I’ve often joked about how Luffy would most likely suffer a catastrophic emotional breakdown if he
ever actually found the One Piece. You know, what’s this man-child going to do?
If he gets what he says he’s searching for, then there’s no reason to adventure
anymore, is there?
That day may never actually come, but I feel like I just got
a very visceral vision of what it could look like because - - holy crap - - does Luffy fall to pieces
when he sees this guy. It kind-of crosses the line from genuine, emotional relief
to a damaged, psycho-somatic trauma trigger. Shinji would be looking at this, saying, “Hey, man – simmer down!”
And yes, I’m aware there’s probably 200 episodes of
back-story that have built this particular reunion up. It’s still hilarious in
this particular context.
What’s a lot less entertaining in this particular context is
the opening third, which shows Minor Character A beating the shit out of Minor
Character B. I’ve always found the definitions of ‘filler’ to be a bit
overly-rigid, but I can see a lot more sense in it when a scene like this
really does feel like slowly chewing on a corner of fat in your Porter house.
The scene where Franky’s strategizing with the toy militia
was splendid, however. It tickles me to
think that Oda might’ve gone channel surfing one time, left BABES IN TOYLAND on
in the background while he was working, and then been inspired to have the
Straw Hats just randomly dock on the Island of Lost Toys. Hell, we saw them come
to blows with Candyland’s imperial fleet last episode, and there was that whole
extended arc where Luffy fought Count Chocula (Foxy).
Have… the Straw Hats ever matched wits with Cap’n Crunch?
Watch "Luffy Astonished! The Man Who Inherits Ace's Will!" and decide for yourself, then read my thoughts on the previous episode.
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