One Piece Vol 11
OMG, so much happens in this volume and the next. The takedown of Arlong, the victory party at Cocoyashi, and most of all, Loguetown. (Usually, Oda just drops hints, but every once in a while, he turns on the firehose full blast.)
Volume 11
91
I had forgotten Garp was first introduced in the Coby-Helmeppo cover arc.
Luffy stealing Arlong's teeth so he can have fangs too. *dies laughing*
92
When Arlong is using his "Shark on Darts" attack on Luffy, he scores a direct hit on him through a barrier he can't see through. Luffy thinks it's just a lucky guess (勘, intuition). Maybe it is.
[Ch. 597]Or maybe it's observation haki.
When he hits maximum rage, Arlong’s eyes go bloodshot. Sanji: "That's just like the eyes that sea kings get when they snap!" (The background image shows the sea monster Shanks stared down in Vol 1.1.)
[Ch. 597]Don’t know if that speaks to the haki question or not. It may, since haoushoku haki often manifests when the wielder feels threatened or angry. If indeed Arlong is manifesting conqueror's haki when he flies into his beserker rage, it's interesting (though not surprising) that it has zero effect on Luffy.
Arlong pulls out his giant saw-sword-thing, Kiribachi. (What is this, Bleach?)
Arlong chases Luffy up to Nami's map room.
Luffy notices that one of the pens is covered with blood. (Shudder.)
"USE"? (Angry Luffy!)
93
Arlong honestly seems to think that Nami lacks for nothing, because she’s been decently fed and clothed all these years.
[Fishman Island]Unlike the human slaves he knew, like Koala, who were beaten, abused and starved.
In general, I can see more nuance in his attitude toward Nami than I did the first time I read this. On the one hand, he's a sadistic, treacherous, insensitive, racist, condescending bastard. On the other, I think some part of him genuinely likes and respects Nami, and believes that he's treating her decently according to his own limited lights. The way he seriously attempts to answer Luffy's question ("What do you think of her?") is infuriating and weirdly endearing at the same time. I don't think he's entirely insincere when he calls her "nakama."
I remember being shocked (watching the anime) when Luffy first started to destroy Nami's map-room, because it represented eight years of hard work and suffering -- until Nami burst into tears and thanked him. As usual, Luffy goes right to the heart of the matter: that room is an abomination and needs to be destroyed.
Arlong Park, smashed to bits!
94
Chapter title: ２人目 (The Second Person). (Thank you, manga_crow, for pointing this out!)
Therefore, so far, according to chapter title:
一人目 = Zoro (chapter 6)
２人目 = Nami (chapter 94)
４人目 = Sanji (chapter 68)
By elimination, that makes Usopp #3, though that's not made explicit until chapter 439, ３人目と７人目 ("The Third and Seventh Persons" - thanks again to manga_crow for the tip).
"Nami! You're MY nakama!" <3
Nami pounding the crap out of Nezumi. ("That's for shooting Nojiko, and trashing Bellemere-san's mikan grove!")
LOL, the “sugoi koto ni naru yo” conversation. Pretty much impossible to translate fully, but this phrase (literally "It will become a great thing") is used by Nezumi to mean "You'll be sorry for this!" but interpreted by Luffy to mean "You'll be a great pirate!" (Luffy: "How'd he know I'm going to become Pirate King?" Zoro: "I don't think that's what he meant. Moron.") Usopp's reaction ("Oh god, but what if it DOES?") is totally untranslatable because he could be interpreting the phrase in either sense.
"Don't you have a doctor on your ship?" "But a musician should come first, right?"
Gen-san, laughing his ass off: “No doubt about it, you two are Bellemere’s daughters, all right.” <3 (Reacting to the conversation about whether Bellemere would have tried to stop Nami from becoming a pirate. Nojiko: "Course not. Anyway, would you have listened if she had?" Nami: "Oh hell no.")
