Anime: Straw Hat Reunion Arc- Episode 517

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First Thoughts

Because Mikey is so swamped with his reviews (imagine, a whole review dedicated to the 15^th opening!) I, Sora, was asked to handle the review of episode 517. My response was joyful and full of glee. It is such a great honor to be reviewing this episode today. I never dreamed I would get this chance, and the idea never crossed my mind once I had scheduled out the turns we each take. This was an amazing episode, and one of the best in a while (and that is saying something considering how great all the episodes have been as of late.) Plus, this gave me a decent reason to re-watch the episode. Just one viewing is not enough for an episode of such quality.

Summary

Reclaiming his trusty straw hat after 2 years of solitude, an older Luffy says farewell to his friends and leaves the island with the Amazons, finally ready to rejoin his crew at Sabaody Archipelago.

Each crew member is shown to have arrived separately on the island. A gang of imposters is assembling a crew for the New World, using force to threaten the general population into submission.

Zoro is the first to reach Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar, 10 days ahead of the other crew members. Nami is having a light drink, in a bar under the thumb of the impostor Straw Hats. Brooke is now a world-famous rock star, performing a concert in Sabaody. Sanji is overjoyed at seeing real women for the first time in 2 years, going into frenzy at the sight of them. Usopp saves Nami from the impostor Straw Hats using his new weapons and reveals his new buff body and extremely impressive mature nature. Robin loses the two secret agents tailing her, however, she looks in confusion at the posters advertising Brooke and the fake-Straw Hat crew’s recruitment. Franky finds the Sunny in mint condition. Chopper is excited to seeing his nakama again and eats cotton candy.

Luffy accidentally runs into the imposters, who are out looking for revenge for their embarrassment at the hands of Nami and Usopp.

Thoughts

Return to the Hat. Return to the Legacy.

An unusual opening scene, we come upon an older Luffy retrieving his hat from the rock he placed it on so long ago. The strange beginning signifies this episode’s change from the norm, and even the change within the characters themselves.

I really like how the animators have kept the new opening from being the first thing people see in the episode. There is definitely a sense of mystery about the new identities the Straw Hats have forged for themselves, as well as for any changes to their world around them in the past 2 years they have been out of the spotlight.

Personally, I am just thrilled by the snow. This is such an excellent setting: depicting the passage of time through a change of seasons, as when he landed it looked like late Spring or Summer, and it is now Winter. 

Those three animals surprised me; I never expected Luffy to have made friends with the beasts on the island, but it is nice to see that he did not just beat all of the animals up. That wouldn’t be kind of him, and I am glad to see that he made friends. Plus, the blue gorilla is really cute.

When Luffy actually noticed Hancock was talking about marrying him and addressed her on the subject, I was shocked. Luffy has never noticed or realized what Hancock has said to him before, and now he not only noticed, but denied it calmly. It reminded me of how Rayleigh responds to people, so I wonder if his time spent training taught him both maturity and wisdom. That would be great assets to his cause, instead of naively running into situations like he used to do. I could see the beginnings of intelligent questions last episode, and I am pleased to see that he has developed this much already. He is becoming more like Roger every episode.

Opening 15: A Brief Commentary

I like this opening. What was it I said before in a Tweet?  I said something about enjoying its lively, light-hearted nostalgic feel. It seems overly bright and optimistic, but it describes the tone of the new adventure fairly well, even if it is a bit “bouncy”. That is seriously the best word to describe it. I cannot say much against this opening, it is definitely fun. That is all I will say on the matter however, as it seems Mikey has a special post in store for the new opening.

The main plot of this episode, however, is the reunion of the crew members, so that is what I shall focus on tonight.

Sabaody Again, Sabaody Again

The last time the Straw Hats were all together in Sabaody Archipelago was nearly 100 episodes ago, so seeing the Archipelago again is nostalgic. It really has been over two years in real time since they were there, so the timing matches up well with the feeling I get from this scene. All around, excellently timed by Oda I dare say.

Zoro is the first to arrive at the bar, and ten days ahead of everyone else? This took me by complete surprise; I did not expect the usually aimless swordsman to arrive on-time, let alone early. I half expected him to get into a situation he could not get out of alone, like Bonney did the first time the crew was in Sabaody. By doing this, I can tell that Zoro has changed a bit during his two years; his maturity (and sense of direction) is keener than before. I admit I am very impressed by this development.

