#op Koza

[charliethechandelure]

Battling same face syndrome one man at a time

[wan-dream]

Koza & Vivi | コーザとビビ

[nerdalie-doodle]

shout out to Oda and the weird little blonde freaks he makes

[onepiece-birthdays]

It's May 26th

Happy birthday to Koza of Alabasta! He is 22.

[onepiececoloredits]

Volume 10 Cover

[onepiecehiperfixation]

*Vivi goes to say hello to the crew after all* *Vivi goes to hug Nami* Nami: Can I ask you a question? Vivi*nods* Nami:When you wake up next to Koza, in the middle of the night. With your head in his hands.. Your nothing more than his queen. Vivi: Stop it. Nami: No, no. And when you think about me! All of those years ago, you're standing face to face with I told you so..

[batterysoup]

I found another meme on Pinterest that reminded me of law 😭😭 I had to draw it and make him a wet cat like the universe clearly intended🙏

(This was clearly not an excuse to draw more of his tattoos guys😶 I’m literally innocent and will plead the fifth)

Anyways I also have some sketches/wips for you guys!! I PROMISE IM STILL MAKING PROGRESS ON THE CORAMINGO AND LAWOWL STICKERS BTW THEY ARE JUST KICKING MY BUTT AND IM REDESIGNING SOME OF THE FEATURES😭😭

Hope you all enjoy :oD I have some op linocut designs in the works too so if you wanna see those stick around 😌✨❤️

hehe you guys are also in for a treat if you like bad batch! Soup has smth for you guys coming soon😉

[joyfuldawn]

kohza + rations

Kohza looks down at his bowl of porridge. It’s meager, more grain than milk. They’ve been rationing water for… a year and a half now, after the rains became rarer and rarer, and then stopped coming entirely. The last sandstorm buried most of Yuba’s farmland beneath the ever-encroaching dunes. Barely any of the vibrant oasis Kohza remembers from his childhood remains.

“Eat your porridge, Kohza,” his father says, looking up to the sun and clasping his hands together to pray. “The rain will come again soon.”

A/N: fun fact! kohza is eating belila (egyptian wheat porridge)

I am fascinated by the implications of a) one piece islam and b) egyptian sun mythology re: alabasta and nika

[thegreatcaptainusopp]

[frobin]

Late to the party and for everyone who does not know this is about this poll: https://www.tumblr.com/onepiece-polls/727007686847332352/one-piece-shipping-war-round-4-quarter-finals

Warning to all the new followers: I have a tendency to talk too much about shipping! In general. Because I've been around the fandom for quite some time.

---

UsoppKaya basically got confirmed in the Live Action. In the Anime and Manga one could see hints (if they wanted to).

But even though a very common thought and side-ship in the earlier stages of One Piece, UsoKaya never had a huge following as a ship. Thanks to the fact that there are only very few hints in canon (367 fanfictions and 29 with the otp:true filter).

After Usopp joined the crew there are maybe a hand full of scenes that could be understood as romantic... but also as platonic.

Even though shipping does not has to be based in canon it helps some people (me for example, lol).

And Usopp had a lot of interactions with other characters. Usopp/Perona had a surge at one point (but only 6 fanfictions).

So… even though we got that one confirmation of Crew/Non Crew (And there is a surge of fics… I consider to finally finish my Kaya/Usopp fics too, lol.) it is also certain that we won’t get any confirmation like that for any Crew/Crew.

Oda made it clear that romance will never be the focus and the crew is “in love with adventure”. He also told the LA writers and producers that he does not want them to write romance.

I talked the possible reasoning for it here:

So, UsoppXKaya aside, FRobin - even though they very possibly will forever be doomed to be a secondary pairing (995 fics vs. 170 fics for otp:true) - are well liked within the fandom. So as long as they are not against a powerhorse they have good chances.

I might eat my words but I’d say they win against Kid/Killer (211 vs. 103 otp:true) , who are also surprisingly an underdog because historically Kid/Law (995 vs. 507 otp:true) was more popular until Law met Luffy and LawLu became more popular (4085 vs. 2578 otp:true) again and Kid wasn’t really around. Only in Wano we learned more about the Kid pirates.

