Chapter Discussion ONE PIECE CHAPTER 979: FAMILY TROUBLE
- Thread starter KINGKONGGUN15
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Lol Luffy is already in the middle of trouble.. what? Now that was quick. Seriously he's there in the middle of the freakin feast :D Oda does not want to waste time, it seems. How will this turn out? Perhaps he CoCs them in order to cause no ruckus, cause otherwise he would legit fuck up the plan right there and then.
And Yamato will not be an easy task, huh.. Ohhhh now that sounds interesting. Feels like he will be an overpowered late teen, around 20 years old, cause Kaido's secret will probably be, that he wants him to get married with a BM child, so I don't expect him to be a kid or around like 14 years old.
If he meets up with a party, he could very likely meet up with Momo. If he's not the shadow behind Jimbei and Robin.
So Zoro, Sanji and Jimbei are seperated from each other.. Seems like all three of them will get their own plotline and therefore a warm up fight. I like that.
And Who's who is freakin cocky, I like him, but he definitely will get humbled :D
And Yamato will not be an easy task, huh.. Ohhhh now that sounds interesting. Feels like he will be an overpowered late teen, around 20 years old, cause Kaido's secret will probably be, that he wants him to get married with a BM child, so I don't expect him to be a kid or around like 14 years old.
If he meets up with a party, he could very likely meet up with Momo. If he's not the shadow behind Jimbei and Robin.
So Zoro, Sanji and Jimbei are seperated from each other.. Seems like all three of them will get their own plotline and therefore a warm up fight. I like that.
And Who's who is freakin cocky, I like him, but he definitely will get humbled :D
Pound being alive is just a narrative disgrace.
The amount of inconsistencies, plot holes and overall damage to Whole Cake's quality that this single detail poses is incredible. First of all, I'm not the kind of reader that needs One Piece to become darker and increase its number of deaths. Sure, it could add some realism and increase the sense of threat (to a certain extent because the Straw Hats are safe anyways), but I can live without that. The problem rises when Oda makes us believe that he has killed someone but he turns out to be alive.
Now, this isn't something new, as we all know. Pell and Pagaya are the two great examples of this bad vice. But their cases could be kind of explained: as a hawk, Pell is able to fly at amazing speed and far from the bomb (which still affected him), and Enel's lightning, while impressive, was never shown to be that lethal to those who suffered it. Don't get me wrong: I'd have rather they'd be dead, of course, because them surviving is a significant backstab to the emotional trace that their arcs could have left.
Pound's case is actually completely different. First, because there's no way to properly explain how he survived. He was about to get slashed by a very pirate, tiers ahead of his, that not only was powerful but was going for the neck. This detail is very important because, following the Queen of Hearts theme, there seems to be a liking for beheading among the Big Mom Pirates: Linlin sends the heads of loved ones to those who won't attend her parties and both Cracker and Oven were clearly going for the neck when they were about to execute Pound; the only difference is that, in this situation, there was no Luffy to save him.
His sacrifice was a way to reinforce the dangerousness of the Big Mom Pirates. I'm not a proponent of the whole Big Meme thing, and the empress crew seemed to be very competent if we ignore the disadvantages of facing plot-armored characters. In order to survive them Luffy needed betrayals of significant subordinates (Jinbe, Pudding, Pekoms, Bege), a big amount of luck (Tamatebako), specific counters (Nami can control weather and Brook is the natural enemy of homies) and, what is more important, actual sacrifices. Pedro blowed himself up, Pound won some time against Oven, Pekoms is either blind or dead as of now (well, he should) and the Vinsmokes and Sun Pirates had to risk their lives.
So Pound being alive, first of all, creates an inconsistency on why Oven decided not to behead him. Second, it damages the perceived dangerousness of Whole Cake and the Big Mom Pirates and their impact on us as readers. But this isn't as bad as what comes next, which is the biggest issue with this, in my opinion:
Oda won't let us experience negative emotions.
Like a condescending, over-protective dad that won't let us feel bad things, I feel like he more than usual falls on the mistake of not appreciate the pleasure of a bittersweet resolution. Even his saddest event, arguably Ace's death, was ultimately eased up by the introduction of the unnecessary Sabo. Pound's not-anymore-death was a delight of a chapter and a true exercise of literature: a weak, wiped out man who lost the most precious things to him because he never understood the actual nature of his relationship with Linlin. This ugly, funny-looking loser dressed in rags would finally have his great moment of absolute dignity, the dignity he always deserved, by saving his daughter and grandson even though that'd mean giving his life for them. The scene in which Pound adjusts his tie while smiling as the flaming blade approaches his neck is so simple yet so pure, so strong, and it becomes even better because only Pez is "aware" of this.
