第129回：Rejecting the Norm

Luffy’s pep-talk to the prisoners this chapter was an interesting choice. The samurai here may be interpreted as the working class of modern Japanese society accepting adverse working conditions because that’s simply ‘how things are’. Luffy stands in defiance to that and declares that maybe things ‘are’ the way they ‘are’ because the common folk have simply accepted it as natural. While One Piece is a series written for 15-year olds, this is a message that should resonate with older readers, and not just within Japan.

Looking at this bridge here I can’t help but wonder where it ends. Does it connect to the Red Line and thereby Marijoa? It would make sense for easy access to the seat of the World Government but that’s quite a miracle of civil engineering. If Tequila Wolf has been under construction for hundreds of years, how did they manage to construct this bridge in two years? Granted it’s a much shorter distance but still, that’s a *massive* undertaking! I can’t imagine it existed from the time this was G-1...did it?

I’m also curious why there’s always been a touch of Japanese influence on Marine architecture. Perhaps Oda-sensei simply thinks it represents the stoic nature of the Marines by calling back to feudal Japan, but maybe the Marines have a historic connection to Wano. Cover illustrations have led us to infer that Sakazuki enjoys bonsai but if there *is* some kind of connection I’d bet it goes back much farther in history.

The Good:
Shirahoshi is attempting to accomplish what her mother worked so hard to achieve (literally gave her life for!) and as a parent I bet Otohime is smiling somewhere!

The Scary:
Check out this smiling Fukaboshi! He was so stern throughout the Fishman Island arc that I’m not used to him expressing anything other than a grumpy face.

The Talented:
Ryokugyu makes his debut and he’s being voiced by Keiji Fujiwara! I’ve enjoyed his roles in many other works (including some other JUMP titles) and it’s a pleasure to have him onboard!

Professional photographer Attach was dismissed from the Marines after the Paramount War but he found new employment with the World Government and in this episode he has a blink-seven-times-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo! This cameo was included in the manga but the anime writers one-upped the source material by including a truly geeky detail! Before pressing the shutter Attach can be heard yelling his catchphrase, “FIRE!!” That’s a callback from Volume 24’s SBS!