Manga Review: One Piece - 651-654
Slowly but surely our Straw Hats are taking their leave of Fishman Island. Of course, leave it to Luffy to make an enemy along the way…
——
With the celebratory banquet finally at an end, our intrepid (and full) crew make haste to find the treasure thief Caribou so that they may relieve him of his ill-gotten gains. With record speed (2 panels), Luffy and co. dispatch the poor logia user while at the same time, the Minister of the Left deals with another matter.
At the nearby candy factory, Pekoms and Baron Tamago (gotta love Oda-san!) seek Fishman island’s monthly stipend of candy for Big Mom. Obviously, because of the events involving Hody Jones and the subsequent feast thanking the Straw Hats, there was no candy to be had. As the Minister began to iron out the wrinkles in their situation, Zoro, Sanji and Luffy walk past. Pekoms overhears Luffy talk about the delicious candy he had eaten and questions him further.
When Luffy explains that he ate all that was left of the fishman candy, Baron Tamago enlightens all of them on the severity of their actions. Apparently Big Mom is not known for her understanding when it comes to her not receiving sweets. Once an agreement is made, it is expected to be fulfilled regardless of the circumstances. Tamago goes on to say that if the agreed amount of sweets were not delivered, then Big Mom would destroy Fishman Island.
This obviously does not sit well with Luffy.
On a seemingly random island out in the New World, we finally catch a glimpse of the Yonkou Charlotte Linlin, a.k.a. Big Mom.
Indeed, she is big.
Learning that her appetite for fishman candy will not be wheted any time soon, she gets in touch with her emissaries through a den-den mushi. As both Pekoms and Tamago explain the situation further to Mom, Luffy steals the mushi away and makes his intentions clear to the yonkou…
…probably not the best thing to do.
To be honest, this chapter didn’t really do much for me. Yeah, it was nice to finally see Big Mom (not really what I expected). I kinda just want them to leave the island already. :33
Chapter 652 opens up with Jimbei and King Neptune having a little heart to heart chat. The implications of this conversation are that Jimbei has thrown his hat in with Big Mom for the sake of protecting Fishman Island. Also, it seems that Neptune has been looking into replacement colors just in case the arrangement with Mom doesn’t work out. Apparently a jolly roger wearing a straw hat seems to catch his eye.
Jimbei seems to agree as well.
After the exchange, the Minister of the Right approaches Neptune in quite a fluster. It seems as though they had left a booby trap amongst their treasure hoard. Y’know, the treasure they gave to Luffy? Silly, forgetful fishmen.
No biggie, though. All they needed to do was get in contact with the Straw Hats, let them know the situation, and have them return the box with the bomb.
Wait for it…..
Yup. Luffy gave the treasure to Big Mom. All of it. Not only that, but he filled in Neptune and Jimbei on his threat/challenge to Mom. This puts a wrinkle in Jimbei’s plans AND pisses off Nami. Good job, Luffy!
Now, is it just me or has Caribou been relegated to the role of “Team Rocket” in the latter half of this arc? We are treated with a little aside of him attempting to retrieve his treasure from Pekoms and Tamago. Pekoms then proceeds to hand him his ass on a silver platter.
Poor guy can’t catch a break.
The tail end of this very eventful chapter revolves around the current whereabouts of Tashigi and Smoker. Promotions abound! Smoker is now a Vice Admiral, which definitely seems like a good idea since the Marines lost Aokiji. It seems like he’s been biding his time, waiting for a chance to encounter Luffy. With pirates floating up from Fishman Island like flotsam from a shipwreck, Smoker now has a lead.
I was much happier with the events of this week’s chapter as opposed to the last one. There were quite a bit more laughs to be had this time around (mostly at the expense of Caribou…ha ha). Plus it was nice to see Smoker again. Individual Justice seems to be a recurring theme amongst the higher ups of the Marines.
Chapter 653’s title should’ve been: OMG they’re finally leaving!!!!1! I do understand that a majority of the previous chapters were necessary for the tying up of loose ends and for setting up future plot points…
…..however, I feel that all of the above could have been accomplished in a more expedient amount of time.
but I digress.
The denizens of Fishman Island are in a tizzy as the Straw Hats make their final preparations to leave for the New World. Caimie shares words with Madame Shirley, who has apparently given up on fortune telling. Leave it to Luffy to prove a prophecy wrong.
As the crew mull about in their typical aloof fashion (save Usopp and Chopper, who are dreading the retribution of Big Mom), King Neptune and his Minister of the Right are torn as to whether or not to mention that they just gave Big Mom a bomb.
In the meantime, Nami receives a special three-needled log pose from the Minister of the Left. Since the seas from here on in will be treacherous, a more advanced pose is necessary to delineate the dangerous routes from the safer ones.
Luffy doesn’t believe in safe. (btw, this is my favorite panel of the chapter…ha ha ha)
The moment finally arrives where the last good-byes are given…but not without one last request from Shirahoshi. The Princess wishes see the world above with Luffy when they meet again. Of course Luffy agrees outright as does his crew, so with a pinky swear, the promise is made.
A very touching moment.
We are then treated with one final moment of retrospective thought from Luffy, as well as a re-affirmation of goals from the rest of the crew, before the straw hats take off on the next leg of their journey.
Chapter 654 goes out of its way to teach us 3 things:
1) shower scenes are never in bad taste
2) there is always a bigger fish
and
3) whales love Brook
We catch Luffy and his crew whiling the time away while envisioning every deep-sea fish that pass as a future meal. As Nami finishes up her bathing session (woo!), the Thousand Sunny manages to get caught in a massive underwater current. The ship rides the Strom up until they land smack dab in the middle of a pod of whales.
Brook becomes overwhelmed with the thought of his dear Laboon, and begins serenading the massive pod. Nami, being the crack navigator that she is, deduces that the whales are also riding the ascending current and instructs the crew to lead Sunny into their wake.
After a brief musical respite, the ship emerges amidst a seascape most foul, though you would not be able to tell that from the reception of the Straw Hats. They actually seem excited (except for Usopp)
There were no huge plot points to push, no aforementioned names to drop, and no fights to drag out in this week’s chapter…just the Straw Hats making their way to the ocean surface. I have always been a fan of the wild takes in One Piece, and true to form they show up in quite a few of the pages.
Whew!
I suppose for space’s sake I should lump together my ratings for this batch. Time for some math!
Chapter 651- 3.5/5
Chapter 652- 4.0/5
Chapter 653- 4.5/5
Chapter 654- 4.0/5
Overall GO Rating: 4/5
On a related note, I wish to apologize for the infrequency with which I have been posting OP reviews. I won’t go into a long winded explanation, but suffice to say I have no excuse for such egregious delays. I will be making a more concentrated effort in posting in a more timely manner, so I hope you stick with me!
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