One Piece Continuation Planning

[DBZ4ever]

So as we all know tonight is the last night One Piece will be on Toonami. Some people have stated that they would be interested in a continuation of watching One Piece. I don't know if anything has been decided yet but I figured this would be a good thread to kind of pull all the talk and ideas together.

 

I'd say that we have realistically three options to choose from, all with pros and cons of course. I am going to list these and then we can kind of go from there.

 

1. The first option is to use the website called Rabb.it. https://www.rabb.it/ This website allows people to join a room of sorts, think tinychat but not. In the room the person that made it can show video from websites. So the person that made it could stream One Piece episodes and everyone can see them at the same time and you can even chat in said room. It just requires the person that made the room to send or post the url to others.

 

Pros: Everyone can see the episodes at the same time and chat.

Cons: The connection could lag for some and it could be tricky getting everyone together at the same time and place to watch.

 

2. The second option is to do what the old Bebop rewatches did. Pick a time and day and have everyone watch an episode at the same time or roughly so and talk about in the thread while watching.

 

Pros: You don't have to worry about connecting to a specific site, you can choose your own way.

Cons: Might be hard to find a site for some especially if legal.. Also similar to the first option it might be difficult to get everyone together at the same time.

 

3. The third option is to watch the episode or episodes in a set week and talk about it. Example, for the week of x we will watch episodes 1-3 or just episode 1. The we can discuss through the week or on a specific date.

 

Pros: You can watch whenever you want.

Cons: You will miss out on watching as a group. This is essentially just watching on your own but with a place to talk about the episodes you are watching and being relevant. You could also get spoiled if you don't know what it coming and someone starts talking about it in the thread early in the week.

 

 

Anyway these are my thoughts, I'd like to hear what you all think. If we want to do this we need to pick a method of doing it and pick a date and time. Also we need to decide how many episodes we want in a week, 1 or more....

[ben0119]

It's kind of tricky.  Speaking for myself I'd rather discuss it in a forum than a chat room, which I don't like the impermanence of.  Of course, I'm not too happy about my years of show commentaries being forever sealed away in an Indiana Jones-style vault at Williams Street... if they even kept any of the Lithium stuff.

 

Watching live is part of what makes Toonami so fun.  However I usually post during commercials.  After we moved some years back it was possible to have my computer near the TV and I could post any time I wanted, I just ended up missing things.  I misinterpreted some things that happened in Casshern because of this.  So I went back to posting during commercials for the most part.  There won't be any commercials when we watch online.

 

Aside from my personal preferences, it's going to be difficult to get everyone together on any particular night.  Maybe you could pick Saturday since people already try to set aside time for Toonami.  Though some people barely get in on time or even show up late, because of work, doing things because it's, ya' know, the weekend, etc.  So asking people to show up earlier to watch the show might be difficult.

 

I do think we should watch more than one a week, since the show is very long and we're no longer bound by a TV schedule.

 

So, I don't know.  Maybe do the 3rd thing you suggest, pick a number of episodes to watch a week and then post in a thread whenever you get finished at your own pace.  Though this wouldn't be the same as us all watching at the same time on Toonami.

[OwlChemist81]

The leading plan on Twitter is to watch 2 episodes a week prior to Toonami at 10 PM ET on Saturdays and to live-tweet about them then.

[StarPanda]

I'm all for 1 and 2. Mainly Friday night or Saturday before toonami maybe

If you all agree on a weekday I could work around it and watch with you guys

[DBZ4ever]

I guess the question becomes do we want to just do what twitter is doing or do our own thing?

[StarPanda]

It looks like we might have to go with option 3 for now dbz since things don't seem to be lively yet 

We can set the discussion for the eps on Friday or saturday

[OwlChemist81]

Right. 385 and 386 this weekend!

[AnimationFan14]

I'm up for options 1 and 2 myself and would have time free for it on certain points during the weekends and at points during the week. However I am of course also up for option 3 since that may work out best for the moment with everyone and their opposing schedules

[CountFrylock]

so much for using funimation now!...not in the position to give up credit card information just for a 2 week trial

 

guess I'll watch One Piece elsewhere

 

 

[The1gairon]

There's a Twitter group called @onepiecesailson that is already doing the second option. You still gotta find a place onlien to watch the episodes on your own though. Funimation's site has all the currently dubbed episodes online if you have a subscription, but their player lags occasionally.

[CountFrylock]

it pisses me off that i cannot watch one piece on my ps4 unless i have a funimation now subscription....,

 

i can watch it on my xbox one without having to pay upfront but that requires my mother constantly having to run upstairs just to watch one piece with me....so yeah not good

 

 

[ben0119]

There's a Twitter group called @onepiecesailson that is already doing the second option. You still gotta find a place onlien to watch the episodes on your own though. Funimation's site has all the currently dubbed episodes online if you have a subscription, but their player lags occasionally.

Yeah I don't care for Twitter.

[The1gairon]

it pisses me off that i cannot watch one piece on my ps4 unless i have a funimation now subscription....,

 

i can watch it on my xbox one without having to pay upfront but that requires my mother constantly having to run upstairs just to watch one piece with me....so yeah not good

 

Well there is ANOTHER place to watch these online... but..... they're..... kind of ... sites that I cannot name on this forum for policy reasons.  You get the idea.

[CountFrylock]

yeah i know those kind of sites and the one site i use has been hacked and plagued with viruses so I've run out of options

[ben0119]

Just get the Funimation subscription.  It's more than worth it.

