The HATE episode. Akainu is the new most-hated Marine. Why? Find out at OnePieceOfficial.com. Go there. Now.
First Thoughts
Sora’s back, and more freaked out than ever. I finally get to the point where I am seeing raw footage (stopped reading at ch. 572) and THIS comes out of nowhere. This episode blew me away. Honestly, if I hadn’t had my trusty pack of spoilers (from my 'wonderful' friend…curse you…) I don’t think I could have watched this without screaming in agony and/or fear...even though I still did. Of course, the entire episode is extremely exciting, and it really does keep you waiting until the very end, then BAM- springs the surprise on you like a crazed fangirl at a convention. Except, more serious.
{And, in accordance to Episode 480, the LOVE episode, this is dubbed the HATE episode. If you watched the episode, you should know why.}
Summary
Having freed Ace from the scaffold and returned to the midst of the furious battle waging below, Luffy, determined to get his brother out of harm’s way, urges the pyro to listen to Whitebeard’s final Captain’s Order to retreat and run. Almost unable to do so, Ace says unspoken thanks to Whitebeard as his “father”, and follows his brother.
All of the assorted pirates express different reactions and feelings to Whitebeard’s announcement that he is basically going to stay behind and sacrifice himself for his “children”. Buggy gets the Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) working again thanks to his stupidity, but once again all the world sees is the clown captain’s big red nose blocking their view of the war of the century.
Out of nowhere Admiral Akainu steps out and begins to desecrate Whitebeard’s name. Hearing the slander against his “father’s” name, Ace furiously challenges the magma-man, only to be brought to his knees when the magma blast burns the fire-user. Akainu declares that he will not allow neither Ace nor Luffy to leave alive, since they have “bad blood”, the blood of dangerous criminals, in their veins. Having brought Ace to his knees, Akainu delivers a fatal blow to Luffy-
-Only to be intercepted by Ace…through the middle of his chest. The red beads scatter across the cobblestones. Before him on the ground, Ace’s Vivre Card still evades Luffy's trembling hand as it smolders instantly until only the barest tip remains.
Thoughts
I was so extremely excited for this episode. Goodness, the first episode I get to review that I haven’t already read! How exciting!
I was really glad there wasn’t much review on the last episode at the beginning. Sometimes there is just so much…but today it was short. Very nice. Of course, from the title I already suspected what Akainu was going to do. I mean, come on, I didn’t even have a spoiler for that, yet I already know a crucial thing that is gonna happen!
Personally, I am rooting for Whitebeard to just sink Marineford into the ocean. That would be AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I doubt this would occur. Too bad…Hehe, still, there is a lot one can accomplish with like 25 chapters…(I’m approximating this to be around ch. 573 or so…and fun spoilers occur around ch. 600…so maybe 25 ch. Or so I’d say.)
I shall take this moment to point and laugh. HA! Sengoku’s stupid “Justice” sign is crooked…ha…
As much as I really think their collective yelling of “Pops!” is amusing, it bugs me a bit, if only because they are being Really disrespectful of Whitebeard by not listening to his order. I mean, he IS doing this to save them after all. If they all die because they didn’t listen to him, then his sacrifice (which obviously he is trying to sacrifice himself) will be in vain. So…just run already people, don’t just stand there! Ah!
I really like this picture. It really represents how different Ace feels he is from the rest of his fleeing fellow-men. Poor Luffy, he is just listening to the ossan…and Ace isn’t moving yet…dang, any moment something bad could happen!
Marco…I wonder if he’s gonna go…hm…since they didn’t show what he did…it’s safe to assume that something rather interesting will occur with him in a later episode before something happens to Whitebeard…he IS the 1st Division commander, after all. He kinda Can’t leave his captain. Or, at least he is least at blame for disobeying Captain’s Orders.
AH! It’s SAN! I looooooove Mr. San (as I so frequently address him!) Hehe, I have to say, he is rather back to his old comedic funny for the moment, with the turtle shell and everything. Ever since Buggy has come into the picture and gotten all those crazed followers, Mr. San has been rather cynical and reality-point. But, here I see a little of the old, more crafty San…haha, and as Buggy has ex-convicts overestimating him, Mr. San has it worse: the Marines overestimating him! Well, I do love this turtle shell-run though. It is so funny!
