If anyone wants me to post a 993 review let me know (I didn't end up making time for it last week, though I did read the chapter).
One Piece Chapter 994:
-The end of this cover story is fine... the better news is that there will no doubt be cover page requests until at least 999 (1000 will be a colour spread). Hoping the next one will be a Sabo cover story... though I'm aware popular speculation is a Whole Cake Island cover story.
-Kin'emon putting fire to good use, Kiku being an absolute unit
-Kaido respects the samurai, also talks of death more (given how obsessed he is with dying, it's hard to imagine how he will die, if at all, given that antagonists don't typically get what they want)
-Oh, and HE'S REVERTED TO HUMAN FORM!
-Kin'emon sees no glory in losing to Kaido, perhaps in fighting for a goal, but not simply in losing itself (which makes sense, a lot of people have likely lost to Kaido, and on its own that defeat holds no significance, nothing to admire)
-Luffy, Jinbe, and Sanji headed to the top... Sanji annoyed that he wasn't mentioned by the foot soldiers. Though his current bounty is the third highest in the crew, it's not clear who is aware of this new bounty at this point in time. Sanji's previous bounty was below Usopp's, so though he might not be aware of it, he likely doesn't carry the same level of notoriety as Jinbe and Luffy.
-All that being said, he will be third strongest in the crew by the end of the arc.
-New headliners
-It's clear these guys are being introduced purely to relieve tension through their comical designs. "So you get these giraffe powers... but the giraffe grows out of your back?" "What, why would I take that?" "Well, no I was just kidding, seriously, it'll be cool." "Okay..."
-What's up, chicken butt?
-STOP GROWING LIKE THAT! - I concur, but also no, give me more pained existences!
-Queen has no chill (Ba dum tss)
-Even Hotei's thinking "I picked the wrong team, didn't I?"
-Hyogoro is anti-suicide, thankfully for Ohmasa the Infected
-Chopper figures out the most immediate and plausible course of action
-Seems like Apoo and Queen don't like each other that much
-Apoo was given the antibody - well things just got a whole lot easier. I'd be disappointed in Apoo's character if he decided to stubbornly try to hold onto the antidote - he strikes me like the kind to switch sides when it's convenient so I could see him just surrendering.
-We get a glimpse into more of Yamato's motivations and personality, they also kick some unnamed ass.
-Waiting for the Kaido/Yamato flashback to clear things up, I don't like speculating on the latter's character arc because people come across as being invested in it one way or the other, and the only thing I think is certain about it is that in the end, I expect that there will be a conclusion that it is not okay to impersonate people.
A bit more speculating and commentary this time around on my part, perhaps due to this being a transitional/setup chapter. If every chapter up to 999 has a new grifter design that would be peak One Piece comedy, but I also think that even though this story is in the 'middle' of the raid, there's still so much to set up... in part because of all the moving pieces. Highlight of the chapter was Yamato's words, did enough in my mind to more or less reset them to the first impression.
This was more or less my review of One Piece Chapter 994, thank you for reading if you chose to do so.
that was badass.
