One Piece Diaries #68: Post-Marineford Arc #2

One Piece is one of the most beloved anime in history, but at over 1,000 episodes, it’s tough for those who haven’t been watching from the start to jump on board. One Piece Diaries tracks one writer’s experience with this daunting rite of passage. With hype for the highs and critique for the lows, this column will help you decide whether to take your own One Piece journey – or let you relive the one you’re already on. It will be updated biweekly every other Thursday.

Episodes: 505 – 516

Hopefully, this will be the last time I’ll have to start off with an apology for a while. Life has been hectic — I suddenly had to go to Mexico to help out my grandmother with some things, plus I’ve been texting this really cute woman and getting distracted from One Piece. Sanji fans, you forgive me right?? That’s what would be keeping him from updating a column if he had one.

These episodes largely focused on Luffy’s recovery from his physical and emotional injuries, his attempt to reunite with his crew, and his decision to have them all train on their own for the next two years instead of meeting in three days as planned. We got to see how and where each character would be doing their training, and we got to see how the rest of the world reacted to Ace’s death.

I’m glad that the arc ended with a time skip. I’m not particularly interested in watching Sanji get force-feminized on Transphobia Island, or watching Usopp try to shed pounds on Fatphobia Island. But it’s not all bad. I would have been interested in learning more about Robin’s experiences with the Revolutionary Army, but I’m sure I’ll get more information about them later. I thought that Chopper’s updated story was interesting. While he was initially depicted interacting with indigieous stereotypes who seemed hellbent on eating him, those characters were deepened and depicted as an actual society with a wealth of medical knowledge, making them the perfect people for Chopper to stay with. It’s still not great, but we’re miles away from where we were before. As for Luffy’s training with Rayleigh…I don’t love what I’ve seen of Rayleigh so far because of all the perverted jokes, and I already know what Haki is, although I’m sure that’s a cool revelation for those who don’t.

In any case, none of their training arcs struck me as having a lot of potential for interesting story, so I’m glad we’re moving forward.

We’ll talk about Luffy in a minute, but first I want to talk about Dadan. Her reaction to Ace’s death made me cry literal tears. She was furious at Garp for doing absolutely nothing to protect Ace — worse, for participating in his demise. Garp prioritized his job over protecting his own grandchildren. He prioritized his job over doing what he knew was right. Of course Dadan was furious. Garp forced Ace on her through blackmail but she grew to love him like a son anyway. Then, once she’s formed an irreversible maternal bond with him, Garp puts her through the worst loss imaginable, for his job. 

She had every right to beat the hell out of him. Garp knew that…but Makino didn’t, and she should have. The fact that Makino tried to stop Dadan because Garp was apparently suffering more than she was was obscene. Maybe Garp was suffering. Maybe he did feel guilty. But if he felt guilty it was because he should feel that way.

Makino would never, ever have been so forgiving if Garp had allowed that to happen to her baby, but because it’s Dadan’s grown-up baby it apparently doesn’t matter. My respect for Makino plummeted after this scene.

Finally, let’s talk about Luffy. The moment when he decides that he can keep going because he still has his friends was as beautiful and heartbreaking as I thought it would be. Unfortunately, I did know that it was coming, but that didn’t decrease its impact. Also, the fact that he decided that they should go their separate ways for the good of their overall mission even though he needed them for support…that was powerful. The fact that all of them were on board because of how much they trust and respect him was amazing. For all of the frustrations I’ve detailed about this arc, this part made it worth it.

Next up is the Fishman Island Saga, and more specifically the Return to Sabaody arc. I’ll do my best to post about it two weeks from now, but if something comes up, check the newspapers for a picture of me with my arm tattoo that says “two weeks” crossed out to make way for a new date.

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