Eiichiro Oda has been writing ONE PIECE for a very long, and the chapter numbers have been slowly racking up. At nearly nine hundred chapters, the twenty one year old series has quickly caught up in numbers to other long standing series. Titles like HAJIME NO IPPO, and the JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE series come to mind when thinking about the longevity of popular manga - an enviable position that ONE PIECE has begun to occupy as well. Over the last two decades, ONE PIECE has developed an exceptionally strong fan following and over the last three months has sparked a wealth of debates about its diverse characters and concepts. As an intelligent author, Oda has carefully cultivated and sought to explain the internal logic of his series to his fans, not only through his writing, but his artistic style as well. True to form, he brings readers yet another interesting, and hotly debated conclusion with the Luffy Vs. Katakuri fight.
CH.896 - One Last Wish forms the penultimate moment of Oda's plot as the clock literally winds down on Luffy and his crew. In anticipation of Luffy's arrival, the Charlotte Family has disposed of the mirrors on Cacao Island, and made every effort to consolidate their military power. Big names in the Charlotte Family, including Oven, Yuen, Raisin, and the Decuplets speculate on Luffy and Katakuri as combatants with a majority stating Katakuri too be the more capable of the two. Despite this presumed combat superiority however, Raisin does note that Luffy simply needs to escape Katakuri rather than defeat him in battle. Unknown to the Charlotte Family, Sanji and Pudding have hidden themselves among the gathered peoples of Cacao Island. For a brief time Sanji looks back on their past tribulations, with Pudding eventually asking Sanji for one last wish before taking his cigarette from his mouth for a presumed kiss. At this stage of the chapter, Oda returns us to Luffy and Katakuri, both of whom have effectively landed their final attacks on one another. The exhaustion and damage built up over the course of their battle proves too much for both combatants resulting in a double knock out. Oda then presents readers with a rapid flurry of information, as he leaps from "Big News" Morgans' speculation of potential "what if" scenarios involving Luffy's escape, the Firetank pirates desperate dash from a hungry Big Mom, and the Straw Hats as they attempt to arrive on Cacao Island in time to rendezvous with their captain. Luffy, awake after a ten minute respite, finds himself face-to-face with Katakuri once more. Katakuri questions Luffy about his intentions, and whether he thinks he will defeat Big Mom in the future. With a conviction that belies his appearance, Luffy claims that he will return to finish things with Big Mom one day as she presents another hurdle on his path to becoming Pirate King. Seemingly satisfied with this answer Katakuri passes out stating that perhaps Luffy can indeed see the future. Out of respect or admiration, Luffy covers Katakuri's mouth before departing to locate Charlotte Brulee. As luck would have it, Pekoms, disguised in order to protect his position as a Big Mom pirate member, arrives with Brulee in tow. With the last five minutes counting down, the Charlotte Family prepares for Luffy's arrival on Cacao Island. The conclusion of CH.896 has set up a world class stage for Luffy, and as was the case in many Paradise arcs, readers can expect another grand statement to round out this fight with the Charlotte Family. As is often the case with ONE PIECE, Oda has allowed Luffy to once more grab the attention of the known world with his presumed escape on Cacao Island. In particular, readers will likely see Sanji aiding Luffy in a daring escape of speed, the arrival and help of the Germa 66, and a final shot against Big Mom before the start of a new arc. Controversially, Oda has omitted a visual for the final blows struck by Luffy and Katakuri. As was the case with CH.895, Oda's desire to hold readers in a state of tension comes across with a definite sharpness. During these panels, we are lead to wonder whether the fight is truly over for one final moment before both hero and antagonist collapse. Perhaps even more distressing for readers were the subsequent panels in which Luffy finds Katakuri to still be standing as well. It is here that Oda rounds out Katakuri's character as both antagonist, and respectable combatant in the same breath. In a more immediate sense, Katakuri's honorable last stand against Luffy provides a strong contrast to his siblings fanatical and malicious tendencies. The juxtaposition of Katakuri compared to the other members of the Charlotte Family and even older antagonists in the New World is immediately palpable, and boldly speaks to the diversity of human nature present in ONE PIECE. While Oda has left a host of variables open to interpretation, it is the intelligence of his writing that allows readers to draw some very clear conclusions up coming in this arc. The obvious lack of Germa 66 till this point serves as an indicator for their up coming role in helping the Straw Hat Pirates escape Big Mama's crew. Given that this arc has largely focused on Sanji, his backstory, and his family, his position on Cacao Island will allow him to showcase his capability as he returns to the Straw Hat Pirates. Interestingly, CH.896 does present one very clear mystery within its own title. Although Pudding explicitly asks Sanji for one last wish, the final interaction between Katakuri and Luffy could also be interpreted as a last wish. While the former is liable to lean on a more romantic inclination, the later seems to point to camaraderie and mutual respect between the two characters. Unlike many antagonists, Katakuri's sense of respect and nobility mark him as an upstanding enemy and this facet of his personality allows him to be genuinely impressed by Luffy's strength. The question Katakuri possess, and Luffy's subsequent answer can be viewed as Katakuri's wish to understand Luffy as a character. ONE PIECE has always held to strong plots and characters - two aspects that are heavily employed in this latest chapter. Oda's development of multifaceted characters over the span of single chapters has greatly expanded his story telling range when compared to the Paradise arcs. While many readers might feel the heavy presence of plot armour on Luffy's shoulders, it is difficult to deny the level of growth and strategy that has become evident in Luffy's character. With Luffy appearing on Cacao Island next chapter, Oda will have moved one step closer to the end of the Whole Cake arc, however the danger faced by the Straw Hats will certainly continue on past the nine hundredth chapter. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH
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