Syrup Island Arc- Part IV

[we_are]

This is basically a handful of chapters devoted to reveal and fight scenes. But during which, we get a really good look at Kuro as a character, coming into our full understanding of him; as well as the mirrors of Kaya/Usopp and Zoro/Nami.

As we open, Kaya is having an understandable nightmare involving Usopp.



Here we get to see just how scary someone’s twisted perceptions can be. Despite Usopp’s actions for a year, Kuro’s words have obviously affected her subconsciously. And who can blame her? Well, we can say, if actions are stronger than words, shouldn’t she judge him by his actions? Maybe, but Kaya is human after all and also this:



Despite the fact that he turned violent, she’s still unsure of why he said that. She is taking his actions into account—but she’s lost and confused and if you look at the lower panels, we can see why Kuro’s words effect her so much. She had a nightmare and is going to him for comfort. He is her family. Much like Usopp loves Yasopp, in part because Yasopp is the only family he has left. Kuro helps fill the gap her parents left when they died. As much as she may care for Usopp, it’s obvious she values Kuro more.

She opens the door to find Merry bleeding on the floor, having been wrecked by Kuro and freaks out a little, turning him over and asking him what happened. Merry speaks of Khaladore and says:



Betrayal, and a foreshadowing of what Kuro will do to his own men. Kaya is devastated by this news as anyone would be. It’s like a waking nightmare and a neat parallel to her own nightmare. What she subconsciously fears based on what she’s heard vs. the fear brought on by the reality of something she couldn’t see coming. To Kaya’s credit, though, she doesn’t say that Merry is wrong or mistaken, but puts the pieces together, remembering how desperate he looked when he told her. Also a counterpoint.



Let’s compare and contrast her memories of Khaladore and Usopp here. Both are desperate, both are shouting. But Khaladore’s posture is different, his head is in his hand, and he’s not sweating at all. Usopp is looking up, vulnerable and open, beads of sweat on his face. But it’s indicating a change in her own perceptions, and also how faulty a memory can be and how quickly it changes. Because the reality of Kuro’s act was much more convincing.



To me, that she accepts these truths, marks her as pretty strong, especially considering the role and impact Khaladore had on her life.

And furthermore:



Kaya, too, feels guilty. Personally, I normally hate this kind of trope. Oh, I didn’t believe him even though I really had no cause to I feel so bad weh weh. But here, she feels guilty in part because she didn’t believe him, yet even as he came daily to come see her at the same time to lift her spirits, she couldn’t even give him the benefit of the doubt when he was at his most desperate. Whether that is right or wrong metatextually is up for the reader to decide, I think. Looking at what is here, it gives a sense of Kaya’s character and the importance she has on recognizing kindness and taking responsibility to show her gratitude. She brought glasses for Khaladore after all. But for Usopp who did something simpler, risking getting chased out by coming to see her and cheer her up she hasn’t done anything for.

Fortunately, they don’t dwell on this aspect too long. Merry, in a surprising show of strength, props his bleeding body against the wall and says that they have to think calmly about what to do. Again, proactivity in the works. He says that if what Usopp said is true, that theirs and the villager’s lives are in danger and so:



First of all, this is no small thing. Kaya is willing to give up her house—the house where she last knew her parents, and her wealth, for the sake of the village without so much as a hesitation. She simply says, Okay. In this case, Kaya is very much a heroine, sharing her meat when she really doesn’t have to.



Here, too. Though she’s not responsible for Kuro’s actions, she takes responsibility anyway. Moreover, she has to do it herself. Which, it’s one thing to confront a bad guy—but it’s quite another to have a confrontation with someone you loved and were betrayed by.
Cut to the Usopp Pirates converging in a place in the village. Remember the last part where I was saying how sad it was that no one knew Usopp enough to tell when he was lying or not?



His pirates do. His friends, do. Granted they were easily fooled by Usopp’s words and had to have a night to think about it. But they are very young kids. Regardless—as a reflection of their captain, they come to understand the heart of people and—as we know—go to confront the situation and help out. At the moment, though, they simply spot Kaya walking away from the house. Another indication that something must have happened.

