 Chapter 1000 is honestly a landmark event, not just of One Piece, but also in my life. Seriously, if I had to put things into some sort of hierarchy, then in ascending order, it would go. Graduating university, getting married, Chapter 1000. And if I do have kids in the future, then I'll probably need to slot them in right around here. So I guess I should probably apologize in advance to my future's born. Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review or source for everything One Piece. And today we have a very special moment in time to cover because Chapter 1000 of this incredible series has been released and well, we need to review the ever loving crap out of it. Also, because this whole Chapter 1000 thing is very much a once in a lifetime opportunity, I also took the liberty of filming my reaction to it, which I'll probably be splicing in here and there. Although I must warn you, I am not an actor, I am not a reactor, and I'm really not even that interesting of a human being to be perfectly honest with you, but it's Chapter 1000, so what can you do? And if you wanna see more Facecam integrated content, then please do let me know by pressing a subscribe button for the Grand Line Review, which will also result in regular One Piece content being uploaded straight into your YouTube feed. On the other hand, if you don't want to see more Facecam integration, then please do register your objection by pressing the subscribe button for the Grand Line Review. Then I'll go tally up the results and we'll see how we went. But as far as general impressions go, I actually think Chapter 1000 was pretty perfect. I made a short series of videos focusing on expectations for Chapter 1000 and going through One Piece's history of landmark chapters. And I actually think that there might have been a lot of disappointment in the fan base because nothing really massively crazy happened. So nothing really massively crazy happened. You know, there were theories flying everywhere about which character was going to be revealed or which revolutionary army was going to appear on Wano and in both of my Chapter 1000 videos, I very much warned against having grand expectations like that because more often than not, these milestone chapters tend to be pretty normal occasions. I mean, I can always tell when something insane occurs because I always get spoiled on it immediately through YouTube or Twitter or whatever. So I guess I knew this chapter was going to be a bit more of a streamlined experience because simply people weren't going out of their way to ruin it. With that said, that's actually why I think Chapter 1000 works so damn well because it is a pure celebration of what One Piece is. There's no crazy plot twist or cliffhanger. It's a straightforward affair of Luffy punches, a dude, which is exactly what we've all been loving ever since Chapter 1. Just done a much more grand and integral scale. In fact, even more than that, what Chapter 1000 accomplishes occurs on two levels. One, it's a general celebration of Luffy which is flagged in the title and he is undoubtedly the common thread of what this chapter is trying to tell. You know, he's the very first character we see in the chapter and he's also the very last. A nice Luffy bookend, if you will, with lots of Luffy focus throughout. But very excitingly, Chapter 1000 also signals the beginning of our next generational shift, the likes of which we have not seen since the beginning of the Paramount War. And that, well, that injects a solid prescription of liquid hype directly into my bloodstream and I think manages to excite me more than any shocking reveal, twist or cliffhanger could have ever managed. And I wanna start with that point actually. There are a lot of fantastic candidates for favorite pages and favorite panels of Chapter 1000 but mine is absolutely that spread of the worst generation facing off directly against two of the four emperors. I'm in love with these pages. It's giving me some real one piece stampede vibes just with a distinctly canon flavor about it. These two pages are almost like a dream come true for me because I've been thinking about the potential of this moment for an awfully long time. Except whenever I've proposed such a standoff in my videos or indeed in my head, there were a few more worst generation members present like Drake, Hawkins, and Apu. But if anything, this works even better because it does call back to our brief three captain alliance that was initially set up during the Sabadia. Although we have switched up the order a bit which makes sense because at the time used to skid would have been considered the most dangerous of the pirates with a bounty higher than Luffy's but now on Wano, Luffy takes that clear center stage. And you know what, let's talk more about positioning because this is not an arbitrary scattering of characters. Yoda has thought very carefully and intuitively about where to place his figures. Obviously Luffy is smack bang in the center which is where he belongs as he is always the eye of the storm. And obviously Zoro is directly to the right of Luffy because he's Luffy's right hand man, it makes sense. And there's a similar dynamic happening with kid and killer. Killer is directly to the right of kid. Once again, making all the sense in the world as he is kid's right hand man. Kid himself is further slept and our foreground