00:00:00 ⟾ Intro - Pudding vs. Hancock 00:00:54 ⟾ Characters - Pudding: twist, split, Linlin damage 00:03:28 ⟾ Characters - Pudding: Katakuri {a.k.a. Kamasui} parallels 00:03:51 ⟾ Characters - Pudding: Linlin damage, undoing, conflict 00:06:14 ⟾ Intro - Format: 3 parts 00:06:49 ⟾ Characters - Jinbei: role 00:07:44 ⟾ Plot - Linlin, Perospero 00:07:55 ⟾ Characters - Pudding: cute, Sanji dynamic 00:08:27 ⟾ Characters - Jinbei: helmsman 00:08:46 ⟾ Fights - Luffy vs. Katakuri 00:11:35 ⟾ Characters - Katakuri: design, backstory, Brûlée 00:12:51 ⟾ Characters - Katakuri: Luffy comparison 00:13:55 ⟾ Fights - Luffy vs. Katakuri 00:15:18 ⟾ Plot - Baking Cake: Sanji core, Linlin methods, citizens, Big Mom crew 00:19:16 ⟾ Characters - Sanji: chef vs. fighter, Cjiffon 00:21:27 ⟾ Themes - Loyalty, Family 00:24:27⟾ Characters - Pound 00:25:37 ⟾ Comedy 00:26:02 ⟾ Plot - Sulong Carrot, Zou foreshadowing, Brook 00:27:02 ⟾ Characters - Linlin: frenzy form 00:28:18 ⟾ Highlights - Crew Moments 00:29:30 ⟾ Characters - Luffy: vs. Katakuri 00:29:57 ⟾ Characters - Chopper 00:30:22 ⟾ Fights - Luffy vs. Katakuri: Flampe, mutual respect 00:33:04 ⟾ Fights - Luffy vs. Katakuri: Future Sight 00:33:41 ⟾ Fights - Luffy vs. Katakuri: forfeit end, theory 00:37:32 ⟾ Characters - Sanji & Pudding 00:40:05 ⟾ Plot - Pekoms: role 00:41:58 ⟾ Plot - Luffy success, Sanji, Germa 66 00:42:41 ⟾ Plot - Luffy success reaction 00:43:09 ⟾ Highlights - Luffy being carried out 00:44:20 ⟾ Plot - Germa 66, Big Mom crew 00:45:00 ⟾ Highlights - Sanji’s best qualities 00:45:31 ⟾ Plot - Escape: Sun Pirates rescue, Germa 66, Jinbei 00:47:40 ⟾ Plot - Sanji and Zeff serving food 00:47:57 ⟾ {a few moments later...} 00:48:16 ⟾ Characters - Linlin: child, tantrum, threat level, trauma, repression 00:54:11 ⟾ Plot - Dressrosa Parallels: common man representative, Pudding, detachment 00:56:41 ⟾ Characters - Linlin: nuance 00:57:01 ⟾ Overall - fantastical, length, themes, Sanji, side characters 00:59:34 ⟾ Wrap-up: Arc Tier List 01:00:05 ⟾ Outro 01:00:29 ⟾ [Promo] [Credits]

Sanji's moral code is to feed anyone who is hungry and it's his truest display of kindness. Sanji baking a cake seems mundane but in an arc where he was struggling to stay true to himself, it was an integral part of the narrative.

From adoring Pudding, to be betrayed, to then have conflicting feelings and finally absolutely loving her again. Merphy's arc with Pudding was truly a wholesome one and I love it.

There's much to be said about Luffy vs Katakuri, but what it boils down to is it's a fight between the man who always gets back up vs the man who never falls down. Luffy didn't "beat" Katakuri, but he defeated the perfect image that Katakuri felt he had to project to protect his family. You might be right that he's glad Luffy escaped because he sees him as someone who can take down Big Mom, but the main reason I think is because Luffy represents a way of life he previously thought to be unviable. Someone like Luffy, who doesn't hide who he is, his weaknesses, and who leans on others, being able to knock him on his back and escape from Mom successfully shows him that you can get by in this world without having to appear perfect. It frees Katakuri from the prison of perfection he's locked himself in for the sake of others. I think that, more than anything, is why he's glad Luffy escaped.

One of my favorite lines in One Piece comes from this arc, and it's when Katakuri says 'You're seeing really far into the future' It just hits so hard, and it perfectly encompasses what Luffy sees for himself and how he projects his vision onto others and makes them believe in him.

A lot of people miss the fact that Pudding serves as a dark parallel to Sanji. They both were originally kind hearted kids, but went through family abuse. However unlike Sanji she broke mentally & emotionally in order to "fit in". So when Sanji comes acts genuine to her it upsets her worldview.

I think the reason the fanbase gravitates to Merphy is for the FRESH takes and perspectives that we often miss from not engaging One Piece as a work of literature.

The way you describe Big Mom is the reason I'm so fascinated by her... she's both a terrible monster and a vulnerable little girl. She still has no idea that she ate her friends and mentor. She has no idea how or why she gets the hunger tantrums, she has no idea how or why she was born with such destructive strength. Her goals are admirable, but her methods are horrifying, because there was no one there to teach her better. There's a part of her that's still just a happy child, desperate for love and acceptance. Since the only parental affection she ever knew was fear, she treats her own family the same way out of a twisted sense of love. Utter domination is her love language.

