User blog:Fliu/New Thoughts on the Whole Cake Island Arc

I was going to wait for the arc to finish, but apparently, it's not ending anytime soon and I may not have time to post this later.

Let’s start with the good points. I have to admit I did rack my brain around wondering how this arc was going to go. It’s enjoyable watching Luffy do what he does best: infuriating the worst of the worst by causing chaos and misfortune to them, though he did indirectly cause the death of some poor chefs and got an island demolished. This sure has been one rough ride for the Straw Hats and they have been driven into a corner a lot. I commend Nami, Chopper, and Brook for pulling their own weight without acting like a complete coward like Usopp did at the Dressrosa underground trade port. It’s unfortunate that they had to deal with an enemy even worse than Doflamingo’s crew, especially without having Zoro, Robin, and Franky around. I’m fine having a story arc without Usopp. Sanji’s past was tragic and the backstories of Big Mom and Pedro were interesting. It’s always welcoming to learn more about the individual characters even if the main story has to pause for flashbacks. It was also nice to be finally introduced to Elbaf and another plus for this arc is that there were no useless supporting characters like Rebecca.

I’m not sure about Big Mom and Kaido having virtually indestructible bodies. Is Oda trying to make them any more difficult than necessary? How come Whitebeard did not have a body as tough as theirs? And how ridiculously powerful Shanks has to be to compete with the likes of them? I wish I knew about Whitebeard’s bounty before he died.

So Big Mom likes to collect rare creatures. Good thing she doesn’t know about the Island of Rare Animals that the Straw Hats visited back in the East Blue. I hate to think what would happen to Gaimon if she does. She would likely want to also add him and Sarfunkel into her collection.

It’s too bad that Sora could not make Sanji kind without making him weaker. I’m not sure if it’s good or sad that she did not live long enough to see the mistreatment Sanji suffered, though she would be happy that Sanji went on a different path. Maybe it’s best that her final thoughts did not include any sorrow that her favorite son received brutal beatings from his brothers on a regular basis, forced to wear an iron mask, locked in a dungeon for more than six months, and being called the sole blemish of his father’s life. I wonder how Sora ended up with Judge in the first place. Did they love each other at one point or did they get together through something as cliché like a political marriage? If Judge had a choice, then surely he would be smart enough not to marry a woman who would go against his ideals. Even though Sanji was born a regular human, things still could have been different if he had devoted his time to training like Zoro did. I mean, Zoro could lift boulders even as a child. So if Zoro were to hear about this backstory, he’ll likely tell Sanji that he has no excuses. I guess this shows Zeff did a better job at making Sanji stronger than Judge did and Zeff did not even use genetic engineering.

One thing I find interesting about this arc is that there a lot of people who has something to hide. Pudding is not as kind and sweet as she publicly appears, Cracker hides his true form inside his biscuit armor, Mother Carmel was not as holy as she made people believed, and Katakuri keeps his mouth hidden from view. If the One Piece world has an Internet, what would Katakuri do if Luffy snaps a picture of him in the state of eating and uploads it? Would he be able to maintain his composure if his secret is exposed to everyone, including his siblings?

Pudding was definitely one interesting person, going from deceptive and sinister to crazy yin-yang mode. I’m disappointed that Pudding was actually going to kill Sanji during the wedding. She knows that Sanji was coerced into coming to Totto Land in the first place. Thus, she kind of deserved that slap from Daifuku. And since Pudding also had an unpleasant past, she could have been more sympathetic for Sanji. All it took was a few sweet words for Pudding to come around. I guess it shows that Sanji does have some luck with the ladies. However, I’m surprised that Pudding was bullied in the past. Since she’s one of Big Mom’s children, shouldn’t the people around her treat her with more respect? Helmeppo once hide behind his father’s authority. Didn’t those who hurt Pudding consider the possibility that Pudding could have asked her mother to punish them? If the Totto Land citizens fear Big Mom, then should they also be afraid of disrespecting her family? But then again, if Pudding never had a traumatic experience concerning her third eye, how else could Sanji get Pudding over to his side?

Unfortunately, this arc isn’t without its share of disappointments. The part of this arc that I nitpick about the most is just after it started. Luffy just screws up by wasting away all of his team’s food supply, and then put his own life at risk through serious food poisoning, and later at Chocolat Town, Luffy and Chopper just fool around and nearly got themselves arrested. The New World was hyped to be an incredibly dangerous place where one mistake could be your last. If I recall correctly, Zoro even told Luffy to be more serious during the Punk Hazard Arc. And yet, Luffy still goes acting like a complete imbecile at the worst possible time. The reason Luffy wasn’t already dead like many other pirates who ventured into the Grand Line was all because of his luck (or plot armor). I bet all the ambitious pirates who met an unfortunate end or had their dreams crushed are extremely envious of Luffy right now. I guess I should prepare for the Zoro getting lost gag in the Wano arc as well as Usopp telling more lies and later finding himself in a situation where he is forced to back up his claims.