This cover page is an insult from Oda to his own work, and I sincerely feel like something is very wrong with him as a writer. This isn't my only reason to think such thing (other issues are how he commented on trying to always subvert the reader's expectations or how he improvises an arc in the middle of it to the point of losing the control of the events), but I can't even begin to understand how this man can be so oblivious to the literary quality he produces that he thinks it is necessary or even good to bring this man back. Sure, it will grant us a beautiful scene of reunion with his family and blah, blah, blah; but this will never, ever be as emotionally impactful and meritorious as the bittersweet scene of his sacrifice; and I'm starting to think that this man isn't good enough of a writer to properly understand the value of sadness.
I'm legitimately disappointed with Oda.
The amount of inconsistencies, plot holes and overall damage to Whole Cake's quality that this single detail poses is incredible. First of all, I'm not the kind of reader that needs One Piece to become darker and increase its number of deaths. Sure, it could add some realism and increase the sense of threat (to a certain extent because the Straw Hats are safe anyways), but I can live without that. The problem rises when Oda makes us believe that he has killed someone but he turns out to be alive.
Now, this isn't something new, as we all know. Pell and Pagaya are the two great examples of this bad vice. But their cases could be kind of explained: as a hawk, Pell is able to fly at amazing speed and far from the bomb (which still affected him), and Enel's lightning, while impressive, was never shown to be that lethal to those who suffered it. Don't get me wrong: I'd have rather they'd be dead, of course, because them surviving is a significant backstab to the emotional trace that their arcs could have left.
Pound's case is actually completely different. First, because there's no way to properly explain how he survived. He was about to get slashed by a very pirate, tiers ahead of his, that not only was powerful but was going for the neck. This detail is very important because, following the Queen of Hearts theme, there seems to be a liking for beheading among the Big Mom Pirates: Linlin sends the heads of loved ones to those who won't attend her parties and both Cracker and Oven were clearly going for the neck when they were about to execute Pound; the only difference is that, in this situation, there was no Luffy to save him.
His sacrifice was a way to reinforce the dangerousness of the Big Mom Pirates. I'm not a proponent of the whole Big Meme thing, and the empress crew seemed to be very competent if we ignore the disadvantages of facing plot-armored characters. In order to survive them Luffy needed betrayals of significant subordinates (Jinbe, Pudding, Pekoms, Bege), a big amount of luck (Tamatebako), specific counters (Nami can control weather and Brook is the natural enemy of homies) and, what is more important, actual sacrifices. Pedro blowed himself up, Pound won some time against Oven, Pekoms is either blind or dead as of now (well, he should) and the Vinsmokes and Sun Pirates had to risk their lives.
So Pound being alive, first of all, creates an inconsistency on why Oven decided not to behead him. Second, it damages the perceived dangerousness of Whole Cake and the Big Mom Pirates and their impact on us as readers. But this isn't as bad as what comes next, which is the biggest issue with this, in my opinion:
Oda won't let us experience negative emotions.
Like a condescending, over-protective dad that won't let us feel bad things, I feel like he more than usual falls on the mistake of not appreciate the pleasure of a bittersweet resolution. Even his saddest event, arguably Ace's death, was ultimately eased up by the introduction of the unnecessary Sabo. Pound's not-anymore-death was a delight of a chapter and a true exercise of literature: a weak, wiped out man who lost the most precious things to him because he never understood the actual nature of his relationship with Linlin. This ugly, funny-looking loser dressed in rags would finally have his great moment of absolute dignity, the dignity he always deserved, by saving his daughter and grandson even though that'd mean giving his life for them. The scene in which Pound adjusts his tie while smiling as the flaming blade approaches his neck is so simple yet so pure, so strong, and it becomes even better because only Pez is "aware" of this.
This cover page is an insult from Oda to his own work, and I sincerely feel like something is very wrong with him as a writer. This isn't my only reason to think such thing (other issues are how he commented on trying to always subvert the reader's expectations or how he improvises an arc in the middle of it to the point of losing the control of the events), but I can't even begin to understand how this man can be so oblivious to the literary quality he produces that he thinks it is necessary or even good to bring this man back. Sure, it will grant us a beautiful scene of reunion with his family and blah, blah, blah; but this will never, ever be as emotionally impactful and meritorious as the bittersweet scene of his sacrifice; and I'm starting to think that this man isn't good enough of a writer to properly understand the value of sadness.
I'm legitimately disappointed with Oda.
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