As we cut back to the battle, Luffy is snoozing under the masthead that he broke and Jango calls for the Nyaban Brothers to come down. They’re not entirely important to this analysis since they don’t cover any territory we haven’t covered before—but I will touch on. Firstly, we know that Jango calls on them as sort of a last resort to get through the Zoro blockade. And here, before they enter, we see the truth:



They think it’s weird that everyone is defeated, yes, but they also say “let’s go down and check” with confidence. Then, as Jango orders them to charge up the slope:



We see the lie. Granted, it’s somewhat easy to believe that they really are afraid despite their above confidence. After all, the others are beaten and Zoro doesn’t look weak by any stretch of the imagination. But this is exactly how Kuro operates. He makes himself appear less, weak, fragile, servile, while keeping his true, aggressive, strong nature hidden in order to deceive others. Usopp, Nami and Zoro are all pretty confused at why Jango is making these cowards fight and that they seem scared to death. And, to their credit, Buchi and Sham are pretty good actors. Even Zoro is completely blindsided by this because as Sham races up the hill:



Now this is pretty interesting because it shows Zoro’s own dual, yet forthright nature. He’s going under the assumption that Sham is absolutely terrified and is charging him under duress. Zoro isn’t into fighting weak guys, but he’s also not wanting to fight someone who is doing it against their will. Yet, at the same time, he has set his course on protecting the slope, and so he’ll do it regardless of whether or not he has to cut down this guy. He gives warning, but won’t back down from his decision.



Fortunately he’s not so taken in that he doesn’t notice the shift when it occurs. He manages to block Sham’s claws just in time, and Sham goes onto explain that if he didn’t make Zoro think he was a coward, Zoro wouldn’t have let his guard down. Shades of Kuro much? Sham also manages to sneak thief his katana away.



I find it funny that Nami notices before Zoro does. She’s watching this fight super intensely and knows where to look. Also, translators and people who use Japanese in fics in general… pls, Japanese doesn’t plural like that. It’s like sheep. You don’t have one sheep and two sheeps. Likewise you don’t have one ninja and two ninjas, or one katana or two katanas. No “s”s unless it is possessive. Also if you notice Sham stole one of the unnamed swords and also the Wado Ichimonji. Zoro is unhappy that this turn of events.

And then let’s just… take a moment to have a little Zoro appreciation.



He knows that Sham is going to do something. He doesn’t know what, but he’s waiting for that asshole to try his patience and do it. Sham says he’ll get rid of this junk and:



Just tosses it down the hill. Again, so much can be said from few words. Zoro is not afraid. He is angry. His katana, including the one that is his responsibility, was just casually tossed away onto the ground. He respects his swords and when others disrespect them, it makes him mad. He says “don’t treat other’s swords with disrespect” and seems to slice through Sham. Which is, of course, a sham. (haha) He tries to reach his katana but is attacked by Sham once more. Sham locks his arms so he can’t move and tackles him to the dirt and then calls Buchi to jump on him which is a move that will crush every bone in his body should it land. Fortunately it does not as Zoro manages to twist out of the way just in time. He then has no choice but to fight them with just one katana, which, as he says, is not his specialty (and we’ll come back to this much much much much later) and is only just holding his own as the two attack him with their claws.



Zoro has not yet morphed into the monster that Nami doesn’t worry about too much, and she sees him struggling. Usopp sees that he’s in trouble and right away, without hesitation, goes to help, and snipes with confidence. Granted, Buchi isn’t exactly a small target, but there’s no doubt in Usopp’s mind he’ll get a hit. Zoro hears that, sees the pachinko ball flying for Buchi’s head and:




Takes it right in the dominant shoulder. And it’s obvious that shit hurts. It’s probably a solid metal ball and a pretty big one at that, there’s no doubt the force of Usopp’s slingshot because we can see the impact. As a consequence he drops his guard for just a second and gets slashed the hell up.



It’s no small wound. Also, Usopp has enough confidence in his own abilities to know that he didn’t hit him on purpose and was watching the fight well enough to notice that Zoro turned into it. They are both pretty stunned by this action and can’t seem to make sense of it at first.



Yet, bleeding as he is, Zoro still has time to call Usopp an idiot for interfering. Nami is the one that gets it, understandably since she’s known Zoro longer, but even she’s shocked by this. We, as readers, are not. But remember, scars on the back is a swordsman’s shame. It is not the first time that Zoro has protected someone with his back (see the Morgan arc) and it’s certainly not the last.



