The Navy arrives and events just go big, quickly, with a great sense of fun about it.
What They Say:
Things get pretty hectic as the Navy finally confronts Fake Luffy’s amassed pirate army – and the real Straw Hats prepare to set sail! Things don’t go smoothly for either, however, and the real Luffy gets to show off what he has learned in the past two years!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While I’ve liked what I’ve seen of the time leap overall, it has been a slow starter of an arc in getting everyone together because of the unwelcome subplot involving the Fake Straw Hats. Thta’s been a drain on things even though it’s had its moments and does have a basis in past episodes when it comes to the way Luffy and Chopper are just oblivious to who they’re really dealing with. While that has kind of annoyed me overall, the fun has definitely been picking up, whether it’s been Brook’s time as the Soul King or the absolute fun of seeing Chopper and Franky together where Chopper is just completely sold on all the changes that Franky has made to his body over the last two years.
The thrust of events has come to this point where because of the Fake Straw Hats, the Navy is now getting involved on this island as they think they’re the real thing. The Navy being what it is, that’s not a surprise and it turns into a big brouhaha as a huge number of Marines show up to deal with the threat. The Fake Luffy really hasn’t thought this through in taking on such an infamous name and look for his crew and his utter stupidity is apparent as he’s ready for a fight against them. And of course, poor Luffy is caught up in the middle of all of this and can’t figure out how the Navy found him, not realizing that they’re not actually after the realm him. It’s a comedy of errors that has its moments, but it’s taken several episodes to get here and doesn’t have quite the impact it should.
The action does pick up well here though once it gets going, especially as the Pacifista’s show up and start causing mass damage, much to the Navy’s excitement. Things do get pretty hands on though when the Fake Luffy is taken on personally by others and the truth is revealed about who he is. All of that ends up setting off the pirates even more but the comedy comes from watching Luffy’s surprise about it and how he basically just walks off afterward rather than get caught up any further in events. You have to admire the simplicity of his thought process but you know things just won’t go well for him in the end. And as much fun as the action has been prior to this moment, seeing the pirates going up against the Navy, it gets to be even more fun for a brief period of time to watch the real Luffy get hands on with things and make his reveal. When Luffy acts, it’s just a lot of fun and it can definitely be infectious just from the music alone.
In Summary:
While I’ve had problems with the pacing of the events from the time leap, the results are definitely starting to show and the sense of fun is starting to come back. The Fake Straw Hats have been a drag on the show for me but with events actually moving now, truths revealed and the crew pretty much close to being completely back together, it’s got a better sense of being ready to truly move forward and to have Luffy’s presence being a well known and public thing, which in turn will change things in the world again. Bringing him back in contact with his friends, brief as it may be here, should make you smile just as much as Luffy does. And if it does, the show has done a hell of a lot right throughout its run overall.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
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.
