#i want to give him a pumpkin to monch on

[neverwatchedonepiece]

630-631: "Explore! A Kingdom of Love and Passion - Dressrosa!" and "Full of Enthusiasm! The Corrida Colosseum!"

Zoro in therapy, thinking about all the times Sanji called him “Moss Head.”

Well, episodes 630 and 631 were a great start to the longest arc in OP history so far. 

Oda has done a good job at creating a sense of place and hinting at the unique culture of the island (toys, anyone?) A new, mysterious and intimidating character has appeared. There is an old, local legend about thieving fairies (I am sure there is more to this than meets the eye). Plus the Temptation of Luffy plot is up and running!

Brook Gently Suggests Assaulting Minors Maybe Isn’t the Best Idea

Sunny has laid anchor! The Strawhats have finally set foot on the island! Well, some of them have.

The first scene in episode 630 was where Oda took time to split up the group. He always does it but in the past it hasn’t been organised with such clinical precision. Usually, something awful happens, or a plot point needs investigated, and they are broken up into teams. This time, Law had a master plan.

Luffy wanted to head straight into town. Law was all for that but warned everyone to remain on guard. If they failed to destroy the SMILE factory, it would ruin their plans. Law tore his vivre card in half and handed a piece to Nami. He warned her if anything happened to them, she had to sail straight for Zou. The vivre card would point there.

He then unveiled a hilarious map that looked like it’d been drawn by a kid with some crayons. One of Law’s crewmates designed it. (I hope it’s not his navigator, lmao.) Courtesy of said map, we now have the lie of the land. Doflamingo’s palace is at the centre of Dressrosa. Law guessed the SMILE factory might be nearby. The Caesar Handover Team - consisting of Law, Robin and Usopp - will travel on foot through Dressrosa and cross the Very Long Bridge north to Green Bit. They cannot travel on foot because Law heard it’s impossible to reach Green Bit by water. (Maybe it’s a rocky cliff coastline all the way round?)

As I have watched other shounen anime before, I have a sneaking suspicion it might take them a Very Long Time to cross the Very Long Bridge. (I am also happy to be proven wrong.)

Staying behind on Sunny to ensure news of whatever happens arrives in Zou are: Nami, Brook, Chopper and Momonosuke. Chopper was not exactly happy about not having Sanji around to protect them. This is it, Chopper! It’s your time to shine. Plus, you have Brook there. You forget how badass he can be.

There was a weird little moment when Luffy got into a funny argument with Momonosuke because Momo wouldn’t fly Luffy into Dressrosa. Luffy (and everyone who watched Punk Hazard) recalled that Momo almost flew out of the garbage dump in a sort of trance. But Momo does not remember that happening at all. And even if he did, he would never do such a dreadful thing again!

Then there was a tiny flashback of a guy with a deep, booming voice reaching out to grab Momonosuke. His only words: “What’s your name?”

I wonder why Momo has a fear of flying? Did this happen to him at Punk Hazard? It can’t have happened in Wano because he wasn’t a dragon then. Who grabbed him? Or who hurt him? Hmmm...

Not sure if it’ll be resolved any time soon because the focus for the rest of 630 and 631 was on the Factory Destroying Team! AKA Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Franky and Kinemon.

BARCEROMA!

Before the plot marched on, the Narrator appeared to give us a handy-dandy summary of Dressrosa: the Kingdom of Love and Passion. 

@meheartonepiece You were right about the Spanish connections here. More specifically, Acacia Port Town gives me Barcelona vibes. The buildings are definitely Gaudi-inspired. There was a ton of seafood dishes on offer. Acoustic guitarists accompanied flamenco dancers in street performances. Even the warren of streets reminded me of the Gothic Quarter. It’s pretty cool. Oda has taken a bit of time to really build a strong sense of place.

And did I mention there is a sizable population of sentient puppets and toys living alongside humans?

Dressrosa: the Kingdom of Love, Passion and Toys.

I get the feeling Perona would love this place. Then again, the toys here can talk back, so maybe not.

Luffy and Franky Don’t Do Dress Codes

Meanwhile, the Factory Destruction Team had made it to Acacia Port Town. Kinemon had come good with extremely sophisticated disguises. Shades, suits and ‘staches. Classic.

They were initially weirded out by the toy population of Dressrosa (a serious-looking teddybear sat reading a newspaper at a pavement cafe, lmao). But Luffy recovered quickly and was like, “Let’s eat!”

As they dived into a nearby bar, Zoro sensed the approach of another. An old, blind dude with wicked facial scars who wore clacky, traditional wooden shoes (geta?) and walked with the aid of a stick. As soon as I saw this guy I thought, “Yup. Here comes a badass.”

Zoro almost drew his sword, but the guy slowly walked past Zoro, then turned and said, “Excuse me, I heard there is a gambling house around here. Do you know where it is?”

Zoro apologised, said this was his first time on the island but that the guy might try the bar across the street.

Inside, the Destruction Team were waiting for their food order. Foxfire was impatient. He did not like all this waiting around! Franky, who is sensible, reminded him they needed intel before making a move. Sanji noticed all the people were oddly calm for a state whose king just abdicated without warning.

“Maybe these people don’t know yet,” Zoro suggested.

Hmm... not sure about that. Maybe they all know he’s up to something. So far, his people are pretty confidence in Doflamingo’s competence as a ruler.

