One Piece Chapter 792 – The Rightful King

Despite his lack of action during the arc, Isshou desperately wanted to help stop Doflamingo

What a surprising gesture by Isshou and the Marines towards King Riku and the whole of Dressrosa whom have suffered because of the World Governments lack of control over the Shichibukai. Doflamingo was able to exploit the Shichibukai system and blackmail the World Government to turn a blind eye to the dealings and shady activities he had going on. It was because of that power that the people of Dressrosa have suffered so greatly for the past ten years. Isshou realises this and through his actions of expressing his sincere regret and sorrow, he is attempting to mend the relationship between the rightful king of Dressrosa, King Riku Dold, and the World Government.

One Piece Chapter 785 – Surviving The Terror

Doflamingo surely felt that…

With the fight reaching its conclusion, it is only a matter of pages now until Doflamingo falls at the fist of Luffy. Doflamingo at the moment just can’t seem to match Gear Fourth Luffy both in terms of speed and power and appears to be instead trying to buy time for the risks of Gear Fourth to kick in and affect Luffy. Throughout their 20 minutes fight, Doflamingo hasn’t once managed to inflict noticeable damage onto Luffy and has instead been the one who is receiving the beating. If Doflamingo does still have the energy to get up after receiving Luffy’s Lion Bazooka, I doubt he would have much strength left to seriously stand against Luffy even if Gear Fourth wears off. It seems very likely that Oda has set-up Doflamingo’s fall for the next chapter – most likely a weakened/weakening Doflamingo vs base Luffy.

One Piece Chapter 778 – Zoro VS Pica (Part II)

What Zoro is capable of when he is serious!

And that is exactly why Zoro is one of the most badass shounen characters ever created, he delivers satisfaction in spades (sorry Pica). Not only did he impress with his strength, his ability to tactically analyse the situation and act accordingly was what truly blew my mind. On top of that, the art work this chapter was sublime, those double page spreads melted my eyes as Zoro disposed of Pica in epic fashion. Indeed, the Straw Hats are more than just Straw Hat Luffy and God Usopp, Zoro was quite right when he told Pica he was on a completely different level to him, a shame Pica chose not to listen, he underestimated Zoro big time!

One Piece Chapter 742 – The Forgotten Man

How unexpected, so this is how Kyros lost his left leg

Developments sure transpired quickly this chapter, especially Kyros’s flashback and Sugar’s “demise”. But I don’t mind at all, with those relevant developments out of the way now, we can finally get into the climax of the arc – the battle with Doflamingo. And concerning that battle, with everything Doflamingo has done and the amount of people he has forced to suffer, he so NEEDS an ass-kicking this arc. Regardless of how strong and capable Doflamingo is, this arc has built him up as a villain who has accumulated too many sins to let escape or have another arc without getting his just deserts this arc. And with the cliff-hanger this chapter, Usopp has ensured that Doflamingo is half-way on his way to receiving his beating.

One Piece Chapter 741 – The Legendary Hero

Another awesome colour spread from Oda, love it!

About time Usopp threw his cowardice to the wind and got his courage together! I was waiting and waiting and waiting and now finally the unbearableness of his cowardice got through to Usopp forcing him to face his fears and stop running away. Usopp may yet still become the ‘brave warrior of the seas’ he dreams of being and amusingly he may just get that army of followers he also dreamed of having. The other legendary hero, Kyros, recalls memories of the past and the immense debt he owes King Riku. It’s tragic really, Kyros has been suffering from such a young age and even now, he is still suffering. What strength and will power lies in this man who is able to endure so much hate and negativity and still selflessly push forward with the sole intent of helping others irrespective of whether he loses his life. I can’t help but admire the man.

One Piece Chapter 734 – The Victor Of Block D

Victor of Block D, Rebecca

Hahahah I did not see this happening, NOT AT ALL. For three weeks I’ve been wrecking my brain theorising about potential ways the end of Block D can finish but even with that, I wasn’t even close…To think Cavendish had this characteristic to him, sleep walking and a second persona – Hakuba, even stronger than his normal self, I am honestly in awe at Oda-sensei’s ability to surprise the readers yet keep the twist within the realm of possibility. As a fan of One Piece who tries to predict how Oda-sensei will carry out twists, even after 6 years of following One Piece, I can’t predict him, and I LOVE IT!!

One Piece Chapter 728 – The Tragedies Of Dressrosa

Exploiting the tragedies caused by Doflamingo

Robin took the words right out of my mouth, Doflamingo truly is one cunning man…Just to take over Dressrosa he created so much suffering and hatred, what a sad guy =(. Back to Robin, she was involved in a similar situation with Crocodile back during the Alabasta arc, although Crocodile never went as far as Doflamingo. No wonder Crocodile doesn’t like Doflamingo, his too extreme O.o. The two moments of the chapter for me: finding out that Violet is actually Viola Riku, the princess of the Riku family, and Robin’s shock reaction…I am speechless, she’s never let a reaction like that slip before, could this be signs of her loosening up after years of constantly being on edge and on guard before she joining the Strawhats? Either way, Robin looks hot even shocked.

One Piece Chapter 727 – Doflamingo’s Trap

…Doflamingo…

Wow, what an intense chapter that shockingly illustrated just how cruel and evil Doflamingo can be. I knew Doflamingo was twisted, but this chapter opened my eyes to a whole new level of twistedness Doflamingo has. To destroy such a beautiful thing as the trust a whole country has for their leader, their king, does Doflamingo have no heart? I was expecting Doflamingo to have gained some sort of insight in humanity and what is wrong after having grown up with the Tenryuubito but I guess my optimistic assumption was just too optimistic. Even compared to what we’ve seen from the Tenryuubito, Doflamingo takes the cake, the layers of cruelty he has displayed this chapter were piercing. What exactly happened to Doflamingo in the past to dictate his actions now?

One Piece Chapter 726 – Rebecca’s Father

The freedom of adventure

Oh wow, I was under the impression that Gladiator Ricky was Rebecca’s father but that turned out to not exactly be the case. Gladiator Ricky is actually the former king of Dressrosa, Riku Dold III, Rebecca’s grandfather. The person who I thought was the former king of Dressrosa was the Thunder Soldier, but he is in fact Rebecca’s father. I had expected as much that the Thunder Soldier was related to Rebecca in such a way and most likely the Thunder Soldier is the legendary gladiator Kyros.