It is fitting, I believe, that Zoro should reach the bar before the others do. It not only represents how much the man has grown, but is well-timed because he is the last crew member to figure out Luffy’s message. He is also the first mate, so it is proper that he would arrive first. Hopefully he is mentally stronger.

Ah, Nami is in the bar! All of the talk about this episode revolves around Nami, and a certain (cough) part of her anatomy in the past two years. This seems totally irrelevant to me, so I will not even mention it. I think that she looks more mature than the excitable 18 year old she once was. She looks a lot better with jeans than in short, skimpy skirts, and her longer hair makes her appear more grown-up. The detail on her brown eyes is really excellent. All-in-all, I believe that she is a lot better post-timeskip than she was originally.

 

These imposters are irritating, but obviously Nami is not perturbed by them, so I am not worried either. If all of them are really that ugly, rude, and nasty, then no way are they any match for the real crew. Heck, even Usopp could take down these guys alone. The one reason I am worried about these imposters is if people actually believe they are the real Straw Hats, and then rumors will circulate. I am concerned what people may think of them if tales of these imposters spread. It is annoying, but I doubt the real crew will care much about them. I hear that each imposter is voiced by a different crew member’s voice actor. It sounds like imposter-Luffy’s voice is that of Sanji’s voice actor.

 

Brook looks like he is next. I must say, this surprised me. I never heard much about Brook post-timeskip, so this was amazing to see. Every moment of this scene made me scream with joy. Awesome is too little to say about Brook now, a new word must be found to describe his greatness. He has definitely improved after two years. I was surprised to see his “managers” were the Long-Armed men who kidnapped him. I get the feeling he is going to beat them up soon, and I find this amusing. I honestly cannot say enough good things about Brook at this moment. His song made me literally laugh until I cried. “SK Brook” = “Soul King Brook” apparently, but it is amusing because “SK” makes me think of “Skeleton” Brook instead. I wonder if that was intended, or if it was just coincidence. Besides, nothing can beat a living, singing skeleton with a guitar singing “Bone to the Wild.” 

 

Sanji is finally almost free from the Okamas! I still love how much Sanji dislikes them, and I still laugh at how pink they are. Glad to see he has not changed much during the training period. Wait, is that his left eye and a goatee!? How sexy! I must say, men with goatees are interesting, but it is great to see how little he has changed otherwise, in appearance that is. Besides his newly-improved looks, I am glad to see he has reached a sort of friendship with the numerous Okamas. I really didn’t want him having a permanent hatred of them.

At this moment he is stuck on “womanizer” mode. How much more funny can he be? I do feel sorry for the ladies he is about to harass unintentionally. Those poor women, they were just minding their own business, and now they have a depraved ladies-man swooning non-stop over twenty woman at a time. I do find it somewhat disturbing how the Okamas are jealous of those ladies. Yes, I am rather disturbed indeed, but it is alright, because so is the love-cook himself. The phrase “I need lady” will become just as popular as discussion about Nami’s anatomy.

Wow, so that fake-Luffy just shot this guy for being too weak? That is awful, I hate these imposters even more right now. Who fake-Luffy says they already have on their crew worries me. If they actually have tough people on their crew, then that is bad for the real crew.

Fake-Franky’s voice is obviously Brooke’s voice actor, and fake-Usopp/Soge King’s voice actor is Franky’s voice, so that is funny.

Nami is totally cool right now, as when fake-Luffy “asked” her to drink with them; she ignores them at first and is never threatened by the whole ordeal. I do like how the bartender was concerned for her, and I can see why, because she isn’t exactly trying to keep a low profile, drinking alone in a revealing top. Not the best way to stay out of the radar of jerks.

It surprised me to hear Chopper’s voice coming from fake-Nami. I will also take this time to say that fake-Nami is fat, ugly, and laughs like a creep. It was funny when fake-Nami tried to intimidate Nami. I wonder if Nami is thinking about how stupid this is, or if she is thinking about how disgusting the imposters are.

