Anime: Post Marineford Arc- Episode 511

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First Thoughts
Alright Rayleigh. Alright. You are cool now. You are cool. You used to be some old dude for whom I did not care much. Still, if you are going to shoot bullets at cannonballs and the cannonballs explode in midair, then you have my seal of approval. This little moment made me a believer in Rayleigh.

This episode is proof that the anime production can introduce entertaining filler material. I never really had a problem with filler material. As long as the material is not outlandish or it does not last too long, then it is okay. One Piece seems to avoid extraneous filler material, which is positive for the continued appeal of the series. In this case the material expanded upon the manga’s depicted plot .

Also we got to see Rayleigh do cool things. That is always nice.


Summary
Brandnew discuss with the Vice Admirals about the new incident that Luffy was involve with at Marineford.

The Five Elder Stars discuss the recent events around the world.

Sengoku discuss stepping down as Fleet Admiral to Kong.

Smoker requests to Aokiji about being transfer to G5, a base in the New World.

Coby is revealed to have Haki.

The Supernovas: Kid, Hawkins, Capone and Urouge, are reveal to be in the New World.


Thoughts

Return to Marineford Mountain
We went back to Marineford for a good reason. It seemed as if Luffy did follow through with Rayleigh’s plan and went with Rayleigh and Jimbei to Marineford. It was a crazy idea and the Marines did not like it.

I would guess that this little photo in the newspaper is what is shocking all of the Straw Hats. Nobody thought that Luffy would return to Marineford. Not even the viewers. In any case, Luffy decided to go back to Marineford and he looks a bit different. It seems he got a tattoo on his right arm. It is kind of hard to tell if it is a tattoo from the picture available to us.

All the scenes that you see of Jimbei, Luffy and Raleigh causing trouble at Marineford is all filler. The ringing of the bell was only mentioned in the manga.

The anime decided to take some liberties in depicting Luffy’s return to Marineford. The viewers were being lead along into this slowly but in the manga, readers received a surprise. We all read week by week wondering what crazy thing Luffy did. Then we find out via the in-story newspaper. In the anime, we were built up as Luffy was speaking to Rayleigh. Both plot machinations were thoroughly enjoyable though I did not enjoy the slow pace of the anime. I did like that they decided to depict the event as a flashback and let us see Luffy cause havoc at Marineford. That was very nice. A little extra for us people who watch the anime.

Oh really marines, how many times has this happened? Do you literally have Marine battleships lying around waiting to be commandeered? Did Blackbeard teach you anything, twice over at that? Has not Luffy commandeered enough ships? You think by now the Marines would know better. Apparently they have not learned their lesson and this complacency helped Luffy obtain a ship.

 

I find it funny how Luffy is able to beat up all these Marines and the reporters only stand to the side and watch. The reporters clearly do not care about the negative effects of the event occurring in front of them, and only want to get their chance to present story. I really like that female one from Alabasta who led her fellow reporters around the island. It seems like all the good, strong, superhuman Marines are on missions while only the weak, merely human ones were left at Marineford.

Luffy then does something strange. He lays flowers for Whitebeard and Ace and rings the bell at the center of the plaza. You would think the Marines would have attacked him or at least attempt to slow his movement. Luffy, it seems, really wanted to honor Ace and Whitebeard. However, there must be more to this. Why would he want to go back to Marineford just to pay respect to Ace and Whitebeard? Surely Ace was important to him but why must he delay his rendezvous? Surely something bigger has been planned by Rayleigh.

Not sure if this is visible in the displayed imagery, but Luffy has a tattoo. The tattoo is hard to make out, but it seems like it says 3D2Y. It is briefly visible, but it is impossible to make out. Why the tattoo? Did he get it to be like Ace? Crazy to do so, but maybe that is how Luffy mourns. Apparently, Ace did the same thing when Sabo died. Who knows?

Also, why is Luffy standing still? That is something that Luffy would rarely do...

Old People Talk
So we cut to the Five Elder Stars discussing recent events. They seem to have a practical understanding of their ramifications. They have their minds on many different things: from what Blackbeard is doing, to occurrences in the New World, to the Will of D. They seem to know the history of the Will of D, which makes me wonder why they want to keep it from the public.

I did not need this image. Just wanted to use it.