Nezumi contacts marine headquarters to demand that Luffy be put on the World's Most Wanted list.
Ahaha, I just realized that den-den mushi scan pictures by staring/blinking at them, that's awesome. (Also, I think this might be the first time we see a den-den mushi.)
95
The victory party wrap-up tradition is the best.
Awww, Gen-san pouring sake over Bellemere's grave and promising to live life to the fullest from now on.
Poor Luffy, trying and failing to come up with the right phrase for "I'm very sorry for your loss." (Noteworthy that he has no clue whose grave that is. Of course, since he refused to listen to the story of Nami's past.)
Gen-san making Luffy promise never to take away Nami's smile. <3
[Post-Enies Lobby]LOL (and aw), when much later Gen-san is so shocked by Nami's pin-up wanted poster (even though he puts a giant version on the wall), but Nojiko says "Look, she's smiling!".
Nami asking the doctor to help her remove Arlong's mark.
[Fishman Island]It only just occurred to me that Nami is not the only person in the series to have reason to replace one mark with another. The Sun Pirates did that first. Ironic that, in a way, she has a great deal in common with Fisher Tiger and his crew.
The story behind Nojiko's tattoo... <3 <3
Time to part ways with Johnny and Yosaku. (Aw, I'll miss those guys. Please let them show up on the Grand Line someday!)
Nami's thieving farewell is almost as good as Sanji's expletive-filled one. ^__^
... And, Nami's new tattoo (complete with the explanation of why Gen-san wears a pinwheel).
96
[Incidental: the scenes of all the crew just hanging out on the ship doing their thing and randomly interacting are among my favorites. And they just keep getting better, the more crew members there are.]
Usopp needs to learn NEVER to conduct chemical experiments on deck.
Aw, Nami's ship-board mikan grove. (Also, LOL Zoro rolling his eyes at Sanji's interaction with Nami. "She's got him wrapped around her little finger.")
Nami reading the newspaper - the first mention of worldwide political instability.
[Jaya/Skypeia]According to a later SBS, the city Nami mentions (Vira) as recently having suffered a coup d'etat is Montblanc Norland's home town, although there doesn't seem to be any particular significance to that fact -- that we know of.
Luffy's new wanted poster falls out of Nami's newspaper.
Cut/flashback to meeting of the admirals at Marine Headquarters to decide on Luffy's bounty. I don't know if the marine meeting looks more like an executive board meeting, or a yakuza directors' meeting.
Bounties shown: Buggy (15 million), Krieg (17 million), and Arlong (20 million) -- all over 10 million, all crushed by Luffy. Acccording to "Lieutenant Commander Brandnew" (what a name), the average bounty in the East Blue is 3 million.
Luffy's bounty (30 million) set higher than that of any existing bounty in the East Blue, unprecedented for a first bounty.
That military rally ("For Absoulte Justice!") doesn't look fascist at all.
Cut back to the Merry. I never, never get tired of their reactions to seeing their own wanted posters -- and everyone else's reaction as the news spreads, too.
Luffy's thrilled. ("Hey guys, we're wanted men now!") Nami is horrified because now they're going to have marines and bounty-hunters hounding them wherever they go.
Usopp (pointing to thing the size of a quarter in lower left corner): "Look, my image is gonna be known throughout the world!"
Sanji (sulking): "It's the back of your head. What are you so proud of?"
Usopp, to Sanji: "Now, now, don't be jealous. If you get to be a big shot, you might get a poster too. Even if you aren't the captain."
[Post-Enies Lobby]I just now remembered Sanji's first (and only!) wanted poster, and died laughing. Don't cry, Sanji! You'll get a better wanted poster... eventually!
Loguetown! Last stop before the Grand Line; the town where Gold Roger was born, and where he was executed; "the town of the beginning and the end" (始まりと終わりの町).