And while Nami/Vivi (569 vs. 134 otp:true) also started very weak back in the day, they a very dedicated fandom. (I remember searching some information about the ship itself but there aren’t many reasons as to why people ship them.) So that will be a head to head race.

NaVi vs. Sanji/Usopp (504 vs. 311 otp:true) though ... hard to say. I'd bet on NaVi but it looks like Sanji/Usopp has a very dedicated fandom too... Either way in the end FRobin will win because of the last few ships, they have the most supporters. And also that is what I wish for xD

I think it's funny the live action made a ship actually canon but it's still gonna lose this round in the shipping war 😂

[ringdabel]

My thoughts on OP ships except I’m being 100% honest (P.3)

SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR THE HEROINES ONE PIECE NOVEL

*LawBepo

- I don’t know about you but to me I’m neutral about it, if you ship this, good for you! If you don’t then okay!

- I do think it’s a cute ship though with their interactions, relationship between the two, etc..

- And it actually MAKE SENSE

- Like hear me out, Law would actually marry a polar bear because of how much of a freak he is and considering he’s a pirate, he wouldn’t care if other people think it’s weird, at least he has his fluffy boyfriend.

- I draw these two a lot in my sketchbooks, like every single one just HAD to have Law and Bepo together or else those sketchbooks are not mine

- he has a soft spot for Bepo, definitely Bepo. He hates everyone and everyone but his crew, Corazon and BEPO.

-In the SBS, Oda did tell us about how Law met Bepo (with Penguin and Shachi), at that time Law was a kid along with the three others so that means Law and Bepo knew each other since they were children and are super close.

- FUNFACT : You know how Law hates Umeboshi right? Well Bepo likes eating it with onigiri pretty much! I like to imagine that if someone ever gift Law some onigiri with umeboshi inside, he will give them to Bepo.

*Smoshigi

- Small girl with her gigantic DILF (idk what that means but I think it’s fitting).

- it’s the size difference isn’t it?

- I like their chemistry a lot! It’s pretty cute in my opinion.

- for some people, a 10 year age gap is too much (Shigi is 23, Smoky is 36, so that means it’s 13 year age gap then) but they’re both adults so I guess it’s legal? I mean Rayleigh and his wife has a 10 year age gap and they’re old now-

- this might be controversial but… Smoshigi is better than Zoshigi or Lawshigi in my PERSONAL OPINION.

Zoro is confirmed to have no interest in women by Oda and for Law i don’t think he’d date her or even taken interest in her in general.

(I telling all this like a hater I’m so sorry I don’t mean to sound like one DDDX!! If you ship Zoshigi or Lawshigi it’s totally fine and valid! It’s just my opinion!)

*Sanami

- MY FAV SHIP!!!!! I love them so much they’re so cute!!! <3333333333

- Theres this one part of the OP stage actors and actresses like an event or something?? And I saw a video of these two where basically Sanji is being a simp as always, drops on one knee and like hold out his hand to Nami

Nami holds his hand then blows him a kiss!!!!! IT MADE HIM STARTED BREAKDANCING ITS HONESTLY SO CUTE AGSHSVHSHSHSHWHHSHW

- They’re the DEFINITION of GIRLBOSS MALEWIFE FRFR!!! No 🧢!!!!!!

- wait did I already put this ship in part 1 or part 2? Man idc anymore I just genuinely LOVE this ship!! If it becomes canon I will become happy! (Even though it’s highly unlikely it’s fine!)

- I just love their moments together you know? When I was young I always wanted the two of them to kiss a lot, I have never change at all 😈

- Like look at the sad French man! How can you not kiss him!?!?!?! He makes you desserts you really like, compliments and swoons at you everyday, cooks for you, loves you for who you are, patient and will listen to you whenever you have a bad day, shows affection to you, a gentleman, IN A SUIT, ALSO WEARS AN APRON AS WELL, Respects you, etc… etc… he’s the only French I like <333/j

- They’re also both good with kids and have a soft spot for them! Oda stated that if Nami is ever kind to someone it’s women and Children, for Sanji he always has a motherly nature surrounding him, his interactions with the DK crew proves this!!!

- AGH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!! IM DYING!!!

