You can watch my next One Piece review (Enies Lobby FINALE + Post-Enies Lobby) RIGHT NOW on Patreon here (5$+): www.patreon.com/Aleczandxr To follow the readthroughs on stream, you can follow me on Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/Aleczandxr/ Link to AJ's Discord server: discord.gg/Ekhz7PNuJd CURRENT TWITCH SCHEDULE: Mondays @ 10am EST: A Blind Playthrough of The Great Ace Attorney Wednesdays @ 10am EST: Haikyuu Discussions Fridays @ 10:30am EST: SOME FRIDAYS, I do full One Piece reading streams as well. Check Discord for updates/details. Sundays @ 11am EST: Vinland Saga S2 anime reactions & One Piece Chapter reads

The cultural significance around this moment cannot be overstated. For many, this is where One Piece becomes a masterpiece. I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much and reliving this on stream was amazing.

Frankie cries at Robin's declaration. It's almost as if she and the rest of the straw hats have a firm grasp on his most sensitive areas.

“No one is born in this world to be alone.” I tear up watching that scene to this day, and I think everyone everywhere has needed to hear those words at one time or another. I love this story so much

Thanks for letting me relive my initial reading of this arc.

I really hope you'll watch the anime adaptation of the moment Robin realizes that she is allowed to want to live. It's such an amazing performance from her voice actor. I tear up every time I even think of that scene 🥲

about the Baroque Works cover story. I can't understate how much it did for Crocodiles character for me. When Ms. Goldenweek used her power to reveal all of Baroque Works inner wish, Crocodiles desire is still to become the pirate king, shown by him wearing that attire. We know something horrible happened to him in the past making him completely distrust anybody and shut himself off. Yet his inner desire to become the pirate king is still there, as much as he wants to deny that. He still has that foolish dream that he would deny in an instant or tell other people its foolish. This cynical person is at his core, the complete opposite. A dreamer. That fact gave Croc a lot of nuance and characterization to me that we did not have beforehand, and it made me very happy and I am sad not more people talk about it

You know... something I never realized until just now: One of Usopp's biggest character traits is his cleverness and ways he can lie and spin stories. However when he had one of the biggest moments of the pre tower of law battle by recruiting the giants' help, he did so by disproving the GOVERNMENT'S lie and telling the truth.

One thing that hits harder as l read the series is Luffy's line of "I'm well aware of Robin's enemies"

'I want to live!' Is still the most emotionally impactful moment of the series for me. I cry every time I watch or read that part.

There were MANY instances where I was tearing up uncontrollably during Robin's backstory. But the moment that made me halt cause it was just way too much to keep reading - was right after Luffy asks her to shoot down that flag. Her interior monologue of "I thought I wasn't allowed to wish for something like that" as we see panels of nothing but the world being cruel to her. There's just something so damm heartbreaking to have a character not only come to terms with their unbelievably dark past and recognizing that it's not the way it is anymore. Idk. How dare the world treat her like this! This scene will forever be etched in my mind.

I may be the only one but I literally use these videos as bedtime stories for before I fall asleep. There's something very comforting about them :)

#AJPIECE The admiral names are more like titles/nicknames. He was born Kuzan, but when he became an admiral he was given the title Aokiji (Blue Pheasant). The navy higher-ups will often address them by their actual names, but most people, both in-story characters and readers, know them by their color+animal name.

