Attack on Marijoa 200 Years Ago

One Piece Episode 1098 reveals a new piece of One Piece world lore. We already knew that the void century took place 900 years ago. And, although I forgot, we knew that the Fishmen joined the World Government 200 years ago.

What we didn’t know is that there was an attack on Marijoa 200 years ago, as well. This attack was perpetrated by the ancient robot Luffy found on Egghead. So, at some point, this robot managed to scale the Red Line. But, luckily for Marijoa, it ran out of power before being able to do much damage.

The big question left over from the attack is, “Who was responsible for it?” According to Dr. Vegapunk, the ancient robot was built 900 years ago during the void century. Was it programmed to attack after 700 years? Or, did something else trigger the attack?

As far as we know, there wasn’t anyone piloting the robot. So, either it was following a program or it had a will of its own. The robot having a will of its own seems unlikely, so that leaves a program as the likely answer.

However, if it was a program, it was a pretty specific one. I doubt the robot took 700 years to reach Marijoa. And, it would also be weird if the 700-year gap between its creation and attack were intentional. That only leaves one other answer that makes sense right now: The Fishmen triggered it.

Now, I’m not saying that the Fishmen had a direct involvement in the attack. What I’m saying is that the attack intentionally happened when the Fishmen joined the World Government. My guess is that this action was supposed to trigger the fall of Marijoa, but it happened too late.

The Bear Escapes

In the middle of Episode 1098, we got a random scene of Kuma running away from the Revolutionary Army. The Revolutionaries brought the original Kuma back to the Kamabakka Kingdom. And, they were somehow treating him there. Though, I don’t know what it is they hoped to accomplish.

As far as I know, the Revolutionaries don’t have the technology to turn Kuma back into a human. He’s a cyborg forever now. They even stated that his personality isn’t going to come back. But, that might not actually be true.

Around this same time in the episode, we saw Cipher Pol 0 showing up at Egghead. They mentioned how they had previously been after Bonney for some reason. However, they don’t need her anymore, so she can be eliminated.

It looks like this is why Kuma suddenly sprung into action.

I don’t know how he would have known that Bonney was in trouble. But, it looks like he figured it out and went off to save her. We don’t know exactly where he sent himself with his ability. Though, I’m pretty confident in saying that he’ll show up on Egghead Island soon.

Anyway, why was Cipher Pol 0 after Bonney, in the first place? Is it because she’s a member of the Worst Generation of pirates? Maybe. Is it because she somehow escaped after the Marines captured her? Also maybe. Or, was there a different reason? You know, like her connection to Kuma and Dr. Vegapunk.

I’m assuming that the World Government got some information about Dr. Vegapunk from Bonney. That’s likely why they were interested in her. And, now that they have that information, they need to silence her. Luckily for them, she and Dr. Vegapunk are both in the same place.

Vegapunk Discovers Nuclear Energy

A man with as much genius as Dr. Vegapunk isn’t limited to having only one goal. Sharing his knowledge with the world is one of his goals, for sure. However, in Episode 1098, he also mentions that another of his goals is to provide the world with energy.

During the void century, there was an energy source far beyond what the world has today. It’s what powered the ancient robot that attacked Marijoa. But, that power source was lost. That’s why Dr. Vegapunk can’t get the ancient robot working again.

With that said, Dr. Vegapunk believes that he’s close to rediscovering this power source. His experiments and research have brought him closer and closer to it. And, this is another reason why the World Government needs to eliminate him. Just imagine how the world would change if he discovered an infinite power source.

Right now, travel around the world is primarily restricted to sailing ships. There are some other means of transportation. As a whole, though, there’s nothing that’s very fast. Airplanes don’t exist. If Dr. Vegapunk rediscovers this infinite power source, that could change.

Why is this bad for the World Government? If people could travel around the world at high speed, it would make it harder to control them. News, ideas, and culture would all spread faster than the World Government could stop.

