For me it was Kizaru showing an outburst of emotions like this over the choices he made, but basically the same moment and Akainu realizing he went too far was also great.
Why I liked the apology is because akainu kinda gets put in his place and realises he said something stupid and insensitive. Rightfully got told off. Didn't expect someone like him to say sorry though. That surprised me the most
I think another thing too is the reason say Akainu argued with Fujitora but not Kizaru is cause of how long they have known each other. Its again depicted how close Kizaru, Kuzan, and Akainu were (especially there are a lot more moments of Akainu and Kizaru together) very close, where as Fuji just joined the navy recently and doesnt share the same bond
But she really can’t. She’s right up there as one of the highest threat to the world government due to her capacity to control pacifistas. Right after Luffy and other Yonkos, alongside Robin, she should be on the MOST wanted list. There’s not many people who can protect her and keep her safe. She has to stay with the Strawhats.
I don't think one can become Fleet Admiral by being an one dimensional lawful evil person
I know people hate him for Ohara and Ace but i do think there is lot of depth with Akainu and i believe his relationship with the other admirals hints towards it that he always had other sides too
Also him looking like a Yakuza and the whole gardening theme exist too
Honestly, I'm kinda suspicious we might see a moment where Akainu and Luffy have to fight side by side. I don't think Akainu knows about Imu, and I don't think Imu will fit into his view of how the world should be run.
In fact, I always liked the idea that there will be a big civil war since the WG is getting worse all the time, now even willing to sink the world and never mind all its ideals being lies anyway
In the meantime i used to wonder where the Admirals would stand like Issho would be easy and now that we know about Greenbull, i think he is another easy case too
But the OG admirals who served for decades and are simply more story relevant seems more complicated
Kuzan is with Blackbeard and i slowly wonder if he is not a double agent and Blackbeard, in the same way as Luffy and Buggy might also have a talent to find allies everywhere
And now we saw a pretty interesting insight into Kizaro and Akainu
Also with the Elder beings confirmed as fighters, the introduction of the God Knights and the reveal of Seraphim, not having all the admirals isn't that bad anymore for the WG and they will still have plenty of heavy hitters during the Final War
And before anyone gets me wrong, i don't think Akainu is turning into a good person or anything like that
But it doesn't stopped other villains either to temporary ally with Luffy
We've always seen him so hard and tough, no one expected him to apologize to anyone. He actually has respect for kizaru and understands, or tries to understand, his position
When Kuzan was talking to Blackbeard about his fight with Sakazuki he mentioned or more so implied (albeit in a joking manner) that Sakazuki was being kinda sentimental about them fighting each other.
I guess Akainu knows pretty well about his own reputation and kind of relies on/appreciated the presence and recognition by his immediate peers (Aokiji&Kizaru). His conflict with Kuzan and now Borsalino's tone do actually affect him imo.
He has been my absolute favorite admiral since his introduction, and I'm eatin good this week. Seeing him get some characterization is absolutely incredible.
Love that dude. Even if he never turned good like folks predicted.
his actions finally caught up to him in this chapter, he FELT the consequences of losing his friend. it's interesting to think that Kizaru considers Vega his BEST FRIEND.
Technically Water 7 was also Ussop's. His friction with the crew due to his insecurity and apologising in the end, along with his growth via Sogeking to become the Brave Warrior of the Sea
Damn, the scene with the panel of everything burning and Kizaru crying was intense. It was so traumatic that even Akainu called him 'brother.'
The comedy was classic One Piece, like when they joked that he was so sad he ate only five bunches of grapes..lmao! And Usopp’s comment, ‘How are you the most evil one?’ was hilarious! Plus, Chopper hugging Robin was super cuteeee!
Now I know people like to claim ever silhouette is that one guy who was drinking with crocus during the first Post-timeskip cover story. But I think it really is it this time.
We probably still have 2-4 in between chapters before elbaf actualy starts, but nevertheless - this arc came out of nowhere and gave us one of the wildest rides in this mangas long history
This is the first arc I was able to read start to finish as a weekly reader. I started reading right when Wano actually 2 started. Such a fun experience it’s been
and some closure to egg head as to whether york is a CD now or not. What saturn did with the iron giant. and may be one last imu panel before we come back in.
Oda, that mad man did it. He successfully got Vegapunk onto the Straw Hat Ship (crew's inventor) but as a hot waifu not as a super old scientist. Also went through the stages of grief in about 2 panels. Let's get ready for Elbaf!
Off to Elbaf we go. Its actually intriguing to see Kizaru like this. Regrets killing a man he considered a friend and now has to live with the consequences and regrets. But he said it himself, he's cog in the machine. Essentially a lost cause.
And its also intriguing to see Lilith's reaction and basically saying that everything's fine. Which leads to more questions frankly. What did she mean by what she said.
And its also intriguing to see Lilith's reaction and basically saying that everything's fine. Which leads to more questions frankly. What did she mean by what she said.
