Scopper is best Roger Pirate overwhelmingly far now for me personally. Followed by Buggy lol.
I really hoped Oda would deliver with the Roger Pirates for decades and Scopper has delivered on that front immensely especially. Even more so in this chapter. I really love great parental figure type characters.
Colon was extremely brave and his parents will definitely be proud, Gaban had 100% faith in him and he was right to. Those panels of both him and Brook shown as fathers made me tear up genuinely, especially as a long time Brook stan too.
Elbaf has suddenly become my favourite post TS arc easily, recency bias be damned.
@kekaro Definitely has future sight like Gabanachad ofc with his Roshi predictions ages ago for him and you can really feel Odas love and inspirations from Dragonball, Toriyama and thus Roshi with Gaban. Hell the way Gaban toyed with Luffy and Zoro made me nostalgic for both Roshi with Kid Goku and Krillin and also Jiraiya and Naruto. Jiraiya definitely felt Roshi inspired too, maybe Gai a bit too (I fucking love Gai sensei but Jiraiya too) and funnily enough, not only both of those men such great men and overwhelmingly amazing ninja, but incredible father figures to Rock Lee and Naruto ofc.
There's a bunch of Naruto music I can immediately assign to Gaban and hear with him. Like Kinemon, Pedro and Brook, Gyros, Wyper, Zeff, Tom and Franky, Mihawk, Kyros etc, Oda writes at some of his best when writing these very 80s macho, cool, badass action hero but also strong father figure, male role model characters. Clearly what he loves and inspires him and that's also what Dragonball and especially Dragon Aura Farming Z had in absolutely bucket loads at minimum too. Just endless amounts.
Gabans writing feels very nostalgic, like coming home. It feels like classic, peak one piece and other stuff I've grown up on and mentioned here.
Gaban is not only cooler in ways I could have imagined but he definitely surpassed the immensely high expectations i had for him and the Roger Pirates crew in his own hilariously bizarre, epic, stylish, cool ways. The "Mountain Eater" for real.
I'm still getting emotional over the panels of him with Ripley with Colons birth and him saying Colon is the most precious moment of his life. His character and actions make so much sense and my respect for him soars so high, it shoots past Skypeia and slaps Enel on the moon.
If anything I dare say, Gaban feels like the most Oda self insert character but more so less directly intentionally on Odas part and more like his own subconscious character, his soul or spirit and thus nuances that inspire and mold him if that makes sense?
My head is spinning this chapter, so much actually happened and was revealed and I can't process it.
But I am definitely a permanent Gaban fan for life now. It's no coincidence he's the 3rd most important Roger Pirate (and Rogers left hand/wing) and we have the absolutely legendary Lord Gaben of Newell IRL ofc, from Valve Tale too.
I really hope Gaban doesn't die and I doubt he will BUT IF he does, he's gone out on such a
godamn high. But also if Kuma cam bounce back and cheat death like this, along with the Vegapunks, I have faith Scopper will return and laugh at all the shamed deadbeat dads in the series, rather than justifying their deadbeat decisions.