 Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review, your source for everything One Piece. And today we have a review of a chapter short to go down in the history books, being 792. I am Odin, and I was born to boil. And it is with a heavy heart that this week marks the time to say goodbye to one Kozuki Odin, a legendary figure synonymous with the very fabric of One Piece, even though we're only just now discovering his story. This chapter was pretty much everything I expected after last week, which is in no way a criticism by the way. It just felt like the time for a nice dramatic ending, and Odin delivered exactly that, which will leave a series defining impression on me. And I have to say the panel most burnt into my mind at the moment, was one of the more understated ones actually. But I guess it's technically the very last shot we get of Odin, and his lifeless body is sinking into the oil, and there's just this incredibly satisfied and almost menacing smile, as if Odin knew exactly what would happen from here on out, and that Orochi and Kaido were the epitome of screwed. So despite not being a D, Odin passed on with the trademark will of D smile, and honestly I'd say he's owned it. Also just as a side note, I think the cover and colour spread of Weekly Shonen Jump is a bit on the nose, because it features Luffy holding some cup noodles, which is a tie-in with the Hungry Days commercial series that features One Piece characters in a slice of life school setting, and these commercials are all phenomenal, go and look them up if you haven't seen them. However I do find it quite funny that you know, in a chapter featuring someone boiling to death, the cover of Weekly Shonen Jump is adorned by a boiling noodle type of food. Hmm, not only that though this conspiracy goes far far deeper, and thanks to Ettenboy on Twitter for pointing this out, but apparently chapter 972, which officially came out on February 22nd in Japan, was released on Odin Day. That's right, Odin Day. And I mean, the sheer amount of planning that that would have taken Oda, to ensure that Odin met his demise on this very release date is just, ugh. So in any case, there's lots of boiling and Odin references at play here today. Although in the end, Odin does not die as a result of the boiling oil, and he is instead shot by Kaido, which is kind of a sigh of relief I guess, because for a while there, it really was looking like the legend of Kozuki Odin would be put to an end by Orochi, which would just be, ugh. So even though Kaido very much did the pirate thing and went back on his word, it still does carry a nice degree of respect, having been killed by such a profound figure, rather than a slimy little bowl of pure, scummy stuff. Something I very much did appreciate though, is that Odin was smart enough to realize that Kaido and Orochi were going to go back on their word in advance, even after Odin did the impossible by lasting an hour in the pot. Which means I guess he finally learned something from his five-year dancing experience. However, what I don't understand though, is that this was Odin's absolute victory. This stunt, combined with some well-timed words from Shinobu, seems to have changed public opinion at large, and all of a sudden it would seem that everybody loves Odin again. So it does make me wonder why in the modern day, the Kozuki clan are still so hated by the residents of Wano. I mean Orochi's propaganda probably has a lot to do with it, in regards to the younger generations, but I can't imagine anyone who was alive during this time flipping on the Kozuki clan after this. So it might just be one of those one-piece things where secretly every citizen of Wano still harbors an incredible amount of love and respect for the Kozuki clan, but they've all been collectively acting, so as not to incur the wrath of Orochi, and just waiting for the right time to reveal their loyalty. But other than Odin's death itself, the most touching part of the chapter for me was seeing that montage of all the vassals running away, and each having their own one or two-panel flashback of when they first met Odin. Which is very powerful because we got to experience these moments firsthand, and the kind of quirky joy I felt when they first happened is juxtaposed very, very strongly, against the sense of sadness and despair being felt by each of them at the moment. It really is a great couple of pages, although I do have one worry after reading this, which is that this material seems like prime anime extension stuff. The Wano incarnation of the one-piece anime certainly not above needing to pad out episodes, and I suspect that when we do eventually get to this section in like a year from now, each of these small one to two-panel flashbacks are going to be heavily extended, like a minute long or something each. In fact, this entire section could be a whole episode. Back to manga thoughts, though, this section once again highlighted a curious feeling, which is the overall importance of Denjirou. Because this is not a straight-up montage, it's actually broken up, because we get to see Kinemon and Denjirou's moments first, and then there's like a badass interlude from Odin, and then the rest of the vassals are showcased. So it's just one of those things where it really does emphasize Denjirou's overall importance here, which was something I noted when he was first introduced alongside Kinemon. These two were the OG Odin followers, and so that's why it makes a lot of sense for Kinemon to be acting as the de facto leader of the vassals, and I guess the allied forces are large as a result. But it feels like when Denjirou returns in whatever form, then he could take that role alongside Kinemon. Something else that caught my eye though, just before the whole tragic Odin death thing, is a super small panel of Kaido holding the gun up at Odin, and stating, I'm sorry about what happened with the old hag, I had her killed. Which I'm assuming is referring to Kurozumi Higurashi, aka the past user of the Mani Mani no Mi. But this section was just strange, because it's very much like a one-panel story all on its own, because there's absolutely no build up to such a revelation, and Odin barely acknowledges Kaido's words afterwards. I mean, he gives a brief how upright of you, but then he swiftly returns to his grand finale speech, which was very much actually interrupted all of a sudden, with this information dropped by Kaido. And to be perfectly honest, it is not a satisfying end to the Higurashi character at all. Like, she was the main driving force behind Orochi's rise to scummy power, as well as in my mind, the exclusive reason behind how Kaido was even able to defeat Odin in the first place. So to hear in this tiny disjointed panel that, oh, she's dead now because Kaido's inconsistent morality deemed it necessary to have her killed