My interpretation of Pudding is that she had a complete mental breakdown when Sanji told said her eye was beautiful. She was mentally abused because of it her entire life and that compliment that Sanji gave her conflicted with her self-reflection and world view thus splitting her personality into two; the product of her family's negativity toward her and the product of the positivity made by Sanji.
Sanji's resolution in the arc cooking the cake is not only because he is a chef. You see, in an arc that talks about Sanji rejecting his biological family's ideology, it's only fitting that he ends following the will that he has inhirited from his adoptive father: feeding a hungry person. That's thematic... and also a mission that helps making Pudding fall in love for him and saves the Strawhats (chapter 892).
Couldn't have said it better myself. You gotta admit that it is quite poetic that the family who once chastised him for his fascination with cooking just got their asses saved by those very cooking skills.
I think the big problem is Majority identify Sanji as a Rival to Zoro so their were expecting some epic fighting feats from him that would make him seem like the Rival, but the best we got was Sanji speed blitzing Oven that Oven couldn't see him.
@@CheddahSlammer, it's fine to expect something or not, to like it or not. But this is a review, so I expect some in-depth analysis of narrative, themes and other stuff. I want to watch a review to understand the subject better.
Nah I can’t take this BS anymore. When Pudding called Sanji for help in baking the cake, she wasn’t hungry. Big Mom was just in the middle of her hunger pangs. There was absolutely no fucking reason for him to go and bake the cake. Before you say that it is to prevent Big Mom from attacking the straw hats. I think it doesn’t matter coz eventually she will succumb to her dumb hunger pangs and the entire Big Mom pirate crew will have bigger things to worry about than chasing a boat with 6-7 people. This is not to say that Sanji shouldn’t help his enemy, I honestly couldn’t care less if he feeds Big Mom due to her hunger. I liked the fact that he actually saved his biological family despite hating them. The only thing I can’t digest is his help in baking the cake. And of course, Toei’s incredible animation.
@@sreekargunda3915 what are you talking about? It made perfect sense, there was a logical reason it was literally spoonfed to us through mounds of dialogue.
I actually love Pudding's craziness. I can see how as a gag you'd find it boring after a while, but to me it showed just how much damage her family has done to her. She is so completely turned around by the idea of genuine love with no stings attached that she literally goes crazy. I get that you just wanted a "cool female villain", but I believe the direction Oda went was very powerful, and shows what an abusive family that only shows conditional love can do to a person.
Also notice that the Big Mom children that got married off are more loyal to their spouse than to the BM pirates, such as Pralin. Their exposure to love changed them.
I actually teared up twice - when Judge was begging his kids to feel something, anything about their impending deaths and when Sanji and Zeff got that awesome back to back shot of them saying the same thing about feeding the hungry, showing who Sanji’s REAL family was
Meh I don't feel bad for Judge. He got exactly what he wanted. Children who are perfect soldiers and feel nothing (minus Reiju of course). I cried when Bege came back for Chiffon and the love that they share. I also cried for Pound who in his last moments had a feeling of genuine happiness. One chose to not be in his child's life in the most disgusting act of parenting and the other didn't have a choice in the matter and spent his dying breathe in bliss just knowing his child was happy and his grandchild would have two parents to love him.
@@pugmcmuffins9282 I agree that Judge is awful. But his response was very human and dramatically ironic in that he wanted children who were beyond human, and thus was left alone when facing death. I teared up bc it was a tragic ending to a miserable endeavor with some genuine emotion in the mix.
Lmao i just started to insult judge at that point... There are waaaaay sadder moments in this arc, sanji finding out the truth about pudding, seeing luffy meanwhile tearing his arms off for his friends while he "betrayed" them. And oohhhh man.... When luffy and sanji fought and luffy said "i can't become pirate king without you sanji"... fr that was way too much
@@TheOneAndOnlyJinglebi I was cheering when Judge was crying his eyes out like a little bitch. Do I feel bad for his kids aside from Reiju for not feeling anything, yes. It's tragic that they can't cry or feel fear, but he made them that way. He reaped what he sowed, and when it came full circle, I was waiting for him to be shot dead. I don't feel bad for Judge. Why should I? Fuck that inbred asshole. If that guy doesn't give a damn or two shits about Sanji, why should I give a damn or two shits about him?
@@mauriciogarcia4795 lmao, i wouldn't say it that harsh but yeah pretty much, sanjis and luffys moments in this arc are hundred times sadder, i don't have emphaty for judge to feel sad in the first place
I like the arc a lot, but I still feel it was stretched out way to much. If you look at what actually happened, it could've been a nice 40/50 chapter arc. Especially in the anime, I often hear the characters of The Holy Grail yell: "Get on with it" in my head.
menno graafmans yea it felt like Oda planned to make it shorter than it ended up being. I doubt he wanted to be on WCI as long as he did, but as it went on it felt like he started getting more and more ideas, leading to a sloppy conclusion since even he knew he just needed to get on with it. That being said, most arcs in one piece have faults, but the fact that people are calling WCI one of the worst arcs in the entire series is mindless to me. If it weren’t the arc before Wano, I feel people would have been much more patient.
@@shankopotamuss I think that Wano and even the Reverie do play a large part in people downplaying WCI. And In my opinion it isn't up there with Alabasta or Enies Lobby, but it definetly belongs to the better half of the arcs. Another thing is, the arc didn't really resolve much. Yes, they brought back Sanji and got the poneglyph, but the Charlotte family is still there and Big Mom is even more angry. Luffy still hasn't claimed Fishman Island and Jimbei didn't go along with the rest to Wano, even though he is part of the crew.
+shankopotamuss, did the arc really have a sloppy conclusion though? Unlike past arcs, it seemed like the intention for this arc was to make it unfinished business. It felt very much like the Impel Down arc, which also led into the war and didn't traditionally conclude. The Strawhats made it clear that they were supposed to just get Sanji and the poneglyph copy and then leave. Everything else that happened was not as planned. So that made Luffy's initial promise to Big Mom in the Fishman Island arc indicative that unlike the other arcs, Whole Cake Island was not going to be tied up in a neat little bow.
@@shankopotamuss people mainly say WCI was disappointing is because was so promising. It was being dubbed the best arc of the entire series, but as it kept going on, it was undoing everything it set up; it got too long, and progress halted, too much breaks were taken and we were stuck running away from big mom for like a month and a half. People go bored and just wanted it to end. Unfortunately, many of sets also didn't pan out, and things seemed to have been wrapped up rapidly and with not good conclusions. Which is made worst by the fact that the arc felt long at time; Oda could have used that time to wrap up certain storylines better. The Germa family drama was tacked on at the end and no real resolution was had, there was more that ODA probably wanted to include with Zeff, bit just didn't, Sanji's flashback felt like Oda wanted to include more, but seemed like he was pressured to wrap it up. It's hated because it was so promising, and the ball was dropped. It's not a bad arc, just the most disappointing.
Tbh the setting is so unique, there's probably no other series that even comes close to having this kind of setting. That's the reason why I like this arc so much.
I personally love pudding's character, since I feel as if a character who has to decide to help her enemies would be someone extremely conflicted and all over the place, besides the switching between good girl to angry lady was hilarious in my opinion XD
Pudding as a character is I like a lot. Especially in relation to her tsundere feelings towards Sanji. When the revelation of her twisted side was shown and then back again to genuinely love Sanji I tought to my self "Yes! I knew it! I knew you wouldn't let me down, Oda!" And that's the thing about it as a whole is that she followed Vivi, Violet, and even Hancock. Unfortunately to follow would be Hiyori. The bad princess turned good. It became predictable and monotonous to some. I'm a slice of life and romance fan so I actually loved it when she genuinely fell in love with Sanji and don't mind these characters at all. Plus Sanji's my boy.
