One Piece 777: Lucky chapter 777! But not that interesting really. Pica’s powers are kind of excessive, so it seems odd that he hasn’t been doing this stuff all the way through this arc. Oh well, I’m sure Zoro will sort it all out soon.

One Piece 776: Nice art this chapter as Kyros gets to look badass, but it didn’t have the sheer genius of the last few.

One Piece 774: Gooo lil’ Warrior Chief Leo. Not only was his heroic entrance great (and undercut by some typical bathos), but his power was totally ridiculous too. This is the kind of thing that makes One Piece such irresistible fun.

One Piece 775: Oh god, Oda is just a ridiculous genius. This chapter was such brilliance. The ridiculous manly battle including an incredibly absurd suplex, the daft yet still touching sob story, the absolutely absurd yet still incredibly sweet reason this man wears a baby bonnet – it’s like all Oda’s talent for being both hilarious and touching and incredibly silly at the same time distilled into a single chapter. I must confess to being a little jealous of his talents. 

One Piece 773: Worth waiting for. Cavendish’s badass mode was both formidable and funny, with the usual Oda touch to the old chestnut of a man with a split personality wrestling for control. Robin reminded us she’s one of the strongest main characters, and as ever Bartolomeo stole every scene he was in.

One Piece 768-9: out of the flashback and back to the action. And great to have a short recap of where everyone is and who is fighting who. Franky’s moment in particular was a little slice of genius. Law gives it his best but we went a bit too long without seeing Luffy – so he gets a moment of attention where we see that Bellamy is going to be an idiot to the end. 

One Piece 767: sad and dark as expected, Law’s flashback concludes – probably the most grim of any character’s. I was moved and like his character a whole lot more, now – so mission accomplished, really!

One Piece 766: After a sweet nod to Naruto on the title page, One Piece took its flashback to the inevitable tragic part. A coincidence right on the brink of victory spoiled Corazon’s plans, and the final bittersweet gag was pure Oda brilliance.