#AJPIECE I wanted to talk about the importance of masks in Water 7 because one of the first sights the strawhats see when they enter the city is the presence of the citizens wearing masks everywhere. This is not only foreshadowing for the many secret identity reveals that will play out in the arc (nor is it just planting the seed for the set-up for how Iceburg’s assassins would be dressed), it’s also a metaphor for how everyone in this arc has multiple (sometimes secret) identities, one on the outside and one on the inside Franky, the public criminal boss that protects the city from pirate attacks, is secretly Cutty Flam, apprentice of Tom and peer to Iceburg, the city’s legal boss The dynamic of Usopp/Sogeking as well as the CP9 agents disguising themselves as loyal shipwrights are other more obvious examples of multiple identities and characters wearing masks to serve a personal purpose, etc This arc had a lot of “unmasking” scenes and every major character was either struggling with their true identity being discovered or questioning what their true identity even is which is why the opening image of everyone wearing masks was such a good way to thematically set the tone for water 7 (also it builds the culture of the city) Another thing I wanted to mention was the scene when Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper found Usopp beaten bloody in front of the Franky House and then we had a spiritual sequel to the Walk to Arlong Park with Chopper replacing Usopp Not only is this a great badass scene highlighting Chopper and the crew’s love for Usopp, this also tragically emphasizes the point that Usopp is the weakest on the crew which further damages his self-esteem If some ordinary human thugs can rob Usopp blind and beat him up twice, then what use is Usopp? He’s not a good shipwright and he’s not even as strong as Chopper, whose main role is not even a fighter but a doctor The Walk to the Franky Family was such a great scene bc the visual storytelling being conveyed was that despite Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper going to avenge Usopp, they are really just advancing at a rate that Usopp can’t catch up to them (leaving Usopp in the dust) One last thing I want to mention is how Oda uses devil fruits or a character’s power/fighting style to characterize the character or communicate their personality/interests Lucci’s devil fruit is a leopard because he’s an animal that can disguise himself and is also a speedy killing machine Crocodile took rain from Arabasta and sucked it dry like how his sand powers were first shown to dry up a flower Wapol is an entitled king which is why his literal power is gluttony and the literal ability to consume everything he wants Don Krieg used external equipment and claimed himself invincible when in reality he had no true internal or genuine strength (unlike Luffy who defeated with with just guts and real strength) This writing technique of literalizing some aspect of a characters personality to serve as their fighting style continues to manifest for future villains and other "good guy" characters who you will meet later on (or have already meant) It also applies to Luffy, who is made out rubber, which is why he always bounces back (relentlessly tenacious/determined-----never giving up)

One thing to note that I saw someone say in another video. When the crew lines up Zoro takes out his sword and puts it back in which to samurai means something along the lines of "I promise you with my life". Just a small but amazing detail

31:45 I actually liked it that they sort of relaxed when returning from a 5-y long mission. They are not on assignment anymore, they don't need to pretend to be someone else and to care, and it's fitting they are more casual

#AJPIECE On CP9's tone change this arc: While I'm sure Oda is just messing around a lot, CP9 always felt cohesive to me. I always get the sense that they have their own views on the situation, but keep to themselves for the sake of the mission. I think of Kaku's love of running around Water 7, Blueno's statement that they empathize with Robin, Kalifa's respect for Iceberg, or even just how they like to mess with Spandam. They have unique relationships and quirks similar to a pirate crew, and the goofiness humanized them for me. This beginning section of Enies lobby, and arguably when they were undercover, is the only time we get to see their authentic selves. These people are not silent emotionless monsters, and can be reasonable and likable. Yet, when they're working, they set all that aside. To me, CP9 is emblematic of people with power who don't (or can't?) follow their own sense of justice and freedom. The government treats them as weapons and mere tools for power, not individuals free to make their own choices. This is similar to how they view Robin. Even Lucci can't act without Spandam's orders, despite being a far better leader himself. While they're much less threatening this way and not totally necessary, it further develops Water 7's ideas of freedom vs choice and cements them as my favorite antagonistic group in the series.

You have no idea how much I look forward to these every 2 weeks :)

#AJPIECE In the scene with Kaku and Kalifa eating their devil fruits, there is another translation which states that if you were to eat 2 devil fruits, there would be two devils inside of you fighting for control, until eventually you get torn apart. Theoretically these fruits could have their own will, imposing onto Kalifa and Kaku, making them change the way they fight and act. It especially shows with Kalifa. Her personality is extremely hard to read while she is Iceberg's secretary. However, from that section, her break-in in the Galley La office, and her brief actions on the Sea Train, it's clear she's extremely decisive and powerful, quite willing to get her hands dirty, and talented with a unique thorn whip. However, after eating her devil fruit, her fights with Sanji and Nami are comical. She never wields her whip, she really cuts down on her Rokushiki moves, relying primarily on her gimmicky devil fruit rather than simply kicking them both to death. Her personality changes drastically after eating her devil fruit (and not for the better). She becomes much more arrogant than before and it ends up with her getting bested by Nami. Kaku also becomes more inclined to argue with Jabra rather than focusing on his foes, contrasted by his previous self in Water 7, a more efficient assassin. You can also take note from other personalities of characters who have eaten devil fruits. There are so many great examples and it only fuels this unique and almost comical power system to feel well integrated and believable in this already absurd world.

