Hello once again, everyone! My buddy is watching One Piece for the first time and this week we FINALLY made it to Drum Island - I've been excited about this one for a while!!
As to avoid spoilers for him, it's my job to summarize his thoughts here, as well as get opinions and/or questions from all of YOU as well! I've divided things up into pieces that I felt summarize the arc pretty well, feel free to skip around.
If you'd like to hear our full thoughts, you can check out our podcast here!
There's also a tl;dr at the bottom for those who don't want to read this WALL OF TEXT.
Drum Island
Right out the gate he really liked the vibe of this island compared to the last few. He liked that they had a purpose (getting Nami healed), and he enjoyed how Vivi took initiative, how she calmed Luffy down, and how he actually LISTENED. While he didn't love the whole "20 doctors" thing (honestly it's a little too ON THE NOSE for me as well), he did like the dynamic with Kureha being the only doctor on the island, her being out of reach, as well as her being labeled as pretty greedy. However...
Wapol
He really didn't like Wapol or his minions and felt like Wapol being there was a disservice to the entire arc. When first landing he assumed that the conflict would be between the Straw Hats and Kureha, and having to try to convince her to heal Nami. He was really looking forward to Luffy getting into a situation that he couldn't just PUNCH his way out of, so when Wapol showed up and it became JUST that, he was disappointed. Add to that Kureha just accepting Nami and having very little conflict about money (except the tiny little bit at the end), he felt like it would've been a more engaging experience if the conflict wasn't just another fight.
Luffy
For anyone who has read any of these past discussions... He doesn't like Luffy. He doesn't understand Luffy, and he has a really hard time relating with him EVER, which makes it tough for him to enjoy the character. However, I am happy to say that for the FIRST TIME SINCE WE STARTED WATCHING ONE PIECE, he actually said that he LIKED Luffy this arc... For the first half at least. I understand where he's coming from though, and I agree. The first half of this arc is pushing Luffy to his limit by forcing him into situations where he cannot fight (With both Vivi and Nami). And it's cool to see Luffy overcome these because ALL he knows how to do is fight. It's setup in a way that makes you think that the resolution won't be JUST another fight... But then it is. At any rate, I'm happy that he's not being too stubborn about Luffy, and is willing to admit when he likes what he does.
Chopper
He seemed to enjoy the backstory, but not as much as he enjoyed Nami's. He liked Hiriluk, but also felt like his character could have been done a bit better. In the end, the backstory didn't do that much for him and he seemed pretty unsure on what his thoughts were of Chopper. He was pretty meh with Choppers fight. He thought him putting his hooves together to find the weak point was pretty stupid and didn't fit with his devil fruit at all. He also didn't love the whole Rumble Ball mechanic. He wishes it was just a spectrum of Human > Zoan, and that there wasn't a set number "3" or "7", and that they could be grown just by training and getting creative - Similar to how Luffy can train to stretch further with his fruit, why does the Zoan fruits have to have this hard limit on them?
Failure
One final thing I feel is worth bringing up is the Straw Hats and failure. When the Straw Hats were first entering the Grand Line, I asked him what his ideal Grand Line experience would be, and he said that he really wants to see them STRUGGLE AND FAIL. To clarify, he doesn't mean that in a bad way, but rather in a way that really tests them and forces them to grow.. The Grand Line was hyped up to be such a beast of a place with really strong foes, and thus far the Straw Hats have blown through every island without issue. When Luffy reached the top and fell backwards off the mountain he got excited "FINALLY, THEY FAILED" (Again he doesn't mean this in a negative sense, but rather a growing one) - But then they get snatched by Chopper and end up being fine. He seemed a little disappointed and was hoping it was going to go somewhere more than that.
Quick hits/Misc
Thoughts on Ace: He didn't like the way it introduced randomly at the end. He predicts that Ace will be related to Shanks somehow.
Thoughts on Blackbeard: Seems fine, says he doesn't think he will be similar to the real Edward Teach whatsoever.
Thoughts on Will of D: Seems to be the "chosen one" trope that is implying Luffy is going to be the next Gol D. Roger purely because of some unknown force willing it onto him. Didn't sit well with him.
Prediction for Alabasta: "They arrive at Alabasta, get captured but then get released because Vivi. The civil war ignites. They Fight a bunch of people. They fight Bon Clay because he's been around a bit. Culminates into them fighting and beating Crocodile and saving the country." - He is on the fence whether or not Vivi will join the crew.
Final Thoughts
Overall, he really enjoyed this arc. It was enjoyable, but not without flaw. He liked it FAR more than Little Garden, and it's his favorite Arc of the Grand Line thus far. He even said that he was actually REALLY invested in the first half of the Arc, so much so that he brought it down from 2x to 1.5x speed. WOWZA.
tl;dr Liked Luffy for the first time ever, hate Wapol, indifferent about Chopper. Was hoping for a bit more from the arc, but overall enjoyed it.
Did I miss anything?
There's a lot we discuss and unfortunately, I can't cover everything (Plus my big dumb brain forgets a lot)! If you have any other questions, feel free to respond and I'll get them answered, even if I have to HUNT HIM DOWN.