Zoro's first encounter with Tashigi, the marine sergeant who's the spitting image of his lost friend Kuina. Love! (Well, *I* love Tashigi. Poor Zoro looks like he's got a bad hangover.)
[Speculation like whoa]
I really, really, really want to know the answer to the Kuina/Tashigi mystery -- even though I know we probably won't find it out for ages yet. The resemblance CANNOT be a coincidence; they're even the same age. Amnesia? Twins separated at birth? Clone? Argh, none of the possible explanations make any sense.
(ETA: a possible clue to the mystery can be found in chapter 589, but I really need to reread that in context.)
Mihawk comes to visit Shanks, bringing Luffy's wanted poster, because he remembers a story Shanks once told him about an "interesting kid."
This is the first time we officially see Shanks on the Grand Line -- at least, I think we have to assume this is the Grand Line, since Mihawk was headed back there when last seen.
LOL, Shanks' answer to everything is to throw a party and get drunk. He and Buggy have that in common, at least. I bet Mihawk makes the grumpiest drinking buddy ever.
Back in Windmill village, everyone's gathering at Makino's bar to gawk at Luffy's wanted poster.
Mayor Woopslap, glowering: "His dream, eh? Or is it fate (unmei)?"
97
Luffy arrives at the platform where Roger was executed.
Zoro heads for the katana-shop to buy two swords to replace the ones he lost, and the shopkeeper thinks he's not worth dealing with -- until he gets a good look at Wadou, the sword Zoro inherited from Kuina.
Tashigi shows up again at the katana-shop, and recognizes Wadou Ichimonji as a named sword. (OMG, lol, she actually carries a little manual of named swords around with her everywhere she goes. Tashigi is such a geek.)
Tashigi has heard of the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro (and his three-sword style), but has no idea she's talking to him.
First mention of Smoker (the shopkeeper complains that his pirate customer base has totally dried up since "that monster" came to Loguetown).
Tashigi's knee-jerk loyalty to Smoker ("Smoker-san's not a monster!") is so adorable.
The shopkeeper mentions that Smoker is a devil fruit user.
Tashigi's dream: to polish her skill as a swordswoman, and rescue the world's great swords from the hands of the bad guys.
Note to self: sword-ranks in the One Piece world:
Saijou-oo-wazamono (12 named swords; Mihawk's black sword is one)
Oo-wazamono (21 named swords; Wadou is one)
Ryou-wazamono (50 named swords; Yubashiri is one)
Wazamono (undetermined number of named swords; Tashigi's sword, Shigure, is one, as is Sandai Kitetsu)
ETA note to self: wow, I had no idea these grade classifications were historical (though the sword-names are not).
Speculation: Did Zoro know his beloved sword was a named sword called Wadou, or did he just treasure it for Kuina's sake? No details of the sword's name or history are given in Zoro's original flashback in volume 1, but I don't know if perhaps there is a flashback scene later in the manga that gives more information. The anime version of the flashback added a lot of filler that may not be reliable.
Zoro gambling on the match between his luck and Kitetsu's curse is just the epitome of cool.
The storekeeper gives Yubashiri to Zoro as a gift. ("What's wrong with a man entrusting his dream to another man?" Even crafty henpecked old storekeepers have dreams!)
Wadou Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri: you know you're a fangirl when you can name all three of Zoro's swords.
[Thriller Bark]Not counting Shuusui.
[Speculation (Kitetsu)]If the author were anyone but Oda, I'd say he's long since forgotten that Kitetsu is supposed to be a cursed sword, but Oda being Oda, the probability of that is zero. Wonder when it will come up again. (It does get mentioned again once during Whiskey Peak, then nothing after that... or am I missing a later reference?)
SMOKER. He can't appear often enough.
Sanji spots a mysterious beauty in town (= Alvida).
98
LOL, Sanji at the supermarket, rolling his eyes when he catches sight of Usopp getting all worked up over the price of eggs. ("What are you, a housewife?")
Nami can tell a storm is coming (just like in the chapter where we first met her).
