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Yo!
Welcome ladies and gents of MH, beneland here!
Let's start again!
Welcome to the review of the 776th chapter of One Piece. It's been a while since I've reviewed anything, so forgive me if my writing will be rusty a bit, I need to get back into shape
This week is all about beautiful hands, protecting hands, and lots of flowers and confetti.
Let's start however with summing up the latest events in the world of One Piece. As seen in the image above, this week's chapter starts up with the conclusion of last week's fight.
Franky and the Indomitable Tontatta Army are finally tearing down the monstrous factory. Last chapter we were witnesses to an epic and manly brawl between two top fighters of the conflict. But as the saying goes, even the manliest of men usually have a woman as their driving force(as we can see in this week's chapter as well)...
...or cola.
Reading the title, I think everybody got a good sense, which is the battle that will be the focus of this chapter.
The first assumption that comes to mind, that the Hero of the Colosseum is Diamante, who actually holds the title itself, and he's rather proud of it. But judging from his portrayal by Oda, and his relationship and past involvements with Kyros, I think that he is very far from actually earning that title, unlike the true Hero of the Colosseum, Kyros.
Not only he was revered as the best fighter in the arena, but he subsequently became a great general, establishing himself as the hero of the country, and afterwards he was Scarlett's and Rebecca's hero as well. I think we all agree here, that he earned the Hero title, and of course he will live up to this title at the end of the chapter.
The way Oda set up these two characters is really great. If we take a closer look, they are total opposites of each other. Diamante is a smug, cruel person, who takes pleasure in the pain of his victims, while Kyros is humble, rejecting titles, and a person who can acknowledge pain and is willing to do something about it, even if it comes to sacrificing himself in the process.
But the distinctions don't end here. When it comes to their individual abilities, Diamante uses any means to hurt and suffers from "villain arrogance" syndrome, while Kyros fights straight up and is the embodiment of strength and tenacity.
The fight itself clearly underlines all these points. As we can see throughout the chapter Kyros is the one who is constantly down, but keeps getting up to the point where there are some signs of despair on Diamante's ugly face.
So, the parallel is pretty clear and it manages to maximize the tension between them, beyond the events that happened in the past. But there can be only one hero:
When I got to this panel, the first thing that popped into my mind was the following question: "When was the last time I saw a character who was just oozing strength, was a great father and who just stood like a rock while getting so much damage?"
I don't think I have to actually name the character, because it's fairly obvious, but I'm still curious how many of you will guess it.
That panel was the moment, when the Hero of the Colosseum title earned a broader meaning, when it became both a mocking tool against Diamante, and a clear acknowledgment of Kyros as the true bearer of the title.
But as much as Kyros dominates the chapter with his sheer strength and great lines, I will take this opportunity to argue that he is in fact not the central character of this chapter. Let's take a look at the cast of this chapter:
Rebecca is the first one, whom I would like to highlight. She was the champion of non-bloody fights in the Colosseum, blending her mother's wish and her father's early life into her own way of living. She inherited her father's tenacity and plain stubbornness, but it was someone else that left the bigger imprint on her heart and hands. S...*cough*
<3 Nico Robin. She is awesome. Let's move on. <3
Kidding aside, there's one thing I would like to say here. As predicted by earlier reviews (OP 773 review and OP 774 review) Robin took a defensive stance, recognizing the bad blood and unfinished business between the two swordsmen. But the reason for her presence isn't just the probable fight againts Trebol, or the necessity of her being witness to reveals about the history and impact of D on the world, as said in those earlier reviews.
One of the main reasons is that she fits the theme of the conflict. Her ability, the flowery field she's in and how she manages to protect Rebecca from harm, made me think that she is taking on the protective role of someone temporarily. Hands. Flowers. S...*cough cough*
Kyros himself, the sacrifices he is willing to take, aren't just to protect a person, they exist to protect a legacy.
With these in mind, I think it's okay to say that the central character of this chapter is someone who is not even present in it, and it wouldn't be such a stretch to say that for Rebecca and Kyros she is the real hero. Yes you guessed I'm talking about S...*cough* damn those cigs, I need to quit
Such a great and emotional chapter, It's always a treat to see how Oda writes his characters, and how he sets up the places and themes when there are high profile battles going on. Those battles are usually spectacular and action packed art-wise, the dynamic of the chapter is great and while reading it I got a reading experience that was very exciting for a healthy period of 3 minutes....much like sex.....oh wait
But this has its shortcomings unfortunately. The plot development slows down a bit, sometimes to still enjoyable levels, like the previous chapters, but sometime it feels like it's close to just stop altogether. This chapter is still a good continuation of the previous chapters, when it comes to overall pacing of the plot, as we are closing in on the climax of the arc. Hopefully Franky's prediction will come to be as soon as possible
I usually end my reviews with a general rating of different facets from a chapter: characters, plot, action, art. Sometimes I tend to add to those with something I particularly liked in the chapter, like humor or a great quote. I won't do that now, but if you're curious, then you can find it out by asking in the thread
Kidding aside, the setting of this fight is what really impressed me, and how Oda managed to do little things like using flowers to protect Rebecca, or how he chose the actual place for the battle, or even the half-moon looking speech bubbles, that were used when Diamante was actually performing Half Moon
Sometimes little touches like that appeal to me soo much So in that light let's thank Oda for the really awesome chapter that hasn't even appeared yet in Japan, and thanks for MS for getting our OP fix this early
So are you willing to take some risks and guess who are the 2 mysterious characters I mentioned in the review? Or do you have some other thoughts or criticism regarding the review and the chapter? Did you have a great breakfast today?
