How long until the giant mermaid princess thinks Luffy’s the love of her life?
What They Say:
Based on a false accusation, and an as-of-yet unproven prediction, the Straw Hats are capital criminals in the Fish-Man Island! But can all the armies of the Fish-Man Island pose a threat to the Straw Hats? Also, the mysterious Mermaid Princess reveals her misfortune – and an alliance brews on the ocean floor that may spell trouble down the road…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Luffy’s way with women is definitely one of the more amusing parts of the series because he’s so blatantly oblivious to it all, even when it comes to those like Hancock that pretty much drape themselves over him. His search for food in the previous episode lead him to the room Neptune’s daughter resides in and he got all goofy before realizing what it was he was doing, which lead to her crying for her brother and father even as he has no clue what just happened. Luffy’s misadventure there has him causing a fair bit of problems, problems that also tie into the ongoing problems the Straw Hats have been unaware of since landing in this place as they’re believed to be behind some mermaid killings.
Having thta all spill out in front of King Neptune is inopportune to say the least, but it’s also something where Neptune’s awareness of Luffy and the others exploits may help them since he knows what they’ve been up to and how they handle themselves. There’s a lot of bluster going on about all of this when the gang is accused, but it’s a smaller focus sa things want to deal with Luffy and the Princess. She takes an abrupt turn of personality when the guards actually do come to her room after all her screaming and she ends up hiding Luffy in her hand, much to his displeasure, so that she can keep him in there a bit longer and figure out what his deal is. But in reality, it’s more just an opportunity for her to be all girlish and just talk and talk and talk like the young teenage girl she comes across as.
While Luffy had gone off in search of food, he ends up being treated to what she has and for a giant mermaid, that’s a lot of food that he gets to inhale. Unfortunately, as she pours out her heart to him about her life and problems, especially in how she just wants to get out of the castle and see the world, he eats and eats and eats. Of course, he ends up realizing things along the way, or at least a snippet of it, and that’s going to cause a whole lot of trouble since he doesn’t really think things through. It’s a huge part of his charm and what makes him such a catalyst for things, but having that happen at the same time that the Straw Hats are being dealt with over potentially being murderers is going to be more than enough to throw even Neptune into a bit of a spin. It’s a fun little culmination of events that’s slowly coming together.
In Summary:
One Piece is still working this storyline at its own pace but it’s starting to bring in a few more of the needed catalyst elements now that they’re in the royal palace. A good bit of time is spent with the mermaid princess and it’s cute and girly but takes a bit to really get to the heart of that matter, though it’s the right way to do it. She just comes across as somewhat annoying. Luffy’s fun to watch during it though so it’s almost worth it just for that alone. It’s going to factor into things in a big way we’re sure, especially as other parts of the show are coalescing now, from the accusations of mermaid murder to Hordy Jones and his plans, which looks like it has a quasi-Zenigata character appearing now as well.
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.