第24回：あの男とオープニングの秘密！

Finally! A new move from Law, Radio Knife. A radio knife is an actual electrical cutting instrument used in surgery also commonly called a ’cautery knife’. The knife cauterizes tissue as it cuts to prevent excess bleeding. Good call by Law since this ensures his opponent’s sticky body won’t be able to easily rejoin itself.

Look closely at Law in the panel before the attack to see bursts of electricity emitting from Kikoku as well as between the bits of Trebol in the final page of Chapter 759.

Sea monsters going wild!? Mysterious ruins!? Dressrosa in chaos!? Colors of Armament Octopus Stamp! A secret treasure hidden within Mariejoa!? A procedure to gain ’eternal life’!? Law’s flashback!? AND CORAZON!?!?

This is all a bit too much to handle. Let’s take a deep breath, step back and look at something more simple…

Like Corazon’s cap!

It’s commonly known as a ’coif’ but most of us probably just call it, ’that medieval cap thing’. It was all the rage in the 13th century, however, in the late 14th century the cap became more of a feminine accessory. In battle, men continued to wear padded versions of coifs called ’arming caps’ which aided in the fitting of their helmets. Coifs adorn a number of One Piece’s many supporting characters like this member of the Tightrope Walking Funan Brothers.

Oda-sensei’s take on the coif is a significantly more stylized and updated variation. If you’ve got a sharp memory, you might recall that the defunct Bellamy Gang’s gunner, Rivers, wore a coif similar to Corazon’s and he’s also supposedly from North Blue, where Law’s flashback takes place.

I wonder if the coif might be a staple of North Blue fashion? Also note the Spade Army goon from Acacia’s restaurant casino also wore a unique coif. If he came to Dressrosa with the Donquixote Family, he might hail from North Blue as well!

And now what you’ve all been waiting for, helmet talk! The menacing armored figures in Mingo’s flashback panel are definitely some people we’ve seen before. In Japanese the dialect is a huge hint that Celestial Dragons are somewhere in that scene but check out the characteristic shape of the helmet. Those helmets are worn by the personal guard of the Celestial Dragons!

Two years ago on Sabaody Archipelago, similarly armored soldiers were clearly seen with Saint Charlos and Saint Roswald.

Surprisingly, being guards for high-born royalty, they’re total pushovers; Sanji and Zoro totally wrecked them at the Human Auction. Perhaps the Celestials can afford to be lightly guarded because so few people would even *think* of defying them.

The ’Cravat’d One’ has finally made his debut! Veteran voice actor Toru Furuya (whose long list of prominent roles includes Yamcha from Dragon Ball) is lending his famous pipes to this *very* important character!

When Sabo met Luffy viewers were also treated to an original line of dialogue not found in the comic: "It’s been a while, Luffy!" And bravo to the art direction team for the shot of three cups at Ace’s grave. We can see that the sake brand is ’Sanzoku Sakazuki’ (Mountain Bandit Sake Cups) which is the same sake that Ace, Sabo and Luffy made their promise of brotherhood on as children. There’s even a squint-or-you’ll-miss-it glimpse of the same brand in the summer 2014 anime special "3D2Y".

There was also a surprise for fans in the ’updated’ opening! In the latter half, scenes from the early Dressrosa arc have been replaced by brief battle scenes, mainly featuring Mingo’s ’Family’.

Check out Pica! Can’t WAIT to see *that* ability animated. By the way, there’s also a change in the first half of the intro, did you spot it? Here’s a hint, check what Luffy and the gang are chasing after.

Speaking of the opening, did you know there are a few secrets sprinkled in the 15th anniversary opening? Look for the segment in the second half where the Straw Hats pop up in pairs with dots in the background. Check those dots, you might find something interesting.★

Senor Pink and Franky have begun their legendary manly-battle!

In a scene original to the animation, Senor ’swims’ up behind Franky only to rise up directly in front of him completely prone to attack. Franky, not one to shy away from such an invitation, plants a Strong Right in Senor’s face.

BAM! HOWEVER, you would do well to remember this line because the Senor’s signature move is…well, you’ll see. Buncha weirdoes.