One Piece 778 Review: Fastball Special

One Piece, Chapter 778: Tactics #5

So in this chapter we wrap up the Zoro/Pica fight at last, and I do like how it's done, how Zoro doesn't just Mary Sue his way and murder Pica and actually uses some strategy involving the few minor characters he met up with in his many previous glimpses of fight scenes.

And the Jinbe cover story finally shows a major relevance since its inception with Jinbe discovering a Poneglyph in one of the ruins, which was definitely not what I was expected. It's not really a big ground-breaking thing, but I guess the Poneglyphs will come into play sometime in the future with the whole missing century thing and it's nice that the rambling insanity that is Jinbe's cover story actually has some payoff.

We start off with, of course, a little recap of last chapter's final scene with everyone just reacting to the giant Pica golem with all the gross veins on his back gunning for King Riku. Also, Sai survives his little squish from last chapter which isn't really a surprise. King Elizabello wants to help out his old friend Riku with his King Punch, but Zoro, who has met him a bit before (even if he forgets what his name or country are) stops and asks Elizabello to give him two minutes.

Zoro then recruits the aid of Warden, er, Admiral Orlumbus to help him fly, as in an X-Men Fastball Special via Orlumbus' 'Admiral Killer Bowling', one of the most ridiculous attack names in One Piece yet. Which, while kind of cliched, is still pretty fucking cool. We get these soldiers firing cannons at Pica's face and King Riku just shouting at Pica to just aim for him. We get one of those 'the king is so noble' scenes with Riku ordering Tank and Viola to evacuate everyone else except for him. And Usopp is just freaking the hell out.

Zoro, meanwhile, is being launched towards Pica and his sword starts getting engulfed in Haki. As Pica tries to squish Riku rather slowly, Zoro is just flying towards him reciting this little Buddhist mantra. Over the nine mountains and eight seas and the earthly realm and all that, making it quite freaking cool, before declaring that there's nothing he cannot cut... while his face is being pulled backwards by the shear force which is funny.

Pica gloats over how a peaceloving idiot like Riku cannot even protect his own country and his powerlessness means he isn't fit to be king. Riku talks about how he's not going to kill anyone ever again and Pica says something along the lines of all good people die early and Usopp is screaming the fuck out.

And then, of course, a two-page spread with Zoro slicing Pica's giant golem form cleanly in half with his 'Santoryu Ougi: Daisen Sekai Ichidai Sanzen'. And while this is what we expected, really, Pica getting sliced in half again... it still looks pretty fucking badass with Zoro's little mantra and how the attack's name was given out bit by bit as he flies. And the next page? We get a little establishing shot, and Zoro realizing that the true Pica has moved onto the upper half, before slicing that giant chunk of Pica in half. Again, another great visual.

Everyone's just all reacting while Zoro is noting that half of Pica is still moving while the other half is dead, deducing that the true body has to retreat to one of the halves that he cuts. So Zoro slices off Pica's arm, and when the 'head' of the giant golem goes dead Zoro slices the arm apart. And Pica himself comes out of the remnants of his giant arm, all clad in Haki like a true gladiator, and talks about his Haki and whatnot. Zoro, meanwhile, calmly states that his Haki is better, repeats the mantra that 'of the nine mountains and eight seas, there is nothing I can cut'... and then finishes Pica off with Sanzen Sekai, the very first Santoryu Ougi from way back during his first fight against Mihawk.

Pica is finally down, with a shit-ton of slashes and a broken helmet, revealing his rather... normal-looking face. As Pica's true body tumbles down and Zoro returns to where King Riku and the rest are, the rubble from Pica's giant golem form plummets down onto them... at which point King Elizabello launches a King Punch that destroys the rubble, or at least sends it flying down to crush unimportant people the space behind where King Riku, Zoro, Usopp and the rest are.

Overall just a cool take-down-Pica chapter and while there isn't really much tension to it I thought it was a hell lot cooler than how Diamante was taken out. It's simple, but it makes use of some minor characters and Zoro is just a gigantic badass all around. Next up? Bring us Law and Luffy and Doflamingo and Bellamy!