第73回：The Red (Velvet) Wedding (Cake)

Sanji seems to have subconsciously cooked a pirate bento for the crew! Let’s run down the menu:

1. Meat - Luffy’s favorite.
2. Sea king meat(?) - Zoro’s favorite.
3. Pasta (possibly seafood base) - Sanji’s favorite.
4. White rice & ??? - Zoro likes enjoys white rice. Hard to tell what’s accompanying it though. Doesn’t quite look like curry and rice.
5. Sandwiches - Robin’s favorite.
6. Burger - Franky’s favorite.
7. Pike - Usopp’s favorite (possibly from an autumn island)
8. Mikan - Nami’s favorite
9. Chocolate - Chopper’s favorite

What about Brook’s favorites? I don’t see any takoyaki or tea there. Maybe also Sanji prepared some tea!

A ‘Red Wedding’ in One Piece!?

As recently as a few months ago I suspected Judge to be in league with Capone to overthrow Mom, however, thanks to the revelation of Judge’s plans for Pudding in Chapter 849, that doesn’t seem likely.

What if Pudding is using her abilities for a far more devious motive, overthrowing her own mother at the wedding with the assistance of Capone? (I know, I know, I simply can’t drop the Pudding/Capone conspiracy theory) Another potential hint of a link between Pudding & Capone: Nitro’s laugh!

“Gahaha”, starts off sounding like ‘gang’ in romanized Japanese, Capone’s epithet. Is that just a coincidence? To my recollection we haven’t read or heard Capone’s unique laugh yet so there’s definitely a chance that this is some sneaky foreshadowing. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty though, how is this doomed wedding going to unfold?

What’s the *worst possible scenario* that could come out of the wedding? What could turn the wedding into a violent affair not only for the Vinsmokes, but for *everyone* involved? How about if the unexpectedly jolly Big Mom slipped into one of her crave rampages?

Consider Mom’s personality. Despite all the intrusions under her nose, Mom has been relatively calm! She even approached Brook’s infiltration of her treasure vault with nothing more than amusement. Only her insatiable desire for very specific sweets stands to drive her into an indiscriminate rage. Mom is reeeeally looking forward to that cake so what do you think is going to happen if that all just, hmmm, blows up in her face?

Careful examination of the book spines in this chapter reveals that Big Mom has excellent taste in pop culture.

I dunno about you, but that looks like a classic-style chocobo to me! Is the ‘1314’ actually some clever Japanese word play?

1 = ichi = i = い (hiragana character)
3 = ヨ(katakana character) = yo = よ (hiragana character)　
1 = ichi = I = い (hiragana character)
4 = yon = yo = よ (hiragana character)

い+よ+い+よ= ‘iyoiyo’ or ‘at long last’

Hmmm, did a game come out late last year with chocobos that everyone’s been waiting a long time for? ^_~

The fun doesn’t end here! There are some other hidden treats with *surprisingly* appropriate (and magical) themes in Mom’s collection! Happy searching!

Law’s new crew member is looking somewhat…furry?

YES, IT’S PANDAMAN! This was a playful Easter egg from the anime crew since, in the comic, the remaining four crew members were obscured by Law. So who *are* the remaining members? Have they actually been in the comic? The answer is…yes! Let’s take stock of Law’s crew:

Now let’s look at *mostly* the same group from this flashback in Chapter 810:

That adds two more members. Finally, let’s jump back two years and see if we can find the remaining two:

And there they are! Looking forward to getting all of their names!

This episode showcased a convergence of Dogstorm’s musketeers and Catviper’s guardians which helped me realize a subtle but certainly not unintentional difference between Carrot and Wanda’s wardrobe. Wanda and Carrot assume roles as ‘Birds of the King’, warrior stewards of both Dogstorm and Catviper who may be awake at any hour and travel freely between Kurau City and the Whale Forest. There is, however, a striking difference between them:

These colors fit the color schemes of the capes worn by Dogstorm (blue) and Catviper’s (green) soldiers. This may suggest that while they serve both rulers, Wanda is mainly associated with Dogstorm and Carrot is mainly associated with Catviper. This notions seems to fit considering how devoted Wanda appears to Dogstorm and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed, down the line, that Wanda is related to Dogstorm by blood.

Incidentally, Dogstorm’s three musketeers’ capes are purple!