[CountFrylock]

Just get the Funimation subscription.  It's more than worth it.

eh I'll see

[DangerMouse]

There's a Twitter group called @onepiecesailson that is already doing the second option. You still gotta find a place onlien to watch the episodes on your own though. Funimation's site has all the currently dubbed episodes online if you have a subscription, but their player lags occasionally.

 

I've had good luck with their player since they relaunched on both my PC and PS4. Been watching plenty of stuff.

[CountFrylock]

heard theres problems with the funimation now PS4 App

[The1gairon]

I've had good luck with their player since they relaunched on both my PC and PS4. Been watching plenty of stuff.

 

I suppose their player doesn't work as well on laptops.  I should remember to leave the page open for 15 minutes prior to the scheduled screening so there's no buffering while I watch.

[DBZ4ever]

heard theres problems with the funimation now PS4 App

I have a Funimation subscription but I am probably going to let it run out. I don't like the player especially when trying to watch something on xbox. It is very laggy in the menus. That and everything they get also is acquired by Crunchyroll now. It is just a matter of sub vs. dub and I don't care to just watch it subbed. I don't feel like paying two companies for the same stuff essentially.

[CorbeauKarasu]

one piece is on hulu and netflix and crunchyroll. i love th dub, too, but are you guys saying you don't want to watch it if you have to watch it subbed?

 

i'll admit i've got it easier since i've been buying the DVDs so I've been two seasons ahead of toonami on the dub the whole time, but still...

[The1gairon]

one piece is on hulu and netflix and crunchyroll. i love th dub, too, but are you guys saying you don't want to watch it if you have to watch it subbed?

 

i'll admit i've got it easier since i've been buying the DVDs so I've been two seasons ahead of toonami on the dub the whole time, but still...

 

And on Funimation.

[ben0119]

Since it sounds like the whole idea of getting together to watch the show fell through, I suppose I'll just watch it on my own.  Not sure when I'll get around to it, though.  Got lots of other stuff to watch, play, read, etc.  See, that's what was good about One Piece being on Toonami.  I was forced to make time for it.  With everything else I'm following right now, it's hard for me to set aside time to watch it, plus I'm still kind of demoralized about it getting canceled.  It feels like part of Toonami's soul and heart is gone without One Piece on. 

[The1gairon]

(one of the rare times  I directly reply to a post you make! )

 

Actually, the #onepiecesailson movement on Twitter DOES force you to watch episodes at a certain time. That time is 10 PM on Saturdays.  Thing is, instead of using a pre-planned linear cable service, you need to seek the episodes online yourself, which does require a bit more work.

[ben0119]

Why is that so rare?

 

I see.  Like I said, though, I don't care for Twitter.  It's disorganized, has a shitty user interface and layout, chaotic, impermanent.  I can already watch the episodes on the Funimation streaming service so I'll just do that.

[DangerMouse]

And on Funimation.

 

This will probably be what I do since I'm so far behind on picking up the discs.

[mochi]

this has nothing to do with the discussion, but this picture of Ussop made me explode with laughter

[The1gairon]

That was posted when we were on the board 2 versions ago, when One Piece just started on Toonami, in a character fan club thread?

 

Wow remember those??

 

I been surprisingly good at keeping up with the #onepiecesailson movement. It got me to follow the story into Boa Hancock's intro, and now were gearing up for

Ace's public execution.

 

[DBZ4ever]

We should just turn this thread into a general One Piece discussion thread, stuff like what mochi posted. Spoiler talk would need the spoilers like elfie did though.

[ben0119]

We should just turn this thread into a general One Piece discussion thread, stuff like what mochi posted. Spoiler talk would need the spoilers like elfie did though.

 

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea.  I still haven't gotten around to watching more, though. D:

[ben0119]

That's what I'm going to use the thread for DBZ4ever[/member]

 

Wasn't sure where else to put this.  From what I can tell, there is little to no interest in One Piece in the Anime folder.  The discussion there would mainly be focused on current Japanese release episodes and chapters, anyway.  Not the stuff from where Toonami left off.  And though One Piece is no longer on Toonami, once a Toonami show, always a Toonami show, as far as I'm concerned.

 

I've mentioned a few times that I managed to binge 385-417 in a single crab fishermen shift-level sitting. May as well post my thoughts on it while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind!  Hmm, yeah, looks like that was a month ago, on August 17th-18th!  Should've written it down in a document at the time.  Ah well, here we go -

 

 

The guy that looks like Sanji's wanted poster.  Just... LOL.  All that time we thought he was some badass.  I expected maybe he was that guy Sanji beat up for wasting soup at Baratie?  Even more hilarious when Sanji messes him up so bad it makes him look handsome. Bikers that ride flying fish is such an awesome idea, by the way.

 

Camie and the starfish are constantly getting captured because they're such dumbasses.

 

Saobody is the definition of "that escalated quickly!" We go to what seems like a fun, harmless island, then things quickly get serious.  The Holy Dragons or whatever they were called were a bit cartoonish, especially in their introduction, with the pet pissing on the person.  Still, it was very satisfying when Luffy punched the shit out of that snot-nosed one!  Slavery is still allowed on the island, and there's racism.  Interesting and unexpected dark commentary to say the least.  Last time there was racism, it was Fishmen against humans.  Interesting to see it go the other direction here.  By the way, are their female Fishpeople or Mer-men in this world?  Pretty sure they aren't opposite genders of the same race, given there are all different kinds of aquatic creatures represented amongst the Fishmen.

 

Love Camie... and what those bastards were doing to her!  Grrrr!

 

Not sure why I thought Octopus man would actually die.  It would've been nice to have more explanation for why he turned his life around, too.  In the aftermath did he just realize he was a dick?  I mean, it's possible, people change, but I would've liked to gotten better explanation than we got.

