What They Say:
The mystery of the man stuck in the dragon’s back deepens when Luffy frees him and the group is shocked at what they find – or rather, what they don’t find! Meanwhile, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Franky find themselves held captive and confronted with a shocking puzzle!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the Punk Hazard storyline starting to shape up a bit, we’ve got two arcs going into it so far that will obviously come back together again before we know it. While we’ve got Luffy and his group dealing with the red dragon on the island, we got the last minute twist at the end of the previous episode where the crew on board the ship has been taken out by a gas as men in suits have now arrived. They know they’re pirates and are plenty pleased by it. The crew got taken down a little easier than one might have expected, but the subtle nature of the gas combined with the locale gives you enough of an out in how their attention was being focused.
The island adventure definitely gets weird here though, as Luffy has taken out the dragon only to discover someone “stuck” in it. But that someone is just a bottom half of a person, albeit one that can walk, talk, fight but not see. That freaks the gang out at first but Luffy’s tendency to be intrigued by the strange and unusual kicks in and he’s really interested in this… thing. While we don’t get a lot of answers there yet, we do get to see more of the island (after some tasty dragon meat) and discover the lake that’s in the middle which also has snow capped mountains just beyond it. It’s a fascinating visual and one that’s definitely attractive in seeing as a combination piece. It’s amusing how everyone outside of Usopp is just along for the ride with Luffy’s interest in it, but that’s pretty much par for the course with this crew.
While that dominates the episode with the fun and oddness of it all, we do get more with the rest of the crew as they’re brought together by the mysterious men in suits to a creature that seems to be made up of gasses. This part of the island is intriguing since they’re where it’s full of snow, but has plenty of summer elements in its design, showing how the area must have changed. What screws up the mysterious mens plans is that they ignore Brook since he’s just a skeleton, at least until he manages to wake up and gets himself into more trouble. While that has its fun, we also see the others wake up and try to figure out their captivity. Which has them discovering a mixed up parts pile of a persons head, which they awkwardly put together. It gives us more clue as to what we saw earlier and obviously gives it all a reason for the two groups to come together. It’s certainly amusing enough and adds some levity to the situation that has a lot going on but little in the way of real ideas as to what it’s all about so far.
In Summary:
While we don’t get a lot in the way of answers here, or clarity as to what the arc is about (yes, I don’t read the manga, and this is why, I want to be surprised by the show), we do get a good bit of fun going on here as we see both halves of the crew dealing with different things. There is tension to be had, what with seeing the things Nami and the others are going through and the stress that Usopp must be under again in having to deal with Luffy and his ways, but there’s a good blend of the tension and uncertainty with the humor and lightness of it all. Both sides of the coin here play out well and each of them leaves you wanting to know more as more tidbits are introduced and hints are given. I’m more curious about what the suited men are all about at this point since that’s a greater mystery, but I’m definitely enjoying both sides of the story so far.
Grade: B
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