On your final thoughts about Big Mom being an eternal child, my wife pointed out that her entire life’s purpose, with Totland and having every race joined together at a table for a banquet I’d simply her trying to relive her happiest (or maybe only happy) moment from her childhood. In that way, she’s a really tragic, yet still irredeemable, villain to me.

The amount of simbolism in Luffy vs Katakuri is insane. They fight in the mirror world They have mirrored devil fruits They have similar personality The only difference between them is their ideology: Katakuri hides his true self in order to protect people he loves, while Luffy acts as he wants to and trusts his family to take care of anything he can't. This mirrors (haha) the theme of this arc: the importance of being yourself. Sanji's conflict with his family is basically about not being cold hearted cyborg assassin they wanted him to be, but the story shows time and time again that Sanji is great at what he truly loves, and how important his kindness and good nature are. My favorite moment from this arc is when Judge starts calling Sanji worthless, because he has good heart, helps people around him without hesitation and can't be cold soldier, and then Luffy is like "Damn, why did he start non stop spitting compliments to you, weird" Also Pudding, who has been hiding her true self for her whole life. Man, I love thematic work in one piece, it is insane how many parallels between different characters are here Also, Katakuri has 1 bil and 57 million bounty, because Luffy's number in story in 56 (in japanese reads like "go-mu", "rubber"), and Oda loves to put this number on Luffy, so even in bounty Katakuri is "one-up" version. Attention to details, man, Oda is a legend

I agree that Sanji baking a cake is boring, but it's necessary to test his core moral. Remember in Baratie when he feeds Gin (the one starving pirate who wants to mess the restaurant), Sanji feeds him. Not because of what's good or what's bad, but because that's just his moral (which is resulted from him being stranded on a dessert island). He'll feed anyone who's hungry, enemy or not

Merphy, did you notice that the similarities and differences between Luffy and Katakuri's personalities are mirrored in their powers? Both mochi and rubber are malleable, but mochi STAYS in the shape it's warped into while rubber resets (imagine squeeing playdough versus a stress ball). Katakuri's persona is defined - molded, even - by the opinions of others (by external pressure), but Luffy couldn't care less what others say about him. Luffy would allow Bellamy to beat him senseless without fighting back, but Katakuri can't even let people see him lie down

I loved how when Pudding talked about how she deceived so many people, Sanji’s response was “Did that include yourself, Pudding?”

Big Mom is scary exactly because she's a child throwing a tantrum with the power to demolish continets. When he's in her right mind she's intellectually a 60+ yo but she's immature emotionally, she's essentially a huge spoiled kid and whenever she throws a tantrum she expects it to be satisfied and if it isn't she'll destroy nations. She was raised as a spoiled kid, able to get whatever she ever wanted, since both Caramel and Streusen manipulated her by satisfying every thing she ever wanted on a whim (and because nobody could really stop her in her tantrum, let's remember that she killed giants when she was like 5-6 years old xD). The way i see her is as a chaotic force of nature that sometimes can think clearly (and she's scary and manipulative and devious when she does), and that's what terrifies me. You take her candies? She will obliterate you, your friends, your family, your house, your land, your loved ones and her (childish) wrath will follow you to the end of the seas. And yes, her childhood trauma(s) definitely damaged her mentally to the point where she is now.

The word you were looking for regarding Pudding's upbringing was "groomed." Doesn't have to be bad thing, Vivi was groomed to be an excellent princess and future queen, but Pudding was groomed to be a useful, obedient doll. Get where you're coming from with Sanji "just baking a cake," but it's a cake that took the top chefs in Big Mom's queendom days to prepare with specialty ingredients from across the four blues and Sanji replicated the recipe BY SMELL and reproduced it on a time table that would make Buddy Valastro sweat. Luffy is still working his way towards Pirate King, but Sanji stole the title of Cake Boss. I remember when the arc was live, most wanted Sanji to throw hands (or feet, as it were) with his family, but Sanji was all "No time for that; I got to bake a legendary cake." It's a pitch perfect twist so unexpected and yet, so obvious.

My favourite moment from the whole arc was Bege's attack to save Chiffon; His speech to his son about showing him what kind of man his father is was far more than I ever expected from him as a character.

There's an important statement on racism that's often overlooked in this arc. Big Mom tries to force harmony between different races but often ridicules those with physical differences. Luffy on the other hand just accepts people for who they are regardless of their race or appearance. It's magnified by the fact that two of the most discriminated races in the Minks and Fishermen are the key pieces to the Straw Hats escape, with the Minks sacrificing themselves in Pekoms and Pedro and the Fishermen staying behind choosing Luffy over Big Mom. That whirlpool scene gives me chills everytime. It's subtle but it's there to see Odas statement. Whole Cake Island is packed with various themes and there's so much to unpack

The scene where brulee is taking care of katakuri after his fight and we see their back story and he tells her hes sorry he fell on his back and she says its ok she knows he lays on his back all the time because she see's him in the mirrors and yet shes been his hype man this whole time is so incredibly sweet it made me cry. Its gotta be my favorite scene from the entire post time skip.