*KozaVivi

- a HUGGGGEEE fan of childhood friends to lovers trope <3333333333

- I love these two a lot, I ship them a lot TOO! I want them to have more interactions!

- in the Heroines novel, I just love Vivi’s episode with Koza and the love letter (NO CONTEXT HEHEHE 😈) it’s so so so SOOO sweet it’s giving me diabetes

Like it’s so funny, full of sweetness and wholesomeness! I love them!

- I wish these two would be canon… if not it’s fine as well… because I have another ship up my sleeve… *takes out hand*

[standfucker]

What’s your one piece roster look like and what ‘role’ does each blorbo kind of fill

Like casual dating roster I’ve heard different people for different occasions/needs if that makes sense :3

OP's cast is so big and I'm so deeply polyamorous that I had to go dig out The List for this one. I apologize in advance, it's very long. I have, uh, very liberal tastes.

Poly Life Partners Jinbe, Marco, Straw Hat Pirates (minus Chopper), Most Whitebeard Pirates Division Commanders, Kid Pirates, Shanks, Benn, Heart Pirates, Rosinante, Pedro, Katakuri, Kiku, Yamato, Scopper Gaban, Mihawk, Kuma

Situationship Kaku, Issho, Kuzan, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Bellamy, Fukaboshi, Sabo, Suleiman, Oden, Toki, Kin'emon, Tsurujo/Otsuru, Shakky, X Drake, Whitebeard, Roger, Rayleigh, Garp, Dadan, Sengoku, Bastille

Friends with Benefits the rest of the Red Hair Pirates (minus Monster), Dalton, Bell-mere, Koza, Pell, Chaka, most of Baroque Works Officer Agents (especially Bentham/Bon Clay), Noland, Kalgara, Wyper, Iceberg, all of Galley-La, Perona, Kyros, Scarlet, Koala, Hack, Bartolomeo, Blue Gilly, Cavendish, Sai, Boo, Ideo, Hajrudin, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, Shishilian, Concelot, Giovanni, Wanda, most Minks+Fish-men+Mermaids, Daifuku, Oven, Amande, Cracker, Brulee, Smoothie, Praline, Galette, Poire, Myukuru, Joconde, Raisin, Custard, Angel, Hiyori, Basil Hawkins, Urouge, Buggy, Gecko Moria, Tashigi

They Make Me Worse But I Like It Crocodile, Doflamingo, Rob Lucci, the rest of CP-9 (minus Fukuro, Nero, and Spandam), Arlong Pirates, Hody, Hammond, Perospero, Sanji's siblings, Black Maria, Sasaki, Page One, Ulti, King, Boa Hancock

Hatefucking Only Caesar Clown, Diamante, Kaido, Blackbeard+crew

As you can see, there's so many that it would be hard to say who fills what role for each of them. Each blorbo would have something to give in the relationship.

I really do adore every single one of these characters. Of course, I have my top favorites. I thought about bolding them, but it still would have made the list just a sea of bolded text, so I decided not to.

I will say, liking this many characters makes OP very very fun for me. I'm always happy no matter who's on screen.

[summershouto]

vivi (op) and/or maki (jjk)?

hi! I’m sorry I took forever to answer this - it’s been sitting in my drafts half finished for days - but I am here now

First up: Maki!

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian

Gender Headcanon: I feel like Maki would go by she/they

A ship I have with said character: nobamaki <33 I miss them

A BROTP I have with said character: maki & yuuta- theyre so sweet and supportive of each other. also her and toge bc she can affectionally bully him :)

A NOTP I have with said character: maki/yuta .. I understand why people ship it but I prefer them as strictly platonic

A random headcanon: Maki is one of those people who never drinks coffee. she drinks green tea or something .. she's just superior enough to not really need caffeine

Also this is yuuta related but I think he has a crush on her and gets all flustered sometimes which she finds endearing even if she doesn’t feel the same

General Opinion over said character: she's one of my favorite jjk characters! she is definitely the best written female character in jjk, which sadly we are lacking in. Her whole scene with Mai broke my heart and everything that came after .. I’m obsessed with her

and Vivi!

