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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 14:38:21 GMT -5
Episode 33: "Usopp Dead?! When Is Luffy Going To Make Landfall?!"
So...is Arlong gay or a big fat party animal? Since he's wearing a Hawaii shirt and all.
The Arlong arc continues with another strong episode that does a good job of mixing humor (this time mostly from Hachi who, for being one of the field commanders, does not seem like the brightest bulb in the drawer) and drama (Usopp's and Nami's interaction ending with Nami killing Usopp). Nami's actions continue to intrigue more and more as the viewer asks himself: what is her true motivation?
Only downside is there was lots of anime filler (especially in the first five minutes of the episode) as you can see what was not in the manga: -Luffy's crew's continuous trek towards Arlong Park -Arlong's small outburst in the woods before deciding to go back to Arlong Park -That whole part with Usopp evading the fishmen and him finally being captured by Choo (originally in the manga, the first time we see Usopp again after fleeing from Arlong in Cocoyashi Village is when he is already brought captured into the Arlong Park) -Constant scene changes in Arlong Park in between the fishmen questioning Usopp (in the manga) and Kuroobi checking Zoro's cell and his ropes (anime-only) -Scene of Nami alone in her room just before the earth trembles from Luffy having made landfall -Ghost (?) Usopp wandering along the beach (in the manga, we see him again walking in Cocoyashi Village wet but none the worse for wear).
At least those scenes are more entertaining filler than what I have seen in some other anime series.
Later days...in this case tomorrow!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2017 16:04:30 GMT -5
Episode 34: "Everyone's Gathered! Usopp Speaks The Truth About Nami!"
Usopp: "Nami initially has not spoken by her own choice and then later it was forbidden, hehehe, by Arlong...in his sssssssearch of the perfect charted ma..." Oops, sorry, the episode card says "Usopp Speaks The Truth..." and not "Usopp Breaks His Silence..."
Anyway, this is the perfect prelude to what I consider the first main dish of the Arlong Arc, Nami's back story.
I especially love the scene between Nami and Nojiko which really emphasized how much the Strawhat Crew means to Nami. They made her laugh for the first time in a long while and even made her forget for a short time about her mission. This is helped by the filler flashbacks which just show some small humorous scenes during their trip and perhaps the most pivotal scene to her: Luffy's outburst about how Captain Kuro treated his nakama (the one flashback scene which is shown in grainy black-and-white for some reason). Just a great sequence that gives us an insight into Nami's feelings and makes us feel for her.
Luffy's simple mind, while being a danger to himself and others sometimes, also helps in other times as shown here. He is just focused on bringing back Nami and won't be deterred by her angrily telling him to leave the island or Nojiko offering to tell him about Nami's past (funny coincidence that here and also in the Fishman Island arc later, he misses the backstory everytime).
Speaking of the Strawhats, we also get the first clash of Zoro and Sanji which will become a recurring feature between those two.
Yeah, that scene with the fishmen sinking a marine ship...it reeks of filler but is actually a scene from the manga. It kinda has a point to it definitely establishing the three field commanders of Arlong's pirate crew (Kuroobi, Hachi & Choo) and how important Nami's maps are to the Arlong pirates. OK, the field commanders are not that interesting (although Choo has a pretty swank VA) but I guess they serve their purpose.
Although we get teased with Yosaku and Johnny taking a hike finally, it will still take a while for them to disappear for good.
Small difference from the manga: -Continuing from last time, originally in the manga, we see Usopp for the first time after being "killed" by Nami when he walks the streets of Cocoyashi and finds out that Zoro has gone to find Arlong which leads him to finding everyone on the way near the rice paddy fields. Here he just continues in his beach towel disguise through the woods until coming across the crew. -Odd thing is that in the actual scene after Nami stabs Usopp, he just slowly walks towards the pool and falls into it while the flashback here uses the series of the events in the manga (after stabbing him, Usopp falls on the ground and Nami kicks him into the pool).
