第37回："The Trigger"

Structurally speaking this chapter was a rollercoaster from the title to the last panel. Let’s look at some of this chapter’s twists and turns!

Looks like even Luffy and Law are getting in on this situational t-shirt thing. They’re having an argument through their clothing!

Although not a detail unique to this chapter, since we spent a lot of time with Dressrosa civilians I’ll bring it to the forefront. Did you notice how many background (or ’mob scene’) characters are shouldering backpacks? It’s a tiny detail that reveals how deeply Oda-sensei considers the realistic response of his mob characters to story developments. It fits with the timeline of events that civilians, fearing the worst, would only have had the time to gather important personal belongings within reach before rushing for refuge.

Even though this situational t-shirt requires a bit of explaining, it’s actually a clever gag. Flower in Japanese is ’hana’; add ’re’and ’law’ to that which gives you ’hanarelaw’. This doesn’t seem to make much sense in ’any’ language until one considers how ’law’ is *intended* to sound in Japanese. Instead of the English ’law’, think of the English ’low’ which is actually how Trafalgar Law’s name is pronounced in Japanese. This pronunciation reveals the Japanese gag: ’hanarero~!’ or, ’GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE!’.

Hey, we heard this same rumor about Luffy’s height at the start of the arc in the colosseum. It’s not hard to believe since Luffy actually *does* stretch and shrink. It’s also a nice reminder of the effect that rumors have on Luffy and his crew.

Two years ago in Water Seven there were already a series of dubious rumors circulating about the number of the Straw Hat crew’s members! If that was two years ago, I wonder what other kinds of rumors will start circulating about them now!

Now this is huge! We got a big hint that Burgess was up to some burglary when he was shouldering that stereotypical thief’s furoshiki from the last chapter; and while we still don’t know if he nabbed anything from the palace, he *really* wants to get his hands on the Gum Gum Fruit. Interesting, I wonder why? Is it just part of Blackbeard’s Devil Fruit Hunt or is there something else behind his motivation? Since we know a given Devil Fruit’s properties will transfer to a new nearby ’normal’ (but perhaps specific) fruit upon the death of a Devil Fruit user, does this mean Burgess has a variety of fruits in his pack? If so, back in the palace, was he planning to execute the KO’d Donquixote Family members by himself for all of their powers?

Interesting choice of words there by Sabo. Back in Chapter 441 it’s exactly how the narrator described the events on Banaro Island.

Also, check out these guys. Gotta love when Oda-sensei busts out the *GLARE!* onomatopoeia and the passion with which he depicts characters willing to defend Luffy!

I was also surprised to see the reveal of Sabo’s anger, or rather lack thereof, towards Burgess for contributing to Ace’s death. This choice may not resound with young readers but his stance is something that older readers, whether they agree or disagree with it, must admit leads to interesting debate and adds an unexpected and profound aspect to Sabo.

And check out Spartan fighting for Luffy’s sake! Guess he learned his lesson!

Aw, isn’t he just adowable! You just wanna pinch those gaunt little cheeks, and send him merrily on his way to play with those…GRENADES!? I was wondering who might bear the weight of playing this 10-year old incarnation of our favorite deadly surgeon and the answer to that query is…KAMIYA-SAN!? WOAH! Hiroshi Kamiya-san, who provides Law’s adult voice, will also be handling his child role!

In One Piece, it’s not terribly rare to see female voice actresses lending their talents to the adult and young versions of their characters; Akemi Okamura-san (Nami) and Misa Watanabe-san (Vivi) voice both versions of their characters.

However, when it comes to male characters voiced by male thespians, having the adult voice actor perform the child version is considerably more rare! Keeping in mind that Brook’s voice as a child hasn’t been heard yet, the only male Straw Hat with the same child and adult voice actor is Kappei Yamaguchi-san’s Usopp!

Interestingly enough, Sanji’s case is unusual *because* his young and adult voices are different. Hiroaki Hirata-san handles adult Sanji, but Ikue Otani-san voices young Sanji. If that name sounds familiar, it should, she’s the voice of Chopper!

In the comic I made the (incorrect) assumption that during the Bird Cage ’game’, Donquixote and his crew were always hanging out on either a patio or the roof of some building in the palace but that’s not the case at all! This entire time they’ve been in the Room of Suits! Or, well, what’s left of it that is. Check the wall in the background and note the windows shorn in half:

Due to Doflamingo’s gleeful assault on Kyros where he tried to separate the warrior’s head from his shoulders, the string-man’s kick sheared off the top of the castle towers! Interior decorating must be a cinch when you can get rid of thousands of pounds of stone and mortar with a single kick.