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian (literally all of these asks ive done so far are lesbians sorry not sorry)

Gender Headcanon: cis but im open to other hc too

A ship I have with said character: NAMIVIVI!!! I miss them. I want vivi back with them so bad. Nami cared for her so much and Vivi was so worried about Nami when she was sick... I see them as "the one that got away" kind of relationship - if Vivi had stayed w/ the straw hats she and nami would've been together :(

A BROTP I have with said character: I like her dynamic with Sanji a lot! Especially chill moments where Sanji is hanging with her and Nami having snacks. Also her and zoro especially during little garden where she respects him but also realizes he’s a massive idiot

A NOTP I have with said character: Vivi x koza (her childhood friend). I just don’t see any romance there. Obviously I love her and nami together but I also adore the scene where she has a list of suitors and just tells her dad to throw them all away. She’s too busy for that!!!

A random headcanon:

Vivi didn’t fully realize her feelings for nami until nami told her they were going to leave

General Opinion over said character: I want her to join up with the straw hats again so bad. I’ve read sm theories about how it could happen and I need it desperately. I genuinely think it would make sense for her story and I’d love to see how she fits in with the newer crew members. Vivi holds a special place in my heart just like she does for the straw hats :’)

[irishanimefan]

One Piece Anime Watchalong: Alabasta Saga 5/5

Alabasta (Eps 92-130):

Started: 14/8/23 Finished: 30/8/23

Here we are at the final arc of this saga. It only makes sense that we end it in the Alabasta kingdom. Here we see the Straw Hats return Vivi to her home kingdom and try and reclaim it before Crocodile's plan of inciting a civil war can come to fruition. But, as always, it isn't that simple, as a number of surprises come their way, such as the Baroque Works trying to stop them, Captain Smoker and his crew showing up to finish what they started, and the introduction of Luffy's brother Portgas D. Ace! Strap in, there is a lot to talk about with this arc.

First point I want to bring up is the country of Alabasta itself. We spend a lot of this arc learning about its history, its politics (and who says shounen anime isn't political?), and how the drought has impacted its society. Vivi's father, King Cobra Nefertari, does what he can to mitigate the issues surrounding the decline of the country, but it comes to a point where the people begin to lose faith in his leadership. Because of the drought, what used to be bright beacons in the country, from the Ermalu, the city of Green, to the upstart oasis Yuba, have all dried up and withered away. It provides such a stark contrast from the lively (but still disparaging) cities of Nanohana and Katorea where we started. The shock of seeing these once prosperous locations in the country in ruins was pretty powerful, despite us not having seen what they were like before. Other series can be hindered by the characters telling the audience about something without actually showing it, but OP being a series that wears its heart firmly on its sleeve and has such intense emotions at all times, it can get away with it. Though, for as good as that stuff was, spending that much time trekking across the desert with very little story progression was getting tiring. Okay, that's a bit unfair towards it. The story is progressing in this part, but the pacing was almost glacial. The stuff in the beginning where we meet Ace (more on him later) was great, and everything after the desert was also great, but after a while I was getting pretty sick of the desert. As a result, it was so satisfying seeing Luffy just outright state that Vivi's plan of just wandering aimlessly across the desert in the hopes of encountering the rebel army was not the way forward, and convincing her to change course by going to Crocodile himself.