OK, tomorrow will be a good one so see you then.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 14:29:59 GMT -5
Episode 35: "Untold Past! Female Warrior Bellemere!" I just say it outright: Nami's past is IMHO the most tragic of the Strawhats' pasts. One could make good arguments for Nico Robin's past being the most tragic, but what makes Nami's especially tragic for me is: she essentially had a happy childhood until the most important person to her was forcefully taken away from her. When I look at the other strawhats I don't seem to see much of happy childhoods when I compare them to Nami's. Perhaps Frankie's past is the closest to hers but still Frankie did not have to see his most important person shot in cold blood in front of him. Lastly, Nami's story, even when I reread the manga a while ago, brought the tears close to flowing and if a story has that effect on me, it can only be very effective. Also does not help that Bellemere is a pretty likable character. Beautiful, tough, flirty, fun...if she were around today, I bet she would fit right into the strawhat crew as well. This is basically the heaven part of Nami's past, where we see her childhood with Bellemere and Nojiko, how both children came to be with Bellemere, happy moments but also sad moments when Nami wrongly accuses Bellemere of being happier if they weren't around...crushing words. I think this also had a impact on me back in 2001 when from then on I tried to not part with anyone on a bad note since you never know what might happen. So yeah, it is a good and bright start to Nami's past but tomorrow will be a different story. Differences from the manga: -That whole scene with Luffy encountering the three field commanders and just casually walking past them is anime-only. -Seeing Nami wake up in Bellemere's house and getting nostalgic about seeing the tangerines is also anime-only. -The whole scene with Nami in the bookshop and getting caught by Genzo is also anime-only (the first time we see Nami in the manga is when Genzo drags her back to Bellemere's house). Tomorrow will surely come for us.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2017 14:04:47 GMT -5
Episode 36: "Survive! Mother Bellemere And Nami's Bond!" And it happened again...after previously having seen this episode 3 times and 2 times in manga form...the tears came again. If yesterday's episode was heaven, then this is hell...Bellemere's death and all the accompaniments (music or rather lack thereof, the voice acting etc.) really rips your heart right out and just makes me want to kill Arlong that much more. This is rather a downer episode as well but it somehow made me feel like One Piece was more than Dragonball and with Naruto, Bleach etc. I never encountered an episode that touched me like this one did. Probably another reason why One Piece managed to keep my interest even after 16 years... This episode wraps up Nami's past by also showing how she became a member of Arlong's crew and how painful it is for her to have people call her friend (simply because she did not want anybody to get hurt or killed by being associated with her). It makes for an excellent closure to know Nami's character and also the other people in Nami's life in Cocoyashi like Genzo and the Doctor. Just a heartbreaking episode with no major manga differences to report. See you tomorrow and don't die...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2017 7:50:14 GMT -5
Episode 37: "Luffy Rises! Result Of The Broken Promise!" Arlong is probably worse than Homer Simpson smoking two cigarettes at once but I have to commend him on his logic here (as evil as it is). He never broke their promise, he just told a corrupt navy admiral where he could find 100 million berries and he gets 30% of the cut if he retrieves it. In his mind, Nami could just start anew and as soon as she brings him the money, he will release her and Cocoyashi Village. Devious but clever. Another great episode that I attribute mostly to Akemi Okamura's awesome VA work as Nami. Her anger, her desperation, her sadness...Akemi brings it with such a conviction and determination that you cannot help but feel with Nami throughout this episode. The last part of the episode is also truly epic. From Nami's angry stabbing at her own Arlong tattoo (guess the anime producers did not have a problem with that kind of self-mutilation), Luffy stopping her, Nami's final weak attempt at getting Luffy to leave only to finally giving up and asking him those words... "Luffy...Help me..." Continuing with Luffy's declaration of helping her and the epic shot of Zoro, Usopp and Sanji just sitting there in the middle of the village for Luffy's command to take off. Helped of course by the music that makes you pumped up for Luffy to beat Arlong to a bloody pulp. Other great moments include the revelation that the villagers always knew of Nami's plan and their determination to fight the fishmen despite knowing that they will die was kinda sweet (in the length they would go to to allow Nami to follow her dream without their lives on her shoulders.) All that combines to make this episode another awesome one in this arc. Differences to the manga include: -Nami's past discussion with Arlong where he offers her the deal is anime-only. -Nami putting out more navy soldiers in the anime compared to the manga before Colonel Nezumi finds her treasure. -After Nami running away from her confrontation with Arlong, the fishmen discuss a little longer about Nami. -A small discussion among Usopp, Sanji and Zoro before they go to the village. -Extended scene of the strawhat crew walking up to Arlong Park (which is kinda better compared to the manga). See you all tomorrow (I need to talk with Kuroobi though, I think Johnny and Yosaku were well worth of being killed).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2017 10:12:10 GMT -5
Episode 38: "Luffy In Big Trouble! Fishmen vs. Luffy Pirates!"
