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Rebecca might have just sealed the deal with the latest unraveling – a flashback that is grand, affecting, and somewhat poignant, such a backstory is pretty much a prerequisite for any new Straw Hat nakama. The many tear-jerkers that surround familial affairs have been explored frequently in One Piece – whether it’s the good old times that Luffy shared with Ace and Sabo, or Robin’s past that shed light upon Nico Olivia and Jaguar D. Saul, all of them have proven to be particularly heartbreaking and sentimental. Rebecca is part of the former Riku Royal Family who ruled Dressrosa before their downfall – as expected, her past was beleaguered with grief and injustice, an untoward dilemma that continues to plague her existence in the present. The Thunderous Soldier of Rage, as it turns out, is not Rebecca’s lover, but they do share a very intimate relationship – he is her friend, her protector and most importantly, her kazoku, a father figure who showered the young girl with unconditional love. “Mother, I’m hungry” – as a child, Rebecca was unfortunate enough to witness her mother’s passing and no one, especially not a kid, deserves such a cruel fate. The wretched incident might have inadvertently led to a form of self-reproach, a profound remorse which has manifested as a subconscious aversion to food. Rebecca has already lost a parent once, and she’s not about to let the same thing happen to her again – she is adamant in winning the coliseum match, not only to usurp Doflamingo’s tyranny, but also to prevent the Toy Soldier from taking on a kamikaze mission.
Speaking of Doflamingo, the Joker continues to be one of the most fascinating personas in the mix. There must be a good reason for his many involvements in Kingdom of Dressrosa – he seems relatively well-liked by his people and the current king is a much celebrated figure whose repute stands in stark contrast to Rebecca’s grandfather. The emergence of the Forgotten Toys, and an iron-clad rule that inhibits a human and a Toy from cohabiting – all of that smells exceedingly fishy, and they point to whole slew of questions that continue to boggle our minds. Presumably, Doflamingo’s underground empire should have a role to play in these mysteries – more specifically, there could be a connection between the SMILE factory and that of the Living Toys. The one-legged Toy Soldier and his battalion of Riku Army might not have stood a chance in this war previously – but now that they have joined forces with the Straw Hat-Law-Chinjao-Bartolomeo Alliance, there’s a good chance all of this could somehow work out in their favor. “An enemy of my enemy is my friend” – the age-old political kernel certainly rings true in this instance and Rebecca’s cursed fate could be approaching a turning point, especially so if she is, indeed, the next Straw Hat nakama. Rebecca’s prowess as a combatant has not been made clear – trained by the Toy Soldier himself, she is known as the “Phantom Princess”, a female gladiator who is supposedly undefeated. She is most probably a rather powerful warrior – but not quite in the same league with a Supernova just yet, considering how her brief scuffle with Luffy transpired. What we saw in this chapter is nothing more than a quick skim of Rebecca’s past – the big-picture backstory is going to be much more elaborate than that, and we know for a fact that there’s bound to be a tie-in with Ricky, the mysterious gladiator who competed in Block-B. The Dressrosa Arc is quickly shaping up to be quite an epic – Oda sensei‘s reputation as a master storyteller is hardly a fluke, and the extravaganzas to come can only be grander, greater and all the more impressive!
Random tidbits:
- “I’ll leave a fresh flower petal here every morning” – It’s sweet little gestures like this that makes One Piece so special!
- “We’re together, that’s all that matters” – It doesn’t matter whether she joins the Straw Hat crew or not. I just want Rebecca to be happy, the poor girl has been through so much.
- “You were there for me and time and time again, you’ve protected me” – Gambare Rebecca! I’m rooting very hard for you. Rebecca has totally won me over in a mere chapter! Bravo and well played, Oda sensei.
- “Boooo…you’re going down, Rebecca” – Tears choked her words as Rebecca enters the arena! The poor girl needs a hug so bad.
- The bully is confessing to the same girl he bullied as a kid – Can you blame the guy? Rebecca grew up to be such a hottie! Rule No.1 of getting a girl, make sure papa bear likes you.
- “You emptied your pocket to buy me this bento” – Is Rebecca the next mera mera no mi user? She seems to be a fan favorite, and I don’t think Luffy would have any objection to such an idea.
- Is Caribou actually winning? – Color me surprise! I guess he’s not quite as pathetic as I thought.
