548: ''The Kingdom's Great Shock - Orders for Neptune's Execution''

[Crossword]

And here we have a demostration of the classic villain cliche of broadcasting his evil plan from every single television set or the universal equivalent for all the world to hear, giving the heroes ample warning and opportunity to foil said plan.

Title: ''The Kingdom's Great Shock - Orders for Neptune's Execution''
Chapters Covered: 628
New Characters: None
Animation Director: Megumi Yamashita (***)
Time: 8:30PM EST
Watch It: www.onepieceofficial.com

[tatermoog]

And here we have a demostration of the classic villain cliche of broadcasting his evil plan from every single television set or the universal equivalent for all the world to hear, giving the heroes ample warning and opportunity to foil said plan.

And in this case, specially delivering a television screen to a faraway forest just to make sure his greatest enemies are informed.

[Skadi]

Livestream http://es-es.justin.tv/atxhd66?#/w/3069231184
Remember that it´s currently airing TORIKO. After that starts OP

[FelRes]

I am watching a naked muscular guy and a naked boy look admire a sword or something while laughing. The heck is Toriko about?

And I'm sure one day the villains will learn to shut up about their plans.

[evelyne]

probably one of the most boring part of this arc.

[Chibi JFZ]

Pics from 548: http://dec.2chan.net/18/res/16966657.htm
Preview for 549: http://www.fujitv.co.jp/GPplayer/e/G...0528a&type=flv

fight jinbe vs luffy next week _o/ !

[Aaronrules380]

And in this case, specially delivering a television screen to a faraway forest just to make sure his greatest enemies are informed.

Given Hody's goals and personality, he probably wants them to come because he's so confident he can take them on and it will demonstrate his superiority

[eliman12]

The art horrible

[Crossword]

Rather meh episode, but given the nature of the source chapter, I guess it can't be helped. The ending stand off between Luffy and Jimbei feels even more contrived than it did a year ago.

[tatermoog]

The leadup to the Jinbe/Luffy fight is one of those developments where you go back and read it and think, "Man, this one never did make sense from any angle."

[Crossword]

Yeah. Looking back on it, the whole thing was basically, ''I have to save them!'' ''No, don't do it, I'll handle it!'' ''They're my friends!'' ''Let's fight!'' ''Okay!''

What?

Also, according to Hody's logic as presented in this episode, wouldn't executing Neptune start the Great Age of Merpeople not Fishmen? Just sayin'.

[Drake_Cloud]

Yeah. Looking back on it, the whole thing was basically, ''I have to save them!'' ''No, don't do it, I'll handle it!'' ''They're my friends!'' ''Let's fight!'' ''Okay!''

Well the reason(s) why is obvious:

Spoiler:

Oda needed to give an explanation for Fishman Karate, get Robin back with the group and introduce her new ability, and offer up a hilarious 3-way "knock out" punch. Also, Oda needed to establish a rough power-level relationship, since Jinbe was stronger than Luffy pre-TS and its ambiguious now

Also, according to Hody's logic as presented in this episode, wouldn't executing Neptune start the Great Age of Merpeople not Fishmen? Just sayin'.

That guy doesn't have logic. I can think of maybe one thing intelligent that he's done, max, and then he goes and ruins it later.

Spoiler:

Killing Otohime then framing the human for it to get the island to support his cause. But then he blows the whole thing himself just to brag about how long ago he planned this coup.

[FirstClassCook]

I loved how Sanji reacted when Luffy told him to protect Shirahoshi x)

[Diivil]

Another good episode :) hahaha the brook filler scene had me laughing so much!

[No Maam]

Well the reason(s) why is obvious:

Spoiler:

Oda needed to give an explanation for Fishman Karate, get Robin back with the group and introduce her new ability, and offer up a hilarious 3-way "knock out" punch. Also, Oda needed to establish a rough power-level relationship, since Jinbe was stronger than Luffy pre-TS and its ambiguious now

That guy doesn't have logic. I can think of maybe one thing intelligent that he's done, max, and then he goes and ruins it later.

Spoiler:

Killing Otohime then framing the human for it to get the island to support his cause. But then he blows the whole thing himself just to brag about how long ago he planned this coup.

Let's not forget he has people trampling on her image only to use her death as an example of why his hatred of humans is justified.

Also, Jimbei annoyed me here as much as in the apropriate chapter.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

I am watching a naked muscular guy and a naked boy look admire a sword or something while laughing. The heck is Toriko about?

Spoiler:

[

[goty]

Also, Jimbei annoyed me here as much as in the apropriate chapter.

Ditto.
Although his VA annoys me to no end for some reason, so it was maybe worse here.

