Anime: Marineford Arc- Episode 472

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Thoughts

So many face shots in this episode! More face shots then you have toes and fingers. Kind of crazy in the amount of face shots and how long they last. Then again they had to find a way to past time in order to fill a twenty three minutes time slot which they did a good job of since every shot looked really nice.

Also I think with this episode we at the blog have created a new tag featuring the popular Marine admiral Akainu. This would be the moment where I mention that we need a tag for Aokiji but it seems like somebody went ahead and created one called 'Aokiji Greatness' which is okay with me. haha

Summary
Squad reveals that a Marine insider told him of a secret deal between Whitebeard and the Marines. It was eventually reveal to be a lie planted by Akainu. Whitebeard embraces his misguided friend and reignites his comrades trust and fighting spirit. 

Thoughts 

Lets rewind the track a bit to the recap of last week's episode. This moment when it happen in the last episode really hooked me. I knew this was coming since I read the manga chapter of this event but the moment leading up to it got me and I felt surprise when this actually happen. That was pretty amazing and everything felt really well played out minus the cannonball flying though the air when  the sword stabbed Whitebeard. Well play and certainly a good sign for future episodes as in how big moments will be executed by the anime.

Look at their faces!

In the span of what seems like three minutes we got about fifteen face shots of people reacting to the Whitebeard's stabbing. Those were some long moments that felt like it took forever to get though. Who knew that we could focus so much time on just faces alone but then again One Piece is famous for it's face shots in both anime and manga. If anything we got some nicely animated faces and above are only about half of those faces. Personal favorites of mines are Moria and Doflamingo. Overall Moria has been getting a lot of good facial reactions in this arc and I really hope we get to see more of them since I am enjoying them. haha

In other news, Kizaru looks as fast as ever as it seems like he just realize that Whitebeard is here. haha

You can see all the face shots that I took but didn't want to include in the post here.

Things look really tense for Whitebeard here as this could be the first time that we see the old man caught by surprise. Throughout this war Whitebeard has been mostly calm as he tries to predict what Sengoku would do but it seems like the old man has been caught by surprise. This can't be good for the aging pirate as he was recently stabbed though something that I think could be consider vital.

The people of Sabaody must be having a heart attack with all the sudden news that is going on. They been having panic attacks about the fathers of Ace and Luffy, the Pacifistas and now this. Their reactions so far has been entertaining to see because these guys take everything that they see on the video screen so seriously. If anything else big happens then they are going to have to leave for the newsroom on stretchers. haha

This pirate here takes the award as best image from the episode. haha

The pirate has many things going for him to make him awesome as in having a dual bladed cutlass and a small lion on his head. Very awesome if I do say so myself. haha He surely a guy that will go far.

One of the things that the anime has been doing a good job at is filling in the blanks that the manga left as in expanding scenes and putting in cut scenes of things that were mention in the manga. In the manga it was mention that Squad's crew were destroyed by Roger but they didn't show when Whitebeard found him or anything about Squad's past outside of this little fact. This scene kind of makes you feel for Squad since it can be seen he was in pain due to the lost of his crew and where his hatred of the late Pirate King came from. Before in the manga you just thought he was some hateful person.

Another thing to note is that this was the first time in the anime (I believe (and not counting Episode 0)) that Roger's Jolly Roger has been shown.

 One of these guys seems to be drawn funny looking.

So the big idea is that Whitebeard has sold off his allies in order to get Ace and allow his crew to get out of Marineford safely. The Marines did a good job in painting this picture too since it does look like Whitebeard provide the best cage for the allies to be trapped in and the Pacifistas seem to be only attacking the allies.

Though it is interesting to hear that Whitebeard wanted to make Ace the King of the Pirates. It does seem like Whitebeard would want to do that since he may know he is too old. Though this was just a lie that the Marines were pushing into Squad's head but maybe this was true? An interesting idea to ponder on.

We now see the source of this whole lie and it seems to have came from 'Douche' Akainu. Seems like Akainu was the tall, dark shadow that came before Squad a few episodes back. Got to say that Akainu's face was nicely shaded in these scenes as he spoke to Squad. Gave him a serious and mysterious look to him.

For a guy that wears a Hawaiian shirt, Akainu is deadly serious. We seen this guy give a fellow Marine a lava bath and now he lied to a pirate in order to him said pirate to stab Whitebeard. What a douche! What an evil, manipulative, diabolical, dou-Hey look! A bear!

