Wow wow WOW. One Piece chapter 1044 has been released (read here for free) and the series will never be the same. It’s kind of funny, this being my first chapter review. Ch. 1044 marks the birth of an entire new One Piece. The series as we know it will never be the same. We’ve been lied to for 1043 chapters now, and that’s totally fine with me. Let’s break it down.
Picking up from last chapter, we see Luffy recovering from what we thought was the deathblow thanks to Kaido. That is obviously not the case, as Luffy bounces back yet again, this time laughing and in complete bliss. All observation haki users notice his presence return, and the tides are starting to shift in favor of the good guys once again.
Cut to the Fiver Elder Stars (the Gorosei) back on the Holy Land Marijoa, continuing their conversation. They lament losing a top CP0 agent, as well as pissing Kaido off, but understand that these were actions that must be done. After all, that bothersome “Gum Gum Fruit” is more important, as it’s actually a mythical zoan type fruit called the “Human Human Fruit: Model Nika” and – WHAT?! We all had a feeling the “fruit with the fake name” was Luffy’s, but holy crap. So the “Sun God Nika” that Who’s Who mentioned, along with the info of the Gum Gum fruit being stolen almost two decades ago, the plot line comes full circle.
What a revelation. One Piece draws from a lot of real life Mythology, like Marco’s Phoenix fruit, or Kaido being based on the old story of the carp who climbed a waterfall and was turned into a dragon. Nika, however, is a myth that seemingly only exists in the world of One Piece, and Luffy is the one carrying on that legacy. Oda, the ultimate troll, got us again.
Cutting away after the big reveal, we check back in on Hyori and Orochi. Now, this part is a fantastic part of the chapter. But let’s not pretend that anyone really cares about it, considering we just had the biggest, single most important reveal in the entire series. Long story short, Hyori does what she’s wanted to do for 20+ years: take down the evil, manipulative, scumbag shogun who’s held her country hostage all this time, and is responsible for the murder of her father, Kozuki Oden. It truly is a powerful moment, make no mistake. But the hype belongs elsewhere. Kanjuro’s fire demon appears, and for some reason targets the Shogun instead of Hyori, and we move on after some impactful words from the daughter of the legendary samurai.
Back to the raid, and Luffy wastes no time rejoining the fight with Kaido. We get to see the new powers of the Sun God in action and… it’s Looney Toons. That’s not a euphemism, or a quirky way of me trying to say it’s “insane” or “nuts,” it is LITERALLY Looney Toons. Luffy’s powers are that of some kind of old school, rubberhose animation cartoon. Grabbing Kaido with one massive arm, Luffy gets right to work thrashing him around like a dog toy. Kaido, the World’s Strongest Creature, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, the biggest, baddest, most intimidating villain we’ve seen so far, is reduced to a gag as Luffy, openly laughing and smiling, turns the roof into his own little playground.
Like the gentleman he is, Kaido thanks Luffy for surviving, as he was pretty upset at the fact that he only really beat Luffy thanks to the interference of the CP0 agent. And then immediately follows it up with a gigantic laser beam directly from his face to Luffy. Who, in Bugs Bunny fashion, literally grabs the ground, which now acts like rubber, picks it up like a carpet, and flings the attack back at Kaido. Luffy is laughing and acting like a child the entire time, and Kaido is also kind of on board. We finally get the big “Gear Five” reveal, and the two are ready to square off one last time.
What a chapter. What a series. In a meta twist, this chapter has done nothing but make me smile. Luffy’s final form, the pinnacle of his power, is the goofiest, silliest version of himself we could have gotten. One Piece is a series with mature themes, and moments that commentate on serious issues that translate to world history, both past and present. And despite that, in the bleakest moment of the highest stakes we’ve seen in the series, Oda managed to make his main character turning into a Looney Toon make perfect sense.
Hindsight is 20/20, but this really feels like it makes perfect sense. From chapter 1, we see a shift in Luffy’s personality immediately upon eating the fruit. It’s a small sample size, but noticeable if you look for it. It’s worth wondering how long Oda had this planned for. Was it as far back as chapter 1? At first, the easy answer is no. But, he has had the “last panel” or the ending as a whole in his mind since before he ever put pen to paper when crafting this series. So… it is POSSIBLE. I really don’t care if he thought it up last week or 20 years ago. The twist is perfect, and brings context to a lot of Luffy’s crowning moments. Also, quick tidbit, but speaking of chapter 1: we get mention in 1044 that zoan fruits have a “mind of their own” and that the Gum Gum fruit had been eluding the World Government for 800 years. In chapter 1, when Luffy actually does eat the fruit, it just sort of ends up in his hands during a commotion. There’s no prior mention of it, there’s not even a picture of it until we see him eating it. It just randomly, in one small corner panel, ends up half eaten in his hands despite being in captured protection of some of the strongest pirates in the series – and nobody even notices. Something to think about.
All of his crazy abilities, the relentless positivity, the obsession with freedom – it was always there, all along. The connections to the sun for a ton of the major factions we’ve seen, the people Luffy has freed along his journey (inadvertently half of the time), the love of partying, joy and togetherness – Luffy was always JoyBoy. Before we ever heard the term, before there was ever a “mythical sun god” or 800 year old carvings talking about a man called JoyBoy. It was always Luffy. This reveal and chapter as a whole just made me laugh, smile, drone on and on to my girlfriend who doesn’t care, tell my friends all about it who have no idea what I’m talking about, write this post, you get the picture.
The chapter had been trending for over a week, since there was a break last release slot, and was trending world wide once it released. I have yet to see even one real negative thing about the chapter, and I’ve looked around a LOT. The next chapter, 1045, was even trending today, and we haven’t even gotten there yet. In a series full of peaks, it’s starting to feel like we’re just getting started yet again.
Hub World 