Well they are sure having a ice time – yeah that was terrible
With the arrival of the Straw Hat Pirates (half) + extras on Wholecake Island, the mission to rescue Sanji and to retrieve an imprint of the Road Poneglyph has begun. Within the enemy territory and devoid of the element of stealth, the odds seem grossly stacked against Luffy and Co, especially now that they have encounter one of Big Mom’s daughters, Charlotte Brûlée’s, who possesses a dangerous ability, the Mira Mira no Mi. With Carrot entrapped in “Mirror World” and Chopper missing, Luffy and Nami will have to figure out fast how to deal with Brûlée and now Charlotte Cracker.
Fascinating, so this is the Germa Kingdom
Firstly, yeah I was wrong about the Vinsmoke family, they weren’t misrepresented from their initial introduction. They are downright sinister in their perception of feelings and treatment of what they deem as weak ie. abusing Sanji, one of their own family members, when he was a kid for wanting to cook and now using him to further their own ends. Sanji’s father definitely has a twisted view of the world but I wonder why exactly he wants to rule North Blue. Is it because of some Vinsmoke legacy? Why exactly did the Vinsmoke family lose their power in the past and how was it that they were given/attained rulership of North Blue in the first place? Somehow I am getting weird vibes of the Vinsmoke family becoming the rulers of North Blue after the former ruling family discarded their position to head to Marijois as the World Government was formed. Well whatever the case Vinsmoke Jajji (Judge) is a complete jerk, to treat his own son like that and to even confess in front of him that he does not recognise Sanji as his own son but just a tool to use to further his own ends.
So Vinsmoke Jajji really wants to reclaim rulership of North Blue
As things currently stand with Sanji at the mercy of his family, it appears that Big Mom will in fact have to be defeated to nullify the plans the Vinsmoke have for forcing Sanji to marry Pudding. Or at the very least to steal the handcuff key from Big Mom – I assume she keeps this key in the same place she stores the Poneglyphs she acquires (unless she stores the key on person). Hopefully along with getting an imprint of the Rio Poneglyph, Brook and Pedro manage to acquire the key. Without the key though, I wonder if the handcuffs can be removed through the use of Haki like the Sabaody Archipelago slave neck cuffs were by Rayleigh =/.
Loving how Oda-sensei is setting the tone of this arc up so early with madness at its core. The Wonderland vibe of it is definitely very fun and enticing. Should be exciting to see how Luffy and Co make it out of their current predicament with so many crazy impedes in their way towards their goal.
Poor Sanji, he is trying to do the right thing, but he now finds himself in a problematic situation now
With several of Big Mom’s children already having been introduced, I really am starting to wonder if maybe, just maybe whether she will be defeated in this arc. I was of the mind set that an integral power in the New World would be dealt when the Straw Hat Pirates are together but if Big Mom’s crew continue to take center stage in this arc, the battle against Big Mom shouldn’t be that far away.
If the battle against Big Mom is to be handled with the whole of the Straw Hat Pirates together, it would only happen after the events on Wano Kuni as Zoro, Robin, Usopp and Franky and currently there or on their way there. Something unexpected may have to happen that forces Zoro and Co to end up in Big Mom’s territory and with Luffy and Co. if Oda-sensei plans to cover Big Mom’s defeat in this arc and with the whole of crew. Such an outcome though seems somewhat unlikely. Big Mom’s defeat will likely stretch over several arcs as the Straw Hat Pirates continually enrage her with their actions. Big Mom is a Yonkou after all and they are significant to the New World’s story.
Given that, at this point Luffy and Co will likely achieve what they came to Wholecake Island to do and escape before Big Mom has a chance to engage in battle with them. Of course they will seriously piss off Big Mom in the process. Though will Luffy really need to fight Big Mom or will some other antagonist faction not the Big Mom Pirates or the Germa 66 become the main antagonist of this arc? Jack is still in play and a possibility especially after the introduction he has just gotten in the Zou arc. At some point Luffy will end up fighting Jack.
What I really am curious about is the vivre card Lola left with Nami. Now that it is confirmed that Lola is Big Mom’s daughter and that her father is currently in a bind (for helping them), will the vivre card serve any use against Big Mom? Would Big Mom even care if the daughter who ran away was saved by a pirate crew currently looking to ruin an important deal for her? What will happen though is that once Lola’s father finds out what the Straw Hat Pirates did for Lola, he will aid them in finding Sanji.
The Soul Soul no Mi, what will its limits be?
Nice to learn more about Big Mom’s ability and the name of her Devil Fruit – the Soul Soul no Mi. Seems like a very powerful fruit with a ton of application, although it does seem reliant on others souls (and their compliance? or condition?). Luffy’s soul is definitely a unique one, so when Luffy and Big Mom encounter each other, something interesting is going to happen. The same could be said for Brook who can control his soul =/.
Big Mom’s dream is to become family with all of the races of the world and sit at a table with them as equals, which is why Caesar is so important to her currently and why she was so easily deceived by him – the giantification experiment. Given that, this pretty much confirms that Big Mom’s end goal isn’t to find One Piece, sure she would like to if possible, but that is just a background objective relative to her true dream. Interestingly, of all the Yonkou, only Blackbeard is really driven by the dream to find One Piece, sure the others have interest but they are driven by a more overriding dream – Kaidou’s has been hinted at. Apart from the Yonko, other possible rivals Luffy has for finding One Piece is Kid and Crocodile, though both may at some point become his allies.
2 weeks huh? Good luck Caesar!
I am curious to see what happens with Caesar as he has been forced into a very particular situation. Will he escape as the Luffy creates havok in Wholecake Island or will he come under the umbrella of the Straw Hat Pirates once they save him again? Caesar is incredibly valuable and could potentially be a key character and bringing down a potential antagonist, so he is worth saving and/or preventing to have fallen in enemy hands. Still I wonder how Big Mom got the blueprints of the Punk Hazard facility, wouldn’t a high-tech World Government facility be strict on who has access to information about it? Who did Big Mom obtain such information from?
Very interested to see where the arc heads towards and what new information we will learn about Big Mom and the New World in general.
12Dimension 
August 12, 2016 at 7:40 am
I’ve noticed this arc is similar to the thriller bark arc. like living objects (homies) are like moria’s zombies. I wonder if big mom will try to absorb all the souls on the islands to herself if put into a corner.