I Shot the Samurai, But I Did Not Shoot the Deputy [One Piece 972]

Alrighty. Let’s get this over with.

Merry Christmas, Kozuki Oden!

 

I did get emotional.

No lie. I did. Oda does a great job of writing emotional scenes. But, at the end of the day, this is the story of a… fool of a lord who had the opportunity to save his country but decided to listen to his father’s murderer instead.

There’s just so much crap you have to ignore to like this flashback. I won’t go over it in detail again. The short version is Oden made some VERY bad decisions when handling Orochi but all that is tossed to the side to give a fake emotional impact of him being a hero by protecting Wano for years. It’s forced drama. Sure, the drama is good in places, but it’s all built on a foundation of stupid. I just can’t get over it.

Well, at least Shinobu got to free Oden’s fanboys from their chains. That’s something. And, no, I’m not going into how Oden can die from a bullet to the head yet survive boiling oil for an hour. That’s shonen power level BS and it’s the least of this flashback’s problem.

The Bombs and The Bees [My Hero Vigilantes 72]

See, Koichi? You didn’t need to find Pop. She found you.

Correction: They found you.

You can tell she’s evil by the amount of makeup she’s wearing. The deeper the eye shadow, the darker the soul.

And, here we go!

Just as Koichi was pondering his relationship with Pop Step, he gets attacked…by Pop Step! Or, should I say Queen Pop? As it was hinted in the last chapter, Pop did indeed become the host body of a new Queen Bee. Oh, no.

Rock. Oh! That’s why No. 6 calls himself that. It’s a music term to fit with Pop. That took me way longer to figure out than it should’ve. Anyway, I guess they’re about to double team Koichi. Well, no. I can see No. 6 hanging back while monologing. He’s gone through all the trouble of getting Pop Step, he’s gonna make sure she gets the job done. What job is that? Killing Koichi, I guess. No. 6 is a bit of a sadist, y’all. A definite a-hole through and through.

Kentucky Fried Oden [One Piece 971]

Please rise for Wano’s new national anthem.

I’m surprised Toki could say all that with a straight face.

How many ways can I say it? How many ways can I say Oden is a total idiot?

There’s nothing noble about any of this. None! This is what a ten-year-old would think is cool. This is brain-dead drama at it’s finest. Logic punches holes through it like a wet straw through toilet paper (Don’t ask.). This whole damn tragedy of a backstory stands on Oden trusting the word of shitty people. Shitty people who don’t even hide that they’re shitty! I—I can NOT get over this mountain of stupidity.

“You want to stop the kidnapping? But if you go to war against us…you will lose far more than you bargained for.”

Excuse me? So, let me get this straight. Orochi is basically saying what? He’ll drag out war so more people will die? Straight up attack the populace? Okay, I can see that happening IF YOU LET HIM! Hot damn on a cold plate, Oden. Use your brain! Your best option at ending this as soon as possible was walking out the palace and TELLING the people what was happening. They would’ve believed you! They all know Orochi’s a piece of garbage.

You Break it, You Bought it [My Hero Academia 261]

Can we just take in the fact that Mirko was about to kick Ujiko’s arm right off?! Yowza!

Mirko’s been listening to Notorious B.I.G. again.

Not much to talk about. This was mostly a fighty-fight chapter, BUT it did have some interesting tidbits I’d like to bring up.

Firstly, what the hell is in those two quirk sample jars Ujiko escaped with? Hmm… Are they quirks he wants to bestow onto Shigaraki? Could one of those jars hold the All For One quirk? That’s certainly a rare quirk he couldn’t replace unless the Paranormal Liberation Army frees the Evil Overlord himself. But, if the jars contain quirk samples, does that mean the Doctor and Shiggy will escape? I know Ujiko is a genius, but I don’t think even he can give people powers by having them drink it. This ain’t One Piece! If those quirks are indeed for Shigaraki, he’ll need to use a back-up lab to install them. That means he and Facepalm will, in fact, escape.

What’s Up With Invisible Girl? [My Hero Academia]

I think Toru Hagakure is the traitor.

Yeah, yeah. I know. She’s been a suspect for years now. Even, Viz’s Official English Translator for the series, Caleb Cook, thinks so.

My Hero Academia Conspiracy: The U.A. Mole

Now that the anime has had the scene with Mic concluding there's a traitor, it's time once again to post my ongoing, zany "Toru Hagakure is the traitor" theory.
Also because I only had like 17 followers the last time I did.
Buckle in. pic.twitter.com/I9phE0ipuC

— Caleb Cook (@CDCubed) May 20, 2018

So, let’s dig deeper and dive into the why and the how. If Toru is indeed the U.A. traitor and is working for All For One and Ujiko (I’m hesitant to believe anyone else knows her true identity.), why would those two put so much trust into her? What could All For One had done to force a sweet child like her into betraying her friends? And, did he pick Invisible Girl as a mole because she’s…well, invisible?

I’m gonna answer all of that with two words: Rokuro Nomura. Those of you who read My Hero Vigilantes know where I’m going with this. For the folks that don’t, Rokuro Nomura is Number 6, an artificial human created by Doctor Ujiko. He works for The Villain Factory which is highly implied to be All For One’s organization. Or, more specifically, the group responsible for giving Ujiko valuable data he used to eventually create the Nomu.

