The kingdom of Dressrosa needs a hero of legendary quality, and there is one ready and willing to fight. The only problem is that most of the country only sees him as a small, one-legged toy soldier.
The Good
What does it tell you when I find myself more captivated by the emotional drama Oda has drawn in the subplot than in the action set pieces? For one, I'd guess that I've not been corrupted by the Michael Bay-style of entertainment. This parental drama is both layered and heartbreaking. Toy Soldier has been raising Rebecca while keeping his identity hidden since she was a little girl. That part still confuses me. Why hide this from her?
My best guess to his motive is that he knows Rebecca has already suffered terribly over the loss of her mother. From his perspective, it might be better that she doesn't even remember having a father if his plan was to fail. Whether that's considered selfless or selfish is up to the individual.
I actually feel like quite the fool that I hadn't yet realized that Toy Soldier would turn out to be Kyros. I was so determined for him to be revealed as someone we haven't even remotely heard about. That's probably because people seemed to still know of him, and it was almost implied that he was someone from a more ancient era. Many believe Kyros was just a legend. Similar to the heroes of ancient Greek fables. His memory remains because of his statue, but his feats sound so unbelievable. I can understand how people would see him as fiction.
The Bad
I'm really surprised to only just now understand how important Kyros to the plan of Riku's Army. You would have thought that would be kind of an important detail to fill the Straw Hats in on before they left. It's a minor quibble that made for an interesting reveal later, so I'll try to not let it get to me. Much like I've seen in the comments. I'm now more hoping that Usopp is finally willing to stand up and take this fight on for Leo.
Verdict 4/5
This was a well written example of character drama in ONE PIECE this week, and I find the gullibility of the Tontatta incredibly endearing. The quality of the chapter is high, but I'm wondering how long Oda can keep this back and forth narrative going? Hopefully this final revelation is just what we needed to really get this arc into high gear.
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About the Author
 | Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek. Follow for news updates: @AnimeVicers / @FoxxFireArt / http://kristofferremmell.tumblr.com/ |
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