, the Grand Line with different routes, and lots of undiscovered islands.
But the most important journey is just ahead, and that feeling is shared with us in a most typical, yet pleasant way.
With some unexpected self-criticism from Luffy he signals the beginning of the new saga, which will lead us in the end to the ultimate adventure and the accomplishment of each of the goals of the Strawhat crew.
The panels is great, the Sunny looks terrific under water as well
. This accomplishment is another result of the help received from a friend. Rayleigh amanged to finish the coating of the Sunny, and I bet that his work is as superb as his abilities in combat. We get bits of information about the technology as well. The ship is equipped with floating bags, which enable the ship to remain on surface, but once those bags are removed, and thanks to the coating it will sink and will be maneuverable under water as well. The conditions are similar like sailing normally. The coat expands and enables everyone to breath under it, but the sails are coated as well, and this enables navigation through the water current just like with wind. So basically the ship is one giant scuba diving gear, the coating being the entire suit.Quick summary/Opinions
Very good chapter, with lots of events. The progression of the plot was fast, yet not a single moment was wasted, we got panels of each and every character involved with the Strawhat crew in the last 2 years. The quick pace was of great help in making the action scenes even better, and the comical relief just reinforced the feeling of happiness, which came from the reunion. What is to mentioned about the comical relief, is that these scenes are well incorporated in the stream of events. We can’t separate the comedy from the actually progression of the plot, as the comedy served the purpose of showing the character’s actions and behavior.
Little character development this week, but I think nobody expects very much when we are just at the beginning. The reactions, the behaviors were typical to each character, which also serves the purpose of binding the story together, giving the feeling that the evolution of the characters is stable, there are no sudden changes, no twists. The power upgrades and the evolution of the personality will be seen later, as different enemies, real ones and conflicts will appear, because honestly the marines and the Fake Strawhat crew were a joke.
Another element that binds the story together, was the little recollection of Luffy and Rayleigh, brief and seemingly insignificant panels, but it was enough to reinforce the cohesion of the story, not to mention the cover, which every week presents us a different moment in somebody’s life from the past 2 years.
The art was rather simple, nothing spectacular, except the doublespreads of course, which share the excitement that was on the ship, but nothing special besides that.
9/10 is a pretty good mark, for a very good chapter as it really nailed several criteria that I consider when giving a mark for a chapter. Please note that every mark stand for the chapter as individual, and taken out from context, as past events and plot progression don’t really count.
Predictions/Want to happen
If there won’t be any trouble on the road, such as new monsters, or maybe a coated enemy ship, then we should arrive at Fishman Island by the end of next week’s chapter. What will happen during the road is pretty hard to predict, but the most probable event will be the accounting of each other’s training. Now I don’t know if such thing can be done in just one chapter, I think some major information will be revealed next week. I think this, because Luffy started his speech and his first order after 2 years with saying that he wants to talk about a lot of things with the crew. Maybe Rayleigh didn’t just trained him, maybe some more history or the current balance of powers of the world, the situation in the New World, who knows. But I know that I’m expecting Robin to talk a little bit. Actually this is where I arrive to the I want this to happen part of the review. One of the most influential people in the world is unquestionably Dragon. His actions so far were pretty covert, but once there’s a revolution brewin, there’s no telling when it will erupt. I very curious of what did Robin find out during her trip, especially since her role in the story is connected tightly to one of the most important mystery: the will of D, and the World Government’s secret.
But I’d rather stop here, and let you guys predict some more, or just post your opinions about the chapter or the review. In the meantime please enjoy this wonderful chapter, with a little gratitude to the people who managed to deliver this chapter to us.
Credits
Don’t forget to post, and…I’ll see you around!
Mata ne!
Last edited:
