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After having seen Sanji’s backstory origins, his line “give up your ambition and live” to Zoro when he is fighting Hawkeye is even more preposterous because not even Sanji would take that advice, as made evident by his actions to try to save Zeff and everyone else. It’s a bit of a “do what I say, not what I do” type scenario because Sanji genuinely cares about these new people he just met, just as he cares for everyone, but does not recognize that they have their own unending desires for success just the same as he does. This story arc is ultimately Sanji learning that the Straw Hats are just like him with complete confidence in their goals, and that shared drive is what bonds them as a crew. Real recognize real I think is the technical term, when you meet someone and instantly feel on the same vibe & wavelength as they are.

The shit-talking between Luffy & Krieg is almost the exact opposite. In a certain sense, the two adversaries see each other as a more or less serious rival, and even though they both have faith in their own victories, the back & forth insults & mockery betray a mild fear, as in one would not speak as such to, say, an ant they were squashing with their boot without a hint of irony. The verbal interactions here not only serve as attempts to squash each other’s morale but also to embarrass them in front of their respective squads. Luffy calling the spear a “toy” belittles Krieg’s use of technology and disrespects his whole crew who trust and believe in their captain’s invulnerability. Krieg calling Luffy a “monkey” is intended to dehumanize Luffy as less than human & incapable of advanced thought ot skill level, but falls short as Luffy makes monkey noises back at him. Krieg shouting “foolish pride is all you got” is an example of an accusation being a confession because, in that moment just before his own armor shatters to bits & pieces, he is still foolishly full of pride & confidence.

Seeing Gin still somewhat loyal to the essence of Krieg’s passion is somewhat similar to Sanji & Zeff. Gin served under Krieg for many years, just as Sanji served under Zeff, and both mentors instilled much of their own culture & beliefs in their respective proteges. Just as Sanji dreams of discovering the All Blue, Gin still wants to find the Grand Line, which he admits is silly and only because of Krieg, but it is his dream nonetheless, and one cannot just change the dreams they hold in their heart. Seeing both sides of this same narrative in the wildly different characters is quite compelling & satisfying to behold.

Last note, I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that Nami was apparently not planning to return the ship to the Straw Hats, but of course her heart tells her she absolutely should find them again. Although she is a competent sailor in her own rite, easily controlling the large ship herself without any crew at all, her emotional need for their companionship is surprising even to her. She clearly has experienced traumatic events in her life, likely abandonment, and copes with this by not becoming too attached to anyone, struggling on her own, and only relying on herself to get by without meaningful connection to other humans. In fact, she seems completely capable to take care of herself and get herself out of any trouble she encounters, but humans are social creatures and regardless of her financial success, her spirit longs to be with her new friends.

I am starting to get anxiety about how careless Luffy is around water with his Devil Fruit curse to not be able to swim. We see him repeatedly running across some very thin wooden pier thing towards Krieg while Krieg shoots him with various projectiles, and Luffy is both taking hits & jumping around to dodge, which just seems reckless in numerous ways, but, of course, that is his Straw Hat style, and he proceeds to just punch Krieg right in the face through the spiked porcupine cape, leaving his hand bleeding & Krieg on the floor. This is precisely what Zeff means when he says Luffy will win because “he does know fear”: a positive attitude mixed with determined courage is more powerful than any other weapon.

The strength of confidence is a recurring theme in the show, and even just in this episode, we get a look at Krieg’s crew losing morale and confidence as the fight progresses. First, they see the way Krieg treats Gin, his longest & most loyal crewmember, with such disrespect, even noting that Krieg needlessly mocks the dying man, and start to realize how Krieg would treat them if they ever made any sort of mistake. Then they see Luffy punch him through the cape and start to realize that Krieg is not invincible but just a guy in a suit of armor; without the confidence that their leader is unstoppable, they are less & less likely to persevere, this being a direct foil to Luffy & crew relying on their neverending resilience & positivity. They even discuss how if Krieg loses to a “kid”, Krieg & his crew’s reputation will never recover, which again goes to show the value of word-of-mouth information in this post-apocalyptic island world, but also applies just to Krieg’s reputation amongst his own crew being tarnished to the point of a failure to continue operating as a cohesive pirate fleet.