Interestingly: Nami rarely feels like she gets a lot to do during arc climaxes but she has the second most dialogue in the Manga next to Luffy.

Personally, I kind of liked the rampaging Big Mom. In most arcs, Luffy faces down and eventually overpowers the bad guy. This is one of the rare occasions where they have to run for their lives. Face her head on and you lose. Run and she will follow you. She is a child throwing a tantrum, but my first impression was of a unstoppable, rampaging monster that really made me fear for the crew.

I like reading Big Mom as a dichotomy - she's literally the big mom, yet acts like a child at times. She is calculating and scheming villain (who planned the wedding, who's been an emperor for a long time, making allinences and then betraying said allinences), yet her ideals are navie.

[Spoilers ahead] I'd stick with my feeling that Big Mom is the scariest of all the enemies we've fought so far (present chapters included). Not only she's an emperor, but she's also a child; and there's nothing scarier than a whimsical, unpredictable and food-driven person with that kind of strength. She just straight up one-shotted Page One and blew a hole at Ulti just because of Tama. And then the next we saw her, she's trying to kill Tama. That's why she's my fave Yonkou.

The importance of cake is that ot again shows Sanji's true values: he will feed anyone, no matter how evil they are. Sanji is a character defined by his values: he ALWAYS sticks to his code, always does what he think is right, even at cost to himself. This again shows the most important theme of the arc:importance of being yourself. So yes, cake does not only show this theme in play once again, it also allows us to see one more important side of Sanji's character

We're perfectly happy for you to monologue as monologues = passion. And that's what we love to see. It doesn't matter if what you say is good or bad, as long as your passionate. There is nothing worse than someone talking about something they don't care about

Big Mom is an acquired taste lol I enjoy her layered chaos, but I love how every facet of her is explained in the manga. She's a jigsaw, the pieces are scattered around but as you piece it together the bigger picture is amazing. She's truly one of a kind. A monstrous antagonist held back by severe mental health issues, among other things (e.g. abandonment issues). Being a spoilt brat is the foundation of her power, her conquerors haki/will, as well as the crux behind her disfunctional family, and its not her fault that she turned out that way. She's an alternative version of luffy, in a world where he was born so strong that no adult dared to correct his mistakes or punish bad behaviour. So despite having good intentions she always hurts people. There's much more to her but I'll leave it at that. Once you're caught up, I hope you check out some of the analysis on her. I think Joyboy theories has a really interesting take on the big mom pirates as a whole.

There are some scenes from the anime I strongly recommend checking out. The reveal of Big Mom is one of them, Snake Man vs Katakuri is another. But the biggest one is probably episode 877. It's the final proper episode in WCI and the whole thing is set up like a musical. It's a wonderful send off to a wonderful arc.

On Zou, there were two separate occasions on which the minks said that someone (once Luffy, once Jack) was lucky that a full moon wasn't out, or the fight would have been different.

Lately every arc of one piece tops the previous arc.

The only thing better than being a one piece fan is seeing other fan's geek out as much as me!!! Great video 👌

In a world where your willpower is directly translated into fighting strength, "giving up" in a fight doesn't need to be a conscious decision. Katakiri acknowledging Luffy and wanting Luffy to win might have Lead to his defeat without Kata deciding to let Luffy win. Though I do agree with you that Luffy gave him a hope that he didn't know he was allowed to have before

Merphy's love for Pudding is so wholesome.

Remember in the Baratie Arc where Sanji is first introduced how Sanji fed Don Krieg and his whole crew knowing that they would attack the Baratie? Feeding the hungry, that's a core tenet of Sanji's code. No matter who you are, no matter what you did, if you're hungry Sanji will feed you, because he knows what it's like to starve. And if you want to fight after you're fed, well that's a separate matter.

I loved Pekoms involvement purely for the gag you know how Luffy falls for absolutely every disguise especially the most obvious ones where its clearly the person and then Pekoms comes in in disguise and Luffy is just like Oh hey Pekoms

Hey Merphy/Mods✌, I would recommend to cut act 3 of Wano into 3 Parts. Act 3 is already 78 chapters long. The same length as the Whole Cake Island Arc. That is how I would cut the parts: 958-974 975-1000 1000- The mods approve or change the cuts. I just want to share my thoughts so Merphy has a good experience with Wano👍

Jinbei helming the sunny is like a metaphor on how he's like this wise advisor who keeps Luffy and the crew in check on what's important. Such a boss.

I know people most likely said this already but sanji is a cook first and everything else second. Baking a cake that satisfies an emperor of the seas imo means a lot for his character (although luffy is the king of the pirates and he already loves his food)

Interesting that we have different takes. For me I liked that Oda kept it relatively simpler and that there was no "common man" here because it's the first post-timeskip arc we get that is truly Straw Hat-centric. It's the first instance in a while where they're really fighting for their own cause, kinda reminiscent of the Water 7 saga in terms of giving spotlight to the internal crew dynamics.

