#but she's also pretty messed up with the whole arlong thing so she's just not in the right headspace for a relationship

[darkwings-and-horcruxes]

There’s this deep possessiveness at the center of Luffy’s chest whenever he looks at Sanji. 

Come with me. Be mine. I want you. 

But he can’t take him by force - no matter how much he wants him. Sanji has chained himself to the Baratie with ropes made of grief and guilt, and he’s hard-pressed to let go, even now.

People don’t stay for Luffy, but he’s hoping Sanji may stay with him for the sake of his Dream. That’ll be enough - to have Sanji by his side while they accomplish their dreams together. 

Or maybe, he’ll stay with him for the sake of Nami. Luffy knows the way the others have written Sanji’s flirtations off, but there’s a depth to Sanji’s feelings, visible in the way that he looks at Nami like she’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen, like he’s blessed to have her near him. Maybe Luffy’s not worth staying for, but Nami is. It's why he’s going after her despite everything she says.

No matter the reason, he just needs Sanji to stay.

[misqnon]

one piece x inuyasha au bc I'm insane and wrote this during my break today

luffy is a human kid* sent to the great demon era (I'm great at naming <3) where demons rule the lands after he falls through a cursed well in the forest where he and sabo and Ace grew up. he seeks to collect all the pieces of the shikon jewel and put them back together into....one piece. (loud booing) listen,

in this era, the wielder of the shikon jewel becomes the most powerful demon that rules over all the others. luffy does not care that he's human. he wants that damn jewel

zoro is still a swordsman. not much changes. people think he's a demon, but he's actually just a really strong human who can use techniques like asura. he was a demon hunter for spare change after he got lost leaving his home village. not much changes there, either

nami is a petty thief and navigator who used to work for the demon arlong. she starts to awaken some priestess powers with usopp's help and the staff he gives her, though she doesn't really follow any other priestess rules. she learns other magic, too, still messing with the weather and wielding a variety of attacks without a care for whether they're sacred or demonic

usopp's following in the footsteps of his father- a priest turned adventurer killing wayward demons along the way. his weapon of choice in this au is a bow and arrow which sometimes he and Nami will work together to bless the arrows!

sanji is a travelling cook who's secretly the son of a daiyoukai. due to his mother's intervention, he's a hanyou, but he passes as human and his crew doesnt know he is one.

chopper is a little reindeer demon who's learning medicine and priesthood under the care of lady kureha, joining luffy's crew after they defeat the demon wapol

robin is a demon from ohara who works under the demon warlord Crocodile for a little while, fulfilling a role similar to kaguya. she deserts him after luffy and crew save vivi and the alabasta region from his reign, but she's still wanted by the world at large for being a "dangerous type of demon" with knowledge of the old world and the creation of the shikon jewel passed down in her clan.

franky is a human/zombie/demon hybrid who survived an explosion after his mentor, a demon named tom, was attacked. he put himself back together with human and demon parts alike, similarly to how sesshomaru and naraku would absorb spare body parts in the og show. he's a blacksmith!

Brook is a revived man much like kikyo was brought back by demonic methods. he has to consume souls to keep living, but he only steals the souls of their enemies. he's also pretty bad at it. he's still a musician, though his instruments are a bit more traditional

jinbei is a whale shark yokai, so a fish yokai from the same clan as Arlong...but not evil lmao. he used to be a warlord too, but decided he didn't like the whole feudal part. he's the crew's cultural guide and diplomat of sorts, attempting to keep peace between demon territories and human villages they visit alike from freaking out when a rag tag group of thieves, demons, priests, and fighters show up on their doorstep. he and robin discuss history and archeology often, and in theory robin has a lot of the same knowledge jinbei does, but jinbei has better....people skills.

the setting would be the inuyasha universe, feudal / yokai infested Japan. however, the world government is an issue in luffy's time (1500's fictional goa kingdom) that secretly has ties to accessing the demon world. I haven't thought out the logistics fully, yet. but you can bet your ass luffy's mentor shanks, who is often gone on long "journeys," was actually traveling back and forth from the feudal era and the goa kingdom this whole time.

* spoilers below

* I haven't gotten ro gear 5 yet myself but I imagine luffy is secretly the reincarnation of the demon "joy boy", which will. aid the whole shikon jewel thing. and is also why he is able to traverse the cursed well.

though, humans like shanks seek out the jewel too, for the power it can hold in controlling demons or perhaps (myth?) giving them the power of one.

[klonoadreams]

From what I remember mako has already met many important characters including 2 future strawhats and a powerful straw hat ally.

Assuming that not too much changes by the time the main story starts. How would these Chracters see mako as meeting her again. Like say meeting a grown up sanji and Law along with th baroque work robin? For me I would at least think sanji and law would be like big brothers to her.

Also any spoilers on who her dad is? Or who mako would be shipped with?

Not much is really different, just that Mako has been alive and in existence for like one more year, making her a year older than what she was originally, but it's also a bit of a mess since like, idk how to tell you, but Shanks is like barely 21 when he has Mako instead of 22, so oop, some things might end up changing, but also god dang, Yassop, you barely knew your own son and now you're just taking care of this rando Shark girl with the others ahahha.

No but seriously, this just means the Red Hair Pirates have Mako longer and that means further disaster because Yassop Daddy experience only goes for like a few months and Mako is half fishman, SO WHOOPS NEW TERRITORY.

So yeah, Robin and Sanji would be ecstatic to see her again, especially since the two of them went their separate ways to pursue their dreams, since Sanji won't get good experience as a cook with Shanks, and Robin, while absolutely delighted to know she is loved and considered important, knows that she has to leave the nest because she can't do what she wants with them and try as they may, they can't help coddling her a bit because Robin mcfucking did not have a good childhood, cmere, you get a hug.