I think this, in a way, is the start of how Usopp views Zoro. We’ll see, of course, how his views are shaped over time. But right at the beginning, he sees him as a strong guy, a protective force, sacrificing himself for the sake of others, and is in that way, heroic. Usopp, we know, wants to be a hero—but as a guy with a protective streak himself, he undoubtedly really admires this strength and resolve. And it is a hell of a lot of strength and resolve. Zoro, despite his wound and his single katana, doesn’t fault Usopp, just yelled at him to knock it off essentially before going right back to fighting. But not just fighting, defending and protecting.

Now, remember how Nami didn’t really want to fight in this mess but she got involved when it came down to the wire anyway by smacking the guy who was going to kill Usopp?



Here, she does it again. Nami’s caring nature can be super subtle but it’s very much there. First, though, look at how she reframes what she’s saying. “If this goes on…” suggests that she’s pretty sure he’s going to die, or at least be fairly wounded. But she changes it to a more selfish tinged statement. It’s not completely selfish, but it’s as if she’s telling herself she’s not charging forward because she cares about Zoro’s life, no, not her, but that he will win if he has the katana.

The left panel is important as well. Usopp offers to go. I think had it been Sanji or Luffy or one of the other stronger ones, Usopp would have been: Sure! Go ahead! But he recognizes Nami as being just as physically weak as he is. Besides the fact that he no doubt feels responsible for hitting Zoro in the first place and also suggests that he doesn’t want to see Nami get hurt. Nami, likewise, has a similar consideration as Usopp. He is hurt, she isn’t. There is no one stronger who can get the swords. She’s risking a battlefield to help him, though she has a higher chance of getting killed. In this way, in her own way, she is just as protective and hardcore as Zoro.



Zoro notices it, too, and I don’t think he really wants her to help. Not because he doubts her ability, but because he recognizes the risk and feels it’s his job to be the protection. He is the strong one.



In any case, before she can, she’s winged by Jango. Look how quiet he is about it, too. He’s set his course and he’s sailing it. Whether or not he really wants to do this sort of thing, his crew’s (and his own) lives are more important to him than wanting to do it or not. In a way, he’s much like Zoro, too. But note, he didn’t kill her though he could have. Just showed her that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with and that she should really consider if she wants to go through with this. And just hold on to your headscarf, Usopp, your glimmer of hope is about to get even dimmer because:



Enter Captain Kuro. Offscreen for the moment, but that’s just so we can look at the impact he has. The Nyaban brothers are terrified, the other nameless crew are like, oh crap we’re done for. But here we focus on Jango—who, despite his casual laughing and teasing Kuro earlier, is legitimately terrified of him. This guy who has been calm and collected throughout. And it’s not the omg you flashily made him mad now what is he going to do?! Buggy inspired terror. No this is more deep seated and something that’s developed over time in sailing with Kuro. He’s not someone to take lightly by any means.



Now to just look at this, first let’s state that it’s the end of a chapter, so obviously Odacchi decided to go out with a bang. But he also doesn't just do things for no reason.

So what do we see here. The top panel he is quiet and calm as he has been, the second he is overtly raging,
This says to me that Kuro is a man who , for one reason or another, is filled with rage. Especially when his plans are turned over. He's the kind of guy who is quiet until one day he hauls off and hits someone with a wrench, but all in cool calculation of course

At any rate, Kuro calls them pathetic and he didn’t think that the strength of the KuroNeko pirates had sunk so far over the years. He expected Usopp to play into his plans and come after them but he didn’t expect Jango to be so useless. This pisses off the Nyaban brothers who tell Kuro not to look down on them.



A few things here:

First: For as much as Jango hypnotizes himself on accident, he’s a really observant guy and knows his captain well. He tells them to shut up because he still recognizes how strong Kuro is and doesn’t want them to provoke Kuro into killing them. And I say that he’s more concerned for them than himself at the moment, because, remember, Jango is a pivotal part of Kuro’s plan so he can’t be killed yet.

Second: Another reflection of Jango. Though he might be reluctant to kill, he’s still very much a pirate who lead the attacking and sinking of ships. Granted, he “inherited” a ship full of bloodthirsty guys attracted to Kuro’s own bloodthirstiness, but at the same time it’s important not to overlook his own brutality and piracy.

Third: They have been working hard while Kuro has basically been living it up in the village. Not that it matters in this case, but it’s important to point out.
As the Nyaban brothers move to attack, they say Kuro is no longer their captain and the other KuroNeko pirates agree that Kuro can’t stand up to both Nyaban brothers as they are the strongest in the crew. Ultimately their attack fails because Kuro is faster and quieter and manages to get behind them and agrees with them that he doesn’t feel too active. But, as Jango says:




It’s such a small thing, but much like Luffy and Zoro, the first mate comes to understand the tics and meaning of their captains.

