One Piece Vol 20
Normally I'd be sad when all the shounen fighting starts, but there is some pretty good stuff in the Alabasta fights. <3
Volume 20
177
Luffy tells the others to get Vivi to Alubarna safely.
Vivi doesn't want to leave him, but the others all try to convince her she's doing the right thing.
Nami tells Vivi she's never seen anyone go up against Luffy and win.
Zoro says that the clock is running down for Alabasta, and that Vivi has to live, no matter what happens to any of the rest of them, because she's the only one that can stop the confrontation. (He sounds just like Igaram.)
Sanji reminds Vivi that she started this fight the day she joined Baroque Works -- but she shouldn't think she's fighting alone any more.
Poor Usopp, trying to encourage Vivi when he's so scared he can't get a single word out without stammering.
Vivi promises Luffy that they'll be waiting for him in Alubarna.
Crocodile mocks Luffy, saying that the princess "ran out on him."
Luffy, talking about Vivi: "You know, even though she's so weak, she tries to save everyone she lays eyes on." (He doesn't sound like he entirely approves.)
I find it eerie when Luffy agrees unhesitatingly with Crocodile that Vivi is naive for believing you can save everyone. Serious Luffy is a pragmatist; he knows when you bet your life (inochi wo kakeru), sometimes people die. (He's still going to kick Crocodile's ass, though.)
Crocodile mocks Luffy for being willing to die just because he got attached to a complete stranger, saying that he's tossed aside plenty of people like him.
Luffy: "Then you're a fool."
Miss All-Sunday laughs.
Crocodile: "You want to die too... Nico Robin?"
[Looking ahead]OH THANK GOD, I can stop typing Miss All-Sunday now. Because, let me tell you, that was getting really old. I don't know how many times I typed "Robin" and had to backspace over it.
"If that's the way you want it -- by all means, feel free." (その気ならば、お好きに. For some reason, the polite formula sounds menacing to me.) But, she adds, Crocodile promised not to call her by that name.
Robin leaves, saying she's going on ahead to Alubarna.
Crocodile: "Inscrutable woman." (つかめねー女だぜ. I'm with you on that one, Crocodile.)
Crocodile sets a timer for three minutes, saying that's all the time he has to play.
None of Luffy's attacks work on Crocodile (they pass right through Crocodile's sand-body), but he won't listen when Crocodile tells him he's wasting his time.
178
Crocodile tells Luffy that they aren't in the same league (海賊の格が違うんだ - the same phrase he used when squashing the random pirates back in volume 18).
Crocodile causes quicksand to form under Luffy's feet.
He slashes through Luffy's arm and causes the entire arm to wither by sucking all the moisture out of it (brr - that withering power of his is seriously creepy).
Luffy figures out he can restore his body by drinking the water Toto gave him.
Crocodile tells Luffy that Yuba will be wiped out by one final sandstorm.
When Luffy tries to stop him, Crocodile puts a hook through his chest.
[Marineford]Getting things stuck through your chest is a bad habit, Luffy. Please stop doing that. :-(
Crocodile calls Luffy a "rookie" who's nothing but talk. His sort are a dime a dozen on the Grand Line. (I think this is the first time we see the word "rookie" [ルーキー] used to describe a relative newcomer to the Grand Line.)
179
On the giant crab, everyone is trying to keep busy.
Zoro is training (by lifting the camel on the end of his sword); Usopp is telling tall tales to a starry-eyed Chopper.
Nami tries to get Zoro to quit wasting energy, but Sanji says they're all just trying to distract themselves from thinking about what might be happening to Luffy.
Hee, apparently Sanji's method of distracting himself is to pick a fight with Zoro, because he really goes out of his way here. Reminding Zoro that he's already lost one fight to a Shichibukai? Telling him to his face that he's SCARED Luffy might lose?
Zoro: Suteki-eyebrow! (素敵マツゲ. Viz: "Pretty boy brow," LOL.)
Sanji: Marimo-head! (まりもヘッド)
LOL forever. I was waiting to see when that marimo insult would come up for the first time (I think this is the first time). Suteki-eyebrow!
Two awesome things about the panel that follows:
1. The bump on Sanji's head after Nami punches them both is heart-shaped.
2. Chopper's face. <3 (He's still freaked out two panels later.)
Usopp thinks they're all on edge, and it's his job as first mate to do something about it. (Interesting that he tries to usurp the role of "first mate" here -- it's more common for him to think of himself as "captain" when he's in delusional mode. Maybe that's Usopp's way of worrying about Luffy.)
Nami names the crab "Hasami" (Scissors). (It's official: Nami doesn't get to name anything any more.)
In Yuba, Toto is rejoicing over a plentiful spring of water, even as the sandstorm is bearing down on him.
Toto: "Yuba is still alive!"
Crocodile (dangling Luffy's body in midair): "Yuba will die."
"That stale old cliche, love for one's fellow man, will kill this country" (他人への陳腐な思いがこの国を殺すんだ) - Crocodile seriously has a bone to pick with the whole concept of human attachment.
He looks and sounds almost sad when he says to Luffy (thinking that he's dead) "If you'd thrown away that stupid compassion of yours, you might have lived longer. Feeling a debt of gratitude for WATER, of all things!"
Note that Luffy is able to grab Crocodile's arm here.
Crocodile tosses Luffy's body into the quicksand and walks away as he disappears under the surface. "That was a stupid waste of time."
Smoker sends Tashigi ahead to Alubarna, telling her he has some business to take care of at sea.