Luffy climbs up on the execution platform to check out the view.
Alvida has a thing for Luffy, ew (because she likes a man who can smack her around, DOUBLE ew).
[Amazon Lily]If we're going to have tasteless jokes about women who are hot for Luffy's clueless body, I'll take Hancock over Alvida any day. Hancock is hilarious and adorable, and just a little heart-breaking.
FLASHILY DIE!
I really love that the cover arcs weave right into the main story -- none of this would make any sense if we hadn't seen the After the Battle cover arc, explaining how Alvida and Buggy joined forces.
[Cover Arc: Jango's Dance Paradise]At least the Buggy and Coby/Helmeppo arcs were animated and inserted as "filler" arcs. I was SO confused when Fullbody and Jango first turned up as marines in the anime, because their cover arc backstory was never properly animated. Not that I'm bitter about that AT ALL.
Quick, a contest: what's the stupidest devil fruit? Alvida's sube-sube (slip-slip) fruit's gotta be up there.
[Enies Lobby]Oh, but the soap-soap fruit is worse. Oda, stop giving the ladies stupid fruits.
Buggy and his crew try to execute Luffy on the platform (Alvida says she doesn't want Luffy unless he can prove he's strong enough to beat Buggy).
Aw, I don't care how cliched the scene with Smoker and the little kid is, it's adorable. ("Oops, my pants ate your ice cream.")
Love how Smoker is always yelling at Tashigi for being an idiot. It doesn't always come across as clearly in English, but in Japanese he's always trying to motivate her to live up to her potential, not just randomly putting her down. They have a really sweet (twisted) mentor-mentee bond.
Note to self: Tashigi's rank at this point is 曹長 (souchou), or "Petty Officer First Class." See table of marine ranks in the One Piece world (potentially spoilery, as it records promotions and other changes).
[Marineford]I didn't know that Coby now has the same rank (souchou) that Tashigi had when we met her in these chapters -- cool!
"I saw a guy in a weird costume riding a lion." Aha, Sanji doesn't know who Mohji and Ritchie are, and neither does Usopp (they joined the crew after Luffy's fight with Buggy).
LOL, the other Strawhats meeting up and debating where Luffy could be while everyone in the background is gawking at the execution platform (this is the kind of artistic detail that makes the manga so much fun to re-read).
99
Buggy prepares to carry out the execution.
[Marineford]The "execution" scene has... unpleasant undertones when viewed in the light of Marineford. T_T
Nami and Usopp race back to the Merry to prepare for the coming storm, leaving Sanji and Zoro to save Luffy (or try -- they can't get to the platform fast enough).
Mohji and Ritchie were sent to burn the Merry, to cut off the Strawhat's escape route. (Mohji's hair just keeps getting stranger. What are those, rabbit ears?)
Smoker says they might as well just wait until the pirates kill each other, and then arrest the survivors. (Some of the marines protest, but Smoker points out he's never let a pirate escape from Loguetown yet.)
Luffy's "last words." <3 ("I'm gonna be king of the pirates!")
Tashigi finally figures out who Zoro is.
Luffy's "Sorry, guys, I died," and his patented s###-eating grin. Yikes.
[Speculation]Possibly meaningful on more levels than one?
What caused the storm which blew up out of nowhere and the lightning strike that saved Luffy? Was that just freak chance? Fate? The will of heaven?
[Speculation]Or does Dragon have some kind of weird power to control the elements?
Luffy is apparently invulnerable to lightning (because he's made of rubber?).
Sanji, to Zoro: "You believe in god?" Zoro: "Don't talk nonsense."
[Skypeia]Not like they're ever going to meet a god who throws lightning bolts, or anything.
According to Smoker, Gold Roger also smiled just before he died. (Smoker was present at Roger's execution? According to the timeline, he would have been 12 at the time. Or did he just hear about it? If he was present, it might suggest he grew up in Loguetown. His early life before joining the marines is otherwise unknown.)