I’m fine with Luffy being lucky, but I don’t have a high opinion of luck being used as a convenient plot device. If there’s anything I find noteworthy about this arc, then it’s that only the leading main characters with plot armor (i.e. Luffy) can be idiots without dying. Poor Jigra should have asked to postpone his mother’s funeral or at least visit her grave at a later time. It’s too bad that Big Mom had to be such a bitch to him and he joined his parents in death without achieving anything. With all the luck Luffy has been showing, it’s all the more reason that Luffy has to be Pirate King in the end. It would be a shame and a complete waste if Luffy got lucky all this time just to fail. I have no problem with the Tamatebako explosion since it had to happen one way or another, but Katakuri and Perospero could have saved a lot of trouble if they had destroyed or disabled the Thousand Sunny when they had the chance. If they wanted to prevent the Straw Hats from escaping, then putting their ship out of commission was the logical thing to do, but for some reason, that never crossed their minds.

I was so hyped after seeing Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji wrecked Pacifistas like nothing. I thought that Luffy has become a super badass after his two-year training, but I guess that was wishful thinking. I don’t expect Luffy to be powerful enough to beat a Yonko without a struggle, but it was pretty discouraging when Luffy had to resort to Gear Fourth in order to beat Cracker, when he was overwhelmed by the enraged army, and when he and his allies were routed at the wedding venue and had to be saved by the Tamatebako explosion. Maybe Luffy should have done 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 km run each day during the timeskip. Jokes aside, Luffy has a lot more room to grow. Let’s hope he grows fast, because this is supposed to be the part of the story where Luffy goes against the big leagues. Will One Piece Film Gold be the only time Luffy activates Gear Fourth just once to defeat his adversary? Luffy really needs to find new ways to gain the upper hand against powerful foes, such as Awakening.

I’m not sure what to think of this “year of the Sanji”. Up until he reconciled with Luffy, it was more of Sanji-going-through-a-miserable-phase time. In my honest opinion, I never thought I would see Sanji sink so low and I thought his nosebleed problem back in the Fishman Island Arc was unbearable to watch. Did Sanji really had no faith in Luffy? Nami and Robin went through a similar ordeal so he should have known full well that Luffy is too stubborn to back down and he’s always willing to help his friends when they’re in trouble. I can’t believe that Sanji was actually going to give up and let himself die. I guess we should all thank Bobbin for pushing Sanji to get his act together. Between him and Zoro, I feel like Oda is being meaner to Sanji. No wonder Zoro feels like he’s the better man. Sanji better not let Zoro hear about his fight with Luffy. Wouldn’t want to give Zoro any more opportunities to get on Sanji’s nerves. Nami shouldn’t be so quick to give up on Sanji. After all, she did went through a similar phase back at the Arlong Park Arc. Got to hand it to Luffy for his optimism and unwavering faith in his friends. Hopefully, this would be the last time one of Luffy’s nakama tries to push Luffy away. By now, all the Straw Hats should know that the crew sails together or not at all.

I still wish that Sanji got a chance to properly beat up his father and brothers. Even if it won’t happen, I’m willing to let that slide given how the Straw Hats were not in the situation to have more enemies. It appears that Sanji putting a dent on Yonji’s face, dislocating Niji’s jaw, and disowning Judge right in his face would have to do. At least Sanji gave a good reason for rescuing his family other than just kindness and compassion. Nevertheless, it was still a good thing that Sanji saved his family. Otherwise, Luffy and Bege’s groups would have been dead before the Tamatebako exploded if the Vinsmokes were not there to block bullets and get Big Mom’s attention. Sanji’s brothers were way more cooperative than I expected. I anticipated them to be rude and say “Don’t expect us to thank you!” or something like that.

Personally, I’m not fond of the baking-a-cake-for-Big Mom route. I don’t like the idea of Big Mom getting what she wants especially after all the crap she put Sanji through. I prefer that Big Mom die in an oven like the gingerbread witch. However, it’s still not a bad thing that Sanji gets an opportunity to use his talents for anything other than satisfying his crewmates’ stomachs.

