What secret does Doflamingo hold over the heads of the Celestial Dragons, and how did Trafalgar Law survive a terminal illness to gain the powers of the Op-Op Fruit? The answers to these and many other questions began sixteen-years ago in the North Blue.
The Good
Well, after several teases, it's finally begun. I've been wanting to see this origin story for Trafalgar for a while now. If only to get it out of the way. I know that sounds a touch cynical, but the action was only starting to pick up in this extended Dressrosa Arc. The results of these flashbacks can also be mixed. I've enjoyed many of the previous stories, but I'm concerned that this may drag on and effect my enjoyment of the rest of the arc.
What really surprised me was the bombs that were slipped under the radar, regarding the Op-Op Fruit. A lot of fuss is made surrounding the Logia, and Law has done some amazing things with his devil fruit. Yet, who could have imagined the potential this fruit held? I now understand why Doflamingo wanted it so badly. The eternal life aspects aside, just imagine what you could do with the ability to switch personalities. Let's say there's a world leader you wanted controlled for an extended period. Just switch his mind with that of one of your loyal followers. I had never even considered that before. It''s a very good thing old Doffy never got a hold of that power for long.
I already have an idea of how Law went from having a few years to live to being an adult bad-ass. Upon gaining the powers of the Op-Op Fruit, he likely performed surgery on himself to fix whatever the problem was. It was only a few weeks ago we saw him remove the bullets from his own body.
The Bad
Oda is never one to shy away from creating bizarre character traits, and he certainly didn't shy away withCorazon. His perpetual clumsiness is classic slapstick, but the one that involves his brutal child abuse leaves me more than a little uncomfortable. It's one thing to have a villain we're suppose to hate hit kids. This is supposedly a character we as readers are going to sympathize with at some point, given Law's current admiration of him. How is that possible?
Though, as I say that, I'm remembering what Luffy's grandfather made him suffer through. Perhaps that's a double standard.
Verdict 3/5
The action was only stepping into high gear, and now we're taking a few steps back, in a manner of sixteen-years back. There's always potential for really great story telling in the ONE PIECE flashbacks. You always need to come at these with a "wait and see" mentality. I'm just coming out of this chapter more confused with how Oda plans to turn the audience around on Cora when he's beating on children and doesn't even speak. However, I'm open to seeing how the creator accomplishes this. It could very well surprise me.
We're just going to have to wait longer than usual for the outcome. ONE PIECE will be on break next week.
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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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