 

So, we meet Gold Roger's right hand man.  I wish they would have said first mate.  I hate the term "vice captain."  And if it were the navy it should be lieutenant.  Damn it!  I am surprised he's still alive.  I figured most of the crew, or at least the important members, would be dead.  Surprising to learn that Gold Roger turned himself in.  He did it to save his crew, and he was already dying anyway. 

 

Robin chose not to learn about the missing century.  We see a vision that implies she wouldn't be able to keep traveling with the crew because she would have then fulfilled her goal.  Besides the fact that I doubt he knows literally all of it, he probably couldn't tell her every last detail just by memory in a single casual sitting conversation.  I would argue her dream wouldn't be achieved either because the information still wouldn't be spread to the world.  Not like she has to stop her journey just because she found this out, either.  At the same time, Luffy doesn't want real world spoilers, apparently.  He said he didn't want to know if the One Piece even exists, or more clues how to find it.  Yeah, I forgot this guy's name, it's been a while.  Anyway, I don't see how this would be any different than anything they've done so far.  The crew has examined places, artifacts, records, talked to people before.  This guy just happens to have more information than others.  Not like Luffy has to stop his journey either if the One Piece doesn't exist, which I highly doubt.  Besides, the guy at the lighthouse said it was on Raftel.  So yeah, that whole part was just really dumb to me.

 

That does bring a question to my mind, though.  If the One Piece does exist, does anyone have it?  Is there any current King of the Pirates, successor to Gold Roger?  I mean if it's actually on Raftel as we were told before, why hasn't anyone gotten it yet?  Is there some sort of natural and/or mystical barrier?  They're too busy fighting each other for any single pirate crew/faction to make landing on the island and claim it?  I mean, if someone does have it, you'd think they'd have declared themselves King of the Pirates by now and we'd have heard about it.  Can't believe I never thought about this that much until now, but it definitely is something that needs to be addressed in the story.

 

Oh yeah, Luffy mentions that they are half-way in their journey when they cross the Red Line for the second time, and will have accomplished their goal when they reach it again.  If this is the case, wouldn't the entrance to the Grand Line also be the end?  I want to say there is a gap and the Grand Line doesn't circle the entire planet.  Because otherwise that makes no sense.  I would look it up but I don't want spoilers.  But yeah I think this was explained before but can't remember.

 

Speaking of the Red Line, we know very little about it.  The Holy Land Marijois is there, the capital of the World Government.  Makes sense, but what else is there?  All I can figure is that it's the "known world" and thus there's little reason to explore or talk about it.  Or, the rest of it is some wasteland or something.  Makes me think of that devastated continent from Rave Master.  Of course this is mere speculation on my part.

 

I like all the new pirate crews we met.  The other rookies.  Make sense that the Straw Hats aren't the only ones.  I'll be interested to see more from them later on.

 

Awesome battles at Saobody.  That Admiral is scary and very powerful.  We've had hints at haki before I'm interested to learn more in the future.  I imagine it is like the ki of this world.  Not sure how I feel about that being in a pirate story, but there's already been plenty of crazy powers so far.  It's like how I always talk about the Devil Fruits.  What do they have to do with pirates?  All I can chalk it up to is hearkening back to tall tales told by and about pirates and various things.  Lots of myths and legends in the world, some of them relating to legendary treasure, magic, places, but also about the pirates themselves.  Like Blackbeard taking gunpowder in his rum or whatever.  So yeah I am probably overthinking this, but such stuff is probably not out of bounds in a pirate story, which often overlaps with fantasy genre.

 

Did not expect to see Kuma again so soon.  He remains terrifying as ever.  Not sure what his game is here, as he is the last one I expect mercy or charity from.  There must have been a method to his madness ejecting the Straw Hats across the world.  Speaking of that, turns out my theory about his ability was wrong.  I assumed he was putting people in his book, and it was like what Pegasus did to people. Heck, I just had this thought - the vacation is whatever pops into their head and they're trapped in some fantasy too good to be true vacation storyland in his book?  Nope, turns out he is launching people across the planet!

 

Didn't expect android Kumas, either.  The real one is bad enough!  These things are awful!

 

This... leads us to another... arc?  But obviously things weren't resolved at Saobody.  So, it looks like One Piece is making a much welcome break to its formula.  Instead of going to an island and fighting a villainous faction and moving on, the Straw Hats are handed a crushing defeat, and by virtue of Kuma's unique power, interrupted in their journey and sent to far away islands, new adventures they hadn't planned on but must persevere to get back on track!  Well, this Amazon arc is pretty damn good.  I think Sanji might have been more fitting for this place, but he'd probably die from overdose of sexy ladies!

 

The captain had to stab himself to prevent being turned to stone.  I mean, surely, the ability wouldn't work on people with some self-control?  Come on now.

 

I like the new characters here.  And yeah, I forgot their names too. x_x The thing with Boa Hancock getting away with everything because she's beautiful was pretty annoying.  Yeah it is a joke to an extent, but it was affecting the actual plot and the state of the world, so... eehhh.  Luffy's battle with the two snake sisters was good.  I liked how much he cared about the new friends he made and was willing to sacrifice everything for them.  Not really sure why Boa Hancock's situation would result in her abusing her people, since after all, she knows how it felt.  Don't know why she should be forgiven so easily, either.  So yeah, her character all in all is kind of annoying to me.  Maybe I just need to re-watch the episodes or something, but how it came across to me was not that great, as far as she goes.

 

We were told that the Navy used sea prism stones to get past the Sea Kings in the Calm Belt.  But... how did they get their ships to travel through seas with no currents or wind?  Well, this ship was equipped with a paddle wheel, so that answers that question.