In this episode, I think I realized something that Oda improved upon in the following arcs.
In the Captain Kuro Arc and this arc, there were moments where one could get the idea that the only reason the heroes struggled was because Luffy was out of commission (hypnotized and put to sleep in the Kuro arc, thrown into the water after he trapped himself in his own stupidity here). Otherwise some might say Luffy could have saved the day single-handedly Goku-style while the other Strawhats stand googly-eyed by just like Goku's friends.
Oda IMHO rectified this problem by making the battle areas grander allowing the Straw Hat pirates to have their individual battles in different areas without having to put Luffy out of order. And it seemed to have worked since the Arlong arc was the last one that had his problem if I recall it correctly.
So, the battle against the Arlong pirates begins in earnest with the Strawhats taking out the grunts first incl. their giant sea cow Moomoo in a very funny scene. While Luffy's Pinwheel attack is a pretty awesome attack, it is understandable why he never used it again (since he might as well become a punching bag for his enemies). We also get our match-ups for the remaining fights: Luffy vs. Arlong, Zoro vs. Hachi, Usopp vs. Choo and Sanji vs. Kuroobi.
It is a decent episode with some good action (it just feels so satisfying when Luffy just punches Arlong in the face for making his navigator cry) but it has a bit of a problem in stretching out things. The most notable part is when the fishmen run towards Luffy to attack him, but despite the short distance towards him, Luffy has all the time in the world to prepare his Pinwheel Attack (the fishmen probably are so unfit that they have to take a breather after 3 steps?). Also, some excessive talking and people taking stance against each other and then standing there for what seems like forever.
Still, it is an enjoyable episode.
Differences from the manga: -Anime-only scene in the beginning of Nami crying in the middle of Cocoyashi. -Several instances of additional dialogue in scenes that were in the manga to extend the episode.
Until morrow!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2017 14:16:04 GMT -5
Episode 39: "Luffy Submerged! Zoro vs. Hatchan The Octopus!"
Something I noticed this time around: All of his fights during the East Blue Saga against fighters of "equal" standing, Zoro had to contend with some sort of handicap. Be it a stab wound (against Cabaji), having two of his swords stolen (against the Meowban Brothers) or still dealing with his big wound from the fight against Mihawk (here against Hachi), it seemed like Oda gave Zoro a handicap for some reason. Perhaps Oda wanted to present Zoro as such a strong fighter already that he felt he needed to do something to make his enemies seem as equal...beats me.
Anyway, the main focus of this ep is, of course, Zoro's fight against Hachi and it is pretty entertaining. While not a real memorable fight, it does make up for it with Hachi's funny character quirks and some nice sequences (like Zoro, after receiving Johnny and Yosaku's swords, parring Hachi's swords while hitting him at the same time or him rolling on Hachi's twister attack and managing to hit him during that as well).
It is also nice to see that those to be saved are getting something to do with Genzo and Nojiko doing their best to keep Luffy alive while trying to free him from his cement block (and loving it how fast they caught on to use Luffy's rubberness to their advantage).
Otherwise, it again feels like this episode is trying to stretch things out to much with either talking or cutting to the Doctor and the two wastes of breathing air or flashbacks.
Still, I would still rank this a decent episode.
