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RIP Sabo.
Well damn, Sabo was obliterated by the Tenryuubito as some people have guessed from last week. My optimism was shot down as it seems. Interestingly enough, the Tenryuubito’s unique head remarkably looks like the one Luffy punched.
Last week, I said that Ace’s philosophy of “never run” was a response to provocation, but this chapter explains that the true reason was for protecting Luffy. A flashback OF a flashback reveals that Roger also had this same trait as he lost many of his friends or family when he was young (which perhaps may be enlightened upon in the future). No surprise, Luffy also bears the same trait, as his “nakama” is the most important thing to him in his life. Based on Garp’s implication that Roger became the Pirate King because of this trait, Oda’s again trying to tell us or foreshadow that Luffy is on the right track (though he’s been doing this for ages, king’s haki, will of D, multiple traits of Roger’s). In my opinion, protecting your bonds is a good reason to fight and never gets old as a plot device. It gives the fights way more weight within them and thus create levels of epic that fights in other manga just don’t seem to ever achieve.
And so, the third brother disappears… we’ll never see him in the New World. However, in One Piece, no one ever dies until their grave is shown (or in flashba- ..oh wait). Sabo’s letter is the catalyst for the strength of Ace’s and Luffy’s bonds, and I feel their current strong connections are finally set in stone. However, even though the manga is taking a break next week, I don’t believe the flashback is over since there’s still some loose ends…
Note: Regarding the anime post, most of you probably notice I watch subs, and they’re especially late this week. I might just use Funisubs and cap the raws if Yibis is ever later than Tuesday from now on. The post may be done either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how the rest of my evening goes. Please excuse my incompetence this week 😛
We still don’t know how Ace got his powers and I hope we see a little more of Dragon before this ends (maybe he’ll kill the Tenryuubito that shot Sabo?). I’m really impressed at how One Piece never slows down, every chapter as just as exciting as the last.
I don’t think they will show how Ace got his powers. I don’t think he learns of it until Alabasta. My reasoning is in chapter 159 page 7 last panel. http://beta.onemanga.com/One_Piece/159/07/
I kind of doubt that a Tenryuubito was killed by Ace, otherwise the Marine’s would’ve declared war with Whitebeard a long time ago. Seeing how the Tenryuubito are both powererful ( politcally) and stupid, they would likly order the Marines to kill Ace regardless if he was part of Whitebeard’s crew.
That and if that particular Tenryuubito who shot Sabo’s ship was the one Luffy punched, then it would create a time paradox 😀
code fanboy: I meant that maybe Dragon killed the Tenryuubito. Since he has the highest bounty in the world, he must have messed with them at some point.
Well, saw that coming. Didn’t want to believe it but it happened. =/
Even with this development, I don’t think Sabo is dead for sure. Even though his boat exploded, we haven’t seen a dead body. But the main reason I think there is a chance he is alive is that what would be the point of putting Sabo in the flashback? Was it just so that this memory can help Luffy recuperate from Ace’s death? I think the flashback’s main purpose was for that reason, but I think Sabo’s addition into the flashback would be a little weak for just that reason. Luffy could have recuperated from Ace’s death with the flashback without the use of Sabo. If Sabo died here, it feels like a waste of a potentially interesting character. I feel that Sabo’s presence can further Luffy’s development in the present. So I think he might be alive, but it could be wishful thinking on my part.
That Tenryuubito is definitely not the one Luffy punched. The one that Luffy punched was named Charloss and it cant be Charloss’s father either since he is named Roswald. The Tenryuubito in the flashback is named Jalmack.
Perhaps it’s just the Tenryuubito “traditional” hairstyle..
Sabo is also the reason for the giant bond between Ace and Luffy. Sabo’s final words to Ace (through the letter) was to protect Luffy, which is exactly what Ace has done since then. It also shows why Luffy was so frantic in trying to rescue Ace, as he felt so useless that he couldn’t do anything to prevent Sabo’s death. Now Luffy has lost two of his brothers and there was nothing he could do to stop either. That should lead to some awesome character development, especially with how Luffy responds to his crew whenever they finally meet up.
i still think we might see sabo again, but i doubt it. there wasnt a corpse after all but…
btw, poor luffy! his brother dies when he is young, then he gathers nakama on his journey. then, in the space of a week he loses all of his nakama, goes through hell to save the only brother he has left and then that brother dies in his arms!!! i think garps line about how roger was a demon when it came to his friends is foreshadowing about how luffy will be after this flashback. hes lost everything, when he is finished being sad, he will be pissed!
also, i dont think the tenryubito that killed sabo is the same one that luffy punched. that one had a circle bubble, this one with the bazooka has a square bubble.
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Someone on a forum I frequent described One Piece’s best quality in these words:
“Everyone cries and it is totally sweet.”
Fuck yeah, more of this please.