When Tashigi asks if her job is to hunt down the Strawhats or help the royal army of Alabasta, he tells her to figure it out for herself. As long as she follows her own sense of justice, he'll back her up and take responsiblity for the the consequences. (Best mentor!)
Smoker tells Tashigi to pay close attention to what becomes of Alabasta, regardless of whether it stands or falls.
"Events such as these invariably occur at the great turning-points in history." (時代の節目にや、こういう事態が必ず起こる.)
Smoker drives off (he's using his Billower Bike again).
Tashigi orders her men to prepare to hunt down the Strawhats.
The rebel army under Kohza's command is headed north to Alubarna.
In Alubarna, Chaka can't believe that Cobra would attack Nanohana, but if something has happened to the real king, all the more reason to defend the capital in his absence.
Both are vowing to protect their country to the end. T_T
The people of Alubarna have been ordered to evacuate the city.
On a cliffside outside Alubarna, Miss Merry Christmas complains to Mr. 4 about being stuck with the boring task of guarding King Cobra.
Tied up, Cobra silently begs Kohza and Chaka not to fight. "You ARE this country. Don't destroy each other!"
Aw, the survey of all the various parties who are preparing for war. The wording here is almost poetic.
"Those who lament the fighting; those who fight; those who are promoting the fighting; those who know the truth and intend to put a stop to it -- with their feelings at cross purposes (行き違い), all will collide in the royal capital of Alubarna." (それぞれの思いは行き違い、首都「アルバーナ」で衝突する.) Not sure there is a good way to translate 行き違い. It means to fail to meet in the same place, even though the intention to meet was there.
In the desert, Luffy's head emerges from the sand.
"MEAT!"
180
Luffy's body is lifted from the sand by a bevy of arms.
Robin: "Why do you fight? You people who bear the name of D." (anata-tachi implies that she knows of more than one.)
Luffy seems puzzled by the question ("D?"), so Robin gives up and tosses him his hat (also extracted from the sand by a helpful arm).
Pell shows up to finish their fight, but Robin isn't interested. She walks off, telling Pell to take care of "that kid."
"He's the brave knight who escorted your precious princess home." (Brave knight: 勇敢な海賊. 海賊, kanji meaning "pirate," glossed with the furigana pronunciation ナイト, "knight.")
[Enies Lobby]I wonder if Robin's sarcasm (unconsciously?) conceals a bit of wistfulness than no white knight came to save her when her country was threatened.
She hops a crocodile mount (Accelegator, LOL Viz) and leaves.
Pell wonders who on earth could be strong enough to protect Vivi where he failed.
Luffy is still demanding meat.
Igaram arrives in the ruins of Nanohana, a bit battered but alive. (IGARAM!!!!)
The clock points to 10 am, about five hours away from the meeting of the armies (D-5 hours).
In Yuba, Toto faces the oncoming sandstorm with defiance.
At D-4 hours (11 am), the Strawhats find themselves at an impasse: the crab can't cross the Sandora river.
Nami flaunts the beauty of her dancing-girl costume to get the pervy crab to move faster (Chopper's idea, of all things).
The crab speeds up.
Sanji and the ero-camel collapse in a pile of goo and hearts.
Zoro (I think): "Oh, great. That's two critters (２匹) down for the count."
Someone (Usopp?): "IT'S ERO-POWER!"
Someone (Nami?): "Chopper, this is your idea of a solution?"
BRB, DYING LAUGHING
The crab is so excited it tries to walk on water, before it sinks and they all have to start swimming. (Chopper riding on Zoro's head, OMG.)
A giant catfish appears before them. No one wants to hear Vivi's nature/etymology lesson, until she remembers to mention that oh yeah, humans are its favorite food.
Love Zoro trying to peel a terrified Chopper off his face so he can see.
The catfish is knocked silly by an army of Kung Fu Dugongs.
Chopper explains that they came to rescue their "brother disciples." (Someone - Zoro? - objects to being characterized as Luffy's disciple.)
Love the map, updating us with the current Strawhats' whereabouts and the timetable, complete with bonus drawings of Alabasta's helpful wildlife.
At D-3 hours (noon), the Strawhats bid farewell to the Dugongs on the other side of the river.
Vivi's so polite, she calls the camel "Matsuge-kun" ("Mr. Eyelashes").
Just when they're not sure how they're going to cover the rest of the distance in time, Karoo, captain of the Chou-Karugamo squad, arrives with his team of giant spot-billed ducks (fastest animal in the west!) to save the day. <3 <3 OMG THEIR HATS
D-1 hour (2 pm).
Cobra is tied up on a cliff-ledge outside the east gate of Alubarna (his guards seem to have left him alone for the moment).
The officer agents are gathered outside the west gate, arguing about strategy (and who should get the honor of taking out Vivi and the Strawhats).
Miss Merry Christmas points out that the most important goal is to eliminate the princess.
181
The rebel army is less than a half hour from Alubarna, but the officer agents are still arguing about strategy.
Miss Doublefinger points out that the Strawhats might not be able to arrive before the fighting begins, since they were held up at Rainbase. And once the fighting begins, even the princess might not be able to do anything to stop it.
Mr. 4 keeps trying to tell them that he's spotted the approach of the Strawhats, but no one is listening because he speaks so slowly.
They finally notice that six robed figures are approaching on giant spot-billed duck mounts -- but there is no way to tell which is the princess.
Mr. 2: "AYAFUYA!" ("Ambiguous!")