Speaking of Vivi, as much as we want to see Luffy beat the ever-loving crap out of Crocodile, this really is Vivi's story at the end of it. Even though she wasn't the central focus of the previous arcs, and we only got a glimpse of what she was capable of in Drum Island, she really gets to shine here. Going into the final stretch of this story, a lot of pressure was riding on Vivi, not only is she tasked with saving Alabasta, but the reputation of her father as a leader is on the line if the kingdom falls. Seeing the gradual change over the course of this arc to become someone who is worthy enough to lead Alabasta was so satisfying. She obviously couldn't do all this without the help of the Straw Hats, who give her the push to take things into her own hands again while also reminding her to not be afraid to rely on the help of others. We also get to see a glimpse of her past and the friendship she formed with Koza, a young boy who is very outspoken and critical of Cobra's neglect of the people. At first they don't along, probably due to the class divide, but over time they begin to build a mutual respect for each other, with Koza even saving her from a group of bandits. However, now their relationship is mired by the fact he is the leader of the rebel army. I think the real sign of growth I saw throughout the arc was her ability to take the initiative. One example I was impressed with was when she reaches the royal palace in Alubarna, already in the midst of a war between both royal and rebel armies, and she gives the order to blow up the palace. It isn't a decision to make lightly, because the palace had over 4,000 years of history and is a symbol of power in the kingdom, but Vivi finds it necessary to destroy it because what matters to her is getting the truth out there. Of course, these attempts are all intercepted by Crocodile, which is always soul-shattering when it happens because we've invested so much emotional energy into seeing her save her country. Then there is her decision at the end of the arc, whether she wants to stay in Alabasta or to continue to journey across the Grand Line with the Straw Hats. She decides that she cares too much about her country to go with the Straw Hats, and since she is still a princess, at the end of the day, her connection with them would only label her as a criminal. Despite this, she still wants them to acknowledge her as a friend, and they respond to that by showing their back to her and raise their fists to show the X mark on their left forearm, to let her know that it is a symbol of their friendship. With "We Are" playing on top of that, it's a very magical moment.

Speaking of Crocodile, after being built up throughout the saga as someone not to be reckoned with, he does live up to those expectations. He is such a devious bastard, using his status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, pirates who are affiliated with the government, to manipulate the people of Alabasta and to pull the strings from the back. He just knows how to push each character's buttons, and he just relishes in every moment of their agony. Does he have his stereotypical villain moments -- monologuing his plans, maniacal laugh, and just being plain evil? Yes, but he doesn't need to have these complex motivations to work. He's a pirate with substantially more backing from the government to do whatever the hell he wants, and what he wants is to destroy and entire country. That in and of itself is a terrifying thought. And that's what makes Luffy beating him so satisfying. Admittedly, their first battle was heavily skewered in Crocodile's favour, with him actually stabbing Luffy and burying him in the sand. However, through that defeat, that's when Luffy found out how to actually get a hit on him, since he can turn his body into sand, making his body solid by dousing him with a liquid, in this instance water, is the only way to beat him. Yay, go science! Despite this revelation, Luffy still hasn't managed to weaken Crocodile, only getting him closer to destroying the country. By the time their third and final battle commences, Luffy had covered his hands and feet in his own blood so he can get a hit on Crocodile. That is one of the rawest things I've seen in anime, let alone in One Piece. Even when Luffy is exhausted, has lost a considerable amount of blood, and was poisoned by Crocodile's hook, he never gave up for as long as Vivi gave up on getting her country back. Luffy's attacks go from strength to strength until we arrive at the finishing blow, sending Crocodile flying into the air, defeating him, and finally putting an end to this war. All of which is set to Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony. The way I was cheering and jumping out of my seat when I heard those first notes of the 1st movement as Luffy was laying the first of his many punches in his Gum-Gum Storm finisher. I fucking love One Piece.

We have some new members of the Baroque Works that the Straw Hats need to fight to protect Vivi, so let's go over those characters in the order of the battles. First off is Usopp and Chopper's fight against Mr. 4 (along with his gun-dog Lassoo) and Miss Merry Christmas, who is a mole-woman. What all of these fights have in common is that it shows the Straw Hats at disadvantage for the majority of it and they have to work out how they will beat them by knowing where each of their weak points are. The first fight is unique because it's the only one where two Straw Hat members are teamed up to fight the Baroque Works. While Usopp and Chopper's fight is pretty fun, with Usopp most of the time either running away or goofing about, the crux of the fight was when they were told that Luffy was dead, and were making fun of how "weak" he was. However, Usopp, right after getting his face broken by Mr. 4's hammer, is still raring to fight them because they insulted Luffy's dream. This was the stand out moment in this fight because we've seen time and time again how Luffy defends his friends and to uphold their dreams in the face of adversity, and in this moment, Usopp is paying it forward.