37:50 It's not only that Katakuri sees those qualities in Luffy, he also sees what he himself would've loved to become. When he was mocked as a child he craved for strength first, but when Brulee was attacked, he also hid himself. Strength and power were not enough to protect the people he cared for, and he thought hiding himself, even changing to a degree, was the way to go. Luffy, instead, is unapologetically himself 24/7. When the fight starts, Katakuri just sees an annoyance, basically telling Luffy ♫ Everything you can do, I can do better ♪. Later, than annoyance turned into disgust, as Luffy flaunted his flaws onto him. From there it became respect for a man that will leave his life on the line to protect those who cares. And finally, recognition towards the man who was able to accomplish what he could not. While Luffy proudly admits he is not perfect and he needs to rely on others to compensate for his flaws, Katakuri hides his, projecting this "perfect übermensch" persona. And he believes it himself, to some degree, which is also helped by him being physically stronger than everyone else, better at Obervation haki, and having a better version of Luffy's fruit, awakened on top of that. He honed his abilities to the maximum level in pursue of his objective to be this ultimate warrior everyone fears and admires. They both strive, from the bottom of their hearts, to protect those they care about above everything. And this fight taking place within the mirror world is perfect. Katakuri starts fighting the person who embodies everything he denies about himself, mirroring his darkest, most shameful version, yet the version he wishes he was able to be, and that angers him. But no matter how many times he proves to Luffy he is just better, Luffy will stand back up and continue pushing forward to protect those he cares about. As the fight progresses, Katakuri's despise, born of envy towards a man who was at freedom to be himself turned into admiration for the same reasons. Luffy is both what Katakuri loathes about himself, and what he wishes he could be (as that self-deprecation comes from fear). Throughout the fight Luffy fell a million times and got back up. In the end, when he was close to his limit and Luffy had already gone way beyond his own, Katakuri decided to take his first fall, and to stay down. The man who was standing as soon as he was born, whose back has never touched the floor. Katakuri started by fighting a mockery of himself: Inferior physically, with an inferior DF, and inferior in the way he chose to live his life, yet similar enough to him for it to be a insult. By the end he was fighting a superior version of himself. Not because Luffy suddenly became more powerful, or because he himself lost his might, but because he finally acknowledged and accepted that Luffy was doing what Katakuri wanted to do: being himself instead of hiding behind this monstrous façade of the perfect man. And all this happened in the mirror world Edit: oh, and Brûlée tending to his wounds after the battle mirrors him tending to hers when they were kids

This arc probably has one of my favorite Conquerer’s Haki clashes in the series. Luffy’s “they wont be able to stay standing” line and how he and Katakuri both just ignore the extras to focus solely on the fight in front of them is so good. It’s also a great way to show the “battle of wills” angle behind haki.

Oda did indeed drop a hint about the mink transformation during Zou. Can't remember the chapter but basically the dog guy talked about how Jack was lucky and that the next time they see him they'd show him the "true power of the minks". It was really subtle. Also, the next arc is super short (around 8-10 chapters) but it's REALLY dense with stuff and info so you can pretty comfortably make one full video of it I think.

You're actually right. Katakuri had no will or reason to continue fighting in the end. His image of perfection was shattered. So he stopped Grandline review has a video on it. It has no future spoilers. But it explains the fight beautifully

A few things about Big Mom -She doesn't remember anything that happens during hunger pangs -She doesn't know Sanji made "the best wedding cake ever" -Chopper has shown concern about her condition. Potentially implying that he might cure her in the future(be cause there's cure for everything in OP) -She genuinely thinks everything she does is for the greater good and anyone who opposes her is evil. That's how she justifies any evil doing she does -Her goals align with Luffy's. She's basically Luffy without emotional intelligence -If/when she finds out what happened during her birthday tea party, she will definitely be put in a much more vulnerable state than she was after the portrait broke. Revealing mother caramels true nature could also have a devastating effect on her. Whoever holds this information has the means to defeat her(cp0, giants)

I think something people tend to miss when it comes to Sanji baking the cake, is not JUST that it's part of his core morals, or that it's falling back into something familiar to him which helps him reaffirm his identity in an arc where he struggles with that, BUT ALSO. Sanji is a cook, and baking a cake to stop Big Mom's rampage can potentially save the crew, so it's not just because it's his moral to feed anyone who's hungry, it's that this is the most important thing Sanji can do right now to help the crew overall. People forget that even if baking a cake LOOKS boring, it's actually exactly where Sanji belongs to make use of his true strengths as a cook and the biggest contribution he can make to help fix the chaotic situation they're in.

Finally someone that gets and appreciates Pudding. your first 6 minutes of this vid did more to support the positive aspects of Pudding in the story then all of every other video I ever watched did. She really is tragically misrepresented as far as I know in the rest of the community. At least I was not the only one that ended WCI liking her entire part of it. I want Boa for Luffy and Tashigi for Zoro; but really the woman Sanji needs is Pudding. She deserves that much happiness some time in the future.