point because he's the most visually emotive and seeing the detailed expression on his face is much more valuable than any of the other characters. You guys think about it. Who else would we really want to put there? Luffy is engaged in serious modes Zoro and Laura both stoic statues all the time and killer has a mask. So in terms of pure expression placing kid in the foreground makes the most sense. And I'd also argue that's why Big Mom was chosen as the foreground for the opposing shot because she is far more expressive than Kaido. Just look at Trafalgar lore back there. He's like perfectly positioned observing things from the backgrounds like the bread hating introvert he is. It's just fantastic. Easily one of my favorite two pages ever showcased in one piece and I also just want to make one other artistic note. Oda has created this beautiful illusion of a standoff but in reality the panels are split. The worst generation and the emperors are contained in two different shots. However, because of fun art things like how the clouds blend together in this whole this valley of negative space how that functions it actually binds these panels together. Is valley of negative space too wanky of a term to describe this? Almost certainly. And I'm probably going to use it anyway. But I think this composition is a stroke of artistic genius because more basic authors would probably be tempted to try and make this standoff for single panel which in this case would lead to some awkward sizing and distance issues and it just wouldn't have that same sort of dramatic oomph about it. So seriously, these two pages right here are an absolute masterclass of comic construction and with visual arts in general. In terms of the actual story though even now in the later stages of Wano I could only dream of reaching this point. The point where we are seriously starting to consider bringing down an emperor or even two which right up until the end of the chapter still feels like an impossible task but I do feel an incredible sense of excitement. It's the same sort of buzz I'd get watching players enter the finals of insert sporting match of your choice. All of my future Wano thoughts have always stopped at this exact moment of confrontation because I just can't imagine how Oda is going to get our characters through this. With that said, the end of the chapter was a pretty fantastic start to that. Before we get there though there's a journey of this chapter to follow because like I said earlier, we begin with Luffy. It's a simple one page affair that kind of sums up Luffy and his travels throughout the world. It focuses on his empathy because he registers what Shoshilin and the rest of the Ming tribe did for Rizzo when they protected him from the assault of Jack. That's a really oddly sweet thing for Luffy to say. But that kind of empathy is why people put their lives on the line for his benefit which is also shown on this page because it was of course Shoshilin and his musketeers that secured Luffy's path to the rooftop. So it's an almost perfect representation of Luffy's symbiotic relationship with most other characters that he comes to meet. He either does something or promises to do something on their behalf and collectively those characters then make Luffy's task easier to accomplish or even possible at all to accomplish. It's another one of those moments where you realize that Luffy would be completely lost without the help of almost everyone he's ever met. It's only because of those people that we even got to the end of chapter 10 much less chapter 1000. So in this case, thank you very, very much Shoshilin. Shoshilin, Shoshilin. I have a lot of, look I have a lot of difficulty saying Shoshilin. It just makes me want to say Sicilian which makes me think of the Sicilian defense and some wise, wise words from my high school chess coach which were Liam, you really shouldn't be playing the Sicilian defense until you're actually good at the game. So obviously to this day, I still don't play it. To reinforce the Luffy aspect though, I'm really glad that Ace was included in chapter 1000. His continued flashback with Yamato was lighthearted but also heartwarming. So that's like two different things happening to my heart right there. And yeah, Ace has never been one of my personal favorite characters but he is also a highlight because of this demonstrable and unwavering belief in Luffy. And that belief is palpable. I look at this panel and I'm hit with a wave of what I assume mild conqueror's haki might feel like in real life. And it's the same sort of feeling that each of the straw hats are capable of generating as well. And I think it's a bit understated but this panel kind of forms the emotional backbone of the entire chapter because whilst we as readers might seem overcoming two of the four emperors at the same time are pretty impossibly daunting challenge, this section with Ace very much reinforces that no, Luffy can do it. Luffy will accomplish his dream and it makes Luffy ultimately striking Kaido that much more believable, especially since the attack is an evolution of Red Hawk which notably carries some inherited will of Ace with the end of the flames and all. So Ace himself even links quite nicely into the climax of the chapter which only really works so well because he was set up right here. Okay, so in the end, Ace did kind of get to fight