Feel free to share these, along with your predictions and/or other thoughts below and happy WSJ day to everyone. See you guys around!
Mata ne!
Welcome ladies and gents of MH, beneland here!
Let's start again!
Welcome to the review of the 776th chapter of One Piece. It's been a while since I've reviewed anything, so forgive me if my writing will be rusty a bit, I need to get back into shape
This week is all about beautiful hands, protecting hands, and lots of flowers and confetti.
Let's start however with summing up the latest events in the world of One Piece. As seen in the image above, this week's chapter starts up with the conclusion of last week's fight.
Franky and the Indomitable Tontatta Army are finally tearing down the monstrous factory. Last chapter we were witnesses to an epic and manly brawl between two top fighters of the conflict. But as the saying goes, even the manliest of men usually have a woman as their driving force(as we can see in this week's chapter as well)...
...or cola.
Reading the title, I think everybody got a good sense, which is the battle that will be the focus of this chapter.
The first assumption that comes to mind, that the Hero of the Colosseum is Diamante, who actually holds the title itself, and he's rather proud of it. But judging from his portrayal by Oda, and his relationship and past involvements with Kyros, I think that he is very far from actually earning that title, unlike the true Hero of the Colosseum, Kyros.
Not only he was revered as the best fighter in the arena, but he subsequently became a great general, establishing himself as the hero of the country, and afterwards he was Scarlett's and Rebecca's hero as well. I think we all agree here, that he earned the Hero title, and of course he will live up to this title at the end of the chapter.
The way Oda set up these two characters is really great. If we take a closer look, they are total opposites of each other. Diamante is a smug, cruel person, who takes pleasure in the pain of his victims, while Kyros is humble, rejecting titles, and a person who can acknowledge pain and is willing to do something about it, even if it comes to sacrificing himself in the process.
But the distinctions don't end here. When it comes to their individual abilities, Diamante uses any means to hurt and suffers from "villain arrogance" syndrome, while Kyros fights straight up and is the embodiment of strength and tenacity.
The fight itself clearly underlines all these points. As we can see throughout the chapter Kyros is the one who is constantly down, but keeps getting up to the point where there are some signs of despair on Diamante's ugly face.
So, the parallel is pretty clear and it manages to maximize the tension between them, beyond the events that happened in the past. But there can be only one hero:
When I got to this panel, the first thing that popped into my mind was the following question: "When was the last time I saw a character who was just oozing strength, was a great father and who just stood like a rock while getting so much damage?"
I don't think I have to actually name the character, because it's fairly obvious, but I'm still curious how many of you will guess it.
I will be a bit disappointed if it's not 100%
That panel was the moment, when the Hero of the Colosseum title earned a broader meaning, when it became both a mocking tool against Diamante, and a clear acknowledgment of Kyros as the true bearer of the title.
Rebecca is the first one, whom I would like to highlight. She was the champion of non-bloody fights in the Colosseum, blending her mother's wish and her father's early life into her own way of living. She inherited her father's tenacity and plain stubbornness, but it was someone else that left the bigger imprint on her heart and hands. S...*cough*
<3 Nico Robin. She is awesome. Let's move on. <3
Kidding aside, there's one thing I would like to say here. As predicted by earlier reviews (OP 773 review and OP 774 review) Robin took a defensive stance, recognizing the bad blood and unfinished business between the two swordsmen. But the reason for her presence isn't just the probable fight againts Trebol, or the necessity of her being witness to reveals about the history and impact of D on the world, as said in those earlier reviews.
One of the main reasons is that she fits the theme of the conflict. Her ability, the flowery field she's in and how she manages to protect Rebecca from harm, made me think that she is taking on the protective role of someone temporarily. Hands. Flowers. S...*cough cough*
Kyros himself, the sacrifices he is willing to take, aren't just to protect a person, they exist to protect a legacy.
With these in mind, I think it's okay to say that the central character of this chapter is someone who is not even present in it, and it wouldn't be such a stretch to say that for Rebecca and Kyros she is the real hero. Yes you guessed I'm talking about S...*cough* damn those cigs, I need to quit
Such a great and emotional chapter, It's always a treat to see how Oda writes his characters, and how he sets up the places and themes when there are high profile battles going on. Those battles are usually spectacular and action packed art-wise, the dynamic of the chapter is great and while reading it I got a reading experience that was very exciting for a healthy period of 3 minutes....much like sex.....oh wait
But this has its shortcomings unfortunately. The plot development slows down a bit, sometimes to still enjoyable levels, like the previous chapters, but sometime it feels like it's close to just stop altogether. This chapter is still a good continuation of the previous chapters, when it comes to overall pacing of the plot, as we are closing in on the climax of the arc. Hopefully Franky's prediction will come to be as soon as possible
I usually end my reviews with a general rating of different facets from a chapter: characters, plot, action, art. Sometimes I tend to add to those with something I particularly liked in the chapter, like humor or a great quote. I won't do that now, but if you're curious, then you can find it out by asking in the thread
Kidding aside, the setting of this fight is what really impressed me, and how Oda managed to do little things like using flowers to protect Rebecca, or how he chose the actual place for the battle, or even the half-moon looking speech bubbles, that were used when Diamante was actually performing Half Moon
Sometimes little touches like that appeal to me soo much
So in that light let's thank Oda for the really awesome chapter that hasn't even appeared yet in Japan, and thanks for MS for getting our OP fix this early
So are you willing to take some risks and guess who are the 2 mysterious characters I mentioned in the review? Or do you have some other thoughts or criticism regarding the review and the chapter? Did you have a great breakfast today?
Feel free to share these, along with your predictions and/or other thoughts below and happy WSJ day to everyone. See you guys around!
Mata ne!
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