Meanwhile Law would just be happy to see his friend again after so long, to the one person that taught him, alongside Robin, that even monsters deserve to live.

Seeing her thriving and also throwing a wrench in the world government's agenda by just casual exposing cover-ups in order to let the truth shine through....yeah, he’s happy to see her. Genuinely, no joke or nothing. Especially Robin and Sanji, though how the turn tables. He would've thought Mako would've been her own captain to a crew, but nah, she's content letting Luffy do it while being the resident lifeguard cuz she can swim. And also fish. :V

Her dad isn't actually anyone we know but an OC, like a rando mako shark fishman who effectively got picked out of the bunch to pair up with a Kuja Pirate who wasn't exactly considered a good wife for a Celestial Dragon (aka, dude was sterile, or at the very least got poor kid making skills), so curiosity plus pettiness and a bet equals Mako into the mix. Which is very bad.

That said, Mako's bio dad is related to some existing characters. And I will say this, Arlong won't exactly take to well to ever seeing her, because she serves as a constant reminder in a cog to a tragedy.

(Hint: it involves Koala going home - you can figure it out there, but yeah, Mako's uncle is pretty famous :V)

(He also had a hand in how Mako's mother was able to escape and while Mama was hoping to go back to Amazon Lily, she at least was in a safe place amongst Shanks crew when she gave birth to Mako)

Originally, i didn't have romance in mind, but honestly, I'm at a whatever happens, happens, because Mako's circumstances are so unique and complicated, that her situation allows her complexity, given how 17 seems to be the age at which people are considered adults or at least allowed to drink, and being a pirate just adds to it, mixed in with being someone who has a bounty.

Romance isn't off the table for her, so keep an eye out for it. Dont expect anytjing until after the time skip tho, she’s a little like Luffy in that it's the last thing on her mind lmao.

But also she's got a storm coming her way come Whole Cake Island because Big Mom wants Shanks's daughter for connections so...

Lucky son Katakuri got picked by my friends, so that's gonna be a "bruh wtf"

Aka, we got two weddings to crash. Except Mako isn't getting killed, but she still wants out of it, nope nope nope

Anyways wedding dress mako kicking ass. :V

[flimflamfranky]

Please show me your AUs

*slams down the heavy tome* i hope you are ready for the can of worms you’ve unleashed. also, i’m sorry for any hopes i get and subsequently dash.

so, in no particular order, we have: - klabaturerman franky. now this one i have done things for but i still wanna. do more. like, him interacting with the merry, and the crew learning what he is, that sort of things. - related to this, is a more general sea spirit/fae franky au, just cuz i like fae stuff. i do have some art ideas for this, i just. haven’t done any of them yet. - supernatural frobrobin au, where franky is a (recently turned) werewolf, robin is a vampire, brook is…brook, and they’re all trapped in a magic mansion by some curse. and it’s just them growing close and bonding and trying to break free. also, ghibli vibes. - speaking of ghibli…howl’s moving castle au. featuring franky as sophie with a curse that turns him into a perceptually broken robot, and robin as howl, but with her canon backstory with the government. also has luffy as calcifer, usopp as merkel, brook as turnip head, and nami/crocodile as a weird split version of the witch of the waste (with croc as the villain and nami as the redeemed version). - a pacific rim au, expect it takes place in a post-apoc version where the kaiji have basically won. starts with luffy, usopp, and chopper finding an abandoned jaeger and decided to pilot it. not sure abt the plot on this one, but it does have franky as a disillusioned former jaeger pilot/engineer. - my franky/blueno au, which is being run by vibes and little else. pretty canon-compliant, but with blueno and franky becoming friends (and possibly more) and then dramatically falling out after the reveal. i initially described it as enemies to lovers, but really, it's lovers to enemies. no happy ends here, boys. - several, count ‘em, SEVERAL franky/rosi aus, cuz i got way to into them and had a lot of ideas and then. never did anything with them - main one is them having a meet cute in water 7, before rosi goes undercover with doffy and before the whole sea train thing happens (rosi’s about 24yo, franky’s 21). it’s basically just them bonding and being cute before going their separate ways. - the other one is a sprawling splitting mess of an au that has the two meet as kids on the streets and becoming fast friends. then they get found by sengoku  and becoming marines, with rosi training with sengoku and franky becoming vegapunk’s protege. I had one idea where they were close to saul, and after the arrest of olivia became disillusioned with the marines and helped her escape, and then joining her try to save ohara. another branch is rosi still going undercover with doffy, but with franky in tow, and that whole she-bang happening, but with franky, rosi, and law all escaping alive. plus a bunch of minor plot threads that i'm forgetting. again, it's a mess. - various frobrobin aus set in the early-mid 19th century (20s-50s mostly) with mobs, romance and political intrigue. - a roleswap au that i have bits and pieces of written, i’ve just never finished it. unfortunately doesn’t have jinbe in it cuz he’s just too hard to swap with, and i started this before he joined. - i’ve written a summary of this before, but my rouge adopts franky au that ultimately leads to franky being a big bro to asl. - a disney's beauty and the beast au, where robin is the “beast” (cursed child who has been outcast from society and became a monster to survive with a flower motif) and franky is the “beauty” aka belle (intelligence child of an eccentric inventor whose ostracized by the town and willing to sacrifice himself to save another). has lucci as an altered gaston and the straw hats (+ others) as various cursed castle residents. - an arc style idea (not really sure if it counts as an au) where franky gets kidnapped and experimented on by the government. basically my whumptober comic, but in long-fic form. - pokemon aus! i’m mostly entertaining these two: - one piece but with pokemon, and how the straw hats met their various pokemon partners. - and a pmd au with the straw hats as the pmd starters (this one is a drawing, so i might actually finish it) - and i do wanna do something with pokemon gijinka, i just

haven’t given it much thought. - an au where law convinces franky to join his crew bc doffy has been trying to muscle in on water 7 and law is basically like, "we both hate this guy, let's team up". this one is very shaky, but I do still love the idea. - a subnautica au? hear me out. it has the straw hats as space pirates that infiltrate the aurora right before it gets shot down, and they end up trapped on the alien planet. they get split into three main groups: franky, luffy, usopp / robin, chopper, jinbe, sanji / zoro, nami, brook. and they all basically try to survive and find the others in their own ways.