- Sorry for the holdup! –The RandomC preview, combined with more than 80 hours in the office, has led to this delay. I’ve decided to significantly cut back on my contribution to the site next season – I’ll be blogging Kakumeiki Valvrave, One Piece and Fairy Tail, no new shows for me! Hopefully, I can meet my deadlines more promptly then! Thanks for bearing with my tardiness.
tl;dr: @SeishunRC – #OnePiece 721: He’s Not Her Boyfriend! Rebecca might have just sealed the deal with the latest unraveling. #Manga
Nami and Robin’s mother’s deaths were shown in their respective flashbacks as kids.
Could this be?
I know right, I do feel very bad for her, but it’s a sign =3
This feels like a more tragic version of Ash’s “bike burned by Pikachu” events. Nami and Robin lost their mother to the enemy, one was Arlong and the other was the World Government. If oda is implying that Rebecca will be a new Nankama, he has a grim way of implying it.
Nice analogy! Anyway let’s just let Oda-sensei surprise and bewilder us again. I have proved that speculating upon what will happen in One Piece is a vain effort because Oda-sensei has something better to show to us 🙂
If there’s going to be another female SH (there really should be), then it needs to be someone more interesting than Rebecca. Give me a woman who can get her hands dirty and take a beating, just like the male crew members. Nami and Robin haven’t had an awesome moment in forever.
What are you talking about? Robin is always awesome, she’s the very best =3
We’ve barely scratched the surface of Rebecca’s backstory, be patient – I’m sure Oda sensei has a lot to show us.
Actually, if the Strawhats manage to overthrow Doflamingo, Rebecca would be the perfect person to step in and fill the power void. I see her as more of a temporary crew member at most, like Vivi.
Good observation, you could be right or… Toy Soldier san could step in as the king, while Rebecca set sail with the Mugiwara =3
I just wish she wasn’t so similar in appearance to Nami. That might become annoying if she is indeed the next nakama, since people in OP often change clothes 🙂
I don’t think they look that similar – Rebecca has pink hair and she wears them in braids, the shape of their eyes looks very different as well =3
That’s a good point. In close up panels in a gray-scale manga, it would be hard to tell initially.
It would be KCM Naruto & KCM Minato all over again and on a permanent basis.
I know this is a… bit off topic, but that beard makes Luffy’s “doom” face look approximately 112% more epic.
Also,that scale mail bikini…
Anyone else think the “Thunderous Soldier of Rage” is her father/grandfather? Seems kinda relevant given the reveal a few weeks ago.
I have a feeling Ricky’s her father =3
I really wanted Luffy to Haoshoku Haki everybody in the stadium who was booing her
+50 Seishun Points! That would have been so awesome =3
Ahhh, I loved this chapter, if anyone joins the crew, I definitely want it to be Rebecca.
And my apologies, but I don’t have a controversial sex joke this week XP
You left me for dead Kurama, I thought you’re my friend T__T
He’s her toyfriend…
It’s not papa bear, it’s papa wolf. You cna find the definition in tvtropes
i’m guessing…. thunder soldier is probably her forgotten papa who turned into a toy, and ricky the unknown gladiator is the old king of dressora.
Rebecca might turn out to the the next Vivi.
I don’t think the bully and the confesser were the same kid, but it was definitely hilarious that the toy soldier treated them exact same.
You could be right – who knows, they do look somewhat similar though =X
We all should known the Secret of these Toys, dont we? But if someone missed it, he should read some previous Chapters. There the Toy Soldier itself reveal it
I dont think Rebeeca will be a new member of Straw-hat. I dont saw any special Skill on her, only that She is a skillful Fighter. But we already have someone with many Swords, Samurai and so on…
quoting from some forum I read but cant rmb exactly where:
Nami cried -> Arlong defeated
Vivi cried -> Crocodile trashed
Robin cried -> CP9 destroyed
Cammie cried -> Tenryubito smacked down
Shirohoshi cried -> Hody slammed
Rebecca cried…. Doflamingo you better watch out…
Ending ga mietazou!
Love her to be a new straw hat crew member, a proper combat oriented female crew member would rock and lets face it we are long over due for another member to the crew after junbei turned down luffy for the time being.
I am not really sure that Rebecca will be a nakama. Coz she doesn’t really strike me as someone which the strawhats need for now! I mean most of the crew members have typical use in the crew until now! Maybe we will get to know her better later on in the series but i kinda believe that she will not be with straw hats after the dressrosa arc! It’s not like luffy will make her a nakama just because she is a DAMSEL IN DISTRESS! Luffy has rescued far too many people until now in this series for that to happen! If someone weak is to join straw hat, then they better be useful or else they better be able to compete the monster trio like jimbei! Otherwise i dont see it happening! Anyway, i can’t wait for the next chapter..It comes out maybe tomorrow or the day after!! Oh God..:)
nixon trooper