So, what exactly is this theoretical power source? According to Dr. Vegapunk, it’s energy that exists everywhere on the planet.

That sounds a lot like nuclear energy. In our world, nuclear power plants are the pinnacle of energy production. They produce cheap, clean energy and are way more efficient than anything else. Also, nuclear power is directly related to the rise of the super robot genre in Japan.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of One Piece Episode 1098? Do you think the ancient robot’s attack on Marijoa is somehow connected to the ascension of the Fishmen? Do you think Kuma can regain his personality? And, how else would Dr. Vegapunk’s theoretical infinite power source ruin the World Government’s day?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 1099 is available now.

The Will of Ohara!

One Piece Episode 1097 confirmed something I predicted about Dr. Vegapunk last week. In my review of Episode 1096, I said that I got the feeling that the main thing Vegapunk cared about was knowledge. He’ll side with whoever allows him to continue his quest for knowledge.

I said this in regards to whether or not Vegapunk would assist the Straw Hats. The World Government funds all of Vegapunks research and inventions. So, from his perspective, why would he help the Straw Hats destroy that? It wouldn’t make much sense for someone as logical as Vegapunk.

Now, I do think that Vegapunk will help the Straw Hats to an extent. But, we also now have direct evidence that Vegapunk thought the way I predicted in the past. Apparently, he turned down joining Dragon and instead joined the World Government. Why? Because they funded his research.

Until this point, the reason Vegapunk was affiliated with the World Government was unclear. Did he work for them of his own free will? Or, was he threatened or otherwise coerced into working for them? For a long time, I assumed Vegapunk was essentially a hostage of the World Government.

But, it seems that’s not the case. Vegapunk knew what he was doing when he agreed to work for the World Government. And, he even attempts to justify his choice when talking to Dragon. He points out that the World Government isn’t the enemy. The World Nobles are.

Just because Vegapunk works for the World Government doesn’t mean he opposes Dragon. And, in the same way, it doesn’t mean he opposes the Straw Hats. The World Government can continue to exist and benefit the people of the world after the fall of the nobles. It’s not an inherently evil organization.

Vegapunk’s Brain-Brain Fruit

For some reason, I never considered the fact that Vegapunk would have a devil fruit ability. We’ve been hearing his name for hundreds of episodes by now. And, there’s been plenty of time to theorize about him. But, this is something I never thought about.

I assumed that he was a very smart guy who was interested in devil fruits but hadn’t eaten one. Why wouldn’t he have eaten one? I don’t know. I don’t have a good answer to that question. It’s just what I thought. However, in Episode 1097, we learn that he does have a fruit.

Vegapunk ate the Brain-Brain Fruit, which causes his brain to continuously grow. As he learns new information, his brain gets larger to store it. That’s why he had such a giant head in the past. But, today, his brain is too large to store within his head.

Instead, his brain can be found within the Punk Records building of Egghead Island. And, Vegapunk and the Satellites communicate with this central brain wirelessly. That’s why they all refer to themselves as Dr. Vegapunk. They’re “clones” who share the same brain. They all are Dr. Vegapunk.

Something I’m curious about, though, is when Vegapunk ate the Brain-Brain Fruit. Was he already a successful scientist when he ate it? Was he already interested in uncovering the secrets of the devil fruit? Or, was eating the Brain-Brain Fruit what sent him down this path? That would be interesting to find out.

It’s also surprising that the World Government hasn’t blacklisted this devil fruit. They tried to do that to the Human-Human Fruit Model: Nika by renaming it the Gum-Gum Fruit. But, why not the Brain-Brain Fruit? As they say, knowledge is power — this is a powerful devil fruit.

The Inherited Research

Alright, so how exactly is the Brain-Brain Fruit powerful? And, why would the World Government need to blacklist it? Think of it this way: What’s the World Government (World Nobles and Im) most afraid of? They’re afraid of the citizens of the world gaining knowledge.

