I think if you quote someone and it loads the quote in your post before the edit, it'll show as is and if it loads after the edit is made, it'll show the edited version. I've occasionally quoted posts only for them to appear differently in my text box.
its super annoying lol
It'd be hilarious if that is the first look into Luffy's mind in the whole series.
Luffy and Blackbeard are the reincarnations of Imu's children.
Yep luffy is joyboy's reincarnation while blackbeard is rocks' reincarnation, both children of Imu
Your intimidation tactics won't work anymore
Do not deny your heart what it wants.
Silfer was kind enough to color me asta in zenitsu colors so I'm rocking it
you are coming up on an amazing arc. enjoy, it gets even better from here.
Y'all know the deal. Back with more thoughts on One Piece! Put them in spoiler tags cause the shit is long, son.
SKY ISLAND SAGA
Jaya Arc
Talked about it a bit before, but I really loved how this arc. It started a bit 50/50 for me, as I loved that Robin joined the crew but I wasn't really feeling Masira and the other monkey guys. I did appreciate the adventure aspect of them diving underwater for information, as I make my way through this series the more adventure like chapters pull me in more than the standard battle shonen stuff. Usually not the case for me so I find that pretty special. Anyway, the crew heads into Mock Town pretty quickly from there and the rest of the saga is fire.
I really like pirate towns, so I enjoyed Mock Town a lot. Funny that much of my enjoyment came from how I hated Bellamy, but I think he was a necessary evil. It was nice seeing Luffy and Zoro stick to their ideals, reminded me of when Shanks got his ass beat long ago doing the same thing. Blackbeard recognizing that they won that battle was interesting too. Matter of fact, everything about Blackbeard is intriguing. When I first saw him at the bar I thought he was a no name or at best fodder, but by the time they head to Skypeia that's obviously not the case. I'm getting ahead of myself, almost forgot about Montblanc and the stuff that happens on Jaya!
So the Strawhats go off to meet Montblanc Cricket and see if he knows how to get them to the Sky Island. Turns out he does, and he turns out to be a pretty nice guy as well. It was here that the monkey guys grew on me as they all partied with the Straw Hats. After seeing how evil Bellamy and his crew was, it was easy to like the guys helping out our main characters. I got a kick out of that bird and how it tried to use the forest to kill them, too. Cheeky little bugger.
Just as it looks like they'll be able to make it to Sky Island, Bellamy and his boys show up to cause more trouble. If there's one thing I hate it's jackasses who stomp on other people's dreams. Very much like Luffy in that regard, so you can believe I was ready for Bellamy to get his shit pushed in. As expected, Luffy did not disappoint. The best one hit K.O. in the series thus far(I feel like there's been a lot tbh so that's saying something)
With the story of Noland in their minds and a promise to ring a bell(Anybody else think Tales of Vesperia?) in their hearts, they set sail for the knock up stream. As awesome as Skypeia ended up being, I am a little salty they left just as things in the Blue Seas were getting interesting. Chapter 234 still has me shook - new Shichibukai's, seeing the World Government for the first time, and Blackbeard just straight up coming for the Strawhats- I need to see what happens! I thought for sure some of those strands would be picked up immediately, but nope.
I'm not too upset. They did have to take down a false god.
SKYPEIA ARC
Aesthetically, Skypeia is my favorite island yet. I mean, how could it not be? It's a city in the sky! That's like a car that runs on water, man. I also feel like the exposition was handled really well in the first couple of chapters. Meeting Gan Fall, Conis, her dad, and finding out about the dials all felt organic. I love how Oda is staying consistent with the characters - Nami being the only one to know how to work a Waver makes sense and I feel like other writers would've given Luffy the natural skill to ride it because he's the MC. It might not be the best example, but I dig how despite being the strongest Strawhat the other crewmates all feel capable.
The arc has to get started, and before we know it the Strawhats are betrayed and forced to go through trials. I thought the arrival of Enel's lackeys and Conis' betrayal was excellently done. At this point we only know Enel from what others have said, and seeing how much control he has over everyone lets us know he's gonna be a tough cookie. That and the fact that he can just nuke you with a lightning bolt if you talk shit. Seriously, that's OP.
While I did enjoy the trials and had things just kept balloning in scope with the Shandians arriving and then Enel getting invovled himself, it felt really similar to the climax of the Alabasta Arc. There were more than enough differences that it did not feel like a complete retread, but at the same time....having one force rebelling against the ones in power with the Strawhats stuck in the middle is exactly what happened at the climax of the last saga. Even Conis arriving in town and convincing the sky peeps to run felt similar to Vivi trying to get the rebels and the guard to listen to her. I know it was a lot easier for Conis to persuade people, but still...
