One Piece - Chapter 622 [manga]

[paradox13]

Arlong is a class apart from Macro.

Macro is pure fodder.
Arlong should be higher than HQ Captain level.

[marvelB]

Uh, I'm pretty sure the third brother in question is referring to Tiger, not Macro. It's pretty well-established that Macro's a weakling when compared to his brethren (even Hachi OHKO'ed him and his crew during the Duval fight)......

Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma

But I see Kizaru better capturing criminals than doing administrative duties. His speed makes him ideal for such operations.

Yeah, I think this is one of the main reasons why I don't see Kizaru becoming an FA, either. He seems more the type of guy who would spend more time out in the field rather than the office. But then again, that kinda applies to Akainu as well (what with his contempt for pirates and all), and so far he seems to be the top pick for the position. And while Sengoku recommended Aokiji for the spot, his moral justice views (and the fact that he's a bit on the lazy side) are the biggest impediments towards him getting a promotion. So really, it looks like this promotion thing could go any way......




....Heh, while we're talking about marine promotions here, it would be so awesome if Jango and Fullbody rose up to at least commodore rank. I know the chances of that happening are close to nil, but a guy can dream, right?

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by PixelCreek

Arlong, Jimbe, and Macro aren't related.. In the translations it says they call each other brothers as a way of respect.. They aren't literally brothers right?
Also I'm pretty sure that Arlong is stronger than Macro.

I'm referring to Arlong, Jinbe, and Tiger,

Marco is not important.

[Hisoka??]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

That's not what I'm not talking about that, I mean its interesting how Arlong is being portrayed as a trouble maker for his own brethren (he's had never been on the surface until he joined Fisher Tiger), it seems as though where ever Arlong goes he causes some type of trouble. It sets him apart from the other Fishmen, in this chapter, who actually seemed creeped out by Koala constant smiling, especially the ones who knew the reason why Koala was behaving the way she was. This means that Arlong can not recognize when he see's it. It actually makes him seem like a strawman, in that Arlong causes trouble for his own people who are trying to live honest lives while preaching about the superiority of his race over a race that he hasn't really had contact with. It actually makes him just as bad as the humans that he hates. Not only that but of the three brothers Arlong is the weakest.

There just isn't much to pity about him, because he made himself into the person that he was. Though Arlong like many fishmen is upset about their treatment from humans, he has never done anything about it himself, instead he just caused problems for his own people. His past is also a parallel to Luffy's, except unlike Luffy who doesn't seem to hold much of an opinion on the subject on how he and the people of "Trash Mountain" were treated, and Luffy made an effort to see the world for himself, without a secondary agenda. His Freudian excuse doesn't really extend beyond what his own people have experienced.

Not sure, but based on recollection, Arlong never claimed to be morally/ethically better than the humans. He was merely about how fishmen being a superior race in terms of power, strength, ability, etc. So nothing wrong with him being morally as bad as they are.

There was never anything to pity about Arlong. His actions were his free choice (i.e. no one forced him) and there is no need for pity whatever his motivations were. You could understand why he did certain things and accept that he had reasons even if you didn't agree with his actions or rationale. But why do you need pity to justify his behaviour?

Even if a mass child murderer had an extremely traumatic childhood and was tortured constantly, I'm not going think his behavior is justified just because I pity his background.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Hisoka??

Not sure, but based on recollection, Arlong never claimed to be morally/ethically better than the humans. He was merely about how fishmen being a superior race in terms of power, strength, ability, etc. So nothing wrong with him being morally as bad as they are.

There was never anything to pity about Arlong. His actions were his free choice (i.e. no one forced him) and there is no need for pity whatever his motivations were. You could understand why he did certain things and accept that he had reasons even if you didn't agree with his actions or rationale. But why do you need pity to justify his behaviour?

Even if a mass child murderer had an extremely traumatic childhood and was tortured constantly, I'm not going think his behavior is justified just because I pity his background.

Which is why I'm surprised.

Most shounen mangaka or just mangaka in general would use the past of the race of the character in order to try and make readers feel sorry for them. But Oda didn't do that with Arlong, which is very refreshing to me. As I'm tried of the sob stories that many recent shounen series have a habit of giving to their villains to try to explain why they do the things they do. Yet Arlong is the quintessential example of the fact that a person even if they come from a race of persecuted is not justified in hurting others (there are actually real life examples of this).

I don't think Arlong deserves any pity as he made himself who he was, and paid for it. I praise Oda for actually taking this route.

[paradox13]

To be honest, Arlong wasn't an ex slave (neither was Jinbei), so one cannot feel too much sympathy for him.

[marvelB]

True, Oda certainly could have given Arlong a tragic past that's rife with pathos (which, as was already pointed out, is something that so many shounen authors are privy to do), but.... he simply made him an evil bastard through and through (and mind you, I wouldn't pity him even if he DID have a sob story. Not after all the despicable things he's done.....). Yes, I also commend Oda for this direction he's taken with Arlong. In fact, some of my favorite villains are those who evoke no empathy from the reader (like Dio Brando, for instance ).



Anyway, going back to the chapter, there's one neat little detail I noticed: You can see Whitebeard's jolly roger plastered on some of the buildings (check out page 6 (well, technically 5) of the chapter). Still makes me wonder if Big Mom will be involved in this flashback somehow.....

[Rainbowman]

Didn't expect a chapter to come this week so I'll put a review in right now:

Colorspread: Our heroes playing with blocks. Makes me wonder if we'll ever have "LEGO One Piece the videogame" be made.