They don’t want people to know anything about the void century. That’s why Ohara had to be destroyed. And, that’s why Im obliterated Lulusia — he couldn’t let Sabo reveal the truth. If the people of the world learned the truth, they might try to rise up.

The Brain-Brain Fruit grants the power to gain an extraordinary amount of knowledge. Dr. Vegapunk knows more about the world than anyone else. Well, except for maybe Im. And, that makes him a threat to Im’s rule. Why do you think Cipher Pol says they’re going to assassinate Vegapunk at the end of this episode?

But, if Vegapunk was the only person with all of his knowledge, that wouldn’t be that bad. Up until now, the World Government has been able to use him and his brain. His existence has been a net positive for the ruling class.

Unfortunately for them, the direction Vegapunk is going in isn’t a positive one for them. His ultimate goal is to make it so everyone in the world can connect to Punk Records. That would mean that everyone in the world would know what he knows. And, the World Government can’t have that.

This is why I’m surprised that the World Government has allowed this fruit to exist for so long. Sure, the Nika Fruit inspires people and ignites their desire for freedom. But, the Brain-Brain Fruit gives people the power to question the state of the world. That’s equally as dangerous to a dictator.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of One Piece Episode 1097? Were you surprised to see that Saul is still alive? Which do you think came first, Vegapunk’s genius or him eating the Brain-Brain Fruit? And, do you think everyone being able to connect to Vegapunk’s brain is a good idea?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 1098 is available now.

A Forbidden Piece of History

In One Piece Episode 1096, Shaka reveals that he knows about the ancient kingdom. Not only does he know that it existed. But, he knows that the 20 kingdoms that make up the World Government destroyed it. And, he knows that the World Government still fears its ideology to this day.

That’s all kind of a big deal considering who Shaka (Vegapunk) is. Yes, he works for the World Government. However, that doesn’t mean he’s supposed to know that information. If the higher-ups of the World Government found out, he’d have to be killed.

Shaka also knows that this is why the World Government destroyed Ohara with a buster call. Most of the world thinks the archaeologists of Ohara were plotting something sinister. So, the fact that Shaka knows the truth about Ohara is also important. That knowledge is just as dangerous as knowledge of the ancient kingdom.

Considering how dangerous this knowledge is, the Straw Hats weren’t exactly thrilled that Shaka told them. Well, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Franky weren’t. The only ones present when Shaka revealed all of this were those four and Robin. But, Robin already knew this — that’s why she’s been a wanted criminal for decades.

Why are the Straw Hats worried about having this knowledge? It’s because knowledge of the void century is an information hazard. It’s dangerous to the World Government because it may lead to uprisings. And, it’s dangerous to the average person because it puts a target on their back.

That second part is what’s most important here. When Shaka told the Straw Hats about the past, they didn’t yet know if he was friend or foe. For all they knew, he was going to have to kill them now that he told them about it.

Ancient Kingdom Recap

A lot of this episode was recap. Basically, everything that had to do with the ancient kingdom and Ohara was recap. The only part of all of that that wasn’t recap was when we learned that Vegapunk visited Ohara. After the buster call, he went there and found the surviving books.

It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure that even the fact that the archeologists saved the books isn’t new. I remember them throwing the books into the water to save them from the fire. But, it’s possible that my memory is wrong and this is the first we’re hearing of it.

This is why I’m not actually mad that a large part of this episode was recap. I think we learned all this stuff about Ohara and the ancient kingdom back in Enies Lobby. I watched the Enies Lobby arc six years ago. But, if you watched it when it aired, that was 18 years ago.

Considering I’ve only been watching One Piece since 2018, I often forget how long ago some of these arcs were. If you’ve been watching One Piece weekly all this time, I can totally see how this recap would be helpful.

Based on everything we’ve seen in this arc, so far, it looks like the ancient kingdom is going to be important. This feels like the arc in which we’re going to learn a lot more about it. So, it only makes sense to remind everyone what we already know.

