#ch456

[opbackgrounds]

This idea is so, so important to the series in general, and Brook in particular. There are times in One Piece where people die for noble causes, and others where people act knowing that there's a good chance that they could die, but knowingly choosing death over life is never portrayed in a positive light.

As someone who views One Piece through the lens of Romantic literature, this is really important because historically the Romantics, er, well, romanticized suicide and death and the historic last stand. It's doubly interesting to me as a Japanese story, with Japan having its own long, complicated history with the concept of honorable death.

One Piece directly challenges both of these ideas, with life and living being romanticized instead, even if that means you have to get on your knees and beg for it like Brook does with Ryuma later on.

And it's a tightrope that story has to balance. Nami willingly lived under to boot of the man who killed her mother for years, but there came a time when enough was enough, and both she and the village had to stand up and fight for her freedom. She carried that lesson to her fight with Enel, even though she was hopelessly outmatched and would have been reduced to a greasy smear if Luffy hadn't shown up to save her. Within the context of the story both instances were portrayed positively, with Oda indicating through his writing that she had made the correct decision.

But that's not what's happening here. This is Luffy being willing to run away at Sabaody because he knew the Pacificas were too strong. This is Usopp lambasting the samurai at Wano for rushing toward their deaths rather than living to fight another day.

It's Brook knowing he made a promise to a friend, and doing everything in his power to keep it, even if it meant looking like a sniveling coward groveling at the feet of his own shadow.

[evilkaeya]

ueudheiehssjs... hngngjja!sk.... shdhjrdkkdldfl

[princess-of-purple-prose]

Okay fine I really really like sai

[everychojuro]

[gradelstuff]

It legitimately hurts me every time they call the half-dragon a bastard. I just want this dude to have a happy ending fffffffff

[chowleen]

[fireandkeymage]

Current battle overview

[naruto1to700]

Chapter 456

[opbackgrounds]

A couple things here,

I like how big the panel of Brook is, and the angle used that makes him look even bigger. He's giving essential information with authority, and the art emphasizes that fact

The use of salt is thematically appropriate in a couple of different ways. As Franky insinuates, in the real world salt has traditionally been used to ward off evil, and that fits the vibes of Thriller Bark perfectly. Oda incorporates that real world mythology into the series by finding a way to introduce it into the logic One Piece without feeling like too much of an asspull. It'd be interesting to see if this weakness extended to other similar Devil Fruit abilities, but even if it's not expanded upon it feels right and appropriate for this arc

[opbackgrounds]

Brook's too hard on himself. While he didn't accomplish his personal goal, five years ago he had all of Thriller Bark scared shitless, figured out the zombie's weaknesses, and gave a lot of people their shadows back. He went back knowing he was going against a Warlord, and that takes balls of steel, even though, technically, he no longer has any.

[opbackgrounds]

I've bragged a lot about the character designs this arc, but come on. This is just too awesome

[opbackgrounds]

Brook remembering being beaten by his own zombie makes me sad. It's amazing how expressive Oda is able to be with a character who no longer has a face.

[opbackgrounds]

I'll keep harping on this point, but look at Moriah's crew being able to interact and communicate effectively like a good, healthy crew. This is a surprisingly rare thing for enemy pirate crews in the series.

Also, Perona would have been about eighteen during Brook's first infiltration. That's not terribly young by One Piece pirate standards, especially since an SBS revealed that Moriah raised her since she was little, but she's been actively participating as a part of his crew for a long time.

[opbackgrounds]

Of all the things Ryuma stole from Brook, the one that upsets me the most is how they drink tea the same way

[opbackgrounds]

This is all the backstory we get for Moriah, and while he isn't the deepest or the best villain in the world, he is effective. I feel like he's one of those bad guys who's more interesting in hindsight, after we see what almost happened to Luffy during Sabaody and the Marineford War. Moriah isn't a roadblock like Crocodile or Doflamingo or Kaido, he's a warning, and a look at what a potential future could look like for Luffy if he were to ever fail.

I especially like this implication that Moriah's former crew was small. It's another thing that makes him a good parallel for the Straw Hat Pirates.

[opbackgrounds]

Shout out to this random vulture waking up Brook and being the true MVP of this arc