User blog comment:Fliu/Chapter 931: Henshin A Go Go Sanji!/@comment-7614831-20190201201521

Now that Sanji has invisibility, let's hope both Nami and Robin have at least awakened their Kenbunshoku Haki by the end of this arc -_-; However, I do find it a little pointed from a narrative standpoint how we have only just had an update on the appropriation of the Suke-Suke no mi by Shiliew, who we all would have lined up with Zoro for the invevitable confrontation between the Straw Hats and the Blackbeards. Does this new revelation make Sanji more of a natural opponent to Shiliew, then?

The Orochi Oniwabanshu are intriguing purely from their unique, individual designs, which suggest a series of battles between each or two of them at a time against other opponents. Now, that would be fine, but Luffy and his crew already have Kaido to contend with, so the Orochi Oniwabanshu's opponents are most probably some of the B-listers of the Straw Hat Alliance, such as the retainers of the Kozuki family. But (and I am all too conscious of the absurdity of this), I have been struck by how similar this group of assassins, all unique individuals, are to the introduction of the (then) CP-9, an assassin group of unique individuals, in an arc where the CP-0 are suggested to turn up (with Vegapunk in tow because, at this point, who isn't in Wano? Can't wait for the reveal that Don Krieg has been living there for a year now or something); surely we can't pass up on a clash between these two groups of assassins? Heck, maybe they reluctantly team up with the Kozuki to keep CP-0 occupied whilst Luffy et al. take on Kaido and his crew? Maybe? No? No. Okay, moving on.

Big Mom, oh dear god. The only thing I would say at this point is that, when she inevitably regains her memories, who will she be more livid with: Luffy, or Kaido? I'd like to say it was the latter but, in Yonko terms, maybe we are setting too much store by the relative civility of Shanks meeting Whitebeard (which, even then, still meant Shanks knocked out the weakest amongst Whitebeard's crew), and perhaps King's attack against the Queen Mama Chanter is simply the way two Yonko will interact: we were told from the off that any one of the Yonko could not make progress through the second half of the Grand Line because they were always held in check by the others, and how else could that be achieved if not through this kind of relentless testing of the strength of the other?

This really is shaping up to be one of the best arcs yet, but I'm getting a little worried about character overcrowding at this point, as it might start affecting the relevance, in terms of a reader's perspective, of the characters with motivations and goals significant to this arc being drowned out by the bigger, stronger characters with motivations and goals external to this arc. You get me?