What a chapter to mark the beginning of the end of the Yonko saga.
An alright color spread but I like that title. The Headliners as opening acts, Tobiroppo entering soon after followed by the Lead Perfomers (Calamities). Big Mom and Kaido (and their foes Kid, Law and Luffy) are naturally the main act as their presence upholds the bulk of the remaining drama on the Wano stage.
With this chapter + the volume spent on the rooftop + two dozen pages between 1013 and 1038 (not including everyone Big Mom fought before from Marco to the Strawhats), the secondary antagonist of Wano not surprisingly got the second longest fight in the arc. I loved it as the most unorthodox match up of Wano, kept as a refreshing 2v1 team battle, maintaining a degree of unpredictability with no Strawhats involved. At every turn, the challenge to put down a Yonko looked especially arduous and even hopeless: no rest from the rooftop, the 7 chapters Kid was sabotaged by Hawkins, Bigger Mom appearing after their exhausting Awakenings, their crews begging for mercy, Big Mom healing and powering up with homies at the beginning of this chapter. Yet the discordant pair kept perservering, surpassing their limits again and again, found new resolve seeing Luffy bounce back to solo Kaido, pushing past Big Mom's arrogant final stand to accomplish the impossible themselves.
Amusing that Law unleashes a bigger shockwave the longer he extends his blade, perhaps length amplifying vibration, but why the massive Flower Capital-sized hole? Big Mom's grave? For Yamato to drop bombs into? A landing spot for Onigashisa itself?
All three?
Two oversized physical beasts like Kaido and Big Mom contrasted by having Luffy Vs Kaido be a haki-fest that compliments the simple Zoan user then Big Mom Vs Law & Kid as a creative DF showdown. I see what you did Oda. Lamentable her AdCoC and Awakening were offpaneled or kept under wraps, but loved the new uses of the Soru Soru in the Maser Sword, reconstructing her bones with homies and Mother Carmel as a fire and lightning construct were all Big Mom at her best harnessing the skills she created Tottoland with. Wonderful to see post-TS One Piece isn't the haki show and mastering a DF and being innovative, Law using his medical expertise and Kid engineering the first freaking railgun, is another pathway to the top.
From kick-starting the chain reaction to being there to end the Yonko Era itself. The boys have come a very long way.
Amazing to see Oda fulfill the promise of the Worst Generation. Originating with the Sabaody Supernova (where Kid and Law teamed up against a Pacifista), their alliances were the focal point of the anti-Yonko forces post-TS, hyped up by Doffy's Throne Wars and Morgans's papers, and central to Wano's theme of the new generation dethroning the old -- the literal Hawkins Tarot "Tower" smashing into Big Mom this chapter. To quote Whitebeard, Big Mom was one woman with one heart and she wasn't going to remain the strongest forever. She is mortal. She bleeds and makes mistakes. The swell of the era will take names and give rise to new ones. Blackbeard, Luffy, Kid, Law, Zoro, surreal to see so many legends quickly emerging from the Worst.
While Big Mom is very likely done fighting for now, Oda's habit of saving the fallout for the next chapter giving her hope, solving BM's character arc was never going to be done by punching her in the face. I'm curious as to what's in store for her future.