Because of Luffy Big mom failed to obtain the germa power, she didn't get to taste her long awaited wedding cake and she ended up destroying her territory because of it, her tea party was ruined, Mother Carmel photo was destroyed, Her poneglyphs were stolen, and she was humiliated for having someone escape her territory. All because she decided to mess with his crewmate
I read much of Whole Cake Island and I have one thing to say about Sanji's arc. Not perfect but it was one of the best executed character arcs for a member of a main shounen cast. And it has to do with how he is played to near-perfection as one of the Straw Hat's most key members. He is part of the Monster Trio but unlike Zoro and Luffy, he has a different role in the ship, namely being the cook and quite frankly, it is a really important role. This is why the resolution fits him well, feeding Big Mom, which I am happy this video mentions. And yet when you think about it, Sanji was always exceeded some expectation we have with this lovable chivalrous perv. He is my favorite Straw Hat because of the incredibly rich person he is. I think he has the 2nd most tragic backstory in the crew, growing up in an abusive environment where only the love of a disabled (or hospitalized, in this case) family member and the silent support of a hesitant sibling keep him alive. And I almost cried when he saved his family but even more so, I was proud of Sanji for simply declaring to his father that he wanted nothing to do with him. It was at this point that I loved Sanji straight. Reiju is a good character from my perspective because she depicts how hard it can be to reach out to someone who is almost universally hated in a family setting and I just love how she really does care so much for Sanji. I am also happy that Judge had what was coming to him but also more proud of the fact Sanji really stood up to his father after rescuing him from the Big Mom Pirates. His fight with Luffy had a lot of weight to it. Yes, I know it seems like a Robin situation and they have been through it but when one can think about it hard enough, what choice did Sanji really have? His hands were tied. Judge threatened Zeff's life and sure Luffy can handle the threat in front of them but this is one example of where even determination and the developed power of strong-willed people are not enough. At this point, I was on Sanji's side but I felt so much pain seeing him fight with Luffy, much like how Usopp fought his captain. They both had legitimate though more emotional reasons. Sanji's relationship with Pudding was also another key thing I want to highlight because while yes, Pudding is someone I still need to properly process as a character, her bipolarity makes a bit more sense in retrospect. My focus here will be on what that relationship meant for Sanji. Yes, he shows how he cares for women. He practically worships them. But this is where we see Sanji acting even more real to a woman he never knew than in most situations. This is where we see what defines Sanji as a man, his kindness. His kindness made him different from his siblings and father. His kindness was also both a product of a mother's love and how she is still able to hold on. His kindness was the reason why people were still alive, why he fed Gin, why he was willing to go through any lengths to protect his loved ones, including the Straw Hats, and above all, to rise from his suffering and to face the root of his suffering then. This was where we saw Sanji grow more and I was really, really proud of what this arc did for him. Easily one of my favorites and yes it did have some issues but I am more than satisfied with what much of the arc (not necessarily the pacing by the end) did for our beloved cook.
Brook's scene was beautiful, when he revealed that he manage to copy the poneglyphs was sweet and incredibly suprising, it was cool and also a good twist for him.
The best post-time skip arc in my view. Big Mom’s my favorite Yonko and villain besides Crocodile due to how unique she is in being childlike. I loved Reiju and the fleshing out of Sanji’s character. I’d give the arc a 10/10.
The Charlotte Family Definitely made this arc one to remember. There are so many compelling characters. That single fight with Cracker perfectly displayed just how much higher the scale of power the Strawhats were now dealing with really was. Pudding, while you may not like her, I found extremely endearing, and honestly her bipolarism is a really fun ideocinracy that did fit the dueling feelings of her character was going through. Big Mom's own backstory, fully agree; extremely tragic. She truly is the Frankenstein that Mother Carmel and Strauseim created, and now can no longer stop. (Also, am I the only one who thinks young Strauseim looks vaguely like Perospero and Katakuri, implying that he is the father of her first two kids) Katakuri, what more is there to say that Nux Taku, Nate the BGE, and now you have not already said. Brilliantly written piece of Characterization (with at least 80% of it done through actions and not exposition).
If he is Katakuri's father, then he would also be Daifuku's and Oven's father, as Katakuri, Daifuki, and Oven are triplets, with Katakuri being the oldest and Oven being the youngest. But I highly doubt that Streussen is the father of the triplets and of Perospero. Also her first two kids were Perospero and Compote. Katakuri was her 3rd child, being the first of the triplets to be born followed by Daifuku, and then Oven.
@@kinggidorah6910 I'm fairly certain Kaido and Katakuri are around the same age, I mean Kaido called Big Mom old and katakuri is only 20 years younger than Big Mom.
@@davonedoyle4676 Long running shonen? More like eternal running shonen with this pacing. This arc didn't need to be THAT long. There's like 2 hours of screen time of big mom saying WEDDINGGGGGG CAAAKEEEEEEE for fuck sake..
@@akhsdenlew1861 I agree. I think the anime is really stretched out. One of the reasons could be is that the anime is really close to the manga already. I think it's their way to give Oda much more time to draw better chapters in the Wano Arx
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That's why I watched One Pace version... still slow at points. But in overall, very enjoyable.
He did join the crew by the way, he just had to not make the rest of the Sun Pirates die before going to Wano with the others. I really think he will join with the others in Wano at one point.
Here's to hoping some of the Charlotte family we didn't get to see much of will still have their moment in future battles. Personally I was to see... Smoothie vs. Boa Hancock and Mont D'or vs Usopp
As someone who consideres Sanji one of her absolutely favorite characters ... yes, I agree. I wanted him to finally FINALLY get a boss fight. Be it Judge or a sweet commander or Big Mom herself. Just SOMETHING. I understand that being a cook is his most important feature but it felt somewhat underwhelming given that he is considered to be part of the Monster Trio and it's usually Luffy or Zorro who get the really big fights while Sanji just ... holds off some other people.
If Sanji defeats a sweet commander he would way to powerful than he should be luffy literally struggles to defeat one and also he had a fight with judge I know he lost but it wasn't about him winning it was about him expressing his true feelings to his " father " and how he feels about him to the readers / watchers
Well, he is fighting Queen right now and uhh... If you don't read the manga, stop reading. Like... Right now. This is some major spoiler. His genetic enhancements that were suppressed by his mum taking a drug is back. He's turning into an OP monster and I genuinely want the old Sanji back.
Great video. A bit bittersweet as this is the final arc review. :) But man; I love Whole Cake Island. From its aesthetic to its tone and the BM pirates, the arc had everything that I love in OP. It got me back into loving the series. It isn’t perfect but I easily give it a 85/100 and is in my top five favorite OP arcs.
When I read this arc my only disappointment was that Sanji didn’t get a whole chapter dedicated to him baking the cake for BM with pudding. In the past Sanji had fights that were depicted like he was cooking (ie with Jabra using Diable Jambe). It would be equally satisfying to see him cook as if he is fighting. The way he plans the recipe and manipulates the tools and ingredients would be totally exciting to see. They could reveal much about him as a chef and how he is more tied to Zeff than Jedge. Also they might even give Pudding another reason for falling in love with Sanji. I guess the fans’ disappointment isn’t all from the fact that Sanji didn’t kick, but that he fought in the background despite he was the protagonist of this arc.
As per usual, you hit it out of the park Grand Line! There was a character that ranked very highly for me in this arc that was not at all mentioned in the review though and that is Nami. She was present for a great many number of the arc's events and like Brook, really showed why she is an integral member of the Straw Hats. She rained on Cracker's parade, did some navigation before and after reaching the island, and I felt in general fit rigjt into the role of leader with both Luffy and Zoro absent. She also got some strong humor (Brook's zapping in particular) and her manipulative and scary nature was in full effect in her interactions with Zeus and others. Nami was a real favorite for me early on but in recent years I felt she really got put aside and I found my interest in herwanting. Maybe it was just her return after so long an absence but I would consider Nami if not the mvp, then a strong runner up.
I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but I hate this arc.. I like parts of it, but it really feels stretched out. A lot of characters I really didn't care about.. Why do they need to keep adding characters that don't impact the story?
I'll be honest, I keep forgetting that the poneglyphs only have one side with writing and not the entire block on it which is why I love to watch these videos to catch things I missed. You'd think though with a giant block you'd use the entire canvas at least three sides (front, side, side). So when I saw the three rubbings I'm like "Well at least Brook got the ONE road poneglyph" and it's like no he got 'em all.
Afaik the Anime is still on the Whole Cake island arc, I ditched the anime for now and I'm currently re-watching the series so I can binge some new episodes later. Unfortunately I've been watching an episode or two every day and skipped a good number, so I'm already up to episode 650 at the moment. :/
Whole Cake Island is all about family, 3 families to be precise: 1) The Big Mom family 2) The Vinsmokes 3) Bege's family But there's actually a 4th hidden family and it's the friends we made along the way. Haha!
