One Piece 33

[sara_tanaquil]

Not sure when mangaroo expects to have this in hand, but I’m going to try to hustle through it, because I find this (mercifully short) arc so painfully dull and unfunny. wrenwyn thought the anime version of it was hilarious, though, so… I hope someone finds something worth enjoying in it.

Comments

[mangaroo]

See how I'm not using my reading rabbit icon? 'cause I'm not.

Luffy picks Chopper, of course.

That…din't happen in the anime. Unless I'm misremembering. In the anime, I think he got the horse back for the old guy? And I was all, NOOOOOO!!! CHOPPppppPPPPPER!

Afro jokes, NEVER GOING TO BE FUNNY.

That did happen in the anime, and I agree.

Luffy gets around that by insulting him and waiting to see which shadow gets depressed.

Clever!

(I doubt he actually planned it that way, but it works.)

Oh. :-(

That’s for the UsoLu fangirls.

There are UsoLu fangirls?

He shouts that he’d die before he would hand over a single one of comrades.

Nakama!

Also, I thought this would be over in one volume. The cover of 34 didn't look Davy Backy at all.

[sara_tanaquil]

Oh, clever girl! I didn't even think about the fact that you could use the anime to fill the gap. (What is the latest DVD you have? I'm a few disks behind - hm, and I think there's a Funimation sale going on right now...)

So I almost commented on the differences between the manga and the anime, and then I thought maybe it wasn't necessary. But you are right, the anime stretched the story out, although I've gotten foggy on some of the details now. The manga does not have them taking the horse (???), and Robin doesn't go over to join Chopper as one of the hostages. I prefer the handling of the story in the manga (then again, the manga version is shorter).

There are only two more chapters of Davy Back in vol. 34 - then it's on to much better stuff, thank goodness.

(I doubt he actually planned it that way, but it works.)

Oh. :-(Haha, maybe I'm wrong? It's always possible that Luffy is smarter than he looks (unlikely, but possible). It's just that he is such a fly-by-the-pants type of genius that I generally assume that any strategy

[mangaroo]

What is the latest DVD you have?

I'm more than a few disks behind. The only disks I've purchased are the first two Funimation collections (so through episode 53). That was 2 years ago in the TRSI 12 Days of Christmas sale. This year, I was so confused by the dual options that I decided not to buy at all.

it generally involves Usopp and Luffy being complete five year olds together

Well, that makes much more sense. Since you started with ZoSan fangirls, I thought you were talking slash.

[sara_tanaquil]

Since you started with ZoSan fangirls, I thought you were talking slash.

I was... it's weird slash, what can I tell you. It does make a little more sense after Water 7, which is all I'm going to say about that.

[This is where I wish I had serrende's cute UsoLu snoozing icon

[printfogey]

re the afro jokes - I don't know much about it, but apparently it may be a reference to a legendary Japanese boxer who did in fact sport an afro? Maybe in the world of One Piece, he had a direct equivalent in East Blue, which could go some way of explaining Usopp's reverence to the hairstyle...

(although as Oda said in an SBS, Luffy would have been fearsome in any other wig he might have picked too, including the one on this icon!)

ETA: (Haha, I love that Sanji keeps telling Usopp to sit down and quit playing at being the boxing coach. There really is a surprising amount of material in here for the SanUso fangirls.)

I've found there's a lot of that throughout the series! /happily ships Usopp with most of the crew :D

[sara_tanaquil]

apparently it may be a reference to a legendary Japanese boxer who did in fact sport an afro?

That's very possible. I seem to remember some similar afro jokes during the Baratie arc. The problem is, this is not the only place (either in anime, manga or light novels) that I've seen blaxploitation stereotypes treated as a huge joke. It's not just Oda (who, from his author's notes, clearly has an afro fixation) -- I think Japan is a bit tone-deaf on this issue. >.<

I loved the SBS corner about the other wigs! Oyaji-Luffy, LOL. (Sailor Moon Luffy is just scary.)

[printfogey]

(Sailor Moon Luffy is just scary.)

I've done my share of inept "Strawhats as Sailor Senshi" fan art. :D It was fun!

[sara_tanaquil]

/happily ships Usopp with most of the crew :D

Me too! I think, though, that my favorite SanUso fic is actually gen (that wonderful fic where half the crew are turned into their severely traumatized child-selves).

ETA - thinking of it made me go searching (why don't I have half my favorite One Piece fic bookmarked??). 'Til You Feel it All Around You. (Water 7/Enies Lobby spoilers)

[wednesday_10_00]

I think it's interesting that you call this arc dull and unfunny, but then highlight all the things that I think makes it funny (Foxy's depression, the fair that springs up, the announcer hating on Nami, etc). It's not the best arc in the series or anything, but I think there are enough funny moments to make it enjoyable. On the other hand, I might have a better impression of it because I was SO SICK OF SKYPEIA, I was thrilled to see anything else at that point. (Skypeia was what was running when I first started reading One Piece, which made it seem even more long and drawn out.)

[sara_tanaquil]

I think it's interesting that you call this arc dull and unfunny, but then highlight all the things that I think makes it funny

Haha, you have a point. I think I was trying my best to find what was funny in it, because I have friends who like it so much more than I do. (Also, that made the unfunny bits relatively less painful.) It doesn't help that the Foxy arc is very much shounen fight-centric, which I never really enjoy, least of all in manga, when I can't figure out who is punching what.

I can imagine how sick you must have been of Skypiea! I found getting through that arc the first time around painful, and I was doing it at high speed when it was complete. It is definitely better as a re-read when you can ignore the boring bits, focus on the previously unappreciated lore bits, and (most of all) know that IT GETS BETTER.