He asks Nami why she still has hope left and then says this:



Yeah, have I mentioned that Jango doesn’t want to do this? Because he really doesn’t want to do this. Granted he’s doing it anyway, but largely because once he’s involved, there’s no backing out. And we can see even now how dangerous Kuro is:



Though importantly here, he refuses the responsibility as captain. Despite ordering them around and threatening death, he puts himself as a client. They are delivering a service so none of this is remotely his fault.

And yet, Kuro is not unchanged by his three years.



…he’ll kill all of them.

But first, though this seems like typical villain speak, and indeed, he might be saying this to make them desperate and galvanize them into action, but I also think a small part of it is true. We’ll come to that in a bit, but first:



Yeah, they are terrified of getting killed by him. Desperate times call for desperate measures and desperate people fight their hardest. Zoro realizes this and is like, shit, things are going to get bad in a hurry. Nami takes advantage of everyone freaking out and kicks Zoro’s katana up to him.



Firstly, I don’t really like this translation. A better one, provided by printfogey has the dialogue more along these lines:
Zoro: What the hell...!!
You even kick my SWORDS...?!

Nami: You're welcome.

Zoro: Yeah...
{I'm saved...!!}
THANKS!!

(though I debate the ‘yeah’ simply because it looks clunky, but I digress)
Regardless the point is that even Zoro says stupid shit reactively sometimes. Since he’ll say stupid shit reactively later, too. But in the end, he knows what’s important and what she did that for. You can even tell by his expression in the final panel. He’s grateful to her for taking the risk and now he can kick some ass. Also, note, Nami saved his ass. Even he admits it. Think about it.

And Zoro, while not the best at ittoryuu (one sword style) blows them out of the water with santoryuu. Everyone is shocked/surprised/afraid except for Kuro who looks a little pissed and then:




Shonen statements with a DON!

Also hnnn, Zoro…

/ahem/ Moving on.

Buchi is frantic and asks Jango to hypnotize them again so they’ll be stronger. Nami sees this opportunity and dashes off further down the hill to wake up Luffy but unfortunately catches Jango’s attention.



Desperate people do desperate things. Remember, Jango had wanted to avoid as much killing to this point, expressing regret when he thought he had and going for the non-killing shot whenever possible. But he knows Luffy is a threat. He’s not stupid. So the only thing he can think to do is to kill her before she can.



I just love me some protective Zoro. He can’t leave his position. He probably can’t get there in time even if he could. The only thing he can tell her to do is duck and hope she doesn’t die. Fortunately she slips on Luffy’s face.

This slipping makes him wake up, and she falls, but he gets up to yell at her for stepping on his face and gets nailed in the back of the head with the chakram which embeds itself a bit making blood spurt and everyone has reaction shots from shock to oh shit and Kuro thinking wasn’t he the one that died? Fortunately Luffy is Luffy.



I just love their reaction shots. Even Zoro is like, what the hell am I looking at here. Also Luffy, yanking the chakram out of his head like it ain’t no thing. Except for blasting out THAT HURTS and the KuroNeko pirates realize that they are so screwed cuz they can’t beat the both of them in five minutes.



Even Luffy jumps to conclusions. He does so a hell of a lot actually. But the point is that he notices when something is off and forgets the misunderstanding easily when it comes to more important things. Also here Nami slumps, effectively saying she’s out of this battle before she even says it. Luffy shows his concern by pointing out her injured shoulder but Nami is Nami and brushes it off. Usopp—has no idea what the hell he’s looking at either.



And this is a pretty big thing. It’s the first time Nami has really shown that she cares about the safety of the village and the outcome of the battle. Sure she saved Usopp and Zoro, but it’s one thing to help people right in front of you and it’s another to care about the overall picture.




Of course then her armor comes right back up. Though, to be fair, she’s not lying. Treasure is definitely one aspect of why she is fighting. But if you look at what she does and what she has done for her own village, we come to see that Nami is not as simple as all that. I don’t really like the translation here either. Especially of Luffy’s line. He says, well at least I’m up (treasure is your thing!) Essentially, he’s not interested in any kind of treasure and it’s not what he’s fighting for.