Next up is the fight between Sanji and Mr. 2 Bon Clay. Before we get to the fight, I've just got to say that I thought Sanji was so cool in this arc. Since he's the only Straw Hat member who isn't on the Baroque Work's radar, he can discreetly make his way past detection. However, as seen during this Out of all the Baroque Works agents, Bon Clay is definitely my favourite. His design is camp-tastic drag excellence and classic OP levels of goofiness that is hard to resist. Unlike all the other agents, he works alone, and in one line he describes himself as embodying both man and woman in his duties. I really want to know why that was the case but it was never explored. He also grows a fondness for the Straw Hats, having befriended them before knowing they we enemies, and even after he had done was he was told for Baroque Works, he continues to view the Straw Hats in high regard, and even helps them escape from the clutches of the Navy at the end. The fight itself was pretty unique, since it was all legwork -- literally! With Sanji being a cook who prioritises his hands and Bon Clay being a ballet dancer, this was a pretty evenly matched fight. I don't exactly know how Sanji's final kick could have Bon Clay's body spin around like that, but, hey, it's One Piece. Also, props to animation director Kenji Yokoyama for making it look so kinetic and stylish, almost like it was a dance performance, which is appropriate.

Then we have Nami going up against Miss Doublefinger, who ate the Spike-Spike fruit that turns any part of her body into spikes. Before the fight starts, it is prefaced by a one-to-one conversation between Nami and Usopp about how comparatively weaker they are in combat than the rest of the crew. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, be since this mission is so important to Vivi, and since Nami has been shown throughout the saga to be a shoulder for her to cry on, Nami feels the need to show that she's more than just a pretty faced navigator. I love how she has this conversation with Usopp, who is probably the only other person in the Straw Hats who can understand where she's coming from. While it is very entertaining to see the rest of the crew perform these impossibly strong and grand acts of heroism (well, as heroic as a pirate can be) Nami and Usopp are my favourite Straw Hats because of the fact that they cannot attain that power for themselves. But, I digress. Anyway, Nami requests Usopp to make her a pole that can be used efficiently as a weapon, so he hastily makes her the Clima Takt, a pole that derives its power from the forces of nature. However, she's learning how to use it whilst she fights off against Miss Doublefinger, and she quickly finds out that the pole is mostly used for entertainment purposes. As amusing as this was to watch, these revelations doesn't help Nami in terms of surviving. She sustains a lot of injuries during it but, after frantically reading through Usopp's incomplete instructions, she finds herself getting to grips with how to use the Clima Takt, using the fact that it shoots out hot, cool, and electric bubbles to eventually make a thunder cloud. There is, however, one special move that the Clima Takt possesses, the Tornado Tempo. The only caveat is that it can only be used once, so if you miss, you won't be able to use it again. A lot is riding on this attack working, so Nami aims a close range at Doublefinger, even using her already injured leg to pierce through the spikes so there is better control (Nami's line of "this pain is nothing compared to what Vivi is going through" was so badass), she fires and... it appears to be another spring toy, all the hopes of winning draining from Nami's soul, until the springs wrap around Doublefinger and sends her flying through multiple buildings, knocking her out cold. Incredible stuff.

Lastly, we have Zoro's fight against Mr. 1, who ate the Steel-Steel fruit that turned his entire body into steel. Yeah this fight was pretty awesome. Not just because of the fact that Zoro is an undeniable powerhouse of a swordsman, but also that we got to see him gain a deeper understanding of his craft. The biggest obstacle that Zoro has to overcome was him figuring out what the riddle his teacher taught him when he was training. When asked about whether it was possible to cut through steel, his teacher responds with, "There are swordsmen out there who are capable of cutting nothing." For the longest time, Zoro has wondered what he meant by that. However, just when Zoro is at his lowest moment and we think that Mr. 1 had gotten the better of him, he finally understands what his teacher meant by those words. I love how its presented almost like a meditation session, where Zoro can actually sense the individual rhythms of his surroundings, like time virtually stops when he's in zen mode. And that is when he is able to slain Mr. 1, with only one fricking sword, no less! And with slaying Mr. 1, later revealed to by Daz Bonez, Zoro now has his first bounty, a price of 60 million berries. It's ironic how the bounty hunter became the bounty hunted... That was terrible, I'm sorry!