Miss Merry Christmas is puzzled (there should only be four, discounting Luffy who was taken out by Crocodile), but the others remind her that the boss reported a Mr. Prince and at least one other unknown opponent.
When the ducks begin to split off into three groups headed for three different city gates, the officer agent teams split up to follow them.
At the south-west gate, Mr. 2 confronts two shadowy figures, one of whom titters (ufufufufu!) and speaks in a high-pitched voice.
At the west gate, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger meet up with two robed figures (one of whom has to hastily cover for his rough masculine speech before claiming to be the princess).
At the south-east gate, one of the robed figures pursued by Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas says they've gone far enough (~ kashira, a feminine ending) -- time for the unveiling.
Outside the city walls, Vivi (riding Karoo) thanks them all before turning to intercept the rebel army. (Count the ducks: Karoo originally showed up with a squad of six, so seven ducks in all.)
The grand unveiling of all six riders -- including the ero-camel. ("Bzzzt, wrong answer!")
LOL, until I looked at the English, I totally missed that the text behind each unveiling reads DON (dramatic sfx), except for the last one, which reads RAKUDA (CAMEL).
Mr. 2 faces off with Usopp and Eyelashes (hard to tell which of the two is more terrified).
Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger face off with Zoro and Nami. (Nami: "Go get 'em, Zoro!")
Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas confront Sanji and Chopper.
(Check out what the respective ducks are doing in each picture, it's kind of hilarious.)
Vivi rides south to meet the rebel army head-on.
182
New cover arc begins! A tiny, many-armed figure leaps off a Marine ship into the ocean. Caption: "Escaped convict."
Vivi and Karoo prepare to confront a charging army 2 million strong.
(Vivi tries to tell Karoo he doesn't have to stay with her, but when he insists, she says "Don't blame me if you get trampled." T_T)
Someone from the city fires a cannon, stirring up an enormous cloud to dust.
When rebuked, the royal soldier says his hand slipped, but he has a BW tattoo on his arm.
The scene where Kohza rides straight past Vivi without being able to see or hear her, so heartbreaking. ;__; (Amid the din, Vivi is shouting "LEADER!")
Karoo is trampled underfoot shielding Vivi from the hooves of the charging horses. T_T
The battle has begun, but Vivi's determined not to give up. (If there was one thing she learned on board Luffy's ship, it was the 諦めの悪さ, the evil of giving up.)
Usopp shows up to help Vivi... or does he?
In the city, Sanji discovers a badly bruised Usopp (and Eyelashes), who says they didn't last two seconds against Mr. 2. ("One second apiece!")
Outside the city, Usopp shows a bandaged arm, but Vivi knows it's not him. (Mark of the nakama aside, Usopp would never tell her to abandon "that bird.")
Karoo (suddenly revived) and Vivi flee from Mr. 2 (who has no idea why showing her the bandaged arm didn't work).
183
Cover arc: "Hachi's Sea-Floor Stroll." <3 (I love Hachi so much, the big dumb amiable lug.)
Flashback to the plans for the "mark of the nakama" on shipboard.
Since "that okama bastard" (ano okama yarou) can impersonate anyone, if they have any suspicions about the identity of a crewmate, they are to REMOVE the bandage and show each other the X mark on the left arm.
LOLOL, Sanji commenting that it's not like Zoro to come up with something as clever as a double bluff. "Hmm... could you be that okama in disguise right now?"
Zoro: "I'll F##$ING KILL YOU!"
Luffy: "It's Zoro, all right."
Usopp: "Phew! It's Zoro."
Revert back to Vivi, who's still fleeing Mr. 2 while riding a badly injured Karoo.
When they reach the city, Karoo charges straight up the sheer cliff-face of Alubarna rather than get trapped on the stairs. (Gravity? Pffft! This is a shounen manga. It doesn't appear that flying is Karoo's specialty, since he barely makes it to the top with a great deal of flapping.)
Mr. 2 charges straight up the cliff face after them. ("Nothing is impossible for an okama!")
Since she doesn't think she has any hope of finding Kohza in all the chaos, Vivi decides to make for the palace to talk to Chaka.
Karoo is hit by a stray bullet, but keeps running until he collapses. He quacks at Vivi to keep going. ;__;
The other spot-billed ducks fly in to attack Mr. 2 before he can catch up with Karoo.
Sanji: "Well done, Karoo-Taichou. You're a man (男だぜ)!"
Sanji tells the others to stand back -- he'll deal with the okama. (Love the spot-billed ducks saluting him.)
Sanji demands that Mr. 2 return the googles he stole from uchi no sogekishu ("our sniper", awwww).
When Mr. 2 asks if he is "Mr Prince," Sanji takes off the glasses (wait, that was supposed to be a disguise? I thought he was just wearing them to look cool?) and introduces himself as Sanji, a first-class sea cook.
LOL, Mr. 2: "Well then, I'm a first-class okama!"
When Mr. 2 says he works for a criminal organization, Sanji retorts that he's a pirate. Mr 2: "An eye for an eye, eh?"
[I suddenly want to read fanfic where Sanji and Mr. 2 bond and get to be best buds. Definitely not shippy, just friendshippy. It would be hilarious and awesome.]
Usopp finds a badly wounded Chopper. Chopper says that the No. 4 pair is still lurking about somewhere.
(I'm a little confused about why Sanji would have left Chopper to fight the No. 4 pair alone, even if he did receive a distress call from the birds who were with Usopp?)
Miss Merry Xmas ate the mogu-mogu (dig-dig) fruit and is a mole-human who burrows underground. Mr. 4 is a "Number 4 batter," accompanied by a dog.