Smoker vows not to let Luffy escape the island.
Volume 11
91
I had forgotten Garp was first introduced in the Coby-Helmeppo cover arc.
Luffy stealing Arlong's teeth so he can have fangs too. *dies laughing*
92
When Arlong is using his "Shark on Darts" attack on Luffy, he scores a direct hit on him through a barrier he can't see through. Luffy thinks it's just a lucky guess (勘, intuition). Maybe it is.
[Ch. 597]Or maybe it's observation haki.
When he hits maximum rage, Arlong’s eyes go bloodshot. Sanji: "That's just like the eyes that sea kings get when they snap!" (The background image shows the sea monster Shanks stared down in Vol 1.1.)
[Ch. 597]Don’t know if that speaks to the haki question or not. It may, since haoushoku haki often manifests when the wielder feels threatened or angry. If indeed Arlong is manifesting conqueror's haki when he flies into his beserker rage, it's interesting (though not surprising) that it has zero effect on Luffy.
Arlong pulls out his giant saw-sword-thing, Kiribachi. (What is this, Bleach?)
Arlong chases Luffy up to Nami's map room.
Luffy notices that one of the pens is covered with blood. (Shudder.)
"USE"? (Angry Luffy!)
93
Arlong honestly seems to think that Nami lacks for nothing, because she’s been decently fed and clothed all these years.
[Fishman Island]Unlike the human slaves he knew, like Koala, who were beaten, abused and starved.
In general, I can see more nuance in his attitude toward Nami than I did the first time I read this. On the one hand, he's a sadistic, treacherous, insensitive, racist, condescending bastard. On the other, I think some part of him genuinely likes and respects Nami, and believes that he's treating her decently according to his own limited lights. The way he seriously attempts to answer Luffy's question ("What do you think of her?") is infuriating and weirdly endearing at the same time. I don't think he's entirely insincere when he calls her "nakama."
I remember being shocked (watching the anime) when Luffy first started to destroy Nami's map-room, because it represented eight years of hard work and suffering -- until Nami burst into tears and thanked him. As usual, Luffy goes right to the heart of the matter: that room is an abomination and needs to be destroyed.
Arlong Park, smashed to bits!
94
Chapter title: ２人目 (The Second Person). (Thank you, manga_crow, for pointing this out!)
Therefore, so far, according to chapter title:
一人目 = Zoro (chapter 6)
２人目 = Nami (chapter 94)
４人目 = Sanji (chapter 68)
By elimination, that makes Usopp #3, though that's not made explicit until chapter 439, ３人目と７人目 ("The Third and Seventh Persons" - thanks again to manga_crow for the tip).
"Nami! You're MY nakama!" <3
Nami pounding the crap out of Nezumi. ("That's for shooting Nojiko, and trashing Bellemere-san's mikan grove!")
LOL, the “sugoi koto ni naru yo” conversation. Pretty much impossible to translate fully, but this phrase (literally "It will become a great thing") is used by Nezumi to mean "You'll be sorry for this!" but interpreted by Luffy to mean "You'll be a great pirate!" (Luffy: "How'd he know I'm going to become Pirate King?" Zoro: "I don't think that's what he meant. Moron.") Usopp's reaction ("Oh god, but what if it DOES?") is totally untranslatable because he could be interpreting the phrase in either sense.
"Don't you have a doctor on your ship?" "But a musician should come first, right?"
Gen-san, laughing his ass off: “No doubt about it, you two are Bellemere’s daughters, all right.” <3 (Reacting to the conversation about whether Bellemere would have tried to stop Nami from becoming a pirate. Nojiko: "Course not. Anyway, would you have listened if she had?" Nami: "Oh hell no.")
Nezumi contacts marine headquarters to demand that Luffy be put on the World's Most Wanted list.