Kaido. I mean, not really, not at all actually but the inherited will aspect is there and that is what is important. Also just briefly in this flashback section we find out that it was Yamato who made Ace's Viviocard which is kind of crazy actually. Firstly, I mean that Ace didn't know what a Viviocard was prior to this very moment but also that Yamato made such a symbolic item that would eventually end up in Luffy's hands way back in Alabaster. So it's just kind of cool to know that Yamato has been influencing things very subtly even whilst trapped on Warner. It's like Yamato made Sabo's Viviocard. No, no, not Sabo, um, Ace, Ace that's the one. I always get those two confused. Also it's like five in the morning so there is that. The most important aspect of this flashback section though was obviously Yamato reading from the holy book of Odin. Essentially informing us that somehow Odin was able to very, very accurately predict the arrival of a group of misfit pirates who had come to take down Kaido which we did already know because in chapter 972 we read Odin's letter to Toki which said something along the lines of in other words, in another 20 years the primary figures of this great war will muscle their way into the new world. They are the ones who can strike down Kaido. So here I guess we just have the confirmation that these pirates are indeed our worst generation members which hey, I'm more than happy to have that literal interpretation out there now. How insane is this page? The worst generation members are preparing to take down not just one but like two emperors of the sea and Odin's words are all like, yeah look, this isn't even the most important thing they're gonna do. What it does very effectively though is seed the hype for the next saga because according to Odin's words, Kaido is more of a roadblock here, a very one-o specific concern. Meanwhile these pirates are going to have bigger business elsewhere. Taking part in a war and I quote, massive enough to split the seas themselves. So as much as chapter 1000 is very centric on what One Piece was and what it's become, there was also a nice nod to what it will become in the future as well. Reaching the main event though, once Luffy does arrive on the roof his focus is entirely different to everyone else currently up there. And it's really fun because initially there's a series of panels that would lead you to believe that oh, he's noticed Big Mom and Kaido and he's going, ah, to register them. But then rather hilariously and awesomely he just completely ignores the two strongest living things on the planet, walking straight through the middle of them in order to get to Kinamon. Did he just walk straight past them? Ah, Luffy, you cheeky little shit. And that's why I love Luffy. He always has his own lists of priorities and when he's focused on something there is nothing that can break that. Not even two of the most powerful people in the world directly threatening him. It's very, it's very Goku-like in a way. Specifically when he ignored Freezer to go and tend to a wounded Vegeta on Namek, same sort of vibe except this time we have Doofreezer's actually, I don't know. What would be the plural of Freezer? Probably Freezai. And just like Vegeta to Goku, Kinamon tearfully requests that Luffy liberates Wano from the clutches of the galactic overlord Kaido which was actually really touching to see what has become a very proud and determined Kinamon reduced to basically needing to beg for help which Luffy obviously responds to quite well because a lot of his friend things happen to live on Wano which we do get to see in a series of flashbacks a very interesting device by the way because this effect usually gets implemented at the end of a fight, not the beginning. The most famous example is probably Luffy versus Luchi where right before the finishing blow we see this series of flashbacks of key saga moments before getting that ultimate satisfying culmination but here these flashbacks are being used to kick start a fight to deliver a long awaited hit on Kaido one that struck him like nothing else we've ever seen to this point. And there it is, you're going down, fish boy. The attack panel was great but the effect I loved the most was the impact panel. This one here where you see Luffy gloriously fisting Kaido. I love the way it's drawn because Oda has made these lines very purposely unrefined. When you compare it to all of the other drawings on the page, it almost looks like a sketch in comparison and this is done to increase the impact of the attack as if Luffy has literally punched Kaido's character out of alignment. God, it's like you got punched back into the status of being a sketch like you're not even worthy of your line art Kaido get your crap out of here. And I really can't think of any other moment where we've seen Kaido like this. He's been hit in the past and he's been surprised by attacks but this is on a whole different level. He is really feeling this. And you can definitely tell that through his necks close up as well when he's raising his head off the floor. I mean, just look at those eyes. Kaido isn't just surprised. He's in a state of pure distress because he does not understand what just happened to him. A couple of weeks ago, this whole Luffy kid he was nothing but fodder. But now Luffy has served Kaido a delicious plate of hard grounds to nom on