And, I want to say that if this is the arc we learn about the ancient kingdom in, that’s pretty cool. It’s cool that we’ll be learning about the ancient past in an arc that takes place on a future island. These details are why One Piece is so good.

The Real Dr. Vegapunk

I wasn’t sure if we’d get to meet the “real” Dr. Vegapunk in the present timeline. I figured he might only show up in flashbacks from before he split his mind into six. But, that turned out to be wrong. He still exists.

What do the Vegapunks mean for Dr. Vegapunk, though? Is his body connected to theirs? When York eats, does it fill him up just as it does for the other Vegapunks? Is he neither good nor evil because Shaka and Lilith have taken those roles from him? I need to know.

What we do know is that Dr. Vegapunk appears to be working on a teleportation device. He accidentally teleported himself halfway into the robot Luffy and Chopper were looking at. And, that would have ended badly for him if Luffy wasn’t there. Though, I assume he only teleported there because Luffy was there.

But, what does Vegapunk want with Luffy? He knew Luffy was on the island and it looks like he wanted to meet him. Why? Could it be the simple fact that Luffy is Dragon’s son? Or, is there more to it? Does he know that Luffy awoke the Nika-Nika Fruit?

It’ll be pretty interesting if Vegapunk wants to help Luffy fight back against the World Government. I can see Shaka wanting this. But, I don’t get the feeling that the other Vegapunks care. And, that includes the original Dr. Vegapunk himself.

From the little we’ve seen of Dr. Vegapunk, I get the feeling that all he cares about are knowledge and inventions. Sure, the World Government wants to keep certain knowledge from him. But, that doesn’t seem to have stopped him yet. And, they’re bankrolling his inventions, so that’s a positive for him.

He could go either way.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of One Piece Episode 1096? Did you expect Sanji and Franky to be scared of learning the forbidden history? I expected it from Usopp and Nami, but not those two. And, how did you feel about the amount of recap in this episode? Was it helpful?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/Support.

My review of Episode 1097 is available now.

Seraphim Devil Fruit Abilities

One Piece Episode 1095 reveals some pretty interesting things about the Seraphim. We aren’t introduced to any new Seraphim. But, the fight against the Jinbe Seraphim tells us a lot. And, one of the first things I want to mention that we learned is his name.

The Jinbe Seraphim’s name is S-Shark. That’s what I’ll be referring to him as from now on. But, what does that name mean? If I had to guess, the S stands for Seraphim. And, the Shark is probably in reference to the fact that Jinbe is a whale shark Fishman.

With that information, I’m going to make some predictions about the names of the other Seraphim. The Boa Seraphim’s name being S-Snake makes sense, to me. And, the Mihawk Seraphim’s name being S-Hawk also makes sense. They’re both based on the names of the actual people as well as animals.

If we extend my predictions further, we can even assume what other Warlords may have Seraphim based on them. Crocodile, Kuma, Weevil, (Gecko) Moria, and Doflamingo also have names based on animals. But, since Kuma is already the original Pacifista, I’m guessing there won’t be a Seraphim of him.

Moving on, this episode also revealed something else about the Seraphim. They have devil fruit abilities. Specifically, S-Shark has the Swim-Swim fruit of Señor Pink. Does this mean Señor Pink is dead? Or, did Vegapunk somehow recreate Señor Pink’s devil fruit — like how Momo’s devil fruit is a recreation of Kaido’s?

That’s not yet clear. But, what is pretty clear is that this is an amazing devil fruit for S-Shark. Giving the Swim-Swim fruit to a Fishman is genius — as expected of Vegapunk. It allows S-Shark to make the most of his Fishman traits, even on land.

The Six Vegapunks

Episode 1095 also gives us more information about the Vegapunks. We already knew there were six of them based on the OP. But, now it’s a bit clearer why they all claim to be the Dr. Vegapunk. They aren’t separate entities — they’re all connected.