The main brain is still alive. Meaning all the separated components are still part of the main brain. They were all robotic (manufactured) bodies, including the original vegapunk. Even if they had beating hearts, they're all manufactured.
All those daily uploads they do to the main server? They're all still alive, even if they're functionally dead.
I think it makes more sense for just the traits to be absorbed than ALL the knowledge, after all, it literally would not fit, that's why punk records exists.
This does leave the potential for Lilith to be re-connected to punk records if it remains in tact though.
I love the interaction between Borsalino and Sakazuki. Away with the poker face and the angry facade. Honest feelings from Borsalino and Sakazuki shows camaraderie.
What I also liked is that it's actually addressed that Luffy couldn't keep his promise to save Vegapunk and that he mourns his death.
I also enjoyed Vivi with her sincere attitude towards Big News Morgans.
Damn, the Kizaru moment was great. Finally we see him showing actual emotions. Never thought I'd see him shut down Sakazuki of all people..."you damn ingrate" wow. And Sakazuki actually apologizes. Good stuff.
I feel so bad for Sentomaru. He's all alone now :(
The way I understand it, all Vegapunk's (minus York) are technically alive in Lilith?
I think they’re technically alive in Punk Records since that’s Vegapunk’s actual brain, the Stella and the Satellites were just uplinked to it and storing all of their knowledge and memories there.
Their memories and “personalities” should all still be recorded in Punk Records, so if Lilith could build them new bodies they could “re-sync” and be restored.
In other words, they’re functionally dead because they have no bodies or distinct consciousnesses, but they are still alive because they are “backed up” in the main brain. A lot of people predicted that once the Punks started dying.
Lilith likely inherited all the dead Vegapunk personality into her now based on her dialogue, expression, gesture. The pointing index finger up while explaining is very Stella thing to do.
It has been revealed somewhere Akainu and Kizaru enlisted to marines together. Seems like they were friends for a long time, might be the only one Akainu has left. I don't think he would apologize to anyone else.
He wasn't depressed like this. He was depressed like that.
Seriously though, this isn't "ultimate sadness, I'm broken by grief" depression. It's probably as close as imposter syndrome as Luffy gets, though.
"I came in, I made promises, I punched people, and I couldn't fulfil my promises. Someone I said I'd protect is dead. I'm a joke. Yonkou... I couldn't even save a person."
I think he means “like this” as in perhaps he shouldn’t be this depressed. Where as with Ace it’s totally understandable why he would be so heartbroken and depressed.
I was not expecting that outburst of emotion from Kizaru. Like I thought he would be sad, display it in his way of playing it off just how he was during Egghead after all he is a cog in the machine. But the man out right yelled at Akainu and talked back called him little shit. A cog? Yes he did went with it after all, but a cog that has emotions and feeling and he finally allowed himself to let it all out.
And Akainu reaction really sold it for me I thought he would yell back but he was shooked and said sorry. I only wish Kizaru had it in him to break free but this is a huge step.
I love the in-between arc chapters because they're really where we see the most crew interactions.
Also refreshing to see that despite Luffy feeling always "Happy" when in Gear 5, he still feels his normal emotion immediately after and it's not wiped away, good to see his underlying character still there
I'm gonna speculate that Akainu did, in fact, have to kill his best friend before, which is part of why he's uncharacteristically apologetic to Kizaru here.
Also, I like that the flashback we get with Kizaru demonstrates Vegapunk's greed (that eventually becomes his downfall).
It's so shocking to see Kizaru actually cry. This is the first general time we've seen him emote and it's really sad. Especially seeing he had to kill his own friend in the name of "Justice".
Not to mention we have him backtalking to Sakazuki. And the hot headed lava man actually apologizing.
Really wondering why Kizaru resigned himself so deeply to the WG. Clearly he has a moral compass that runs contrary to the motives of his handlers.
Finally seeing the real complexity of his character reminds me a bit of Garp. Externally, they present themselves as being carefree and perhaps even lazy/ambivalent. And yet, they’ve both lost people that they care about and are shown in the end to be more than meets the eye. Wonder if they just did it all because they truly believe(d) that the WG, despite all it’s BS and treachery, was the one true balance of power in the One Piece universe.
Up until now, Kizaru has been nothing but a government lapdog with an OP DF. Thinking that’s gonna change at some point. Just hope Oda keeps building him up to be a more dynamic character, because I wouldn’t mind actually being a little more invested in Borsalino. He’s got swag, after all.
A Sakazuki is also the name of the ceremonial sake cups used for those kinds of oaths, so it would be very fitting if Akainu did have that kind of brotherhood with someone.
There's lots of theories that originate with how Akainu and Kizaru are both modelled after actors famous for Yakuza films, particularly one where Kizarus actor betrays the main character, acted by Akainus inspiration.
Aokiji however is modelled after an actor who famously played a tv detective.