Mr. 4 fires an explosive baseball which they barely manage to duck.
184
Cover arc: Hacchan saves a panda shark. (I love the panda sharks, so random.)
Nakama battle #1: Usopp + Chopper vs. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas
Mr. 4 has a dog-gun (愛銃, a "pet gun," hee) named Lassoo. The dog fires the explosive baseballs, like a machine in a batting cage; Mr. 4 hits them with his enormous bat.
Although Mr. 4 may appear extremely heavy and sluggish, he is freakishly strong.
LOL Usopp and Chopper fighting.
"I'm done for... bury my body at sea..."
"You just said you came here to help!"
"How am I supposed to fight with some weird dog weapon thing? I'm a human being!"
"I'm human too!"
"You're a monster, stupid."
"Well, you have a long nose!"
Chopper ILU <3. (Also, kind of love that he can squabble with his nakama now instead of freaking out when someone calls him a monster.)
Miss Merry Xmas explains that Lassoo is a GUN that ate a devil fruit (the inu-inu fruit, model dachshund).
Bizarre as this sounds, it's not the only example of an inanimate object "eating" a devil fruit -- exactly how this is achieved is still not fully known. (I love that Usopp's question is not "How can a gun eat a fruit?" but "It's a gun, how can it MOVE?")
Miss Merry Xmas calls herself "atashi," shudder.
Chopper is so cute, switching between his three normal forms (Heavy Point, Walk Point and Brain Point) during the fight. (He's afraid to use the Rumble Ball for fear the enemy will just keep dodging him until the effects wear off.)
Usopp's 5 Ton Hammer! (Of course, Chopper totally falls for it.)
"My name is Captain Usopp, King of Destruction!"
185
Cover arc: This scene is so wrong on so many levels (the mermaid calendar! and why would octopi eat meat?), but the only thing I can focus on is "Where does the panda shark get the electricity to run the refrigerator?"
Usopp is LITERALLY playing whack-a-mole. Oda, you're so witty.
"And I have 8 thousand followers!" Chopper: "REALLY?"
LOL at this bit of complete ridiculosity:
Usopp: "Goton! Goton! Gatan!" (goton = the pronunciation of "5 tons." goton, gatan: the sound of a train going clickety-clack.)
Chopper: "SO COOL! SO COOL! SO... wait, what?"
Miss Merry Xmas: "Oi."
When Mr. 4 gets up unharmed, Usopp knows he's done for. (The hammer was just two frying pans rigged together with a collapsible balloon.)
"OF COURSE IT'S A FAKE! 5 tons? I can't even lift 5 kg!"
I love the detailed diagram showing exactly how much each part of the fake 5 ton hammer weighs. "Frying pan, 0.7 kg..." Total weight of assembled hammer: 2 kg.
When Miss Merry Xmas dives into the earth, the sfx has a fish on it, WTF. (Her attack is called mole-goldfish or something? Viz: mole swimming stealth style. The sfx fish isn't visible in translation because the sfx was relettered in English.)
[Apparently a pun. 土竜魚 (mogu-gyo) = mole-goldfish. 木魚 (moku-gyo): a fish-shaped wooden drum used in Buddhist temples (Japanese wiki link).]
Miss Merry Xmas tells Mr 4 to deal with "the reindeer man" while she concentrates on Usopp.
Chopper finally realizes he has no choice but to take a chance on a rumble ball, and hope he can win in 3 minutes.
Usopp tries to defeat Miss Merry Xmas by getting her to bash her head into a subterranean wall, but fails.
"How'd you like that, you damn penguin-hag (pengin-baba-me)!"
"I told you, I'm a MOLE."
Miss Merry Xmas starts smashing Usopp through walls.
Chopper blows their opponents up by routing an explosion through the tunnels.
186
Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Xmas are still standing.
Usopp tries to break and run, but Miss Merry Xmas catches his feet and holds him.
Miss Merry Xmas tells them that Luffy was killed by Crocodile.
<3 Usopp's utter rage when he denies Luffy could be dead.
[Random note, since this came up in another discussion: it looks like Usopp does have a tendency to give nicknames, although not as creatively or consistently as Luffy. Here: mogura-baba (mole-hag), suna-wani-yarou (sand-croc-bastard).]
"He's gonna be the pirate king someday! So there's no way he could be dead!"
Even better than his rage -- Usopp's still fury and steely resolve when Miss Merry Christmas laughs at Luffy's dream of becoming pirate king. His speech to Chopper almost makes me cry.
Mr. 4 smashes Usopp's skull with his bat. T_T
(I really do not know how anyone survives in the One Piece universe. Stomachs blown up from the inside, broken backs, all better the next day, per shounen cliche formula. But that image of every bone in Usopp's head being smashed makes my blood run cold every time.)
"... There comes a time when a man can't run away from a fight. And that is when someone laughs at your nakama's dream." <3 <3
Chopper pulls out his trump card, his seventh and final transformation: Horn Point (角強化, "antler reinforcement").
Love Usopp and Chopper teaming up to deal the final blow.
AW! I couldn't make sense of the name of Usopp's final attack at first, but is it combining his name and Chopper's? 必殺ウソッチョ ハンマー彗星 = Certain Death Usopp-Chopper (Usoccho) Hammer Shooting Star. I seriously sat here for about five minutes trying to figure out what a "lying cho" could be.
Battle at the Southeast Gate of Alubarna. Victory: Team Usopp-Chopper.