Luffy and Katakuri's fight is reflective of each other's personalities, powers, and talents. Having them battle in the mirror world just makes it more meta.

Katakuri takes off the scarf and takes off all of his misgivings, giving into the purity of this combat and a battle where none of that stuff matters. It's pure Wushu movie schlock and I love it. I'd also like to see you go back and do a video on Franky and Tom's family. The pure love and nurturing of Tom is so great and I feel like it got overshadowed by the HUGE reveals and all of the stuff going on with Robin. Which I completely understand, because it's one of the best arcs in the series, but if you're looking to make some character focused videos.

I love that you point out how Sanji's win- neutralizing Big Mom through his baking- makes his truest self shine. This is exactly what I thought when I read this arc.

While Pudding is very hit/miss in the One Piece fandom (personally I love her), I think what helps you enjoy her more than a lot of people is that you are not that familiar with anime/manga tropes. Namely, in this case - the tsundere (essentially - a character that flips between tempermental/affectionate when dealing with their romantic interest). It's a trope that was very popular in the 2000s (still common but not the the extent) so currently there is quite a bit of backlash againt it, and a lot of people have developed a strong aversion against it.

Have you seen the connection between Sanji's backstory with the Germa and what he called himself on the phone with Crocodile all the way back in Little Garden (in the wax house Mr. 3 made on the dinosaur island). He called himself Mr. Prince, a small nod to him being a prince of the Germa Kingdom

Big Mom is easily my 2nd favorite villain, competing for Doflamingo’s top spot. Her relentless greed and cruelty backed up by staggering power is jaw-dropping. She really is all the worst qualities of an unkind child never tempered by a willingness to understand anything beyond how it can serve her wants. I understand how her Wedding Cake stupor is a big downgrade in the dialogue department but it doesn’t detract enough for me to lose so many points. I think it doesn’t bother me as much because the whole reason she’s in that state is because Bege’s plot with the Straw Hats succeeded, they did this to themselves and had to scramble to undo it.

Luffy is made of rubber, he literally AND figuratively bounces back. Every time. Truly an encouraging message.

I actually like the monologue, it feels like you understand the story instead of just telling us what we all know. Like this review is fucking awesome, half way through and not taking my ears off the review.

I agree so much with this fight, I'm all about romance and friendship and wholesome stories, but this fight was SO AMAZING. I ended up loving Katakure and Luffy GROWING so much during the fight! with the Rayleigh flashbacks! It was incredible.

I love how this arc explores themes of parenthood, toxic family dynamics, and the struggle to love oneself when raised in such a damaging environment. Pudding’s upbringing completely mirrors Sanji in the way that their families just chip away at their own self worth until they actually start to believe their so-called “flaws.” And what’s heartbreaking is that she’s still trapped in that awful place, but she’s still capable of so much love. And her final goodbye to Sanji is such an incredible yet painful act of love: she doesn’t want to hold him back from his own happiness, even if it means letting him go…

Luffy and Katakuri realised they needed to become the strongest they could be to protect those they love So Katakuri became a man who would never fall and Luffy became a man who would always get back up Partnered with their very simmiliar powers this is a beautiful example of the Red Oni vs Blue Oni trope common in japanese fiction and shonen manga specifically

Holy cow, maybe a character analysis of Big Mom and her relationship to her children would be an awesome One Piece Video, you could talk about Pudding, Katakuri, and anyone else you wanna talk about

Was so looking forward to seeing Merphy's take after meeting the 3rd face of Pudding. 1st two takes were picture perfect and I was not disappointed to see Merphy grappling with the more nuanced view Oda leaves us with. Merphy's ability to remember the names of characters in the series rivals Luffy at times but she really gets OP and it's nice to see. Can't wait for Wano.

I think a lot of people had a problem with Pudding because her constant shifts were kinda annoying week to week, but now that the arc of finished and we have the whole picture, I really like her.

Having the Patrons on hand for character names is great! I have a vague memory when the Jinbe steering the ship first happened. Somebody in the discussion for the chapter said: "It appears that the fusion of Nami's great navigation skills and Jinbe's understanding of sea currents... is positively RADICAL!" Something like that. Jinbe surfing the entire Sunny is fantastic. You were correct. It is Advanced Observation Haki. Lola's twin is named Chiffon (shiff-on), although you'll probably run into her a lot less after this arc. Sanji's sister is named Reiju (ray-juu). The Minks transform only if they look directly at the full moon, quick clarification. Now you've seen the panel of Luffy telling Jinbe that he'll wait for him in Wano, which many of us fans have used whenever we've convinced others to read the story ever since the Wano arc began. It's very fun. "She's very large for her size!" Ah yes, I too am also very old for my age. I honestly felt Whole Cake Island was the first post-timeskip arc to come close to the Enies Lobby Arc. I don't know if I liked it more because I enjoyed it through pages weekly, rather than binge-ing the anime for Enies Lobby back when I was in high school, but it's definitely comparable. Oh well, now it's time for the REVERIE! Woo!

