It always fills me with joy when a piece of media you love so much is talked about by others so passionately. And I'm here for it. Merphy has become my favourite one piece RU-vidr. 😂❤
Merphy I think VegaPunk's dream of OP version of Internet/ Mind cloud is One Piece or atleast a part of it... Because Blackbeard Would keep on sacrificing his crew for Laughtale and When he reaches there he would have no one to connect his mind with... However when Luffy and crew reach there... there minds might become connected and Whatever one thinks is broadcasted to others... And I bet they are just gonna Laugh at each others words... The mind connection also means world can be a better place if everyone can just be honest with everyone else... And you can also see why that connection would be Harmful to Any form of Govt. of anytime... maybe that device was the Egg on Roger's ship that they took from last Island... It might also hint why the Next Brain Brain Fruit user would love eggs😂 and Name his own version of that Internet as Egg head... Foreshadowing on God level 😂😂
These two have been my favorite new members of the One Piece community. Seeing people fall in love with a story that you've been reading for over a decade has been such a wonderful experience.
What I took from the “I want to live” was that Robin was saying she wants to live a FULL life. With friends, joy, and love. I felt like she never dared wish for them things before. So many layers to it. Truly amazing.
the series ages just like we do, you will be shocked by how mature the storytelling gets as you transition from reading Oda in his 20's to Oda in his 30's, which is honestly masterful because the stakes and trauma ramp up at a very disciplined rate and it makes me feel like Oda didn't touch overly serious subjects until he himself had gone thru more life and trauma and could write about it as something he's intimately familiar with- and this is where One Piece easily trumps like a Harry Potter, because it's generationally relevant across 2-3 decades, and as it permeates the western world the magnificence of that is going to constantly wow newcomers
What I love about One Piece is that it never claims to be a perfect story, same with it's characters. It's almost intentional for Eichiiro Oda that he includes us, the readers to create the story with him.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Also a perfect match. Chimney dragged Gonbe along for the ride on all their shenanigans, and you're getting a kick out of it. Isn't that your entire experience with manga so far? Hesitantly dipping your toes into manga, and now you're reading the monolith that is One Piece. Nuff said.
Luffy is all about LIVING! What's so powerful about Robin shouting out to Luffy that she "wants to live" is not only did we see the sorrowful depressing hard existence she had in her life before. The fact of the matter is Luffy with his acceptance of her, and to a lesser and less powerful sense the rest of the crew accepting and caring for her, Luffy just radiates I WANT TO LIVE
One of my favorite One Piece moments is Saul saying to small Robin that the sea is vast and she would find her nakama someday. It reminds me of Bellemere telling Nami that as pong as she keeps living, good things would happen. The mentors to the straw hats are so great. And there are so many great moments I cant even rank them, the Water 7 saga is filled with those
A few mins in, and how the islands being their own story is something related to a genius plot device..LogPose. The rule implies, we got to store the magnetic data between islands to progress..and it takes some time, in the meanwhile we get to explore it. Some adaptation will look at any other book and say :- We got to have the final goal in mind from the get go, no side stories, be determined. While in OnePiece, you just cannot skip these stories due to Logpose being present..it is not a side quest, it's The Quest.
just wait till my theory about Log"Pose" gets proven. lol Logpose=Compose? the islands on the Grandline form a Bar of Music on a sheet from a birds eye view and Luffys route is the Song of Freedom
So happy to see more people share about this epic story. The thing about One PIece is it disarms you in a sort of way. The goofy characters. The simple to understand motivations. Sometimes the reality of the world bogs us down and we start to doubt the simple truths One Piece reignites in us. That our dreams are achievable. That we can have a family that accepts and loves us. That we can fight back against an unjust world. One PIece gives us the freedom to believe in ourselves the way we believe in these characters. I believe thats the overall hallmark of a great story.
One of my favorite themes in One Piece is the one you talk about in that everyone has a past and every person is dealing with their own ups and downs in life. Everyone’s perspective is unique and we are doing a disservice to others by stereotyping, judging, and making assumptions. Now more than ever, it is easy to judge others. Each person comes from a different method of thought, a different background, a different understanding of the world, and it’s valuable to be vulnerable, try to understand others and give them the benefit of the doubt until we know them. It’s valuable for them, giving others a chance. It’s also valuable to us, the individual, in navigating our own judgements, in avoiding judgement mistakes, causing mistrust within ourselves and limiting ourselves from possibilities. Vulnerability isn’t just about surrendering yourself to others, it’s about allowing others to surrender themselves if they want to. Thats the beauty about Luffy, he understands in giving others the space to be vulnerable with themselves. Great video. Merphy is a master of cadence when describing story. I’m not even reading or watching, but her descriptive way of talking about the story makes me tear up a bit. If you’re a fan of storytelling, I think there is a lot of learn from the energy and way Merphy speaks about story. Excited for the next steps as always.