(LOL Chopper wailing in the background. "Usopp, hang on! Don't die! Someone call a doctor!" "THAT'S YOU!")
Volume 20
177
Luffy tells the others to get Vivi to Alubarna safely.
Vivi doesn't want to leave him, but the others all try to convince her she's doing the right thing.
Nami tells Vivi she's never seen anyone go up against Luffy and win.
Zoro says that the clock is running down for Alabasta, and that Vivi has to live, no matter what happens to any of the rest of them, because she's the only one that can stop the confrontation. (He sounds just like Igaram.)
Sanji reminds Vivi that she started this fight the day she joined Baroque Works -- but she shouldn't think she's fighting alone any more.
Poor Usopp, trying to encourage Vivi when he's so scared he can't get a single word out without stammering.
Vivi promises Luffy that they'll be waiting for him in Alubarna.
Crocodile mocks Luffy, saying that the princess "ran out on him."
Luffy, talking about Vivi: "You know, even though she's so weak, she tries to save everyone she lays eyes on." (He doesn't sound like he entirely approves.)
I find it eerie when Luffy agrees unhesitatingly with Crocodile that Vivi is naive for believing you can save everyone. Serious Luffy is a pragmatist; he knows when you bet your life (inochi wo kakeru), sometimes people die. (He's still going to kick Crocodile's ass, though.)
Crocodile mocks Luffy for being willing to die just because he got attached to a complete stranger, saying that he's tossed aside plenty of people like him.
Luffy: "Then you're a fool."
Miss All-Sunday laughs.
Crocodile: "You want to die too... Nico Robin?"
[Looking ahead]OH THANK GOD, I can stop typing Miss All-Sunday now. Because, let me tell you, that was getting really old. I don't know how many times I typed "Robin" and had to backspace over it.
"If that's the way you want it -- by all means, feel free." (その気ならば、お好きに. For some reason, the polite formula sounds menacing to me.) But, she adds, Crocodile promised not to call her by that name.
Robin leaves, saying she's going on ahead to Alubarna.
Crocodile: "Inscrutable woman." (つかめねー女だぜ. I'm with you on that one, Crocodile.)
Crocodile sets a timer for three minutes, saying that's all the time he has to play.
None of Luffy's attacks work on Crocodile (they pass right through Crocodile's sand-body), but he won't listen when Crocodile tells him he's wasting his time.
178
Crocodile tells Luffy that they aren't in the same league (海賊の格が違うんだ - the same phrase he used when squashing the random pirates back in volume 18).
Crocodile causes quicksand to form under Luffy's feet.
He slashes through Luffy's arm and causes the entire arm to wither by sucking all the moisture out of it (brr - that withering power of his is seriously creepy).
Luffy figures out he can restore his body by drinking the water Toto gave him.
Crocodile tells Luffy that Yuba will be wiped out by one final sandstorm.
When Luffy tries to stop him, Crocodile puts a hook through his chest.
[Marineford]Getting things stuck through your chest is a bad habit, Luffy. Please stop doing that. :-(
Crocodile calls Luffy a "rookie" who's nothing but talk. His sort are a dime a dozen on the Grand Line. (I think this is the first time we see the word "rookie" [ルーキー] used to describe a relative newcomer to the Grand Line.)
179
On the giant crab, everyone is trying to keep busy.
Zoro is training (by lifting the camel on the end of his sword); Usopp is telling tall tales to a starry-eyed Chopper.
Nami tries to get Zoro to quit wasting energy, but Sanji says they're all just trying to distract themselves from thinking about what might be happening to Luffy.
Hee, apparently Sanji's method of distracting himself is to pick a fight with Zoro, because he really goes out of his way here. Reminding Zoro that he's already lost one fight to a Shichibukai? Telling him to his face that he's SCARED Luffy might lose?
Zoro: Suteki-eyebrow! (素敵マツゲ. Viz: "Pretty boy brow," LOL.)
Sanji: Marimo-head! (まりもヘッド)
LOL forever. I was waiting to see when that marimo insult would come up for the first time (I think this is the first time). Suteki-eyebrow!
Two awesome things about the panel that follows:
1. The bump on Sanji's head after Nami punches them both is heart-shaped.
2. Chopper's face. <3 (He's still freaked out two panels later.)
Usopp thinks they're all on edge, and it's his job as first mate to do something about it. (Interesting that he tries to usurp the role of "first mate" here -- it's more common for him to think of himself as "captain" when he's in delusional mode. Maybe that's Usopp's way of worrying about Luffy.)
Nami names the crab "Hasami" (Scissors). (It's official: Nami doesn't get to name anything any more.)
In Yuba, Toto is rejoicing over a plentiful spring of water, even as the sandstorm is bearing down on him.
Toto: "Yuba is still alive!"
Crocodile (dangling Luffy's body in midair): "Yuba will die."
"That stale old cliche, love for one's fellow man, will kill this country" (他人への陳腐な思いがこの国を殺すんだ) - Crocodile seriously has a bone to pick with the whole concept of human attachment.
He looks and sounds almost sad when he says to Luffy (thinking that he's dead) "If you'd thrown away that stupid compassion of yours, you might have lived longer. Feeling a debt of gratitude for WATER, of all things!"
Note that Luffy is able to grab Crocodile's arm here.
Crocodile tosses Luffy's body into the quicksand and walks away as he disappears under the surface. "That was a stupid waste of time."
Smoker sends Tashigi ahead to Alubarna, telling her he has some business to take care of at sea.