At any rate, Kuro announces there are two minutes remaining, Jango says there is no time and orders Banchi to kill Zoro while he takes care of Luffy. Everyone is freaking out and then…




Kaya appears. Now, we don’t know how much she heard as she was walking up. But we do know she’s looking at Kuro with his claws out, seeing everyone afraid of him, she’s seen what he did to Merry and yet she comes up right behind him, weak and sick as she is, and tells him to stop. Brave as hell.

But also, maybe, banking on the fact that once Khaladore has what he wants, he won’t hurt anyone and will stop. Also, perhaps, that he really won’t kill her because he did spend three years taking care of her. Everyone is startled and Khaladore asks what she’s doing there.



And as we can see, the reality sinks in. Kuro is making sure that she has no doubts about what he is and Kaya’s world view is shattered. But not so shattered that she can’t apologize to Usopp. She tells him that he may not forgive her but that she just couldn’t believe that Khaladore was a pirate. Which says even more about the strength of her character. She’s apologizing because it’s the right thing to do without expectation for reward (i.e. forgiveness).

Let’s go to a full page



So much stuff to unpack here about Usopp’s character and Kaya’s.

First, that he doesn’t even really need to be apologized to. That’s really not important to him. The only thing that he’s worried about is her continued safety. Also trying to have her feel better about the whole thing by saying that he is a brave warrior of the sea ad can handle it.

Second, Kaya… acknowledging Usopp’s contributions, that he’s fighting himself bloody for the village’s sake and her sake. Acknowledging how harshly he was treated. (since it wasn’t just yelling, he was actively shot at and attacked) but here, Kaya makes the sacrifice. She set her course and is sailing it, telling Khaladore that she will give him what he wants for a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately that isn’t going to work.



It’s actually sort of interesting. Up til now we’ve seen Kuro be a ruthless villain and a pretty typical one, scheming and manipulating to get what he wants. Had he been after just money or property, he would have been like a slightly more intellectual version of Buggy—who at least, for the most part, fights his own fights. No, Kuro doesn’t want that. He wants peace of mind. As we learn later he’s tired of being chased all around by the Navy. He wants sanctuary. A place where he can live in comfort.

Ironically, I think that if he had just explained this to Kaya at some point about what he wanted, she would have helped him attain that. She’s a good hearted woman. I don’t see anything in her that would have exposed him, especially as loyal to her parents as he was. But Kuro wants it on his own terms. It’s all about him. His plans. His infallibility. He must always be in absolute control. It’s the same reason he crushed the glasses. He won’t accept anything she wants from him. Just what he wants for himself. Her death is essential because he wants to steal her place in it, plus perhaps gain the sympathy of the villagers in addition to their support. (Though that is just conjecture)

Usopp tells her to stop trying to negotiate with him and get out of there.

And Kaya, as upset as she is by all this and as physically weak as she is:



She isn’t going to take that shit. She’s offered the peaceful way. The peaceful way isn’t working. So now she’s going to try the non-peaceful way. A pistol is a great equalizer. Furthermore:



She’s basically ordering him off her turf.

But note how she went about it. She didn’t just go assuming he was as bad as he is.
She first told him to stop, discovering that it really is true, that he has changed.

Then she offered a peaceful solution. She gave him a choice to accept it. Maybe she still cares for him on some level. Maybe she respects how he cared for her. Maybe she just wants to give him a chance. Redemption is not unheard of.

But finally, she leaves him with basically no choice. Getting out is his only choice.
Except not really. Because words are powerful. Actions are stronger than words. But Kuro knows how to use both to their utmost effectiveness. He reminds her of all the times they spent together…




And then twists the knife in deep as he says he served her noisy tiring self all so that he could kill her today.



But look how it is so effective. He did take care of her. He made her happy. They laughed together, confided in one another and it was obvious she was out on the town before her parents died. She was her friend for three years and in the last one, the only one she could turn to, who she felt understood.

And now? It was all a lie. He didn’t even like it. She was a burden on him. He suffered. He is the victim of her tiring existing. He was a captain. Above her, and yet he stooped low to manipulate her and how demeaning and awful it was. Once again, like before as he was complaining about Usopp, he shoves all the responsibility onto her. Makes it all her fault. Makes himself the victim in a sense and her the one who was the cause of his suffering but also the victim of his manipulation.