Also, what I really love about the cake thing is the way it plays into what is unique about Sanji's character. Oda could have given him a really sick fight like Luffy vs Katakuri, but instead he is using his food to feed. He feeds people when they are hungry and that's what he does for Big Mom. Much like his introduction, he is feeding his enemies. Does it logically make the most sense? No of course not, but good characters dont always do what is logical at the moment, they do what their character would do in that moment and Sanji would always feed someone who is hungry.

Merphy, your opinion on Pudding is extremely controversial. Everyone hated her, found her annoying, claimed she made no sense and it was a stupid nonsensical thing Oda did with her. THANK YOU FOR LOVING HER!!! You just proved me right lmaooooo

I hate being so late to these that I'm certain you'd never read this, but you seem a bit torn up about how Sanji didn't know how Pudding really felt. I believe that Sanji is able to understand her true feelings. I would point you to when he was being (temporarily) betrayed by Violet/Viola, back in chapter 712, Sanji saw through her act even though she didn't appear to give any external hints about her inner conflict. He said he looked into her eyes and knew the truth. And if that wasn't enough, I'd also point you back to Water 7 when, after Robin said she would never return to them, and Chopper asked if Robin hated them now, he told her that "a real man forgives a woman when she lies" - meaning he saw through her deception and knew what her true feelings were. He knew what Puddings true feelings were, but out of respect for her he let her go back to her family. Sanji can understand the heart of maidens, 100%.

I’m not sure if things played out differently in the manga, but in the anime I think it was made pretty clear that Katakuri forfeited the fight. Right before falling on his back he asks “Will you come back to take down Big Mom someday?” And after Luffy answers yes, that’s when he falls to the ground. It was such an amazing scene, I love this arc so much.

Book tuber falls in love with the Tsudere archetype... Though to be fair, Pudding is a rare Tsudere that I actually like (Emi from The Devil is a Part-Timer got, Haru from Nisekoi are the other two I like)

I'm curious Murphy if your familiar with the anime trope of the tsundere? The trope plays out usually with a female character (often a love interest) acting harsh towards a guy before mellowing out over time and showing a softer side. Some of the most irritating characters in this trope can seems to fill flop between harshness and kindness. And this often happens within the same scene for comedic purposes. I think this character trope and and over exposure to it could explain some of why some of the One Piece fandom has a distaste for Pudding. While you have grown to love her.

I love Big Moms backstory purely based on how open it is to head canon and theories like I have a different read on what you said but both are great ideas it makes you a part of the storyteller which I love.

I finished Whole Cake Island today and immediately binged these videos and its most def the best arc of the post time-skip era imo and it's only outdone by Water 7 and Marineford in the best arcs of OP. Pudding's character (and in connection, Katakuri too) were very impactful for me because anyone who grew up being ashamed of something about themselves - grew up poor, had a disfigurement - anything people can ridicle you for not only strives their their whole lives for peer acceptance but also internalises that shame. In Pudding and more Katakuri, they became supercompitant in something so they are always needed and have public respect. Pudding and Katakuri got acclaim whilst hiding who they really were. When Pudding encountered someone who loved her for her true self her psyche broke because though Sanji accepted her, she did not accept herself and her evil schizo side is that hatred she internalised coming up to the surface and self-sabotaging her which Oda plays for laughs but it's actually something that happens with people with low self-esteem who can't accept hearing anything good about themselves because they've internalised so much negativity that they think its true. With Katakuri putting on this macho front but making a special space where he can lay on his back and show his mouth - essentially be himself - was really tragic though its presented as comedic. Battling a rival who doesn't ridicule him for seeing him at his most vunerable and encountering his kid sister Flampe who does - I think created an important shift inside him. Flampe loved his projected self whilst Brulee loved him for who he was. As someone who has dealt with similar issues in my own life these two characters really stood out to me and how they fit into this arc's other themes and stories is sheer genius

I agree with your interpretation of the Katakuri "defeat", Luffy is an opponent worthy of Katakuri admitting defeat and finally taking away the crushing expectations that Katakuri family put on him.

I love pudding! After seeing her so conflicted about her feelings due to EVERYTHING that’s happened to her, she feels very genuine, like her true self is still fighting to come out. I know she isn’t a top pick for next straw hat, but I would love to see Luffy make good on his statement to make room for her on the ship.

this is the best post time-skip arc for me. after being in the background for 3 arcs sanji getting his own arc was a delight to read. oda called it a year of sanji and oh god did he deliver. wholecake did so much for him so many emotional moments that had me crying it's 10/10

Your analysis is emphatic, genuine, sensational! Your smile & shakey voice when you get excited literally gives me serotonin This story has so much to offer, so excited to see you dig right into the themes and literary devices of this monolithic, to some- daunting, work You’re so appreciated and welcome in this community! It’s always obviously super satisfying having someone intelligent corroborate that one of your favorite things is indeed AWESOME, but also, you genuinely breathe so much fresh air into discussions regarding this story! So much to LOVE here, thanks for taking the time to give us this

sanji feeding big mom to me is the same as him feeding krieg, the man will not let a person go hungry

I highly recommend to watch the musical songs of this Arc from the anime. They made the Arc special and I absolutely love them!😁

im so happy you're a pudding lover she's such a fantastic character and foil to sanji. such a wonderful and underrated and misunderstood character and i am SO happy we might be getting more from her soon with the little snippet we got recently in animanga