The fights were also similar but still enjoyable. I'm never gonna not love seeing Zoro wreck shit, and I did love his takedown of Ohm. Chopper and Robin's fights were great as well. Chopper stepping up to the plate was overdue, because honestly after Drum Island I thought he'd be fighting a lot more. Hope he continues fighting instead of running, leave that to Usopp. While Robin's fight was pretty much a stomp after she got clear of the ruins the hands are growing on me. Wonder how a conversation between her and Shigaraki from MHA would go.
Let's talk about Enel and the other side characters though. Enel stole the show, as every time he showed up on page I wondered who he was going to murk next. I really thought Sanji and Usopp were taken out for the rest of the arc when they got burned the first time. His plan was also sadistic and petty, which is great for a villain. I got a kick out of him laying the rules of the game and predicting how many would be left at the end of the three hours. That whole run of chapters was great, largely because of the arrival of the Shandians and Enel. Unlike last arc, I think the side characters were the MVPs here. With the exception of Luffy(who's always cool) and Robin(who just intrigues me) when I think about what happened I keep seeing Gan Fall saving Chopper and being a badass even in defeat. Or Wyper using reject on that tree to finally bring it down. Speaking of Wyper, guy used reject 3 times and his body didn't shatter. Put some respek on his name.
My favorite part of this whole saga might've been the Noland/Kalgara flashback. Seeing the two start to bond the way they did made me unexpectedly emotional. While it sucks they never got to reunite during their lifetime, seeing the whole story of how part of the island was launched into the sky and how the two never gave up on each other made me cheer even harder when Luffy kicked Enel's ass and rung the bell. I didn't like the Luffy vs. Enel fight as much as Luffy vs. Crocodile because I feel the pacing was off and therefore the fight didn't feel like that much of a priority, BUT that last moment was sublime. Plus, it looks like Enel escaped so I'm sure we'll see more of him.
All in all, another great saga. If Alabasta was a 9/10, Sky Island Saga is an 8/10. Feels a little too similar to Alabasta in places. However, I'll miss the island for sure. I'm ready to see what the World Government, Shichibukai's, Blackbeard, and Ace have been up to though!
sleeper agent
Y'all know the deal. Back with more thoughts on One Piece! Put them in spoiler tags cause the shit is long, son.
SKY ISLAND SAGA
Jaya Arc
Talked about it a bit before, but I really loved how this arc. It started a bit 50/50 for me, as I loved that Robin joined the crew but I wasn't really feeling Masira and the other monkey guys. I did appreciate the adventure aspect of them diving underwater for information, as I make my way through this series the more adventure like chapters pull me in more than the standard battle shonen stuff. Usually not the case for me so I find that pretty special. Anyway, the crew heads into Mock Town pretty quickly from there and the rest of the saga is fire.
I really like pirate towns, so I enjoyed Mock Town a lot. Funny that much of my enjoyment came from how I hated Bellamy, but I think he was a necessary evil. It was nice seeing Luffy and Zoro stick to their ideals, reminded me of when Shanks got his ass beat long ago doing the same thing. Blackbeard recognizing that they won that battle was interesting too. Matter of fact, everything about Blackbeard is intriguing. When I first saw him at the bar I thought he was a no name or at best fodder, but by the time they head to Skypeia that's obviously not the case. I'm getting ahead of myself, almost forgot about Montblanc and the stuff that happens on Jaya!
So the Strawhats go off to meet Montblanc Cricket and see if he knows how to get them to the Sky Island. Turns out he does, and he turns out to be a pretty nice guy as well. It was here that the monkey guys grew on me as they all partied with the Straw Hats. After seeing how evil Bellamy and his crew was, it was easy to like the guys helping out our main characters. I got a kick out of that bird and how it tried to use the forest to kill them, too. Cheeky little bugger.
Just as it looks like they'll be able to make it to Sky Island, Bellamy and his boys show up to cause more trouble. If there's one thing I hate it's jackasses who stomp on other people's dreams. Very much like Luffy in that regard, so you can believe I was ready for Bellamy to get his shit pushed in. As expected, Luffy did not disappoint. The best one hit K.O. in the series thus far(I feel like there's been a lot tbh so that's saying something)
With the story of Noland in their minds and a promise to ring a bell(Anybody else think Tales of Vesperia?) in their hearts, they set sail for the knock up stream. As awesome as Skypeia ended up being, I am a little salty they left just as things in the Blue Seas were getting interesting. Chapter 234 still has me shook - new Shichibukai's, seeing the World Government for the first time, and Blackbeard just straight up coming for the Strawhats- I need to see what happens! I thought for sure some of those strands would be picked up immediately, but nope.