Gin is an absolutely fascinating character and I empathize with the two chefs frantically trying to keep him alive near the end of the episode because I want to see more of this guy. He has clearly committed many dark, twisted, and decidedly evil tasks in his time as a pirate, but he still has a strong internal code of honor as well as the trust self-awareness to recognize his own flaws and to objectively see the perspective of others, notably when he agrees that Krieg should kill him for disobeying an order because he would do the same thing if he were captain and his crew followed their emotions instead of their captain’s orders. Not only that, Gin still seems to have a firm respect for his captain even as Krieg is trying to kill him. It seems to me that Sanji feeding him has made Gin realize that there are in fact good humans in the world, which could be shaking his whole worldview at this point if he has been doing these evil actions under the assumption that all people are bad and deserve violence against them in one way or another. Gin’s reflection on the fact that maybe at least some of the people he has killed over the years were also good people deserving of a better life is weighing on his shoulders, filling the pirate with regret and a final death wish to rid himself of suffering, hence disobeying Krieg and accepting his fatal punishment.

Last note, all of the sailors are very good at treading water. We see dozens of them, pirates & chefs alike, almost perfectly still as they float at the surface, far out in the water where the ocean floor must be a kilometer deep or more. As the battle approaches a climax, we even see them cheering in the air without losing any balance. This could simply be lazy animation but I believe it is somewhat intentional to show the high level of swimming ability these sailors hold, spending most of their lives on the sea. They are comfortable in water of any depth, and I think this also holds a mirror to Luffy’s inability to swim by comparing their lack of battle proficiency with Luffy’s; not everyone can do everything but everyone can do something.

We see an example of karma in this episode when Gin does not want to kill Sanji because Sanji fed him when Gin was on the brink of starvation. Having experienced the same thing himself, Sanji makes a point to feed anyone who enters the restaurant, no matter what, and here he is repaid for that by Gin’s sense of honor. It is pretty clear that Gin is not a “good guy” but a violent pirate, yet he still follows his own personal code, which is relatable to many people; very few humans are truly good or bad but instead live in shades of grey, choosing their actions based on their own interpretation of morality. Gin even encourages Don Krieg to kill him for disobeying his orders, stating that he would do the same thing if he were in Don Krieg’s position, demonstrating that he is steadfast in his decision to spare Sanji, regardless of the consequences.

Luffy wanting to destroy the boat so that no one has it is reminiscent of King Solomon splitting a baby in half in a popular Bible story, the idea being that if no one can win, the conflict is over. We also see Sanji willing to die to protect Zeff as another point of honor. In both of these cases, it seems there is an overarching goal to follow their own personal codes of conduct regardless of how it affects other people, which directly contrasts the example of Gin. Gin is making a choice that ultimately will only harm him, but Luffy would harm the entire restaurant staff by destroying the boat, and Sanji would harm Zeff by failing to deliver on his dream to seek the All Blue. In a certain sense, then, Gin is actually the more honorable one in this episode, which likely speaks to their differences in experience: Gin has been a pirate leader for a long time, while Luffy is practically brand new to the sea and Sanji has likely not spent much time outside of Baratie.

Don Krieg’s suit of armor has significantly better technology than a lot of what we have seen on the show thus far, and I imagine that this is a large part of why he was able to conquer so much of the East Blue. In any war or battle, the side with the superior weapons is typically going to be the victor outside of rare edge cases with prolonged guerilla warfare and the like. With defensive capabilities as well as offensive weapons for short-range, long-range, single-target, & area-of-effect attacks, it makes sense that not only would he make short work of most of the sailors we have seen, that many of them would be quick to surrender and join his fleet in the face of an unbalanced fight.

Last note, this was the first time I noticed in the opening animation that Gold Roger had been captured & sentenced to death. I suppose I presumed that he was making some sort of announcement to the world before just going into hiding, or maybe he was old & sick and preparing for death, or he was just a legend, a myth, a rumour altogether, but he was apparently caught by the Marines (or a similar group) and given a public execution, during which he stated his challenge for people to find his treasure to the large crowd that had gathered. This could still be just a story or something, but it does lend more credit to the overall narrative.

Zeff has always been a wise leader & deep thinker, as made evident by his mustache still being much longer than should be possible even when he was much younger. It is not as long as his braided mustache when he is an old geezer, because he gets even wiser as he ages, but it is still more of a mustache than any normal person would ever have. Many traditional & ancient cultures have beliefs that long & well-maintained facial hair represents maturity, knowledge, & respect, so this is an easy trope to identify, and I am happy to see it played out this way with a look to the past.

