One Piece 1050 Review: Eruption

One Piece, Chapter 1050: Honor

I wasn't the most satisfied with 1049's ending to the Luffy/Kaido fight, but I did say that I would reserve judgement until this chapter confirms whether it's the actual end or not. And... and now that I have, I think I can safely say that I'm slightly underwhelmed? It's not a terrible ending, I don't think. But it's not a great, cathartic ending -- not in the way that Doflamingo's defeat felt. It's not a tense ending, not in the way that Whole Cake or Marineford ended. It's just a bit... messy? Unlike many people who were apparently led on by some interview-or-other, I wasn't disappointed by the fact that Luffy used a giant Bajrang Gun punch on Kaido -- what else would Luffy do? A super-gigantic Bazooka, I guess? But it's rather the fact that it didn't feel... complete. Kaido did get a flashback, yes, but we really don't fill in a lot of the gaps about his motivations (particularly the death-seeking part), and I think the internet's done a greater job at listing things that seem to point at Kaido getting back up after 1049. I personally didn't think that was going to happen, but... but I did hold up hope for more flashbacks or depth about Kaido, about Joy Boy, about Kaido's motivations... more stuff like that. 

At least Kaido was sent out with a bit of a bang. A literal big bang, anyway, as Kaido and Big Mom apparently drilled a hole all the way to the active pocket of magma (lava?) underneath the thin Mount Fuji... and, jumping ahead a little, we got a huge-fuck-off volcanic eruption to presumably send them flying into the distance, Team Rocket style. 

The narrator gets a cheeky bit of saying that 'the declared victor is revised', which... okay, you cheeky bastard, you omniscient narrator, you. (Yamato also catches Luffy, so he doesn't die from fall damage. Not that I expect Luffy to die, mind you. That's less likely than any of the wild theories about Wano's ending.)

And... and the episode cuts to Tenguyama and Toko in the flower capital. And... just like the first Hiyori confrontation in the midst of Gear Fifth a couple chapters back, it's honestly a pretty good scene. It doesn't feel redundant like the pre-Denjiro-cuts-off-Orochi's-head flashback. Toko and Tenguyama's conversation, discussing the importance of a fight and sacrifice, and calling back to Yasuie's death (a moment that I have a much greater feeling for, having reread the arc and watched it in the anime). There's no greater honour than to be respected for sacrifice, and Toko amends her message from "I want to see you daddy" to  "thank you daddy".

...and then we cut to Nekomamushi informing the battlefield of the victory, and we get a pretty grand two-page spread of all the characters reacting to this news. There's also a bit later on of some Beasts Pirates goons trying to continue to fight, but Yamato puts in no uncertain terms that she will kanabo the shit out of anyone who raises a fuss. 

A bit interesting, though, is Usopp and Franky running in with their respective wounded charges -- Kin'emon, Kiku, Zoro -- and Chopper just being overwhelmed with the sheer amount of casualties that are mounting. I do think we really need to address these guys in the next couple of chapters -- particularly Zoro's weird encounter with the Grim Reaper or whatever. And whether all the Kin'emon death flag... wink-wink-nod hints are going to amount to anything.

Interestingly, we get a scene of Momonosuke talking to Zunesha, and him deciding to not open Wano's borders just yet. We don't really get an elaboration on his reasonings yet (which I assume next chapter should give us?) because the aforementioned volcanic eruption happens, witnessed by Babanuki and the other wardens in Udon Prison. 

It's this giant volcanic eruption that finally alerts everyone to the fact that, hey, a gigantic battle has been happening nearby. Dragon-mode Momonosuke descends on the Flower Capital, declares that he's not Kaido, that Kaido is defeated... and that's where the chapter kind of abruptly ends. Momonosuke lands and de-transforms out of his dragon mode, Hiyori steps out and everyone recognizes her, and Denjiro shows up, about to recap the whole damn arc while announcing the shogun of Wano. 

...which I really hope is going to either be Hiyori or a joint leadership. Sure, Momo might look like Oden, and he might have matured by a fair bit, but leading a resistance movement and leading a country are two wholly different things! 

...we still haven't had a proper reveal of adult human-mode Momonosuke, too. That'd be next chapter, I imagine. 

...and, again, I feel like the pacing's kind of wonky. I'm not sure. I guess there were just big moments and payoffs that felt like they weren't given the proper justice that they deserved (like Momo holding up the flame clouds; Kaido's motivation about being a death-seeker) or maybe some scenes that might've benefited by being shown in a different order (the flashbacks leading up to Orochi's beheading, Denjiro not literally being MIA for a real-life year)... and even the fact that this chapter still plays a bit coy with showing the defeated villain's face. I don't know. One Piece isn't perfect, not by a long shot, and for all intents and purposes this chapter does feel like this arc is over... but I do have the feeling that we might have a couple more surprises down the line. 

Random Notes:

• So despite many, many theories I've seen online, the two figures that show up to save Yonji and Niji are... Ichiji and Reiju. Nothing too surprising, but I honestly don't expect anything super-groundbreaking in the cover story? I'd be pleasantly surprised, but I'm not disappointed that we didn't get anything super wow.
• Ichiji is straight-up choking a little girl. Poor Ananana!
• Other random plot threads that haven't really been resolved: Apoo! Apoo is just... there, reacting in the crowd. I am genuinely shocked he survived the whole arc without a proper takedown. 
• That one CP-0 agent did get away from Wano, so we might have the World Government or Marines coming in after Denjiro gives his big epic 'wrap up the succession plot' speech or something. 
• I guess another point to why I dislike the 'Kaido and Big Mom will get up, we'll get Act 4 and 5' is that... shit, we've been in Wano for a long while. I like the arc, I like these characters, but I kinda want us to move on?
• I'm almost certain Orochi and Ashura Doji might be dead. But then I remember Pell, and Kin'emon running around as a lower body while farting after Kaido bisected him.