第29回：The Greatest G-Narration

Norwegian-themed American football team manga humor. Very small following. Right!

This chapter saw Hajrudin break the ever-living out of his arm, leg and teeth when he withstood the force of Machvice’s 10,000 tons of pain. To put that weight in perspective, it’s approximately the same weight as a real heavy cruiser naval warship.

The giant’s all-or-nothing desperate attack, ’Gungnir’ succeeded in removing Machvice as a threat and probably trimming off a good portion of his rather extensive body weight.
Any fan of Norse mythology will recognize Gungnir as the dwarven spear wielded by the ’Allfather’ god, Odin; a spear forged with such skill, it *always* hits its target. Actually, Odin, or themes related to him, have popped up throughout many parts of One Piece! Here are a few:

Have you ever noticed how there doesn’t seem to be much narration for battles in One Piece? Usually a comic series requires either the narrator, a ’peanut gallery’ of commentators or some very talkative pugilists to meaningfully convey what’s happening in a battle. Yet in One Piece, even characters like Gatz or Itomimizu, actual commentators, are less integral to describing the battle to the reader than they are to conveying the proceedings to spectators *in* the story.

Recently, some One Piece buddies were discussing the lack of battle narration in the series and lo’ and behold, Chapter 771! Five yutzes giving us the play-by-play with over the top reactions and retorts to the insane antics of Lao G and his opponents!

Does this seem familiar to you? It should! There’s another arc where Oda-sensei pulled off the same technique with strikingly similar effect!

Thriller Bark: Sanji VS Absalom! During the chapel battle a priest and an attendant zombie added colorful commentary and quips while Absalom and Sanji battled for Nami’s dignity (all the while handily losing their own).

Could ’battle narration only for comedic effect’ be another one of Oda-sensei’s famous policies?

Episode 673 brought viewers an original segment which expanded on scenes only hinted at in the comic: how Robin became toyified and how Sugar came to know the secret of the tatababasco grape.

How about the Leo scene though? Nothing like seeing the little fella covered in wounds and determined to complete his mission no matter what.

Actually, the name ’Leo’ comes from the Latin word for ’lion’. Even in Japan, the lion is considered ’king of the beasts’ and a symbol of unwavering pride. I’d say the ’spear of conviction’ Leo holds in his heart is comparable to Hajrudin’s Gungnir, no?

By the way, it turns out that ’tonta’ is a Spanish term for ’foolish’. Given Dressrosa’s overall Spanish theme, do you think that might be intentional? While I’d never question the Tontattas’ conviction or bravery, it doesn’t take a microscope to see their super-sized gullibility.

A very emotional finale sees Usopp returning to take a stand against Sugar and Trebol; opponents just as overwhelming for him as they are for the entire Tontatta army. I already discussed the emotional impact of this scene in the past but I was unprepared for the extra punch the animated version would pack. Kappei Yamaguchi’s transition from ’desperate and conflicted’ Usopp to ’ready to head-butt death in the face’ Usopp was thrilling!

It was also a pleasure to see the animation team augment the comedy gold from the finale which wasn’t directly addressed in the comic. As Usopp finished his dramatic speech and came clean, the entire Tontatta army completely ignored his real name and continued to call him Usoland. That struck me as hilarious when I first read it so it was a pleasure when the episode, which had me in tears, ended with me laughing out loud and smiling at the adorable naivety of the Tontatta.

Last up, here are two cases of the number 59 showing up in the underground port. In Japanese 5 and 9 could be pronounced go-ku. You don’t think it’s referencing ’him’ do you?