Hyogoro Knows Rayleigh? [One Piece 937]

Keeping building up that Big Mom oshiruko rage mode, Oda. At least, I think that’s gonna happen. You’ve been very subtle about it. What, with showing how hungry Big Mom is, mentioning how good oshiruko is, and coincidentally having it be Queen’s favorite dish. It’s a wonder how anyone could’ve figured it out.

Hold up. Is that Boots the Monkey from the live-action Dora the Explorer movie?

Ah! So it’s not just physical strength, Luffy wants to improve his haki too. Nice. Good to see the guy putting his all into getting stronger. I like where this is going. Luffy’s got physical strength, yeah, but he needs to master his techniques to become Pirate King. I’m talking about not only becoming a master at using haki, but Luffy using his rubber abilities to their fullest. So, will Luffy awaken his devil fruit power against Kaido? I can see it happening. Not so much mastering it, but maybe mixing it with his improved haki techniques to deliver a few good blows.

Does Old Man Hyo know Rayleigh? Gol D. Roger and his crew traveling to Wano would make sense, either on their first or second trip around the world, probably both. It’s crazy how important Hyo is to the story now. He’s the key to gathering a big resistance force and now could give Luffy some extremely important information regarding something poneglyph and/or Roger Pirates related. Wait a minute. Is Hyogoro a former member of the Roger Pirates? Not sure if the timeline matches up there, but I’m guessing he at least met them.

A Ph.D. in N.O.M.U. [My Hero Academia 221]

Oh boy! So much to drool over this chapter. Skipping the banter, let’s just talk about…

Secret lab. Crazy experiments. Unlimited funding. Dexter’s been working for All For One from the very start!

Gigantomachia. The guy is confirmed to be All For One’s bodyguard and has multiple quirks! No doubt All For One made him powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with All Might. An All Might in his prime to be exact. Yeah, he’s the real deal, Y’all. Remember the League’s crappy construction site base? Gone. That and the surrounding area wreaked from one attack by Gigantomachia. He’s final arc strong. Seriously, I’m happy to see him now, but no way we’ll see him fighting anyone anytime soon unless it’s a completely one-sided battle. Hm? If AFO benched Gigantomachia, why was he in a town looking for a hero in Kirishima’s flashback during the Overhaul Arc? I wonder if he ever found that hero? He must’ve if it was an order from the big boss. Gigantomachia’s so loyal he’d power through anything to see All For One’s will carried out. So, I guess the real question (and assuming this wasn’t some personal vendetta) is why did AFO sick his biggest baddest bruiser on one hero? Hope that gets addressed one day.

Anyway, the Doctor, calling himself Daruma Ujiko, decides to throw the League a bone and teleports them to his secret lab. And, he did it using the same quirk All For One used in the Kamino Arc. That right there confirms Ujiko knows how to replicate quirks! That is huge news. Sure, we speculated it when seeing the first High End and his Muscular neck and Black Mist-ish face, but now that we know it’s true. The High Ends we’ll see in the future can possibly have any combination of the previous Nomu and League quirks. We’re talking an army of walking, talking, and thinking Super Skrulls. That’s insane!

State of the Vigilantes Address [My Hero Vigilantes]

Do you love My Hero Academia?
Read the manga?
Watch the anime?
Saw the movie?
You even like the spin-off series, right?

What? You don’t read it? Well, then, let me catch you up on all you need to know up to the current chapter in the story. But, first, what is My Hero Vigilantes? Well, you can check out my previous post for the basics, but in general, it’s a slice of life/superhero story set an undermined number of years before Izuku Midoriya first meets All Might. (That’s right, slice of life. If you’re looking for a battle shonen like Academia, you’ve come to the wrong place.) It focuses on three people who, while not villains, do use their quirks and fight crime without a hero’s license. Hold your breath, because we’re jumping right into the spoilers pool. And, if you want to read it for yourself, check it out on Viz’s website. If it’s not available in your country, I’m not sure what you can do, sorry. *cough*use a VPN*cough* Let’s get into it!

Koichi Haimawari [The Crawler]

Bunny ears done right. Take notes, Deku.

Koichi is a laid back college student with a quirk that allows him to glide on surfaces, kinda like a hovercraft. He’s a big All Might fan like Deku, and also similar to Deku, Koichi hasn’t unlocked his quirks full abilities. Throughout the series, Koichi learns his quirk, called Slide and Glide, is actually more powerful than he had first thought. In the beginning, he had trouble controlling his speed, but now he’s mastered its maneuverability. So much so that and can even use his quirk to stick to walls, fire an energy blast, and even fly (or at least hover in the air). It’s worth noting that Koichi hasn’t mastered the air hovering technique yet. Point is, Koichi’s quirk is amazing, and possibly one of the best quirks for being a hero I’ve seen yet. Where he once was apprehensive about being a vigilante, he’s now fully embraced it in recent chapters, earning the respect of his community and even certain heroes to the point they work with him under certain circumstances. Koichi has become a hero in every aspect but name.

There’s not much going on in Koichi’s personal life. Besides school and vigilantism, he’s Pop Step’s (a local idol’s) manager. That’s in name only too as he’s more like her assistant and supportive friend. Speaking of Pop Step…

Sumo? Nah, We’re Playin’ Haki. [One Piece 936]

I refuse to discuss the logistics of how a guy chained inside a cell twenty-four/seven for over a decade cannot be surrounded by urine and feces.