Manga Differences: -Anime-only sequence with Usopp and Choo (in the manga, after running away with him from the Arlong Park, we didn't see those two again until when Usopp pretended to be dead). -As mentioned before, the comments from the Doctor, Johnny and Yosaku as well as the flashbacks to Zoro's fight with Mihawk and his past were also anime-only things to. -Hachi getting angry when Zoro collapses just after he got his six swords ready and Kuroobi telling him to calm down. -Kuroobi trying to kill Zoro after the latter just defeated Hachi
Tomorrow will be another break to read the manga Volume 15, so see you the day after tomorrow!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 14:38:29 GMT -5
Episode 40: "Proud Warriors! Sanji And Usopp's Fierce Battles!" We get two fights for the price of one! And both of them don't suck. Sanji's fight is the more serious of the two since Sanji fights at a disadvantage underwater where Kuroobi is in his element, hitting Sanji with a variety of cool-looking, well-animated Fishman Karate moves (although those appear to be mere warm-up techniques compared to what Jimbei would later show). But Sanji manages to surprise the fishman and shows him their true difference in strength on land, hitting and finishing off Kuroobi with a variety of dastardly kicks, finishing up that fight for good. Just a decent fight. While not as good fighting-wise, I feel the fight Usopp vs. Choo is more important character-wise since it proves to be a step forward from Usopp's cowardice towards being a braver member of Luffy's crew. The scene where Usopp thinks about excuses while remembering the actions of his nakama, slowly feeling ashamed of himself and building up the courage to fight against Choo is one of the earliest important character development aspects of Usopp I think. Otherwise, the fight lives through the humor brought by Usopp's various weapons he uses until finally beating Choo by playing "Whack-A-Fish" repeatedly. Since those fights take up the majority of the episode (alongside Genzo's and Nojiko's repeated attempts to revive Luffy) and they kept the off-side comments to a minimum this time, it makes for a better episode than the Zoro/Hachi episode. Differences from the manga: -Although Kuroobi's attacks were pretty awesome as mentioned, the vast majority are anime-only (I remember only the attack with his arm fin and the pressure attack were actually in the manga, none of that ponytail stuff). -Just like in the last episodes most of the talking parts were extended and anime-only to expand the episode. Tomorrow will be another One Piece day!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2017 14:47:23 GMT -5
Episode 41: "Luffy At Full Power! Nami's Determination And The Straw Hat!"
OK, I guess the animators or the director felt a bit arty today, symbolizing Nami's dilemma with a butterfly being caught in a spider web, but luckily through her determination, the butterfly (Nami) managed to escape the spider (Arlong)...or something.
This episode was a bit all over the place, probably because they were at that point where they still had to do a bit of remaining stuff to do before Luffy enters the fight but wanting to do the brunt of the fight in a full episode, leaving us with an episode that is...in the middle.
We have Nami declining Arlong's offer to spare the villagers if she comes to him of his own free will, Zoro holding Arlong off while Sanji rescues Luffy, Hachi waking up and making one final stand before his wounds get the better of him, Luffy finally waking up, getting freed and starting the fight against Arlong. There is a bit of fun humor in it (mostly due to Usopp's and Luffy's antics), some drama (Zoro's defiance against Arlong and the tension when Hachi tries to prevent Sanji from reaching Luffy) but all in all, it's really more of a stepping stone towards the meat of the Arlong/Luffy fight.
Manga differences: -Actually get to see a bit of Arlong and Zoro fighting (in the manga, after Zoro hits Arlong in the nose, the next time we see Zoro, Arlong already holds him up). Otherwise nothing important to note.
See everyone tomorrow!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2017 14:05:07 GMT -5
Episode 42: "Explosion! Fishman Arlong's Fierce Assault From The Sea!"
Now we enter the meat of the Luffy/Arlong fight which this episode is solely devoted to.
The fight itself is pretty good because Arlong is a pretty tough combatant even without any Devil Fruit abilities. He more than makes up for it with some fierce attacks (Tooth Attack, Shark On Darts) that provide some problems for Luffy. But Luffy does not let that deter him and he gives as good as Arlong gives him.
Despite the fierce fight, it still provides some humourous scenes (Luffy naming the nose/jaw/webs when Arlong asks him about their difference, Luffy snatching one of Arlong's tooth attack jaws to use as his own, Usopp's reaction to Luffy's "I can't lie either"). Also, a pretty pivotal Luffy moment when he admits that he is dependant on his friends but that he still can do one thing: defeating Arlong (or in the subtext anybody who hurt his friends).
One odd thing I noticed is that compared to the manga, this fight is pretty clean in the anime. While the manga was really bloody, the anime seems to cut down on the blood. That is especially noticiable when Arlong bites Luffy's arm with full force, leaving it looking like a bloody mess in the manga while here it more looks like a puppy bit him...no blood at all to see here. Does not hurt the fight that much but it is notable.
The episode finally ends with Luffy ending up in Nami's room after Arlong corners him there with his Shark Saw, setting up one of the best moments IMHO in One Piece history. But that's for tomorrow.
Besides the blood issue, there are no major manga differences to report.