It's a shame that so many people look back on Whole Cake now with the opinion that is was terrible. The first 50 chapters of this arc (so up to the end of the tea party) were filled with so many dramatic moments, and reading the chapters covering the Tea Party itself week by week was the most excited I have been reading One Piece since Marineford. But then...there's 30 chapters of just running away. Luffy vs Katakuri will go down as one of the all time great fights, but other than that it's just running away. I felt like during this time Oda had no idea how to end Whole Cake, so he was almost stalling for time to figure out how to end it; have the Sunny almost caught up to destroyed / the Strawhats manage to barely escape / increase the gap, rinse repeat, rinse repeat. And then when the arc does finally end it feels so abrupt with some confusing payoff, or lack thereof. As if Oda really didn't have a proper conclusion, and just wanted it to be over so he could move on. Whole Cake is still a really great arc, but it was really a fantastic one.
It's like in lord of the rings where there were like 4 different fake endings. The arc could have ended after the chateau fell or oda could have easily shrank the chapters down by half. He kept introducing new characters even by the end. It also did not help that oda's editors kept hyping up wano which made so many of us believe that chateau being destroyed was the end. But we had another year of the arc to go. As awesome as luffy vs katakuri was, that fight was divided into so many chapters interlaced with the big mom chase. It felt like oda went too out of a way to show how much tougher katakuri was and went even more out of his way to show how difficult it was to escape a yonkou.
Axel Agreed, people are complaining by how long the escape was, but keep in mind they aren’t free until they are out of Big Mom’s Territory (Totto Land) and she has a huge territory so it made sense that it was long. Also I thought it was perfect to have them run away because that shows us just how powerful a yonko is, I expected Luffy to beat her up in the first few chapters or so, but as we kept going along I knew they had no chance, even Nami said that if they were there to bring down Big Mom they would have brought the rest of the strawhats, their main focus was to retrieve Sanji and to immediately leave Totto Land, they only stayed to save Sanji’s family and to try an attempt to assassinate Big Mom by Bege’s plan.
I actually love Pudding. She was one of the only new characters that really stuck out to me. I love the idea of a sweet innocent girl like her actually being somewhat evil. I found her split personality later on to be hilarious.
The only thing I disagree with you about in this video is pudding. I don't think her character was a mess. I think she was written to have conflicting thoughts and emotions. By nature she is deceptive, but then I think after falling in love with Sanji, she wanted to be a good person on the inside but her evil chicanerous nature kept on coming through.
Or maybe she even has dissociative identity disorder where she has two personalities from the trauma of her bullying as a child. One front that is good natured like she was as a child and one that is a tormentor to fit in with all the other siblings. But yeah I agree with you, his thoughts on Pudding was the only thing I disagree with a lot.
Whole Cake Island is definitely my favourite arc of the series so far. The setting was quirky, the villains were fantastic, and there were a surprising number of plot twists. It also made me like Sanji's character a lot more because beforehand he was one of my least favourite Straw Hats but this arc fleshed him out a lot more and made me understand him better. But the main reason I loved this arc is that Luffy, Nami and Brook are my three favourite characters and the arc was basically a love letter to them. It showed off all of their best qualities and why they're essential to the crew. I'm hoping Oda will do the whole crew justice like this again in Wano.
Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there. Jinbe DID join the crew at the end. He requested Luffy to allow him to save his former crew and Luffy's first orded to him was to not die. This is fantastic because it's realistic.
Man thank you so much for your anime reviews I binged watched all of your reviews to catch up with one piece after all the years I lost track of it because of fillers. I just finished whole cake and it was awesome.
Pudding comes off as a much better developed character when you consider her true first appearance in Fishman Island Arc. She was really introduced as a troubled and complicated character close to Big Mom, but by the time we get back to her many would not even recall her or make the connection, so her "introduction" in this arc makes her personality whiplash more of a shock. Even so, it was clearly hinted in the arc that she was a complicated person before her "evil" reveal with her standing in the rain flashing back to Big Mom and Lola.
For me it did felt a little cheap when they revealed Pudding as “evil”. However I did like her abusive relationship with Big mom and I like to think that she had a mental breakdown when Sanji complimented her eye which created her dual personality. Over all I did enjoy her character but I wished she wasn’t evil but instead focused on that abusive relationship of her being force to commit those actions and being manipulated against her will.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree about Pudding. It's pretty clear really, I don't know how you can make a whole video about Katakuri but be confused about her. All her life she was being treated as a creepy monster and a puppet so she started acting like one and even got to fool herself. Until Sanji showed her compassion and she fell in love with him. But all these years with Big Mom using her and of trying so hard to become a monster left her conflicted. Honestly I found her one of the best parts about the whole arc and also very funny.
I actually liked Pudding. The point with her was that she had been neglected and abused all her life to the point where she almost developed a dual personality to cope. Not in the clinical sense. She was still really sweet, but a party of a family in which sweetness was punished. As a result she convinced herself that she is just acting sweet to fool others, which in fact was not the case. It was central that Sanji be really sweet and nice, which he was. In face he really seems to almost identify her struggle.
I will say the Anime is helping my opinion of Pudding. You can really tell her “evil” side is just a defense mechanism that is broken down as she learns she can trust Sanji who doesn’t see her as a monster like her family.
the only women sanji sees as a monster is women like lola and the new kama people it wouldn't matter if Pudding has only one boob as long as she still has a pretty face
i absolutely LOVED this arc, way more than i expected to so far it’s my favorite arc from the post time skip but i haven’t started wano yet, about to literally RIGHT NOW
When I saw Pudding's "Evil, not really, except she is, but she isn't, only she is", I put down the volume and started laughing. "This," I told myself, "is the greatest example of a tsundere ever written."
As someone studying Clinical Psychology I can confidently say that puddings character is amazing. Oda crafted the perfect personification of trauma and how people are good but flip back to their coping mechanisms which usually are negative and flip back to their present good self as soon as they catch themselves.
Honestly, there were two... correction three moment from this arc that stood out. 1. Sanji and Luffy's Fight. It was far better than Luffy and Ussop's fight back at water 7. It was heart breaking to see Sanji brutally beat Luffy up, and how Luffy refused to give up on him. 2. When Sanji discovered Pudding's plan. For once in Sanji's messed up life with his family, he thought he'd found peace when he'd proposed to marry her. He was actually Happy. Until, he'd found out the truth, and there are no word to describe how horrible Sanji felt than the image in Sanji standing in the rain while lighting a cigarette while the rain kept putting the flame out, and tears whelmed up in Sanji's eyes... this seen just made me want to just give Sanji a hug... and 3. When Sanji brought food to the starving Luffy who kept his promise to wait for him and how the two finally came to a resolve in classic Luffy fashion. Luffy punched him and got him to say what he really wanted.
I think puddings character makes sense because she’s still a young woman at the end of the day with feelings and emotion in her back story we could see that nobody really cared for her looks and she was bred to be a tool essentially for big mom and the moment someone actually took time out to compliment one of her main insecurities it kinda changed her perspective but she can’t outright do a complete 180 because this is who she’d been her whole life
Actually in dressrosa brook defeated the art art fruit user. Also he is the comedic musician. I will also say he defeated his enemy easily in fishman island. He is not novelty but I respect what u said
Personally I think the Germa 66 were given way too much attention in the anime at least. Let me explain: you see the appeal of the Germa seems to be based on 2 things their antagonism towards Sanji and more importantly praying on peoples love of super Sentai I don’t care too strongly so watching them in bloated transformation sequences just made me roll my eyes. They would have been fine as more minor characters but they just always stuck out like a sore thumb to me
Possible theory that she was a subject of experiment for gigantism, which would explain her raw strength and hunger pang attacks at a young age. This is similar to the ones the kids on punk hazard were experimented, when they went crazy.
Hunger pang big mom is basically like Godzilla. Completely unstoppable because she is one of the strongest beings in the world and no one can stop her when she is on a rampage.
