The Cherry Blossom Blooms | Reviewing One Piece: Drum Island 

You can watch my review for the next arc (Alabasta Part 1) RIGHT NOW on Patreon here (5$+): www.patreon.com/Aleczandxr To follow the readthroughs on stream, you can follow me on Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/Aleczandxr/ Link to AJ's Discord server: discord.gg/Ekhz7PNuJd CURRENT TWITCH SCHEDULE: Mondays @ 10am EST: A Blind Playthrough of Ace Attorney Wednesdays @ 10am EST: Hunter x Hunter Weekly Arc Discussions Sundays @ 11am EST: One Piece Chapter reads SOME FRIDAYS, I do full One Piece reading streams as well, starting from around 10-10:30am EST.

Like you said, a lot of people claim Luffy doesn't change as a person. I think this is because people only detect change when it's extremely obvious at all times. Luffy frequently grows as a person, he just keeps his personality the same most of the time.

Something worth noting, Chopper desires to be a doctor who can cure anything. His two mentors gave him half of what he needs each. Dr. Hiriluk was a piss-poor doctor who couldn’t cure a cough, but he could cure the hearts and minds of people in the end. Dr. Kureha can cure any physical illness, but as demonstrated with Chopper and her introduction, she can’t cure broken hearts. Chopper is the child of the two, carrying on their teachings and blending them to be a doctor who can truly achieve his dream.

It's a pleasure to see one of the most thorough and meticulous content creators finally get around to reading One Piece. These in depth dissections are a treat.

A lot of people don't realize character progression is happening throughout One Piece because that character progression is very gradual. Similar can be said of the larger stuff going on in the world. One Piece progresses them slowly but it's never totally static. Additionally even characters who don't see much actual progression still get further development over time as you learn more of them.

I started watching OP in 2003… and while taking many breaks throughout the years, Dr. Hiruluk’s speech never left me. It also helped me overcoming losses

#AJPiece For the longest time I couldn't grasp what made Luffy one of my favorite characters in manga, but now I think I understand. Luffy completely lacks any sort of prejudice, I would go as far as to say that he actually doesn't know anything, until he gets to experience it. While the world fears the unknown, Luffy is attracted to it. Drum Island gives us a clear example of this with the wonderful interactions he had with Chopper. But, after rereading the story, I noticed something similar even in Arlong Park. While the other badasses of the crew responded to the racist comments of the fishmen with other racist comments, Luffy never did any of that. He never put his human nature above that of the fishmen. When Arlong asked "What do you think is the difference between us?", Luffy said "the nose?", "the hands?"; he always points out the physical quirks of other people (something that is seen as being rude in our overly polited world), but those differences are a source of curiosity for Luffy, not fear or rejection. He is the embodiment of "open-mindedness".

I love your One Piece reviews!

I am literally crying. This is one of the first time a review of a series made me shed tears. Hiruluk and Choppers relationship is a prime example of the theme of the inherited will being executed at its utmost perfection. The quak eventually reignited the soul of chopper by showing him his heart and in return Chopper shows him his heart and enriches his last year with joy and eventually a son. It has become my absolute favorite flashback over the years of watching/reading the manga. The execution of the flashback in the anime is just chefs kiss. You did a great Job here Alex and i cant wait to see your nuanced takes on the upcoming banger arcs.

In case anyone is curious, the next video for the Alabasta arc (part 1) is 2 hours and 10 minutes :)

