Punk Hazard
Jul. 21st, 2012 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rallamajoopI’d heard the New World saga picked up in a big way with this arc, and while overall I’d rate Fishman Island more of a slight dip in awesome than a real disappointment, Punk Hazard (where does Oda come up with these names anyway?) has been going out of its way to remind me why I love this series so much.
The Bad
Let’s get this out of the way. At the risk of sounding like a broken record on this topic, I am still missing my Nami-awesomeness. Her new ocean-cloud-making thing is nifty, but I can only hope she’s got some sort of major battle up ahead because we’ve hardly even seen what her new Clima Tact is capable of. (Hey Oda, you know what might just come in handy sometime against an enemy who turns himself into gas? Someone who can fuck with air pressure and create miniature tornadoes! Just throwing that out there.) What with the whole body-swapping subplot going on in this arc, it is also bugging me that the girls’-minds-in-the-guys bodies have been so much less effectual than the corresponding guys’-minds-in-the-girls-bodies, even when the girls are the ones who suddenly have access to, like, giant muscles and canons and superpowers in this arrangement. I JUST WANT TO SEE POOR TASHIGI WIN A FIGHT FOR ONCE, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?
Okay, on to the awesome stuff.
Smoker and Tashigi
Yaaaaaaaaaay! I missed you guys! ♥ ♥ ♥ Damn, that’s a tough new beat you’re working, even looking solely at the gross incompetence problem. Two years and you still haven’t straightened those twits out? Man. At least they mostly seem to be loyal twits, which is more than can be said for some of their superiors.
Trafalgar Law
:3 I may have understated just what a first impression this guy made on me back on Shabondy archipelago.
There’s a lot to be said for the grey area contingent of the OP’s supporting cast – those who join the story without clearly telegraphing whether they’re going to end up as allies or antagonists in the long run. I’m not generally one to get myself hooked on outright fictional villains, however, so when, having watched this guy in action for no more than a handful of minutes, I found myself experiencing this weird premonition that I could well end up still stanning for Law should he go right off the deep end of the moral-ambiguity scale, it was… let’s go with ‘a novel experience’. Jesus Christ almighty, what is it about One Piece characters that reduces me to such a hopeless fangirl? How on earth does a guy in a hoodie and a beanie manage to be so sexy? (Maybe it’s the goatee. Or the tattoos. Or… nah, let’s be honest, it’s the smarts and the attitude and the whole aura of style he pulls off while, say, rearranging someone’s body parts in new and creative ways.)
Getting back to the plot in progress, despite those early implications he may have been the one feeding amphetamines to small children, and despite how we still don’t have more than the faintest idea what’s going on with him or what he’s up to, this is looking like it’ll be the arc that positions him firmly on the side of the good guys. On the one hand, Law is the sort of pirate who doesn’t necessarily see something like discovering he’s sharing living space with someone who is feeding amphetamines to small children as anything worth inviting trouble over. But on the other, when you consider all he’s done in this arc plus the ridiculous risks he took to save Luffy’s life after Marineford, his continuing insistence they’ll probably end up as enemies is starting to sound like a case of the gentleman protesting too much. It’s clear he never set out to be one of the heroes*, but is far too intelligent a guy to waste the chance to make some valuable alliances with people who aren't likely to double-cross him (and, IDK, he may be dealing with some gut-level discomfit with the methods the bad guys’ prefer? I could be reading too much into things but I’m getting this impression). All that said, we don’t know he’s above doublecrossing the Straw Hats at some later point, and that keeps things interesting.
Getting down to the specifics of what Law's been up to, I think he must surely deserve some sort of prize for very nearly managing to keep a straight face when, while right in the middle of trying to make Smoker and co piss off and leave him ‘alone’ on this island where nothing at all suspicious would be going on, four Straw Hats and a small mob of giant children burst out through the front door, spot the marines, turn on their heels and burst back in again. Mostly one gets the impression of a guy kicking himself for not coming up with a better cover story. He’s been spending a lot of his page time with a look that suggests nothing so much as this is not what I signed up for. This very much includes his attempts to deal with Luffy’s crew, which has certainly not worked out well for him thus far.