at some stage offscreen, it's just kind of meh. Especially because Higurashi had a nice layer of mystery surrounding her, in regards to the Mani Mani no Mi. You know, from the moment she was introduced every single manga reader, immediately knew that she was going to die. And it left a nice lingering question of how and when. It was almost something to look forward to in a twisted sort of way, but mostly to further connect the dots of this world. So unsatisfying is the word I'm going to use for what happened, in regards to this during the chapter. Which is a shame because everything else is so super solid. Now in defensive order, this could also be done on purpose, because it is clear at this stage that this flashback is made to focus on Odin, and there is a lot going on in the background that we just don't get to see at the moment, in regards to characters like Kaido and Toki and many more probably. Which I would say is the correct decision to make, because Odin's story is big enough as it is, and those factors would probably just attract from telling his individual tale. So I submit that perhaps in the future, we'll get a much more satisfying scene during say a Kaido flashback, whereby he is enraged after battle and orders the death of Higurashi. So that might be a thing, and we also need to deal with the user of the Bari Bari no Mi as well. So there's definite hope because we have a surprising amount of unfinished business in past Wano, much much more than I thought we would after a four month flashback. Moving to the last two pages now, this was some pretty stunning stuff as well, featuring Toki reading Odin's words as well as several flashbacks of the man himself, mirroring the situation with the vassals. Very sad stuff to see but also incredibly interesting, because the thing that happens here is Odin actually tells Toki the time frame, which she will eventually come to use in her prophecy. So due to her time-travelling powers, I guess I always assumed that she would be the one to know about future events, and in a way was almost acting like the mastermind behind planning the downfall of Orochi and Kaido by sending various people into the future and selectively keeping a few here. But no, none of that though. Odin knows all of this, somehow. Most likely as a result of landing on Muftail, which once again begs the question, exactly what the hell it was that the Roger Pirates found there. To think that Odin would come away from that experience with such an accurate time frame regarding the return of Joyboy, just complicates exactly what was on that island, like was it some kind of ancient prophecy engraved in stone or poneglyph, and a hilarious prophecy of that, or what? Who knows, in any case I think it's a slight shame because it removes some of the mystery behind Toki, who up until now has been very much portrayed as another legendary figure, but currently she looks more like a side story utility that was conveniently in place for Odin to make use of. But with that said, from here we do have a couple of options. Given the way the chapter ends with the statement, the story hurtles towards the present day. I would say that implies that we're done here for now, and it's time to go back to modern events, which is interesting because this story is in no way finished. We still have the ransacking of Odin's castle and Toki's actions to see, which could very much be what next week's chapter focuses on in some way shape or form. And it doesn't necessarily have to be another full chapter flashback either, it could be one of those situations where Odin spends a page, or two quickly skipping through those events, which we already know the technical implementation of, and then jumping back into modern day. I'm really hoping not though, because my ideal scenario would be to cut the flashback off right here and now, and then have a separate Toki flashback later to focus on this figure, who is quite possibly the only individual we have ever met to have lived in the void century. There's just far too much potential to leave her hanging here. Plus, any further flashback action right now would probably start to get a bit fatiguing, because fun fact, this is by far the longest flashback ever featured in One Piece, and I mean, we're currently on chapter 13 now, which is more than twice as much as the Trafalgar lore flashback, which I remember feeling like that took forever to read back in the day weekly. However, with that said, this experience to me has been completely different. This is probably the first flashback in the series that has truly captivated and engrossed me into it, rather than me always having that nagging thought of modern events in the background. And for an example of that, my first experience of reading a flashback weekly was Robbins on any slobby, and it was a very good story, very tragic, very substantive, but my god, I just wanted to get back into that CP9 action, and I find myself similar in most flashbacks, but not this one though. And regardless of whether or not the flashback ends at this point, which I think it will, we do know that this is the end of Odin, and he has been nothing short of a pleasure to follow for the last few months. He just represents such a grand journey, and through that, he is now carrying the immediate future of this series on his shoulders, in a similar manner to that of which, that he was holding up the vassals, whilst boiling in the pot. So in his own words, Odin's soul most certainly lives on, and I really look forward to rereading the series with the understanding of the context of his existence. Like going back on arcs like Punk Hazard, I'm very unlikely to view Kineman as that simple comic relief samurai, or Khandro and Dressrosa or Raizo and Zo. When these characters come up again during yet another inevitable reread, they will carry with them the emotional resonance of the last two chapters specifically, and that is going to be one hell of a unique experience. So look ahead Odin, 20 years into the future, as your samurai continue to do you proud, and eventually open the borders of Wano. But that pretty much has it for chapter 972. If you enjoyed this video and the content this channel produced in general, then please do consider donating to the Grand Line Review Patreon, because the support of all of your amazing people is what continues to make this channel possible. And if you'd like to see more videos like this but applied to other anime among series, then please do feel free to check out my second channel New World Review for all of your wider needs. And if you'd like to join the fun at any time, then please do head over to my Discord server where a wide array of shenanigans takes place on a daily basis. And finally, please do comment with your thoughts on the chapter. This has been the Grand Line Review, and I'll see you next time.