第48回：Oni You～♪

She seemed to be in a pickle, perhaps because she was treating Dogupine and that didn’t sit well with Sheepshead?

Although the world knows it as only Zou, the gigantic thousand-year-old elephant was revealed to have a name. In kanji its name means ’Lord of the Elephants’ and reads ’Zunesha’. Is this an allusion to the Hindu deity, Ganesha?

If so, it wouldn’t be the first time Oda-sensei’s artwork and story included themes related to Ganesha. The panel in which Ener received his ’name box’ saw him reclining in a pose which Ganesha has been depicted in.

Interestingly enough, the horizontal lines on his nose resemble an elephant’s trunk and he’s also got those monster earlobes which, in addition to representing elephant ears, are also a sign of enlightenment in Buddhism. Oh, elephants also enjoy bananas 

We’ve got a ’King of Day’ who’s a canine and a ’King of Night’ who’s a feline. So basically cats and dogs. I see what you did there, Oda-sensei. The animal antics don’t stop there though!

Watch the backgrounds carefully to find mink performing all kinds of animal-related habits!

A chapter jam-packed with world-building goodness for the mink and tons of information on the no-nonsense antagonist, Jack! As per usual for dense chapters, let’s take a step back and focus on something *besides* the mammoth in the room, Jack’s underlings! Why? For one, they remind me of the Millions & Billions and anything that gives me them old-fashioned Alabasta feels is awesome sauce. More important than a nostalgia trip, these goons might actually a crucial clue to the overall theme of Kaido and the impending Wano arc.

Back in column #40, we explored the possibility that Kaido’s island might be modeled after Onigashima and this chapter seems to solidify that conjecture. Why? Because helmets.

"Okay, Greg’s finally lost it."

Hey now! Stick with me! Note how Jack is specifically named as a member of Kaido’s crew. He’s not a sub-crew like Bartolomeo and company nor is he an alliance crew like Law & Luffy. This means that the Pleasures and Gifters are *Kaido’s men* therefore they probably follow Kaido’s general theme.

Now look at the Gifters and their twisted, partial animal bodies; they display signs of being Zoan or failed Zoan experiments. Most importantly, check their heads, they all have *two horns*!

Hmm…Kaido’s men…one horn…two horns…Kaido’s base appears to be Onigashima…BING! They represent Japanese ogres, the oni!

Does this mean the eventual quest to take out Kaido will be deeply influenced by the Japanese legend, Momotarou!? Start placing bets on who’ll takes the roles of Momotarou, the monkey, the dog and the pheasant.

Fantastic use of CGI and traditional animation to create the effect of an undulating sunflower field at the base of Mingo’s palace. Oda-sensei is usually able to convey movement in his illustrations but the anime really outdid the print version with some visually stunning scenes of Diamente’s Ripple Rippple Fruit in action.

If you’re a manga-only fan, be sure to check out this episode for an idea of just how disorienting even attempting to fight Diamante on foot would be and gain a new appreciation for Kyros who manages that on only *one leg* @_@

Not much to say about the episode but one small touch that Toei must have had a blast adding in was morphing Bartolomeo’s barrier to match his fanboy gyrations.

We’ve seen him manipulate his barrier into plenty of shapes so it makes perfect sense that he can play around with it like that!