 

And now... now... hoo boy!  Not only did the Amazon Arc not resolve how I thought it would, but Luffy can't even go back to his crew yet!  He has to rescue Ace!  Dude, you knew he was in bad shape before this!  What the hell man.

 

 

Alright, that's all I can remember and think of as far as I wanted to comment on.  If I had made the post sooner or remembered more, it'd probably be even longer!

[Sandstone]

ben0119[/member]

 

Good notes on the next big Saga (four arcs you mentioned). I think you gave a pretty good analysis of most of the situation going on. I am hoping to bring a lot of this conversation up with others when we start doing the weekly group I'm planning. I am testing out features on different direct streaming sites to see what the best possible experience is for us, while still asking around.

 

In regards to your notes here (small spoilers only for those that haven't seen the saga he's talking about here:

 

The saga you are referring to here is considered the saga that brings to fruition the buildup and background story laid out by Oda for the first half of one piece, which is consistent as the saga concludes around the halfway mark to what is the current number of episodes that have been produced. During this Saga, we start seeing less formulaic types of adventures and more deviated patterns that lie before the straw hats, also ever increasing dangers and serious choices that they are forced to make. It is at this point that you really get the sense that One Piece shakes up the traditional ideal of what a shounen protagonist should go through and the illusions of constant safety and luck are suddenly much less solid.

 

[ben0119]

ben0119[/member]

 

Good notes on the next big Saga (four arcs you mentioned). I think you gave a pretty good analysis of most of the situation going on. I am hoping to bring a lot of this conversation up with others when we start doing the weekly group I'm planning. I am testing out features on different direct streaming sites to see what the best possible experience is for us, while still asking around.

 

In regards to your notes here (small spoilers only for those that haven't seen the saga he's talking about here:

 

The saga you are referring to here is considered the saga that brings to fruition the buildup and background story laid out by Oda for the first half of one piece, which is consistent as the saga concludes around the halfway mark to what is the current number of episodes that have been produced. During this Saga, we start seeing less formulaic types of adventures and more deviated patterns that lie before the straw hats, also ever increasing dangers and serious choices that they are forced to make. It is at this point that you really get the sense that One Piece shakes up the traditional ideal of what a shounen protagonist should go through and the illusions of constant safety and luck are suddenly much less solid.

 

 

Is the idea behind using such sites so we don't have to sync up everyone hitting play at the same time? Because, I'm pretty sure these episodes are easily accessible for most people.  Don't know if you can get them all for free, since I've just been using the paid FuniNow, but I seem to recall a good chunk of them being on Hulu, and you used to be able to watch a selection of free episodes on FuniNow too.

 

 

Yeah it's definitely surprising and a good change of pace.  I'm enjoying it.  Though this isn't the best selling point for people new to the series, that One Piece shakes things up 100s of episodes down the line, but I think if somebody wasn't on board (heh) with long-running battle shonens they wouldn't have watched the earlier arcs in the first place anyway.  Plus, all those earlier fun adventures, with things steadily ramping up, and the background story and lore you talked about being hinted at, coming to fruition like this really makes it worth it and feel earned.  I know I am not at the ultimate payoff yet, but I'm already seeing the dividends, heh.

 

[Sandstone]

The Dub was made almost entirely subscriber only after Funi made that non-competition deal with Crunchy Roll last year. So I am planning on playing it at a set time probably 3 or 4 episodes at a time depending on if people want to skip the recaps at the beginning or not, since I know alot of people here probably don't have access to FuniNow. Plus my hope is to get more of a discussion in a group going since I love this show alot and I've been rewatching it in the dub form for the past few weeks for the first time (first time for the dub), so I'd like to continue viewing with people that would also like to see it if possible. It may just be me personally but I feel following along as a group is much easier and steady if it is done at a set time as a weekly viewing or something.

[ben0119]

Oh, I see.  I didn't realize they did that.  Yeah, I agree with you.  Sounds like a good plan!

[ben0119]

Alright, I've been watching more episodes here and there.  Last sitting was a major binge, and I hated to cut off where I did, but I could no longer maintain consciousness. I'm up to 452!

 

 

Presumably this is the end of Impel Down and the beginning of Marine Ford?  Like the other arcs, one leads into the other, the overarching plot not being resolved, and things certainly took some unexpected turns yet again!

 

Was nice to check up on the other Straw Hats.  I remembered how when Chopper gave Franky all those incorrect beverages that one time, and how it changed his personality.  Gentleman Franky is hilarious. Yay, Perona! <3 Looks like Zoro is in a Misery situation, though. Wow, Sanji is in Heaven.  This is the best place ever he ever dreamed of... wait, no... GAH, THE QUEENS!  THEY'RE HORRIFYING!  WHY DO THEY HAVE FACES LIKE TITANS?!  Hm, Nami ended up on a weather studying flying island, Franky seems to have landed in steampunk land, Perona in a spooky castle; Is Kuma able to read minds and send people on a dream vacation?  It seems like in Sanji's case it was an ironic wish granted, though, and I'm not sure Chopper and Usopp are happy to be where they're at. Those cavemen were hilarious though!  "OO-AH-AH-AH, OO-AH-AH-AH, OO-AH-OO-AH--OO-AH-AH-AH!" >

 

Boa Hancock's shojo fantasies about Luffy are hilarious! >

 

Have to say I did not expect to see Buggy here, and really did not expect to see Mr. 3 again.  Not really sure the latter was exactly a fan favorite in high demand, but he did have his uses.  It was amusing to watch Buggy just constantly losing his shit and freaking out everything.  >

 

So, two characters were un-killed.  Mr. 2.  Why?  You know it makes that original scene of his sacrifice have less impact, right?  And what was the point of having Mr. 1 brought back?  Remember when Zoro killed him and how big of an accomplishment that was?  Well, it didn't happen now.