Just found your channel and being a decade long OP fan, I kinda dropped out during that chase sequence you talked about and now thinking of getting back in. Your video is super informative and I started watching your other content. Do you think I can just skip the running chapters and go to the big fight?
8:06 i would say that based on her talents as an actress and her practically bipolar nature based on the personas she must establish that her personality during the latter half of the arc makes sense. she has always had an evil side to her bread from the teasing she received about her third eye. while her good side was bread from the necessity to create such a persona to fool others just as she was to do with sanji. however sanji complimenting her third eye through a literal wrench into puddings psyche as she figured no one would ever consider her real face as beautiful so her affection for sanji grew the bright side of her yet her obligations towards her family tried to reel her to her darker side. and this back and forth created the bipolar nature we see her achieve during her attempts to make the cake simply made to the nth degree do to her talents of being an over dramatic actress.
Someone compared this arc to a movie and I agree. Yeah it was long, but this arc truly delivered in ways that we didn't know we needed. Brook is one hell of a badass, we got introduced to 2 new gears. Katakuri is probably my favorite villain at the moment, next to Fujitora (if you can call him a villain). Big Mom? Scariest animated character I think I've ever seen. She truly lives up to the fear you see everyone express when her name is mentioned, and rightly deserves the title of a yonko. But my absolute favorite part of this arc was the relationship between Luffy and Sanji, and just Sanji as a character in general. Oda really delivered with his character arc. I also cried MANY times while watching this arc.
Im not gonna lie i enjoyed pudding xD she was a comic relief for me being evil and good that even the Straw hats were flabbergasped kinda hilarious honestly and also nice that there is a woman who is almost on the same wavelenght as sanji (after wedding)
I notice that the characters in Whole Cake Island arc wore masks. Characters like katakuri, Judge, Pudding , Stussy , Cracker, and the others katakuri hide his true personally with a mask to protect his family and hide from his insecurities until he eventually took it off and feels he's better off without it. Pudding 's mask was to hide her third eye and her twisted personality
Its kinda sucks to see people hate on this arc a lot because it's a place holder for Wano. I think it was a fantastic arc and one of the most important ones for the series. Definitely my top 3 best arcs.
I never had a problem with the whole running away from Big Mom chapters, I think Oda needed to show how strong and overwhelming she was and how difficult it really is to escape from her, I was hoping to see Sanji's fighting skills but I guess they are saving it for Wano (Power Ranger Sanji seems OP)
If you go back, jinbe did join the crew and is planning on meeting up with them in wano, the only reason he didnt get on the ship with them is so he could go back and ensure the escape of his former crew
@@GrandLineReview fair, but also to be fair, half the crew wasn't even around so it wouldn't be right to have a proper induction without the rest of the crew present
@@wardenmagellan2643 not really... the whole fight was basically luffy getting beaten up to death and surviving due to plot armor. He just kept getting up... the damage that katakuri was inflicting felt almost irrelevant... too many lethal blows that had almost 0 impact on the whole fight. And katakuri collapsed from like... 10 punches or something. If luffy is really THAT much more durable than the number 1 commander of a yonko then he shouldn't really get so much outclassed for the entire fight.
akhs denlew yaaaaahh that’s low key kinda true but the fight was still awesome and puffy vs lucci was so cool when he busted out the jet gattoling and straight fucked him up lol
@@akhsdenlew1861 1. Cause they weren't lethal blows because of his durability. 2.having high durability has nothing to do with being outclassed. 3.what plot armor? The haki appearing when it did made perfect sense.
@@lampad4549 watch the fight again... a lot of katakuri's attacks were lethal blows, considering that katakuri is the number 1 commander of a yonko. So the number 1 commander of a yonko was beating luffy like nothing for 10 episodes and in the end none of the damage inflicted by katakuri had any impact on the whole fight. While katakuri collapsed in a matter of seconds after very very few attacks that felt significally weaker than katakuri attacks. We knew that luffy was gonna win the end cus he is the protagonist... but the whole beating up for 10 episodes just to win after a few punches in the end, made the fight a big bullshit for me. The fact that some people act like this fight is better than luffy vs lucci is laughable.
My interpretation of Pudding is that she had a complete mental breakdown when Sanji told said her eye was beautiful. She was mentally abused because of it her entire life and that compliment that Sanji gave her conflicted with her self-reflection and world view thus splitting her personality into two; the product of her family's negativity toward her and the product of the positivity made by Sanji.
Verbal abused just like baby5.
yeah i was under the impression that her split personality was basically her quirk
@@redoodlerun6648 yeah. Baby5 doesn't get whole life trying to be valued by someone due to her past. But i wouldn't compare her to Pudding
Agreed
MAD Master001 precisely beautifully said
Before Whole Cake: Brook is funny.
After Whole Cake: Brook is my favorite Straw Hat after Luffy.
Gabriel Paulino same he is now my favorite tying with Usopp
Brook put in work here! Tho Zoro and Usopp are still over him for me...
Fuck wci being a sanji arc its brookes
no
@@mariasmith2198 what
You forgot to mention the other MVP of this arc
Gangster Gastino
domagoj 5160 you mean Brook
Lhes
Gas Gastino
Bunny
domagoj 5160 I think you mean Gass-Hiko
Sanji's resolution in the arc cooking the cake is not only because he is a chef. You see, in an arc that talks about Sanji rejecting his biological family's ideology, it's only fitting that he ends following the will that he has inhirited from his adoptive father: feeding a hungry person. That's thematic... and also a mission that helps making Pudding fall in love for him and saves the Strawhats (chapter 892).
Couldn't have said it better myself. You gotta admit that it is quite poetic that the family who once chastised him for his fascination with cooking just got their asses saved by those very cooking skills.
I think the big problem is Majority identify Sanji as a Rival to Zoro so their were expecting some epic fighting feats from him that would make him seem like the Rival, but the best we got was Sanji speed blitzing Oven that Oven couldn't see him.
@@CheddahSlammer, it's fine to expect something or not, to like it or not. But this is a review, so I expect some in-depth analysis of narrative, themes and other stuff. I want to watch a review to understand the subject better.
Nah I can’t take this BS anymore. When Pudding called Sanji for help in baking the cake, she wasn’t hungry. Big Mom was just in the middle of her hunger pangs.
There was absolutely no fucking reason for him to go and bake the cake.
Before you say that it is to prevent Big Mom from attacking the straw hats. I think it doesn’t matter coz eventually she will succumb to her dumb hunger pangs and the entire Big Mom pirate crew will have bigger things to worry about than chasing a boat with 6-7 people.
This is not to say that Sanji shouldn’t help his enemy, I honestly couldn’t care less if he feeds Big Mom due to her hunger.
I liked the fact that he actually saved his biological family despite hating them.
The only thing I can’t digest is his help in baking the cake.
And of course, Toei’s incredible animation.
@@sreekargunda3915 what are you talking about?
It made perfect sense, there was a logical reason it was literally spoonfed to us through mounds of dialogue.
I actually love Pudding's craziness. I can see how as a gag you'd find it boring after a while, but to me it showed just how much damage her family has done to her. She is so completely turned around by the idea of genuine love with no stings attached that she literally goes crazy. I get that you just wanted a "cool female villain", but I believe the direction Oda went was very powerful, and shows what an abusive family that only shows conditional love can do to a person.
Also notice that the Big Mom children that got married off are more loyal to their spouse than to the BM pirates, such as Pralin. Their exposure to love changed them.
@@runbaa9285 Also look at Lola and Chiffon they both changed because of love
This is too long 😂
@@xeno1434 ?
I totally agree.... Pudding is just the summary of all Big mom daughters. Manipulated, damaged and trap.
“Let’s talk about the true star of this arc: Charlotte Karakuri”
Brook: “am I a joke to you?”
Yes you are
Katakuri goated
Imagine successfully breaking a picture frame with a hammer. That's the most badass thing anyone can ever do
@@thousandyardgavri2785 he stole the poneglyff, he cut zeus in 2, he saved carrot and probably Romekre things that I can't remember
@@thousandyardgavri2785 cutting that picture frame was vital as fuck though, didn't see anyone else do it
I actually teared up twice - when Judge was begging his kids to feel something, anything about their impending deaths and when Sanji and Zeff got that awesome back to back shot of them saying the same thing about feeding the hungry, showing who Sanji’s REAL family was
Meh I don't feel bad for Judge. He got exactly what he wanted. Children who are perfect soldiers and feel nothing (minus Reiju of course). I cried when Bege came back for Chiffon and the love that they share. I also cried for Pound who in his last moments had a feeling of genuine happiness. One chose to not be in his child's life in the most disgusting act of parenting and the other didn't have a choice in the matter and spent his dying breathe in bliss just knowing his child was happy and his grandchild would have two parents to love him.