- an au where the crew stops at a weird marriage theme island and franky and brook get married by accident. which is a problem cuz this marriage is ~magic~ and psychically bonds them together. so the crew has to figure out how to undo it. also features frobrobin and zosopp. - a cookie run crossover au, with the straw hats as cookies. pretty basic, expect i, like with most things, went overboard and then never finished it. - and some zosopp aus! - a superhero actor au, where usopp is a new actor playing sogeking in a new kids show and zoro is the main villain, and they fall in love. - an au where usopp is a tengu that guards a small forest (but mostly plays harmless pranks) and zoro who is a lost woodsman, and they become close and fall in love. And also maybe save the forest from a rich jerk along the way. - a gurren lagann crossover au, where usopp is simon and franky is kamina, with all the angst that implies. i really like this concept, but I haven’t actually finished gurren lagann, so… - a leverage au, where the straw hats are a band of thieves that help people out. basically taking canon and sticking in a thief/modern au. - you know those one piece rewrite aus? i have one of those, surprise, surprise. starts with gin joining the straw hats with sanji and quickly branching off from there. other big changes include: - jinbe getting introduced super early and helping the straw hats with arlong, and then becoming an ally until he later joins - brook getting swept back to the beginning of the grand-line and meets the straw hats when they first arrive. gets to reunite with laboon before decideding to join the straw hats to finish his old crew’s journey. - a delay in loguetown means that croc succeeds in taking over albasta and the straws hats help vivi overthrow him (with robin working with cobra in the background to betray croc); ends with vivi joining the straw hats bc she publicly allied with pirates - franky running from water 7 with the blueprints and ends up working for doflamingo. He gets sent to check in on croc (and search for robin) after he takes over alabasta and ends up kicking it with the straw hats and eventually deciding to betray doffy and join them - there’s like. a lot more, but if I do ever end up writing it I don’t wanna spoil all of it. - but im probably not, cuz this would be looooooong. *lets out a deep breath* and that’s about it. and if anyone wants to steal any of these ideas, please do, i would love you forever.

[recentanimenews]

5 One Piece Anime Fights That Are Ridiculously Underrated

What are your favorite One Piece fights? It's okay if most of them are about Luffy. He's the main character, he typically yells the loudest, and most major stories in the franchise end with him implanting his fists into an enemy's skull. Also, he gets a ton of rad fights. So if you say that the greatest One Piece fight is Luffy vs Lucci, or Luffy vs Arlong, or Luffy vs That Dude That He Literally Choked Out Oh My God That's Brutal, I'm not going to treat you like a snob. "Oh, you like Luffy vs Doflamingo? That's cute, even when the greatest fight in One Piece is obviously the internal struggle between Luffy and Luffy's Inner Id."

  That said, I do think that there are a ton of One Piece fights that haven't gotten a fair shake, mainly because they don't involve Luffy. And so, as someone that always roots for the underdog, fights tirelessly for the little man, and is obsessed with the best-selling manga franchise in the history of Japan, I'm gonna run down some underrated One Piece fights that aren't about our boy Monkey D or the other two members of the "Monster Trio," Zoro and Sanji. They might not be famous fights, but they deserve to be on any One Piece combat highlight reel. 

  Usopp and Chopper vs Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas, and Lassoo

  Usopp is a cowardly sharpshooter and Chopper is a little reindeer man. Mr. 4 is a rotund dude with a giant baseball bat, Miss Merry Christmas can transform into a mole, and Lassoo is a gun that's also a dog. All of this sounds like One Piece Mad Libs, but, when combined, it makes for one of the most exciting fights in the Alabasta arc. 

  See, Usopp and Chopper have never been, and never will be the strongest members of the Straw Hat Crew. And often, it seems like their primary purpose on the team is to freak out about tidal waves or large fish. So they won't be the guys that take down major villains. Instead, they tackle the weirder henchmen, and this whole fight is both a grab bag of the quirkiness that often makes One Piece so great, and a surprisingly brutal contest that pushes Chopper and Usopp out of the "AGH! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" position, and into the roles of warriors. 

  Nami vs Miss Doublefinger

  With Luffy taking on Crocodile and Zoro taking on Mr. 1, I feel like it's really easy to forget Nami's battle with Miss Doublefinger. Nami doesn't get enough one-on-one fights in One Piece, and that's a shame, because she's easily one of the most ingenious members of the crew. And this fight is all about ingenuity, as it tells the story of Nami becoming not only adept at using her new Clima-Tact weapon, but also fighting in general.

  And man, some of this fight is hard to watch. Miss Doublefinger's Devil Fruit power allows her to turn parts of her body into spikes. And the number one role of the spike is to impale. I think you see where I'm going with this: Nami is five seconds away from becoming the Grand Line's wittiest shishkabob at all times, and most of the duel seems pretty one-sided. But when Nami faces her fears, learns how to properly control the Clima-Tact and beats Miss Doublefinger in a humiliating fashion, you'll see why Nami is the backbone of the Straw Hats. 