[Chopperrules]

It was an okay episode. Let's face it though, guys. I'm sure we can all agree that this is the low point of the Fish-Man Island arc, can't we? Look what happens in the next few chapters of the manga source material. A pointless Luffy VS Jinbe match that should never have happened. An entire chapter with the annoying New Fishman Pirates doing random stuff we pretty much already knew was happening that the anime will likely extend ever more. And a few other events we all know are coming that I will not spoil here. For me honestly, this arc gets pretty bad up until the main fights start, which I guess won't be happening for a month or more.

Yes, I can say without hesitation that Oda was off his game during these chapters. Luckily now I know the next arc is amazing, but it still doesn't change the fact that Fish-Man Island was stretched out way too much. More than that, this Luffy VS Jinbe match annoyed me even in the manga. The first one back after Marineford made sense and didn't feel forced, but this one screams "Fanservice Match" in both media versions. Considering the outcome of the fight and the way it was handled, I just don't get why Jinbe even bothered in the first place. I see his point, but it still felt far too forced.

As for the anime adaption, it was about the same as the source material, just meh. The extended filler was fun with Brook, but I didn't like that they had Zoro lying on the ground like that and not trying to fight back. It felt way too OOC for him.

One good thing I'll compliment the animators is the way they cut in scenes from the Fish-Man Island flashback, referenced Gold Roger, and had Usopp's Robin face face off into the real Robin. That last one especially was a nice touch.

In summary, I won't be enjoying the next few episodes too much until the arc gets to its higher point in a month or so.

[Jabra]

The first half felt incredibly stretched.
Hody calling on the individuals who signed the petition was also weird, how do they know who is who? (well, assuming not everyone starts to cry immediatly, revealing that he/she just got sentenced to death).

The second part was hilarious tho. I actually laughed at Brook scarring the fodder fishmen, and Usopp's facefault / Robin immitation was extremely funny. Sanji giving Luffy a high five was brilliant as well, I think that wasn't in the manga.

Now to the ending. As many said a year ago, it simply felt forced. If I wouldn't read One Piece and a friend introduced me to it with this chapter, I would regard it as an extremely cheap standard shounen:

''I have to save them!'' ''No, don't do it, I'll handle it!'' ''They're my friends!'' ''Let's fight!'' ''Okay!''

I understand that Oda wanted to show that Luffy is on a proper Shichi-level now and that he isn't the underdog anymore when he faces one (oppposed to relying on luck/fate/plot-plot-no-mi), but I think Oda could have done better.

The extended filler was fun with Brook, but I didn't like that they had Zoro lying on the ground like that and not trying to fight back. It felt way too OOC for him.

He was in chains, no? I have more of a problem with Brook getting oneshotted by fodder.

[Chopperrules]

The first half felt incredibly stretched.
Hody calling on the individuals who signed the petition was also weird, how do they know who is who? (well, assuming not everyone starts to cry immediatly, revealing that he/she just got sentenced to death).

I actually didn't mind that scene. Hody knows who they are because he was reading their signatures on the fliers the citizens all sent in. It made sense to me. And even if a bit forced, if I were in their shoes, I would be scared if the guy called out my name like that. I felt it added a bit a bit to the menacing scene.

Though Hody's plan in general was incredibly cliche, something very unlike Oda. I honestly wonder if he was going through a stressful time during this point in the arc, because so many things were very predictable. While I didn't mind Hody's

Spoiler:

lack of any motivation whatsoever and being a "tool for racism"

, I kind of feel like the writing for it was a bit weak. Oda is a genius, but even geniuses need to be called out when they make mistakes.

He was in chains, no? I have more of a problem with Brook getting oneshotted by fodder.

I'm talking about in the flashback when the Fishmen tossed Zoro and Usopp up out of the water before the chains were applied. I understand Zoro was weakened by not being able to breath and whatnot, which is understandable, but the Zoro I have come to respect would never let such a thing stop him. This is the man who fought Arlong with a life-threatening wound from Mihawk, the man who was willing to cut his own legs off to escape solid wax, the man who was willing to give his life to Kuma to save Luffy. I'm not one to like nitpickers against the anime, as you all probably know by now, but this one scene just felt very weak and OOC to me.

Now that you mention it, Brook getting taken down by fodder was annoying as well. If the writers for this episode gave this better thought, they should have used the fact Brook is a Devil Fruit user to make the scene more believable. Them hitting Brook WHILE in the water would make much more sense. If this scene happened pre-time skip I would buy it, but not now when Brook is clearly able to hold his own

Spoiler:

against a more menacing opponent.

[Sick_Fool]

You know, I always wonder why people call FI arc "stretched-out" when it was obviously rushed.