So, each of the six Vegapunks has a role. Shaka is the good one, Lilith is the evil one, Atlas is the violent one, etc. I don’t know why they’re separated like that. But, they are. I guess it’s to make “Vegapunk” more efficient.

For example, Vegapunk’s violent tendencies may have been getting in the way of his science. So, he broke those off into Atlas. However, Atlas is still a part of Vegapunk. And, we know this because all six Vegapunks share the same biological needs. They all experience things like hunger at the same time.

Now, this is where the efficiency of splitting into multiple bodies actually makes sense. Splitting Shaka and Lilith apart probably has some benefit. But, splitting off York is smart. York’s job is to do all of the bodily functions required for Vegapunk to survive. She eats, sleeps, and uses the bathroom so the others don’t have to.

In the OP, we also see what I’m still assuming to be the original Dr. Vegapunk — the old man. But, with our new knowledge about the Vegapunks, I wonder if he still exists. Did the six Vegapunks replace his original body? Or, does he still have an original body?

It might be that we only see his original body in the form of a flashback of some kind. And, right now, I’m leaning toward that being the case. After all, what would the point of the original body be if the others are doing everything?

An Ancient Future Island

Egghead Island is a future island. It’s the most technologically advanced island in the known world. And, it’s where all the cutting-edge technological advancements originate from. But, Shaka also claims that Egghead is an ancient island from the past.

What does this mean?

There are three main ways we can interpret this. First, the entire island literally came from the past and was brought into the future (present). Second, Egghead was built on top of the ruins of an ancient civilization that was once on the island. And third, the technology on the island is merely replicating technology of the past.

Since this is One Piece, anything is possible. Toki Kozuki is the only known user of the Time Time fruit. But, it’s possible that a user before her had awakened its ability and sent an entire island into the future.

What seems more likely, though, is the second possibility. Many objects in the junkyard where Luffy, Chopper, Jinbe, and Bonney are looking very old. They could be the remnants of an ancient civilization that once inhabited the island. And, that’s what Shaka could have been referencing. Maybe this island was once part of the Ancient Kingdom from the void century.

The third possibility could also be true alongside the first or second. It could be that many of Vegapunk’s inventions are the products of him trying to reproduce ancient technology. The Vegaforce-01 could be based on the ruins of the giant robot in the junkyard, for example.

To me, the second and third possibilities both being the truth makes the most sense. But, it would be pretty cool if the first possibility was the correct one. In any event, I’m curious to see what this means for the World Government.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of One Piece Episode 1095? Do you think all of the Seraphim have devil fruit abilities? Are they copies of other abilities or the real abilities themselves? Do you think Vegapunk still has his original body? And, what do you think Shaka meant about the island being from the past?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 1096 is available now.

The Mystery Deepens!

The mystery surrounding Bonney’s father (Kuma) deepens in One Piece Episode 1094. Bonney still insists that Kuma is her father — she doesn’t say adoptive father. But, it also still seems like that isn’t quite accurate for a few reasons I’ll get into.

First, it’s said that the reason Vegapunk was interested in Kuma was his unique physique. Do we know if Kuma is something other than a “normal” human? To me, this implies that’s the case — like how the Long Arm Tribe is different. And, if that’s the case and Bonney is his child, why doesn’t she look like him?

Second, Bonney doesn’t seem to have all the information about Kuma that some others do — like Jinbe. Jinbe points out that Kuma was an evil king of the Sorbet Kingdom who got expelled by his citizens. Bonney’s reaction to that was simply that Kuma wasn’t evil.

Why is this evidence? Bonney didn’t argue that Kuma wasn’t a king expelled from his kingdom. But, she also didn’t give any indication that she knows more about that backstory. Is it World Government propaganda? Was she born after it happened? Or, is it that she only met Kuma afterward and so doesn’t know?