Another mention of a previous blog post, we continue to see that the cooks of the One Piece world put that identity deep into their self-worth. The group at the beginning discussing how they would risk life & limb to find the All Blue with a variety of rare and delicious sealife shows that even their personal goals & dreams are rooted in their chef identities. Even Zeff, a mighty successful pirate, holds in his heart a vision of a future where he runs a restaurant. This world is somewhat tumultuous with food scarcity and political turmoil, so it does make sense that people would grow their culture in the vicinity of feeding people, and we see it written out very well and believable in One Piece.

Taking it a step further, Zeff is even willing to die to protect Sanji so that his own dream of finding the All Blue stays alive with his young protege. He not only believes in the All Blue but holds it in such a high regard that he would give his life to help someone achieve the goal. Their bond is entirely rooted in this shared passion, making them loyal allies for reasons much beyond self-service or worldly pleasures; they want to improve the world in a specific way and hold each other up to get as close as they can to success, even if most other people find this to be a ridiculous quest. Of course, having a lofty desire that is ridiculed by society is what makes Sanji a perfect Straw Hat, much like wanting to be king of the pirates, or the world’s greatest swordsman, or making 10 million berries, or whatever Usopp is trying to do.

The exploration of why Zeff & Sanji are so dedicated to feeding any hungry person who enters their restaurant is satisfying with the reflections on food waste and realization that gold & jewels are worthless to a hungry sailor stranded on a rock. Sanji was just that morning throwing away food and insulting the other cooks for eating customer’s leftovers, and now recognizes the importance of using every calorie available in the best way possible. The bag of inedible treasure is a subtle callback to the mayor in a previous episode talking about the different types of treasure different people consider valuable, such as friends, locations, memories, and the like. For Sanji & Zeff on the rock, their most valuable treasure is their tiny supply of food.

Last note, watching Zeff save Sanji in the water made me consider for the first time the deeper implications of the Devil Fruit stealing one’s ability to swim. My initial assumptions were just an increased risk if they fall off the ship or something, but swimming is ultimately a crucial element of being a sailor in the first place, between ship repairs, fishing, recreation, and saving crew mates, plus more. In a world consisting mostly of isolated islands, the cost of losing the ability to swim is rather expensive, even compared to the power granted by these fruits. Most, if not all, of the characters we have seen with Devil Fruit power did so accidentally, and I think that is probably not a coincidence.

Don Krieg using manipulation tactics to make his opponents think he is weak before attacking them is in his core as a human being, much less a pirate. His first foray into pirating by stealing a marine ship, using the white flag, showing up to the restaurant very hungry, wanting to sail the grand line in a restaurant ship, and probably more examples I’m forgetting or haven’t seen yet. While this is considered an admirable approach by Sun Tzu in the Art of War, it is typically colloquially seen as cowardly or even evil & cruel. However, we often see protagonists using similar methods and typically align ourselves with them, seeing their deceit as justified. This is an example of the victors defining justice, in which we assign favorable morality to the people we support & agree with, while assigning negative intention to people we don’t like as much.

A starker contrast, however, is the apparent rush that many pirates are in to head directly to the Grand Line to find the One Piece. Don Krieg seems to be under the impression that if he steals Zeph’s logbook & ship, it’s an easy trip to become king of the pirates, never considering that if it were that easy, Zeph would have done it himself. Luffy, on the other hand, never seems rushed to actually do the task, instead focusing on building a proper crew and preparing themselves for a difficult adventure. Hubris vs humility.

Sanji has a lot of great lines, he is essentially the toothpick guy, I guess, dispensing clever insight with witty quotes and quick one-liners. He currently smokes, of course, but I have always assumed most toothpick guys used to smoke, anyway, so maybe he will quit and become a true toothpick guy. I really enjoyed the line “if I was scared of fire, I wouldn’t be a very good cook,” which is a playful twist on “if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.” However, “a knife is a cook’s soul” really sent me because I do think that any artisan is very reliant on quality tools, even though it is true that a great craftsman never blames their tools for a job poorly done. The knife isn’t doing the cooking, and a chef could make a poor meal with good tools, or a good meal with poor tools, but a great chef has their preferred tools that they are accustomed to and allow them to excel at their art beyond most others. They should still be able to perform with any tools, but not as well, or as easily, or as stylishly, as with their best equipment.

Zeph is yet another character demonstrating wonderful stoic ideals. He has much faith and confidence in himself, his abilities, his crew, and the future, as well as a stern acceptance of potential disasters. He is pragmatic and steady in his approaches to problems, and doesn’t seem to waver with fear or insecurity. Much of this comes with age and experience, of course, but Zeph shows a stoicism far beyond many of his peers, and this is symbolized by the long braided mustache. A typical mustache would never grow that long, but it represents Zeph having more experience than would even be possible for most people, regardless of the progression of time and their personal age. This is very clearly demonstrated by his ability to still do his magic kicks even though he is missing his foot. He is simply comfortable with himself and his energy and, even missing his “tool” of his actual foot, he is still able to deliver powerful kicks more advanced than others who do have their feet.