Blackbeard and his gang are in the New World now, and are wrecking havoc as expected. They already have captured one of the Supernovas, which is impressive. We all know that each one of them is strong in his/her own right. So which supernova did he manage to take out? Law? Kid? Hawkins? Capone? In any case, the Elder Stars have a point about Blackbeard having the upper hand in the competition over the seas. He has experience from many years on Whitebeard's ship. He understands the New World and what to expect. He also has two dangerous Devil Fruit abilities and a crew of Level 6 prisoners that is a force to be reckoned with.

The Five Elder Stars then state only people that can stop Blackbeard would be the remaining Three Emperors or Marco and his pirate force. It is interesting that they bring up Marco. Such speculation forces you to wonder if he took up the leadership of the Whitebeard Pirates or if he is much more powerful then what we saw at Marineford. He has displayed the ability to come back to regenerate from any attack…Hmm...

There is now a void in the world’s balance of power. The world is facing massive ramifications due to the results of the Marineford war. Three Warlords are needed, a pirate emperor has been deposed, and the Marines are stretched thin.

IT'S AN OCTOPUS!

Speaking of the Marines, it seems the torch will be passed to the next generation. Sengoku is going to step down from duty as Fleet Admiral just as Garp has also retired. This is interesting news because both are powerful figures within the Marines. Even Mr. World Government Commander-in-Chief Kong understands their importance, which is why he keeps Sengoku and Garp under the Marine payroll.

The World Government wants to display an illusion of stability through suppression of the news about escaped Level Six prisoners and Sengoku and Garp’s retirements. It is all about keeping up appearances but will the Marines be able to keep it up?

Aokiji...Hmm....He is pretty chill for an admiral. I think he be a good Fleet Admiral who will never give anybody a cold shoulder. Just look at how he comforted that one Marine after letting Luffy running loose. It certainly was not a frigid display of compassion.

Cold related puns aside, Aokiji seems to be Sengoku’s favorite prospective Fleet Admiral and I think he is mine as well. He has a very cool head and maintains a mature disposition. In my opinion, it will likely be Akainu who receives promotion, because I have a feeling that the World Government would like an extremist to guide the Marines through such troubling times. Only time will tell.

The Kids' Corner

Meanwhile, we cut to Koby. Remember the voices that Koby heard during the Marineford war? According to his doctor, he has developed a Haki-related ability. Haki, if you remember, is a force discussed with great frequency during the Marineford war. This development sure can be useful to Koby as it is a great superpower in conjunction with Shave. How will Koby use it?

I really like the monologue that Koby has, where he speaks of his ambition to equal Luffy. That is something that I really hope will happen one day. Personally, I believe Koby can equal what Garp was to Gol D. Roger. He is to Luffy to what Garp was to Roger in my mind. Of course he is far less superhuman than Luffy and Garp, but Koby has their confidence. He is a good natured Marine who believes in the idea of Justice and who is reasonable in his application of that concept. The kid may not be powerful now but slowly and surely he will be able to stand his own and I feel that his development of Haki will be a catalyst for his progress.

Poor Helmeppo, I am rooting for you too.

Then we have Smoker here, a man that knows what he wants, and what he wants is to be stationed in the New World. He wants to attend a base that not even Aokiji desires to attend. From what the two discuss, we can gather that G5 is a Marine base in the rough part of the New World.

This is interesting. If Smoker is indeed positioned at G5 then surely this will make him an even more powerful foe for Luffy when they meet in the New World.

Happenings around the (New) World

 

Things sure have been busy the two weeks that Luffy was unconscious. The pirates of the world have been excited by what Whitebeard said at Marineford which is keeping the Marines busy. Even the Three Admirals are out and about fighting pirates. I surely wouldn't want to be a pirate that crosses Akainu's path as he would likely throw a magma tidal wave at me. Magma burns....it really burns.

It’s kind of creepy to see Aokiji sitting on top of a pile of frozen pirates. Hard decision when it comes to who a pirate wants to meet. Kizaru...well he is a douche. He shoots down your pirate ship and then he shoots you in the leg. Then he shoots your other leg and claims to have missed. Who wants to deal with that?

Out of the three admirals I think I rather face Aokiji. Surely somebody can melt the ice and if not then playing things cool will help me out a bit. Anything is better then being swept in a wave of magma.