I expect speak for much of fandom when I say I really want to know which of the Yonko he’s teaming up with Luffy to defeat, not to mention why. My first guess would be Blackbeard going by how easily Luffy agrees, but if so it's going to have to either be a pretty long term plan or doomed to failure, since it's far too early for them to take on the final boss and win. Big Mam would be the other option, but if so, count me as surprised Luffy's actually taking that spur-of-the-moment threat he threw at her down the denden mushi on Fishman Island's behalf this seriously.
Law vs Smoker
;alskdhjfa;slweranhg;ALSKDGJF;ALSKD
I… I think I need a cigarette. Goddamn, how long before I get to see this animated? Guh.
The whole body-swapping thing
Last time on All Your Favourite Fanfic Clichés, we learned that genderswitching is totes a legitimate possible thing in the OP-verse. In tonight’s episode, it’s bodyswapping time!
I wait with baited breath for whatever could be next. We’ve already seen de-aging, amnesia and a whole host of short crack AUs. What’s left? Telepathy? I am running out of clichés that do not involve X made-them-do-it, and I don’t think OP would go there.
The Straw Hats
…oh hey, you guys are in this too? W/e. *ducks for cover*
But seriously, I’m just caught up with fangirling all my favourite supporting cast members right now; I am sure I will get back to you guys eventually.
I will say Brook’s been getting some good material, between somehow getting mistaken for a corpse yet again and rescuing the others not long after. Luffy, meanwhile, has been a real joy in this arc, what with him being so happy to see Law and get to thank him properly for saving his and Jinbe’s lives and all that. He’s even surprisingly enthusiastic about running into Smoker, and then again after realising he’s okay after his fight from before. Naturally, the fact neither of them share his enthusiasm does not slow him down for a moment.
On a final note, man, Smoker is having a bit of A Day here, isn’t he? Since reaching Punk Hazard he’s had his heart physically removed from his chest, his mind switched into the body of a subordinate, been gassed and taken prisoner, and discovered a traitor in the highest ranks of his own base. If that wasn’t enough, he’s now stuck in a cage with Mugiwara no Luffy. Again.
I am pleased to note that both Luffy and Robin find this just as funny as I do.
And with that, holy shit but I am actually done. Finished. Up. To. Date.
What do I do with my life now?
o_o
* Technically nor did Luffy, but he’s gleefully liberated far too many major population centres to claim anything else anymore.
The Bad
Let’s get this out of the way. At the risk of sounding like a broken record on this topic, I am still missing my Nami-awesomeness. Her new ocean-cloud-making thing is nifty, but I can only hope she’s got some sort of major battle up ahead because we’ve hardly even seen what her new Clima Tact is capable of. (Hey Oda, you know what might just come in handy sometime against an enemy who turns himself into gas? Someone who can fuck with air pressure and create miniature tornadoes! Just throwing that out there.) What with the whole body-swapping subplot going on in this arc, it is also bugging me that the girls’-minds-in-the-guys bodies have been so much less effectual than the corresponding guys’-minds-in-the-girls-bodies, even when the girls are the ones who suddenly have access to, like, giant muscles and canons and superpowers in this arrangement. I JUST WANT TO SEE POOR TASHIGI WIN A FIGHT FOR ONCE, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?
Okay, on to the awesome stuff.
Smoker and Tashigi
Yaaaaaaaaaay! I missed you guys! ♥ ♥ ♥ Damn, that’s a tough new beat you’re working, even looking solely at the gross incompetence problem. Two years and you still haven’t straightened those twits out? Man. At least they mostly seem to be loyal twits, which is more than can be said for some of their superiors.