We know Nomura is the sixth version of the Number Series and My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising features Nine as the main antagonist of that movie. So, where are the others? That’s right, y’all. I think Toru Hagakure is part of the Number Series, an artificial human.

Lucky Rabbit’s Foot…In Your Face! [My Hero Academia 260]

Daaaaamn! Mirko isn’t messing around! She may be the physically strongest among the Top 10 Heroes. Unless Wash is super jacked inside that washing machine.

See, kids? This is what happens when you eat too much gluten.

Oh, Ujiko. You sneaky little bastard. I was so sure you’d never let Twice anywhere near you to make a clone. And, I was right! But, I didn’t count on you replicating his quirk. What a brilliant move! No quirk is safe around Ujiko, y’all. Hm… No quirk is safe? Does that mean he’s replicated the quirks of every LoV member? Like, ALL of them? Well, it’s safe to say he’s got Muscular’s quirk (The Hood High-End somewhat resembles it.) so…yeah. I think he did. You know what this means, right?

Yep, we could be getting High-Ends with several LoV quirks mixed together! Maybe one with Dabi, Toga, and Spinner’s quirks. Or, One with Mr. Compress, Moonfish, and Mustard’s quirks. And, that’s just the beginning. Someone online reminded me of Mr. Compress marbling Overhaul’s arm. Can you imagine a High-End with Overhaul’s quirk backed up with Hyper Regeneration and Super Strength? That’s insane! What about Eri’s quirk? Her DNA is in the erasure bullets. Who needs guns when you can make Nomu breed with her quirk! Oh, my. Oh, my. Thinks are gonna get crazy once those High-Ends get loose!

Bee Careful, Pop! [My Hero Vigilantes 71]

Oh goodness me, someone poured subtlety all over my chapter. Let’s see if we can dig into the heart of the matter, shall we?

Everyone except Billie Eilish.

Let’s start with Nomura (AKA No. 6)  using the Overclock quirk to read people on a subconscious level. I doubt Knuckleduster would willingly tell him something like that but we see an image of O’Clock explaining it. What the frick?! Hm, could Nomura have access to O’Clock’s memories? Is that what’s he’s doing to the guy? Maybe he’s got ole Knuck locked up and is somehow piping him for information about his lost quirk. It would make sense. In order for Nomura to surpass O’Clock, he needs to know everything he knows about Overclock.

Speaking of Knuckleduster, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nomura got him locked up in that abandoned building too. He did say it was his hideout, after all. Hm…hideout. In addition to the police, could Nomura be hiding out from the Villain Factory? I doubt Ujiko wants Nomura wasting his time getting a hero license or being a manager. And, we haven’t had any indication Villain Factory shenanigans are currently going on. Could Ujiko had simply gathered enough data? Or, did Nomura abandon his boss’s mission to instead focus his own plans? If true, Ujiko ain’t gonna like that one bit.

Oden VS Kaido VS Apathy [One Piece 970]

I’m gonna start with the positive, y’all: Oda’s very consistent with Oden’s behavior. And, that one-page spread with Oden cutting Kaido was great too. Hm, what else? Oh! The art was nice, no problems there. Let’s see… Umm, yep, that’s all I got for the positive.

The day he changed his name to Gang Bang Bege.

Now, for the negative: Kokuki Oden is a consistent dumbass. Not a funny dumbass, a sad dumbass. The type of dumbass who may start as funny and cute, but after a while, you get tired of his crap and just want him to grow up or go away. He’s not an awful character, just a stupid one the author is desperately trying to mold into a hardcore badass. Welp, you got the ass part right, Oda. But, bad? Nah, dude. He’s a dumbass through and through.

Why? Why, Oden, would you believe the words of a man who most likely killed your father and tricked his way to the throne? Orochi is a consistent liar. LIAR! He lied about needing money, about you thinking of him as a brother, about your dead father wanting him to take the throne in your absence. He lied about everything! And, you’re just gonna believe him and his equally shitty business partner will uphold a bargain? *sigh* I’m so tired of you, Oden. So very very tired. I will give points to Oda for trying to make you a well-rounded character with flaws, but I… Just. Don’t. Care.

Invisible Snitches Get Invisible Stitches [My Hero Academia 259]

No, I’m not talking about the Doctor working on Shigaraki. I mean the Invisible Girl AKA Toru Hagakure. Where exactly is she? I don’t see her among any of the heroes spreads.

We’re here for our flu shots!

Yeah, yeah. She’s invisible. I get it, but so will the heroes after she warns the Paranormal Liberation Front of what the heroes are doing. Yep, it’s a mass takedown of everything PLF. Ujiko, their hotel HQ, even their bases are all get raided at once. But, hey, I’m sure things will go smoothly, unlike last time with the Kamino Arc and All For One. …Damn you, Toru! Don’t fudge this up!

My, my, my, we learned a lot about Doctor Ujiko, didn’t we? Got his real name (Well, it’ll be changed due to a controversy linking his name to horrific WW2 events, but you get what I’m saying), public accomplishments, learned he’s quirkless, and know Shigaraki is “just over a month” away from completion. Hm, quirkless? Sure, he was born quirkless but I wouldn’t be surprised if AFO give him a little something-something in case of emergencies. Basically, don’t count the Doc out yet.