One Piece, Chapter 1134: The Owl Library
An interesting chapter! One Piece slowed down a bit in the previous chapter to give us the rather slower and emotional reunion between Robin and Saul. A chunk of this episode is also a lot of worldbuilding which I won't belabor on too much about.
We get a bunch of nice scenes as Saul recognizes that Robin has finally found her family; we get another 'mass crying' scene from the other Straw Hats, and some fun little connective tissue as the Straw Hats are welcomed to Elbaf. Lilith show up and introduces herself to Saul, and Lilith casually reveals that she had Jinbe bring along a clone tank -- and it's not a satellite, but a perfect clone of Vegapunk as he was 20 years ago. Lilith plans to build a new lab in Elbaf, which might be the exit for this character. I must say that I absolutely hate this 'twist', especially after Lilith herself is already "Vegapunk surviving". I've always had a problem with the fake-out deaths, and while Saul might be a bit of an exception... this one isn't something I like. Especially since it seems like they're also going to fix Kuma.
We then get introduced to the aforementioned worldbuilding. We meet the assistant Ange, and a bunch of schoolchildren in Walrus Folk School and their teacher Ripley. What's more interesting are the attitudes of the children, however, who are all pacifists and are taught by Ripley and the other teachers to be pacifistic and hate war. Luffy and Usopp are confused by the fact that these are 'lame' giants, so much that they get offended at Zoro saying the word 'brat'. I feel -- and I hope -- that this is going to lead to something a bit more nuanced in terms of a previously war-heavy culture transitioning to a more peace-oriented one, and the growing paints that it will face. Subjects like the romanticization of war versus the necessity of an armed force... I don't know how deep Oda will go with this, but New Fishman Island for all its less-than-stellar popularity did a great job with tackling systemic racism.
Anyway! We don't get anywhere that deep at all in this chapter, just some setup about the clashing perspectives. We get some background on King Harold, who had some ideas to revolutionize Elbaf as such and clashed with the other Graybeards from other villages. There is some talk about the Nika form being recognizable to the giants, and Ripley wants to see it.
We get a really nice scene too of Saul bringing Robin to the library. We get the revelation that it's a strange space (probably another Devil Fruit awakening result) which is able to cause books to shift into a size readable by giants -- and that Saul kept all the Ohara books safe. It's a bit of a nice thing to see here, and to also get around the logistical problem that the books are human-sized. Mostly, I'm just happy to see Robin happy.
Two non-Straw-Hat scenes then happen. First up is Loki, still chained down in the Realm of the Dead. He's talking to someone addressed to as 'Mosa', who we only see via den-den mushi. Apparently he's someone with a beard. Loki notes that they've never met face-to-face, and they discuss a common 'true fear' that motivates Mosa. Loki also notes how he would've 'slaughtered the lot of them' if he was in Mosa's face, and gets pissed off at Mosa when he says that he doesn't want to fight back. Again, still no idea what Loki's whole deal is, although right now he admittedly is giving me the vibes of someone who talks himself up more than he is actually violent about.
More scarily, a huge explosion of black haki appears in the Western Village where the giants are partying... and two figures appear from a pentagram circle. The same one that summoned the Gorosei. And out of it steps... a cloaked SHANKS. And another person with bandages around her lower face. But Shanks! We see only the right side of his face, and this might be the whole 'Shanks's twin/clone' theory that has been floating around for years now ever since Shanks appeared at the Reverie. And... twin, clone, Shanks actually being evil... I'm not sure what is the real answer here, but it sure is a huge curveball that this seems to be a main antagonist for this arc!
Great stuff, great cliffhanger. I won't even begin to speculate! The Loki stuff is neat enough, but dropping the Shanks-clone bombshell? That's awesome. Anyway, I don't think I'll have much time to write blog posts until 2025 (though you guys might see some pre-written ones). See you guys next year!
Random Notes:
- The colour cover spread is a homage to Yao Kazuki, the SUPERRRRR voice of Franky (and also other characters like Bon Clay and Jango), who had to step down from his role earlier this month due to health reasons. He is, I think, my favourite voice actor among the Straw Hats ever since I first saw his performance in the original Japanese version of Strong World due to how much he fits the eccentricity of the character on the page. We wish you a speedy recovery, Mr. Yao.
- There was some rumbling in the last couple of chapters that Loki might've infiltrated and impersonated Luffy, and I'm glad this episode put a huge kibosh to that. That would've made the Robin/Saul moment feel so terrible if that was actually a 'twist'.
- It's a brief sequence, but Saul notes that he knows the significance of Luffy being promoted to a Yonko. Does this mean that the Yonko existed when Saul was active as a Vice-Captain? That's interesting. Even assuming Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom are still around, who was the fourth that Shanks replaced? Was it Shiki?
- I do like that Bonney is rather comfortable with the Straw Hats and spends most of her screentime around them in her natural child form.
- Oh, of course the Straw Hats find themselves standing on Ripley's cleavage, and Ripley is a hot lady. Of course.
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