#AJPiece I think one of the most overlooked parts of this arc is the conversation between Marimo, Chess and Dalton. I think it cements why Wapol is a villain I love in the series. It might be partly due to my America coming out that I don't find an idiotic tyrant who hordes healthcare to openly oppress people unrealistic or shallow, but the series explains why he's this shallow caricature of a human with just a simple conversation. There's a reason why when Chopper has his fight against his trauma, he beats of Chess and Marimo. Those two are the real ones that run the kingdom, taking advantage of an easily moldable brat who they likely got hooked on power, all while being able to deflect any of the blame to Wapol. When Dalton objects to how they're running the country, they tell him to defer to policy, to uphold the system. They're the passive encouragers of corruption who excuse their own evil with self pleasure, never having to take responsibility for it at all. And what better form for the shape of that nepotistic monopolizing power than a tyrant who feels entitled to eat everything? Wapol is an empty system that consumes all with no regard. He has no need for anything, yet that leaves him insatiable, his emptiness unfillable no matter how much he devours. He is an avatar of entitlement that could do nothing without enablers and Chopper defeating Chess and Marimo is the end of the true power propping up this corruption. God I love this arc. Oh and a fun trivia thing, you might see Wapol has a big hippo theme throughout and keeps calling people hippos. This is a pun in Japanese since Baka is idiot and Kaba is apparently hippo. So he's so dumb he doesn't even call people idiots correctly, all while embodying that idiocy with his hippo themed design. He's calling people what he is himself, an idiot.

Drum Island (and much later on, Thriller Bark) is the arc with the most long-term plot points introduced without the reader realizing it. Like there's stuff in this arc that took literally over 20 years to come into play in the story. Very rewarding on rereads. Also one of the earliest instances of Zoro getting lost. Chopper's backstory was the first thing in this series to make me cry.

I LOVE how much you love Vivi, she's such a queen (or princess)

Watching the VOD for this was a joy, and you said that the Chopper backstory was the highest you've peaked for viewers? Well deserved, so hype.

#AJPiece First off, I love your attention to reaction faces. Secondly, I always thought Luffy and Sanji's reaction at the beginning of the arc on the Merry was them slightly disappointed in Vivi for saying they need to get to Arabasta at maximum speed. Before clarifying their max speed would be with a healthy Nami and to go find a doctor first. I never saw it your way, but given the ordering of panels, it could entirely be the case. So thank you for continuing to provide new and insightful takes that I wouldn't otherwise have.

Drum Island is what got me invested in One Piece, it's such an underappreciated arc. ☺️

Luffy keeping the flag up, against Wapol's attack, can be viewed as the embodiment of Hiluluk's principle of never dying as long as your will is "carried" after you. That flag, its message, will stand as long as someone will carry it. Devil Fruit powers also have very often a meaning. Chopper's Human fruit is very ironical, something that should make him more human but end up making him look like a monster... You can also see this "human ability" as what should make a good doctor, someone very human indeed. Those are examples (among a ton of other in One Piece) of very good writing, the "show don't tell" method, that only few people see unfortunately. I advise you to pay attention for those kind of details as much as you can. I could go on and on. One Piece has this simplicity overall with lots of hidden treasures everywhere, different levels of storytelling with such a great execution, such emotional impact, humor, action, progression, characters, worldbuilding... It's insanely brillant. Keep enjoying, Aleczandxr :)

Just a reminder once more people - If you're going to allude to future events, INCLUDE A SPOILER WARNING!

I LOVE the detail you observed about Kuina and Tashigi and flightless birds and the symbolism there. I watch these videos for details like that.

Thanks to you, I finally understood it. "...to suffer defeat and to have their beliefs destroyed is as bad as death. Killing their bodies is beside the point." "I may disappear, but my dream will live on." I never saw this myself, but these two lines are well connected. If their dreams are more important than their lives, killing them would not achieve much, because their dreams might live on. Pirate king was never the cause of piracy. So killing him did nothing to the navy. It was his will that the navy should extinguish but they could never understand it. If the navy wants to kill piracy, they'd have to stop people from dreaming. It is simple, but I never noticed it until you pointed this out.

One of my favorite panels of this arc is the crew all sleeping in Namis room when she's sick because they are worried about her.

I love to close my eyes listening and seeing the manga and anime unfold in my mind! Its so awesome! I love how you go in depth with One Piece! I am following One Piece over 2/3 of my whole life on weekly bases, so you can imagine how important this series is for me, but I still do learn a lot about it trough interpritations from other people. Amazing!

#AJPiece I loved the point you brought up at 36:00 regarding Luffy being flexible as a character, and how it can be likened to Luffy's literal flexibility as a rubber man. It’s something I’ve thought about as well lately. One of my favorite aspects about One Piece is how flexible it can be with its tone. It can be as whimsical as it wants, and as serious as it wants, without either feeling out of place. And what I love is that this sort of flexibility can extend to characters as well, be it in personality or design. Just look at Baratie for example, you had a character like Pearl and a character like Mihawk introduced in the same arc, and neither felt out of place within the established world. I remember a point you brought up in your Little Garden review as well, about how cool it was that Oda basically has near-endless creative freedom with the types of locations he can design for the Grand Line. And he's able to do this thanks to the previously established boundaries that he set up in the story. Freedom is a big theme in One Piece and I think it’s awesome that the series as a whole is able to encapsulate that in almost every aspect of its presentation.

I love your thumbnails for these videos. The great scenes from the anime, blurred as a backdrop with the logo up front. They're very pleasing.

Among the ones who leave their legacy for their "pupils" - Belle-mere, Zeff, Hiriluk, etc - which has had the most powerful moment for you? #AJPiece

I can't wait to see your future thoughts on Ace and Smoker. It's interesting because you have a vested interest in a mix of characters who are popular (Ace, Usopp, Luffy) and ones that are underrated (Vivi, Smoker, Usopp - yes I just said that Usopp is both popular and underrated lol, you'll see). I think it just really shows how varied your taste in these characters is. Thank you for these huge videos, I imagine it must be a lot of work. Much love. #AJPiece

#AJPiece I just wanted to say that even though you're so early in the series I feel like you understand the themes of One Piece more than a large amount of the fanbase that's caught up.

My heart dropped a little when you said on stream that you need to shorten these xD - I love the length, but keep taking care of yourself, I'll watch no matter how long and I'm not alone!

I actually forgot how much the "if you get forgotten, then you're truly dead" line impacted me!

luffy is always learning .. it's just fascinating how he takes all lessons to the heart .. from foes before friends .. watching his growth throughout the story was/is and will always be one of the most extremely satisfying things to see .. this .. is a journey ... not of boy .. not of man .. but of leader .. becoming a legend ... #ajpiece

#AJPiece 29:40 "Then the crew continue on their merry way." I choose to believe this was an intentional pun because their ship is the Going Merry.

#AJPiece The scene when luffy bow down to ask for help is my favorite of all one piece. In the anime there is a scene when you see the strawhat of luffy falling down to the flor after his serious face and in the manga, you can see him without it in the panel after he bow down. I love it so much because it shows the comparision about "his treasure" and how it becomes just nothing in the face of something happenning to one of his crew members. The critic of vivi just hits hard. It is a big moment and for me, this is when i fell in love with one piece.

Lets goo, I adore this arc so much. Hiriluk's death makes me big cry almost every time. Your mistakes and guesses that end up wrong even things you miss all are what make up your first trip through the world of one piece. I thoroughly enjoy it all.

Hey I just want to let you know that I was having a really bad day today, especially at work, and that listening to you video really made it a lot better and really improved my mood. Thank you so much

You by far have the best one piece reviews

It’s refreshing to see someone praising and appreciating this arc, when most of people tend to dislike it. I enjoyed this review very much, waiting for Alabasta ✌🏼

Damn, that part about luffy changing chopper's view on being a 'monster' actually made me cry

lets gooooooo. 2 hour vid over just drum island i love to see it

I've watched your analysis videos off and on forever! So happy you're finally tackling this series.

Thanks for answering my question! Really enjoyed your answer!

I love your One Piece Reviews, i've watched so many Videos about this Arc but this is the first one that actually made me revalue some scenes and view it in another Light. You're really talented at analyzing certain Story Theads, it took me a few rereads to come to some conclusion you are coming up with!

was looking forward to this one, cant wait to watch

So I’m finally getting caught up to where we are in the stream series and I just finished drum island (like I’m writing this at 5 am without sleep after reading it all) and but I love how this arc as you say enhance the themes of the story splendidly. I love this arc it’s such a beautiful ode to life, dreams, and hopes.

Recalling this arc through your narration almost brought me to tears multiple times, thank you for the soulful content.

I thought since I watched your streams I wouldn’t get much from your reviews, but i was wrong. I enjoyed this so much! I cant wait for the next ones

I absolutely love the pause at 1:59:34 to let the mystery sink in lol

I absolutely love your approach to reviewing OP, keep up being awesome

I swear to God I can't describe how much I enjoy watching your videos, especially the One Piece reviews. I like the angle at which you are reviewing them and having a great time. One Piece is my all-time favorite anime. Keep 'em coming

#AJPiece The one thing drum island really made me love about oda's choice in luffy's powers is how his rubber powers have been shown for to be able to change and adapt to new ideas luffy gets from others around him. So while he will always stay at his core himself. The thematic through line of how his powers reflect him, and that he can become what ever he wants, and needs to be. I really like the idea that as his powers grow so will he as a person and a leader.

1:33:39 8 years later after the first time I heard this line and I still get chills, every time.

I love that this arc spoke to you so well. I started one piece already loving it, but this is where I got deeply deeply invested. Hiriluk is one of my top 10 characters and I’ve both caught up and reread. Just the aesthetic of the island, the focus being on conflicts with nature and internally (for chopper and vivi especially) instead of the main villain conflict really worked with all of the minor one off fights in the alabasta saga. I know wapol isn’t looked at fondly by the community but I really look at the character building style here as really influential for the rest of the series. This story structure is mirrored so often through the rest of the series and I love how it’s built.

Great discussion as always, can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Alabasta!

Damnit, I was looking forward to this review, chopper being one of my favorite characters, but here I am, in actual, physical pain trying not to cry (again) just remembering his backstory.

In lucky enough to be reading this for the first time almost alongside you (youre a little ahead of me), and its nice to be able to get another perspective as I go, incase I miss something or would like you to mention something in a future analysis.

You had me tearing up when describing the significance of the punch. I'm so glad you're sharing your One Piece journey with us. Thanks for the video!

#AJPiece I'm so happy you liked Drum Island as much as you did, its one of my favorite arcs and definitely one of the most underrated in the entire series, but i think it is one of the earliest examples in the series of the greatest trifecta in One piece: Complex and unique Characters, the intricate and constantly shifting World they inhabit, and the beautiful Themes that connect both like glue. But since you covered everything in the arc in terms of themes and character so thoroughly already i'll just talk about a detail i love of this arc about world building. I absolutely love how Oda managed to create such a unique setting and even plot using the rules he laid out earlier, not breaking them once, but using them to his advantage, honestly, with Oda limitations really just bolster his creativity. The grand line is such a ferocious sea that unless you're royalty, a marine or a pirate, its incredibly likely that you'll spend your entire life on the island you were born, without ever leaving, and Wapol was able to exploit that and the characteristics of his winter island to establish his tyranny. By chasing away all the doctors except the 10 professionals that worked under him, he ensured no one would ever oppose him, because, how could they? With a climate like that the likelihood of getting sick is incredibly high, and without medicine even a common cold could be fatal. So if your loved ones got sick, your only option other than complying with Wapol would be to test your luck trying to reach another island, something almost imposible, but then, you would need to convince a doctor to risk his life as well to travel back to a place where the authorities would kill him like a criminal. It also goes to show how even someone as mediocre as Wapol could be so dangerous when given authority, but in the end, his fake power wasn't able to defeat the will and dreams of the inhabitants of Drum Island.

Nice to see these continued. I just want to say on bounties.... for myself I have always seen them as a indicator of impact the individuals actions will have on the world. The bigger value equates to the supposed impact their actions have already cause and to a extent will cause in the future.

Every time I see your One Piece review pop up on RU-vid I go "Holy shit lesgoo" Thanks for these, they're a blast to listen to!

Very impressive review! literally can’t wait til you get further into the story so you can see why us fans get so excited for when new people start reading one piece

Thanks again for the great video! I'm glad you commented on Caroo's and Zoro's interaction. I loved how friendly Zoro was talking to him as a normal person even though he is a duck. Also, since you noticed Sanji's reaction to Nami's illness, I hope you will remember it later in the future (It's in the far future, so I hope you won't drop the series till then)

Here i thought Merphy was pushing the bounderies with her one hour reviews but you are going places i never thought that could be reached before. At this pace the real heavy hitter arcs will be 24+ hours Long XD

I think I speak for a lot of One Piece fans when I say the one piece readings/reviews that I enjoy most are the ones that delve deep into details, tangents, analysis, predictions, etc The more deep tangents you go into the better for me.

I never have a bad day at work when one of these videos drop

Wow it's been a while since I've watched drum Island but still listening to you talk about this arc made me tear up

1:59:59 Roger died 22 years ago. Kureha is almost 140. Let's say Roger was active for 30 years, that means Kureha was already in her 80s when he was a rookie. As far as we know, she could've delivered Roger's grandparents xD

“The he laughed moment” that sure sounds different nowadays

Ok now I trully appreciate this arc for all it's glory, the first time I read I was very young and a lot of the themes just didn't stick to me as much, now with hindsight of how important this themes are for the story I realice how amazing and well built this arc is. Also the idea that "remembering" is the medicine is something I never understood till now, thank you!

I’ve been so excited for this one omg I love chopper beyond words

It's honestly so nice watching you get into the story and develop theories. Chopper is so cute and sweet it's always good to remember he is younger than all the strawhats, so he learns a lot by looking at them, his relationship with Zoro is one of my favourites.

I'm glad you're enjoying one piece, thanks you for this series!

Wow, 2 hours in the drum island episode? im so happy!!✨ i think this arc is one of the ones that people often kind of overlook, but im so glad that youre so careful in picking up on the themes of all the arcs. there are so many things in one piece that gain a lot of importance in hindsight (like, a decade later in real time), and it always pays off to pay attention :D can't wait to see how long the alabasta review will be - maybe you're going to have to split it up or something, hehe. alabasta is one of my all-time favourite arcs. a LOT of fun, but very dramatic and full of meaning for the rest of the story.

#AJPiece Fun-fact: Jamie Lee Curtis is a One Piece fan and she said while her favorite character is Chopper and her friend is his English VA, she'd love to play Kureha someday because she thinks it's the most suitable for her

Honestly the thing I enjoy about One Piece is just how early and consistently the series is able to make characters like Hiriluk. Honestly Hiriluk could have been the best character in another series, but here he is in One Piece being a supporting character to another characters backstory, and while he's certainly memorable there's still so many characters before and after him who all have such a big impact, and I can't wait to hear your take on some of the series later tearjerker moments.

There's an added scene in the anime with Kureha looking into the distance with a tear in her eye as Chopper is leaving on the sled on the rope. You can check that out. It's really good.

I hope you saw the anime for choppers send off. It's amazing. I love your reviews they are beautifully made

Two questions!.. one will the earliest VODs be available or they get deleted on their own as time goes on... As I couldn't find before chapter 77 VODs... Two next stream is in Sunday right ? I don't wanna miss live for next stream...

The first backstory that made me tear up. Oda is good at establishing short and long staying characters

I have such a soft spot for Drum Island. I watched One Piece with my dad and the only time he cried was watching the father-son story of Chopper and Hiriluk. It gets me too but it’s more impactful knowing that arc affected him as much as it did me, and I’m grateful to Oda for writing Chopper’s story the way he did because of how much it resonated with my dad. One Piece is just really special. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I love keeping up with your reviews!

#AJPiece I think your thoughts and reviews are excellent, you just have a great way of explaining what you think about this series. Not really a question more of a suggestion, but with your top characters ranking you do at the end I think you should just split it into two lists: one for the members of the crew and a top 10 (or 20 or however big it gets) for everyone else (allies / side characters / antagonists). Just because you're probably going to have the Straw Hats in your top ten range no matter what so it can add variety.

Well, Chopper's fruit was also a Zoan type. There are three families of Devil Fruit based on the powers you get. Zoans are all about animal transformation, with the biggest drawback being that if an animal(including a normal human) eats the Zoan fruit that matches their exact species, they can neither transform nor swim.

I cried like 5 times cuz of this video 💀 First time watching ur content and I already love it. Subbed.

#AJPiece I just have to let you know. I was expecting a new chapter today, but it turns out that One Piece is on break this week. So I'm thrilled to get another one of your One Piece reviews instead, which is almost as good. Thanks a lot!

5:19-6:22 best take on lougue town I’ve heard in a hot minute

Thanks for this. I'm glad you enjoyed this and (as someone who's only watched this specific arc) I find it interesting that you fully enjoyed Chopper's father, as others have told me he was far less likable, in the manga, compared to the anime.

48:43 “I’m not sure if in the future there will be fruits from the Zoan family” Boy oh boy!

The Dr Hirluk speech was one of the best speeches in anime and manga , you should watch that scene in anime it's great💯

I can think of another scene you'll definitely want to see in the anime, but that's for the review after the next one it would seem.

I really enjoy your reviews and something I found interesting was that the world government knew that wapple was a bad king and still did nothing about it. The relationship of leaders and what they allow to happen is something to think about.

SO EXCITED FOR THIS VIDEO. This is where Alabasta's buildup truly begins paying off.

These are always a good time

So glad you loved this arc! It has always been one of my favorites, but most people I talk to do not think so highly of it. Chopper’s backstory is the best.

#AJPiece Great commentary on the types of king/ruler and the requirements in different situations. With that in mind what do you think is Luffy vision on being a king, or more specifically what really is the role of the Pirate King?

People with Zoan type Devil Fruits can turn into an animal. So besides Dalton, Chopper's Human-Human Fruit is also a Zoan type.

funny you should mention the fact the the story seems like it's being told at some point in the future because there's actually an old community theory about in that i think you might like. people have no doubt been pointing out times where usopp's lies have been coming true over the course of the story, well the theory goes that the entirety of One Piece is a story being told by Usopp long after the strawhat pirates have disbanded. if true, it would really tie into the syrup village theme of 'the importance of narrative seeing as one piece is a manga that has touched so many lives over the years. keep up the good work!

Drum Island is a arc I'm fond of probably mostly because of Chopper and his backstory with Dr. Hiruluk not to mention his speech is absolutely amazing "when does a man die only when he is forgotten!" plus Luffy climbing up the mountain with Sanji and Nami in tow is such a underrated moment in OP

#AJPiece Firstly, nice videos, and hope you continue to enjoy the journey. Secondly, now that you've met Chopper and seen what he's been able to do with his Rumble Balls, what are your thoughts on how 'Science' can affect Devil Fruits? Also, not sure if you caught on to it, but Chopper's Human-Human Fruit is a Zoan like Dalton's Ox-Ox Fruit. A key feature of this class of Devil Fruit is the three distinct forms the user has: their base form(Dalton's human and Chopper reindeer), a full beast form and a hybrid between the two(Chopper's small form is this for him).

That moment when Viví stops Luffy was spectacular And the climb oh my the climb

Again, still super happy that you're finally experiencing Oda's Masterpiece.

I don't think I fully appreciated before that Hiriluk introduced the idea of inherited hope that becomes a major theme later on

I regularly think this is a story narrated by somebody that we've met, which makes so much sense