Actually really cool seeing the professor start to cement himself in the one piece RU-vidr stratosphere. His unique expertise with fantasy and storytelling combined with the greatest fantasy story ever told? Just makes too much sense to have happened sooner I guess lol. Was bound for success regardless! Can’t wait for your next saga review professor!
As a big One piece fan, it's amazing to hear you talk about one piece, I've been watching your videos on the series since the first episode and I can't get enough of them ! Can't wait for the Thriller Bark video 🏴☠🏴☠🏴☠
Hey Phillip been loving this literary dissection series that you've been doing on One Piece and it's always a joy when I receive a notification that you've uploaded a new video ♥️. Just one piece of advice (ha one piece) the next arc is Thriller Bark and there's a specific part (no spoilers ofc) which though great in the manga is greatly enhanced in the anime for what it's trying to convey because music is like the main focal point of this scene so i would highly suggest just watching this 1 episode of the anime before switching back over to the manga. The episode number is 380 and it covers chapters 487 and 488 just as a reference ;)
I'm pretty sure the average age of one piece's fans is way higher than other shounen. Nico robin is such a good character and you can see her gradually opening to the crew, before water 7 she doesn't even bother to learn their name! Also in chapter 200 we can already see the true side of Nico Robin when she laugh about water luffy.
I have really appreciated the lens that you bring to this work. Too often, I'm turned off by a video essay analyzing the themes of One Piece that are shared with other manga. I find myself wondering if people read the same story as I read. I also get so tired of some of the discussions around things like "power scaling". It can feel as though One Piece is pigeonholed due to the magazine where it's published and its medium. That said, I really appreciate you taking your literary expertise and applying it where it was much needed. I think for some it might be a nostalgically-driven sense of affirmation that makes your videos endearing--or at least, there's me in that pile-of-one. It pains me when people say they disliked Skypiea (along with another later arc I won't name here for spoiler reasons since you haven't read it yet). These two arcs mirror the real world and feel like a call to action in my eyes. One Piece is asking us why we are so complacently happy within our walls. It may be comfortable for some but painfully divisive for so many more. I can understand the challenges some had with the pacing, antagonists, or duration of fights, but the story of human connection and the will of those in the past who push us into our future is so painfully human. And I think one thing that perhaps is lost in the world at this time is that idea, itself. Have we lost that connection with the wishes of those who came before us? It might feel so easy to step on others' dreams when the only ones you know are your own. But humanity is built on its own efforts. Anyways, I could go on, but I didn't mean to write this much in the first place. Basically, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time, and I hope to be able to take the time to go back and watch some of your other videos.
Thank you so much! I love your comments here, and you said it beautifully about the centrality of connection in One Piece. This is what elevates the series to me. Cheers!
I never understood why, but I get so emotional when I listen to discussions like these… I have been reading/watching One Piece for almost 20 years now- over half my lifetime. For a large portion of that time, I was ridiculed, teased and mocked at by my peers for claiming it was my favorite and that it was the best. Fast forward to today, and I’m seeing positive genuine reactions from people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and interests. It brings me so much joy… Thanks for sharing the passion that I have held on to for so many years! You should see me right now. A grown man with snot dripping down his nose and water welling from his eyes over a silly pirate crew. Thank you Prof. Chase! 😭
Please continue giving your personal take. There is a kindness as well as a knowledge that you speak with about One Piece that I really enjoy and keep coming back to whether something is my favorite arc or not. Also, I love these One Piece chats.
My goal for the year is to catch up on One Piece. Already made it to Wano! Hearing you two talk about One Piece in this manner is just fantastic. I love that so many people are able to share their passion for the series with each other
I go to one piece for the story and when I discuss it with people, I always talk about it from the standpoint of it’s able to bring out a type of imagination and connection that is different than just regular fighting. I’ve read a ton of manga in my life and one piece hits different from a literary standpoint. You and Merphy are two of my favorite people to talk about this series because of how you discuss it. (If Merphy could get Two Dudes Talking Manga to return as well, I feel like the three of you discussing this series could be an all time great chat)
What a cute thumbnail yet again! I always love seeing you two talk about anthing, but especially one piece! As someone that just got into reading books again, it is very nice to have some of my favorite booktubers talk about something ive been a fan of for half my life now.