I get that Linlin is supposed to be strong, but the way Jorl died was a bit much for me. Couldn’t a hero of the giants struggle a bit more before falling? Honestly, how many more times will we see a giant get one-shotted by someone powerful? Based on the number of times I’ve seen a giant get fodderized, is it safe to make the following assumptions? If Mihawk fights a giant, Mihawk will strike down the giant with a single slash. If Katakuri fights a giant, Katakuri will instantly defeat the giant with the same attack that overpowered Luffy’s Elephant Gun. Maybe all three admirals can decimate Elbaf on their own if they try. Considering what happened to Punk Hazard after Akainu and Aokiji’s duel, I wouldn’t say that’s impossible. I hope Hajrudin becomes stronger the next time he fights alongside the Straw Hats because there will definitely be foes that are tougher than Machvise. Hopefully, the battle between Hajrudin and Machvise won’t be the only time a giant achieves a major victory against someone that isn’t a mere average person. I’m not sure how the Elbaf army would fair against non-giants with inhuman strength, but for now, I’ll keep my expectations low. I’ll be impressed if there’s a giant that can tank several Gear Fourth attacks like Doflamingo and Katakuri could, but I would not count on it considering that back in the Marineford War, Luffy defeated a Marine giant with just one Gear Third punch that wasn’t even imbued with Haki. Against Whitebeard, Ronse and John Giant were instantly knocked out while Akainu on the other hand was not incapacitated even after taking two quake punches. As shown in the Corrida Colosseum, Luffy can beat a giant by straight up punching him in the face with just a normal-sized fist and Haki-imbued Gear Third attacks hardly amounted to anything against Cracker and Katakuri. I know that bigger doesn’t mean better, but I just can’t help but think that for beings of their size, the giants’ endurance appears to be so inferior. (Before you bring up Oars from the Thriller Bark Arc, let me remind you that Oars was a zombie reanimated and empowered by Luffy’s stolen shadow.)

Some of the characters like Smoothie and Compote could have had better roles in this arc. Between Smoothie and Katakuri, the latter appears to be the more competent Sweet Commander. Let’s not forget how Smoothie allowed Brook to slip past her after her introduction. For some reason, Tamago could not have asked Katakuri for his assistance instead. I’m certain that Brook would never get into the Treasure Room if Katakuri was there. And for some reason, Smoothie couldn’t have just cut through the doors and confront Brook herself. By not doing anything, she allowed Brook to acquire the copies of the Poneglyphs. Another thing to nitpick about is Smoothie and Compote not doing anything at the wedding venue before Luffy made Big Mom scream. Maybe Oda could not find anything important for Compote to do during that moment or he thought that it was not the right time to show the extent of her abilities. As for Smoothie, she did not do anything until after Bege’s assassination attempt failed.

There’s no denying that Big Mom’s crew is a huge force to deal with, so I thought it was reassuring that Big Mom plotted against the Vinsmokes and Bege plotted against Big Mom. While it was expected that Bege’s assassination attempt would not go the way Bege envisioned, it was still disheartening for me that the KX Launchers had no effect on Big Mom. Bege was lucky to have found a weakness to exploit, but he sadly wasted that opportunity. Since Caesar was responsible for the weapon that Jack used to devastate the Mink Tribe, it does not feel right with me that he did not make anything that helps the Straw Hats at all. I hoped that he could redeem this failure by combining his power with Reiju’s to make a new poison weapon. I wonder what Caesar is doing right now. Since this is his chance to rid himself of Big Mom, I hope he’s making a big surprise for her and her crew while they are preoccupied with pursuing their enemies.

After seeing the Vinsmokes getting crushed at the wedding venue, I was worried that they were not going to live up to the hype. It’s too bad that Ichiji could not do more against Katakuri and that Judge, Niji, and Yonji were complete fodder to Big Mom. If Judge learns anything from this ordeal, then it’s that in a world filled with abnormal people, the genetic enhancements he was so proud of are completely overrated. Too bad that it took Big Mom’s treachery for Judge to realize that there is something “wrong” with his precious sons. If Linlin’s parents are still alive, maybe Judge should capture them and study their genetics. If he can use the genes that made Big Mom, then Judge can create more powerful super soldiers. I wish the moment the Vinsmoke siblings defeated the Big Mom Pirates group that went after them wasn’t off-panel, but there is still a chance that they can make a big comeback. I want to see the Germa troops in action again and I want to see more of Germa’s weaponry.

