What They Say:
The tragic and sad history of Big Mom is revealed! From abandonment, rescue, and again to ruin, Big Mom’s voracious hunger has brought her into conflict with others from the very beginning!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While we’ve had a lot of build up in this arc overall since first arriving on Whole Cake Island, One Piece has felt like it’s moving fast through the current part of the storyline. The party and wedding itself has gone to pieces very fast and we’ve had some neat moments in seeing just how controlled the Vinsmoke family is by Big Mom, who herself is just about ready to snap with all that’s unfolded. That, for better and worse, leads into this episode where we get that kind of key flashback material to unlock those last bits about Big Mom that we need. One Piece works this style pretty openly for many years now so it’s not a surprise but it still frustrates me a bit in how it shifts the energy of the arc at hand.
With the launching point of the broken picture frame of her mother, we get to go back to how she, as Linlin, was abandoned as a giant little child on a small island. She wasn’t left completely alone as they knew someone known as the Holy Mother lived there and they set much in motion by leaving her with nothing but colorful treats as food. While her story unfolds we also get introduced to Sister Carmel, a wandering smoking nun who fills us in on another area about the Giant Pirates, a group that was about to be ended with the execution of several of them publicly. There’s an interesting bit to it where she knows that their execution will cause greater destruction later on and she opts to lead them and help them, which is why she ended up on the same island and essentially had an orphanage of sorts that let her take in Linlin along with all these other “varied and colorful” types of kids.
The back half explores her time after finding Sister Carmel and just how excited she was to see other giants that made her feel less alone. But she also struggles with the normal sized kids there which caused problems, though Carmel’s easy forgiveness didn’t help in giving her a better kind of structure and moral sense. There’s a lot of little moments captured in all of this that we see unfold, including some that connect in years to come with the Straw Hats with some familiar characters, and it’s definitely interesting to see it all unfold. Linlin is thankfully kept kind of on the side for a lot of this, more an observer and playful kids that doesn’t always understand her strength and side, as it focuses more on the Giants in a more general sense that Carmel took under her wing to help and guide. Of course, there’s always the outside world that’s a draw for attention and Linlin is easily drawn into things to come because of her love of sweets.
In Summary:
One Piece’s focus on Big Mom with her origin story is interesting enough with what we get here, including a nod or two about some future Straw Hat connections, but it is the kind of sub-arc that will slow the overall energy in the present. Giving us the innocence of Big Mom as Linlin and how she was abandoned and taken in and what changed her is definitely interesting and I’m glad we’re getting it. I just wish we had it before now in terms of actual story structure. Sister Carmel is definitely a fun addition and I really like that we get her mostly in her older form as you get a really amusing and engaging character full of personality. Hopefully, this sub-arc doesn’t run too long as I want to get back to the party but it’s definitely illuminating as it expands on the world.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
