Comparing last volume to this volume is like comparing apples and oranges. They’re not even in the same league. The optimist in me wants to say that the only reason the Davy Back Fight exists is so that Oda could spend a little bit more time on working out the logistics of Water 7 because strap in folks, it’s about to get crazy. There are many points in the manga where it feels like the story elevates to a new level and never looks back and this volume is probably the most extreme example of that. Although I enjoyed both Arabasta and Sky Island for what they were, they were fairly self-contained in what they were, with some of their long-term effects not being felt for another decade or so. But I am getting ahead of myself a little bit and I don’t want to go into spoilers in these posts so let’s just stick to the volume itself.
Luffy and Foxy are finishing their fight that’s the finale of the Davy Back Fight. Foxy has the upper hand throughout the fight, but Luffy’s unwavering tenacity is too much for the man. Eventually he gets tricked into reflecting his power into a mirror, slowing himself down instead of Luffy. Luffy then delivers a powerful blow and walks away as the crowd counts down to Foxy’s loss. The Straw Hat pirates win, take Foxy’s flag, and then prepare to leave. On their way out, they go by Tonjit and Sherry, who are happy that the crew fought for them. As a thank you, Tonjit invites our crew back into his home, where he bumps into something.
That something turns out to be someone and that someone turns out to be Admiral Aokiji Kuzan. His name translates to Blue Pheasant, and his two fellow Admirals are also named as Akainu (Red Dog) and Kizaru (Yellow Monkey). Aokiji turns out to be well acquainted with Garp and is aware of the Straw Hat crew and their bounties. Robin and Aokiji have also met in the past, leaving Robin quite terrified of his sudden appearance. Despite all of this, Aokiji seems to be pretty chill. He helps Tonji meet up with the rest of his village by freezing the ocean for a week and then watches as the crew is about to head out. Unfortunately, he seems to change his mind, stating that Luffy will be dangerous one day. The crew clashes with him and takes some serious damage with Robin being frozen solid. Everyone retreats to the Going Merry while Luffy challenges Aokiji to a one on one fight. Luffy then loses the fight pretty convincingly and is turned to ice. Fortunately, Aokiji owes Luffy one for taking out Crocodile so he leaves it at that. He also hints at having been in contact with Smoker and needing to relay a message, but he’s too lazy to do so. He sets off, leaving the crew the scramble and heal everyone. No one is left with permanent damage, but they have quickly learned the terrifying power that the Marines really have.
After our little run-in with Aokiji we move towards the sea train. The crew comes across a swimming frog with scars all over it – who we learn later is called Yokozuna – and follows it, only to almost get hit by a train on the sea. They find the nearby station where they meet Chimney, Gonbe and Kokoro. The latter is in charge here, and tells them about the sea train, Yokozuna and Water 7 the city of shipwrights. What a coincidence. She even gives them a letter of introduction to someone named Iceberg and sends them on their way. Without any further problems, the crew arrives at Water 7. Water 7 is a city built on water. It has dams, water elevators and even boats carried by swimming creatures. It’s basically Venice on steroids, but with buff shipwrights, bounty hunters and a thriving economy. Out of every place we visit in the entire run of this manga, I still think Water 7 is my absolute favorite. It’s just such a vibrant place and you can see how much fun Oda had designing it. In the very last chapter of this volume there’s a big shot of the actual workplace of Galley-la, and it is so well drawn that I ended up staring at it for minutes, looking at all the little details. You can see where new logs come in, there’s miniature train driving materials around, there’s processed planks and a giant pulley at the center of it all. But putting aside the physical aspects of this city, there’s also the people.
Iceberg turns out to be the eccentric mayor of Water 7 as well as the founder and owner of the Galley-La Shipwright Company, which unites all the shipwrights in Water 7 under one banner. His assistant is a finely dressed woman named Kalifa. Kalifa’s catchphrase – so to speak – is calling people out on sexual harassment. This seemed like just a funny bit when I first read the manga, but knowing a bit more about Oda’s worldview, I think there was probably more intent behind it than I thought. There is a lot of sexual harassment in the workplace and this has resulted into some strange situations. There was a dress code at our old school where women could wear skirts (I believe if they reached below the knee) but men couldn’t wear shorts because it looked unprofessional. Paulie being distracted by her indecent dressing is in fact sequel harassment and is a problem he should overcome himself and not blame on the woman for dressing a certain way.
Speaking of Paulie, he is one of several shipwrights introduced here. He seems to be a brawler and a bit of a sleazebag, having a power that lets him use ropes. There’s also Rob Lucci and Hattori, a man with long black hair, a goatee and a pigeon that does all the talking for him. Him and Paulie don’t get along all that well. There’s also Kaku, a man who saw a freerunning video on Youtube once and made that his entire identity. Seriously, he can basically fly across the city, and the opening theme that accompanies this part of the story has a fantastic shot of him running and jumping out over the city, inspired by the panels in this volume. There’s a few more shipwrights, but these three seem to be the most important as they got the most screen time.
While the crew meets with Iceberg, Kaku goes to check out the Going Merry and concludes that the ship is beyond saving. Usopp vanishes while guarding their money and Zoro takes a nap on the ship before getting attacked by the Franky family. They’re ship dismantlers who do bounty hunting on the side. Iceberg says that a lot of the men aren’t particularly strong, but their boss, Franky, is a dangerous individual. Lastly, Nico Robin is out shopping with Chopper, before being approached by a masked individual who mentions the name ‘CP9’. After that, she goes with the man, leaving both Chopper and Sanji confused about where she went.
This volume sets up so much, and it’s a pretty thick volume too. I am more excited than ever to continue reading, as I found myself completely lost in the second half of this volume. We won’t slow down at all for the foreseeable future and I cannot wait for you all to come along with the ride. Thanks for reading!
Opal Kaharis 