 

All these different Hells... they are demented as fuck.  Inhumane doesn't begin to describe it!  So it was kind of ridiculous for Hannyabal to be acting all righteous during his fight with Luffy.

 

So are those Sea Prism Bullets just those nets?  Why not make actual bullets out of Sea Prism Stone?

 

Most of the prison staff characters are pretty cool.  Magellan looks so cool and is a badass, and apparently invincible!  How can you beat someone you can't touch?!  The diarrhea joke never gets old, either. > Hannyabal was funny with how he constantly was trying to undermine Magellan.  Not sure why he thought he wouldn't also get blamed until way later, though. Also it annoyed me that his name wasn't just Hannibal, lol.  Love Domino.  Those demon guards are freaky as fuck.  Awakened Zoan type?  What the?  Mistress Sadie I didn't care for.  Came off like a bad fanfic character or something, and it annoyed me how you couldn't see her eyes.  The little guy was meh, but not around much.  I liked the whole Devil/Hell aesthetic that was going on.  Not sure why the uniforms looked like Nazi ones though.

 

We learned more about Ace and hints at his history, which was cool.  I do think Whitebeard and his crew should have been more built up and developed before this, though.  We've only gotten glimpses and cameos thus far.  Maybe there is a method to this madness, though.  Not sure.  Just think that is something that should've been done before we ramped up right into this big war.

 

So Jimbei is not only an honorable warlord, and pirate, but fishman.  He also expresses some regret for what happened with Arlong (though not outwardly.)  So that's interesting.  When we were first introduced to the concept of the Warlords, I figured each one would get an arc where they and their faction would have to be battled and defeated.  With Alabasta and Thriller Bark, I was 2 for 2.  But, since then, looks like that prediction has been turned its head.  Yes Hancock got an arc, but she wasn't beaten in combat, and had a change of heart, Kuma has been all over the place, Jimbei seems to be a decent guy actually fighting on the side of the good guys, and now we are about to get all the rest in a big battle!  Anyway, I like Jimbei.  He has a cool look and powers, too.

 

Was great to see Crocodile again.  He's awesome.  Was a great villain.  Loved that they got his cigar and outfit out of the prison inventory. Not sure he needed to be let out, though?  Couldn't the Scissors Man have cut a hole in the ceiling?  Though, I thought his power could probably counter Magellan's.  Dry up and nullify the poison.  Seems to me Magellan would be forced to fight sans his Devil Fruit power in that match-up, but it didn't seem like Crocodile could be bothered to do anything about him.

 

I want to see more of Olive! <3

 

Did not expect Blackbeard to turn on The World Government after he just got his position as Warlord.  What the heck!  And he broke into the prison!  Why?  Didn't expect Shiryu to join him, either!  Though, that wasn't planned by Blackbeard.  Definitely interested to see what Blackbeard does next.  By the way, I think his black hole power could probably counter Magellan's too, if he knew what to expect.  Magellan kinda got the jump on him.

 

Hm, since we didn't really get to see Blackbeard or Crocodile vs. Magellan in a straight up fight, could he be beaten with Haki, if it allows for combat without directly touching someone?  Still think those two could match him, though, if given the chance.

 

For the most part, I liked this arc.  Loved the battles and the new stuff we learned, and motley crew that was gathered in the prison.  A few gripes - 

 

I didn't like Bon Clay being brought back.  Though I like the character, I think it kind of lessened his scene at the end of Alabasta.  I suppose he was utilized well enough here, but still.  Also, he sacrificed himself again!  Probably not dead this time, either, though!  Camera cut away at the last second! 

 

Bringing back Mr 1 also seemed pointless.  I'm all for nostalgia, and I loved the Alabasta Arc, but you shouldn't bring back characters when it lessens the impact of certain events in the story.  I think just having Mr. 3 and Crocodile would have been fine.  This un-killing of characters, which also happened with the bird man, by the way, is like something I expect from 4Kids edits.  Speaking of which, they forgot to rescue Nami's mom from the jail! D:

 

*SIGH* Ivankov.  Just... *SIGH* What the hell, Oda?  This guy doesn't even look human!  He has a giant head, and he doesn't look too far from a Titan in the face, either!  He looks out of place even in One Piece!  I mean, yeah, a paradise for LGBT people is great in theory, but the other NewKama prisoners and the Queens from that island are caricatures, and Ivankov himself is the worst.  Is the logic that One Piece is cartoonish, so it's okay to have cartoonish LGBT people?  No, just... no.  Oh yeah, and he uses his powers to swap people's genders as punishment, and in the second case, somehow brainwashed that guard.  That shit is just straight up demented.  NEVERMIND THAT THAT'S NOT HOW THE HUMAN BODY WORKS!  His abilities seem over-powered and too convenient in many other cases.  Recharge, healing, etc.  Luffy is now going to lose 10 years off his life.  Yeah, Ed had his "lifespan shortened" too.  We don't care - because we know it won't matter in the long run.  I had also hoped that Ivakov would have been killed by Magellan, but no such luck.  He's okay because of his Devil Fruit power. He's able to use that Devil Wink joke power as an actual attack?  The fuck?  Are we supposed to take that as Haki use? Besides all that, the guy is annoying as fuck.  Can't stand him.  And Oda is linking him to all this other stuff in the world, too, so this character is going to be "important" and "integral," which means we'll be seeing a lot of him from here on out.  Yep I can totally see this guy as part of Dragon's group all along and he totally fits in there. Seriously that was some Star Wars Special Edition shit right there putting him next to Dragon.

