#Seafloor Sidestory

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Okay now I have a problem. You can whomp some commoner kid for half-assing his runny nose, you can whomp your daughter. I kid. I love how we balance this forceful orator with a loving mother. Any scene with Otohime and the kids is so heartfelt, one of them we’ll get to even being legitimately one of my favorite moments in the series. Young Shirahoshi and her brothers are so cute! They’re a group of siblings that don’t really get the credit they deserve, I quite like the group dynamic they bring to the table. Shirahoshi is fun and her brothers are all very noble.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

That right there might just be the realest four panels in this entire series. First off, it will pair exceptionally well with the Crane Wife theme in Wano much later. Everyone has their limit, and strong women like this don’t want to show that side. It has a lot to say about the overall story here, how much this setback is taking a toll on her. How Neptune is just completely lost here.

That said, I like it for a simpler reason. This is a manga largely aimed at teen boys. Showing this in such a raw, universal way...it’s a good message. A lot of y’all’s mothers have been in this exact same position before too. No one can be that strong all the time. Let them have their space.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Talking about Tiger’s famous raid on Mariejois. I have to say it’s making me think of Okobore, feeding the people but invoking Kaido’s wrath. Neither case seems to approach it from a perspective that it’s wrong to do a good thing for people in immediate need, just that it can cause problems in the big picture. Not to criticize Tiger, just show realistic ripples. It’s a tricky philosophical question. Does the greater good of advancement for the whole outweigh the very real good for the freed slaves? Same concept with feeding Okobore. 

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Vander Decken you opportunistic dirtbag. I hate him. He’s awful. Hody? I can get it. Kid grew up in the rough part of the already rough Fishman Island. He had nothing to ground him except this example of hatred from a strong man who seemed like he could buck that scorn by fighting back.

Decken? Pedophilic trash. Waste of a cool devil fruit.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Luffy oh my god that’s priceless. One of those rare borderline fourth wall gags from...some guy that looks like the chef I recall sat this arc out with diarrhea on the ship. Shame he didn’t get to see the mermaids.

Seriously though, I just love Luffy waking up and still kinda being invested. Like he cared but not really. Oden’s story finally kept him invested, and I actually do think part of that was trying to puzzle out how the two people telling it knew each other. But history class is boring, we’ve all been there. It’s one of the best running gags in the series because it’s always slightly different each time.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Now hang on! Kozuki Oden was a man who everybody loved!

Compare and contrast, especially with Toki as well. They didn’t always love her. Remember at first they mostly just tolerated her because she was the queen. The later flashback even shows she was a bit of an oddball rabblerouser before marrying Neptune. Big fan of Kaguya-sama too so it makes me think of Miko Iino’s arc words, someday your efforts will be rewarded. Oden, Miko, a thousand others both real and fictional...it can be thankless work and so often the people doing it never get to enjoy the fruits of all that effort. So many who have gone on to be held up as heroes died feeling like a pariah.

It’s nice to see everyone happy for her, and my god does that make the tragedy 1000x worse.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

We’ve just set up how insanely perceptive Otohime is, here she is breaking down immediately as Tiger goes into his account. I like the way we set these two up, it’s very much an example of how there are different kinds of strength. Otohime can’t do what Tiger did, but by that same token Tiger didn’t have the heart to grow past his own damage. This is one of the big reasons I’ve always liked this flashback. It’s very real, but it makes a point to defy conventional shonen ways of showcasing strength.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Oh yeah, this is another one we’re not skipping from Tiger’s story. Koala. Gives us one of the simplest, realest lines in the series from top tier Fishman and husband with a cool name, Aladdin. Psychological wounds take time to heal. 

It’s obvious right? The similarity to the SMILE fruits and really a lot of examples of these types of wounds. Bakura Town is actually a spot that invests heavily in this specific example of crying. Tama for one is very sadly invested in putting on a brave face but you also see this thing of cutting to her and Okobore citizens like the mother chiding her son as we’re introducing Kiku’s story. Who has the real potential to have a lot of this type of baggage. Also, oh my god Koala showing up as a Revo using Fishman Karate was one of my favorite parts of Dressrosa.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Yeah, of course they’re there. Building up to that reveal.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

First off, the kid with WAP on his back is hilarious for completely unintended reasons. I love the contrast here. On one side it’s the happy lil teacher making inroads with the next generation. Another, literally chasing grown men with a petition while they flee in terror. Let’s just be glad she uses her powers for good.

It goes understated, but it’s also inherently cool how she’s pushing for Fishmand Island itself to be better. The Fishman District is a bad mark on their own internal politics, but here we have a queen teaching to both the princess and common children alike.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Everyone has their limits. We’re getting close to not just a favorite Otohime moment, but a top moment in the series for me. Going out and putting on a brave face, trying to be the same undaunted Queen out there...she can’t hide it forever. Even if she’s going to keep trying.

I love the kids because of this flashback. They are such momma’s boys and girl and who wouldn’t be? It’d be easy to make this a dark underside of Otohime’s character, so focused on the big picture she neglected the kids. I like that we let her juggle both so well.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Continuing the speech from last time so instead I’d like to show a little love to art & design. It’s not something you think about a lot but I love how well Oda is able to visually get Otohime’s oratory skills across. She has such a commanding, forceful body language backing her words up and it’s part of why I love her so much. Forget battle prowess, I wholeheartedly think of her as one of the strongest women in the series.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Spelling it out, plain as day. I love it, turning your weakness into a positive. That’s a really rare element in this big of a series, one of the little things that made Otohime a unique example. And I think a great one for how Oda can actually write women quite well. I’m personally of the school of thought that action girl tomboys can be a nice step, but are a bit of a lazy crutch for male writers who want a “strong female character.” 

Naturally this is one of those moments that makes me think of Kiku a little. Not that she did the same thing, way too deceptively physically strong in reality. But the idea she was willing to lean on the appearance with Urashima was very cool.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Showing how horrified the kids are at this point makes it perfect. Diffusing the reader’s bloodlust as effectively as the scene does for the people. Not really so different from Toki after all, is she? Protecting their hearts. That scene on Dressrosa, how terrifying it must have been for the local kids who didn’t get why Doffy and Cora were so different yet. Seeing your parents, neighbors, etc. devolve into that...so many would cling to any excuse not to see their world as so monstrous. Killing Mjosgard wouldn’t have done much. No, it wouldn’t no matter how much he deserves it. That stain could have poisoned another generation though.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

This is a pretty intriguing little detail about observation haki. We mostly focus on it as a combat tool, even when it was just Mantra on Sky Island. But here we see a more peaceful application, Otohime uses it to tailor her message. I definitely get where this is coming from; back in my TCG tournament days I’d never touch a digital platform because I could generally make better use of reading body language, bluffing, etc. than opponents. 

Otohime being naturally gifted at it too makes sense, though I’d argue this could have just as easily been latent Conqueror’s even. That’d be kinda cool but it doesn’t matter too much. We of course use more normal examples of Observation especially with her demise which is setting an important element. We’ll get there in time. For now though, it’s a great detail to show the kind of woman Otohime is. She’s not the least bit shy of risking herself for her cause, which of course is such a huge theme in this series.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Just explaining Poseidon to us and the boys. I love this scene though, it’s so peaceful and tranquil. It’s a shame she had to be this fierce fighter and couldn’t just be a happy mother of four. I love this angle too, her and the fish. It’s one of the best parts of the arc in general, the setting is so fun and lively.