@@pugmcmuffins9282 I agree that Judge is awful. But his response was very human and dramatically ironic in that he wanted children who were beyond human, and thus was left alone when facing death. I teared up bc it was a tragic ending to a miserable endeavor with some genuine emotion in the mix.
Lmao i just started to insult judge at that point... There are waaaaay sadder moments in this arc, sanji finding out the truth about pudding, seeing luffy meanwhile tearing his arms off for his friends while he "betrayed" them. And oohhhh man.... When luffy and sanji fought and luffy said "i can't become pirate king without you sanji"... fr that was way too much
@@TheOneAndOnlyJinglebi I was cheering when Judge was crying his eyes out like a little bitch. Do I feel bad for his kids aside from Reiju for not feeling anything, yes. It's tragic that they can't cry or feel fear, but he made them that way. He reaped what he sowed, and when it came full circle, I was waiting for him to be shot dead. I don't feel bad for Judge. Why should I? Fuck that inbred asshole. If that guy doesn't give a damn or two shits about Sanji, why should I give a damn or two shits about him?
@@mauriciogarcia4795 lmao, i wouldn't say it that harsh but yeah pretty much, sanjis and luffys moments in this arc are hundred times sadder, i don't have emphaty for judge to feel sad in the first place
Whole Cake Island is one of my favorite arcs. Sanji getting more of a backstory was shocking and probably needed to fully flesh out his character
Pudding was never evil, she's just such a good liar that she tricked herself into thinking she was.
I thought you were talking of Reiner!
Glad you gave this arc a fair shake. I feel this arc gets a lot of unwarranted hate in the face of everything it does well
I like the arc a lot, but I still feel it was stretched out way to much. If you look at what actually happened, it could've been a nice 40/50 chapter arc. Especially in the anime, I often hear the characters of The Holy Grail yell: "Get on with it" in my head.
menno graafmans yea it felt like Oda planned to make it shorter than it ended up being. I doubt he wanted to be on WCI as long as he did, but as it went on it felt like he started getting more and more ideas, leading to a sloppy conclusion since even he knew he just needed to get on with it. That being said, most arcs in one piece have faults, but the fact that people are calling WCI one of the worst arcs in the entire series is mindless to me. If it weren’t the arc before Wano, I feel people would have been much more patient.
@@shankopotamuss I think that Wano and even the Reverie do play a large part in people downplaying WCI. And In my opinion it isn't up there with Alabasta or Enies Lobby, but it definetly belongs to the better half of the arcs. Another thing is, the arc didn't really resolve much. Yes, they brought back Sanji and got the poneglyph, but the Charlotte family is still there and Big Mom is even more angry. Luffy still hasn't claimed Fishman Island and Jimbei didn't go along with the rest to Wano, even though he is part of the crew.
+shankopotamuss, did the arc really have a sloppy conclusion though? Unlike past arcs, it seemed like the intention for this arc was to make it unfinished business. It felt very much like the Impel Down arc, which also led into the war and didn't traditionally conclude. The Strawhats made it clear that they were supposed to just get Sanji and the poneglyph copy and then leave. Everything else that happened was not as planned. So that made Luffy's initial promise to Big Mom in the Fishman Island arc indicative that unlike the other arcs, Whole Cake Island was not going to be tied up in a neat little bow.
@@shankopotamuss people mainly say WCI was disappointing is because was so promising. It was being dubbed the best arc of the entire series, but as it kept going on, it was undoing everything it set up; it got too long, and progress halted, too much breaks were taken and we were stuck running away from big mom for like a month and a half. People go bored and just wanted it to end. Unfortunately, many of sets also didn't pan out, and things seemed to have been wrapped up rapidly and with not good conclusions. Which is made worst by the fact that the arc felt long at time; Oda could have used that time to wrap up certain storylines better. The Germa family drama was tacked on at the end and no real resolution was had, there was more that ODA probably wanted to include with Zeff, bit just didn't, Sanji's flashback felt like Oda wanted to include more, but seemed like he was pressured to wrap it up. It's hated because it was so promising, and the ball was dropped. It's not a bad arc, just the most disappointing.
Tbh the setting is so unique, there's probably no other series that even comes close to having this kind of setting. That's the reason why I like this arc so much.
Lmao it's one of my favorite arcs because I spent the whole thing being like "who's this guy?!" To the homies or people living there
the fact that it copied a few of dysney cartoons is already unique to an anime
WEDDING KEKKIEE
LOL I READ IT IN HER VOICE TOO 😂😂
Wedingu keekiii
top ten comments you can hear
And now, we have ✨OSHIRUKO✨
That’s basically the whole arc in one word lmao
4:31
Nobody show this to Kaku, this would probably break him.
Big Mom must have had the easiest births ever
have you seen her and the average size of her babies? the decuplets must have been a piece of cake
@@buciallstar bruh
Right ! Contractions and a need to push my ass ! Them kids just walked outta There
Them bitches was just FALLIN outta her every 9 months.
Maãlík
She could probably pump out like, three or four in nine months.
I personally love pudding's character, since I feel as if a character who has to decide to help her enemies would be someone extremely conflicted and all over the place, besides the switching between good girl to angry lady was hilarious in my opinion XD
Pudding as a character is I like a lot. Especially in relation to her tsundere feelings towards Sanji. When the revelation of her twisted side was shown and then back again to genuinely love Sanji I tought to my self "Yes! I knew it! I knew you wouldn't let me down, Oda!" And that's the thing about it as a whole is that she followed Vivi, Violet, and even Hancock. Unfortunately to follow would be Hiyori. The bad princess turned good. It became predictable and monotonous to some. I'm a slice of life and romance fan so I actually loved it when she genuinely fell in love with Sanji and don't mind these characters at all. Plus Sanji's my boy.
Because of Luffy
Big mom failed to obtain the germa power, she didn't get to taste her long awaited wedding cake and she ended up destroying her territory because of it, her tea party was ruined, Mother Carmel photo was destroyed, Her poneglyphs were stolen, and she was humiliated for having someone escape her territory.
All because she decided to mess with his crewmate
I read much of Whole Cake Island and I have one thing to say about Sanji's arc. Not perfect but it was one of the best executed character arcs for a member of a main shounen cast. And it has to do with how he is played to near-perfection as one of the Straw Hat's most key members. He is part of the Monster Trio but unlike Zoro and Luffy, he has a different role in the ship, namely being the cook and quite frankly, it is a really important role. This is why the resolution fits him well, feeding Big Mom, which I am happy this video mentions.
And yet when you think about it, Sanji was always exceeded some expectation we have with this lovable chivalrous perv. He is my favorite Straw Hat because of the incredibly rich person he is. I think he has the 2nd most tragic backstory in the crew, growing up in an abusive environment where only the love of a disabled (or hospitalized, in this case) family member and the silent support of a hesitant sibling keep him alive. And I almost cried when he saved his family but even more so, I was proud of Sanji for simply declaring to his father that he wanted nothing to do with him. It was at this point that I loved Sanji straight. Reiju is a good character from my perspective because she depicts how hard it can be to reach out to someone who is almost universally hated in a family setting and I just love how she really does care so much for Sanji. I am also happy that Judge had what was coming to him but also more proud of the fact Sanji really stood up to his father after rescuing him from the Big Mom Pirates.
His fight with Luffy had a lot of weight to it. Yes, I know it seems like a Robin situation and they have been through it but when one can think about it hard enough, what choice did Sanji really have? His hands were tied. Judge threatened Zeff's life and sure Luffy can handle the threat in front of them but this is one example of where even determination and the developed power of strong-willed people are not enough. At this point, I was on Sanji's side but I felt so much pain seeing him fight with Luffy, much like how Usopp fought his captain. They both had legitimate though more emotional reasons.
