One Piece

Did you guys notice how Whitebeard seems to have a similar moustache style as Gol D. Roger?

Feedback Of Heteronormative Gender Stereotypes in Anime

Reminds me more of TurnAGundam◊

Ace is not One Piece. I thought maybe WB let something slip, but it was just the choice of words used by the translator

The sad, REAL American dichotomy

If my avatar and personal text didn't give it away, I'm a huge One Piece fan.

Whitebeard War is gonna be epic!

You are not alone, and you are not strange. You are you, and everyone has damage. Be the better person.

I have a question. I've been trying to get caught up on One Piece for a while now (I'm near the end of Jaya). Would it make sense if I started reading from the beginning of the current arc to get caught up on that as well?

I know a lot of what happened up to this point (though I still don't know why Whitebeard is coming for Ace if Luffy invaded Impel Down just to rescue him), since I'd been reading spoilers since before I started reading the manga.

Wait, when did I get a manga blog?

One Piece 553, Download HQ here.

This was the best One Piece chapter ever. All two-page spreads of cool shit happening and badasses being awesome. Also, I suspected that when Zoro defeated Mr. 1, Mr. 1 asked him if he'd "Cut diamond" next. Well look who's here — a DIAMOND MAN. Fucking awesome.

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Oda's been building up the reputations of all these characters for hundreds of chapters now....and this is the payoff.

I draw this comic-like thing sometimes.

This chapter made some nice use of The Worf Effect. Whitebeard and his men just blocked, fairly easily, three people who absolutely trounced the Straw Hats when they met.

Also, I like how Mihawk acknowledged Whitebeard as stronger than him. It's a nice call back to way back when Luffy and Zoro met him, and Mihawk told Luffy becoming Pirate King was an even greater task than surpassing him.

For this particular part of story, you might actually be better off reading between arcs, as those are the chapters that focus most on the characters we're seeing here. Also, Whitebeard had no knowledge of what Luffy was doing, so he wasn't a factor in anything Whitebeard's done to this point.

edited 6th Aug '09 10:56:14 PM by sgamer82

Well, it's certainly proof that tropes are not bad. Then again, it's not surprising that Whitebeard 's men are able to endure attacks from the likes of Kizaru, Aokiji, and Mihawk, considering the amount of buildup the story has given them as being possibly the most powerful pirate crew thus far.

Anywho, another amazing chapter. Oda done a great job building up to this epic moment and the clash hasn't disappointed me yet. Here's to hoping he doesn't waiver.

Also, I know that no one outside of a flashback dies in One Piece, but does anyone have a feeling that Whitebeard won't be leaving this clash in one piece? Badass Grandpas like Whitebeard can't keep dishing out ownage forever.

edited 7th Aug '09 4:35:56 PM by Black_tiger

You know what? The huge multi-superpowered spreads in this chapter remind me a lot of classic battle spreads in Western comics. It's really impressive — we've gone a huge long way since Buggy the Clown and Axe Hand Morgan.

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They should bring back Morgan as the ultimate Big Bad at the end of the series, because this show hasn't had enough Ass Pull's to be healthy.

edited 8th Aug '09 4:04:31 AM by Dan2025

Nah, it should turn out that Higuma the Bear faked his own death and was orchestrating all the events of the story from the very beginning!

I draw this comic-like thing sometimes.

Oo! Pandaman could be the Big Bad! That would be so awesome! The ultimate Chekov's Gunman ever!

Is it okay to skip the Skypeia arc? It seems really long and not entirely necessary.

And as for the eventual Big Bad, I think you're all forgetting someone: The goat. THE GOAT!

edited 11th Aug '09 1:20:34 PM by ShotgunNinja

Wait, when did I get a manga blog?

I dropped the manga after CP 9 and picked ip up again somewhere during the prison break arc (right now). I didn't have any problems.

My worry is how Luffy can possibly be relevant to the battle, since these people are incredibly strong.

Of course, if I had to guess, it's a major case of The Worf Effect to show these new foes. By the time Luffy's adrenaline runs out, he'll be ready to go back to the Sabaody Archipelago, and we get treated to the adventures of Zoro.

If you want someone witty, someone plain, someone strange, someone normal, someone who's all of these things and the above... Just look in a mirror.

Luffy's gonna arrive too late and discover that they already saved Ace. Maybe.

I hope somethings happens to get Sengoku away from where Ace is (which is probably nothing less than Whitebeard himself attacking Sengoku). Otherwise he'll beat Luffy and Co. down assuming they reach Ace before anyone else.

What makes you think Sengoku's tough? He's always struck me as more of a Spandam style beaurocract.

Right. Because Whitebeard would totally compliment a pencil pusher.

Also, the WG would give someone who can't throw a punch the position of Admiral.

Authority Equals Asskicking has held true for all the admirals and vice-admirals so far, so.....

edited 12th Aug '09 5:17:32 PM by New Cope

I draw this comic-like thing sometimes.

Seriously, the purpose of the Marines is to act as the WG's main military force in a world filled with overpowered superhumans. It doesn't really make sense to have a noticeably high rank (Vice-Admiral and onward) and not be a competent fighter.

Edit: And why would he be standing around with Ace if he couldn't defend himself from the onslaught of Whitebeard's group?

Edit 2: Also, Dolflamingo stopped messing when Sengoku told him to.

edited 13th Aug '09 5:21:40 PM by Unkown Troper

That's one of the things I absolutely love about One Piece. More often than not, things live up to their hype. The Grand Line in particular, was set up as this insane place that was known as the Pirates' Graveyard. Indeed, it's a very difficult place to sail in, and things only get tougher as you go. Certainly raises hopes for the New World.Honestly? You'd probably be fine skipping it over right now. Its contributions to the overall plotline have been relatively minor, though God Eneru and Gedatsu did get their own cover-page side-stories in which Eneru found a robot army on the moon and Gedatsu became the co-owner of a spa. Otherwise, the main things it's given us to date are the revelation Roger could read Poneglyphs, the boost to Usopp and Nami's weaponry provided by Dials, and implications that the Skypeians' Mantra is a form of Haki/Ambition.

Of the Marines I say at least these people need some sort of noteworthy opponent in order for said Marines to Worf said opponents (or be Worfed by):

Sengoku (Former Admiral, Contemporary of Roger), Akainu (Admiral who has yet to do anything), Smoker (Seems to be Luffy's answer to Garp), John Giant (He just seems to be special), and Tsuru (Cause she seems to be a badass old lady).

edited 15th Aug '09 5:00:52 PM by Unkown Troper

Chapter 554 is up. Akainu finally does something and we get to see his eyes!

...I have no idea what Japanese actor he's based on.

edited 20th Aug '09 2:48:22 AM by New Cope

I draw this comic-like thing sometimes.