When Tashigi asks if her job is to hunt down the Strawhats or help the royal army of Alabasta, he tells her to figure it out for herself. As long as she follows her own sense of justice, he'll back her up and take responsiblity for the the consequences. (Best mentor!)
Smoker tells Tashigi to pay close attention to what becomes of Alabasta, regardless of whether it stands or falls.
"Events such as these invariably occur at the great turning-points in history." (時代の節目にや、こういう事態が必ず起こる.)
Smoker drives off (he's using his Billower Bike again).
Tashigi orders her men to prepare to hunt down the Strawhats.
The rebel army under Kohza's command is headed north to Alubarna.
In Alubarna, Chaka can't believe that Cobra would attack Nanohana, but if something has happened to the real king, all the more reason to defend the capital in his absence.
Both are vowing to protect their country to the end. T_T
The people of Alubarna have been ordered to evacuate the city.
On a cliffside outside Alubarna, Miss Merry Christmas complains to Mr. 4 about being stuck with the boring task of guarding King Cobra.
Tied up, Cobra silently begs Kohza and Chaka not to fight. "You ARE this country. Don't destroy each other!"
Aw, the survey of all the various parties who are preparing for war. The wording here is almost poetic.
"Those who lament the fighting; those who fight; those who are promoting the fighting; those who know the truth and intend to put a stop to it -- with their feelings at cross purposes (行き違い), all will collide in the royal capital of Alubarna." (それぞれの思いは行き違い、首都「アルバーナ」で衝突する.) Not sure there is a good way to translate 行き違い. It means to fail to meet in the same place, even though the intention to meet was there.
In the desert, Luffy's head emerges from the sand.
"MEAT!"
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Luffy's body is lifted from the sand by a bevy of arms.
Robin: "Why do you fight? You people who bear the name of D." (anata-tachi implies that she knows of more than one.)
Luffy seems puzzled by the question ("D?"), so Robin gives up and tosses him his hat (also extracted from the sand by a helpful arm).
Pell shows up to finish their fight, but Robin isn't interested. She walks off, telling Pell to take care of "that kid."
"He's the brave knight who escorted your precious princess home." (Brave knight: 勇敢な海賊. 海賊, kanji meaning "pirate," glossed with the furigana pronunciation ナイト, "knight.")
[Enies Lobby]I wonder if Robin's sarcasm (unconsciously?) conceals a bit of wistfulness than no white knight came to save her when her country was threatened.
She hops a crocodile mount (Accelegator, LOL Viz) and leaves.
Pell wonders who on earth could be strong enough to protect Vivi where he failed.
Luffy is still demanding meat.
Igaram arrives in the ruins of Nanohana, a bit battered but alive. (IGARAM!!!!)
The clock points to 10 am, about five hours away from the meeting of the armies (D-5 hours).
In Yuba, Toto faces the oncoming sandstorm with defiance.
At D-4 hours (11 am), the Strawhats find themselves at an impasse: the crab can't cross the Sandora river.
Nami flaunts the beauty of her dancing-girl costume to get the pervy crab to move faster (Chopper's idea, of all things).
The crab speeds up.
Sanji and the ero-camel collapse in a pile of goo and hearts.
Zoro (I think): "Oh, great. That's two critters (２匹) down for the count."
Someone (Usopp?): "IT'S ERO-POWER!"
Someone (Nami?): "Chopper, this is your idea of a solution?"
BRB, DYING LAUGHING
The crab is so excited it tries to walk on water, before it sinks and they all have to start swimming. (Chopper riding on Zoro's head, OMG.)
A giant catfish appears before them. No one wants to hear Vivi's nature/etymology lesson, until she remembers to mention that oh yeah, humans are its favorite food.
Love Zoro trying to peel a terrified Chopper off his face so he can see.
The catfish is knocked silly by an army of Kung Fu Dugongs.
Chopper explains that they came to rescue their "brother disciples." (Someone - Zoro? - objects to being characterized as Luffy's disciple.)
Love the map, updating us with the current Strawhats' whereabouts and the timetable, complete with bonus drawings of Alabasta's helpful wildlife.
At D-3 hours (noon), the Strawhats bid farewell to the Dugongs on the other side of the river.
Vivi's so polite, she calls the camel "Matsuge-kun" ("Mr. Eyelashes").
Just when they're not sure how they're going to cover the rest of the distance in time, Karoo, captain of the Chou-Karugamo squad, arrives with his team of giant spot-billed ducks (fastest animal in the west!) to save the day. <3 <3 OMG THEIR HATS
D-1 hour (2 pm).
Cobra is tied up on a cliff-ledge outside the east gate of Alubarna (his guards seem to have left him alone for the moment).
The officer agents are gathered outside the west gate, arguing about strategy (and who should get the honor of taking out Vivi and the Strawhats).
Miss Merry Christmas points out that the most important goal is to eliminate the princess.
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The rebel army is less than a half hour from Alubarna, but the officer agents are still arguing about strategy.
Miss Doublefinger points out that the Strawhats might not be able to arrive before the fighting begins, since they were held up at Rainbase. And once the fighting begins, even the princess might not be able to do anything to stop it.
Mr. 4 keeps trying to tell them that he's spotted the approach of the Strawhats, but no one is listening because he speaks so slowly.
They finally notice that six robed figures are approaching on giant spot-billed duck mounts -- but there is no way to tell which is the princess.
Mr. 2: "AYAFUYA!" ("Ambiguous!")
Miss Merry Christmas is puzzled (there should only be four, discounting Luffy who was taken out by Crocodile), but the others remind her that the boss reported a Mr. Prince and at least one other unknown opponent.