Lots of bears! Tons of them that shot lasers and beams and make huge explosions!

Those Pascifistas have been a heavy hitting force ever since they have appeared in the war. There is clearly a difference in technology and power between the Marines and the Pirates right now as the Kuma clones are going crazy.

Who would have knew back around episode 20 of this series that we will be seeing robotic cyborgs that can shoot lasers in this show? The idea itself is crazy but here we are now with robotic cyborgs shooting lasers in a battle that could change the world.

*Insert Star Wars reference here*

Poor Buggy....poor poor Buggy. To be frozen in an instant as he was reporting the news to the people of Saboady.

Though seems like the Marines wanted to cut the feed here to leave the people thinking that Whitebeard actually did betray his men. Sneaky there. Funny how the Marines don't like the things the pirates do but they have no problem with spreading lies and propaganda.

Did I say that the idea of Buggy being frozen is funny? haha Sucks for him though. Hopefully Buggy comes out of this okay.

Encircling Walls? Interesting. I wonder what does this mean. This could be the next thing that the Marines may have up their sleeves to counter Whitebeard. Then again they said walls so this means it could be really effective against Whitebeard and his allies or not so good for the Marines. Still at the moment nothing is happening so this may be a factor for later.

Cool Crocodile movements here

This explains what happen to all those IVs tubes that we always seen on Whitebeard when we saw him. Turns out that the old man pulled them out himself so the Marines weren't take it as a sign of weakness. Though now the question is how long can Whitebeard go without these tubes that most likely help sustain his body.

According to Marco, it seems like Whitebeard could also be out of shape and I can see that. If he been spending most of his days sitting on the chair with IV tubes attach to him then that may means he doesn't get up to exercise much. Still the old man seem to have a lot of power so that is scary.

Man hugs make everything better

Such a strong moment here. This scene felt like something from a movie with the music and how the scene was played out. Kind made the scene touching as Whitebeard forgives his 'stupid son'. Even though you stab your 'dad', he will still love you. That is the theme of today's episode. So kids it is okay to stab your dad because he will still love you. This scene represents the love between a father and son that can't be broken by mere misunderstandings.

Still don't stab your dad. That is bad.

Still an overall theme so far of this arc seems to be that kids shouldn't be blame for the actions of their fathers. Something we are seeing a lot with Luffy and Ace who are both sons of famous criminals. Ace and Luffy are both criminals themselves but they are nothing like their fathers. They shouldn't be consider criminals just for being born. Then again this could mirror to some ideas that are found in the real world where people judge a person based on their heritage.

 

Around the beginning of the episode

 Towards the end of the episode.

One thing that I found wrong with this episode is Whitebeard's coat and wound. Earlier in the episode we could see where the stab had gone though his coat then later we see that there is no rip in the jacket. The animation team have done a great episode so far but it seems like they made a little mistake here. A bit nit picky I admit but these little details are something that should be better tracked of.

Still the animators are only human. Which is close to what Whitebeard said about himself. haha

Action speak louder then words. Unless you are screaming like an idiot and crying just as loud. haha

Still with one action, Whitebeard was able to regain the trust of all or at least most of his allies. The old man was willing to give up a possible advantage in order to build support. He basically gave the pirates the chance to run away if they like. Though the pirates seem as if they want to stay the good fight and keep going to save Ace. Seems like Whitebeard has some good friends.

HERE WE GO!

Whitebeard has enter the fray! Things could now go crazy with Whitebeard jumping into the battlefield. Though the Marines should have something prepare for the time when Whitebeard fights since this was bound to happen. The only question is will it be enough to stop the mighty weilder of the Quake Quake fruit who wishes to save his son.

Preview

Things look crazy for the next episode. There are giants, gears, fire, tidal waves, Doflamingo and a bunch of other things that are happening on the battlefield. Whitebeard looks like he is going crazy on the a battlefield as he fights anything that gets in his way. Doesn't look pretty for anybody including Luffy. This is going to be a crazy episode where almost anything can happen and where a small thing can turn the tide of battle.

Next Episode: The Encirclement Operation Starts! The Whitebeard Pirates Driving Into a Corner!

Crazy things happening next week for an episode that is airing close to Halloween! Stay tune true believers!