Alabasta Questions
Feel free to send these my way as well, and I'll make sure they get brought up next podcast! :D
As to avoid spoilers for him, it's my job to summarize his thoughts here, as well as get opinions and/or questions from all of YOU as well! I've divided things up into pieces that I felt summarize the arc pretty well, feel free to skip around.
If you'd like to hear our full thoughts, you can check out our podcast here!
There's also a tl;dr at the bottom for those who don't want to read this WALL OF TEXT.
Drum Island
Right out the gate he really liked the vibe of this island compared to the last few. He liked that they had a purpose (getting Nami healed), and he enjoyed how Vivi took initiative, how she calmed Luffy down, and how he actually LISTENED. While he didn't love the whole "20 doctors" thing (honestly it's a little too ON THE NOSE for me as well), he did like the dynamic with Kureha being the only doctor on the island, her being out of reach, as well as her being labeled as pretty greedy. However...
Wapol
He really didn't like Wapol or his minions and felt like Wapol being there was a disservice to the entire arc. When first landing he assumed that the conflict would be between the Straw Hats and Kureha, and having to try to convince her to heal Nami. He was really looking forward to Luffy getting into a situation that he couldn't just PUNCH his way out of, so when Wapol showed up and it became JUST that, he was disappointed. Add to that Kureha just accepting Nami and having very little conflict about money (except the tiny little bit at the end), he felt like it would've been a more engaging experience if the conflict wasn't just another fight.
Luffy
For anyone who has read any of these past discussions... He doesn't like Luffy. He doesn't understand Luffy, and he has a really hard time relating with him EVER, which makes it tough for him to enjoy the character. However, I am happy to say that for the FIRST TIME SINCE WE STARTED WATCHING ONE PIECE, he actually said that he LIKED Luffy this arc... For the first half at least. I understand where he's coming from though, and I agree. The first half of this arc is pushing Luffy to his limit by forcing him into situations where he cannot fight (With both Vivi and Nami). And it's cool to see Luffy overcome these because ALL he knows how to do is fight. It's setup in a way that makes you think that the resolution won't be JUST another fight... But then it is. At any rate, I'm happy that he's not being too stubborn about Luffy, and is willing to admit when he likes what he does.
Chopper
He seemed to enjoy the backstory, but not as much as he enjoyed Nami's. He liked Hiriluk, but also felt like his character could have been done a bit better. In the end, the backstory didn't do that much for him and he seemed pretty unsure on what his thoughts were of Chopper. He was pretty meh with Choppers fight. He thought him putting his hooves together to find the weak point was pretty stupid and didn't fit with his devil fruit at all. He also didn't love the whole Rumble Ball mechanic. He wishes it was just a spectrum of Human > Zoan, and that there wasn't a set number "3" or "7", and that they could be grown just by training and getting creative - Similar to how Luffy can train to stretch further with his fruit, why does the Zoan fruits have to have this hard limit on them?
Failure
One final thing I feel is worth bringing up is the Straw Hats and failure. When the Straw Hats were first entering the Grand Line, I asked him what his ideal Grand Line experience would be, and he said that he really wants to see them STRUGGLE AND FAIL. To clarify, he doesn't mean that in a bad way, but rather in a way that really tests them and forces them to grow.. The Grand Line was hyped up to be such a beast of a place with really strong foes, and thus far the Straw Hats have blown through every island without issue. When Luffy reached the top and fell backwards off the mountain he got excited "FINALLY, THEY FAILED" (Again he doesn't mean this in a negative sense, but rather a growing one) - But then they get snatched by Chopper and end up being fine. He seemed a little disappointed and was hoping it was going to go somewhere more than that.
Quick hits/Misc
Thoughts on Ace: He didn't like the way it introduced randomly at the end. He predicts that Ace will be related to Shanks somehow.
Thoughts on Blackbeard: Seems fine, says he doesn't think he will be similar to the real Edward Teach whatsoever.
Thoughts on Will of D: Seems to be the "chosen one" trope that is implying Luffy is going to be the next Gol D. Roger purely because of some unknown force willing it onto him. Didn't sit well with him.
Prediction for Alabasta: "They arrive at Alabasta, get captured but then get released because Vivi. The civil war ignites. They Fight a bunch of people. They fight Bon Clay because he's been around a bit. Culminates into them fighting and beating Crocodile and saving the country." - He is on the fence whether or not Vivi will join the crew.
Final Thoughts
Overall, he really enjoyed this arc. It was enjoyable, but not without flaw. He liked it FAR more than Little Garden, and it's his favorite Arc of the Grand Line thus far. He even said that he was actually REALLY invested in the first half of the Arc, so much so that he brought it down from 2x to 1.5x speed. WOWZA.
tl;dr Liked Luffy for the first time ever, hate Wapol, indifferent about Chopper. Was hoping for a bit more from the arc, but overall enjoyed it.
Did I miss anything?
There's a lot we discuss and unfortunately, I can't cover everything (Plus my big dumb brain forgets a lot)! If you have any other questions, feel free to respond and I'll get them answered, even if I have to HUNT HIM DOWN.
Alabasta Questions
Feel free to send these my way as well, and I'll make sure they get brought up next podcast! :D