Then the food arrived, along with a strange little local legend. Since it was mentioned twice by Oda, I’m thinking it’ll be important to take note of it.

Sanji asked why one of the dishes was called “Fairy Pumpkin.” The toy waiter who brought it explained that it comes from the Dressrosa legend of the fairy guardians, who used to watch over Dressrosa for years. No one, however, has seen them in years. But that doesn’t stop them pilfering stuff.

Stealing stuff? That is definitely suspicious. Would not be surprised if a real, non-fairy thief is later unmasked in a Scooby Doo moment.

“Y U STEAL MY SWORD??”

“Would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddlin’ Strawhats!”

Or, you know, there is a chance it *could* be fairies.

Might be an Underpants Gnomes type situation.

Step 1: Steal Stuff Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit

But I had no time to dwell on the puzzle of the supposed fairy guardians, as the old guy Zoro encountered swanned back into the action and was the centre of a Really Cool Scene.

This. Guy.

While Luffy and co were tucking into their amazing food (seriously, I am hungry just thinking abouit the lovely food you can buy in Dressrosa), there was a commotion at another table.

The Old Dude had found the gambling table and was running an amazing streak of luck. At roulette, every time he placed a bet, his colour would come up. He had guessed right fourteen times in a row.

Of course, some dodgy characters entered the scene. I knew as soon as I saw them that they existed to have their asses kicked by this guy. A shambling bunch of hype fodders.

They challenged Old Dude to a game and basically cheated him out of the win every single time. If Old Dude guessed white, they’d lie and say it was black. Because Old Dude couldn’t see. So it was alright to cheat him, right?

As Old Dude placed all his chips on a final mega wager, the Fodders were about to cheat. Then a familiar voice piped up, “It’s white.”

Exposed as cheaters, the Fodders snapped, “It’s black, idiot!”

Luffy, monching away on his squid ink spaghetti, repeated himself. “It’s white. Old man, you win!”

Old Dude thanked Luffy for his kindness. Luffy was like, “No bother. I just said what I saw. But why are you even bother with these losers? You look strong.”

When the Fodders attacked, Old Dude tripped one easily. Then a fantastic beatdown commenced.

“It’s no good. Young man, could you stand aside for a moment? I’m going to send these people to hell.”

Ohhhhh, man. 

It was beautiful.

I’m still not entirely sure what actually happened, but Old Dude appeared to slash up the Fodders. Except he didn’t. There wasn’t a mark on them. But as he walked, a mysterious pressure forced them downwards, with such intensity it cracked the floor and they plummeted into a huge hole.

Zoro wondered if Old Dude was a Devil Fruit eater.

I’m wondering if that alone was the power of his haki.

At any rate, Old Dude made a swift exit, handed the maitre-d’ a card to where he could send the repair bills (nice guy). He seems to be Mega Famous, as the maitre-d’ recognised his name instantly. Sanji spotted it too. “Is this guy Extraordinarily Infamous, or something?”

Alas, his name was not revealed. But I have a suspicion Old Dude has seen through Luffy’s disguise, as he said it wouldn’t be a good idea to let slip his identity, “For the sake of both of us.”

Is he friends with Rayleigh, or something? Maybe a pirate? I actually have no idea. Maybe he’s just looking into events on Dressrosa and will be a temporary arc ally (like Vivi in Alabasta).

The Temptation of Luffy

Again, I did not have time to dwell on the mystery of Old Dude, as the Fairies had been hard at work during the chaos of the fight.

Everyone in the place had been robbed blind. Their reactions were quite strange. “Oh, well. If the Fairies did it, we’ll just have to forget about all your valuable stuff.” 

Are you serious? I’d be charging straight after them!

And Zoro agreed with me because Shusui had been taken. Luckily, he spotted it tied to a sack that was halfway out the window. Of course, Zoro took off. Kinemon ran after him, “RETURN THE PRECIOUS NATIONAL TREASURE OF WANO KINGDOM!” and Sanji tore after both of them because they DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO LET ZORO WANDER (lmao).

Within minutes, Kinemon lost Zoro and Sanji but was being watched from a dark alleyway by a guy with a gold, spiky helmet.

Luffy was inches away from joining the chaos, but Franky held him back. He had an idea. I’m not sure if it turned out to be the best one, or not, but it certainly moved the plot along (thanks, Franky!)

Luffy and Franky grabbed one of the Fodders and dragged him down another dark alleyway for an... informational interview.

“You’re working under Doflamingo, yeah?” Franky demanded.

“So what? You think you can mess with the Young Master on Dressrosa and get away with it?”

Franky punched the wall above him with just enough force for the guy’s life to flash before his eyes (probably).

He spilled what he knew. He remembered going after a few Samurai but had no knowledge of SMILE. He’d never even heard of it. Franky and Luffy guessed this guy was such a Fodder he wasn’t high-ranked enough to be in the know. So the next step was finding a few who did occupy such high office.

It turned out the Corrida Colosseum (where Diamante is the local hero) was having a special event. All the high-rankers, the great and the good would be there. Doflamingo had offered up a special prize. Everyone wanted it.

I knew even before the Colosseum commentator revealed it that the prize was Ace’s fruit.

This is cool.

Doflamingo is laying the bait, knowing Luffy won’t be able to resist.

And Law isn’t there to guard Luffy against temptation. 

He’s going straight for that apple in paradise, isn’t he?

We all know that look. That is not a good look.