Ahaha, I just realized that den-den mushi scan pictures by staring/blinking at them, that's awesome. (Also, I think this might be the first time we see a den-den mushi.)
95
The victory party wrap-up tradition is the best.
Awww, Gen-san pouring sake over Bellemere's grave and promising to live life to the fullest from now on.
Poor Luffy, trying and failing to come up with the right phrase for "I'm very sorry for your loss." (Noteworthy that he has no clue whose grave that is. Of course, since he refused to listen to the story of Nami's past.)
Gen-san making Luffy promise never to take away Nami's smile. <3
[Post-Enies Lobby]LOL (and aw), when much later Gen-san is so shocked by Nami's pin-up wanted poster (even though he puts a giant version on the wall), but Nojiko says "Look, she's smiling!".
Nami asking the doctor to help her remove Arlong's mark.
[Fishman Island]It only just occurred to me that Nami is not the only person in the series to have reason to replace one mark with another. The Sun Pirates did that first. Ironic that, in a way, she has a great deal in common with Fisher Tiger and his crew.
The story behind Nojiko's tattoo... <3 <3
Time to part ways with Johnny and Yosaku. (Aw, I'll miss those guys. Please let them show up on the Grand Line someday!)
Nami's thieving farewell is almost as good as Sanji's expletive-filled one. ^__^
... And, Nami's new tattoo (complete with the explanation of why Gen-san wears a pinwheel).
96
[Incidental: the scenes of all the crew just hanging out on the ship doing their thing and randomly interacting are among my favorites. And they just keep getting better, the more crew members there are.]
Usopp needs to learn NEVER to conduct chemical experiments on deck.
Aw, Nami's ship-board mikan grove. (Also, LOL Zoro rolling his eyes at Sanji's interaction with Nami. "She's got him wrapped around her little finger.")
Nami reading the newspaper - the first mention of worldwide political instability.
[Jaya/Skypeia]According to a later SBS, the city Nami mentions (Vira) as recently having suffered a coup d'etat is Montblanc Norland's home town, although there doesn't seem to be any particular significance to that fact -- that we know of.
Luffy's new wanted poster falls out of Nami's newspaper.
Cut/flashback to meeting of the admirals at Marine Headquarters to decide on Luffy's bounty. I don't know if the marine meeting looks more like an executive board meeting, or a yakuza directors' meeting.
Bounties shown: Buggy (15 million), Krieg (17 million), and Arlong (20 million) -- all over 10 million, all crushed by Luffy. Acccording to "Lieutenant Commander Brandnew" (what a name), the average bounty in the East Blue is 3 million.
Luffy's bounty (30 million) set higher than that of any existing bounty in the East Blue, unprecedented for a first bounty.
That military rally ("For Absoulte Justice!") doesn't look fascist at all.
Cut back to the Merry. I never, never get tired of their reactions to seeing their own wanted posters -- and everyone else's reaction as the news spreads, too.
Luffy's thrilled. ("Hey guys, we're wanted men now!") Nami is horrified because now they're going to have marines and bounty-hunters hounding them wherever they go.
Usopp (pointing to thing the size of a quarter in lower left corner): "Look, my image is gonna be known throughout the world!"
Sanji (sulking): "It's the back of your head. What are you so proud of?"
Usopp, to Sanji: "Now, now, don't be jealous. If you get to be a big shot, you might get a poster too. Even if you aren't the captain."
[Post-Enies Lobby]I just now remembered Sanji's first (and only!) wanted poster, and died laughing. Don't cry, Sanji! You'll get a better wanted poster... eventually!
Loguetown! Last stop before the Grand Line; the town where Gold Roger was born, and where he was executed; "the town of the beginning and the end" (始まりと終わりの町).
Zoro's first encounter with Tashigi, the marine sergeant who's the spitting image of his lost friend Kuina. Love! (Well, *I* love Tashigi. Poor Zoro looks like he's got a bad hangover.)