Here I will describe my original reaction to this scene with Usopp in action: Oh gods, that is the hottest Usopp I have ever seen in my life. Oh, the irony of life. Usopp, or should I say, “Man-sopp” as he has been dubbed online, actually is going to take care of these thugs. Amazing how life turns out like this, hm? He is so suave and handsome now! Note to men in the world: should you turn out like Usopp, you will be extremely attractive to women. He is so mature, brave, honest, and buff! This entrance was astonishing, as I had no warning about the amazing changes Usopp went through after the time-skip. Even seeing that Usopp still has his sense of humor is interesting, because he has become more subtle, something that is definitely attractive.

If one is not careful, they may end up with new favorite characters. ”Man-sopp” may become my favorite character.

 

 It is mandatory that Sora keeps this image. Mikey's orders.

Nami’s reaction to Usopp was great, even if it was more fun for me to see how friendly she was to him than it was to see him be smothered by her voluminous bosom. The poor boy, I can’t see how anyone would find that fun, as he doesn’t seem to enjoy it either. I was surprised that she was waiting for Usopp. I didn’t know they made contact prior to meeting up at Sabaody again, but this is a good development.  Not all of the Straw Hats will meet one-by-one at Shakky’s place, which would be boring.

My final point on the matter is that I really like Usopp’s loss of bluster, and I also believe I am going to strongly support the pairing of Nami and Usopp from now on. I usually stay out of romantic pairings in One Piece, but I like to their new character designs and will seriously consider this possibility now.

Usopp is still freaked out by things that he isn’t prepared for. That part of his personality is still the same, and it is funny, so it is alright that it has not changed. I wonder if Usopp is still going to become Soge King. I am also curious about the favor Nami is going to ask of Usopp.

 

Onto Robin who has now undergone training under Dragon. She has some tails, but she easily shakes them off. I like her new clothing style, and her hair looks better long. Both of the girls look better with longer hair. It seems to have gotten thicker too.  I continue to look forward to hearing about Robin’s time with Dragon. I bet she learned a great deal about the world and the effort to oppose the World Government.

Although we cannot see Franky in great detail here, I know what he has done with himself, and I am not too pleased with him at this time. As super as he is, he may no longer be my favorite Straw Hat. From what little we do see in this episode, it is fitting that he finds Sunny first. After all, he needs to see if his “baby” is alright after so long. I can tell from the thin translucent coat on the outside that Rayleigh got around to coating the ship, so I bet that helped keep it in “ship-shape”. Yes, I did just crack a ship joke.

 

My favorite character today is Chopper, mainly because he hasn’t changed so far, except maybe get even cuter. I am surprised though, to see that he altered his hat. I wonder if that is a cover he put on it, or if he changed the material. I did not think he would do something so drastic to the Doctor’s hat, because it is special to him. I am glad to see he is eating a sweet bun and wants cotton candy. It fills my heart will glee!

The next scene depicts fake-Luffy’s indiscriminate shooting of a couple who looked similar to Nami and Usopp. I really dislike these fake-Straw Hats. They are quite terrible. However, I really like how Luffy randomly bumps into him at the end. I already have guessed what is in his enormous backpack: all of the meat from Hancock’s ship that he did not finish eating, undoubtedly.

Final Thoughts

All together this was a fantastic episode. I could not ask for a better episode, even if they all did not reunite immediately. It is good that they all did not come together at once, because the fun would be over too quickly, but it is cool to have Nami and Usopp meet before anyone else. I do wonder what the significance is behind their initial meeting however.

The only two Straw Hats who we did not get a good look at are Zoro and Franky, both of whom have undergone severe character design alterations, so I suppose that it is better they are not shown right away, to prepare viewers for the shock of what they look like now.

My favorite scene was with Usopp and Nami finding each other, and seeing how much each has changed. I am looking forward to this New World now, even more so than I was before the timeskip, and I anticipate great things for the future. As long as they can quickly get rid of these annoying imposters and shake the approaching threat of Marines off their tails, things ought to be good.

Thanks for being here with us for this glorious first look at the Straw Hats post-timeskip! I hope all the viewers enjoyed it as much as we did, and hope to see you all come back next week for more on this excellent new arc, only at OnePieceOfficial.com. See you there~