Regardless of how he wants it, this is devastating to her as it would be to anyone. Even though Kaya is rich and has Merry, she doesn’t seem to have much in the way of friends in the village and now she has one less. He was the last connection to her parents. He was the one she relied on in an almost familial way. She treated him with kindness and respect and he hated it and hated her and hell I would drop the gun, too.

Also Usopp is pissed. Pissed that he would so destroy Kaya’s self esteem and treat her so badly. Pissed that he goes straight for her heart and thoughtlessly tears it to shreds. How pissed is he?



Yeah. May I remind you he’s seen how ruthless Kuro is. And Kuro is wielding ten huge blades. And yet the core of Usopp driven to his utmost in anger and rage is to charge straight at him and try to punch him in the face. The last time he did this? Kuro insulted Yasopp. But this is ten times as fierce as that was. He cares about Kaya deeply, and also? He knows how much this shit hurts. He misses the hit because Kuro is fast but the fact that he went for it is huge.
But he does miss.



And Kuro hasn’t forgotten the hit (that, by the way, he allowed). And with hands like that, Usopp is so scre—



Oh wait, no he’s not. HA. That’ll show you, ya turd.

Also, best line, am I right or am I right?

Lu knocks him flat and while he’s flat, entering flashily:



And they smack him in the face with their weapons. Granted, they probably don’t know the full situation. All they are going on is what they heard and their trust in Usopp. Anyway, at them whacking Kuro in the head, the KuroNeko pirates freak out a bit, Zoro wonders what the hell they’re trying to do , and Usopp tells them to stop.



They say they’ll have mercy on him—which sort of goes to show that while they are fighting their hardest, they still probably don’t get the full situation that they could very easily die. (Though are very well aware they could get really hurt) But also they are mad at Usopp for not telling them about this. And why?



Because they are loyal to Usopp. They wanna fight by his side and not because he asked. Not because he threatened them. He even tried to make them get lost by putting his honor on the line. They want to fight beside him because they believe in him. He is their captain and they love him and believe in what he is fighting for and what he believes in.

Kuro gets up and they freak out, Usopp tells them to run again but Kuro ignores him, kicks Usopp out of the way like he’s nothing and talks to Luffy, asking him about the attack he just used. Once again, Usopp isn’t worth Kuro’s time and Kuro is showing it. Just to be a bastard and prove his superiority. He asks if Luffy at a Devil Fruit which Luffy confirms and then Kuro says he’ll take care of this kid, but Jango is to kill Kaya and the kids because they irritate him. Jango pulls his hat down and doesn’t look happy about the situation but says he will do it. Which just goes to show that regardless of whether or not he’s not as ruthless as Kuro, he still makes the choice to kill rather than stand up to someone he’s afraid of. Unlike Kaya, unlike Usopp, unlike the kids.

And then this:



Hreoruhsereshir protective Zoro. It’s just [chinhands]. He’s not just saying it to be cool or cocky either. He’s holding out the sword protecting those behind him that need it with his back and I adore it so much. T.T

At any rate, Jango sends Buchi up to attack him with another flying drop kick. The kids freak out, seeming to realize how deep they are in over their heads. Kuro says he has no control over his strength which is important but we’ll look at later with someone else. Buchi tries to attack Zoro. There’s this scene of badassery:



Hnngh.

Zoro’s not an easy guy to beat twice. Much like Luffy. Also he’s using and has been using primarily the unnamed sword instead of the Wado, this will come in later, but it’s interesting to note now. But while he is fighting Buchi, Jango moves past him because Buchi if nothing else was a distraction. Usopp thinks to himself that he has to stop the enemies but can’t get up because he’s dizzy. So he calls out to the Usopp Pirates.




And if a crew is a reflection of their captain, they are a reflection of Usopp. They won’t run. The person that they care about is deeply injured so they will stay and destroy his enemies. With a pan, a bat and a shove respectively. Maybe it’s not much but it’s the most they can do and they will put their lives on the line for it. But Usopp tells them:



He goes on to say this is his order and they can’t refuse. They agree and lead her off. Zoro thinks to himself he puts it nice but he’s really just telling them to run away, and that’s true in a sense but:


Deeper here. He’s not just telling them to run away. He’s giving them legitimacy. Of being worth something. Of being important as pirates. Essentially not taking their need to participate and help for granted. Much like Luffy did with Boodle. Boodle said his piece, got ready to fight, Luffy let him have his say, giving him his legitimacy, then clocked him with a wall so he wouldn’t get in the way. Same with Coby, he gave Coby a chance to fight for his dream, provoking him into action, and then clocked him in the face so it seemed authentic. (and maybe it was in a sense. Pirates and marines fight, after all) Usopp let the kids their say and is giving them a task to fight for, since clocking people you’re trying to help is crazy and how can you even be human and think about things a little more, Luffy, there are better ways to do that.