See you all tomorrow!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2017 14:17:25 GMT -5
Episode 43: "End Of The Fishmen Empire! Nami's My Friend!" This remains one of my Top Ten scenes in the history of One Piece: Luffy destroying Nami's survey room in the Arlong Park with righteous indignation and finally finishing off Arlong along with the whole park. Everything about that scene is just executed marvelously: From the slow build with Arlong's thoughts about Nami and Luffy calmly surveying the room, picking up a bloodied pen etc. to Luffy calmly grabbing and destroying part of Arlong's Shark Saw (that catches Arlong completely off-guard) to the annihilation of the room (along with Nami's reaction to it) culminating in Luffy finishing off Arlong with a Gum-Gum Axe and turning the whole Arlong park into minced debris. The voice acting, the music, the sounds...all blends together to make it one of my all-time favorite scenes. The follow-up with Luffy telling Nami that she is their friend and her teary reaction to it is also rather sweet and the celebration of the release from Arlong's stronghold can begin! Does this episode have anything else? Ah yes, in a series of weirdness, it introduces the to this day weirdest element in the One Piece world. The Den Den Mushi...Seriously, I really wanna know if Oda smoked the same stuff as Pendleton Ward or J.G. Quintel when he came up with stuff like this. Anyway, the Den Den Mushi would slowly become a pretty big accessory in the One Piece world. Furthermore, Colonel Nezumi, despite being a rather weak and forgettable henchman at most, sets off a pretty important process in motion that leads to the first bounty on Luffy's head. All in all, a pretty good episode with no major differences from the manga version (aside a big flashback sequence near the end). See you all tomorrow!
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Post by dreidemy on Sept 16, 2017 22:13:18 GMT -5
The Den Den Mushi is so Od(a)d
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Johnny B. Decent
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Post by Johnny B. Decent on Sept 16, 2017 23:32:39 GMT -5
The Den Den Mushi...Seriously, I really wanna know if Oda smoked the same stuff as Pendleton Ward or J.G. Quintel when he came up with stuff like this. Believe it or not, but there actually *is* a concept based on it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasilalinic-sympathetic_compass
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 2:02:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the interesting trivia, S.C. Amigo. Appreciate it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 14:07:55 GMT -5
Episode 44: "Setting Off With A Smile! Farewell, Hometown Cocoyashi Village!" And so the Arlong Arc ends on a high note...JOHNNY AND YOSAKU ARE FINALLY LEAVING! GOOD RIDDANCE TO THEM! Oh yeah, there is also some other stuff. Overall, this is just a nice and quiet denouement for this arc and really, nothing else is needed (also remember the days where you could do the denouement in one episode? ) It is just so good seeing the villagers celebrating their release from Arlong's grip and the Strawhat Crew being celebrated for the heroes they are. Some loose ends are cleared up (how Nojiko came to also wear tattoos and why Genzo wore a pinwheel on his head...the latter's origin is especially sweet). Nothing really to say here except that this episodes just makes one happy seeing how everything turned out; a fitting end to the Arlong Arc (and Nami's departure from the village is awesome as well). Differences from the manga: -The biggest anime-only addition is the long scene with Nami alone at night reminiscing about Bellemere (incl. flashbacks to an anniversary and a stormy night where their orchard got trashed) and having a "conversation" with Bellemere's apparition who appears to give her a shove out the door at the end. Personally thought this one was rather nice for anime filler and did not feel out of place at all. -Most of the celebration up until we see Zoro being administered to by the doctor, especially that boy asking for Luffy (originally we see that boy again when he talks with Nojiko about his feelings). See everyone tomorrow when we continue to find out if...Luffy will ever find raw ham melon until he gets to the One Piece!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2017 14:00:25 GMT -5
Episode 45: "Bounty! Straw Hat Luffy Becomes Known To The World!"
If I calculated correctly, this marks the first episode with a large amount of filler compared to the manga-based part.
In that regard, it is a pretty meh episode since the filler part is not really that exciting and they probably could have combined the manga-only parts with the next episode to combine into one episode. The good part is definitely seeing the core Strawhat Group hang out together for the first time which is fun to watch. My belief is that the Straw Hat Crew's interaction can sometimes make even the most mundane filler bearable. I admit, not in this case, but most of the time.
The sorta prelude to "From The Decks Of This World" is also nice to watch, especially since here for the only time (I think) we get to see some villain's reaction to the bounty.