This is no doubt in my mind Peak Piece. Pretty much Oda at his absolute best so far that you've read so far and the beginning here has so much to talk about like Luffy rushing through the hordes of agents and marines being so chadly with the rest of the crew doing what they do to meet up with him later. Then all of them standing opposed to each other telling Sogeking to shoot down the flag and declaring war on the entire world just for one friend. Plus Robin's backstory get shown showing why she's so like she is but her declaring she wants to live is so moving and epic I just can't man 😭😢😭😢

#AJPiece So, this is the arc that ive completely fell in love in one piece. One of those reasons being: this is the arc that Oda drops all pretense. For a long time, basically since chapter 1, we as readers were meant to believe that this is a lighthearted, optimistic story in a whacky, whimsecal world of idealism.... But as the story progresses, Oda drops small hints about the true nature of this world, and the story. It starts off as a simple setting, with evil criminals of the sea called pirates, and the law enforcement known as the marines that catches them. Pretty simple good guy/bad guy set up. BUT, were slowly getting hints that somethings not right. Why is it that the one who liberates Cocoyashi Village is a pirate? Shouldnt this be marines job? why is a marine helping the tyranical pirate that conquered said village? Why is the heroic pirate who defeated all of East Blues strongest villains, also treated as a villain? Why is the goverment employing strong pirates themself? Overall, the Navy seems incompent and somewhat corrupt... but theres still marines like Koby, and Smoker, and Tashigi, so we see their existence in the story as proof that Marines are still a force for good and justice. Those evil marines like Nezumi and Morgan? just few bad apples Then, by the end of Alabasta, another crack in the facade apears: The Higher ups of the World Goverment do everything in their power to cover up the fact that a strong and influential pirate, who they themselves empowered, almost detroyed a country with a manufactured civil war and a coup, and was only stopped by the same heroic pirate from east blue. Instead of acknowledging their failings, they instead credit one of thier own as the real hero, and increase the bounty on the true savior of Alabasta. Then shortly after, in Sky Island Saga, we are finally shown the leaders of this organization... and yet again, their primary concern is thier image, " who should be the replacement for the man who abused his authority and almsot destroyed a country?" not, how should they improve, or reflect on what just happened, partially due to them. But still... the reader doesnt really see The World Goverment and Marines as a malicous entity, just incompetent and easily exploted by bad actors.... and then, this Saga begins. Through Franky and Robin's flashback, and through CP9, Spadam and Lucci, and through what Proffesor Clover says about the Ancient Kingdom... it finally clicks. The World Goverment is an Evil Empire, that has taken over nearly the entire planet, brutally crushed the opositon, and throguh propaganda and overwhelming military force, enforces its rule, claiming it is the only true represantative of Justice, of Law and Order, and anyone who opposes them must be a demon... Youve been reading a Dystopia this entire time

The lighting in this video changed live 5 times lol thank you for recording all throughout the day :)

This is one of the arcs I've been waiting for you to review since you started. I hope you're enjoying Thriller Bark as well.

Whooohooo!! Thank you for the release! I've been waiting excitedly.

Papa Aleczandxr out here serving the kids some bomb freaking dinner. seriously, all your one piece content has been amazing and I'm freaking giddy for every one you release. I'm glad i'm reliving so much of one of my favorite series with you King.

I always look forward to these videos 😁 you share a ton of my methods of thinking about stories and reliving the series through someone else feels special. Thanks for always being an awesome creator!