Also it is an important task getting Kaya to safety—They will do their best to protect her and she will do her best to protect them—since as we’ve seen, she’s not entirely a wilting flower.
Jango sets right off after them, chackram spinning, telling them they can’t escape and:




Does a little clocking his own self. That’s gotta hurt. Also HA. Also, Usopp’s amazing durability and expert sniping skills give him the unique advantage of still being able to get off shots like this even when utterly trashed.

Still, Jango isn’t really that wounded and goes after them anyway, Kuro says they can go help if they want, since he knows how weak Kaya is so is welcome to go after her because they can’t outrun Jango anyway… that is if they can get up the slope alive. Usopp is gritting his teeth over how bad the situation is but fortunately…



He’s got these guys on his side (with a dodon!)

And here we will leave off.

ThemesSince this was mostly about characterization and fighting, there weren’t a whole lot of themes present that we haven’t covered extensively anyway. But one I will touch on again is:

No one is perfect and that’s okay: This is super important because it’s one of the major undercurrents to the series. No one is perfect. People make mistakes and miscalculations like Kaya did. People say stupid shit in the heat of the moment, like Zoro and Luffy did. People who are desperate will sometimes hurt others without meaning to, like Usopp did. And sometimes people are mislead and distrust and hurt people they care about, like the kids did. People are hard and closed off and seemingly selfish because it’s the only way they know to cope with a hard world, like Nami is. It is what it is and it happens because people are people. The important thing is what they do after, or what they do period, when their backs are to the wall. Kaya realized her mistake and apologized. Zoro thanked Nami for her help. Luffy paid attention to what was really going on. The kids thought about it and realized Usopp wasn’t lying. Nami, despite trying to close herself off, won’t stand to see people she cares about hurt and doesn’t want the village to suffer. Looking at the whole of a character and the situation is more important than just looking at them in the heat of the moment based off one word or even one action.

The Power of Choice: This is really subtle, but choice is littered all through this. Who chooses what and why tells you a lot about the character and everyone has the choice whether to fight or whether to acquiesce. The bravest are those who fight despite the odds stacked against them so hideously it’s a wonder they even try to begin with. The cowards are those who are strong and can probably fight their way out of it if they all stood up to Kuro or just noped off and never returned, but choose to acquiesce out of fear. It’s the brave who make the choice to take responsibility for others, even when they don’t have to. It’s the cowards who refuse to take any responsibility at all.

Characters

Kuro: Essentially these chapters were mostly about Kuro and who he is as a person. Though it doesn’t tell the whole story, it tells all the story of what we need to know about him to get the shape of his character. He is superior and narcissistic—in fact he’s so stuck up, he’s a little bit of a masochist. I mean think about it. He chose to serve as a butler for three years. He chose to lower himself, as he puts it, and serve the needs of others, making them his friends. It can’t have been the only option. Perhaps it was the easiest one. But regardless, it was something he decided to do. Another aspect of this, I think is the designs on his uniform. Odacchi has said in an SBS that they are poop. And he’s usually fairly serious (in a joking way) about these things. Now the reasons why can be two fold and you can make your own mind how you interpret it—either he doesn’t realize what it must look like—or he chose it himself to make him seem even less of a person. Telling himself every day that this was a shitty position to be in but it’s his choice. Whatever the reason, there’s no mistaking that he constantly reminds himself of what he was by pushing his glasses up, always keeping himself on edge for the culmination of his plans.

Now I’ve mentioned here and there how it seems that Kuro doesn’t seem entirely happy with the things he’s set out to do—and while that’s my own interpretation, I don’t think you can spend so much time forcing yourself to get along with and pretending to like a person without actually liking them a little. Sometimes he actively seems like he’s trying to force himself to be extra cruel to her. This is just my reading of the text, of course, not the word of Oda or anything. And admittedly, he is a sadist as well, wanting to hurt people both physically and emotionally and know he was the one that did it. Showing them how superior he is. But he isn’t even as cruel to Usopp as he is to Kaya.

