Conqueror’s Haki? A New Contender? – One Piece #733 Review

A fairly mediocre chapter for One Piece with not much happening until the very end…

Oda knows how to keep us hooked on this arc and yet he teases us with scraps to feed off now that the major stuff has taken place.

I’m dying to read more… Not literally but metaphorically. If you have the imagination to back it up, envision me crawling across the rugged stone floor looking worse than the stone floor itself as I reach out for the latest copy of Jump. Although technically, we don’t get Jump here in the UK so I have to rely on my beloved Mangastream to attain the latest chapters.

So this chapter started off in the Coliseum and we are reintroduced to the participants in Block D. So we’re down to the final 30 or so and the one’s that stand out for me are Suleiman and Orlumbus. That is apart from Rebecca. Cavendish doesn’t really interest me. Just seems like a pretty boy.

Suleiman has a cool name and a really cool look and he seems to be known for his lifeless persona. And he has an awesome sword! He’s a “Class A Criminal” of the “Underworld”.

Sounds like a rank of this underworld place we keep hearing about. Is it a secret organisation or just a name for everything that takes place in the shadows? The criminal activity area… Might do for a cool name for a social networking site for the not so well behaved.

This Suleiman fellow looks to be based on a foreign personality. His lifeless face and name could be taken from Soloman Kane, the book where he described as “a male of pale face and cold eyes” who was known to wield a sharp sword knows as a rapier.

The Battle of Dias had me research and I came up with an explorer of the 15^th Century known as Bartolomeu Dias. He might even have something to do with King Soloman from the biblical texts. He seems to have committed crimes for his country so a patriotic fellah. He questions Rebecca about being hated but she tells him she only cares about soldier-san.

Orlumbus is an adventurer who looks a bit like Brownbeard in my opinion. His name is obviously a take on Christopher Columbus… The man who discovered the ‘Others’ or the lands that are known as North and South America. This guy is the Yonta Maria Fleet Admiral.

This is interesting because I am sure this is a take on Christopher Columbus again. You see, the Santa Maria was the largest of the three ships that was used by the explorer in his first voyage. This can be seen in the picture above. He does kill some Lion who is also a contestant and the crowd mention he’s strong. So yeah, an interesting character.

There is also a lot of rumours going around that this Meadows character is going to be some big-shot and the winner considering he hasn’t been shown since the image above of D Block. some even think it Kaidou but I highly doubt it. He has no reason to be here.

Elsewhere in the underground smuggling area, beneath the toy factory, the fairies inform Usopp and Robin that during the confusion they create, Soldier-San is going to shoot and kill Doflamingo.

Honestly, does he think he can take out Doflamingo like that?

For a guy toy who has thought this out so well, I think this is a naïve. I don’t think a simple assassination can take out someone like Doflamingo.

These Dwarves are actually very strong as they took out two men with simple moves that remind you of Mario; buried them into the ground with a bat of the ass. That’s hardcore shit right there. I mean compared to their size, that’s mighty strength dude! Did I mention they’re fast as flash? They stripped the men to their underwear within a second or so. These little bitches are bloody mad. They might actually stand a chance. Even Usopp seems to think he can get away with it without any actual fighting. This guy is still such a coward. But you got to love him for it.

We get to see some flashbacks of Toy Soldier training Rebecca who complains about child abuse (that was actually funny). The poor child had to learn to fight from such a young age. Reminded me a little of Big Daddy and Hit Girl from Kick-Ass.

He enters the lift that goes up to the factory and hijacks it, taking out the guys in there. He’s really fast, dodging bullets. I think this is the same technique that he’s passed onto Rebecca.

We switch back to the coliseum where everybody is knocked out. Like literally, all the contestants are on the ground. We see a glimpse of Sabo from behind in the Lucy costume and there’s pandemonium in the crowds. It’s obvious somebody has used the Conquerors Haki but whom? Sabo? Or was it somebody else? I can’t figure this out but I’m hoping Oda really gives us something with this. I’m really looking forward to the next chapter.

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p>Did I mention that one of the contestants is about to get up… We’re going to have the final victor.

Need to see more of what’s happening with Sabo, as well as Luffy/Zoro/Kin’emon and Sanji/Nami/Brook/Chopper etc. Too much going on at the same time. Let’s not forget Franky’s battle with Senor Pink.

(Note: With One Piece Manga Reviews, I shall not be presenting a ‘Good’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Funny’ viewpoint like I do with other reviews.)