  Robin vs Yama

  No, Robin vs Yama isn't the long slugfest that the rest of these fights are. Instead, it mostly consists of a quick brawl and then Robin SYSTEMATICALLY TEARING YAMA APART. And that's why I put this entry in here, because A) It's awesome, and B) While Robin is super into books and history and probably Criterion Collection Blu Rays, she's also, like, ridiculously powerful when she wants to be. Robin will mess you up, my dude. She is NOT playing around.

  Franky vs Senor Pink

  The fight between Franky and Senor Pink isn't a very dyanamic contest. Basically, if you're wondering what all of Franky's moves are, or what he's got hiding in every crevice of his cyborg body, maybe watch something else. This fight mostly comes down to Franky punching Senor Pink, and Senor Pink suplexing Franky. If the fight was in a video game, it would just be two kids pressing the X button rapidly. 

However, when you consider Senor Pink's tragic backstory and Franky's sense of honor, this endurance contest to withstand their mutual pummelings is kinda neat. And when Franky wins, and tells Senor Pink "If we see each other again someday somewhere, let's have a drink. And tell me...about the woman named Russian," you're both bawling and commending Franky for being such an excellent bro. 

  Brook vs Big Mom

  I remember when Brook first joined the crew, I didn't know how he'd fit in. In my dumb, "I've been binge watching One Piece for a month and getting barely any sleep" brain, I remember thinking "Brook uses a SWORD? But Zoro uses SWORDS. What a LACK of CREATIVITY! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to write a college student film script about a young, creative white kid that has problems, because THAT has TRULY never been done BEFORE." 

  Now, I adore Brook, so much so that his fight against Big Mom in the recent Whole Cake Island arc was actually touching. Big Mom is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. Not even Luffy can put a scratch on her yet. And Brook knows that he doesn't stand a chance, but here he goes, putting his all into a futile struggle. 

  You tend to forget that Brook will always stand up for himself, until you get to moments like these. And I think that's the most important things about all of the fights on this list. They remind us of character traits that sometimes get lost in the epic story of One Piece, character traits that are not only a joy to revisit, but firmly place the Straw Hat Crew in the Golden Pantheon of Excellent Anime Protagonist Teams.

  What about you? What are your favorite non-Monster Trio fights in One Piece?

---------------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer/editor that uses Twitter for its one true purpose: anime opinions.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[monkeydluffy19920]

Thoughts about chapter 854

Wedding keeps getting closer and Sanji needs to make his move ! a move he was supposed to do long time ago dammit 

 Apparentally Nami and Jinbe had no time to discuss because BM’s soldiers are after them.  I don’t know why but it’s so cool that Jinbe trusts Nami’s powers so much that he askes her to take care of the chasing soldiers (I mean he could use his fishman karate). 

Poor Bropper got accidentally zapped by Nami because they appeared from Mirror World suddenly. Can’t still deny that her making Enel face is funny, oh these gags :’D Also, the links between Jinbe and Big Mom Pirates are starting to get opened. That roulette of life seems to be pretty dangerous and understandably it should be avoided. I guess Brulee is determinded to see that each of the whole retrieval team will get their spin but everyone ignores her and they keep on moving. 

Okay let me say this again, Brook is a badass. He managed to injure Prometheus and even Mama gives some respect to him ! (even though she treats him like a doll).  The afro skeleton still needs to be careful that no one opens up his skull because like guessed in the last review, if Brook found something before Mama rushed in he’d hide it there. Mama surely treasures Pudding at any costs and I’d really like to think that they are close to each other but it can also be that Mama really doesn’t care about udding at all and only wants to see her true form to be awaken. Actually I’m not sure whether this was already mentioned in last review but there is a theory in OJ that Pudding could be a sweet commander. That would at least explain the missing character box but still.. we ned more chapters for those speculations to be confirmed.

So their plan for the wedding is to cover Pudding’s face into a veil and after Sanji lifts it up and sees the third eye Pudding will start the chaos (btw that wedding dress reminds me too much of that what Nami wore in Thriller Bark) and if everything goes according to their plan, Vinsmokes will be wiped out from the entire planet. Momma is all hyped up because she wants the prizes of the arranged marriage, Germa technology but I’m not sure what’s going on in Pudding’s mind. Maybe she is not expressing her excitement as wide as her mother but could it still be that she has other plans? I mean people in OJ have been guessing whether Pudding will actually betray her own mother. One possibility is that she might have an alliance with Capone for reasons we don’t know yet. 

By the way, if we talk abot the shipping perspective, @sanjiaholic​ brought up a important thing here. Sanji is planned to get killed just the way Arlong killed Bellmere, a shot in the head. Quite interesting coincidence isn’t it? Nami already heard about the shooing but I’m not sure whether she got any other details but anyways, there are reasons for her reaction in chapter 850.  Even Arlongs line could be a parallel to the fact that Sanji has been ready to die for his crew and well might be afraid of death but still, so determinded. It’s indeniable that these two warm hearted characters have some things in common.

In meeting room there is discussion about the situation considering the retrieval team. Charlotte family is counting how many enemies they thought they have taken out. As seen there are some tensions between the brothers because of the spread rumors and Mon’d Or doesn’t trust Opera so he sends some soldiers to guard around and Opera is afraid to tell the truth because of the punishment. 

