Have the Straw Hats seriously never encountered a dragon before in this entire series? I find that pretty hard to believe, especially considering the rate at which ONE PIECE rolls through new characters and concepts. Remember when they were setting up Big Ma (or whatever that gangster’s name was) several episodes back? We’ve been introduced to at least three sets of potential big villains in the interim, while she hasn’t even been alluded to; so I find it hard to believe that one of the most basic and universal fantasy monsters hasn’t already been addressed in this show.
At every point I enter this saga, I find a new series in pop culture to compare it to. At the start, it seemed like PETER PAN with a more bellicose and rubbery lead. When I started this streak of episodes, it struck me as SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS with its own superhero universe. At various points, I’ve seen a very ALICE IN WONDERLAND-esque vibe to the show’s surrealism, but now I can’t help see some WIZARD OF OZ in this, as well.
Yeah, that association was directly triggered by the crew falling asleep on deck in a fashion that directly recalled the part where Dorothy’s gang gets sleepy in a poppy field. Thinking more about it... there ain’t a ton of difference between the more creature-ly of these oddballs and the characters from the later OZ books. If you commissioned somebody in artist alley to draw amalgams of… say… Brook and Jack Pumpkinhead, Franky and Tik-Tok, and then Tony Tony Chopper and the Gump, they really wouldn’t have stretch their imaginations that far.
Perhaps one reason for this show’s mammoth success is that it seems to be drawing from a whole host of entertainment that’s so far afield of anime’s typical sandbox?
Oh, and did anybody else find Franky’s line about putting on a super cola sweat to be one of the oddest, nonsensical lines ever? Not only was he preparing to sweat out soda (right?), he was also jacked up about it?
Watch this episode, "A Battle in the Heat! Luffy vs. the Giant Dragon!” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
Well, technically they did meet Dragons before this in the anime. But it was a dumb filler arc that everyone forgot about. (even the anime did LOL!) Man, One Piece have so many creatures mermaids, zombies, giants, dinosaurs, cyborgs, robots, animal peoples and tons of more.
But in canon, this is the first time.
I think you're discovering part of the appeal of ONE PIECE, and why it has such a long standing life. It blew past DRAGON BALL with Volume 53. It's currently up to Vol. 68 and going. The previous Fish-Man Island arc had more in common with the Japanese folklore of Urashima Taro. Every adventure has a different feel. Wait until you get deeper into this arc. There is going to be a Batman universe comparison coming.
There was a dragon before, but it was in a very early filler arc. Oda has been spending more time on far more bizarre creatures. You didn't even see the Impel Down arc. Dragons I think were a bit too cliche. The crew was also pretty shocked when they first met a Kraken.
Something you need to know about Franky. He's jacked up about pretty much everything he does. You also may not know this at this point. Franky is a cyborg who's powered by cola. Even the Thousand Sunny is cola powered.
I found it funnier that Zoro's "Ultra Dragon Hunt" attack was useless against a dragon, then the "Lion's Song" took off it's head. Though, the "Iai" technique he used is a rather powerful skill.
@Destinyheroknight said:
I was watching the anime and damn near was going to go back and see what kind of godamned dragon they had met before, I had no idea it was filer arc material either. Wasn't this also on Giant Island where they met those two warriors or were those like back to back arcs. I can't really recall.
@FoxxFireArt said:
wasn't it tiger hunt?
@Om1kron:
No, the arc was right before they go into the grand line
You're thinking of Little Garden, but those were dinosaurs.
Franky's cola thing isn't so weird anymore. He's a cyborg that runs on cola it makes perfect sense, right?
@Petiew:
No, they didn't fight an Admiral, but Zoro did cut a big steel chain and Nami totally kill a guy at the end (and everyone cheer)
I forgot about Nami totally killing that Eric guy, that arc was so weird. The fan named "Goat Sex Island" arc is pretty weird too.
@Petiew:
Oh yeah, I forgot about that guy (I guess he was so lame that I delete him from my mind LOL!)
ONE PIECE MADNESS!!!! NOW WITH DRAGONS!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
@Kino88:
Are you going to do this on every One Piece Review? If you scare of having a Dragon in One Piece, then the next episode will make your hair turn grey LOL!
Ahh, giant whales, giants, mermaids, fishmen, talking starfish, dragons, blob things. <3 can't wait for what's next! XD
I found it funny that they've never encountered a dragon, either. It's also cool that the crew still have opportunities to be surprised and aren't jaded, even after all they've seen. I love Luffy saying "Cool!" When you're a man with supernatural powers, you can actually have a moment to be in awe of something that would destroy a normal person.
@xtremekidx: It was translated as Tiger Hunt in the Funimation sub. I don't know why he would have a dragon attack. Of course it's not impossible, since we are talking anime attack names.