Chapter 959: Samurai

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VIZ Manga
MANGA Plus
Mangaka Musings

[andre]

Damn, that chapter was dense. I feel like I'll need to read it five more times. One thing stood out to me, though. oden's legs looking great, lmao.

[Erkan12]

Enma!

Sanji vs. Zoro will never end.

[Miss Saturday]

Oda's gotten really comfortable using these little flashbacks and non-linear storytelling and half the time they're not even necessary. Why did we need this chapter at all? We didn't gain any new information into Orochi's plans or secrets; all we did was see him blow up bridges. And the Scabbards' crying session would have still worked just as well.
He keeps rushing the pacing in certain spots (like 955, which is GOOD btw), then slams down on the brakes and starts going backwards for no reason.

[Shiebs]

What do you guys think happened to the Sunny?

[Zhenja]

What do you guys think happened to the Sunny?

It's done, they need a new one, one where Jinbe can fit thru the doors.
Sure is no coincidence that Jinbe gets mentioned in the same chapter the Sunny gets destroyed.

[Blissed]

Oda's gotten really comfortable using these little flashbacks and non-linear storytelling and half the time they're not even necessary. Why did we need this chapter at all? We didn't gain any new information into Orochi's plans or secrets; all we did was see him blow up bridges. And the Scabbards' crying session would have still worked just as well.
He keeps rushing the pacing in certain spots (like 955, which is GOOD btw), then slams down on the brakes and starts going backwards for no reason.

We didn't need this chapter now? You always have interesting takes...

What do you guys think happened to the Sunny?

It either got buried in rubble, the entrance is blocked off, or it directly got banged up a bit by the bombings. If Option 3 happened, that's fine, it's a very sturdy ship.

I definitely do not believe that there was some last minute save. Unlike with 900/901 where I was able to correctly guess that the Sun Pirates saved the day, I don't believe anyone happened to be there to save the Sunny in time.

[Johnny B. Decent]

Or it was a decoy.

[Logia]

It either got buried in rubble, the entrance is blocked off, or it directly got banged up a bit by the bombings. If Option 3 happened, that's fine, it's a very sturdy ship.

I definitely do not believe that there was some last minute save. Unlike with 900/901 where I was able to correctly guess that the Sun Pirates saved the day, I don't believe anyone happened to be there to save the Sunny in time.

This is how I feel about the Sunny. It's possible too if the klabautermann shows up and attempts to fix whatever damage was done, but it still feels too early for Sunny's to appear in the Manga.

With Jinbei popping up and saving the ship, the timing doesn't feel right so far if that happened. Somewhat feels like a Chekhov's Gun(?) can happen since Jinbei was mentioned, but I still don't feel it. For this specific event in particular I mean, since Jinbei is supposed to come back unless he died or has new plans.
We didn't see much after the blast, but Orochi didn't seem worried about the situation not going as he planned.
Besides, that scene was a flashback. Where Would Jinbei be now, had he protected the ship here? Granted we don't know where the Strawhats are right now either. It wouldn't be right to see them together right away. Jinbei could be chilling in some other part of Wano too, but again idk.

[theackwardstation]

I really enjoyed this chapter. The depiction of Orochi's mindset was very interesting and gave him some depth. It's always cool to see some Strawhat interactions too.

How many chapters for this flashback? I hope Oda takes all the time to write this one, even if it takes the length of a whole volume. Here's what we should expect:

1) Oden being expelled from the capital;
2) Oden becoming daimyo of Kuri and finding his nine retainers;
3) Oden leaving Wano to join Whitebeard;
4) Oden falling in love with Lady Toki;
5) Oden learning about the connections of the Kouzuki clan with the history of the world, learning to write and read in the ancient language, learning about the Poneglyphs;
6) Oden developing his dream to open the borders of Wano;
7) Some insight into the "dawn of the world";
8) Oden joining Roger to go to Laftel (arguably won't come up in the flashback);
9) Oden's return to Wano, Kaidou's attack and his death;
10) Why Nekomamushi and Inuarashi started fighting against each other.

That's just the big picture and I hope to see some other major events that we don't know about. Maybe Oda will break this flashback into different parts and switch between what's going on in the present and a little bit of the flashback... but I hope he makes it all just one big thing.

[joesephes]

Hmm, pretty much an average chapter to me. I hope the next one will be more interesting.

[KageKageKing]

Interesting that they seem to have firearms before Kaido had arrived.

[onemoment]

I'm looking forward to this flashback, in part because of what's been previewed in the main story. We know a lot of Oden's story already, so I wonder what new twists can be revealed with this. We know Oden trains the scabbards, has a wife and child and fights and injures Kaido only to be executed. Where are the details inbetween that we don't know already?

I'm assuming Lady Toki will be a point of interest, seeing as we know little about her so far.

[Jabra]

Can't wait to see Captain Awesome getting boiled. That will be part of the flashback, right?

[MrBits]

Is it weird that Orochi is probably my favorite Wano character so far? Guy's just so slimey. I love it.

Given how long Oden's story is, I think we might get his flashback in pieces. First we'll get the story of how he gathered his followers, then later in the arc (probably right before the final battle) we'll see the events that led to his death for maximum emotional momentum, and some other parts interspersed between.

[bentot1380]

Having Jenbie re-introduce in this chapter, I guess he is the responsible of early transporting of samurai and the alliance. Oda please stop teasing us. Put us back to where the action is.

[Robby]

Oda's gotten really comfortable using these little flashbacks and non-linear storytelling and half the time they're not even necessary. Why did we need this chapter at all? We didn't gain any new information into Orochi's plans or secrets; all we did was see him blow up bridges. And the Scabbards' crying session would have still worked just as well.
He keeps rushing the pacing in certain spots (like 955, which is GOOD btw), then slams down on the brakes and starts going backwards for no reason.

Because of the weekly format of manga and page counts. Oda strives to get to a cliffhanger every 17 pages, which sometimes means jumping ahead and then having to rewind the next chapter

It's not something he'd do as much if he was releasing 60 pages at a go once a month but... that's not the format.

Also, in some cases, its possible he does an event, then feels it needs more weight than it got so he adds in some extra the following week to make it stronger. Like when Pedro had a completely unsatisfying "death", he tried to put some pathos and emotional drama into it the next week... despite him and Carrot not having any sign of a bond prior to that.

[Shiebs]

How many chapters do you guys think the flashback will be?

[parklane21]

What do you guys think happened to the Sunny?

Wadatsumi swapped it on the very last second.

[Blissed]

Having Jenbie re-introduce in this chapter, I guess he is the responsible of early transporting of samurai and the alliance. Oda please stop teasing us. Put us back to where the action is.

We're about to start a big flashback, so you're gonna be waiting awhile I'm afraid

Because of the weekly format of manga and page counts. Oda strives to get to a cliffhanger every 17 pages, which sometimes means jumping ahead and then having to rewind the next chapter

It's not something he'd do as much if he was releasing 60 pages at a go once a month but... that's not the format.

Also, in some cases, its possible he does an event, then feels it needs more weight than it got so he adds in some extra the following week to make it stronger. Like when Pedro had a completely unsatisfying "death", he tried to put some pathos and emotional drama into it the next week... despite him and Carrot not having any sign of a bond prior to that.

I like how it's still a "death" for you