I wonder what is Reiju thinking. She is either seeing how Luffy wanders to the ‘’promised place’’ but on the other hand she is definitely worried about wedding. I don’t know could it be possible that she is planning to change her mind. Now that she is aware of what’ll happen in the weddng and she knows that in Sanji’s opinion it makes no sense to “fake the situation” (being “not aware” about what Pudding said and did) I wouldn’t cut off the possibility of her sacrificing herself for Sanji’s sake (making the move before Pudding) 

Sanji is alone again and got another painful reminder of his nakamas. I was kind of thinking that he could be already on his way but seems like he is stuck with worries, minding not to get killed. I don’t know if he did it already but at least now he acknowledges that he has made excactly a bento what he’d do for his crew mates. It seems like that despite knowing tha Pudding will shoot him the he decided to meet his faith and sacrifice his life (to get she headshot) It’s kind of crazy from Sanji but can we blame him because it’s his nature? he still wants to keep everyone safe and believes that this is “the only right thing to do”. I also wonder is this decision made also because he is ashamed to face Luffy and the other thinking that this is how “he’ll pay back his actions”? It will be anyways hard for him to face his crew again, this was a big mess after all.

Pudding’s words were like knives stabbing Sanji but I think seeing Bobbing trying to take the meat out of the bento was the final trigger. This is the second wake up call for Sanji because there is the flashback to chapter 844 and he sends the intruder flying with style and the meat stays unharmed. After Bobbins starts to question Sanji’s acts the Kuroashi  is finally on his way. 

To be honest I was kind of hyped up about the possibility that Nami and Jinbe would meet Sanji before Luffy but understandably captain meeting the cook first is better for the plot. Now we have to hope that both will make to the promised place safe and sound and I believe It’ll happen (Luffy getting captured again would be repeating and since the wedding is getting closer, I don’t think Oda would do that). So, RUN SANJI RUN !  

ps. the cover picture is so damn cool !

[d-d-mushi-blog]

Pudding could be the next Nakama

You heard me and you are probably internally screaming right now.

Pudding is not exactly an angel. She deceived the Straw Hats and Sanji, mocked his feelings and situation in addition to setting up a trap for them. She also taunted Luffy and Nami about killing their Nakama. After all that we can conclude that she pretty much is a mega-bitch with a rotten personality. Still though, I insist that she might actually join the SH in the end. Why? Because even though she seems spoiled, pampered and well...evil she is not irredeemable. Let’s take a look at some other characters for a second:

Ceasar Clown: experimented on CHILDREN without a trace of remorse

Doflamingo: usurped the throne of Dressrosa and subsequently enslaved half of the country

Arlong: blackmailed an entire village out of pure hate

Crocodile: framed the royal family and almost enslaved Alabasta

The list could go on and on but those characters are not only evil, but also irredeemable.

What did Pudding do? She is seemingly protecting her family’s/crew’s best interests by being willing to massacre one of the most notorious families ever. Yep, she is an antagonist and could potentially be a good villainess but she could also be a great Strawhat.

But WHY?

Have you noticed Mama’s parenting? She basically exploits her children by forcing them into marriages in order to forge political alliances. She sees them purely as tools and would not hesitate to kill them if they ever stood in her way. Opera being scared of her is proof of that.

Pudding is no exception (even though she claims that she is one of BM’s favorites). Mama keeps pestering her about her third eye, a power which will supposedly lead the Big Mom Pirates to Raftel. She also seems annoyed with the fact that Mama picked Sanji for her instead of a “real prince” and that she is pampering her. Pudding probably knows that she is being used by Mama like all the other sons and daughters. It is also safe to assume that even though BM’s children might be kind of twisted, they are all sheltered. Or better yet...they are twisted BECAUSE she has absolute control over them.

Imagine spending your whole life as one of the many tools of your mother. Your view of the world and relationships would probably be way different. Pudding does not seem like the obedient type. My guess is that she has her own agenda. Don’t you also find it kind of shady that Mama’s other children don’t seem to know about the plan? Opera was wondering what she was whispering and Mont D’hor wanted to make the preparations as if they were indeed going to get married. She wants to do her own thing just like her sister Lola even if that means not being as good natured as her sister. The flashbacks with Lola and Mama seem to suggest that she is bound in Totland and wants to escape. There is no way these flashbacks can be fake or some form of acting simply because she was thinking to herself all alone.

Lots of theories go here like the one that says that she is plotting something with Capone, or that she messed with Big Mom’s or Lola’s memories, but still she can be redeemed, given the background that she was raised in.

And that is where she fits in.

The Strawhat crew is the very essence of freedom. They do whatever they want, whenever they want it and even though everyone has a set goal to keep them going through the Grand Line, freedom is their top priority. Luffy could be her ticket into adventure. So what if she is a bitch? To me she is also independent and not just another damsel in distress like Nami or Robin in their respective arcs. Becoming a Strawhat means that she is no longer sheltered, her third eye doesn’t mean squat (even though it would be an interesting addition to the crew dynamic) and the best of all: she was a catalyst in Sanji’s much needed character development. She probably won’t marry Sanji, but I sure as hell see her becoming a crew member.

Another interesting fact: Luffy stated that he was going to bring Sanji back with his bride. Oda is master at foreshadowing.

Pudding’s extended flashbacks as well as future actions might as well redeem her and make her worthy of being #11.

In the end even if she does not become a Strawhat, she could still make a wonderful character and not just another cute-crybaby-generic princess.

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Gambles Away in Episodes 85-91

Hello there! Once again, it's the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Noelle Ogawa here, and this week I'll be your host as we make our way through the many arcs of the shonen giant Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 78-84, and this time we're going to sweep episodes 85-91. 

This time, we have new introductions and new threats, starting off with the mysterious Akatsuki retreating and ending with Tsunade contemplating a tough choice. We get a little glimpse of the last of the three Sannin, and how that bond has fragmented over the years. Most importantly, Tsunade is confronted with two life-changing decisions, neither which are easy to make. This arc is a pretty heavy one. Let's see what the team has to say about this batch!

The Akatsuki have retreated for now, leaving us with an uncomfortable feeling of something greater out there. What are your impressions of the group, especially Itachi and Kisame?