Other thoughts I have: We are introduced to Portgas D. Ace, who is revealed to be Luffy's older brother. He didn't stick around for too long, as he heads off before the crew reaches Yuba, but I doubt this will be the last we'll see of him. There were a few episodes that perhaps didn't progress the plot that much, but it gave more opportunity to learn about Alabasta and focuses on some of the characters that live on the outskirts of the desert. These were pretty fun episodes and served to expand upon the country and make it a more well realised place. My favourite moment from these episodes, however, doesn't really involve that, but instead are little character moments for the Straw Hats, specifically the one-to-one chat that Zoro and Chopper have about their feelings towards Luffy. Even though they think that Luffy is far from being a typical pirate captain, they still view him in high regard. The scene where Chopper and Tashigi accidentally bump into each other was diabete-inducing -- I cannot handle their combined cuteness! Konosuke Uta, the GOAT himself, directed episode 107 (the episode which sets Operation Utopia into action) and it was such a visual treat. Oh yeah, Smoker and Tashigi are there too. To be honest, they didn't contribute a whole lot to the arc up until the very end, but their continuously developing relationship with the Straw Hats was extremely fascinating. Luffy ordering Zoro to save Smoker from drowning after escaping Rainbase, even though he's technically an enemy, was a really nice moment, and the fact that he let Luffy off the hook was the cherry on top. And that blush action! Who knew Smoker was such a tsundere -- I love it! I also really liked Tashigi wrestling with her sense of justice; does she try and capture the Straw Hats or do they aid them in preventing a national catastrophe? It was really compelling and Smoker being frustrated about receiving a medal and higher rank for something that he didn't do, and telling the big guns at the top to "go to hell" was the cherry on top. Finally, Pell's sacrifice as he was carrying the cannonball up towards the sky to save the country was such a gut-punch to the feels. We didn't even know that much about him, and yet his noble efforts to serve and protect what he loves is so beautiful.

So, overall, this was a fantastic arc, if you couldn't tell by how much I've been gushing about it. Great moments throughout, lots of emotion, it has probably the best fight in the series so far, and every Straw Hat member had something to do. I can see why some people consider this the best arc in this saga. However, if I'm being completely honest, it's not my favourite arc. It's clear that it is going for this grand, epic Lawrence of Arabia styled adventure story, and it does succeed at executing that, for the most part. However, I think that first third when they were traversing the desert meandered a lot and, even though it was setting up that is vital to the later parts of the story, the road getting to that stage was kind of tedious. And just in terms of personal preferences, I think the (slightly) smaller scale stories like Drum Island have always resonated with me more, so while Drum Island doesn't necessarily reach Alabasta's highs that arc remained consistent throughout and just provided better emotional payoffs in the long run. For a first attempt at crafting a large scale story arc like this, it was a valiant effort, but it's clear that its being held back by a lack of refining and smoothing out some of the rougher patches. Hopefully, some of those issues can be ironed out the further we get into the series.

Anyway, here's my ranking for each arc in this saga: Drum Island Alabasta Little Garden Reverse Mountain Whiskey Peak

And there you have. We have finished all of the Alabasta saga! I finished it at the perfect time too because, at the time of writing this post, Netflix's live action One Piece series will be released tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I am so unbelievably excited for this to drop. Judging it from the trailers and promo videos, you can tell that everybody behind it has so much love for the series. There could still be a chance that it may suck, but I will be absolutely devastated if it did. Either way, I will be making a video on it. After that, well, I'll continue to slowly work away at other projects that aren't One Piece related (I mean as fun as it is talking about OP I do have other interests outside of it). I'll see you next time, as we gain a new member of the Straw Hat, and we venture forward to our next saga, Sky Island. See you soon!

[traitorousdragons]

Happy Birthday, Koza!

May 26 ♊

[boa-h]

Omg I accidentally deleted my last matchup request I am so sorry 😭🙏

To the person who tend to overwork themselves and wanted a man between 20-30 who has a jolly personality but can also chill when necessary:

I match you with… Koza

It actually took me a lot of time to decide on this, but Koza isn’t exactly a bad choice.

He likes to laugh around you and his friends, but overall, I’d say he’a more of a chill person, unless something interested him enough.

Overworking himself is not uncommon either, and that is why you two have made an agreement to sleep when it’s bedtime, rest when it’s break time, and eat when it’s mealtime.

Walking around the neighborhood after dinner is a daily habit. Your hand in his, and the sun setting, dying everything red. What could possibly be better than this?