The scene at Marine HQ (or is that perhaps supposed to be the Marine's East Blue HQ?) is kinda weird because we see all these important-looking people sitting around discussing the appearance of Straw Hat Luffy...and I don't think they ever made another appearance (well, except the guy who makes the presentation I think). I do wonder sometimes if Oda intended the bounties to be One Piece's equivalent of Dragonball's power levels...
Finally, it's good to see Hawk-Eye again and also see what Shanks is up to (getting drunk mostly).
As mentioned, the manga parts are good but the filler part is pretty meh, so thumbs-in-the-middle here.
Filler material: -Actually, the only reactions we got in the manga were from Shanks/Mihawk and from Luffy's hometown. Ms. Kaya, Coby, Morgan, Captain Kuro (in his last One Piece appearance to date), Zeff, Buggy and Alvida's reaction are anime-only. -The whole part with Iron Fist Fullbody engaging the Strawhats after learning of their bounty was all in the anime only. Since Fullbody is not really that interesting the whole "fight" was kinda boring.
Until the morrow day!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2017 14:20:40 GMT -5
Episode 46: "Chase The Straw Hat! Little Buggy's Big Adventure!" This episode may also seem like the filleringest of fillers...but it's actually not. A little background for those who only know One Piece in anime form and not so much as a manga form: -One specialty that Eiichiro Oda does, that I have not seen with another mangaka: a continuous chapter cover story. That means over the course of several chapters Oda would draw a serialized story within his chapter covers where normally he would do the usual "characters do awesome poses and be badass or do funnay stuff etc." one knows from other Shonen Jump manga. Usually, the story follows a lesser villain and his misadventures where he/she finds happiness or something else in the end. Those chapter cover stories were usually 30-40 chapters long and it allowed Oda to tell a sort of side-story besides the main story, in some cases events in the chapter cover stories wind up in the main story (the best known example being Hachi). And that's what this and the next story is: the anime version of the first chapter cover story Oda did about Buggy's misadventures after being launched into the sea by Luffy. On it's own merits, I personally find the story pretty funny since Buggy really works better as a quasi comic relief character than as serious main arc villain. His reactions to the various encounters with wildlife and also Gaimon are hilarious and when he and Gaimon sit down and have a nice evening of drinking sake and reminiscing about pirate life, it's really sweet to watch. It also leaves us on a mysterious note who that strange woman is who saved Buggy from the Giant Enemy Crab! In anime filler interludes, we follow the everyday life of the Strawhat Crew which is also nice to look at. Just seeing these guys shooting the s*** and enjoying life to the fullest is really relaxing to watch and fleshes them out even more IMHO. So, those chapter cover stories sound great, right? Providing lots of content for filler episodes to put between arcs without the anime producers having to think about fillers themselves, right? Sadly, this story and the Coby-Helmeppo two-parter that came a while after were the only two chapter cover stories the anime produced (at least as far as I watched until the middle of the Thriller Bark Arc during my last watch). Reasons could be several: -Since they are without speech bubbles (and if they have, it's usually pictograms), perhaps it was too much work for the anime producers to think about dialogue to write (especially considering the tough work schedule of those working in the TV anime industry) and if Oda could not be bothered to think up dialogue himself, they rather created their own filler material. -Since they depict the villains in a positive light, perhaps the producers did want to have so much sympathy built for the villains. It is kinda sad really, mainly for the Hachi story that actually gives a backstory to his much later reappearance on the Grand Line, but oh well. Differences from the manga: -Besides the flashbacks, all the stuff with the Straw Hat Crew is filler as far as the chapter cover story stuff goes. Until tomorrow, lads!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2017 13:54:44 GMT -5
Episode 47: "The Wait Is Over! The Return Of Captain Buggy!"
And the Captain Buggy two-parter ends...with a pretty meh episode.
Unlike Buggy who was actually entertaining in the last one (and in the few scenes with him here), Mohji, Cabaji and Richie the lion are pretty dull by comparison. I could not care less about who becomes captain next and the Richie portions were not particularly funny. Though Mohji and Cabaji's fight was decently animated.
So yeah, Buggy gets his body back and takes out a cannibal tribe almost all by himself before being reunited with his crew to pursue Luffy along with that mysterious beauty. That's all there is. This episode leaves really zilch to talk about since most of the entertaining stuff happened in the last one. Even the Strawhat Crew stuff was too little to get this episode notable in any way.
