 One Piece is back! The Void Month is finally over, my friends, and for our first chapter back, there is still no Straw Hats, but we go straight back into the battle between Garp and Kuzan, and we finally get an extended fight between two of the best marine combatants. The chapter title Battleship Bags is a reference to the past between Garp and Kuzan, and the beginning of this chapter felt like the necessary prerequisite for what's to come, as Brand New is seen explaining to Jango and Full Body that Kuzan was once Garp's protégé. During their training back in the day, their routine would include repeatedly punching battleships without Haki or Devil Fruits, using battleships like punching bags. They're giving Zoro a run for his money for the craziest training routine in the series. And the rest of the chapter is set at Hachunosu, or mini flashbacks of Garp and Kuzan, and it's a fun one. It appears that Garp has been fighting the Blackbeard Pirates for quite some time now, as he has abandoned his coat and suit, and is now sporting minor blemishes, but is still shown dominating the battle. Kuzan has gotten back up since we last saw him when Garp sent him beneath the ground in chapter 1080, and like Garp, he has also gotten rid of his cape, which seems to mean that he's ready to go all out now. How wild is it that Garp, with just these young marines pulled up to an island, filled with pirates, and still manages to look every bit of the hero that he is, 20 years removed from his prime? He sent Sanwan Wolf flying straight down to the ocean, and is seemingly even being toying around with his opponents with a touch of loofiness, like when he blocked Vasco's shots attack by using a few pirates as shields, before then pausing and then deciding to give what he just did a name. Pirate Jack-O-Lantern. I mean, all great fighters call out their finishing move after all, and I love that we're seeing more of Garp's characterization through fighting in a kill two birds with one stone scenario. As it shows that he's not just a typical, I'm a very strong old man, punch, punch, punch, but it actually shows us what makes Garp, someone who carries the initial D, and there are actually a lot of these D initial qualities shown by Garp in this chapter during more and more resemblances to Luffy. First, there was that trait of naming his attacks, second was seeing during his flashback when he told Kuzan to learn from another instructor because he likes his freedom, and now the grandson and grandpa apparently now even have the same bounties because we learned that the bounty on Garp's head placed by Cross Guild is a three crown bounty, which roughly equates to three billion berries, which is the same as all the other add rules. But with those similarities also come contrasts because whereas Luffy makes allies time and time again, Garp is the hero who seems to keep creating his own villains. This was noted by Kuzan and shown to bother Garp throughout his entire Navy career. His son became the leader of the Revolutionary Army, his grandson's and adopted grandson both became pirates, and now his protege has also lost his Marine way and allied himself with a Yonko pirate crew. At this point, Garp should just probably start expecting for Kobi to turn on him at some point, but all kidding aside, while this shows a tragic side of Garp's story, it also emphasises his unyielding quality and values that forces him to stick to what he believes in despite making the closest people in his life turn against his ideals, which was also further emphasised at the end of this chapter when Garp told Kobi not to lose his head because justice will prevail, which I have to say is a great way to end the chapter considering what this chapter has shown us with regards to how Garp has lost his most cherished things and people to the other side. And that is for me the highlight of this chapter because while seeing Garp in action is unbelievably awesome, it only played a very important but a secondary role to the story being told. Even one of the greatest panels in this chapter, Garp and Aokiji mirroring each other as they go for the jugular, which is very much an action shot but is also so laden with emotions and meanings and the punch really just serves to emphasise the relationship between the two. The flashback while short is very efficient and does what it's supposed to do, which is to showcase the emotional connection between Garp and Kuzan while also strengthening these emotional connections between us and the characters involved in the story. What I like in particular is Oda showing the time progression with just three tiny panels that only took up a quarter of the page, efficiency. Because here we see the seasons changing while the use of speech bubbles indicates Kuzan's improvement through his training with Garp, which I find to be a brilliant choice in the wider context of what is being shown in this chapter. I also dare say that Oda has brought an end to the speculations about Monkey D Dragon being Garp's biological son. And actually, Garp's look in this chapter erases any doubt in my mind of his blood relation to Dragon. I mean, just look at that. That is perfectly in between Luffy and Dragon appearance wise. There is one small thing I didn't like about this chapter and that's how Kobe was betrayed. As they're trying to escape, Kobe falls into an enemy's trap and had to be saved by Garp who ended up being stabbed by Shiryu. And look, I know that we're supposed to nerve Garp in some way, maybe because he's going to lose in this fight or just for some extra tension, but I'm not sure if I like the decision to do that at the expense of Kobe's characterization. Kobe was that wimpy kid who trained his ass off to get to where he is now and gain his rank and reputation and I felt that that momentum he's built up is kind of put in jeopardy with this chapter. First, we were showing that he has observation Haki and you could argue that he should have probably sensed Shiryu unless this is the way to tell us that basic Haki can't do that against the invisibility Tsukesukenomi but then also Helmepo was there as well which I think would have been the better choice if someone was needed to be made to look like an inconvenience or someone naive enough to simply fall into a trap. But I guess the aim was just more for emotional impact but then there was even more naivety with Kobe pleading with Alvaro not to attack the ship. I don't know. What I'm hoping now is that this is somehow used in the future to add to even more characterization for Kobe say like, oh, he's now honed his Haki skills because he didn't want the same thing to happen again or because he blamed himself for what happened to Garp so he vows to become even stronger and stuff like that but I think right now I would have to see that happen because I'm not a big fan of the choice. Although Garp still did end up looking very dominant by the end of the interaction slamming Shiryu to the ground Kobe's reaction still kind of shows hints of his past self and I guess he's supposed to be a captain now. It is what it is and I'm sure we will see more of him looking as badass as we expect him to be. I did like that shot of Garp and the young rising marines though. That's something I would love to see recreated down the line when they're all much stronger. That would be cool. Which does mean that Garp would have to survive this battle and he's not looking in tip-top shape but then again this is one piece and Garp is probably my favorite non-straw hat character in the series so yes Garp will prevail. Anyways overall a good chapter that packed the right amount of balance between heart and action but an unexpected choice for the first chapter after the break. I mean did I think it was a good chapter? Yes. Did I think it deserved to be the first chapter after the void month? No it's still a good chapter but it felt somewhat uneventful considering everything else that's been happening in this arc. It sort of just felt like an in-between chapter but then again I guess the break wasn't for a manga event related reason and for Oda's health so I'm just glad that he's back and that we have one piece back which means that you have me back to share my thoughts and so if you want more of them then please do subscribe, like, you know the drill. Thank you to all of our Patreon and channel members and thank you to everyone for listening to another one of my ramblings. This is Joygirl and I'll see you again soon.