 

I mean, Bon Clay was fine on his own.  He's funny, and likable.  He had a good turn from bad guy to good guy.  It's also worth noting that he was never explicitly stated to be gay and homosexuality was not directly referenced at all before now.  But the others?  They're beyond the pale.  And Ivankov is no Dr. Frank N. Furter, that's for damn sure.  Ugh.

 

That said, overall the arc was great, and I can't wait for more!

 

[Top Gun]

 

 

So, two characters were un-killed.  Mr. 2.  Why?  You know it makes that original scene of his sacrifice have less impact, right?  And what was the point of having Mr. 1 brought back?  Remember when Zoro killed him and how big of an accomplishment that was?  Well, it didn't happen now.

 

 

Neither of those characters were killed in the first place, especially not the latter.  I have no idea where you're getting that from.  I mean, literally the first rule of shounen is "Nobody's dead until you see the body."

[The1gairon]

Yeah the Marineford arc is coming up though it will still take us a looong time to get there. We got at least 3 more set pieces to traverse.

[ben0119]

Neither of those characters were killed in the first place, especially not the latter.  I have no idea where you're getting that from.  I mean, literally the first rule of shounen is "Nobody's dead until you see the body."

 

 

That's true enough. But everyone, including the characters within the show, thought they were dead.  Straw Hats thought Bon Clay was dead.  I recall somebody talking to somebody else, Navy characters I think, remarking that Zoro killed Mr. 1.  But yeah, without a body...

 

[Top Gun]

The Straw Hats thinking someone was dead does not imply they were actually dead.  And no one in the Navy ever said that character was killed.

[ben0119]

I suppose not.

 

Could have sworn someone said that.

 

 

They said Zoro killed Mr 1!  Something like "Zoro.  I heard he killed Mr. 1" or "That's the man who killed Mr. 1"  And it was played up as how badass and dangerous Zoro was becoming.  Thought it was people in the Navy, maybe not.  Maybe they said "defeated", but pretty sure it was "killed."

 

[Sandstone]

ben0119[/member]

 

 

I actually really love Ivankov, his character is fantastically eccentric and for me lovable. He's so weird and just owns it. I think that is a great way to portray people that are LGBT. The fact that Ivankov flaunts his powers and is not ashamed of anything is a great message to those in the LGBT community. I don't think so much that Oda was intending on a disparaging portrayal, as much as a cultural reference, since Okamas are a recurring part in Japanese media from what I understand.

 

His particular take on it though is a great one, IMO. I'm deffinitely not implying that all gay men or transgendered people (though he's technically not transgendered in the traditional sense lol), act like him or are frilly and girly or socially flamboyant/eccentric the vast majority aren't. However, I do respect that he was given a significant plot role to the story and that he was not portrayed as some week and token gay character just in the scene for sake of inclusion. It ends up making him one of my favorite characters in One Piece. Not to mention his interactions with Sanji are simply priceless.

 

[ben0119]

Alright, I've finished Marineford.  Episode 498 is up next, but I'll discuss that arc after I'm done with it.

 

 

I'm wondering if it might have been better for this development of Whitebeard and his crew, and Ace, to an extent, to happen before this big event, as opposed to during it?  But, it seemed like Oda was trying to maintain this mystique to Whitebeard up until now, so maybe this was the way to go.  Not sure.

 

I love the design of the Moby Dick.  Love whales. We've also seen the results of ship coating and how that works, an idea of it, anyway.

 

When Ace met Whitebeard, did he cut him with his mustache? > Because that's what it looked like.

 

That earthquake power is pretty epic and awesome.  I love how the effect is portrayed and how it works.  Pretty unique.  And usually when someone would have this type of power, it would come from the ground and effect anything touching it.  If you were able to jump, fly, or hover, you could avoid it.  But here, Whitebeard can direct it and target it anywhere, which is cool.  And I like that glass cracking effect that's done to the air.

 

I've got to say, I did not expect to see another Oars appear here.  Dude is definitely special needs though. The backstory was nice and all but I'm not too impressed by killing off a character that was just introduced.  But, the inclusion of him was pretty good nonetheless.

 

Not sure why we're being told that Mihawk rarely fights or gets involved, when he went to Baratie for the lulz, basically.  So, that was weird.  Still, Mihawk was awesome, so it was great to see him in action here.

 

We've got a huge melee here basically, and even when the battle started, you didn't have people pairing off into one on one fights, really.  Some characters might fight for a short time before moving onto something else.  This did end up with the effect of some characters just floating around in the background, not knowing what they're doing, also making it easy for lots of saves by protagonists and preventions by antagonists, but for the most part I think it worked to come off well as how a real battle might realistically go, well, as realistic as it can be with all these special powers and larger than life characters.

 

Marco's powers make no sense.  He can counter Kizaru's power because reasons basically?  We're told that he's some kind of special fancy Devil Fruit user we've never heard of before, and because of the properties of a Phoenix, he can do the stuff he does, which isn't clear either.  Ok then.  I thought about rewinding it, but I was really into what was going on, and didn't really want to.  I also considered looking him up, but I didn't want spoilers, and I thought there might be future reveals/explanations within the arc, but that didn't happen.  So, I don't know.  Guess I could re-watch the episode where his power was revealed but I don't know which one it is.