>>“Note: Regarding the anime post, most of you probably notice I watch subs, and they’re especially late this week. I might just use Funisubs and cap the raws if Yibis is ever later than Tuesday from now on. The post may be done either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how the rest of my evening goes. Please excuse my incompetence this week”
Please don’t ever apologize for running late on a review, especially if it wasn’t your fault. Fans who think they’re “entitled” are a bad enough problem on the internet without tacit encouragement. We understand if events lead to things running late. It happens to everyone, and it’s not like we’re paying you for this. No need to explain, and definitely no need to apologize.
keep up the good work
I was going to respond with another apology, but then I noticed the irony. Thanks for the kind words (I think?) and support. I’ll never apologize again D:
Kiiragi’s been slacking IMO… on studying Japanese. >_>
haha.. I can see what divine is saying! Kiiragi, try and watch the anime in RAW first. You’ll probably learn to cope w/ nihongo faster (like I did).. At first you’ll hurt you’re head a little trying to understand sentence after sentence (w/o pausing the video). But you’ll do fine! I also learned from audiobooks(like pimsleur) all around the internet. You can also try reading manga in RAW.. That made me memorize Hiragana and Katakana faster (I’m still at grade 1 of Kanji though >_>). Besides you read the manga so you’ll most likely get what’s happening in the anime.. 🙂
So the whole point of introducing him was to kill him off(I doubt he’s alive).And there’s no OP next week.
Disappointing chapter, considering Oda usually puts some sort of cliffhanger when he goes off for vacation.
Hmm…I don’t think Sabo’s dead though…you can never say that someone is really dead in the One Piece unless you see them dying right on the spot aka Whitebeard and Ace. Fans should remember how Oda trolled us with Pell surviving that so-called “explosion with a 4km radius”. So yea…I’m betting that this flashback is to set up a encounter with Sabo in the future.
On another note..oh…so the version from Yibis is usually the high quality version right? I normally watch my weekly fix of One Piece on watchOP every Sunday…it’s kinda low quality though.
i too agree with you..sabo cant be dead… or its more like i know hes alive somewhere… otherwise i wont see the point of having a LOOONG flashback in the manga
Maybe he’s w/ Dragon
Yes! That’s exactly what I thought. Dragon may have saved him and he may be part of the Revolutionary Army now.
So he actually didn’t get crushed by the ship or burned to cinders and somehow swam to the revolutionary army, wherever they are now?
and one thing that I must say…Kiiragi, you are doing a great job so far, so don’t worry about that…but what’s with all the frequent references to Full Metal Alchemist? There’s a post called “Brotherhood”, and now there’s this “Never Forgot”…which reminds me of what’s inscribed inside Edward Elric’s Silver Alchemist watch…well, I consider both FMA and One Piece as two of my favourite series, so I’m pretty tickled to see these references…but I’m just interested to know if it’s a subconscious thing on your part, or a deliberate one?=P
Bleh. Never forget* I hate typos.
Haha, I did Brotherhood on purpose referencing to well, Brotherhood, but “Never Forget” is something I didn’t do on purpose. The line is just something I’ve been using in jokes lately and I’m not really sure where I heard it from.
It feels like the flashback is over now, with Sabo having died and Oda on vacation next week. If it is then I don’t understand why Dragon didn’t take that entire kingdom under Revolutionary command. Why save those people and then just leave the Nobles without their just desserts. Maybe the Revolutionary Army didn’t have enough men.
The amount of plot twists in OP is awesome and with the storyline kicking back in very soon I think we can expect some rapid plot developments.
ok.. NOW we’re not sure if Sabo is really dead or not.. What an ambiguous way to part off w/ a character. But, if he IS alive after that, then the best time to come to Luffy is when the news of Ace’s death comes to him….. I personally don’t think he’s dead, the way it was executed wasn’t very dramatic.. it feels like a goodbye-now-but-see-him-again-later scene to me >_>
I disagree, I think it was pretty dramatic. It was kind of like a last will (the letter) and it would take away from Ace’s determination to protect Luffy. Why? Because imagine that Sabo IS alive in the present, it would be a slap in the face to Ace’s death who died saving Luffy. Ace’s desire to save Luffy wouldn’t be as strong if Sabo were alive. I mean looking at how Ace even cried because of Sabo’s death and to have fulfilled Sabo’s wish for so long at the cost of his life.
Think of it this way, when someone important to you (family or friend) is on their deathbed are you more willing to take their final wish to heart or when they’re alive and kicking?
Also given how Sabo has had to struggle trying to escape the life he despises so much and on top of that being separated from his friends then to die suddenly when he’s finally free is pretty dramatic to me.
At any rate, if Sabo is alive and gets wind of Ace’s death perhaps he’ll take revenge?
Sabo is dead.. until the contrary is proved…
People cant understand that the point of this flashback is not ONLY SABO.. but the relationship between Luffy and Ace and their childhood too…. its so stupid to say ” wooot!? sabo is dead? whats the point of the flashback if Sabo is dead!” , He is with Dragon?.. yes because Dragon wait for Sabo to sail only to rescue him, that sounds very logical..
and this is not A LOOONG flashback its only like 7 chapters its not the longer flashback in one piece.. its not the only flashback with a new character dying… get over it.. the guy is dead..
Exactly. The flashback’s not about Sabo it’s about Ace. His death really didn’t impact me that much before this but now I am sad 🙁 Not ruling out Sabo being alive, especially after the Pell moment but for now I see no reason to bring him back.
I predict sabo probably will pop out of nowhere in the not so far future…
Hm, I’m kind of sick of the flashbacks. I wish Oda would get back to the story. :/
Getting caugh in a explosion just higher the bets for him beeing alive.
Lol, you guys seriously think Sabo died?
It’s obvious that at the end of this flashback will see his cool entering scene as an older dude.
Sabo isn’t dead. If the memories were about Luffy and Ace’s bond there would not have been any Sabo in it. I am 100% sure this means that Sabo is going to join the story to replace the loss that is Ace. It fits it just right, and high chances are that he is also a Devil Fruit user in the present.