Absolutely amazing series of reviews!!! I Finished every single one up to this point in like two days. Loved listening to the reviews while working on my videos, been into one piece for a majority of my life and my love for it continuously grows year over year so seeing you getting into the story has been wonderful to see

This will half my suffering for a four hour train ride, thank you for the great content. And Merry christmas and new year! :)

It's indeed a beautiful story. It makes me happy reliving it through your lens 🧡

#AJpiece just a thought on Robin’s comments about seeing people’s lives on maps. I think this comment has an extra layer due to her being an archeologist/ historian. In the study of history, especially ancient history, we often only get bits and pieces of documentation. It’s the job of historians to weave the pieces together and tell their most likely interpretation of the way life was from the tools available, but try as they might, they can never know the full story. There will always be some amount of guesswork, inference, and speculation. Robin, having this background, is keenly aware of this and therefore also aware of the things that aren’t/ can’t be recorded on maps.

Thank you, hope you had an amazing holiday.

Thanks again for your videos AJ! I know this takes you a long time to make but I hope it's worth it for you. For us, at least, it's a treat !

I've already watched and read through One piece so many times but even a second hand retelling of the events of Robin's story, Luffy declaring war on the world government and Robin saying that she wants to live still gets me tearing up. Really love your review series and I hope you continue to enjoy this masterpiece.

Been waiting all this time to post my thoughts on Water 7 and I'm glad it got highlighted

The more I hear about cover stories the more I'm upset they weren't incorporated into the anime which is how I originally consumed One Piece. But also some make me happy I wasn't aware of.

Love these One Piece reviews! I picked up One Piece around the same time as you did so it’s almost like we’ve gone through this journey together in a way. Thanks for the great uploads keep it up AJ!

Thank you so much for these arc reviews AJ.

Sad I haven’t been able to catch your streams lately but I LOVE Enies Lobby and it’s great to hear your thoughts on it

Been watching all your one piece reviews, as a long time fan of the series, I enjoy them

I have a feeling you'll grow to love Aokiji.

since im learning english i use your videos to improve my volcalbulary it helps alot keep it up alec

I'm so glad you reached this arc! Everytime I rewatch/re-read Robin's "I want to live" moment, I find new details that makes me love this scene. First, from the robin side of things, this is the first moment in the series where we see who she really is: a scared girl forced to give up on life multiple times by constant betrayal and the tragedy of her homeland. A human who endured tragedy after tragedy without rest, because the darkness known as the world simply couldn't let her live. She was told she didn't deserve to live because she wants to know the true history of the world and has the knowledge to uncover said hidden history. In short, she was hurting. Bad. So the moment she could finally allow herself just one simple moment to crack her facade, she screamed "I want to live! Take me to the sea with you!!". Robin finally showed her will and ambition. A will to live even if the world is her enemy. Which brings me to the Luffy side of things. Luffy actually listens seriously to what Spandam and Robin tell him. He fully listens, internalizes and understands who and what are causing RObin's fear. In part, it's RObin's trauma, but other part and originator of said trauma is the world goverment and the power they wield called the buster call. He knows that. However, in a testament to Luffy's fearless and genius character, he doesn't hesitate in the face of such darkness. He tells his ally to burn the flag, effectively stating: "Oh? the world declares war on my friend? Well, I'll declare war on them!!". A truly reckless desicion in Luffy's part, but it's still a mature one. Because itshows his growth as a captain and figure in the world. His understanding of the situation at hand and despite that deciding to aid his friend and nakama is simply fascinating to mull over. And that leads me to Sogeking/Usopp. A man who previously fought with and had a falling out with Luffy, obeys Luffy's command without hesitation. He is the one who shot the flag down. All because they both share a common goal: Save Robin. Yet at the same time, it's kind of poetic. He is a man that can be cowardly in nature, but this is a moment his bravery shines and subconsiously, his loyalty to Luffy is shown through this action. FInally, there's this small scene that's a blink it and you miss it moment, but this one pertains to Zoro. When RObin declares her will to live, Oda shows us the reactions of each straw hat, and Zoro's is slightly unsheathing one of his swords before sheathing it back in. I read it from somewhere that this is a samurai's way of making a promise they're willing to keep, which I find it a cool yet simple Zoro moment that shows he is willing to do anything for RObin right then and there. There are lot more details packed in this scene, like Franky's yuxtaposition with Robin (as his backstory's message that "A ship isn't inherently evil links up to robin's dilema of "Am I worth living?), but I hope this overanalyzation of the "I want to live" scene gives something new to appreciate about it!