Additionally, the end of the episode drops a huge bombshell. Apparently, Shaka Vegapunk is in contact with Dragon of the revolutionary army. That’s a big deal for a few reasons. Vegapunk works for the World Government and, therefore, the World Nobles.

But, more importantly, it means that what happened to Kuma isn’t so clear-cut anymore. If Vegapunk has a connection to Dragon, does that mean Kuma did, in fact, volunteer to become a cyborg? It’s hard to imagine Vegapunk forcing this on Kuma if he’s actually an ally of the Revolutionary Army.

Everyone Else Gets New Outfits

Luffy, Jinbe, and Chopper got their new outfits for the Egghead arc in Episode 1093. Now, it’s time for the next batch of Straw Hat crew members to get theirs. That means Nami, Robin, Usopp, Sanji, and Franky.

Zoro and Brook haven’t gotten their new outfits yet because they opted to stay aboard the Sunny. If anything goes wrong on the island, they’re going to be the ones to swoop in and save everyone else. Oh, and Caribou is with them because he’s still stowing away on the ship.

Anyway, what are my thoughts on the new outfits? Well, my first thought is that this outfit somehow increased Nami’s bust size even more. I guess it’s padded. However, of the girls’ outfits, I like Robin’s more. I wish Robin’s had more going on below the waist. But, it’s still pretty good.

Surprisingly, I actually like Bonney’s outfit more than both Nami’s and Robin’s. I like the purple of Bonney’s outfit more, and I like that hers comes with thigh-highs. If Robin’s outfit had those, it would be much better than it currently is.

As for the guys’ outfits, Usopp’s is pretty boring — as is Sanji’s. But, I kind of like Franky’s. I wasn’t too big of a fan of his when I saw it in the OP. However, now that I’ve actually seen it in an episode, I like it more. But, for now, I’m going to say that Jinbe’s is my favorite male outfit.

I’ll have to wait and see what I think of Zoro’s and Brook’s once we see them in an episode. It’s going to be hard to top Jinbe’s, though. And, I wonder if any other characters we already know will show up with new outfits.

Egghead Labophase

After changing into their new outfits, the second group of Straw Hats followed Lilith to the Labophase. This is the upper part of the island where the real secret experiments happen. It’s where Shaka seems to be located. And, it’s where the Seraphim are stored.

Before Episode 1094, we had seen two of the Seraphim. There was one that was clearly based on Boa Hancock. And, there was another that I suspect was based on Mihawk. Now, we’ve seen a third Seraphim that’s based on Jinbe. So, the fact that the Seraphim come from the Warlords is pretty much confirmed.

With that said, I have a feeling that there will not be a Buggy Seraphim. Mihawk makes sense since his Seraphim appears to have his sword skills. And, based on the stance Jinbe’s Seraphim took, I assume Jinbe’s Seraphim knows fish-man karate. But, what would Buggy bring to the table as a Seraphim?

I suppose you could make the same argument about Boa’s Seraphim. Boa’s a strong pirate, for sure. However, the majority of her strength comes from her devil fruit ability. Unless the Seraphim can replicate that (this is unclear), a Boa Seraphim doesn’t make much sense.

I’d imagine that we’re going to see more of what the Seraphim are capable of in the next episode. Or, maybe we’ll just learn more about how Vegapunk made them. Though, that seems pretty clear already. He used their DNA and King’s DNA to make Lunarian hybrids.

Do you think Jinbe is stronger than the Jinbe Seraphim? This Seraphim can likely shoot lasers like the others. And it is part Lunarian, so should be sturdier than the real Jinbe. But, something tells me that Jinbe could still win. Of course, I have no evidence to back that claim up.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of One Piece Episode 1094? If Kuma’s a former king and Bonney is his daughter, is Bonney a former princess? That kind of sounds familiar, but I’m not sure. Which new Straw Hat outfit is your favorite, so far? And, do you think Jinbe could beat his Seraphim clone?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 1095 is available now