 

Why wasn't Whitebeard getting more involved in the battle early on?  He was just standing there while his men were taking losses left and right.  Why didn't he use his ability to block the rain of volcanic rocks from Akainu?  He should've easily been able to do that and prevent the Moby Dick's destruction.  For all of the above all I can figure is he was limited by his ailing health.  Very sad to see that ship go, by the way.

 

Skward... what was the point of this character?  Or rather, what was the point of anything he did?  The guy is one of Whitebeard's allies, supposedly close enough to him to be considered one of his "sons," but he automatically believes the worst about him because some Navy guys tells him so, with the most obviously blatant lie ever?  Are we led to believe that the injury he dealt to Whitebeard ultimately lead to his death, or was he going to die anyway due to his health issues?  I mean, he kept fighting after that, but he didn't exactly shrug off the injury either.  If it's the former, that feels very contrived, if it's the latter, what is the point?  Nothing Skward did here really had any effect on anything, so I would've preferred if that whole interlude just wasn't even there.  Also, the thing about Gold Roger killing his crew.  I have to believe there's more to that story.

 

There aren't just three Navy Admirals, right?  When they were referring to "the three admirals," I presume they meant the ones that were present.  I know they said the Navy was throwing everything at this battle, but surely they would need to keep the rest of their territory under control.  There's also the supposed revolution that's going on... somewhere.  Anyway, Akainu, he's basically the classic military hardass character.  His power is pretty impressive.  I think he does the job he needs to do as a character.  And there may be more to him, too, who knows.

 

I have to say, this has got to be one of the toughest struggles I've ever seen characters go through here, to get to the platform to rescue Ace.  It was a very hard won achievement.  When Luffy finally made it up there, it was very satisfying!

 

Ultimately, it was in vain, as Ace ends up being killed.  Now, I've unfortunately already been spoiled on Ace and Whitebeard's deaths.  Whitebeard because I watched a video about the One Piece manga more years ago than I can count.  At the time, One Piece had been off TV for a while and I didn't see myself catching up, especially if I would've been forced to watch subs or read manga to do so.  I didn't think I'd ever get back into One Piece so I didn't worry about watching a video with spoilers.  For Ace, I stupidly clicked a spoiler tag on the old boards.  Somebody actually posted that Ace died as literally the first reply to this Ace fan club thread.  So, my fault, in both cases.  Still, even knowing that, going into the arc, with that glorious heroic entrance of Whitebeard, Luffy, and the others, and the way things were going, you really felt like they were going to pull it out.  It also felt like Whitebeard would die before Ace would.  And since when do rescue arcs fail?!  It's really not how you expect it to go at all.  I did think how he died was pretty stupid, though.  He bought into Akainu's obvious trolling.  Even all the other pirates knew it was just provocation, but Ace still fell for it.  So, that was annoying.  Still very sad, though!  And Ace was one of my favorite characters too!  Was surprising that he was just killed, too.  Didn't go down in some epic fight.  Just killed, protecting Luffy.

 

Given how Akainu was able to beat Ace's fire power, it makes me wonder.  Light and lightning obviously aren't analogous to lava vs fire, but I still wonder what such a matchup would look like.  I mean, Eneru already lost to Luffy, who is far below Kizaru, but, still.

 

I don't know if I hate anyone much more in this series than I hate Blackbeard.  That bastard is the lowest of the low.  Not only is he responsible for turning in Ace to the World Government, but he picked the bones and took out a severely injured Whitebeard.  I don't know if One Piece will have a "final boss," always thought it was more of an end goal, and the arcs had been pretty self-contained up until now, not to mention Blackbeard introduced later on, but if not, he'll be a big problem going forward for sure.  And he liberated some of the most ugly and retarded looking criminals from that prison! Also I'd like to see how they took out Magellan!  That power seemed unbeatable!  Also, the super-giant thing?  First there were giants, then Oars, then this thing?  How much bigger are these giant people/creatures going to get?!  Also I'm curious about where the Oars and this giant prison dude are from.

 

Whitebeard's death was very sad too.  Like I said, even knowing the spoilers, the way the arc starts out, you don't expect it go this way, and you certainly don't want to see him die.  He was a great man.  Really liked his character.  Some of the "son" stuff was kinda cringey, especially the part with Skward, where he hugs him after he stabs him, but for the most part, I really liked how Whitebeard was handled.  And he was 72?!  Damn!  And all those injuries.  I wonder if Whitebeard was already dying thanks to his ailing health, and this battle was just too much for him, or what.  Would he have lived much longer if he hadn't gotten into this fight?  But even so, if he was already dying due to poor health, he still wasn't easy to kill!  Either way, I hope Blackbeard really gets his comeuppance at some point.  Won't be any time soon, I'm sure, but still.

 

Whitebeard told everyone the One Piece is real!  Heh heh heh.  That was awesome.

 

How... was Blackbeard able to steal Whitebeard's power?  We were told before that he can "absorb" and neutralize Devil Fruit powers, but straight up steal them?  Also Whitebeard was already dead, so what was there to steal?  It also breaks the rule of having more than one Devil Fruit Power.  Just seems way too hax.  By the way, makes me wonder what would happen if a Fishman ate a Devil Fruit.

 

I was hoping to see more from Tashigi since she and Smoker were here, but we really didn't get much.  I like her and I want to know what the whole deal is with her looking like Kuina.  Death from falling down the stairs is just way too stupid, and I could easily see someone surviving that and suffering amnesia, but with swordsmanship skills intact?  Hmm. But, we got very little of her.  Got a bit of Smoker, which was cool.  Was he always smoking that many cigars?!  We were also reminded about his sea prism stone weapon.  Which makes me wonder why more weapons aren't made with sea prism stone.  And why not bullets?!