If the Straw Hats escape Totto Land without taking Big Mom down, then I can accept that. It’s already been made clear that with Luffy’s current level of strength, he cannot defeat Big Mom in a fair one-on-one fight. Perhaps Luffy would have to fight Big Mom another time, but since the Straw Hats have acquired copies of Big Mom’s poneglyphs, I’m sure that Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Brook won’t be thrilled at the idea of having another confrontation with the Big Mom Pirates if there’s no other reason to, unless the Big Mom Pirates start their own payback war. Sanji plans to make Big Mom faint with the sweetness of his secret ingredient. If it works out, then it could give the Straw Hats enough time to break through her fleet and escape. Besides that, I can only think of two other ways to deal with Big Mom. The first is the use of poison or chemical weapons, assuming that Big Mom doesn’t have immunity to them. Chemical weapons are Caesar’s forte. And is Reiju’s Poison Pink ability going to have any relevance other than saving Luffy from bad fish? The second way to deal with Big Mom is exploiting a Devil Fruit user’s weakness to the sea. While she’s traveling over the sea on the candy slug, just destroy the slug with bazooka or cannon fire and Big Mom will sink. One of the reasons I say that Big Mom needed to go down is because of the possibility that she would threaten the Straw Hats’ loved ones as retribution. That’s what I would do if I’m a petty monster with all that power and influence. Then again, given how lucky the Straw Hats have been, maybe they don’t have to worry about their loved ones after all. It’s possible that Caesar, Bege’s crew, the Sun Pirates, and Germa 66 could do more before escaping Totto Land. If Sanji successfully makes Big Mom faint, then that could give Caesar, Bege, and the Vinsmokes a new opportunity to inflict pain on Big Mom. I wonder if Streusen’s knowledge of Carmel’s fate would be used against Big Mom. Streusen being a witness has to work for something and this is a chance for Pudding’s Memo Memo no Mi to have a huge impact, though there is no guarantee that Pudding would even look into his memories.

There are several things I’m still wondering about. First of all, why did Judge go to the East Blue in the first place if he just wants to conquer the North Blue? Even though it is an important plot point that led to Sanji meeting Zeff and eventually Luffy, surely Judge must had a specific goal in mind. And since the Tamatebako’s explosion was so huge that it caused Big Mom’s castle to collapse, did the Minister of the Right take into consideration on how much damage it could have done to the Ryugu Palace if the bomb had detonated there? I also wonder how Lola and Loki met in the first place, and do all the giants really agreed to Loki’s desire to marry Lola? Surely, there must be some giants that objected to this union. I’m certain that Hajrudin wouldn’t just forget what Linlin did to Jorl. Also, when Bege and Chiffon got together, did Bege select Chiffon himself or did Big Mom picked the bride for him? If it is the latter, then Bege was fortunate to have a wife who would not object to his plot to kill her mother. This may be a bit early, but I like to know how Nekomamushi would convince the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates to join in the fight against Kaido. I’ll be surprised if it’s so simple. The Whitebeard Pirates are not the same as they were before the Marineford War. Losing Ace and Whitebeard was bad enough, but losing to the Blackbeard Pirates in the Payback War could have crushed their spirits.

By the way, I’m still bitter over how Lola was misleading about her mother. I admit that I was in denial and up until the clash at the Seducing Woods, I kept telling myself that there was no way that Big Mom could be Lola’s mother. Therefore, what I want to see more than ever right now is the look on Lola’s face when she realizes how much Big Mom wants her dead. Sooner or later, Lola has got to hear about Bege’s assassination attempt and the Straw Hats’ involvement in his plot. If Big Mom doesn’t die, then hopefully, someone can warn Lola to never return to Totto Land. I’m mad that Chiffon was the one who suffered while Lola on the other hand was so blissfully ignorant, but since Lola is a good person, I don’t want her to experience Big Mom’s wrath. I do wonder what goes on in Lola’s head. She practically proposes to every man she comes across (as shown with the male members of the Straw Hats back at Thriller Bark) and yet, she rejected a proposal from Loki. Maybe giants are not her type and I hope that Loki doesn’t get jealous. Anyway, it’s for the best that Linlin did not form an alliance with the giants. No good will come out of giving Big Mom more power.

Regardless of the disappointments in this arc, it’s still satisfying to watch Luffy cause grief to that big, stuck-up, ugly woman and it was enjoyable to see Judge and Big Mom cry in misery. The Straw Hats proved that no one, not even a Yonko, is safe from their trouble-making capabilities.

One more thing, I admire Bartolomeo’s boldness in burning down Shanks’ flag. I’m sure Shanks and Bartolomeo will be cool with each other once they learn about the other’s connection to Luffy. Shanks is already shown to be not the petty type. When Higuma insulted him, Shanks just laughed it off and only confronted the bandit when he was threatening Luffy. Bartolomeo should be thankful that the flag he burned down did not belong to Big Mom, Kaido, or Blackbeard. Also, congratulations for Sai and Baby 5 on their wedding.