Paul: I want to know what the political goals of Akatsuki are. Both Itachi and Kisame wear their Village headbands with the symbols defaced, so I'm wondering if – despite being obviously cruel and evil villains – they're also the heroes of their own story, because the current entente system that turns children into weapons in order for rival nations to publicly flex their military muscle is pretty messed up, yo.

Kevin: Early on, Itachi seems like there’s some kind of frailty to him, that he’s incredibly strong but can’t fight for long. Kisame also seems like a competent fighter (albeit with a strange weapon), but otherwise is Itachi’s henchman. Having seen how their characters develop, this is an interesting starting place.

Carolyn: Yeah, it seems to me that they believe in what they are doing. That seems to be a common trope with this show so far, though. Lots of characters who may or may not be bad guys but they have a tragic backstory and a firm belief in what they think is right. David: I understand why it happens for dramatic reasons, but I do kind of wish there were just slightly more straightforward foreshadowing about the motivations for our villains, and this the introduction of the Akatsuki makes the best case for this. On the positive side, Itachi serves as a solid example of what Sasuke should probably not become, complete with a skillset they both can theoretically share. “Look out, Sasuke!” Or so I would tell him, if he wasn’t put completely out of commission in multiple ways so that the plot could move on without his obsessions getting in the way.

Joseph: I’m a big fan of introducing villains and painting them as irredeemably evil only to turn that notion on its head later, so I’m excited to watch them develop. Kisame looks more like he belongs in Arlong’s crew from One Piece, but I dig how they only partially revealed the power of his weird shark sword.

Danni: A shadowy group of super powerful villains after the main character sounds pretty cool, so I don’t really know why I’m not all that interested in the Akatsuki yet. I think I’d like to learn more about their motivations first. For now, though, I’m pretty satisfied with the continued conflict with Orochimaru.

Jared: There’s certainly still a number of unanswered questions surrounding the group. Who else is in it and why are these two out and about by themselves? What’s with the headbands being defaced? Those will get answered at some point I’m sure, but from what we’ve seen thus far, Itachi seems like a pretty big deal with how he quickly he dispatches Sasuke and comes up with a way to escape Jiraiya’s trap. Kisame seems more like his muscle, but has that pretty wild sword.

Kara: This was yet another case of seeing the cosplayer before the character, so now I have at least some context for those coats. Also, Itachi’s presence has been in the background of the story for… 80-something episodes now? This has been a slow burn finally getting to him. I wasn’t disappointed; there’s a lot here I’m looking forward to exploring.

Here we encounter another training arc, where Naruto is trying to master the Rasengan. How do you think this compares to previous training, and do you think it’s being handled well?

Paul: Although the completed Rasengan technique is visually impressive, I'm already sick of seeing Naruto playing with balloons. I wish there were some other aspect to the three stages of the training.

Kevin: During the tree climbing, it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke mastered the technique very quickly due to competing against each other; and during the water walking, Naruto caught on in less than a day, then mastered it when Jiraiya undid Orochimaru’s seal. Mastering the Summoning Jutsu was better, since Naruto had to keep practicing, but it realistically became training for drawing out the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chakra, which boiled down to “run out of energy, then put your life in danger.” For me, the Rasengan training is the first time the show has successfully conveyed how difficult and time consuming ninjutsu training is supposed to be and just how hard Naruto pushes himself to grow faster than anyone else.

Carolyn: As always, I was impressed with Naruto’s dedication to learning and advancing his craft. He is very dedicated despite all of his obstacles and it warms my heart.

David: I was honestly just going to say what Kevin said, so I guess I’ll elaborate a little bit instead. The first time we see Rasengan performed is against a random yakuza guy, which works well for introducing the technique while also not giving away just how important it is. Jiraiya’s explanation to Naruto about how the technique fits him well because it doesn’t require hand signs demonstrates both Jiraiya’s understanding of Naruto’s strengths while also serving as a valid cover-up for how powerful he realizes Naruto can be. Seeing in small, increasing stages what exactly the Rasengan does, while grounding that all in the mechanics of the show we’ve been taught so far, makes the whole process feel much more satisfying than a general “power-up”. And, most important, the scenes where Naruto is just walking around practicing on his balloons are endearing as heck. I’ve been there too, little buddy.

Joseph: I appreciated the mundanity of his practice sessions. It may not make for the most compelling television, but, like Kevin said, it got the point across well enough. Now we can sit back and be duly impressed when he unleashes his full Rasengan potential.

Danni: It’s a little mundane, but I appreciate it. The mundanity of it is helping Naruto mature a bit since he’s beginning to realize that he maybe shouldn’t have been goofing off so much in school. I also like how the balloons provide a good tangible example of what the Rasengan is and how to control it.

Jared: There sure is a lot of Naruto just hanging out in the woods struggling with this portion of training, but it fits considering how big of a deal Jiraiya makes the technique out to be. Plus, using balloons and rubber balls seems like a strange choice, but really works with what Jiraiya wants to teach Naruto so he can understand the technique.

Kara: I really enjoy the fact that Naruto learned the Rasengan in a way that made sense to him — the whole thing with the cat, for example — to the point where even Tsunade looks at it and, while recognizing what it is, also recognizes that it’s different. That’s something I’m liking about Naruto’s progress in this set of episodes: he may not be by-the-book, but he’s working it out for himself in a way that makes sense to him, which is a valuable thing no matter what you’re learning.

We have a fair chunk of time devoted to Jiraiya and Naruto’s mentor-mentee relationship. What do you think of this particular dynamic?