 

I've seen the timeskip designs since it's pretty much impossible not to, and I wondered how Luffy might have gotten that scar.  I figured it had to be from some epic battle.  But nope, he got shot by Akainu along with Jimbei who was carrying him, while he was unconscious!  Can't say I expected that.  Luffy got it hard way, lol.  Also glad that Jimbei didn't die. D: I was going, not him too!

 

I don't like that Luffy hadn't seen Ace since they were kids when he met him at Alabasta.  I had always thought they saw each other more often than that, however infrequent it might have been.  And I'm not sure they even spent that much time together as kids.  So, that's disappointing to learn.  Not much time to become "brothers."  Also makes his death even sadder, though.  And, I was never under the impression that Luffy and Ace were related by blood.  Sure, you could argue they look like they could be, and that might have been intentional, but I always thought they were adopted.  I mean, we've had that whole recurring "D" thing, and I'm pretty sure not all those people are related to each other.  But, can't say I expected him to be Gold Roger's son!  And, his mother somehow prevented herself from birthing him for over 9 months... and died as a result?  That's not how pregnancy works!  Seemed kind of silly, almost like they were trying to make Ace into Pirate Jesus, lol.

 

Coby, so yeah, the guy froze up and freaked on the battlefield.  I do think the slaughter of the pirates was getting out of hand, and it was nice of him to step in, but still.  Not sure Coby is really needed that much, or needed to appear at all after his first appearance, lol.  I know back then I almost thought he was going to be Luffy's first crew member LOL.  Would be hilarious if Coby actually ended up becoming an admiral at some point, but somehow, I doubt it.

 

Okay, the Buggy stuff started to get old after a while. It was funny how much of an ass he was making out of himself and all the bullshit being shoveled though, lol.  Just, needed to be not so constant.

 

Shanks is another character I really like and am interested in, so it was great to see him here.  How badass is he and his crew that Blackbeard and the Navy doesn't want to mess with them?!  He hasn't seen Luffy since he was a kid, either.  Also kind of sad.  He said it wasn't time yet, but still, damn, dude.  Makes me wonder if they won't meet again until the end of the series if at all. D:

 

Really felt for Garp in all this.  Also wonder if Sengoku was really strong enough to hold Garp down like that.  Garp I think is also powerful than we think, regardless of him being ranked as "just" Vice Admiral.  He obviously couldn't bring himself to fight Luffy, but I really hope we get to see what he's capable of at some point.

 

Speaking of Sengoku, I was kind of disappointed in his Devil Fruit power and transformation.  Was kind of silly.  He just turns into a big Buddha statue, really?  And what are his powers?  Pretty annoyed that we didn't get to see much of his fight with Blackbeard!  Not everybody has to have a Devil Fruit power, either, by the way.  I would have been fine with him not having one.  Sengoku also strikes me as more moral than a lot of Navy characters.  He agreed to Shanks conditions, and he said he refused to cover up the Impel Down escape.

 

Bubble island whatever it's called seemed rather unscathed by that friggin tsunami!

 

It was great having Crocodile around, since he was a great villain and I'm a big fan of his.  Loved how he always has that depraved rapeface look with those glazed over evil eyes. But, what does he do now?  His goal was to kill Whitebeard, right?  Well, he's dead, so what does Crocodile do now?  Has to be a reason for him to be out of jail other than fan service, regardless of how much I might enjoy it!  Lol.

 

So, Kuma made a deal where he could jettison the Straw Hats across the world, assuming they wouldn't be able to be a threat after that, if they even survived, which wasn't a guarantee, and be able to make it back to anywhere that would cause any problems for the World Government, and in exchange, he gets turned into a mindless machine?  Thought maybe that might have been another Pacifista, but it was actually him.  Usually whenever you hear a character tell someone they will never meet again, they mean it literally.  But, it seems... Kuma is still here, but... not really?  Oh, and Invankov was apparently friends with him before.  Bleh.  Either way, these questions still waiting to be answered!

 

So, after Whitebeard died, the World Government would've have to known what would happen, right?  Yes, he's a pirate, and I realize they can't discriminate (then again, they make deals with some pretty scummy ones to make them Warlords), but you'd think they would have to know that Whitebeard was a peacekeeper of sorts and keeping things in balance.  Now, other pirates are running amok and going after the territory he had under his protection.  You'd think the World Government, and Navy would have the sense to know this.  Sengoku included.  And given Sengoku doesn't seem like a bad guy, I have a hard time seeing him going along with this if he knew what would happen.  I don't see him being too stupid or ill-informed not to know, either.  So, the government either didn't care, or are really incompetent and didn't understand the destabilizing effects Whitebeard's death would have.  Gotta say I am quite baffled by this.

 

Invankov is finally gone.  Good riddance!  So annoying.

 

So, the Amazons are still acting retarded and not letting men on the island, regardless of shit needing to be getting done.  Also why is Granny able to order Hancock around when that wasn't flying before?  Love that Law is in a submarine.  Love submarines.  Why do his crew members have those weird hats where you can't see their eyes?  Very odd.  And if anything that's something you should do with bad guy grunts.  Odd!  Didn't expect Law to be a doctor. I wonder if his weird power helps with that?

 

Whoo!  I really should stop to comment more often. But, sometimes I figure my questions might be answered later on in the same arc.  Besides, with the way Marineford was, so intense, so much suspense, so many close calls and really wanting to see the resolution, you just can't stop! 

 

[Top Gun]

There are only three Admirals in the Navy at any one time.  There are a much larger number of Vice Admirals, though.

[ben0119]

I... see.  Damn.  I was hoping for  more.