As many of you know already, One Piece chapter 597 marks a very important milestone in the One Piece franchise and manga history. We’ve learned about how all but two of the Straw Hat pirates will be training to become stronger, and now its finally time to see how the rest will fare. Let’s jump right in then.
To no surprise Zoro decides that in order for him to become stronger, he will need the best to train him. Thusly he turns to Mihawk for tutelage, though gets a good laugh at the idea of training the man that will someday beat him; but he agrees to do it anyways. Luffy on the other hand will get his training from Rayleigh, and he will be trained on a brutal island known for its bad weather and enormously strong beasts. During this training Luffy will learn how to use Haki, which is a must have in the New World. I’m sure the other Straw Hats will learn how to use this power as well, in one way or another.
I can foresee Luffy meeting up with the crew one by one as we see how each member has changed, mirroring his first encounter with the crew members from earlier in the manga. I’m really excited to see how the characters will change, but hope that the concept and feeling of One Piece in whole doesn’t. Many times after a time skip the manga has a drastic change, let’s hope One Piece can overcome this.
The Good
Not only is this a great chapter story wise, but Oda also gives us plenty of information about the inner workings of One Piece as well. There is so much information to digest, lucky for you we will have plenty of time to comprehend is all. It has been a couple weeks since Luffy sent out his message, and now we finally have the opportunity to understand its true meaning. I have to hand it to Luffy, or Rayleigh, or who ever came up with it because his message was actually pretty clever. Luffy did a lot of stuff that day when he went to Marineford, but really the only thing that mattered was that he got his picture taken, because his message was actually just a tattoo! On his arm were the letters and numbers 3D2Y, with 3D being crossed out. Any Straw Hat pirate should be able to look at that and understand that their previous arrangement of meeting in three days has been canceled, and now it has been pushed back to two years. Enough time for each one to become monsters in their own right, to be ready for the harshness of the New World.
The Bad
I’m sure you also know the other news that came with this chapter, and that is One Piece will be taking a four week long vacation, a well deserved one at that. However, no One Piece for four weeks is really like no One piece for two years! It’s almost as if we are experiencing a time skip as well. Though Naruto did the same thing, so its livable. Also I wonder if the tattoo is permanent? I’m not sure if they have sharpies in the world of One Piece.The Verdict 5/5
Finally One Piece’s time skip is upon us, ready to blow our collective minds apart after the two years have passed. What can we expect after this time skip? Of course everyone is going to be stronger no doubt, that is a given, but what isn’t given is everyone’s appearance. One Piece characters change clothing more than any shonen series, so I’m sure we can expect new clothes. But will things like hair be different? Will Luffy sport a new beard? These things are up in the air, but I welcome Oda to experiment with this.I can foresee Luffy meeting up with the crew one by one as we see how each member has changed, mirroring his first encounter with the crew members from earlier in the manga. I’m really excited to see how the characters will change, but hope that the concept and feeling of One Piece in whole doesn’t. Many times after a time skip the manga has a drastic change, let’s hope One Piece can overcome this.