When the ducks begin to split off into three groups headed for three different city gates, the officer agent teams split up to follow them.
At the south-west gate, Mr. 2 confronts two shadowy figures, one of whom titters (ufufufufu!) and speaks in a high-pitched voice.
At the west gate, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger meet up with two robed figures (one of whom has to hastily cover for his rough masculine speech before claiming to be the princess).
At the south-east gate, one of the robed figures pursued by Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas says they've gone far enough (~ kashira, a feminine ending) -- time for the unveiling.
Outside the city walls, Vivi (riding Karoo) thanks them all before turning to intercept the rebel army. (Count the ducks: Karoo originally showed up with a squad of six, so seven ducks in all.)
The grand unveiling of all six riders -- including the ero-camel. ("Bzzzt, wrong answer!")
LOL, until I looked at the English, I totally missed that the text behind each unveiling reads DON (dramatic sfx), except for the last one, which reads RAKUDA (CAMEL).
Mr. 2 faces off with Usopp and Eyelashes (hard to tell which of the two is more terrified).
Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger face off with Zoro and Nami. (Nami: "Go get 'em, Zoro!")
Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas confront Sanji and Chopper.
(Check out what the respective ducks are doing in each picture, it's kind of hilarious.)
Vivi rides south to meet the rebel army head-on.
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New cover arc begins! A tiny, many-armed figure leaps off a Marine ship into the ocean. Caption: "Escaped convict."
Vivi and Karoo prepare to confront a charging army 2 million strong.
(Vivi tries to tell Karoo he doesn't have to stay with her, but when he insists, she says "Don't blame me if you get trampled." T_T)
Someone from the city fires a cannon, stirring up an enormous cloud to dust.
When rebuked, the royal soldier says his hand slipped, but he has a BW tattoo on his arm.
The scene where Kohza rides straight past Vivi without being able to see or hear her, so heartbreaking. ;__; (Amid the din, Vivi is shouting "LEADER!")
Karoo is trampled underfoot shielding Vivi from the hooves of the charging horses. T_T
The battle has begun, but Vivi's determined not to give up. (If there was one thing she learned on board Luffy's ship, it was the 諦めの悪さ, the evil of giving up.)
Usopp shows up to help Vivi... or does he?
In the city, Sanji discovers a badly bruised Usopp (and Eyelashes), who says they didn't last two seconds against Mr. 2. ("One second apiece!")
Outside the city, Usopp shows a bandaged arm, but Vivi knows it's not him. (Mark of the nakama aside, Usopp would never tell her to abandon "that bird.")
Karoo (suddenly revived) and Vivi flee from Mr. 2 (who has no idea why showing her the bandaged arm didn't work).
183
Cover arc: "Hachi's Sea-Floor Stroll." <3 (I love Hachi so much, the big dumb amiable lug.)
Flashback to the plans for the "mark of the nakama" on shipboard.
Since "that okama bastard" (ano okama yarou) can impersonate anyone, if they have any suspicions about the identity of a crewmate, they are to REMOVE the bandage and show each other the X mark on the left arm.
LOLOL, Sanji commenting that it's not like Zoro to come up with something as clever as a double bluff. "Hmm... could you be that okama in disguise right now?"
Zoro: "I'll F##$ING KILL YOU!"
Luffy: "It's Zoro, all right."
Usopp: "Phew! It's Zoro."
Revert back to Vivi, who's still fleeing Mr. 2 while riding a badly injured Karoo.
When they reach the city, Karoo charges straight up the sheer cliff-face of Alubarna rather than get trapped on the stairs. (Gravity? Pffft! This is a shounen manga. It doesn't appear that flying is Karoo's specialty, since he barely makes it to the top with a great deal of flapping.)
Mr. 2 charges straight up the cliff face after them. ("Nothing is impossible for an okama!")
Since she doesn't think she has any hope of finding Kohza in all the chaos, Vivi decides to make for the palace to talk to Chaka.
Karoo is hit by a stray bullet, but keeps running until he collapses. He quacks at Vivi to keep going. ;__;
The other spot-billed ducks fly in to attack Mr. 2 before he can catch up with Karoo.
Sanji: "Well done, Karoo-Taichou. You're a man (男だぜ)!"
Sanji tells the others to stand back -- he'll deal with the okama. (Love the spot-billed ducks saluting him.)
Sanji demands that Mr. 2 return the googles he stole from uchi no sogekishu ("our sniper", awwww).
When Mr. 2 asks if he is "Mr Prince," Sanji takes off the glasses (wait, that was supposed to be a disguise? I thought he was just wearing them to look cool?) and introduces himself as Sanji, a first-class sea cook.
LOL, Mr. 2: "Well then, I'm a first-class okama!"
When Mr. 2 says he works for a criminal organization, Sanji retorts that he's a pirate. Mr 2: "An eye for an eye, eh?"
[I suddenly want to read fanfic where Sanji and Mr. 2 bond and get to be best buds. Definitely not shippy, just friendshippy. It would be hilarious and awesome.]
Usopp finds a badly wounded Chopper. Chopper says that the No. 4 pair is still lurking about somewhere.
(I'm a little confused about why Sanji would have left Chopper to fight the No. 4 pair alone, even if he did receive a distress call from the birds who were with Usopp?)
Miss Merry Xmas ate the mogu-mogu (dig-dig) fruit and is a mole-human who burrows underground. Mr. 4 is a "Number 4 batter," accompanied by a dog.
Mr. 4 fires an explosive baseball which they barely manage to duck.
