(note: I barely remember Whisky Peak + Little Garden, so I can’t speak to how accurate episodes 3 through 5 are)

- got to the first “ghost Mihawk mocks Zoro” scene and am very glad the OPLA crew decided to incorporate him in this goofy way. feels fittingly shonen-esque

- me @ Usopp getting overly excited about catching a tiny fish 🥺

- first bikini shot of Nami spotted, one of presumably many to come. I’m not bothered at all by the cleavage shots of her and Robin, they’re pretty much all over the manga anyway

- the scene of Luffy conversing with Vivi is pretty emblematic of how Iñaki Godoy’s version of the character syncs pretty well with his anime/manga counterparts. his first on-screen interaction with her is just… asking her simple innocuous questions whilst also being kind of annoying? yeah that feels completely fitting

- same goes for him letting her go! in the anime/manga, Luffy has a very good intuition when it comes to people’s true characters, even if they’re lying. he does this with Robin too when she asked to join

- was expecting Ingaram to be a bit taller, but Yonda Thomas pulls him off really well, particularly his warm nature. having to design that wig with working gun barrels must’ve been crazy work

- “Whisky Peak Saloon” was catchy as fuccccck…granted, it’s faded part of the time to better hear the dialog, but it’s a pretty memorable earworm

- not sure how to feel about Sanji roping Usopp into a honey trap? it doesn’t sound like him to betray Kaya like that, even if he’s mildly tempted. :/ Sanji would’ve dived head-first into that shit by himself, without question

- needless to say, Zoro’s 100-man sword fight was the highlight of the episode! Zoro’s three-sword style on that rickety Whisky Peak set made for some intense but exhilarating moments. felt very spaghetti Western to me

- Miss Monday only had a handful of minutes on screen, but I liked her team-up with Mr. 9! I forgot they had chemistry in the anime/manga too

- getting a better look at Mr. 5’s booger bombs in action made for a really intense chase scene between buildings! as did Miss Valentine’s float-and-drop moves. they don’t show up until 2/3s into the episode, but you get a better look at their dynamic here

- wasn’t sure whether it was necessary to kill of Ingaram, but I could see why OPLA writers went with that choice? it gives Vivi a good emotional anchor to start with after her identity is uncovered

anywho, I’ll keep episodes 3-5 short just because my memory is fuzzy from merely skimming them lol

#onepiece #onepiecenetflix #opla

- I liked the angle taken with Nami this episode, clearly feeling insecure about her navigation skills before and upon entering the Grand Line. particularly liked the moment where Vivi needles her about not knowing what a log pose is

- I’m not big on the Baroque Works business card introductions, though I see they’re supposed to be like the Wanted posters. having different characters reach out and grab/interact with them is still one of my favorite OPLA touches

- got a little kick out of Smoker shoving two cigars in his mouth after Garp briefs him on and assigns him to hunting Baroque Works

- “Stay calm!” “I WILL NOTTTTTT” <— I think we can say definitively that Gibson has fully grown into playing Usopp now

- on top of that, Luffy (badly) singing “Bink’s Brew” to earn Laboon’s trust was such a lovely addition! I forgot that Shanks’ crew really did sing it around Luffy when he was little

- Laboon’s big sad eyes kept getting to me, I won’t lie…both as a baby and as an adult. really gave a lot of pathos to him, on top of his backstory 🥺

- somehow Luffy painting his Jolly Roger seemed more precious on a more realistic-looking Laboon? I think because the damage to his head is so much more pronounced and you can tell he’s aged on top of it. the way he bellowed was so 😭😭😭😭

- trying to enjoy the moment between Tashigi, Coby and Helmeppo, all while trying to ignore that they’re too young/naive to realize what they signed up for by enlisting 🫠

- gonna echo at least one other fan’s opinion and say that having Tashigi be a laser-focused sword maniac felt a bit silly, if not a tad insulting to her character? it’s not *incorrect,* mind you, but emphasizing that over her “lawful good” commitment to upholding the Marines’ (supposed) ideals felt odd to me

- that said, Julia Rewald is a really cute Tashigi; loved her little dance when Smoker agreed to bring her along to his mission

- forgot how poetic it was for Crocus to hand off his log pose to Nami…mostly because I ALSO forgot he was on Roger’s crew! the nods to Roger were brief but not too heavy-handed though

- LAUGH TALE MENTIONEDDDDDDDD

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- the sailing up/down Reverse Mountain was *extremely* intense, even while knowing that the StrawHats and Going Merry come out of it worse for wear. the ship getting knocked around by waves and currents felt so realistic, like they could’ve been tossed overboard at any moment

- Luffy steering Merry by grabbing onto jagged rocks with both of his arms + nothing to hold him down was the most shonen manga bullshit ever, and I loved it

- something so precious about Nami joining Luffy at Merry’s mast and laughing together before the drop :’)

- the way I blurted out “LABOOOOOOOON” the moment I heard whale sounds

- “Five more minutes, Dadan” <— if there’s a flashback sometime in season 3 that shows Dadan way earlier than the manga did, then I’m gonna fuckin lose it lmao

- Crocus looks and sounds great. not exactly cranky, but he still has that tired old man“don’t bother me”vibe. didn’t have his hilarious introductory scene, but it was referenced in dialog so I can live with that

- the little shithead smirk Zoro gave Nami after she mentioned his muscles break the whipstaff —> “not a compliment.” “not NOT a compliment. 😏”

- slowly warming up to Callum Kerr’s Smoker. the close-up shots do him more favors in this episode. he’s clearly young but not *too* young

- laughed SO fucking hard at Luffy busting down Crocus’s door just as he settled in his easy chair to relax, the comedic timing was impeccable

- also, Crocus’s home really felt lived-in with its maximalist, former seafarer interior. the fish heads, old maps, little antiques…even the old radio

- happy to see Jacob Gibson leaning further into Usopp’s nervous chattering and anxious/scared noises

- also Usopp screamed soooooooo fucking much this episode, I can tell Gibson must have practiced to make it sound *just* right too

- congratulations to SanUso shippers these past two episodes, their chemistry is replicated pretty well so far

#onepiece #onepiecenetflix #opla