I still think the 2 boys are unreliable narrators and that Nami spoke & acted differently than they present, but the classic Straw Hat confidence is apparent as the crew calmly discusses chasing Nami while Hawkeye chops the opposing ship into pieces. We see some contrast between Sanji & the general crew attitude when Zoro is fighting Hawkeye and Sanji advises him to “give up your ambition and live!” The Straw Hats are almost always confident in battle, no matter the odds, especially if there is an emotional tie such as Zoro wanting to be the greatest swordsman in the world. Additionally, we have seen Sanji express this same attitude when engaging in his own conflicts. Even Usopp tends to have a very supportive outlook despite being personally terrified of almost everything they encounter. This paradigm is directly contradicted by Sanji’s advice to Zoro, but it is relatable as Sanji is new to the Straw Hats, underestimates them, and doesn’t want them to die, hence speaking & acting out of character.

We heard another reference to the East Blue, in the context of 4 great seas, which I assume are the North, East, South, & West Blues. It seems apparent that the show creators had a long-term vision from the start. Hawkeye’s comment that “you don’t know how big the world is” feels directed at the viewing audience who is only just beginning to witness the enormity of this television setting, and his large cross that doubles as a small sword seems to lead to this understanding, as well. I interpreted it as a bit of a romanticization of a foreign mystic symbol to an Eastern audience, similar to how the yinyang is often represented in Western media, ultimately symbolizing a culture distant from this one in both kilometers & tradition.

Last note, Usopp is such a bard with his quick supply & knowledge of first aid supplies, in addition to his other miscellaneous scattered skills.

Don Krieg calmly threatening to murder everyone on the restaurant ship while casually walking out with the giant bag of food they just gave him is a terrifying evil. In cold blood, with clean calculation, he is determined to get his results without seeming enraged or boisterous. There is a true psychopathic vibe here beyond just a desperate pirate, but a truly dark soul committed to mayhem & harm.

We see yet another new look at reputation in this episode with the history of Zeff. He was a famous pirate and so there is a sense of respect for him, but he has lost the leg that made him fearsome, which affected his reputation via rumours. Word of mouth communication is much more important in this setting without easy digital or radio communications across long distances. The way people speak about you is less controllable, thus making it more valuable in a certain sense as it is less likely to be propaganda, but it can also be wildly inaccurate and just colloquial mambo jumbo.

I have noticed that characters often act in shock & surprise at wild & unbelievable stories without any sense of proof; there is a general trust between individuals that they simply won’t lie. Even when Usopp was telling very bold lies, people often believed it at first simply because of how much people trust each other. This is not blatant stupidity; there is a certain amount of survivability that relies on being able to trust information gathered from strangers when there isn’t a major news media or similar method of dissemination.

Sanji “helping them live and then threatening to kill them” is a great dichotomy that applies to a lot of stoic thinking. Sanji understands he can only control himself and his actions & wants them to be true to his ideals and values. Part of his value system is feeding anyone who needs to be fed, so it is understandable that he would even feed someone who could be a threat to his fellow crewmates. However, he also loves his ship & fellow crewmates, so he is still willing to use violence to protect them, even from the very same people whom he was willing to feed. We cannot control the actions of others and must react to them using our own values. Reacting to a hungry person by feeding them, as well as reacting to a threat with defensive violence, are both consistent with Sanji’s ideals.

I am genuinely surprised Nami “stole” the ship and can only assume the 2 boys are unreliable narrators who misunderstood what she told them. I am guessing she plans to come back shortly, and only left because she knew Luffy was going to stay a while to work for Zeff. Last note, I really want three dangly earrings like Zoro, super cool vibe.

The whole plotline of the evil pirate with no money asking to be fed, & Sanji feeding him when the restaurant kicks him out, and then that guy bringing back his captain to attack the whole restaurant and Sanji still offering to feed them both is a great example of Sanji holding true to similar morals as the rest of the Straw Hats, regardless of the consequences. I think this is also shown in Sanji constantly smoking, almost always shown with a cigarette in his hands or lips, a commitment to doing something repeatedly. Sanji seems to always have a calm and cool demeanor except when flirting with Nami, and I think there is something romantic to be said there.

