One Piece - Chapter 1045 [manga]
 

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Hello, folks! So, what awaits us now after last week's epic reveal? Let's find out! Credit goes to AP's Redon and co. for spoiler info:

-Chapter title is "Next Level". Splash is a color page.

-Naturally, the chapter completely focuses on Gear 5 Luffy vs. Kaidou! After discovering the rubber man is alive, Kaidou voices his confusion: His opponent can change the environment into rubber like a Paramecia can, yet is also capable of transforming in a manner similar to Zoans! Nonetheless, his first action is an attempt to devour Luffy! However, the newly awakened supernova, using his newfound powers, forces the emperor to spit him out! Both Momo and Yamato reach the roof just in time to watch the insanity unfold! They note that both Luffy's hair and clothes are completely white in his awakened form....

-Luffy demonstrates a new move called Gomu Gomu no Gigant, which, as the name implies, morphs him into a giant! He also looks like a deity in this form. As the two continue to clash, the battle is shown to be quite cartoony in nature, with Luffy showing some pretty zany reactions to getting hurt by Kaidou's attacks, heh. Unfortunately, soon our hero's energy starts to run out, as Gear 5 takes a huge toll on him. Kaidou prepares to finish him off, Luffy thinks of all the people he's fighting for, such as Momo, Tama, Kinemon, and Pedro.... and gets the "drums of liberation" (aka his heart) to beat its unique rhythm again, allowing him to make a quick recovery! He then literally sinks his fist through the emperor's face, asking him if he's having fun....!!!!

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Seen the spoilers, it seems that Luffy is taking advantage of his Power-Up, we will have to wait to see how Kaido reacts.
I hope Oda is misleading us so that Luffy always had Gomu-Gomu and Shanks always had Hito-hito/Nika (he would end up fooling the government elders and to the fans), though I guess I'm thinking too much.
Question, does anyone know how popular this Gomu-Gomu/Nika thing has been in the Japanese community?.

ehhhh i still cannot get into this "toon" power... all i see is Pegasus from Yu-Gi-Oh.
now luffy has healing abilities? better not be how his fruit has all the powers rolled up into one.

I'm feeling like this drum heartbeat is going to be similar to Kurapika's Emperor Time where using it is going to drain his lifespan.

In Kurapika's case : 1 second of Emperor Time = 1 hour of his lifespan.

So as we seem to get a power that feels incredibly OverPowered, even in the world of One Piece...

Anyone think that we have a meta reason for this as well? We've known that Oda hasn't been in the best of health for YEARS, even with his regular breaks. Add in the deaths of some very famous mangaka within the past year... maybe Oda is trying to speed things up so that One Piece is actually finished, even if he has to resort to Deus ex Machina for it? True, we've had at least SOME level of foreshadowing, but the execution was sloppy. Again, I feel like this is because Oda is feeling his own mortality after all these years.

No.

Stop assuming thinks that make little to no sense.

Wano arc is about to reach the 150th chapter mark since it began, and the battle at Onigashima has been going on for almost half of it. "Speeding things up", my ass, One Piece has been running on for 25 years and counting. And that's not getting to the part where there're many manga out there that have been running for longer than One Piece.

I'm getting tired of people who think they know about someone's health condition better than the person themselves. Again, if you didn't like how the plot twist was handled that's okay, we all have different opinions. But if you are going to bring up some petty excuse to cope, then let me show you the door.

This was to be expected. In the previous arc Luffy narrowly defeated the top commander of an emperor. Now he's able to tango with the emperors, which is a huge power-up. We're at the endgame, and thus plot dictates that Luffy has to be at this level right now. Some may consider the progression abrupt, but that's Shounen Jump manga for you. Accept it for what it is and don't think too much about it.

The leaked pictures... O

It's a small thing, but I think it's kind of neat that the awakening allows Luffy to turn into a giant without ending up buck naked since he can just turn his clothes into rubber. It's not often there's an actual explanation for clothes staying on when a character hulks out.

Callback to the first time Luffy pulled Gear 2nd without so much a hint as few words prior, at a time where the enemies they fought were so strong compared to everything else they had seen through the journey :)

Like I was saying in another forum, some people just like to play dumb and feign this kind of events hadn't happened before.

D*mn , i dont know what to say for this chapter , its so hilarious and feels nostalgic at the same time. Its been a while since i laughed so hard for a chapter and feels weird at the same time since we should be having or witnessing a serious fight right now , thankfully looks like the introduction for the fruit is partially done and we will be having the "intense/serious" fight in the upcoming chapters ..

this whole cartoon power thing is really throwing off the entire feel of the series for me... it doesn't belong in One Piece.

the Kaidou fight is supposed to be serious with big consequences on the line and we have these stupid goofy effects happening?

is this how it's going to be from now on every time luffy fights? no thanks...

Not really and tone it down with the doom and gloom there bud. You're making emos and nihilists look like pacifists and positive thinkers. Just say that you don't like the decision of Luffy's DF change and that's it. There's no need to include Eiichiro's health into this. If you think that or anything else related to that then please keep it to yourself and don't ruin the mood for people who don't mind the fruit change.

That was pretty funny, but... should that fight be funny? The fate of an entire country is on the line.

I thought it was pretty random that Luffy called out Pedro's name. Like, wut?

I think Oda is just having some fun right now. We know that the nika fruit is very versatile and we're being shown how silly it can be. But I expect this to be temporary and we'll go back to the more traditional / serious battles (by contrast) shortly.

Okay, summary updated! Heh, I wonder if Oda's been playing some Cuphead or just plain binged some old-school cartoons or something when coming up with with Gear 5? Because the stuff Luffy is pulling off is freaking hilarious! :heh: I know some are feeling that this new power may ruin the mood, but this is far from the first time Luffy's used goofy strategies in the middle of a serious battle. Remember Water Luffy against Crocodile? Or Gomu Gomu no Boh (that thing where he erased his thoughts against Eneru/Enel)? To me, Gear 5 is basically the evolution of THOSE types of techniques. And while we're on that subject:

Yeah, not like we didn't see friend and foe alike also use goofy, outlandish moves throughout the series. From Mr. 5 flicking explosive boogers, to Kaku's "Pasta Machine" when he fought Zoro in his hybrid giraffe mode, to more recent stuff like Sasaki's triceratops helicopter trick, the crazy robot stuff cyborgs like Franky and Queen are capable of, or even a stoic, dead-serious enemy like King literally having an attack where he turns his face into a slingshot. Nope, Luffy's particular brand of nonsense is TOTALLY an isolated case. :rolleyes:

I think he's hoping that the entirety of Luffy's battles don't end up this way, which is a valid concern. G5 Luffy vs Kaido has been silly so far.

I suppose it is the DF change. It feels like a HUGE Retcon, as in the biggest Retcon so far- something that most manga are pretty good about keeping out of the stories.

If I wanted retcons of this level, I'd read American comics. So that's why I'm worried- because a retcon this massive is extremely out of character, even in One Piece.

I'd have been more happy if we had gotten any hint about Joyboy/Nika having a rubber body BEFORE these last couple of chapters.

to me there is a line between goofy and full slapstick (Tom & Jerry). I don't want the latter to be in One Piece.

https://mediaproxy.tvtropes.org/widt...ecejawdrop.jpg

Yes, yes it does.