Sanji's relationship with Pudding was also another key thing I want to highlight because while yes, Pudding is someone I still need to properly process as a character, her bipolarity makes a bit more sense in retrospect. My focus here will be on what that relationship meant for Sanji. Yes, he shows how he cares for women. He practically worships them. But this is where we see Sanji acting even more real to a woman he never knew than in most situations. This is where we see what defines Sanji as a man, his kindness. His kindness made him different from his siblings and father. His kindness was also both a product of a mother's love and how she is still able to hold on. His kindness was the reason why people were still alive, why he fed Gin, why he was willing to go through any lengths to protect his loved ones, including the Straw Hats, and above all, to rise from his suffering and to face the root of his suffering then. This was where we saw Sanji grow more and I was really, really proud of what this arc did for him. Easily one of my favorites and yes it did have some issues but I am more than satisfied with what much of the arc (not necessarily the pacing by the end) did for our beloved cook.
I honestly couldn’t agree more
Totally.
Brook's scene was beautiful, when he revealed that he manage to copy the poneglyphs was sweet and incredibly suprising, it was cool and also a good twist for him.
And he even broke the picture of Mother caramel.
Here i am trying to figure out how they will carry it but i remember them planning to just copy it during zou arc 🤣🤯
I'm sorry but the best character was clearly lady tree
The best post-time skip arc in my view. Big Mom’s my favorite Yonko and villain besides Crocodile due to how unique she is in being childlike. I loved Reiju and the fleshing out of Sanji’s character. I’d give the arc a 10/10.
The Charlotte Family Definitely made this arc one to remember. There are so many compelling characters.
That single fight with Cracker perfectly displayed just how much higher the scale of power the Strawhats were now dealing with really was.
Pudding, while you may not like her, I found extremely endearing, and honestly her bipolarism is a really fun ideocinracy that did fit the dueling feelings of her character was going through.
Big Mom's own backstory, fully agree; extremely tragic. She truly is the Frankenstein that Mother Carmel and Strauseim created, and now can no longer stop. (Also, am I the only one who thinks young Strauseim looks vaguely like Perospero and Katakuri, implying that he is the father of her first two kids)
Katakuri, what more is there to say that Nux Taku, Nate the BGE, and now you have not already said. Brilliantly written piece of Characterization (with at least 80% of it done through actions and not exposition).
If he is Katakuri's father, then he would also be Daifuku's and Oven's father, as Katakuri, Daifuki, and Oven are triplets, with Katakuri being the oldest and Oven being the youngest.
But I highly doubt that Streussen is the father of the triplets and of Perospero.
Also her first two kids were Perospero and Compote. Katakuri was her 3rd child, being the first of the triplets to be born followed by Daifuku, and then Oven.
Also he seemed like an adult or at least much older than big mom when they met which would have been when she was 6 sooooooo
Kaido is the father of Katakuri most likely
@@kinggidorah6910 heh no way
@@kinggidorah6910 I'm fairly certain Kaido and Katakuri are around the same age, I mean Kaido called Big Mom old and katakuri is only 20 years younger than Big Mom.
I believe the anime's animation has also gotten better since dressrosa too. But the pacing is still meh tho.
"Meh"?
My dude, it's dogshit.
@@ThatBugBehindYou "dogshit? "
my dude its good for a long running shonen. it was the same pretimeskip. calm down on the hyperbole.
@@davonedoyle4676 Long running shonen? More like eternal running shonen with this pacing.
This arc didn't need to be THAT long.
There's like 2 hours of screen time of big mom saying WEDDINGGGGGG CAAAKEEEEEEE for fuck sake..
@@akhsdenlew1861 I agree. I think the anime is really stretched out. One of the reasons could be is that the anime is really close to the manga already. I think it's their way to give Oda much more time to draw better chapters in the Wano Arx
That's why I watched One Pace version... still slow at points. But in overall, very enjoyable.
He did join the crew by the way, he just had to not make the rest of the Sun Pirates die before going to Wano with the others.
I really think he will join with the others in Wano at one point.
Here's to hoping some of the Charlotte family we didn't get to see much of will still have their moment in future battles. Personally I was to see...
Smoothie vs. Boa Hancock
and
Mont D'or vs Usopp
As someone who consideres Sanji one of her absolutely favorite characters ... yes, I agree. I wanted him to finally FINALLY get a boss fight. Be it Judge or a sweet commander or Big Mom herself. Just SOMETHING. I understand that being a cook is his most important feature but it felt somewhat underwhelming given that he is considered to be part of the Monster Trio and it's usually Luffy or Zorro who get the really big fights while Sanji just ... holds off some other people.
If Sanji defeats a sweet commander he would way to powerful than he should be luffy literally struggles to defeat one and also he had a fight with judge I know he lost but it wasn't about him winning it was about him expressing his true feelings to his " father " and how he feels about him to the readers / watchers
Maybe because we will be getting some more needed action from Sanji at the Wano Arc 😎. I really hope so
it is now cemented that he is not
he literally spend most of his training being chased by monster dudes
Well, he is fighting Queen right now and uhh... If you don't read the manga, stop reading. Like... Right now. This is some major spoiler. His genetic enhancements that were suppressed by his mum taking a drug is back. He's turning into an OP monster and I genuinely want the old Sanji back.
Great video. A bit bittersweet as this is the final arc review. :) But man; I love Whole Cake Island. From its aesthetic to its tone and the BM pirates, the arc had everything that I love in OP. It got me back into loving the series. It isn’t perfect but I easily give it a 85/100 and is in my top five favorite OP arcs.
He's still got one more left. He's gonna cover the Revire Arc next.
Yeah, but he will have to continue the reverie arc possibly in some way in the future. It is not really conclusive yet.
Luffys speech to Sanji was the most beautiful and touching moment in this arc
Well this was a pretty SWEET review
God damn it man what's your update
Come on Ditto BreD is slowy dieing please help us when you can
Booooooo
When I read this arc my only disappointment was that Sanji didn’t get a whole chapter dedicated to him baking the cake for BM with pudding. In the past Sanji had fights that were depicted like he was cooking (ie with Jabra using Diable Jambe). It would be equally satisfying to see him cook as if he is fighting.
The way he plans the recipe and manipulates the tools and ingredients would be totally exciting to see. They could reveal much about him as a chef and how he is more tied to Zeff than Jedge. Also they might even give Pudding another reason for falling in love with Sanji.
I guess the fans’ disappointment isn’t all from the fact that Sanji didn’t kick, but that he fought in the background despite he was the protagonist of this arc.
Pudding was amazing, the ending with her and Sanji teared me up, soooooooo much
As per usual, you hit it out of the park Grand Line!
There was a character that ranked very highly for me in this arc that was not at all mentioned in the review though and that is Nami.
She was present for a great many number of the arc's events and like Brook, really showed why she is an integral member of the Straw Hats. She rained on Cracker's parade, did some navigation before and after reaching the island, and I felt in general fit rigjt into the role of leader with both Luffy and Zoro absent.
She also got some strong humor (Brook's zapping in particular) and her manipulative and scary nature was in full effect in her interactions with Zeus and others.
Nami was a real favorite for me early on but in recent years I felt she really got put aside and I found my interest in herwanting. Maybe it was just her return after so long an absence but I would consider Nami if not the mvp, then a strong runner up.
Nothing against the Katakuri fight but my favorite part was when Luffy said bye to Sanji’s dad that was such a Luffy moment!
I know a lot of people don't agree with me, but I hate this arc.. I like parts of it, but it really feels stretched out. A lot of characters I really didn't care about.. Why do they need to keep adding characters that don't impact the story?
I'll be honest, I keep forgetting that the poneglyphs only have one side with writing and not the entire block on it which is why I love to watch these videos to catch things I missed. You'd think though with a giant block you'd use the entire canvas at least three sides (front, side, side). So when I saw the three rubbings I'm like "Well at least Brook got the ONE road poneglyph" and it's like no he got 'em all.
Whole Cake Island: 9/10
10/10
It’s interesting not being able to compare the amount of manga chapters to anime episodes when watching this video
Afaik the Anime is still on the Whole Cake island arc, I ditched the anime for now and I'm currently re-watching the series so I can binge some new episodes later. Unfortunately I've been watching an episode or two every day and skipped a good number, so I'm already up to episode 650 at the moment. :/
It's been a true blast watching these arc reviews each week. :)
"Any hungry guys a customer."