Ohh…Sengoku…hmm…so it is true then, Whitebeard Is trying to sink Marineford. It’s a suicide mission, a sort of “Last Stand” to keep his “children” safe while he holds off the rest of the Marines. Oh, and Garp is back on his feet! Wow. Extremely impressive scene right there. He was listening the whole time to Whitebeard…wow. That was really unexpected. The intensity of those eyes…wow. I really like Garp’s scene right here.
I have decided (after several long rants on the subject in previous episode reviews) that I really don’t give a Beep about what the rest of the world thinks about Whitebeard. After all, as long as the important people know what is going on, that is all that Really matters.
Ha! Red Nose.
I can’t help it. I love that picture, haha! This scene with Buggy…bugged me. I suppose that he is important for comic relief…especially in This episode…but still. I have to admit, however, that this part with the Den Den Mushi is really entertaining, and possibly important too. I mean, one of three things will happen.
1) Buggy will keep the snail on him and do nothing, basically as more comic relief and nothing ‘real’ will get accomplished / he will lose the connection again
2) Buggy will be stupid and accidentally get the snail to show something really bad for the Whitebeard pirates, or condemning Luffy or one of them, or something really “it’s not what it looks like!” to the rest of the world
3) (Most unlikely of all) Buggy will do something accidental (why is everything accidental with him?) and get the snail to catch something actually “good” that Luffy, or the pirates, or Whitebeard, or Ace is going / something “bad” that Sengoku, the Marine fighters, or the Admirals (Akainu…Akainu…Akainu…!) are doing
Okay. I will admit something good about Buggy (gasp!). I give him credit for not being a Complete fool and thinking that it would be easy to kill Whitebeard, or even to take on any of those fighters out there in the real battle. Buggy may be an idiot and a coward, but he is no fool (…clown?). He isn’t stupid enough to actually take action on his claim to kill Whitebeard. So I give him credit for being able to tell the difference in their strength levels. Lots of other, more foolish, pirates would attempt to take an opportunity like this and utilize it. They would all die. Ha.
Den Den Mushi have feelings too! They aren’t just cell-phones, video screens, and Transponders! Go advocate their rights!
I was gonna have the Den Den Mushi be the Head Image, but I needed something Way more serious for this episode. Otherwise…MUUUUUSHIIIIIII!!!! XD …aw, the cuteness killed the rational part of my brain and let the excited fangirl out. Darn it.
One last thing on the people back in Shabondy. I love how they all hate Buggy for being annoying now. Haha, they fell off of their Bubble Bikes…
Then, back to serious fighting again. Good.
Oh! It’s Joz! Oh, I hope he’s gonna be alright…he is really cool! …no, I do just realize that I said that while he is frozen. …after I said it. …darn it…
This scene with Ace and Whitebeard…wow…it was really beautifully drawn…
Ah, I can feel it. The dramatic, thick tension in the air…that awe-striking feeling of deep emotion you only get when you understand what is going on deeply between two people in an anime. I love this feeling. I haven’t felt it since I read those chapters. I’m so glad I stopped, this is a great time to see this!
The blue flames, mixed with the cameral angle on Ace’s honest answer to Whitebeard, and coupled with Whitebeard’s unheard laughter rumbling through the flickering light is a great atmosphere, and creates a marvelous scene to behold. This is definitely in my list of best scenes. I really like this effect.
Ugg…lame Buggy after such a thrilling, emotionally impacting moment. Darn it. He’s trying to kill my mood. Darn you Buggy, darn you! And what is with his weird, blocky-pic face?!
Aww…Jimbei is really awesome, protecting Ace and Luffy like that…that is my first thought.
My second thought is a lot more serious. It really is only Ace and Luffy they are aiming for at this moment. After all, they are the youngest-most dangerous people there. Whitebeard is older, dying, and staying behind anyway; all of the other Commanders are just Commanders, nothing really extra special about them right now. No, the really serious “offenders” are, as they would say, the “blood offenders”, the pirates whose blood is tainted with a disease so serious, they must eradicate it at all costs. I hate people who think like that.