Paul: I don't have much of an opinion about it yet, because Jiraiya has a very “hands off” approach to instruction, and he's not exactly a very supportive or nurturing type. He may be extremely skilled as a ninja, but as a teacher, he kinda sucks. I don’t feel like he’d stick his neck out for his charges in the same way that Kakashi and Iruka would.

Kevin: I am liking Jiraiya more and more as he spends time as Naruto’s teacher. He’s more hands off than Naruto would necessarily prefer, but he knows that Naruto learns best by figuring things out himself, and still keeps on eye on his student to check up on progress and probably make sure Naruto doesn’t do anything too reckless. He’s still not great as the father figure Naruto seems to be looking for, but they’re both still warming up to each other.

Carolyn: Man, hands-off style could be cool. And Jiraiya doesn’t necessarily have to be a father figure to Naruto (though it makes me sad he’s not). But overall I just find him to be a giant jerk. I got very upset about Jiraiya blowing all of Naruto’s money. (He wanted to be responsible and save it!) Good for Naruto for letting that Pervy Sage have it.

David: It’s a trade-off that serves a few purposes. Jiraiya is completely correct to recognize Naruto as being mostly self-motivated; it’s hard to imagine a Naruto who improves because he is constantly coddled, right? At the same time, Naruto clearly desires that kind of relationship, because it’s something he’s been denied almost his whole life (thank goodness for Iruka). And for Jiraiya’s side, it plays into something I think I see developing among the Sannin as a whole - a theme of strong latent abilities not being realized to their fullest potentials. Orochimaru is obsessed with progress, but only to the extent that is helps him, which is why he tries to sabotage the village instead of support it. Tsunade is more capable than anyone else to help others, but also too scared of failure to help anyone but herself, which is why she is hesitant to become Hokage and willing to consider Orochimaru’s current proposal. Finally, Jiraiya is ridiculously charismatic, but so empathetic that he can only see the disadvantages to his presence, which is why he refuses the proposition to become Hokage and can’t commit fully to Naruto’s growth.

Joseph: Despite the fact that he blew Naruto’s money, I feel like there’s a hidden lesson in everything Jiraiya does. Remember when he first started trying to summon and kept bugging Jiraiya to “watch his training?” Even then getting him to do so was like pulling teeth, but the way he leaves Naruto to his work now shows how he’s attempting to foster his independence and prevent him from leaning too heavily on the desire for praise and exterior encouragement. He still has a ways to go, but Jiraiya is improving as a character each installment.

Danni: I appreciate Jiraiya in this batch as more of a goofy grandpa and less of a wild horndog. He seems like a good fit to be mentoring someone like Naruto. Their shared goofiness plays well, and Jiraiya’s apparent callousness is just a front help Naruto become more independent. In the end, he always rewards Naruto for his accomplishments.

Jared: Jiraiya becoming less of just the prototypical perv character has been better and I like how Naruto and him are able to almost keep each other in line. Like they’re calling each other out on their own bs. He’s certainly different as a teacher as it’s more hey, you’ve got to figure this out on your own, I���m not going to hold your hand, which is certainly something that Naruto will need to learn in general. So I think overall it isn’t what Naruto would’ve wanted at first, but it works.

Kara: It was a lot easier to be a Jiraiya fan this week. Like I said before, we’re seeing a lot more of how Naruto learns, and that he and Jiraiya were a lot the same. It was a little thing, but I loved the exchange between them about being the the type that has trouble focusing in class. I think all of Naruto’s teachers so far have been good for him and connected with him in some way, but Jiraiya really seems to “get” him and what he needs to grow.

Your closest loved ones returning from the dead in exchange for dooming your home- Orochimaru delivers a harrowing proposal. Is this a good deal in your eyes? If you don’t think so, what’s something that would tempt you?

Paul: As the audience, we've already seen one example of Orochimaru's Resurrection Jutsu, and it was clear that the people brought back to life were just an image of the departed, dancing like puppets while Orochimaru pulled the strings. Tsunade didn't witness that, and her trauma isn't helping her to think clearly, because the likelihood of Orochimaru betraying her is 100 percent.

I honestly don't know what would tempt me. I'm a pretty simple person, and I'm generally happy as long as my basic needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.) are met. Maybe if the villain threatened my loved ones, I'd be forced to comply, but I can't imagine voluntarily striking a deal in exchange for some good or service knowing that the end goal was the destruction of my entire community.

Kevin: I legitimately don’t know what I would do in that situation. Sure, the many should outweigh the few, but the few are people who I care about more than anyone else. I would definitely be tempted, and shows how good the character writing in Naruto can get. Put in Tsunade’s position, I could seriously see myself going either way.

Carolyn: I suppose it depends on the situation. It might sound terrible, but I’m sure I would take the deal for my kids in a heartbeat. David: Hard to admit, but I also completely sympathize with Tsunade here, and it’s hard not to see her gambling addiction as a coping mechanism for how her powers that should have been ‘definitely’ useful ultimately failed her twice.

Joseph: It’s a solid proposal from Orochimaru, and I think it’s reasonable for anyone’s gut answer to be “it depends.” With that said, Tsunade knows Orochimaru. One would think despite her emotions she would know he’s a walking monkey’s paw in this situation.

Danni: Why on earth would anyone ever trust Orochimaru?

Jared: I dunno, I think it’d be hard to accept a deal like that when the person offering is saying he’s going to do some big ole terrorism afterwards. Although, if the offer was that my student loan debt was wiped away, I might think differently.

Kara: I actually sat with this for a few minutes, because there are people I’ve lost whom I’d give just about anything to have more time with. That said, not only do I know a Monkey’s Paw when I see one, I also don’t trust people of even a fraction of Orochimaru’s badness to hold up their end of a deal. It’d either not happen, or happen and be awful. I’d probably buckle faster to threats than promises, because I can see him delivering on those.

