第40回："That's Not How I Remember It."

Watch out, Leo! Those fireflies have got a taste for…birthday cake!? ^o^ It looks like those are strawberries decorating it too so, pretty big cake for dwarves, yeah? I also love how Mansherry could care less about the cake being eaten and is genuinely starry-eyed at the thought Leo put into the surprise. Adowable.

Are these some never-before-seen revolutionaries? Check out that big dude’s animal cap, a staple of the revolutionary movement’s animal-themed headgear. Also, what ’list’ was Koala after? She was investigating the countries Doflamingo shipped weapons to, like the Kingdom of Biggschots, does she have a list of all the countries ’Joker’ had dealings with?

I liked the scenery on Dressrosa’s neighboring country, Apple Nine. By my count 8 of (probably) 9 apple-like mountains are visible. The name itself is actually a clever play on words. In Japanese, ’neighboring country’ is ’ringoku’or 隣国 which, when broken up and written differently could be read as ’ringo ku’ 林檎九 or ’nine apples’.

Sure, Fujitora may have pulled his share of snafus during Dressrosa, but let’s chalk those up to justice being ’blind’. This poignant scene makes for a powerful contrast to this scene from Chapter 96. Is justice about to change?

Many years ago I hypothesized that Usopp’s design was a combination of inspirations coming from Pinocchio and the Japanese mythical trickster beast, Tengu. Imagine my surprise when all three showed up in this splash page! Is this a confirmation then? While we’re talking about Usopp origins, his name may also a combination of the Japanese word for lie ’uso’ and the famous teller of fables, Aesop. AND, interestingly enough, if you write ’Elbaf’ backwards it’s ’Fable’. Coincidence?

It seems that the conversation between Burgess and Blackbeard was in fact regarding a cooperative relationship with Kuzan! "No! That’s not true! That’s impossible!" ToT

Given Garp’s penchant for chillaxing and scarfing down Japanese snacks, at first I thought the unseen Marine talking to Tsuru here was Garp. However, upon discussing this scene with fellow One Piece aficionado, translator Stephen Paul, his analysis skills helped me realize the true identity of the speaker, Sengoku! There are two hints to the identity.

One is the particular brand of snack that the voice is munching on, ’okaki’, which is the same snack that Sengoku used as a codename in his transmissions with Corazon.

Speaking of Marines, how about that war of words between Isshou and Sakazuki!?

Seems like there might be some major changes in the pecking order at Marine HQ and it’s not yet clear whether they’ll be for better, or for worse.

Is the wintery island (?) we saw Kaido’s base? Part of his territory? It appears to have some Japanese-style pine trees. Are those horns on top of the castle? If they are, the design reminds me of Onigashima from the Japanese legend, Momotarou. Onigashima is a dark and foreboding island that hideous ogres call home. Is this another connection between Kaido and the Japanese-themed Wano!?

Okay, so the sunflower field looks beautiful but Rebecca, is the middle of this war for Dressrosa really the best time to be reminiscing!? ^o^;

Aside from Robin’s fist-pumpingly inspiring speech to Bartomoleo which closes out the episode, the highlight this week was finally seeing Fujitora’s Gravity Sword in glorious animated action.

The Marines in the peanut gallery running for their lives from Fujitora’s apparently gravity-based attack and Sabo’s inferno-like retaliation made the scene appear as if ripped from a Hollywood disaster film!

Really makes me wonder *where* Fujitora’s Devil Fruit power resides. Does he channel it through his sword or is he able to control it…some *other* way? This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen him using his sword specifically with a gravitational effect!

Luffy and Law getting eaten by the clockwork toy soldier was snazzy. Great way to add some extra tension to the scene and it felt a little bit like Luffy and Ace’s escape at Marineford which *also* involved a key mini-MacGuffin.

A lot of flashback material this week got me thinking about how flashbacks related to Dressrosa’s history are structured at least somewhat ’unique’ compared to flashbacks in other arcs.

This time, Dressrosa itself plays almost as much a role as a character as the colorful cast and its history is told in three separate parts, from three separate points of view and all of them are from the same family. Adding an extra layer of complexity, not all of those points of view are entirely accurate while others willfully withhold information. It’s like ’LOST’ fused with ’Rashomon’.

Here’s something interesting you can try on your own; read the flashbacks in *reverse order* of which they originally appeared. It not only helps to put in perspective just how devastating the effects of Sugar’s powers really are, but, despite being in ’reverse’, it comes fairly close to telling the full story in chronological order.