#AJPiece The dichotomy of One Pice is what makes it so compelling. It can be a thrilling, romantic, adventure story while also showing a clear serious darkness with the tragedy of Ohara. You can’t tell me anyone who read any of the early east blue chapters expected the same story with a rubber man punching a pirate with a clown nose to have a genocide and book burning. This tragedy really puts the darkness Robin has shown prior into perspective. This flashback and the I want to live moment is what made Robin my favorite strawhat. I’m so glad you got to experience this moment.

#AJPiece I appreciate your discussion on Franky and Icebergs different philosophies on ship creation and the moral responsibilities of creating weapons that could cause harm the wrong hands. One detail I haven't seen you discuss though I may have missed it is the tattoos on his shoulders of 36. We saw in his flashback Franky would build powerful war ships and named them Battle Franky with a number indicating the order of creation. Following Spandam's destruction with his ships Franky seems to have literally internalized Iceberg's critique that in the wrong hands his creations could cause great harm that Franky can't control. As Franky in becoming a cyborg has continued the numbering of his previous warships and has made himself his next Battle Franky, the Battle Franky 36. Now his weapons cannot be used by the hands of another to hurt Franky or his family as his weapons are in his hands.

I was so excited for this one! Enies Lobby is where one piece reaally got me as a reader

I'm Happy that you mantioned Franky talk to Robin, It's also one of my favorite moment.

The Shandians were protecting the bell and the Poneglyph for generation's only ever knowing it was the desire of their respected ancestors. And their faith is rewarded as the Poneglyphs will likely play a role in exposing the world government who are actively trying to erase history. Oda perfectly strikes the balance between the importance of progress and tradition. Criticizing following harmful tradition blindly while praising following positive tradition that harms no one, as most tradition in history were created for a reason.

This arc is really nostalgic for me. I've been watching OP from the beginning but started reading the manga with volume 44 (the last bits of Enies Lobby)

I remember reading somewhere oda said when he was drawing the I want to live panel he actually had to stop, take a break and walk away for a minute because he was tearing up.

Ohara's will lives on.

I love One Piece so much! Thank you for your fantastic review. It's always a great pleasure 😁✌️

this will be worth the wait, I can feel it

Thanks for this reaction.

#AJPiece So, one minor thing AJ: You said that Robin was afraid that she'd betray them - that's not the case, she was afraid that they'd betray her like everyone else in her life had so far. That scene is so heartbreaking and what really made me fall in love with Robin's character - She'd rather die for them now, than live to see them betray her later... because that's just how much she's become attached to the crew. It's so impactful. Only then to see them still there, shooting down that flag it finally clicks, she finally gets it that they would never betray her. They don't see her as a nuisance, they don't see her as a burden, or a tool to use until she becomes too troublesome for them - they see her as family. Of course, the parallels with Usopp here are masterfully woven in too. I love your analysis so far, great work on being one of the rare people who actually understands the value of Usopp as a character in the series, looking forward to watching the twitch vods every Monday while procrastinating from work.

Who me? I’m the guy who tears up and/or sobs every time he thinks about Robin’s backstory.

Wacthing this after reading the chapter released recently give me chills, Oda realy tied up everything well

one of the best shonen arcs ever!

6:34 nice foreshadowing to Thriller Bark.