I'm not too upset. They did have to take down a false god.
SKYPEIA ARC
Aesthetically, Skypeia is my favorite island yet. I mean, how could it not be? It's a city in the sky! That's like a car that runs on water, man. I also feel like the exposition was handled really well in the first couple of chapters. Meeting Gan Fall, Conis, her dad, and finding out about the dials all felt organic. I love how Oda is staying consistent with the characters - Nami being the only one to know how to work a Waver makes sense and I feel like other writers would've given Luffy the natural skill to ride it because he's the MC. It might not be the best example, but I dig how despite being the strongest Strawhat the other crewmates all feel capable.
The arc has to get started, and before we know it the Strawhats are betrayed and forced to go through trials. I thought the arrival of Enel's lackeys and Conis' betrayal was excellently done. At this point we only know Enel from what others have said, and seeing how much control he has over everyone lets us know he's gonna be a tough cookie. That and the fact that he can just nuke you with a lightning bolt if you talk shit. Seriously, that's OP.
While I did enjoy the trials and had things just kept balloning in scope with the Shandians arriving and then Enel getting invovled himself, it felt really similar to the climax of the Alabasta Arc. There were more than enough differences that it did not feel like a complete retread, but at the same time....having one force rebelling against the ones in power with the Strawhats stuck in the middle is exactly what happened at the climax of the last saga. Even Conis arriving in town and convincing the sky peeps to run felt similar to Vivi trying to get the rebels and the guard to listen to her. I know it was a lot easier for Conis to persuade people, but still...
The fights were also similar but still enjoyable. I'm never gonna not love seeing Zoro wreck shit, and I did love his takedown of Ohm. Chopper and Robin's fights were great as well. Chopper stepping up to the plate was overdue, because honestly after Drum Island I thought he'd be fighting a lot more. Hope he continues fighting instead of running, leave that to Usopp. While Robin's fight was pretty much a stomp after she got clear of the ruins the hands are growing on me. Wonder how a conversation between her and Shigaraki from MHA would go.
Let's talk about Enel and the other side characters though. Enel stole the show, as every time he showed up on page I wondered who he was going to murk next. I really thought Sanji and Usopp were taken out for the rest of the arc when they got burned the first time. His plan was also sadistic and petty, which is great for a villain. I got a kick out of him laying the rules of the game and predicting how many would be left at the end of the three hours. That whole run of chapters was great, largely because of the arrival of the Shandians and Enel. Unlike last arc, I think the side characters were the MVPs here. With the exception of Luffy(who's always cool) and Robin(who just intrigues me) when I think about what happened I keep seeing Gan Fall saving Chopper and being a badass even in defeat. Or Wyper using reject on that tree to finally bring it down. Speaking of Wyper, guy used reject 3 times and his body didn't shatter. Put some respek on his name.
My favorite part of this whole saga might've been the Noland/Kalgara flashback. Seeing the two start to bond the way they did made me unexpectedly emotional. While it sucks they never got to reunite during their lifetime, seeing the whole story of how part of the island was launched into the sky and how the two never gave up on each other made me cheer even harder when Luffy kicked Enel's ass and rung the bell. I didn't like the Luffy vs. Enel fight as much as Luffy vs. Crocodile because I feel the pacing was off and therefore the fight didn't feel like that much of a priority, BUT that last moment was sublime. Plus, it looks like Enel escaped so I'm sure we'll see more of him.
All in all, another great saga. If Alabasta was a 9/10, Sky Island Saga is an 8/10. Feels a little too similar to Alabasta in places. However, I'll miss the island for sure. I'm ready to see what the World Government, Shichibukai's, Blackbeard, and Ace have been up to though!
Can't wait!
Is the anime worth it? After I finish an arc I YouTube the fights and that's good enough for me but I feel like I'm missing out on the OST by not watching
I said coming up because water 7 isnt the next arc lol
As Lotus said, the anime is pretty good up until the end of the next major arc. Although personally I think the arc after that is fine in the anime too.
Gotcha, thanks guys. Yeah I'll just have to look up the bits I really like, no way I can watch 300+ episodes of the anime and like another 600 chapters of the manga lol. It would take me forever to catch up
