第92回：‘Dia-beat-us’

My man Katakuri just matter-of-factly stating that his Devil Fruit powers are ‘awakened’ was one of this chapter’s biggest highlights.

It’s almost like he’s saying, “What? *insert ‘feh’* Yours aren’t?” We see that as a ‘Special Paramecia’ Katakuri’s awakened abilities appear to be the same as Doflamingo’s, turning (at least) inorganic material into the form of his unique power. With two Paramecia performing the same feat, this strongly suggests that Luffy’s awakening ability will be to grant rubber qualities to inorganic material.

Oh, regarding Katakuri’s attack, ‘Kagami Mochi’. Real ‘kagami mochi’ are Japanese New Year decorations consisting of disc-shaped mochi stacked on one another and topped by a daidai orange. The literal translation is ‘mirror rice cake’. Fits, right?

The name of Bege’s ship means ‘our castle’ but is also a play on a code name of the mafia, ‘cosa nostra’ or ‘our thing’. I wonder where he bought the ship. I bet they gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Check out Montd’Or’s book for a glimpse of an entire map of Big Mom’s territory!

Some of the characters from Chapter 829 can also be glimpsed in the background of this chapter like forehead man and gentleman crocodile!

We’ve never known Luffy’s appetite to be second to anyone (except Mom under the influence of her illness) but this arc has definitely been testing the limits of his digestive tract.

I cannot help but worry that Luffy is at severe risk for diabetes!

Joking aside, Luffy’s frustration with having to eat in order to vanquish his foes in Tottoland *does* make me wonder how he’ll react after this arc wraps up. If there’s going to be a party scene at the end of the arc, will Luffy be able to eat and drink like he normally does or will he swear off sweets!?

Nailed it.

From the hidden details like accurate recreations of the South Aso mineral water and the Devil Fruit book to the much larger and more difficult to portray emotional scenes of Sanji’s exchange with his father I felt like I was watching a short film, not a weekly episode of One Piece.

Did you notice the attention to detail on the pictures above Sanji’s mother’s bed? The manga clearly showed a picture of her with Sanji and his siblings in a single photo on the far right but the other photos were expanded upon by the animation staff.

The leftmost picture is another picture of Sanji’s mother with her children, however, the middle picture is where the heartstrings start getting pulled.

It’s a two-shot portrait of Sanji and his mother. The only picture where she’s with one of her children, and it’s with Sanji. I uh…there must be…something in my eye. *sniff*

Speaking of something in my eye, Sanji’s tears at his mother’s grave? Woof, that was rough. And did you notice? The butterfly we talked about in Course #89, there it is again! Not only does it represent Sanji’s freedom, but also the soul of his mother. What a beautiful touch.
Oh! I won’t spoil it here, but the name of Sanji’s mother is hinted at on her headstone. Can you guess what it is?

Some new fans might not have noticed this anime-only resurfacing of a pre-timeskip move of Luffy’s from Alabasta, Gum Gum Munch Munch. Although Luffy first used this against Crocodile, there’s a good chance the idea for the unorthodox attack came from Luffy’s observance of Wapol’s eating techniques.

From his Gear 2nd attacks possibly based on the locomotive action of the Rocket Man to his animal-inspired Gear 2nd + Color of Arms attacks, Luffy shows a penchant for borrowing techniques from rivals in battle. Is there an opponent on Whole Cake Island from whom Luffy will receive a source of inspiration?