There are Sagas, a large overarching story, usually comprised multiple arks sharing at least 1 common main element/story thread: East blue(Start until Logue Town), Baroque Works(Reverse Mtn/Laboon - Alabasta), Skypeia(Jaya-Skypeia), Enies Lobby(Water 7-Enies lobby), etc. Then there are Arks, smaller components with their own full story, even if some share an underlying connection: Alabasta, Jaya, Skypeia, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Arlong Park, Syrup Village, etc. So yes, Water 7 and Enies Lobby are both part of the same saga, but each are their own ark. Just as Jaya and Skypeia were the same saga, and each their own ark.

Jus sparked a blunt been waiting for this video 🚶🏾‍♂️

Yeah, to me W7 and EL are the same arc, with just a different setting. Water Seven is the set up, Enies Lobby is the conclusion, it doesn't make any sense to separate them. Also, it's my favourite arc. Not that it goes downhill from here, on the contrary, it only gets better and better for the overarching story, but as a standalone arc, this is still my favourite.

Man your theory that ussop is sogeking is insane

i like how both Usopp and the CP9 have the same idea of power; to them its all about might as shown in their obsession with buster call and power levels. but power is never as straight forward as that, as Usopp will come to learn later.

I've been waiting for The hype is real

Does somebody know the name of the track he uses at the beginning and willing to share it with me? Also I've been waiting for this one haha, one of the greatest moments in all of storytelling for me with my recent dive into anime and manga

10:30 The Qurtermaster can be the Second-in-command, but the position itself is that of First Mate. In the case of the Strawhats, Zoro would be the First Mate, as the Quartermaster role is more taken care of by Nami and Sanji (as the quartermaster is in charge of making sure the ship has what the crew will need in the next voyage)

I personally believe that Kaku and Kalifa being more light-hearted is mainly due to their arrogance, especially after they eat their devil fruits. They're incredibly powerful and they technically fufilled their duty of capturing Robin and Franky, what is there for them to worry about? Of course Lucci and Blueno were smart enough to not let their guard down till the very end. I'd also like to add that my favourite part of Luffy using Gear Second is him admitting that using this technique will pretty much shorten his lifespan but, as you've mentioned, Luffy is relieved as he doesn't mind killing himself slowly if it means he can protect his crew.

#AJPiece The main reason water 7 and Eneis lobby are put together as a saga is due to the breadth that they cover by the end the characters in this have taken massive steps along their respective arcs and have had fundamental changes that will last the entire story

Love the persona BGM an absolute classic soundtrack

The reason why this arc has different name even though it's continuation from W7 is probably quite simple. The naming of story arc in One Piece were based on where Luffy (& the crew) currently are, except for a few arcs. Also, probably a little trivia. When it was revealed in cover story that Mr. 1's dream is to become a super hero is actually a pun. His DF name in japanese is supa supa (スパスパ) no mi, & how you pronounce super hero is スーパーヒーロー

My wife caught me randomly doing the Jaguar D. Saul laugh. I’ve never been so embarrassed 😭😭😭

WOOHOOOOOOO LETS GO 🎉🎉🎉

One of the top 5 moments in One Piece.

Really quick before I get to my main comment I'll say the exploding with 2 devil fruits is extremely literal. The moment a person takes the first bite of a devil fruit its essence leaves the fruit and infuses every cell in their body. 2 devil fruits would conflict and they'd literally explode into bits. But I'm glad you've taken so well to Kuzan/Aokiji. He's definitely my favorite navy character and even with two short appearances he's already doing what would take multiple characters in other series. He's the good person in a bad faction of course. But he's also the wall that shows that Luffy's sheer determination, his willingness to bang his head against a brick wall until somehow the wall breaks, can do incredible things but it's not enough on its own, it adds some genuine suspense now that failure has been made plausible. And he's the morally grey character that tolerates the bad the world government does because he knows how complicated the world is and in his eyes he can do more as a force in a flawed system than he could as a rouge agent on his own.

This needs to be mentioned cause of the SHEER unlikelihood of the coincidence! The day you streamed reading this part of the story, a new One Piece chapter dropped. And, without spoiling, its contents were EXACTLY to do with this SPECIFIC part of the story. I mean, when I read the chapter title I thought wait did I forget to close my tab from eariler today? Ik Alec won't be able to acknowledge the actual scale and absurdity of the coincidence without spoilers, but I just had to mention it someone!

