第150回：23 Years in the Making

Franky and Brook steal the stage by walloping Big Mom with the Black Rhino FR-U 4. Some readers might be surprised that Mom was staggered by such an event but aside from the humanity of being naturally distracted, but there’s also a case to be made for Brook and Franky’s nonchalant attitudes. Brook is only rarely frazzled -unless there’s a ghost involved- and Franky was actually singing a song. Did their attitudes allow them to approach without suspicion? We don’t the specifics of what Mom does or doesn’t excel at in Haki, but perhaps their carefree attitudes played a part in shielding their approach. After all, in reality, it’s not like it’s impossible to sucker punch a ninth-degree black belt.

Oh, and that final line about flowers? That’s another staple of Japanese tough-guy attitudes. They might run over a fellow thug without a second thought, but they’ll show kindness to fragile beauty.

This isn’t the first time Franky has emphasized this attitude either! He said something similar while rescuing the children on Punk Hazard in tank form.

At long last, Franky has stated his dedication to making Luffy the Pirate King!

Over the years Oda-sensei has been carefully threading lines like this into the series from each of the Strawhat Crew members:

And while we’ve seen tertiary characters who’ve mentioned their dedication/recognition of Luffy’s goal, the one who interests me the most regarding future events is this young lady:

Vivi

Okay Robin. We’re waiting with bated breath. (Why do I get the feeling I’m going to cry when it hits?)

And here they are, the Strawhat Pirates.

Oda-sensei must have been waiting 23 years to draw this image and I can only imagine the emotions pouring out of him as he put this image to paper. Wow…

Although everyone looks fantastic, I’m most moved by Robin’s smile. There’s a sense of serenity and comfort there that *still* even after all these years, feels so well earned after the events of Enies Lobby.