Trust me, Kuzan. You’re snot gonna like noodles made by this guy.

Raizo discovers his old ally, Kawamatsu, is alive. Start the hype clock on that. Oh, wait, it’s already ticking for Queen. I love him. He’s so much fun and laid back. I mean, yeah, he freaks out a bit, but it never seems like he’s not in control. He’s the type of guy you want to go to Vegas with. Call me, bro. We’ll go halfsies on a hotel room. I’ll bring my Switch.

Luffy Supreme King Hakis the small fry and I love it. He’s fully mastered that ability and isn’t trying to waste time on the peanut gallery. So how will Luffy get he killer necklaces off? Kawamatsu will cut them off I’m guessing. Also, wonder if Luffy will get his wish and fight Queen. Sure, if Oda wants to “Bueno” Queen, but I think Oda’s saving his big fight for later. Maybe we’ll get a taste of what Queen can do, but nothing major.

Shiggy’s House of Villains [My Hero Academia 220]

It’s our house now! It’s our house—erm—chapter now. And, what a chapter it was.

This page is freaking cool. You don’t even wanna know what he does to the One Piece logo, ouch.

Kurogiri got captured and everything went to shit. Our favorite teleporter isn’t just a convenient mode of transportation, he’s one of All For One’s inner circle meaning he knows what the Big Boss knows, including names of allies and where to find them. Guess Kurogiri also had the League’s business credit card on him when he got caught because the rest of the League of Villains is strapped for cash. I love how they’re keeping a low profile by attacking another villain group. Smart.

We get some needed character revelation from Spinner, our POV this chapter. Turns out he wants to change the world because he’s sick of racist assholes. You and me both, buddy. Anyway, this is a huge revelation because all this could be a setup for Spinner’s loyalty to be tested. Could Spinner decide he’s better off with the Liberation Army? It’s possible, and I can see Destro Jr. trying to recruit him but in the end, I think he’s sticking with the League. If not because he probably considers his current comrades as friends, then because Shigaraki will convince him to stay. After all, there’s no reason Shiggy can’t take up the anti-hate cause. It doesn’t contradict his desire to destroy the current system and it’ll give his mission more validation. A win-win for everyone.

Where’s Koichi? [My Hero Academia 219]

The title’s Go! Slidin’ Go!. I wanted to see The Crawler in the main series, damn it!

Someone should put that on a t-shirt.

Anyone else thinks Slidin’ Go is secretly part of the Liberation Army? Just me? Okay.

Todoroki and Bakugo manhandle the thieves, who wisely tried escaping instead of fighting U.A. students I’m sure they recognized them from the U.A. Festival. They fail, but we see their leader use very powerful black market gauntlets that conveniently self destruct when in danger of being confiscated. Destro Jr’s been busy gathering battle data. No doubt he’s planning on equipping the LA with gear as well as getting data on how heroes combat their wearers. Smart.

Speaking of smart, Todoroki and Bakugo’s first official run as licensed heroes go off without a hitch. They keep the civilians safe, take out all the baddies, and return the property. Perfect score, not that anyone’s surprised. Well, maybe a little for Bakugo, but the kid’s a pro—even if he’s still an ass.

Bohemian Rhapsody [One Piece 935]

♪Is this the real life?♪ No. ♪Is this just fantasy?♪ Yes, it’s called One Piece. Let’s talk about Queen the Plague.

Hm… Where have I seen this before?

He’s awesome. There. That’s really all that needs to be said. He has a great design, has a fun personality, but you can just tell if he got serious, you’d be in big trouble. Also, he’s got a 1.32 billion bounty, so yeah, he’s a monster. We’re just waiting for him to go Super Saiyan. And, since no one’s told him Komurasaki’s dead— Oh! Excuse me, I meant “dead”, we’ll see him lash out at someone eventually. Presumingly, it’ll be Kyoshiro, the guy who “killed” Queen’s crush.

Meet Norman Osborn [My Hero Academia 218]

Well, Osborn mixed with Magneto. Hope Horikoshi gives him a glider.

Some quirk guy once told me the world is gonna roll me.

It’s the start of a brand new arc! Of course, I’m talking about The Prison— What? Liberation Army? Eh, close enough. Hey, we’re getting more villains so I’m down with it.

Todoroki and Bakugo got their provisional licenses. Nice. Moving on.

I wanna talk about The Liberation Army and its unnamed leader, the CEO of Detnerat, a company known for making custom items for the public and businesses. Very noble work, and an issue that was touched upon in My Hero Vigilantes as well as in this chapter. Basically, quirks changed the production and innovation game because people can look like and become almost anything, resulting in manufacturers, governments, etc. trying to play catch up. Quite an interesting topic. Anyway, Destro Jr. is diving into the hero support game. Why?

My guess is Destro Jr. is using hero support as a front for building weapons/support items for the Liberation Army. And, if that’s the case, he definitely has a plan. We learn some of that at his LA HQ. Seems like we’re getting a Liberation Army/League of Villians team up! No, wait, Destro Jr. wants to destroy the league? Why? I got a couple of theories: