Ron Does Stuff

We were left with yet another cliffhanger in the previous episode as we saw Nami, Zoro, and Vivi tied up at what I am assuming is Mister 3’s base, seeing as it’s made of candle wax. How are they going to get out of this one? Let’s find out!

In much the same way that Vivi was the one who gave the Straw Hats the explainer on Miss All Sunday, she’s now giving Nami the explainer on Miss Goldenweek and her powers. The special paint she uses changes people’s emotions, and the only way to get out of it is wiping off the paint. They’re hoping that someone else from the Straw Hats saves them, but as far as they know, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp are all indisposed. It looks like Mister 3 and Miss Goldenweek have the advantage right now.

BUT! There’s some hope, if one of the Straw Hats exploit it. Mister 3 and Miss Goldenweek aren’t exactly a cohesive unit, and Usopp sees this for himself when he spies on them. But will Usopp have the guts to do something? He’s found Luffy on the beach, so it looks like he doesn’t have to do anything. But as we saw in the previous episode, Miss Goldenweek has also gotten to Luffy, and Luffy is not being his usual unflappable self. Usopp doesn’t know what to do, but at least, he isn’t running away screaming. He’s regrouping and thinking of what to do, and he does the most logical thing: Look for Sanji because he can fight.

But where is Sanji? Sanji’s stumbled upon Mister 3’s candle wax house, but Nami, Vivi, and Zoro are no longer there. They’ve been taken to Mister 3, who’s going to make them part of this candle wax cake creation. Mister 3’s one of those pretentious ~artiste~ types, and I can already see Miss Valentine and Mister 5 turning against him if they ever get the chance to do so. However, it’s Nami who strikes first by ~critiquing~ Mister 3’s ~death by art~ machine, pointing out that Zoro’s giggling, so Mister 3 won’t be able to immortalize his suffering. He wipes Miss Goldenweek’s paint off, and for a second there I thought we’d see Zoro leap into action. I forgot that Mister’ 3’s wax is as strong as steel, so even with his swords, Zoro can’t free himself.

Somebody else who can’t free themselves is Luffy, who is forced to have tea with Miss Goldenweek while Miss Goldenwekk talks about murdering her parents. However, her blue pain is working a little too well on Luffy and she finds his crying boring, so she switches him to her green paint. It’s supposed to relax him, but it looks like it’s having the opposite effect. I’d be worried about this if I was Miss Goldenweek, but I guess she’s underestimating Luffy and what he can do.

Back at Mister 3’s candle wax house, Sanji’s found dossier’s for most of the team. The assassins don’t seem to have one on him, which I think is an advantage he should exploit. But before he can do that, a snail phone starts ringing inside of the house, and he takes the call and ends up talking with Mister 0. He finds out what the plan is with Vivi and the Straw Hats, and also is the first to meet Miss Friday and Mister 13, who are a vulture and an otter, respectively. Collectively, they’re the Unluckies that Mister 9 was talking about back in episode three, and Mister 13 rides Miss Friday. The fact that they kept these two character as is? This is what I like about the show. It doesn’t apologize for the craziness and the camp.

While Sanji is dealing with Mister 13 and Miss Friday, Usopp’s found his discarded and bloodied apron, which makes him think that Sanji’s been caught as well. Now he really needs to step up. For a moment there, it looks like he might not have to do so because Brogy is still alive, but Brogy is still to weak to join him. Brogy does do one thing for Usopp, and that’s to give him yet another push to face his fear and do what he can to save his friends. You’d think him almost dying would have been enough motivation for Usopp, but I guess a little extra push was still needed!

Over at Mister 3’s candle wax house, Sanji easily dispatches Miss Friday, but Mister 13 is a different matter. I like this fight scene just as much as the Zoro versus 100 Baroque Works assassins fight, because I think physical comedy is great. I wonder if Taz Skylar has ever considered doing a comedy? When Mister 13 is finally dispatched, Sanji reveals himself to Mister 0 as ~Mister Prince~, which is good, I think, because they won’t be looking for someone named Sanji.

Also, since I already mentioned it, let’s take a look at that Zoro fight again.

So far, it looks like Sanji is the only one that’s made any progress with dealing with Baroque Works, as Nami, Vivi, and Zoro continue to be covered in wax, and Luffy is still being controlled by Miss Goldenweek. But Usopp arrives! Thanks to his quick reflexes and quite frankly, luck, Miss Goldenweek gets a face-full of her own paints and is now out of the running towards becoming America’s Next Top Model. Now they’re off to face off the rest of the Baroque Works guys on the island.

Usopp probably thought Luffy would take care of Mister 3, Mister 5, and Miss Valentine, but when Mister 3 runs off and Luffy chases after him, he’s left to face Mister 5 and Miss Valentine by himself. While you can’t expect Usopp to win a physical fight, he does use his brain and manages to trick Miss Valentine into freeing Vivi, Nami, and Zoro from Mister 3’s candle wax cake murder machine. Good on you, Usopp!

The two different fight scenes happening on the island? Spectacular. Especially the Luffy and Mister 3 fight. It really does feel like an anime, or at least as close to it as a live action can be. The Straw Hats emerge triumphant, and even get to free Dorry as well. Both giants are alive and well, and even help the Straw Hats get past an enormous goldfish as they set sail to Alabasta. Also, Sanji says he’s got a big dick. I would like to see visual proof.

However, all’s not well just yet. There’s something wrong with Nami, and the rest of the crew haven’t found out about it yet.

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