Sanji.
This arc exceeded my expectations. Great arc and looking foward to the next ones coming up. The revived and wano.
Whole Cake Island is all about family, 3 families to be precise:
1) The Big Mom family
2) The Vinsmokes
3) Bege's family
But there's actually a 4th hidden family and it's the friends we made along the way. Haha!
But then dom torreto shows up and unites them all
It's a shame that so many people look back on Whole Cake now with the opinion that is was terrible. The first 50 chapters of this arc (so up to the end of the tea party) were filled with so many dramatic moments, and reading the chapters covering the Tea Party itself week by week was the most excited I have been reading One Piece since Marineford. But then...there's 30 chapters of just running away. Luffy vs Katakuri will go down as one of the all time great fights, but other than that it's just running away.
I felt like during this time Oda had no idea how to end Whole Cake, so he was almost stalling for time to figure out how to end it; have the Sunny almost caught up to destroyed / the Strawhats manage to barely escape / increase the gap, rinse repeat, rinse repeat. And then when the arc does finally end it feels so abrupt with some confusing payoff, or lack thereof. As if Oda really didn't have a proper conclusion, and just wanted it to be over so he could move on. Whole Cake is still a really great arc, but it was really a fantastic one.
It's like in lord of the rings where there were like 4 different fake endings. The arc could have ended after the chateau fell or oda could have easily shrank the chapters down by half. He kept introducing new characters even by the end. It also did not help that oda's editors kept hyping up wano which made so many of us believe that chateau being destroyed was the end. But we had another year of the arc to go. As awesome as luffy vs katakuri was, that fight was divided into so many chapters interlaced with the big mom chase. It felt like oda went too out of a way to show how much tougher katakuri was and went even more out of his way to show how difficult it was to escape a yonkou.
@@goldmemberpb How is showing the difficulty of even escaping a Yonko, a bad thing?
It wasn't supposed to wrap everything up. Did people actually think Big Mom would be defeated in this arc?
Axel Agreed, people are complaining by how long the escape was, but keep in mind they aren’t free until they are out of Big Mom’s Territory (Totto Land) and she has a huge territory so it made sense that it was long. Also I thought it was perfect to have them run away because that shows us just how powerful a yonko is, I expected Luffy to beat her up in the first few chapters or so, but as we kept going along I knew they had no chance, even Nami said that if they were there to bring down Big Mom they would have brought the rest of the strawhats, their main focus was to retrieve Sanji and to immediately leave Totto Land, they only stayed to save Sanji’s family and to try an attempt to assassinate Big Mom by Bege’s plan.
@@Zhyiber Facts
The stawhats were fighting for their lives this entire arc lol
Why am I attracted to Tree Women now.
Because they're hot?
Cause ur weird
Why weren't you attracted to them before
No ur werid
No u
I actually love Pudding. She was one of the only new characters that really stuck out to me. I love the idea of a sweet innocent girl like her actually being somewhat evil. I found her split personality later on to be hilarious.
The only thing I disagree with you about in this video is pudding. I don't think her character was a mess. I think she was written to have conflicting thoughts and emotions. By nature she is deceptive, but then I think after falling in love with Sanji, she wanted to be a good person on the inside but her evil chicanerous nature kept on coming through.
Or maybe she even has dissociative identity disorder where she has two personalities from the trauma of her bullying as a child. One front that is good natured like she was as a child and one that is a tormentor to fit in with all the other siblings. But yeah I agree with you, his thoughts on Pudding was the only thing I disagree with a lot.
Whole Cake Island is definitely my favourite arc of the series so far. The setting was quirky, the villains were fantastic, and there were a surprising number of plot twists. It also made me like Sanji's character a lot more because beforehand he was one of my least favourite Straw Hats but this arc fleshed him out a lot more and made me understand him better. But the main reason I loved this arc is that Luffy, Nami and Brook are my three favourite characters and the arc was basically a love letter to them. It showed off all of their best qualities and why they're essential to the crew. I'm hoping Oda will do the whole crew justice like this again in Wano.
My favorite Arc of all time!
Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there. Jinbe DID join the crew at the end. He requested Luffy to allow him to save his former crew and Luffy's first orded to him was to not die. This is fantastic because it's realistic.
Big Mom crew is the crew we know the most of out of the emperors
Which i love very well because we will know them very well in future arcs
😣 can't watch cause I haven't finished this arc yet but I'm gonna like and comment anyway cause it's the last arc review for a while.
D:
I watched anyways. There's only really 2 major spoilers if you're caught up in the anime.
Man thank you so much for your anime reviews I binged watched all of your reviews to catch up with one piece after all the years I lost track of it because of fillers. I just finished whole cake and it was awesome.
You're very welcome!
Pudding comes off as a much better developed character when you consider her true first appearance in Fishman Island Arc. She was really introduced as a troubled and complicated character close to Big Mom, but by the time we get back to her many would not even recall her or make the connection, so her "introduction" in this arc makes her personality whiplash more of a shock. Even so, it was clearly hinted in the arc that she was a complicated person before her "evil" reveal with her standing in the rain flashing back to Big Mom and Lola.
I saw katakuri l almost had diabetes, that mochi man is so sweet:)
im glad i made my bets with capone being a interesting character in the future. he did not disappoint.
For me it did felt a little cheap when they revealed Pudding as “evil”. However I did like her abusive relationship with Big mom and I like to think that she had a mental breakdown when Sanji complimented her eye which created her dual personality. Over all I did enjoy her character but I wished she wasn’t evil but instead focused on that abusive relationship of her being force to commit those actions and being manipulated against her will.
Pudding is the type of character that we love at first, then hate her, then sympathize for her.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree about Pudding. It's pretty clear really, I don't know how you can make a whole video about Katakuri but be confused about her.
All her life she was being treated as a creepy monster and a puppet so she started acting like one and even got to fool herself. Until Sanji showed her compassion and she fell in love with him. But all these years with Big Mom using her and of trying so hard to become a monster left her conflicted. Honestly I found her one of the best parts about the whole arc and also very funny.
Best explanation I ever read
I kind of like how the anime makes her look like a big child that's very scary and happy looking, I just wish there were more shadows on her though
I actually liked Pudding. The point with her was that she had been neglected and abused all her life to the point where she almost developed a dual personality to cope. Not in the clinical sense. She was still really sweet, but a party of a family in which sweetness was punished. As a result she convinced herself that she is just acting sweet to fool others, which in fact was not the case. It was central that Sanji be really sweet and nice, which he was. In face he really seems to almost identify her struggle.
I love Pudding! she's hilarious XD
Wow
I hate her
I will say the Anime is helping my opinion of Pudding. You can really tell her “evil” side is just a defense mechanism that is broken down as she learns she can trust Sanji who doesn’t see her as a monster like her family.
the only women sanji sees as a monster is women like lola and the new kama people
it wouldn't matter if Pudding has only one boob as long as she still has a pretty face
I also love katakuri best one piece one villain👌
Joel ! He’s not really a villain
I’d consider him more neutral than villain
Antagonist
i absolutely LOVED this arc, way more than i expected to so far it’s my favorite arc from the post time skip but i haven’t started wano yet, about to literally RIGHT NOW
wano's even better, infact, it's the third best in op! behind enies lobby and ofcourse...marineford.
When I saw Pudding's "Evil, not really, except she is, but she isn't, only she is", I put down the volume and started laughing. "This," I told myself, "is the greatest example of a tsundere ever written."
Keep this up bro! You deserve much more views
Thank you very much! I appreciate it! :D
Whole cake island is super deadly, synonyms- entire confectionary surrounded by water can cause DEATH
As someone studying Clinical Psychology I can confidently say that puddings character is amazing. Oda crafted the perfect personification of trauma and how people are good but flip back to their coping mechanisms which usually are negative and flip back to their present good self as soon as they catch themselves.