In chapter 861 someone asks about Mother Caramel and Big Mom shouts at the “Don’t presume to trespass on my memories!” I remember reading a theory that Pudding was told either by Big Mom or that Streusen guy to remove her memories of Mother Caramel disappearing , which is why she freaked out so much. She’s somewhat aware of her memories altered

Pudding is a fantastic character. Puddings turn when she is trying to come off as uncaring and unfeeling still while uncontrollably just enjoying Sanji's presence is brilliant. Reading it week to week got occasionally annoying, but when reading the arc as a whole it's so effective. And what I think is really nice about it is Sanji's simping in this arc kinda takes a different form. It is not his same weird creepy stuff he occasionally does, its not his obsessive doting, rather it is just an unconditional care for Pudding. That is what breaks her. Big Mom's love is conditional, many of her siblings love is conditional, Sanji cared for her unconditionally even when she betrayed him. It's kinda the perfected version of what happened with Viola. A good man always sees through a womans lies. I still think that line itself is... not great, but the context around it in this arc especially is fantastic.

Merphy, all of your One Piece are amazing, but this one was 100% spot on. I think this was my favorite.

I love reliving One Piece all over again through you, Merphy. Thank you for your videos.

In the anime, I was so tired of the fight and flight, that I was actually far more interested in the baking of the cake. I was loving Pudding falling apart every time Sanji spoke to her and his cool cooking skills being appreciated by arguably the best fellow cooks in the world. I hope and pray they get together in the distant future lol, they're adorable!

Sanji doesn't get enough credit for the wedding cake. He was able to recreate it without a single taste and the Design out of short memory. Cooking is also the reason he found the will to flee from Germa. Not to forget the cake stopped Big Mom enough to let them escape. I loved the tragic love Story between Sanji and Pudding so much. I'm quite convinced they'll meet again someday. 💖 The last panel with Sanji and Zeff was truely chef's kiss! 👑

Personally LOVE the monologues. Your perspective as an avid reader n story teller is super interesting to hear, by far favorite parts of the video!!🙌🏾

The thing with Boa and Pudding is that Boa's character moment isn't over yet while Pudding got all the big moments she will ever get. Boa will be a major player in the future again if what Oda said was true

Nami has with Luffy the most panel time and character moments. Sometimes they are small and sometimes they are bigger. Especially in this arc she had a lot of moments. She just hasnt had a decicated fight. She is is the captain when Luffy is gone maybe together with zoro

We love the way you present the reviews. The way you gush, monologue… everything. Continue doing it the way you do it.

That’s exactly right about the conclusion of luffy vs Katakuri. There were two battles going on, the mental and physical battle. Katakuri won the physical battle in every aspect, although luffy got close at the end. No doubt in that. However, luffy won the mental battle. Katakuri had insecurities about how he looks and had the weight of being the “perfect fighter” on him. Katakuri never fell down, luffy never stayed down. Throughout the battle, Luffy wore kata down to the point where he respected him and realized he could lift the weight of his insecurities and the looming threat of big mom. He had no more reason to fight, as luffy had broken him down and Katakuri wanted luffy to win to take down big mom. Katakuri forfeited the physical battle, yet he lost the battle of wills.

As a chef personally, Sanji is so relatable.

Man I love your videos so much! These are the discussions about this series I've been dying to see and have for years and years! There is so much incredible writing in this series, and the themes and symbolism, the sometimes incredibly subtle character work, and what the story is *about*, and what a long game Oda is playing with so many of these things. It's worthy of so much more discussion and attention than it gets in the fandom, and your videos have actually gotten me back into the series because I'm so excited about these things! I followed your videos before you started reading One Piece, but it's been so nice to fall in love with this series all over again through this channel. Your headcanon analysis of Big Mom basically living in a state of arrested development due to childhood trauma, and her never truly being able to emotionally grow up despite physically being an adult and having many children and grandchildren and being an Emperor and a ruler and incredibly powerful-- that's all exactly how I read this, too. And especially as a really interesting mirror for Sanji and why this arc is potentially really important for him besides just revealing his back story to us. Sanji's whole thing with women and his reverence for them and his need to please them just seems *so* childlike to me on re-reading the series, and he also had this incredibly traumatizing childhood experience that he probably was never able to process or come to terms with. Especially since before this arc he didn't even know the whole story of what happened with his mother and the choices she made and why. But this opportunity for him to revisit his family and his trauma at a point where he can understand it more fully, and get more insight into what was going on and to understand the circumstances more fully, and most importantly, to have the ability to recognize his own agency as an adult and to be able to have power in regards to his father's demands and a choice about who he is as a human being, is really, really important. This isn't just about Sanji fully recognizing who his real father is, and who his real family is, and deciding for himself what he wants his life to be; it's also a chance for him to confront his trauma, to understand it and process it as an adult, to be able to ask his wounded inner child what he wants and to gain some self-compassion and self-worth. To hopefully be able to see the potential path of his prideful and controlling father who only values physical strength, and to see Big Mom as an overgrown child who treats family as a collection of toys and who never had to learn self-control, and step off the path of becoming like either of them. Gaah! There's so much more to delve into in this arc in terms of childhood trauma, what it can do to people, and the different ways that's expressed through this entire arc across many characters, but yeah, there's just so much specifically with Sanji that I'm still mulling over in my head and revisiting. There's also the ever-ongoing theme of exploring what it is that makes a truly great leader, and boy contrasting Luffy against Judge and Big Mom-- those two who rule through power and fear, who demand absolute loyalty and self-sacrifice, who do not value the people beneath them beyond how useful they are, versus Luffy who is willing to let members of his crew go if it's truly what they want because he doesn't want anyone to forsake their true selves to stay with him... just, yeah, there's a lot to unpack in there, too. Especially since Luffy is also very immature, prideful, and gluttonous in a lot of ways, so these two are great mirrors to hold up to him here, too! Also, yes, thank you for shouting out Nami and Brook and Chopper in this arc, too. They get overlooked so much, and do not get nearly enough to do in the story a lot of the time. There's so much going on through this arc and they still get overshadowed a lot, but they have so many amazing moments to shine as well (especially Nami and Brook), so thank you for remembering them. Lastly, there's a line at the end of this arc that gave me chills when I read it and is so interesting to contemplate when looking over this entire arc, but especially with Sanji and Pudding as characters, and really ties into the symbolic importance of the wedding cake: the danger of sweetness.