184
Cover arc: Hacchan saves a panda shark. (I love the panda sharks, so random.)
Nakama battle #1: Usopp + Chopper vs. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas
Mr. 4 has a dog-gun (愛銃, a "pet gun," hee) named Lassoo. The dog fires the explosive baseballs, like a machine in a batting cage; Mr. 4 hits them with his enormous bat.
Although Mr. 4 may appear extremely heavy and sluggish, he is freakishly strong.
LOL Usopp and Chopper fighting.
"I'm done for... bury my body at sea..."
"You just said you came here to help!"
"How am I supposed to fight with some weird dog weapon thing? I'm a human being!"
"I'm human too!"
"You're a monster, stupid."
"Well, you have a long nose!"
Chopper ILU <3. (Also, kind of love that he can squabble with his nakama now instead of freaking out when someone calls him a monster.)
Miss Merry Xmas explains that Lassoo is a GUN that ate a devil fruit (the inu-inu fruit, model dachshund).
Bizarre as this sounds, it's not the only example of an inanimate object "eating" a devil fruit -- exactly how this is achieved is still not fully known. (I love that Usopp's question is not "How can a gun eat a fruit?" but "It's a gun, how can it MOVE?")
Miss Merry Xmas calls herself "atashi," shudder.
Chopper is so cute, switching between his three normal forms (Heavy Point, Walk Point and Brain Point) during the fight. (He's afraid to use the Rumble Ball for fear the enemy will just keep dodging him until the effects wear off.)
Usopp's 5 Ton Hammer! (Of course, Chopper totally falls for it.)
"My name is Captain Usopp, King of Destruction!"
185
Cover arc: This scene is so wrong on so many levels (the mermaid calendar! and why would octopi eat meat?), but the only thing I can focus on is "Where does the panda shark get the electricity to run the refrigerator?"
Usopp is LITERALLY playing whack-a-mole. Oda, you're so witty.
"And I have 8 thousand followers!" Chopper: "REALLY?"
LOL at this bit of complete ridiculosity:
Usopp: "Goton! Goton! Gatan!" (goton = the pronunciation of "5 tons." goton, gatan: the sound of a train going clickety-clack.)
Chopper: "SO COOL! SO COOL! SO... wait, what?"
Miss Merry Xmas: "Oi."
When Mr. 4 gets up unharmed, Usopp knows he's done for. (The hammer was just two frying pans rigged together with a collapsible balloon.)
"OF COURSE IT'S A FAKE! 5 tons? I can't even lift 5 kg!"
I love the detailed diagram showing exactly how much each part of the fake 5 ton hammer weighs. "Frying pan, 0.7 kg..." Total weight of assembled hammer: 2 kg.
When Miss Merry Xmas dives into the earth, the sfx has a fish on it, WTF. (Her attack is called mole-goldfish or something? Viz: mole swimming stealth style. The sfx fish isn't visible in translation because the sfx was relettered in English.)
[Apparently a pun. 土竜魚 (mogu-gyo) = mole-goldfish. 木魚 (moku-gyo): a fish-shaped wooden drum used in Buddhist temples (Japanese wiki link).]
Miss Merry Xmas tells Mr 4 to deal with "the reindeer man" while she concentrates on Usopp.
Chopper finally realizes he has no choice but to take a chance on a rumble ball, and hope he can win in 3 minutes.
Usopp tries to defeat Miss Merry Xmas by getting her to bash her head into a subterranean wall, but fails.
"How'd you like that, you damn penguin-hag (pengin-baba-me)!"
"I told you, I'm a MOLE."
Miss Merry Xmas starts smashing Usopp through walls.
Chopper blows their opponents up by routing an explosion through the tunnels.
186
Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Xmas are still standing.
Usopp tries to break and run, but Miss Merry Xmas catches his feet and holds him.
Miss Merry Xmas tells them that Luffy was killed by Crocodile.
<3 Usopp's utter rage when he denies Luffy could be dead.
[Random note, since this came up in another discussion: it looks like Usopp does have a tendency to give nicknames, although not as creatively or consistently as Luffy. Here: mogura-baba (mole-hag), suna-wani-yarou (sand-croc-bastard).]
"He's gonna be the pirate king someday! So there's no way he could be dead!"
Even better than his rage -- Usopp's still fury and steely resolve when Miss Merry Christmas laughs at Luffy's dream of becoming pirate king. His speech to Chopper almost makes me cry.
Mr. 4 smashes Usopp's skull with his bat. T_T
(I really do not know how anyone survives in the One Piece universe. Stomachs blown up from the inside, broken backs, all better the next day, per shounen cliche formula. But that image of every bone in Usopp's head being smashed makes my blood run cold every time.)
"... There comes a time when a man can't run away from a fight. And that is when someone laughs at your nakama's dream." <3 <3
Chopper pulls out his trump card, his seventh and final transformation: Horn Point (角強化, "antler reinforcement").
Love Usopp and Chopper teaming up to deal the final blow.
AW! I couldn't make sense of the name of Usopp's final attack at first, but is it combining his name and Chopper's? 必殺ウソッチョ ハンマー彗星 = Certain Death Usopp-Chopper (Usoccho) Hammer Shooting Star. I seriously sat here for about five minutes trying to figure out what a "lying cho" could be.
Battle at the Southeast Gate of Alubarna. Victory: Team Usopp-Chopper.
(LOL Chopper wailing in the background. "Usopp, hang on! Don't die! Someone call a doctor!" "THAT'S YOU!")