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The duality of Wano, am I right folks? Continuing on last week’s theme of “Oh my Usopp there is so much Wano,” we have a lot more arc to get through this week. Much of the runtime is rather uneventful. We get a discussion over what is to be done with Momonosuke, Kaido complaining in his room, and Law toting the Akazaya samurai to Onigashima. Not a lot going on even if it does continue to get certain important players into their appropriate positions on the stage, as it were.
At least this episode manages to be a great deal funnier in the process. Law and the Heart Pirates are always a hoot when they are together – in truth, anyway who isn’t as glum as Law is hilarious when he’s around. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi being goofballs warms my heart every time. We also get a few good bits with the Akazaya Nine and Marco, the surprise comedy pairing of the season. Beyond the text, I also got a good laugh out of Kaido coming to the party super late – very much in the vein of a teenager coming downstairs and their parents going “Well look who finally decided to leave their room.”
The big hit though is the Yamato reveal. Even if it’s only a short portion of the runtime, Yamato’s revelation about discovering Oden’s journal and idolizing him is really spectacular. I think it is a testament to Eiichiro Oda‘s incredible abilities that even after over twenty years of telling the same story, he finds ways to create new and compelling characters. The central tension of Yamato idolizing Oden, the ultimate foe of Kaido – it’s just brilliant stuff, a dramatic capstone to an arc heavy with broader setting implications. Wano is long and at times it can be a slog due to the sheer breadth of it, but when the payoffs are there they’re really there.
Also Robin talking like a mustache-twirling villain, whew Lordy I believe I’m catchin the vapors…
Rating:
Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.
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