Honestly, there were two... correction three moment from this arc that stood out. 1. Sanji and Luffy's Fight. It was far better than Luffy and Ussop's fight back at water 7. It was heart breaking to see Sanji brutally beat Luffy up, and how Luffy refused to give up on him. 2. When Sanji discovered Pudding's plan. For once in Sanji's messed up life with his family, he thought he'd found peace when he'd proposed to marry her. He was actually Happy. Until, he'd found out the truth, and there are no word to describe how horrible Sanji felt than the image in Sanji standing in the rain while lighting a cigarette while the rain kept putting the flame out, and tears whelmed up in Sanji's eyes... this seen just made me want to just give Sanji a hug... and 3. When Sanji brought food to the starving Luffy who kept his promise to wait for him and how the two finally came to a resolve in classic Luffy fashion. Luffy punched him and got him to say what he really wanted.
As soon as the forest started singing it was so off putting I fucking loved it .
I love these arc reviews!!!! This was amazing!!!! (First!)
I think puddings character makes sense because she’s still a young woman at the end of the day with feelings and emotion in her back story we could see that nobody really cared for her looks and she was bred to be a tool essentially for big mom and the moment someone actually took time out to compliment one of her main insecurities it kinda changed her perspective but she can’t outright do a complete 180 because this is who she’d been her whole life
Actually in dressrosa brook defeated the art art fruit user. Also he is the comedic musician. I will also say he defeated his enemy easily in fishman island. He is not novelty but I respect what u said
This arc is already 4 years old... holy shit...
Personally I think the Germa 66 were given way too much attention in the anime at least.
Let me explain: you see the appeal of the Germa seems to be based on 2 things their antagonism towards Sanji and more importantly praying on peoples love of super Sentai
I don’t care too strongly so watching them in bloated transformation sequences just made me roll my eyes. They would have been fine as more minor characters but they just always stuck out like a sore thumb to me
@Emperor judge yes
but not his children..they will still do what they do best because they don't feel anything
Possible theory that she was a subject of experiment for gigantism, which would explain her raw strength and hunger pang attacks at a young age. This is similar to the ones the kids on punk hazard were experimented, when they went crazy.
Actually that's a pretty intriguing idea. It may even line up with the idea that Kaido was also being experimented on.
God damnit Liam I was just about to go to sleep
MVP - BRULEE
Morji has a much better understanding and take on almost every arc i’d recommend watching his videos
seconding this. his channel name is Mr Morj though
badrat69
His video about why whole cake island arc is underrated is one of the best one piece videos I’ve ever seen
Hunger pang big mom is basically like Godzilla. Completely unstoppable because she is one of the strongest beings in the world and no one can stop her when she is on a rampage.
Just found your channel and being a decade long OP fan, I kinda dropped out during that chase sequence you talked about and now thinking of getting back in. Your video is super informative and I started watching your other content. Do you think I can just skip the running chapters and go to the big fight?
8:06 i would say that based on her talents as an actress and her practically bipolar nature based on the personas she must establish that her personality during the latter half of the arc makes sense. she has always had an evil side to her bread from the teasing she received about her third eye. while her good side was bread from the necessity to create such a persona to fool others just as she was to do with sanji. however sanji complimenting her third eye through a literal wrench into puddings psyche as she figured no one would ever consider her real face as beautiful so her affection for sanji grew the bright side of her yet her obligations towards her family tried to reel her to her darker side. and this back and forth created the bipolar nature we see her achieve during her attempts to make the cake simply made to the nth degree do to her talents of being an over dramatic actress.
Someone compared this arc to a movie and I agree. Yeah it was long, but this arc truly delivered in ways that we didn't know we needed. Brook is one hell of a badass, we got introduced to 2 new gears. Katakuri is probably my favorite villain at the moment, next to Fujitora (if you can call him a villain). Big Mom? Scariest animated character I think I've ever seen. She truly lives up to the fear you see everyone express when her name is mentioned, and rightly deserves the title of a yonko. But my absolute favorite part of this arc was the relationship between Luffy and Sanji, and just Sanji as a character in general. Oda really delivered with his character arc. I also cried MANY times while watching this arc.
I agree. Whole Cake Island is the best complete New World arc so far.
Pudding the goat of this arc for me I love her
I cried when Pudding broke Sanjis heart that shit was sad and I actually didn't see it coming. Which I should've lol
it was funny and unique
she was the only reason Sanji will think twice about what he was doing
but he was a simp all the way as expected
Lmfaooooooooo the pudding explanation tho!!!😂😂😂
Im not gonna lie i enjoyed pudding xD she was a comic relief for me being evil and good that even the Straw hats were flabbergasped kinda hilarious honestly and also nice that there is a woman who is almost on the same wavelenght as sanji (after wedding)
Whole Cake Arc = Showing off Paramecia Devil Fruit users
Wano = Showing off Zoan Devil Fruit users and you know, animals
When Sanji was face palming he was like “why the heck did I upset Nami?! I regret every single bit!”
Perospero is easily the best CHARLOTTE family member..
I notice that the characters in Whole Cake Island arc wore masks.
Characters like katakuri, Judge, Pudding , Stussy , Cracker, and the others
katakuri hide his true personally with a mask to protect his family and hide from his insecurities until he eventually took it off and feels he's better off without it.
Pudding 's mask was to hide her third eye and her twisted personality
Oda predicted COVID
@@wedding2710 like the Simpsons
LOL ended it with "LADY TREE" XDXDXD Tembalm I think was the name of that tree that Nami was so cruel to XD
This arc overwhelmed me I had a bit of complications continuing that anime for three-day.
Its kinda sucks to see people hate on this arc a lot because it's a place holder for Wano. I think it was a fantastic arc and one of the most important ones for the series. Definitely my top 3 best arcs.
I never had a problem with the whole running away from Big Mom chapters, I think Oda needed to show how strong and overwhelming she was and how difficult it really is to escape from her, I was hoping to see Sanji's fighting skills but I guess they are saving it for Wano (Power Ranger Sanji seems OP)
If you go back, jinbe did join the crew and is planning on meeting up with them in wano, the only reason he didnt get on the ship with them is so he could go back and ensure the escape of his former crew
I understand what literally happened. The point is that the arc ended without him being inducted into the crew AGAIN.
@@GrandLineReview fair, but also to be fair, half the crew wasn't even around so it wouldn't be right to have a proper induction without the rest of the crew present
Big Mom's song is a genuinely terrifying musical number.
Chopper didn’t do shit this arc
Mr. Ditto 😂😂
Jay Swish16 seriously carrot did more
I wanted to see more of his points. Like arm or leg point
he ate cake. and captured miss plot device
He captured Brûlee, and blocked a hit from Big Mom, and...yeah
0:57 wait... CHOPPER WAS IN WHOLE CAKE ISLAND??? WHAT???
No seriously I didn't remember he was part of this.
WOW
Bruhh
Big mom also strikes fear in the viewers and readers.
I love this arc. It gave the best fight of one piece. Luffy vs katakuri.
Jay Swish16 lol it's a thousand times better than luffy vs lucci bro
@@wardenmagellan2643 not really... the whole fight was basically luffy getting beaten up to death and surviving due to plot armor.
He just kept getting up... the damage that katakuri was inflicting felt almost irrelevant... too many lethal blows that had almost 0 impact on the whole fight.
And katakuri collapsed from like... 10 punches or something.
If luffy is really THAT much more durable than the number 1 commander of a yonko then he shouldn't really get so much outclassed for the entire fight.
akhs denlew yaaaaahh that’s low key kinda true but the fight was still awesome and puffy vs lucci was so cool when he busted out the jet gattoling and straight fucked him up lol
@@akhsdenlew1861 1. Cause they weren't lethal blows because of his durability.
2.having high durability has nothing to do with being outclassed.
3.what plot armor? The haki appearing when it did made perfect sense.
@@lampad4549 watch the fight again... a lot of katakuri's attacks were lethal blows, considering that katakuri is the number 1 commander of a yonko.
So the number 1 commander of a yonko was beating luffy like nothing for 10 episodes and in the end none of the damage inflicted by katakuri had any impact on the whole fight.
While katakuri collapsed in a matter of seconds after very very few attacks that felt significally weaker than katakuri attacks.
We knew that luffy was gonna win the end cus he is the protagonist... but the whole beating up for 10 episodes just to win after a few punches in the end, made the fight a big bullshit for me.
The fact that some people act like this fight is better than luffy vs lucci is laughable.