Akainu is about to do something…humph. Figures. He is the type of guy to let nothing stand in the way of getting what he wants. Normally, I’d consider him good to have on the side of “Justice”, and not evil. Unfortunately, this is not the right side to see him on in this type of scenario. This is really bad.
…oh gods. That…that...Akainu. That freaking Beep. He is using a really serious tactic of riling up the opponent so that they can’t get away; their pride makes them come back and fight the offender, to prove that they are correct and that the offender is wrong. Oh gods…don’t fall for this taunt Ace…I Know this is where it is directed at…oh gods…oh gods no…no…this may be it…this is where it went wrong…
On a side note, I have no clue exactly How this occurs. I know what happens to Ace overall, I just do not know the exact details on how it occurs, or what happens after, or how long it takes, or what. It is like…well, it is a lot like those 400 Blank Period that Robin is searching for the answer to. These ~25 chapters coming up are total blanks to me, in terms of details and progression. A horrible, terrifying secret…
The worst part about Akainu’s trick is that it is all true information, basically. It is just delivered in such a manner and warped and twisted around to make it sound horrible. It is one of the oldest, and dirtiest, tricks in the book.
I really, seriously, hate this man now. He is a downright scoundrel.
Oh gods…Ace is walking, literally, right into the trap. Gods…
Delivering that speech, even continuing after Ace ordered him to be quiet was a good effect. Showing the commanders.The silent tears of Squard really got me. This is a really dangerous scene, for Ace.
Akainu saying “Punks like you guys don’t deserve a place to live!” just because they don’t follow normal “justice” reminds me a lot of those guys at the Baratie way back in East Blue. When Sanji fed Gin because no one deserved to starve, even that brute Don Crieg. Akainu makes me think of a way more serious version of that situation.
The final prompt: yelling slanderous things about Whitebeard right to Ace’s face. If that didn’t set him off…oh no…Ace made a huge fatal error. Bigger than his literal error of challenging Akainu when taunted. He made a figurative language error: he screamed that “this era should be called ‘Whitebeard’!” That is too much, Ace. No one has the right to declare that. Now…I know something really bad is going to happen. The tension is so high in the air…it’s terrifying…
Oh man…Ace really got…burnt…? Gods…his hand…is he okay…?
Oh goodness…I was worried his hand was like, burnt off for a moment there or something…no, his hand is okay…but still…Akainu’s taunt worked only because he is older, stronger, and more worldly-knowledgeable and battle wise than the boy. Normally, with a younger, more inexperienced villain, a taunt would only encourage the good guy to win. However…since Akainu has years and years of experience on his side…he is the victor. He Knew he would be since the beginning, which is why he used this tactic. Unfortunately, this bodes terribly for both boys…Ace, and…Luffy.
The…Vivre Card…? Oh man…this scene is killing me slowly…Luffy, Luffy, be careful, pay attention…oh gods…this is such a bad atmosphere…Luffy, LUFFY!
Oh gods, oh gods…oh gods oh gods oh gods…that is so cruel…that is infinitely cruel…bringing the older brother to his knees, then making him watch as he delivers the fatal blow to the younger sibling, unknowing, defenseless, and helpless? Horror.
…the beads…the beads are…oh no…no….*grayscale again*
NOOOO!
Gods. I wailed. I wailed, and cried out, and banged my fists against the wall in anger and frustration and rage and horror. But…I did not cry. Because I knew that this was coming. I just…did not know how.
…Ace…
Preview
Wow. Looks like this is going to be a 'have to see it to believe it' episode. Ace…shielded Luffy from Akainu’s blow, taking on to himself. The rest of the pirates are trying to keep Akainu off of Ace and Luffy, probably going to prove ineffective. Garp is on the move, slowly though. Luffy looks absolutely stricken, in a disbelieving state of denial. And then…the Vivre Card…burns away…
Next Episode: Searching for an Answer. Fire Fist Ace Dies on the Battlefield.
Until next time: Hold on, fellow One Piece watchers! Until the dramatic, gut-wrenching final next week. At OnePieceOfficial.com of course. It wouldn't hurt to be here as well though, if you want to hear me and Mikey talk about the huge conclusion...
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