Main Chapter: Fisher Tiger upset at Arlong for killing a set of marines. We then get introduced to Koala (if that is her name). We also see a younger Strawberry and Kizaru discussing the bounties of Fisher Tiger and Jinbe. Interesting chapter indeed. I wonder if Arlong and Jinbe were to have a battle at some point for this situation reminds me of the plot of the movie "Universal Soldier" with Jinbe as the moral hero and Arlong as the killmonger villain.

Volume 62 cover: Very interesting with the bunches of mermaids. Surume and Megalo as well. Here some possible predictions for the next few covers:

*Luffy, Nami, and Sanji's faces on the top or bottom and the Sun Pirates in the center. Otohime's face could possibly be fitted somewhere. Same goes with Koala.

*The villains consisting of Hordy Jones (and his crew), Vander Decken IX, and Caribou on the cover as an homage to Volume 21 or Volume 42.

*The Strawhat crew and the Neptune Family (including Shirahoshi) as an homage to Volume 22.

I sure hope to see Shirahoshi in color, I'd like to see the color of her hair which would possibly be different than Nami's.

[Bonta Kun]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Still makes me wonder if Big Mom will be involved in this flashback somehow.....

I've been thinking about this and best I can come up with, is I would settle with a mention here or there but I think Big Mom should be left to appear after this flashback is done and dusted with. It would put a bigger impact on her appearance considering how she is involved with the current politics of the Island.
However I do wonder if the Four Emperors were actually about back then or if the line was different, much like I'd like to see a different WB commanders line up.

Oh hell can't be forgetting about who the Adrimals would be around back then as well.

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by Bonta Kun

I've been thinking about this and best I can come up with, is I would settle with a mention here or there but I think Big Mom should be left to appear after this flashback is done and dusted with. It would put a bigger impact on her appearance considering how she is involved with the current politics of the Island.

Yeah, I'm not expecting Charlotte to be fully revealed anytime soon, either. However, I still think it would be cool if she gets a passing mention or a silhouette or something (or maybe even get an early introduction to some of her more prominent crewmembers..... it would be a nice way to hype the empress without actually revealing her ). Heck, Big Mom's involvement in the flashback is even more plausible if Koala turns out to be a New World native.....




Actually, while we're on the subject of the emperors, perhaps we shouldn't rule out the possibility of Kaidou being involved in this flashback, as well. Again, it doesn't have to be a particularly significant role, but it would be a nice way for Oda to hype the character and/or his crew (especially since we barely know any more about this guy than we do Big Mom)......

[SOGESNAKE]

Here's something that's been on my mind for awhile....


If the Marines made bullets from Seastone, and shot a Devil Fruit user that is otherwise immune to bullets (Luffy, Crocodile, etc), they'd still be hit like a normal person yes?

[Blaine]

I would assume so.

[marvelB]

Actually, I believe we saw seastone bullets used at Impel Down. I mean, we did see the jailers there use special ammunition against Luffy and co. (I think they referred to them as "prison rounds" or something like that). I know we saw the bullets pass through Crocodile, but I think he "dodged" them by opening holes in his body. But yeah, when you put those bullets and seastone nets into consideration (the latter appearing as early as the Loguetown arc, remember), I think it's pretty safe to say that the WG has no shortage of anti-DF weaponry.......

[Hisoka??]

Originally Posted by SOGESNAKE

Here's something that's been on my mind for awhile....


If the Marines made bullets from Seastone, and shot a Devil Fruit user that is otherwise immune to bullets (Luffy, Crocodile, etc), they'd still be hit like a normal person yes?

actually I think luffy would be fine. the seastone bullet would make him weak momentarily when it hit him, but it doesn't actually make him non-rubber, so he would still be immune. But I guess it would work on those who need to activate their abilities somehow.

[valk0v]

The seastone nullify the df, so when Luffy get hit they won't make him weak, they'll make a hole in him

[marvelB]

^Seastone has the same effect as being submerged in seawater, so it wouldn't "nullify" a DF user so much as it would merely weaken them. And remember, we've seen that Luffy was still capable of stretching his body underwater as early as the Arlong arc, so I rather doubt that seastone weaponry would make much of a difference.



But as far as how much damage the bullets would cause is concerned, I suppose it depends more on the amount of accumulated bullets that connect with his body, since I'm not too sure that a single bullet would cause a lot of damage (due to his body still being rubber, as pointed out above)......

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

The WG should have ammunition that's sharp/strong enough to penetrate through rubber. Croc's hook and Shigan pierce right through Luffy, and we're supposed to believe there's no firepower that can do the same? I expect to see more potent bullets in the future.

[marvelB]

^Technically, the only reason Shigan pierced Luffy was because Lucci's hands were clawed in his leopard mode, but I get your point.

[ZeroForever]

what marvel said... but honestly why bother developing tech that's only additionally effective against 1 pirate...

i mean they have laser beams already... guns are more or less obsolete comparatively so why bother... they might as well spend that development and money and make more pascifasta.

[Blackbeard D. Kuma]

Originally Posted by ZeroForever

what marvel said... but honestly why bother developing tech that's only additionally effective against 1 pirate...

The costs of a whole battleship are required to fund for the construction of a pacifista; not exactly the most economical of solutions.

It's not a matter of being additionally effective against 1 pirate; it's a matter of having firepower that can pierce through almost any substance. Rubber isn't impervious to sharp objects; and when you factor in the speed/velocity of said objects into the equation, it shouldn't be able to withstand them.