Still, we finally enter Loguetown in the next episode which will give me more stuff to talk about, at least.
Manga Differences: -The opening scene with Buggy and the woman on the sea searching for his crew is anime-only. -All the Buggy crew stuff (excluding where they are run from the town where they lost to Luffy and his crew) is also anime-only (until the grave scene on the island). -The first scene with the Strawhats is also anime material only. -Buggy sighting his ship
See you tomorrow again!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2017 14:48:31 GMT -5
Episode 48: "The Town Of The Beginning And The End! Landfall At Loguetown!" A fitting title considering the first opening ended here and a new opening started with this episode: While "Wonderland" is not a bad song technically, IMHO it was used too long as the intro where by the end I got pretty sick of it and rejoiced when they used a new opening. Shame really since the video itself is pretty good. And we finally get into the small Loguetown Arc which is a weird one. While the arc itself was in the manga, they added much filler material here to make it longer than it is. Probably wanted to give each Strawhat Member an individual episode before hitting the Grand Line (well, except Nami but since she got the focus of the preceding arc I can forgive that). Loguetown is a nicely designed city which definitely gives off the vibe of a port town during the Pirate Age in our town. A perfect setting for the final stop before the Grand Line (well, almost final stop but we'll get to that). We also meet Captain Smoker for the first time who will become quite the recurring figure during the course of the series. While we do not find out yet what his powers are, his character pretty much make him the most decent high-rank marine we have met so far. Love that scene especially where he gives the little girl money to buy ice cream after his pants accidentally ate it. Such a big softie. We also meet Officer Tashigi who we only learn in this one that she is good with a sword and seems to remind Zoro of Kuina. The episode all in all is pretty decent as the set-up for the Loguetown Arc with the most interesting being finally shown the execution of Gold Roger and also getting a bit more insight into Gold Roger (although most of it is anime filler, but that is not that big a problem). Definitely an entertaining piece of background to hear as is the interaction between Luffy and the barkeeper in general. Manga differences: -The first shop Usopp visits (along with a shopkeeper that seems to have come out straight from a Zelda CD-i game) is anime-filler. -Smoker apprehending that loser pirate at the harbour and his first encounter with Luffy (originally Smoker did not meet Luffy in person until the flight from the city near the end of that arc). -As mentioned, the barkeeper is an anime-only character and thus all his interactions with Luffy and Smoker is anime-filler. -Originally, Zoro gave Tashigi her glasses back unharmed. Here, he accidentally breaks them out of shock when he realizes how much Tashigi resembles Kuina. Another day will come tomorrow!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2017 14:07:07 GMT -5
Episode 49: "Kitetsu III And Yubashiri! Zoro's New Swords And the Woman Sergeant Major!"
Tashigi is so adorkable! <3
Yeah, she is somebody I really enjoyed this time around. Her clumsiness and naiveté as well as her fandom over legendary swords reminds me so much of another charactet I love from the series I regularly display in my sig and avatar. Definitely a character that made this episode really enjoyable.
This was also helped by Zoro finally getting new swords that will accompany him on the Grand Line. The scene where he puts his luck against Kitetsu III's curse was really riveting and made me cringe imagining what would have happened if it indeed sliced his arm right off. The swordshop owner was also a decent fellow and his turn from trying to swindle Zoro to giving him the swords free of charge was executed believably. The scene in the swordshop in general was really good (especially Zoro and Tashigi's interaction).
Even the filler material was pretty good (Luffy and Smoker's first fight was pretty intense and seeing Zoro cleaning the Navy base with three...brushes was pretty funny), making this one of the better Loguetown episodes.
Manga Differences: -Basically only the scene with Zoro walking to the swordshop thinking about how eerie the resemblance of Tashigi to his dead friend Kuina is to the whole scene in the swordshop was based on the manga. All the rest (Luffy vs. Smoker fight and Luffy getting flung away; Sanji, Usopp and Nami's scenes; Zoro and Tashigi's scenes up until the above mentioned Zoro walking down the street scene; Luffy waking up from his nap, accidentally evading Buggy and going back to the Execution Platform; and finally the final scene in Smoker's base)...all this was anime-filler.
Until the day after today!
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