Trafalgar Law
:3 I may have understated just what a first impression this guy made on me back on Shabondy archipelago.
There’s a lot to be said for the grey area contingent of the OP’s supporting cast – those who join the story without clearly telegraphing whether they’re going to end up as allies or antagonists in the long run. I’m not generally one to get myself hooked on outright fictional villains, however, so when, having watched this guy in action for no more than a handful of minutes, I found myself experiencing this weird premonition that I could well end up still stanning for Law should he go right off the deep end of the moral-ambiguity scale, it was… let’s go with ‘a novel experience’. Jesus Christ almighty, what is it about One Piece characters that reduces me to such a hopeless fangirl? How on earth does a guy in a hoodie and a beanie manage to be so sexy? (Maybe it’s the goatee. Or the tattoos. Or… nah, let’s be honest, it’s the smarts and the attitude and the whole aura of style he pulls off while, say, rearranging someone’s body parts in new and creative ways.)
Getting back to the plot in progress, despite those early implications he may have been the one feeding amphetamines to small children, and despite how we still don’t have more than the faintest idea what’s going on with him or what he’s up to, this is looking like it’ll be the arc that positions him firmly on the side of the good guys. On the one hand, Law is the sort of pirate who doesn’t necessarily see something like discovering he’s sharing living space with someone who is feeding amphetamines to small children as anything worth inviting trouble over. But on the other, when you consider all he’s done in this arc plus the ridiculous risks he took to save Luffy’s life after Marineford, his continuing insistence they’ll probably end up as enemies is starting to sound like a case of the gentleman protesting too much. It’s clear he never set out to be one of the heroes*, but is far too intelligent a guy to waste the chance to make some valuable alliances with people who aren't likely to double-cross him (and, IDK, he may be dealing with some gut-level discomfit with the methods the bad guys’ prefer? I could be reading too much into things but I’m getting this impression). All that said, we don’t know he’s above doublecrossing the Straw Hats at some later point, and that keeps things interesting.
Getting down to the specifics of what Law's been up to, I think he must surely deserve some sort of prize for very nearly managing to keep a straight face when, while right in the middle of trying to make Smoker and co piss off and leave him ‘alone’ on this island where nothing at all suspicious would be going on, four Straw Hats and a small mob of giant children burst out through the front door, spot the marines, turn on their heels and burst back in again. Mostly one gets the impression of a guy kicking himself for not coming up with a better cover story. He’s been spending a lot of his page time with a look that suggests nothing so much as this is not what I signed up for. This very much includes his attempts to deal with Luffy’s crew, which has certainly not worked out well for him thus far.
I expect speak for much of fandom when I say I really want to know which of the Yonko he’s teaming up with Luffy to defeat, not to mention why. My first guess would be Blackbeard going by how easily Luffy agrees, but if so it's going to have to either be a pretty long term plan or doomed to failure, since it's far too early for them to take on the final boss and win. Big Mam would be the other option, but if so, count me as surprised Luffy's actually taking that spur-of-the-moment threat he threw at her down the denden mushi on Fishman Island's behalf this seriously.
Law vs Smoker
;alskdhjfa;slweranhg;ALSKDGJF;ALSKD
I… I think I need a cigarette. Goddamn, how long before I get to see this animated? Guh.
The whole body-swapping thing
Last time on All Your Favourite Fanfic Clichés, we learned that genderswitching is totes a legitimate possible thing in the OP-verse. In tonight’s episode, it’s bodyswapping time!
I wait with baited breath for whatever could be next. We’ve already seen de-aging, amnesia and a whole host of short crack AUs. What’s left? Telepathy? I am running out of clichés that do not involve X made-them-do-it, and I don’t think OP would go there.
The Straw Hats
…oh hey, you guys are in this too? W/e. *ducks for cover*
But seriously, I’m just caught up with fangirling all my favourite supporting cast members right now; I am sure I will get back to you guys eventually.