cooked to perfection by the flames of the red rock. Bon appetit, Emperor-san. In terms of the attack itself, this was also quite brilliant because it mirrors Luffy's initial strike on Kaido. Back in Act one of one, Luffy hit Kaido in the head from above with a gear third strike as well. And that did nothing to Kaido who was also drunk at the time which was very unprofessional of him. But here Luffy does more or less the same thing. He hits Kaido in the head from above except this time it works. And just from a raw sense of psychology there is nothing more dominant in a fight than striking your opponent down onto the ground giving them that profoundly submissive position which is perfect for Luffy's final words as he claims that he will blast through both Kaido and Big Mom because he's gonna be king of the pirates. Oh, all right. That's a pretty perfect ending to the chapter as well as this 1000 lung chapter experience. Like I have to admit I do imagine some people being potentially disappointed by this because their minds weren't blown by some gigantic revelation. Like there was no Scopper Gabon, there was no Dragon, there was no Vagapunk, there was no Revolutionary Army, there was no nothing, what even is this trash? I couldn't be happier though. This was just a solid injection of one piece and really well worthy of that chapter 1000 number. And something I haven't spoken about yet is that one page that doesn't quite link to Luffy and that's the Marco and Zoro stuff. Fantastic performance by the Phoenixmen here temporarily subduing both King and Queen in order to fling Zoro up to the roof which was pretty hilarious because Zoro so rarely has this look of shock or surprise. With Zoro though, he's treated to some pretty ridiculous subtlety later on in the chapter because once Luffy walks past Big Mom and Kaido, the very next panel is a close up of him with this introspective ellipsis. It's so small but at the same time it really does say everything because Zoro does also share a concern for the samurai and also just how unsurprised he is by Luffy disregarding the emperor's standing right in front of them. It's a minor touch that I appreciate it quite a bit. And as for other things I should probably mention, one is that over the past two issues being chapter 999 and 1000, One Piece has taken up two covers of Weekly Shonen Jump which is very, very greedy. But when you combine them together you get this lovely image of Luffy as well as various other mangaka drawing One Piece characters as a tribute to One Piece. One in particular that I want to point out is Boichi, the illustrator of Dr. Stone. He drew Ace which is very appropriate because Boichi also illustrated One Piece episode A which is an adaptation of the Ace novels. Also Boichi has a pretty rich history with One Piece because in a very, very intriguing event he drew his own version of chapter 51 which is where Zoro fought Mihawk and it is absolutely stunning. I highly recommend you check that out if you haven't read it already. As for some other artists, Yuki Tabata of Black Clover drew Shirahoshi as well as Asta apparently being enamored by her. Meanwhile, Kohei Horikoshi did Don Krieg of all characters with Deku standing there kind of excited about the fact that Don Krieg has a mask because no superheroes. And the last one I'd like to note is Gege Akatami of Jujutsu Kaisen fame. He drew a really cool looking Arlong whose spiky nose Yuji would apparently like to poke. And you can check the rest of them out if you yourself had your own leisure. There's some really fun stuff here. But the other thing I'd like to point out is that I believe this issue of Weekly Shonen Jump has a new issue of Shokugekinosanji which is sort of like a take on Sanji's time at Baratee from the perspective of the creators of Food Wars or Shokugekinosoma. It's a cool crossover though and I am very keen to see this next part. And as if that wasn't quite enough bonus content alongside chapter 1000, this week does give us part two of this gigantic color spread which is now completed and it's beautiful. But it also pays homage to the color spread of chapter 100 just including the newer straw hats. And actually this has happened before in the series because the color spread of chapter 598 which was of course the first new old chapter was a reference to the very first color spread in chapter one. So I do love that Oda chose to adopt this idea with chapter 1000 as well because juxtaposing these color spreads really does inform how far we've come in the series as well as how much Oda's art has developed over two decades. And really chapter 1000 didn't even come close to disappointing me. It's exactly what One Piece needed at this point in time. It leaves me with a gigantic question mark and just craving more as per usual. I really don't know how things proceed from here but I could not be more excited for one of the biggest fights in the series to have begun and 2021 is going to be one hell of a year. But what do you guys think? Please do leave your thoughts in the comments below or even join my Discord server. And if you'd like to see more videos like this then please do go and check out some of my other content or even subscribe to the channel for more glorious One Piece business uploaded straight into your YouTube feeds. But for now, this has been the Groundline Review and I'll see you next time.