Jiraiya reveals that Tsunade doesn’t just need to return to heal Sasuke and Kakashi, but also to become the new Hokage. She has a lot of reservations about the position, considering she has a complicated past with the world of shinobi. If you were in her place, would you take the title? Why or why not?

Paul: Tsunade, just like Jiraiya, clearly doesn't want the job. I think both of them realize that to be Hokage means always being willing to sacrifice one's personal well-being for the good of the Village, and neither of them are ready to do that, because Jiraiya is too self-centered, and because Tsunade has already lost so much already. I wouldn’t want that kind of responsibility, either. I can barely look after a pet goldfish, let alone a whole community.

Kevin: In short, I would probably take the position, mostly out of a sense of being able to change things for the better so that history did not repeat itself. Tsunade’s idea for medical ninja in every team was eventually implemented and shown to be effective, and adding in that she clearly wants to keep as many shinobi alive as possible, she would probably try to keep the ninja villages as peaceful as possible, and if war broke out minimize the Leaf’s losses. So even though she has a lot of baggage concerning the position, in her position I would try to use that baggage as my motivation to change how the village operates.

Carolyn: I think I would take it, if only because of some sort of misplaced “I’ll show them” attitude and because it would kill me to think I couldn’t help prevent other people from going through the same thing. Which … is super hypocritical in light of my resurrection answer, but there you go.

David: Pretending I was in Tsunade’s position right now, I would take it, but for entirely selfish reasons - I know that jerk Orochimaru is out there trying to tempt me and do even worse, so being the leader of essentially a nation of ninjas would be the ultimate revenge. Definitely not the best reasons to do anything, though.

Joseph: The practical me knows I don’t want that kind of position, but the part of me that wants to be the center of attention would probably win out.

Danni: As someone who doesn’t know any ninjutsu, I think I’d make a pretty bad Hokage overall.

Jared: It’s a bit of a mixed bag because the village is basically demanding she take the position regardless of her feelings. Considering how complicated her feelings are about the village and all of that in general, it makes sense why she’d be like nah. I think to really get into the headspace for that kind of position, you’d really need the type of drive that Naruto has.

Kara: In her exact position? Big nope. Her grandfather was Hokage and she had people around her who fully understood the real responsibilities involved. Between their demises and the way things went in general for the village, I’m not sure I could step into a role I’d held to a certain ideal in very dark, very different conditions. Adding insult to injury. That said, I like Tsunade so far, so I’m hoping she goes for it regardless.

Last up, what are the high and low points for this week?

Paul: My high point was the reveal that Tsunade is absolutely terrible at gambling, because I like it when heroic characters are really bad at some morally dubious activity. My low point was how thoroughly destroyed Sasuke was by his confrontation with Itachi. The poor kid gets physically and mentally traumatized and put into a coma, and Itachi didn't even break a sweat in the process. Sasuke doesn't deserve that kind of treatment.

Kevin: High - Jiraiya coming forward as Naruto makes progress in his training after hiding in the shadows to silently observe. He’s still kinda of a dick to Naruto a lot of the time, but we are seeing more of his caring side that eventually makes him everyone’s favorite ninja grandpa.

Low - I honestly really like the vast majority of this arc so… people not being much more vocal about how the town’s castle is suddenly gone? Sure, we get a few people running away, but that’s the kind of thing that should’ve made much more of a general panic, especially since a giant snake exploded out of it.

Carolyn: High point: Naruto giving Jiraiya the third degree for stealing his money. Tell him what’s what, Naruto.

Low point: The Sasuke meme, actually. It was harder to watch than I was expecting. He seemed very broken.

David: High: Jiraiya wakes up hungover and asks Naruto to fetch him some water, to which Naruto responds by blowing up a water balloon over his face. Low: Honestly this was my favorite batch of episodes so far, and I don’t remember disliking anything, but Jiraiya’s character flaws are very frustrating to watch because Naruto is honestly a great kid who deserves a ton of respect and attention. So, that.

Joseph: High: The gradual development of Jiraiya and Naruto’s relationship is fun to watch. Low: I find it hard to believe the ninja clans had never thought to have a freaking medic on the field until Tsunade suggested it.

Danni: The high point for me this batch was when we found out Tsunade is 50. The low point for me is when anyone acted like that was at all a bad thing and not an incredible bonus.

Jared: High point would be when Tsunade was constantly winning and instead of celebrating, immediately knew that something was about to go very badly. Low point, I kind of felt like parts of how Tsunade was written was very generic in a way that felt too tropey and just taking from a list of bad things that can happen to characters and slapping them on her. With how the series handled Sakura in the beginning and has kind of forgotten about her recently, I’m not that surprised it feels like it’s happening again.

Kara: High point is Tsunade going outside to scrap with a kid. I can respect that, I don’t care if Jiraiya thinks it’s immature. Low point is once again having action take place in an animal interior or reasonable facsimile thereof. I don’t cope with that mess well at all.

COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 6 (32 total) Bowls of ramen consumed: 0 bowls (33 bowls, 3 cups total) Shadow Clones created: 0 (297 total)

  With that concludes this week! Please join us for this rewatch, anytime, especially if you haven't already watched the original Naruto!

  Here's our upcoming schedule:

-Next week, on April 19th, NICOLE MEJIAS will show us the deadly and legendary faceoff in episodes 92-98.

-April 26th will have DAVID LYNN take us to the Land of Waves in episodes 99-105.

-March 3rd features PAUL CHAPMAN, who will walk us through the inevitable Naruto vs Sasuke in episodes 106-112.

  CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! See you next time!

  Have a question for next week's batch of Episodes 92~98? Drop it in the comments and you might find your answer in next week's installment!

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