Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this thought piece. Please read with caution.

December 16, 2020 to December 24, 2020

¾ Saga (?)

2 and ½ Manga Arc

9 DAYS

140 CHAPTERS

(Chapter 859 to Chapter 999)

Happy New Year, everyone!

I survived 2020 and caught up with Big Dad D. One Piece’s first 999 chapters by Christmas Eve night. It has been an amazing journey with Monkey D. Luffy so far. I’m excited to read a 1,000 more chapters to see how the story will finally end.

I also apologize for the unintended delay for this thought piece. The attempted coup on January 6, new writing opportunity that I restarted on, and finishing my novel by the end of 2020 were all big factors for the delay. However, the delay did give me more time to truly reflect on my epic reading journey with Big Dad D. One Piece as a whole.

In addition, I did read chapter 1,000 on January 3, 2020 as well, and that milestone chapter was an amazing payoff to the investment I put into the manga series. Luffy will become the King of Pirates someday! Believe it!

Honestly, I’m glad I read Big Dad D. One Piece during the last two months of 2020.

Thank you, Oda, for a great pirate story with huge issues that haven’t aged well over the past twenty years. However, your messages on real world issues have allowed me to see things in a whole different light. On that note, let’s dive into my general thoughts—non-spoiler to the best of my ability—on the “Whole Cake Island Arc”, “Levely Arc”, and the ongoing “Wano Country Arc”. I’ll discuss chapter 1,000 towards the end of this thought piece. If y’all hadn’t heard yet, Shanks will be making a power move soon in 2021!

One sentence summary: Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, the series follows Monkey D. Luffy traveling to the Grand Line—with his pirate crew—in search of the world’s ultimate treasure called “One Piece” in order to become the King of Pirates.

Here is also a list of my previous One Piece thought pieces. I’ve come a long way:

“Whole Cake Island Arc” centered around the Sanji Retrieval Team—consisting of Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Brook, and the minks Pedro and Carrot from the “Zou Arc”—heading to Whole Cake Island to rescue Sanji from his arranged marriage with Charlotte Pudding.

In my Week #7 Thought Piece regarding the first part of “Whole Cake Island Arc”, I discussed how Sanji’s background as a Vinsmoke was explored. I also enjoyed how willing he was to sacrifice himself for others, and the twist delivered on Charlotte’s wicked third-eye nature. How Charlotte eventually fell in love with Sanji was great initially, seeing how he was the only person to compliment her third eye, but it got tiresome after a couple pages. The “lovestruck gag” was too similar to Boa Hancock whenever she acts lovey dovey with Luffy.

I also noticed the “Whole Cake Island Arc” was similar to Water 7 Saga’s “Enies Lobby Arc” in terms of structure, but with a huge difference that made it a different kind of monster. Speaking of monsters and the huge difference in manga arcs, let’s talk about Big Mama, the main antagonist of “Whole Cake Island Arc” and one of the Four Emperors. She is one of the strongest characters introduced in the series so far, and someone Luffy wasn’t able to defeat outright. The “running away” is something One Piece isn’t shameful about, but it also changed up the stakes a bit.

Jinbe also made his grand return in the “Whole Cake Island Arc”, only to stay behind with his old pirate crew, the Sun Pirates, by the end to give the Straw Hat Pirates a real chance to escape from Big Mama. Luffy allowed Jinbe to stay behind on the promise that he join the Straw Hats in Wano Country. Of course, Jinbe accepted those terms.

The ending to the “Whole Cake Island Arc” was symbolic, with Sanji and his adoptive dad cooking the same food dish for the people they care about. I liked the whole circle ending with Sanji’s character, and how he was finally able to find closure with his Vinsmoke past. Hopefully, Sanji’s family comes back in future arcs.

The “Levely Arc” was a grand reunion of all the fan-favorite characters like Princess Vivi from the Alabasta Saga, Princess Rebecca from the Dressrosa Saga, Princess Shirakoshi from the Fish-Man Island Saga, the CP7 group from the Water 7 Saga, etc. They have all gathered for a special meeting that set up the rest of the Four Emperors Saga. Honestly, seeing all the fan-favorite characters again from the previous manga story arcs was the best part. There was payoff on top of payoff in that mini-arc.

Now let’s discuss the “Wano Country Arc”, the current ongoing story arc of One Piece. I was so hyped reading this manga arc based on hearing things like “best arc yet”. After reading up on the latest chapters, I can confirm that this story arc is the best One Piece arc yet. It’s a fascinating one too that matches with today’s ongoing issues. For example, the citizens of Wano are starving to death and forced into a cruel capitalist economy to earn themselves the bare minimum.

Some were blind to the system, and how their prison system was just a different version of slavery. The little girl broke my heart when she gave all her rice to Luffy when she had nothing to eat for weeks. She broke my heart further when she revealed she knew Ace. I miss Ace so much. This current manga arc shined a light on the real-life issues regarding the US’s broken system, and their inability to see or care about the lower class’ sufferings. Yeah. I said it. Now what?

Luffy impressed me so much in the “Wano Country Arc”, reminding me of how he was in previous arcs whenever the people were oppressed in those countries. Luffy hated Kaido for starving the people, and vowed that he would ensure everyone got to eat before he’d leave the country. This kind of determined mentality is what everyone needs to fight for, especially with today’s events regarding the $600 stimulus checks and the people of this country needing more than what we’re getting to survive the ongoing pandemic. The US has officially failed us, and that’s something Luffy wouldn’t have tolerated.

Since this manga arc is still ongoing for the time being, I won’t go into the specifics of the story yet. However, chapter 1,000 is something I do want to talk about because it ties into Luffy and his dream to be the Pirate King. There was also an emotional flashback Portgas D. Ace scene that may or may not have made me cried. Ace, even before Luffy went out to sea, always believed his brother could become the King of Pirates. I also believe Luffy will achieve the goal someday, and he will bring about great change in the Pirate World. I’m a firm believer in Luffy’s dream. After reading a 1,000 chapters, how can I not believe in the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates?

Thank you all so much for taking this reading journey with me. I’m so appreciative of those who have been rooting for me since October 28, 2020. Reading 1,000 One Piece Chapters in two months wasn’t an easy feat. I’m also slowly recovering from the long-winded reading journey, but I’m getting stronger everyday. Soon enough, I’ll “keep it reading” again.

Who’s hyped for chapter 1,001 coming out on January 15, 2021?

*Sigh* I’ll get the sail ready. Endings are hard.

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