[Speculation like whoa]
I really, really, really want to know the answer to the Kuina/Tashigi mystery -- even though I know we probably won't find it out for ages yet. The resemblance CANNOT be a coincidence; they're even the same age. Amnesia? Twins separated at birth? Clone? Argh, none of the possible explanations make any sense.
(ETA: a possible clue to the mystery can be found in chapter 589, but I really need to reread that in context.)
Mihawk comes to visit Shanks, bringing Luffy's wanted poster, because he remembers a story Shanks once told him about an "interesting kid."
This is the first time we officially see Shanks on the Grand Line -- at least, I think we have to assume this is the Grand Line, since Mihawk was headed back there when last seen.
LOL, Shanks' answer to everything is to throw a party and get drunk. He and Buggy have that in common, at least. I bet Mihawk makes the grumpiest drinking buddy ever.
Back in Windmill village, everyone's gathering at Makino's bar to gawk at Luffy's wanted poster.
Mayor Woopslap, glowering: "His dream, eh? Or is it fate (unmei)?"
97
Luffy arrives at the platform where Roger was executed.
Zoro heads for the katana-shop to buy two swords to replace the ones he lost, and the shopkeeper thinks he's not worth dealing with -- until he gets a good look at Wadou, the sword Zoro inherited from Kuina.
Tashigi shows up again at the katana-shop, and recognizes Wadou Ichimonji as a named sword. (OMG, lol, she actually carries a little manual of named swords around with her everywhere she goes. Tashigi is such a geek.)
Tashigi has heard of the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro (and his three-sword style), but has no idea she's talking to him.
First mention of Smoker (the shopkeeper complains that his pirate customer base has totally dried up since "that monster" came to Loguetown).
Tashigi's knee-jerk loyalty to Smoker ("Smoker-san's not a monster!") is so adorable.
The shopkeeper mentions that Smoker is a devil fruit user.
Tashigi's dream: to polish her skill as a swordswoman, and rescue the world's great swords from the hands of the bad guys.
Note to self: sword-ranks in the One Piece world:
Saijou-oo-wazamono (12 named swords; Mihawk's black sword is one)
Oo-wazamono (21 named swords; Wadou is one)
Ryou-wazamono (50 named swords; Yubashiri is one)
Wazamono (undetermined number of named swords; Tashigi's sword, Shigure, is one, as is Sandai Kitetsu)
ETA note to self: wow, I had no idea these grade classifications were historical (though the sword-names are not).
Speculation: Did Zoro know his beloved sword was a named sword called Wadou, or did he just treasure it for Kuina's sake? No details of the sword's name or history are given in Zoro's original flashback in volume 1, but I don't know if perhaps there is a flashback scene later in the manga that gives more information. The anime version of the flashback added a lot of filler that may not be reliable.
Zoro gambling on the match between his luck and Kitetsu's curse is just the epitome of cool.
The storekeeper gives Yubashiri to Zoro as a gift. ("What's wrong with a man entrusting his dream to another man?" Even crafty henpecked old storekeepers have dreams!)
Wadou Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri: you know you're a fangirl when you can name all three of Zoro's swords.
[Thriller Bark]Not counting Shuusui.
[Speculation (Kitetsu)]If the author were anyone but Oda, I'd say he's long since forgotten that Kitetsu is supposed to be a cursed sword, but Oda being Oda, the probability of that is zero. Wonder when it will come up again. (It does get mentioned again once during Whiskey Peak, then nothing after that... or am I missing a later reference?)
SMOKER. He can't appear often enough.
Sanji spots a mysterious beauty in town (= Alvida).
98
LOL, Sanji at the supermarket, rolling his eyes when he catches sight of Usopp getting all worked up over the price of eggs. ("What are you, a housewife?")
Nami can tell a storm is coming (just like in the chapter where we first met her).
Luffy climbs up on the execution platform to check out the view.
