One Piece 42

[sara_tanaquil]

This one might be a bit rough in terms of proofreading, but I'll hope for the best! I haven't started 43 yet.

As I thought, a lot of shounen fighting in this one. A few good moments too though. :-)

Comments

[mangaroo]

Oh, darn. I was dying to know what happened so I decided to read the summary, but now I have forever spoiled the Funkfreed reveal for myself. Oh, Funkfreed.

[sara_tanaquil]

Aw! Well, there could be worse spoilers, for sure.

I hope the library system delivers for you soon!

[lego_joker]

I can only imagine that Funkfreed "ate" the fruit when the fruit was mashed to a pulp and then mixed into the molten steel during the original smelting process (for whatever reason). But then, current events surrounding *spoiler involving Devil fruits* may prove me wrong

[sara_tanaquil]

Where the heck did Oda come up with the Rainbow Colors trap idea, and what exactly was the point? (Is it a straight-up reality-warping power that summons clothes out of nowhere?)

Interesting, I didn't think of it as a new power since it seemed like an extension of her existing Colors Trap power. But you're right, it appears to have physical effects, unlike her other color powers, which are all mind-control related.

It's possible, I suppose, that the power does not actually magick up clothes out of thin air, but simply makes a person's inner fantasy life visible to others in "concrete" form (i.e. their appearance hasn't actually changed except in the mind of the perceiver).

But it will be interesting to see if he does anything with it in the future (if not the power, then at least the "revelations" about who wants to be what). I found it kind of endearing that Paula, assassin extraordinaire, actually wanted to be the bar-owner that she was in her deep cover life. serrende has a rather nice story (gen) about Kaku feeling most at ease in his

[printfogey]

Hey, hey, I'll have you know Zoro/Usopp is a very respectable ship! :DD I think from Zoro's POV it makes just as much sense as Zoro/Sanji, honestly (in either case you just have to keep in mind that Luffy remains the person most important to Zoro). Maybe moreso, depending on whether you think Zoro would most want a partner that riles him up or one he can chill with (I'm fine with either interpretation, just a bit tired of Zoro/Sanji from the oversaturation). And it's not that hard to argue from Usopp's POV, either! /o/ Curse it, my Zoro & Usopp partying icon is also unavailable on LJ!

ETA: I didn't know "Otonashi" had a more common separate meaning - I knew the word from "Maison Ikkoku", where it is the last name of the female lead Kyoko Otonashi. Probably a pun then, as she may look demure at times but is really quite far from obedient and biddable... /tangent

Lucci says they probably did know where to look, since the kid and her pet were following them

[sara_tanaquil]

Hey, hey, I'll have you know Zoro/Usopp is a very respectable ship! :DD

Hee! I didn't get a chance to say earlier that you are one of the few authors who has ALMOST convinced me of it. (Of course, it helps that I'll read anything well written with Usopp in it.)

OK, this is hilarious: I was just starting to say that the improbable Usopp pairing that made the most impression on me was Ace/Usopp, but I couldn't remember who wrote it, and it turns out YOU DID. My god, my fanfic memory is swiss cheese. Anyway, that fic is a simply lovely example of someone talking me into a pairing I would otherwise have never seen.

[printfogey]

D'aww!

[printfogey]

A shaky voice says "We're not made of rubber. There's no way flesh-and-blood people like us… could SURVIVE!" (They all look full of pep.)

:DD Funny, but also an indicator of how far they've come, strength-wise - and while Nami and Usopp may seem like the "normal human" in the crew in comparison to the powerhouses, they too have plenty of superhuman durability and bouncing-back-ness (or "healing factor", I guess).

Chopper is also impressed by the idea of "target-seeking missiles", until it turns out that Franky's idea of target-seeking = "I chase the target around."

Priceless moment in an overall very funny sequence! XDD

...and then we proceed immediately to the severe angst of Chopper's flashback and him deciding to go Monster Chopper again. ;__; ODA.

Luffy is in hot pursuit, yelling "ROBIIIIN!".

When she hears him, Robin smiles. (Aw!)

Yay! Such a difference to how she reacted before when she heard him.

[wednesday_10_00]

More later, but:

**Speculations as to what this means? Japanese: また輪をかけて. Viz has "He's stirred things up again," which seems weak to me. The original line seemed to me more a reference to something being revived from the past, but maybe I'm over-interpreting?

輪を掛ける is a specific idiom. Jim Breen has: "to exceed; to be even more (so); to exaggerate."

[sara_tanaquil]

So, I'm curious (whenever you get a chance), how would you understand it in English in this particular case? Is she saying that Luffy is one-upping Roger, or just one-upping himself? Other?

Man, I need to work through a dictionary of idioms or something. They get me every time.

[wednesday_10_00]

I think it's just a matter of recognizing them when you come across them. I mean, I'd never heard of this one before, I just thought, "Huh, I don't know what that means, maybe it's an idiom?" Anyway...having looked it up in the dictionary just yesterday, I'm hardly an expert, but my instinct is that she just means Luffy is one-upping himself. My suggestion for a translation would have been "he's turning it up a[nother?] notch." [Now I'm thinking "He's turning it up to 11" which makes me laugh, but is probably too localized.] But then, I don't have the book with me--does she reference Roger in that scene, or were you just trying to tie it back to the earlier line?

[sara_tanaquil]

I think the thing that made me think of Roger was the reference to "what star were you born under?", but you're right - I was probably over-reaching. Thanks!

My problem with idioms is that there are so many billion phrases/combinations that I don't recognize an idiom when I see one (whereas, you presumably understand enough normal Japanese that the odd phrases stand out). They are all equally subject to wild guessing as far as I'm concerned. Oh well, practice makes perfect!