 

While Luffy was recovering from what happened at Marineford, his rivals have entered the New World. Some are not doing as well as others. Capone seems to be learning the hard way that he should not expect smooth sailing in the New World.

Was that ball a floating island? I think we saw floating island that pulls ships into itself. This must be one of the many strange events that happen in the New World. Capone surely didn't expect this to happen and this must be one of the many things that catch newcomers off guard. I wonder how he will get out of this one.

Hawkins on the other hand has found himself up against one of the many possible powerful foes that reside in the New World, Brownbeard. This does not scare Hawkins as he takes Brownbeard to be some kind of joke. Something that he rightfully should do, because Brownbeard thinks he is a top dog with his 81 million berry bounty. Right...Surely he does not know that Hawkins is a Supernova with 249,000,000 berries on his head. The bounties shouldn't be used to indicate power but clearly there is a huge difference in power between Brownbeard and Hawkins.

Things don't look good for Brownbeard as Hawkins is going into his Demon Conquering Phase. Also, he saw the 'shadow of death' on Brownbeard's face. If the past is any indication of Hawkin's fortune telling powers then it looks like he has a good chance in getting out of this confrontation with Brownbeard without a scratch.

 

This old lady is scary looking....

Urouge seems to be having a tough time in the New World as he is coming to realize that anything can happen on the seas of the New World. Lighting that falls from the sky like rain is scary. Even scarier than that is an old lady with a creepy face offering you an umbrella.

Not much to say except that resetting the log pose is going to be hard for Urouge to do since he won't be able to make landfall, unless he wants to risk his crew’s electrocution.

 

Kid is one of my favorite Supernovas. Maybe it because he is one of the most heavily displayed Supernovas and I like the theme of his crew. They all have a hard rock style that looks awesome.

Kid sure is ruthless. The pirates he captured are begging to be released but Kid is not having any of that. He looks like he is ready to kill them on the spot. Kid does not care what he does with these pirates. All he cares about is finding One Piece and showing up Luffy. I can understand his envy for Luffy. It seems to me that Luffy surpassed Kid without even stepping foot in the New World, from what I can gather.

I wonder how Kid's past was. Something tells me that Kid did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He did not have a 'loving home' as he stated to one pirate that was begging for his life. He kind of looked disgusted as the man begged to let him return back to Paradise.

Beside a pissed off Kid, Killer is of the opinion Luffy returned to Marineford to ring in the new era. The Ox Bell is rung twice at the beginning of a New Year to honor the old and ring in the new. It is interesting because Whitebeard was one of the last pirates from Roger's age. Now everybody is thinking that Luffy is claiming that the next one is his.

 

Those things look like Emboars or really big Pignites

There are probably many interesting islands in the New World. The island that Kid is on looks spooky and wicked. Then you have those giant boars. Both the island and the animals don't look nice.

Paradise is the name given by pirates in the New World to the rest of the Grand Line. Apparently, what Luffy and his crew have been through is nothing compared to what is waiting for them in the New World. Once again another person warns us (us the viewers) about the danger of the New World. Moria previously described the dangerous sea as 'a nightmare'. If an experienced pirate like Moria says that then surely this is not a sea to take lightly.

Best. Screencap. Ever.

Final Thoughts 
Oda is surely giving us a peak into the New World and what we the readers/viewers can expect to come. He has shown us some of the islands in the New World and what each one of them has. Surely this is going to weed out some of the Supernovas.

The world is changing but at the same time people are moving forward. Some like Capone may have a hard time in the New World while others like Kid will prosper. Judging from the image above, Kid seems to be doing well for himself. He will not let any other pirates get in his way.

The New World is calling.....

Preview

Next episode it seems like we are going to be all over the place. Each crew member will receive the news about what Luffy’s recent action at Marineford. It will be interesting how each one of them takes the news.

It also looks like we are going to see others such as Crocodile and Buggy. Buggy has clearly reunited with his old crew so it will be interesting to see whether he brought along his Impel Down crew into the fold.

Did I mention that Crocodile is going to be in the next episode?

We are going to see how things are going in Sabaody. A tall figure approaches Duval’s gang and it is unknown if it is a friend or foe. Duval, his crew, and Hatchin seem like they are going to have a hard time.

Next Episode: Reporting to the Crew! Big News Spreads!

Til next week!

Written by: Mikey
Edited by: Dsaftler