Alvida has a thing for Luffy, ew (because she likes a man who can smack her around, DOUBLE ew).
[Amazon Lily]If we're going to have tasteless jokes about women who are hot for Luffy's clueless body, I'll take Hancock over Alvida any day. Hancock is hilarious and adorable, and just a little heart-breaking.
FLASHILY DIE!
I really love that the cover arcs weave right into the main story -- none of this would make any sense if we hadn't seen the After the Battle cover arc, explaining how Alvida and Buggy joined forces.
[Cover Arc: Jango's Dance Paradise]At least the Buggy and Coby/Helmeppo arcs were animated and inserted as "filler" arcs. I was SO confused when Fullbody and Jango first turned up as marines in the anime, because their cover arc backstory was never properly animated. Not that I'm bitter about that AT ALL.
Quick, a contest: what's the stupidest devil fruit? Alvida's sube-sube (slip-slip) fruit's gotta be up there.
[Enies Lobby]Oh, but the soap-soap fruit is worse. Oda, stop giving the ladies stupid fruits.
Buggy and his crew try to execute Luffy on the platform (Alvida says she doesn't want Luffy unless he can prove he's strong enough to beat Buggy).
Aw, I don't care how cliched the scene with Smoker and the little kid is, it's adorable. ("Oops, my pants ate your ice cream.")
Love how Smoker is always yelling at Tashigi for being an idiot. It doesn't always come across as clearly in English, but in Japanese he's always trying to motivate her to live up to her potential, not just randomly putting her down. They have a really sweet (twisted) mentor-mentee bond.
Note to self: Tashigi's rank at this point is 曹長 (souchou), or "Petty Officer First Class." See table of marine ranks in the One Piece world (potentially spoilery, as it records promotions and other changes).
[Marineford]I didn't know that Coby now has the same rank (souchou) that Tashigi had when we met her in these chapters -- cool!
"I saw a guy in a weird costume riding a lion." Aha, Sanji doesn't know who Mohji and Ritchie are, and neither does Usopp (they joined the crew after Luffy's fight with Buggy).
LOL, the other Strawhats meeting up and debating where Luffy could be while everyone in the background is gawking at the execution platform (this is the kind of artistic detail that makes the manga so much fun to re-read).
99
Buggy prepares to carry out the execution.
[Marineford]The "execution" scene has... unpleasant undertones when viewed in the light of Marineford. T_T
Nami and Usopp race back to the Merry to prepare for the coming storm, leaving Sanji and Zoro to save Luffy (or try -- they can't get to the platform fast enough).
Mohji and Ritchie were sent to burn the Merry, to cut off the Strawhat's escape route. (Mohji's hair just keeps getting stranger. What are those, rabbit ears?)
Smoker says they might as well just wait until the pirates kill each other, and then arrest the survivors. (Some of the marines protest, but Smoker points out he's never let a pirate escape from Loguetown yet.)
Luffy's "last words." <3 ("I'm gonna be king of the pirates!")
Tashigi finally figures out who Zoro is.
Luffy's "Sorry, guys, I died," and his patented s###-eating grin. Yikes.
[Speculation]Possibly meaningful on more levels than one?
What caused the storm which blew up out of nowhere and the lightning strike that saved Luffy? Was that just freak chance? Fate? The will of heaven?
[Speculation]Or does Dragon have some kind of weird power to control the elements?
Luffy is apparently invulnerable to lightning (because he's made of rubber?).
Sanji, to Zoro: "You believe in god?" Zoro: "Don't talk nonsense."
[Skypeia]Not like they're ever going to meet a god who throws lightning bolts, or anything.
According to Smoker, Gold Roger also smiled just before he died. (Smoker was present at Roger's execution? According to the timeline, he would have been 12 at the time. Or did he just hear about it? If he was present, it might suggest he grew up in Loguetown. His early life before joining the marines is otherwise unknown.)
Smoker vows not to let Luffy escape the island.