#AJPiece if you were to consider Post-Enies Lobby to be an arc, what would the score be or where would it rank in the series?

#ajpiece Lucci was only following orders from Spandam. Unlike Spandam, Lucci is not corrupted. He just follows every order even when he doesn't like his superior. If his superior was a good person, maybe he'd have done better things. In that way, he is the evil that he keeps talking about. He's so concerned that someone will use Robin to make ancient weapons, but he doesn't realize that he himself is being used to cause evil. It's like the same theme you were discussing in water 7.

#AJPIECE Hey! Just a quick translation clarification regarding the dialogue exchange just prior to Sogeking shooting down the flag; Luffy does not say “I now understand who Robin’s enemy is” or other variations of this, depending on where you’re reading. He is saying “I know Robin’s enemy very well.” There are a few bits like this that get mistranslated usually, most of them being Japanese puns which understandably would not work in other languages. I have a question, when did you start considering yourself a strawhat? From wha I’ve heard you speak, it was during the W7part 1 and 2 videos where your tone slightly changes from a review and appreciation of the themes and storytelling masterfully portrayed by Oda. Basically, you go from what would be “Franky will join them” to “Franky will join us no doubt!”

interesting that Lucci calls Robin a weapon even though he himself is welded as one.

#AJPIECE Enies Lobby is a place where the day is eternal. (Funny since you're currently playing Shadowbringers) The night never falls & there's also a huge crater under the island. Many of us have been speculating what that could mean. And we also finally learn about the prosperous Ancient Kingdom. Since the World Government united to stand against it, you start to ask yourself if they were the bad guys all along or did the WG start as a good idea, to prehaps win back their freedom from the Ancient Kingdom, but eventually fell into the temptation of power & luxury & ended up the same or worse. But it may also be that the Ancient Kingdom was an utopia, which also makes you question why did anyone even want to rise up against them. Really interesting stuff. Enies Lobby being an island of eternal day may also tie into it.

Love it 🙏

#AJPIECE My favorite line from this arc is that flashback to Ussop saying "have faith in Luffy" during the declaration of war. It shows just how fundamental the crew's trust in Luffy is. Even though Ussop and Luffy had their falling out over the sunny. Ussop still believes that Luffy will do anything to save his crewmembers.

#AJPIECE For years it's been my habit whenever a new chapter of One Piece comes out to reread older chapters that are N hundred before it - so for example this week with 1072 coming out I have been rereading 72, 172, 272... There are a couple of things I have noticed by doing this. One is that some segments of the story which are over 100 chapters in length, I never stop reading - just as one of my rereads reaches the end, another starts it - and Enies Lobby/Water 7 is one of those and I never, ever mind that fact. I am totally happy to always have this amazing stretch of the story play a part of my weekly rereading routine. Secondly, by coincidence, there are some numbers which I have really noticed as standing out for quality, and of all of these the biggest one is the 98s. Already so far in you read you have seen Luffy about to be executed in Logue Town, Luffy arriving to rescue Vivi from Crocodile riding on Pell, Enel being slammed into the golden bell in Skypiea, and now "I want to live!". Watch out for the X98s in the future!

what’s the background music at 1:31:02 ? it sounds so familiar

Dereshishishi, my most iconic laugh from one piece😢

I'm glad you like Lucci. I didn't think you would because he's more of a "vibes" character that isn't written all that well.

They're separate arcs the same way the Android Saga and Cell saga are the same but distinctly different arcs or the Namek vs the Frieza arc

#AJPIECE you mentioned (around 1:26:40) the Inherited Will for Robin, passed down by her mother. Like you I also tought about Sanji and Zeff, Nami and Bellmer, Chopper and Hiriluk, Usop and Yasop, Luffy and Shanks, and finally Franky and Tom. At this point I realized that they all had a father/mother figure, but Zoro doesn't. And I thought also that he wanted to become the greatest swordsman, but why? He has that dream from the beginning as we know it, Kuina wasn't the one to give it to him; in contrast the other strawhats have been influenced by their respective figures and have been given the Inherited Will. Now I'm not remembering exactly if this is true for Luffy and he wanted to become the king of the pirates before encountering Shanks. So, what you think about Zoro and his dream, and the lack of a father/mother figure for him? That also holds true for Brook (which you now know him), but I think that's only because how the .character is structured Just some thoughts, keep up the great work