I will say Brook’s been getting some good material, between somehow getting mistaken for a corpse yet again and rescuing the others not long after. Luffy, meanwhile, has been a real joy in this arc, what with him being so happy to see Law and get to thank him properly for saving his and Jinbe’s lives and all that. He’s even surprisingly enthusiastic about running into Smoker, and then again after realising he’s okay after his fight from before. Naturally, the fact neither of them share his enthusiasm does not slow him down for a moment.
On a final note, man, Smoker is having a bit of A Day here, isn’t he? Since reaching Punk Hazard he’s had his heart physically removed from his chest, his mind switched into the body of a subordinate, been gassed and taken prisoner, and discovered a traitor in the highest ranks of his own base. If that wasn’t enough, he’s now stuck in a cage with Mugiwara no Luffy. Again.
I am pleased to note that both Luffy and Robin find this just as funny as I do.
And with that, holy shit but I am actually done. Finished. Up. To. Date.
What do I do with my life now?
o_o
* Technically nor did Luffy, but he’s gleefully liberated far too many major population centres to claim anything else anymore.
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no subject
Date: 2012-07-21 08:18 pm (UTC)I, uh, really want to rec Fairy Tail which is One Piece lite (I love it forever but I fully admit it is veeeery much a copy cat of OP's fabulousness) because Erza is made of awesomeness but the boobs and butt fanservice everywhere and Lucy's win/lose track record is rather bad. (Honestly, if she is alone she can win but if others are watching she always loses and it is frustracting like whoa.)
But anyway, welcome to waiting each week for chapters game! It is great but also dfk;jfljwelfos WHY SO SHORT CHAPTERS?
EDIT: I also love, love, *love* the Hyde and Closer manga but it got suddenly stopped in the middle of an arc years ago. I also love Negima but good lord does the fanservice grate. I'm sorry, I don't have many good recs!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 01:38 am (UTC)Frustrating as the weekly wait for chapters may be (man it's been a while since I was into a series that made me do that) I would say now is not at all a bad time to catch up. There has been so much awesome in Punk Hazard. :3
no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 02:35 am (UTC)I've heard and seen pics of law's epic 'why is this my life' scene. I am totally looking forward to it!
no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-22 04:01 am (UTC)I am still wanting to know if Law and Gin are related or if it is just a quirk of Oda's art style.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-24 07:04 am (UTC)He’s been spending a lot of his page time with a look that suggests nothing so much as this is not what I signed up for. This very much includes his attempts to deal with Luffy’s crew, which has certainly not worked out well for him thus far.
Too true. :DD Loved Usopp's comment "if you thought you were going to be in ontrol where Luffy is concerned, just forget that" or something to that effect.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-24 08:01 am (UTC)Honestly on it's own it wouldn't have bothered me at all for all the reasons you list (plus how everyone in One Piece loses battles sometimes). It's only as part of a trend where we haven't seen a single one of the girls win a notable fight since the timeskip that it's making me sulk. Looking only at the more recent record that makes three different times in three different bodies she's been captured by the bad guys in this arc, while Sanji in her body has been kicking arse and rescuing people from poisoned lakes, and I am getting a little bit fed up with it. :/ Ah well. The arc is young and I'm still hoping we'll be seeing better from her and the other girls soon.
Speaking of Tashigi though, I would have to admit that Smoker in Tashigi's body somehow works better than it has any right to. Tashigi in Smoker's, meanwhile, only manages to terrify me immensely. ._.
Loved Usopp's comment "if you thought you were going to be in ontrol where Luffy is concerned, just forget that" or something to that effect.
XD Oh yeah, I think I remember him saying that. I'm tempted to go track that page down again now. There's nothing that drives home the Straw Hats various eccentricities like watching their saner members admit it, or outsiders deal with them.
Man I'm Jonesing for the next chapter now. It so figures that I'd get myself up to date just in time for a two week break.