I always assumed Sakazuki used to have a brotherly bond with Dragon, considering how Akainu referred to Luffy as “Dragon’s son” like 20 times in Marineford lol. And now we know that Dragon used to be a marine too
I love emotional Kizaru. If Akainu would have asked him that shit face to face, he would have become mc for 5min and would have kicked Akainus sorry ass
I didn't think Sakazuki and Kizaru were that close. Dude snapped at the Fleet Admiral and Sakazuki apologized and called him brother. I hope we get more of their dynamic because it never really existed until now.
I am glad Oda characterized Kizaru's relationship with Vegapunk more and showed him as a builder on Egghead. The panel of him standing on the ship looking at the burning ruins of Egghead is so good.
These scenes of the straw hats together on the ship really are the glue that binds this entire story together. The big battle arcs don't give time or space for the type of characterization that makes them sing, the things that happen and are said in moments like this is really what makes them feel like characters.
Like, Zoro saying Luffy shouldn't be that upset by the death of one old man is unironically the most interesting he's been in a while, just with that one statement. He's more of a stern hardass than ever, the higher this crew goes, the further they make it, the more wanted they become, the more seriously he takes it to the point where he's the sole, singular person in the entire crew that's able to be this brutally honest about where their priorities need to be.
Am I nuts for thinking that people are taking Lillith's line about everyone being alive too literally. Like. Theres a giant supercomputer brain in a jar with the combined knowledge of all of them. They're alive in the sense that their memories still exist there no
Robin hugging Chopper like an emotional support (stuffed) animal is everything for me. And also finally seeing the emotions of Kizaru is great, maybe it's not too late for him to redeem himself.
OMG the panel of Robin hugging Chopper made me smile from ear to ear. She was so happy at the thought of possibly seeing Saul again. Kizaru snapping at Akainu was also a great panel.
The last page hade me grinning ear to ear, I'll never get tired of the after-Arc partys no matter how often I get to see them :)
I'm also glad Oda adressed the fact that the Straw Hats basically failed their objective in Egghead. The switch-up from gloomy to party was very sudden, but in the end, what Lilith said is true. Vegapunk does live on through her. Too bad she's the satelllite I was least interested in during the arc.
Kizaru's moment hit me surprisingly hard. He was missing in action for so long that I almost forgot he was part of the arc. Another instance where I'm very happy Oda didn't just end the arc before addressing this subplot one last time. It managed to give Kizaru some much needed character depth.
If you see how dejected Luffy was about possibly breaking a promise, JoyBoy must have been GUTTED to break his promise to the fishmen.
Possibly gave up there?
I love Kizaru as a character but I'm also enjoying seeing him in so much emotional turmoil. That smug son of a bitch finally felt what the Straw Hats felt 2 years ago at Saobody.
Almost 30 years in the making and Luffy is finally gonna see Shanks. I know this gets said a lot nowadays, but we're really in the endgame now. Feels super bittersweet.
The way Kizaru reacted to Akainu... Damn. Kinda hit me and was pretty strong. It must've been painful to have to kill your best friend in the line of duty. I do not envy that man at all. Serious Kizaru has the potential to be really, really scary.
Akainu calling him brother is also surprising, though if the actual Japanese did actually use the term brother (kyoudai I believe is the word I'm thinking of), then the name Sakazuki actually fits kinda nicely (Sakazuki can refer to the ritual to create sworn brothers, similar to when ASL drank from the cup).
I wonder what's up with Stella. Sanji talking to his corpse last chapter makes me think that maybe it's not actually a corpse and might be alive.
I do like that moment where Kizaru gets angry and tearfully yells at Sakazuki for accusing him of "slacking off", as if he doubts Kizaru's conviction and commitment to the Marines. At this point, his loyalty to the Marines is all he's got.
Usopp asking what I've been wondering forever; how is it that Lilith is the "evil" one? I'm starting to think that she's by far the most emotional one, and that this makes her "evil" from a scientific point of view; science need rationality and emotions are the thing that's the furthest away from being rational. So Lilith's emotions are almost like an enemy to science.
Shaka was tagged as the "good" one not because he's morally so much better than Lilith (because they really didn't differ much on that department), but because he's so much more rational and calm than Lilith. Always calculative and avoiding conflict. Which I guess leads to the best type of thinking in Vegapunk's eyes (because Lilith would not have gone along with Stella's death plan, would've probably gone after York immediately).
"Inherited will" was a big theme in Egghead.
And now we even get the conclusion for Vegapunk.
Because every Satellite had a backup in the cloud, they didn't truely die. Now Lillith is Vegapunk minus the aspect of his greed, which is honestly an upgrade.
New young and sexy Vegapunk for president!!!
We are also going full circle her to when the Arc started.
Lillith just opening with "I'm Vegapunk", huge foreshadowing.
I guess Kizaru's words hit harder if we consider that Aokiji also had to ""kill"" his close friend Saul, so Sakazuki is the only one from the OG Admirals who didn't have to deal with that conflict.
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u/MmkThen Aug 22 '24
Really loving Big News Morgans. "Even the truth is captivating now" What an opportunistic little fucker, lol!