So, I didn't exactly realize until you pointed it out - that Aokiji is a shade-of-gray character. For the longest time, I probably would not have pinned this down if someone were to ask me which OP char. I'd pick out who has that. This story is so far spread that it's tricky

Knowing what we know now the devil fruits might’ve/probably had a factor in the personality change

a better translation is "if you want to die, do it by our side"

FINALLY!!!! NOT LONG ENOUGH!!

To address whether Luffy randomly unlocking second gear is a deus ex machina:, it totally is, but it doesn't matter because of two important reasons: The rule of cool, and it doesn't break immersion. In such an emotional and high energy arc, a character overcoming their limitations to defeat an otherwise impossible opponent is pure hype. Reminds me of one of black clovers most famous moments, when Yami says "surpass your limits, right here, right now", or even gurren laggan. In a more grounded dramatic setting, an ass pull like this would be jarring and is likely to upset audiences; but in a light hearted, optimistic story like one piece it works perfectly (unless you over use it, then you get fairy tale). These sort of hype "ass-pull" moments are a big reason why shows like Dragon Ball and Bleach, along with some of the aforementioned shows, are so popular

After they get separated from Ussop, Zoro has a comment about each crew member getting stronger over their adventures just by going to the islands and adventuring. To me that's a conscious nod on Oda's part to let the readers know that there is growth happening off-screen. It reduces the need for Oda to do any training arcs unless they really fit. It makes a move like gear-2 "coming out of nowhere" into a non-problem. Well, I think it's supposed to at least. So to me gear-2 also felt totally in place.

This was the only review i was waiting for… I know Alex cried like a baby.. I did

Robin realizing she wants to live is the in my top 2 favorite moments, the other is a spoiler for thriller bark but . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As someone whose struggled with suicidal thoughts Brooke’s “death is never an apology” is such a powerful line

The art in the anime has a lot of killer episodes that you can skip filler episodes and you can like figure out which episodes are filler so I think that is fine I would say this is one of the last arcs of the anime that has any decent pacing because once they start thriller bark is where I start to notice that instead of adapting a couple Chapters every episode they adapt one And fill a lot of the time with a bunch of flashbacks to stuff we have already seen And it moves at the pace of sludge And we don't get as many filler episodes which again a Feller episode you could skip

We don't actually know how much training Luffy's got in Soru, because the first time he saw it, or at least an imperfect version of it, was in Syrup Village. Captain Kuro's trump card was, in fact, a version of Soru, and Luffy managed to see through it, so he might have been trying to emulate it ever since. And when he saw the correct way to use it, he got the final touches in, so to speak. And a bit of extra info on Gear Second in general, what Luffy does is an equivalent to real life Blood Doping. In high competition sports, many athletes (illegally) give themselves blood transfusions to increase their red blood cell count. The more blood cells, the more the muscles get oxygenated, the better they respond. What Luffy does is using his rubber body to pump blood faster, achieving the same end, more oxygen is delivered to the muscles so he is faster and stronger. In the anime it's portrayed perfectly, as his skin turns pink-ish (when you exercise your heart beats faster, your blood is pumped faster, your body gets hotter and redder), the steam represents the increased heat, and he breathes more heavily, as he needs a bigger oxygen intake as well, and his normal lung capacity is not enough. #AJPiece

48:50 When Spandam stands behind someone, it's because they're his shield. When Usopp stands behind someone, it's so he can back them up.

Tashigi is being trained /looked after by Smoker Smoker is close to Aokiji - as evidanced by the message smoker gave him for Luffy Aokiji was friends with Saul It is interesting how all these navy people who are more morraly nuanced are tied together There is another Navy person with ties to all of them with equally interesting morality but that would be spoilers