I would love to watch a full video about Pudding. She's such a great and elaborate character, it's amazing. Unfortunately many people in the fandom hate her because the debate is reduced to "should Sanji stay with her at the end of the series or not", which is disappointing. It's incredible how Oda handled the reader's feelings towards her, making her loveable-despicable-loveable again

I assume that your patreons already told you this but you should really watch animated "snakeman gear 4". It's actually a really hyped up power that's really well loved by the fandom ❤ Also "who really won the katakuri vs luffy fight" divided the fandom for a minute hahah

Sanji feeds anyone who is hungry. Friend or Foe alike. Because of what happened on the island he was stranded on with Zeff as a child. Luffy vs Katakuri in anime is beautiful. Love your detailed reactions. 👍 Katakuri is 48 years old btw 🤣

You hit on it here but many of us always thought of big mom as a child. She was always childish and because she was so strong no one made her grow up. For your reread make note of how many times the Straw Hats and alliance get away with something because one of her children lies out of fear. That will give you an idea of the family. Also how easliy they are ready they are to betray each other. Like the daughters working to kill her or Flampe the Katakuri simp. As soon as she sees him as not perfect she completely turns on him and spits on him.

No matter which arc it is if Jinbei is present he is the MVP

Some of my favorite moments in the series are in this arc: Sanji explaining why he didn't leave his blood family to die, Luffy saying he needs to beat the billion berry man, Katakuri commenting how Luffy is looking " far into the future" when he tells him his dreams, and I firmly believe that moment with Jimbei and Luffy at the end is when Luffy fully takes on the mantle of captain, he has grown up SO much over this series, but we've never seen him have to pull rank on any of his crew before - that moment has a lot of meaning, and heading into the next arc it feels like such a turning point. I can sorta understand where a lot of people come from when they say they dislike this arc, but there's just SO much going on here under the hood - it's pretty masterful. I also just LOVE how you underline & gush over so many characters that dont get too much attention! I loved Pudding my first read through, but I feel like so many of the side characters who show up for an arc or two just don't get nearly the attention they deserve. But here you are highlighting Rebecca, highlighting pudding, and Vivi - really pointing to these moments that they have changed our crew, really pointing to their lives. What I love so much about One Piece going from pre to post time skip is how the story changes to being about our crew changing and growing to them being a catalyst for the growth and change in others, I still love every crew moment we get to see - but it's such a wonderful thing to see them move through this world and make such a dramatic difference in the stories of other people! One Piece is such a wonderful story, unlike anything i'd ever read - or likely will read again! The only thing I think i'd change is how Oda insists of drawing women!

aww I love that you like Pudding so much, I came to love her a lot as well and sometimes it feels like people brushed over her character a lot past the inital plot twist, and didnt fully appreciate her so I'm glad you truly see how great she is

21:36 come on, most people here have read OP several times. We are here exactly for the monologs. That is why we like long videos (we also want to re-live the story, but that is secondary).

I know that Pudding is popular. But I love how I´ve finally found somebody who loves her character for the same reasons that I do. Well said.

Thank you for your review, it's always such a joy seeing you analyze the story and even enjoy it on the same level we have for years now. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Merph: "Man, I'm sorry, but there's a lot of characters here." * laughs in Wano *

The final chapter of this arc is one of my favourites in the whole series. Pudding crying and deleting her own memories of Sanji, Carrot patting Sanji's head trying to console him over while tears stream down her face, Katakuri's smirk and especially the last panel; with Sanji and Zeff both serving up a plate of food saying 'I'll feed anyone!' They're all standout moments and perfect capstones to their character arcs.

Finally someone who loves Pudding as much as I do 😄