I really appreciate how we are being served with the variations on the Jolly Roger. We know from real history that pirate flags were very varied and unique to indicate specific crews & notoriety, and there were real examples of pirates flying under false flags, as well as Privateers & the like blurring these lines from the get-go. Seeing Don Krieg use a Marine flag to attack unsuspecting victims reeks of realism & anchors the plot with reasonable tactics. We have seen a clown nose Jolly Roger, a cat Jolly Roger, and more, and people do seem to always recognize the specific crew, including in this episode with the double hourglass Jolly Roger and the people at the restaurant identify that it means their time is up. The pirate with the captain has yet a different jolly roger on his clothes with a snake instead of a skull. This is the first episode in which we see Sanji’s wanted poster, which features him blowing smoke into a Jolly Roger symbol. I wonder if the pirate in the title animation, Gold Roger, is also tied to the Jolly Roger as a semi-fictional mythological character of legend.

This is the first episode (I think) that mentions the name of this story arc, the East Blue, in reference to Don Krieg being a threat to this region. It is fantastic foreshadowing the way we were given reference to sailors getting scurvy on long adventures and now we see a pirate crew without proper stores & rations that is dying of starvation & dehydration. This whole episode’s plot was pretty novel & surprising; I was genuinely unsure of how much of the narrative was going to go.

We see that Luffy is still dedicated to fulfilling his punishment to work at the restaurant for a week even if the rest of the Straw Hats want to leave. It makes me wonder what the motivation for the rest of the kitchen & restaurant crew is to work on this ship. We see that they use oversized flatware as weapons & the head chef has a bazooka cannon shaped like some sort of shellfish, so perhaps they just identify as cooks and that’s what they do. Kaya & Merry mentioned going to shop in some city a few episodes back, so maybe there is some exchange of currency (or berries?) that the owner uses to pay his crew so they continue to work. Maybe they are just pirates or sailors who don’t know any life other than to serve a captain and this captain wants them to work in a restaurant.

Last note, it seems that “Don” is not just his name, but a title of sorts, based on a comment that he is the only one who deserves to be called Don. Again leading towards a post-apocalyptic setting, this is likely a holdover from contemporary Mafia leaders who are called Don, & namely popular movies & other media that use this term has possibly influenced the cultural zeitgeist over the centuries so that this serious character uses that title due to ancient references to Hollywood films. I think something similar could be true of the concept of the pirate flags, as well, with both historical and fictional pirate flags contributing to the One Piece world’s usage of them.

Sanji is pretty obviously shown as Straw Hat protagonist material by his very nature. He is passionate, has a sense of personal honor, and is shown as an outcast from the rest of the kitchen staff. Even though the cooks have a reputation of violence, they judge Sanji as a problem for being violent. From Sanji’s perspective, he is just standing up for the kitchen staff and the integrity of the food, and that attachment to success is what attracts Luffy to invite him to the crew.

Sanji has some sort of emotional ties to working on the restaurant ship, and it makes sense that it would take something “emotional” such as falling “in love” with Nami to break his obsession with working for the old man, but I hope they don’t play this up a creepy angle. While there is some value, narratively & comedicaly, in the unrequited love cliche, it is quickly overdone.

Last note, Luffy appears to be taking the attitude of doing a task so poorly, he is not asked to do it again. I learned this technique from Calvin & Hobbes and it is true. People much prefer important actions to be done by people with an attention to detail and an interest in positive results. Hiring Luffy under duress ensures that the tasks will not be done perfectly. A workforce needs to feel valued & appreciated if they are going to work to the best of their abilities.

I really enjoyed the previous 2 episodes being one-off self-contained adventures with deep philosophical meanings but we are back on a multi-episode arc to gain a new crew member. Again, I am just assuming that because this new character, Sanji, is featured in the opening song animation so I assume he is going to be a crew member. I suppose we will see. I actually thought it was Luffy in disguise during his first scene.

We are again shown the Marines to be cruel liars, and the captain character is especially rude & selfish. However, as the show progresses, it seems that most sailors are more or less villains. All we ever really see are Marines & pirates, and they are all, more or less, evil. This emphasizes what a revolutionary act it is for Luffy to be so filled with kindness & compassion.

Last note, I appreciate that they addressed scurvy & nutrition while spending long periods of time at sea. It is an interesting note in human history that the cure for scurvy has been lost & forgotten multiple times over generations passed. If we are thinking the One Piece world is a post-apocalyptic earth, this is just another time where some people have forgotten the knowledge of how to survive at sea.