But speaking of Kaya and Kuro’s motivation—the thing with Kuro is that he doesn’t want to take responsibility for anything except what he wants to take responsibility for. He doesn’t want to take responsibility for being a pirate captain, though he wants to be acknowledged as such. He doesn’t want to take the responsibility for killing Kaya, despite the fact she knows the whole plan. All his sufferings where her fault, though note, he was in control of those sufferings, since he can never let anyone think they bested him. He is a contradiction in and of himself. He’s also not as good as he thinks he is, which we’ll see later.


Kaya and Usopp: Are mirrors to one another in that they are brave as hell in defense of the place they call home and the people they love. They are also the kind of people who take responsibility for their actions and the actions of others, doing their best to make things right. Though they are fundamentally lonely people, the people they love they bolster and support and protect. Even their rage triggers are the same. Kaya was super pissed at how Usopp had seemingly dissed Khaladore, accusing him of all the things that Khaladore had accused Yasopp of. Usopp was pissed about Yasopp but full of rage at the destruction of Kaya’s heart.

Where they differ is really in level. Kaya comes from a place at the top. Grief stricken though she may be, she is wealthy and well cared for. Which is why being talked to like that, where doubtless she never was before, hurt so damn bad. It’s not really a strike against her , per se, but an outcome of her upbringing. She’s also very trusting, especially of people that are close to her, because it’s doubtful she’s known anything else. Though she knows enough not to trust blindly, especially when the evidence is so clear. Also she tends to give people the benefit of the doubt. Yes, she was upset at Usopp, but she maybe for a moment believed that he was what Khaladore said. The rest of the time she existed in some confusion about why he would do it. But it is no weakness to believe that someone you love and has cared for you could not be capable of such a thing, especially when there had been no evidence before that point.

Usopp comes from a place at the bottom. The friends he has are much younger than he is and aren’t really peers so much as loyal followers. Yes, they look up to Usopp, and yes they care about him and know him and call him out on his bullshit—but in the end, they are not capable of taking care of him and he understands that which is why he grows so protective of them and by extension the village. He trusts them to believe his lies, whether it’s for the best of him or the worst of him—but always they do to a point. However, I say this as something to keep in mind as we go on so we can come back to. Because Syrup Island is where Usopp is at his strongest point for quite a while. But we’ll cover that more later.

Zoro and Nami: Are also mirrors in terms of both are almost suicidally protective. But much like Kaya and Usopp, they come from two different levels.

Zoro protects others from a place at the top in that he protects them because he’s strong enough to protect them. Though it comes from an authentic place. He doesn’t want to see those who are counting on him get hurt, even by their own stupidity. He can afford to take the hits and keep on going. He doesn’t even hold it against them because that is what happens when you fight. Hell, he might even see it as a form of training. In any case, to sum it all up, he’s protects because he can.

Nami protects from a place at the bottom in that she protects because her back is to the wall and she has to for the people she loves. Her means of protecting are even more risky because she is not a fighter and she’s not all that durable. What she can do is run, surprise hit, cheat and steal. Her armor is so strong because she needs it to be. She is so protective that she throws her whole life into it, riding herself ragged just to keep all that are near and dear to her alive. But even here, when she can’t afford to be protective and risk herself, she does. Partly, yes, for the treasure, but she rarely brings that up or if she does it’s the very end.


The Usopp Pirates: Love the hell out of their captain. As a captain, as an older brother, as someone worth getting pummeled for. Though they are just kids they know him deeply and help him as far as they are able.

Comments

just a small language thing

[rainsometimes]

Japanese doesn't do plurals like that, but English does. And when a Japanese word is put into an English sentence, it becomes a loanword, and so may follow the rules of English grammar along with all the other words.

(If you're telling me that we Swedes can't say "sandwichar" because it's an English word so we should put English plurals on it, or for that matter if we can't put a definite suffix on it because English doesn't do that, it would make many Swedish sentences extremely cumbersome. I think that when an English word becomes part of our language, it in effect turns Swedish and should follow the rules of Swedish grammar. And I think it's the same with Japanese word in English (at least in principle: in practice I admit it varies depending on words which ones I'm comfortable using plurals for, likely influenced by what I've seen from others).)

Re: just a small language thing

[we_are]

Well naturally it's all personal preference and I don't really know the Sweedish rules of grammar. However, English does have rules in place for that kind of pluralization.

For example, one sheep, two sheep<-- that is correct grammar.

So, for me anyway, it's not too much different to apply that rule to Japanese loan words.