I love watching you both talk about one piece so much!!! And great advice at the end, keep on your time and pace and we will be here to watch you! So cool
Loved having both of you for this discussion! I like passionate dramatic and loud discussions/chapter reviews/reactions, as much as the next one. But I really love these more in-depth no-topic discussions that dive into the themes and the characters and their relationships and the overall experience, and both of you give me that, so I guess it was a really good pairing! Keep it up crew!
For me it was the dymanic around usopp and that confrontation that really got me to the point of tears. Robin's arc was the cherry on top, along with luffy's forceful growth as a captain while never wavering in the face of all the setbacks. Water 7 was truly amazing. The anime opening for the long ring long land plus water 7 arc is also by far my favourite, you should watch it sometime to get all the feels again. Great content!
Oh, wow! I've discovered your channel a couple months ago and Merphy's just last week and I've been watching a ton of videos on both and even imagined you two discussing one piece together but thought "that's for sure never happening" as I had no idea you actually knew each other. And yet here we are, just a few days later.
What I love about OP can write a book, but in the end, its the romance! To live freely, go on adventures with friends and do good in the world. A lot of those things are lost in real world where things get complicated, but in OP, no matter how complicated things are, Luffy keeps things simple Also for Luffy vs Usopp, I like how Zoro straight up said that its not about who is right or wrong, its about crew respecting the captain! Luffy was in wrong too and he apologized immediately, Usopp needed to do the right thing too And dang, Merphy had similar issues as me with live action
@@nikgokuhil A well run ship has a crew that respects the captain’s decisions (unless he’s gone insane or becomes cruel). The alternative is inefficiency at best. Cheers!!
I think the best part about One Piece to me is that it just keeps going and there's so much more. The modern day Odyssey. Manga's LotR, y'know? And maybe the last one we'll ever get, since the slow starts that series like One Piece were afforded back in the 90s are no longer a luxury new manga can get because of increasing competition. It's like history in the making. Also, this video is cool because it's basically a recap of your experience so far, and it seems like you're picking up basically everything that Oda is setting down, which means that when he cashes in on it (and he will!) I cannot wait to see your reactions >:)
@@illuminoeye_gaming Thanks so much! I’m so glad One Piece was given the time and space to grow into what it is today - which is something I’m still discovering, and I’m very much enjoying the process!
THE COLLAB I HAVE LONG AWAITED HAS ARRIVED!! its a blessing to hear two people who both have an enthusiasm for the series but who both have literary backgrouds. It helps to enrich the discussion and give perspectives that sometimes i haven't picked up on even after 20 years with this series
My heart feels so warm ☺️ seeing two of my absolute favorite youtubers talking about One Piece gives me so much joy. It doesn't feel like seeing a OP youtuber discuss it, it feels like a conversation with friends and I love it
i remember merphy being the one guest starring on videos, being the one just starting the series, and now she’s the one all caught up having the knowledge and perspective talking to another newer reader it’s lovely to see the cycle
One thought on the advice Merphy left you at the end - I do genuinely appreciate your perspective on understanding a story and what function it's trying to serve! I agree you should stick with it. One specific example was with Long Ring Long Island and the Davy Back fight. I really didn't like it that much, especially after the fun of Skypiea and G8. But in your video you made a specific case of there is probably some reason and helpful function for the story. You even made a point specifically that even if it wasn't your favorite there's most likely some utility to the story, or at least some foreshadowing of risks and things to come. That was a nice perspective, and it's helping me just in general sit with portions I don't like and wonder "Is this trying to do something I'm not seeing? Even if I don't love this, is there something I should be trying to internalize here?" So yeah, keep on with the opinions and positivity!
@@dswain500 Thanks so much! I appreciate you making this point and writing some kind words in the process. It makes me happy if any video I make gives anyone further appreciation of a story! All the best!
One Piece is a story that you can't help but fall deeper and deeper in love with the more time you spend with it. As you said, it feels like you're part of the crew on a wonderful journey. It's an adventure for us all. I'm so happy that you're enjoying it!
Ey! Merphy! Kween 👑 Merphy! I first saw of Merphy when she talked with RogersBase a few years ago and I love her! I haven't watched all her OP reactions yet because a lot piled up, but still lover her and I shall catch up to her videos! Also, with the unpopularity of Skypiea is that in the anime, they extended the fight between Satori (ball guy) for like 5 episodes. The enemies also weren't the most interesting to a lot.
Merph is always a good person to have around! Don't get tired of her talking about OP over and over again lol, both of you have a serene energy to yourself, really enjoyable as a podcast.
Amazing video! I unfortunately had a lot of the big parts of one piece spoiled for me before I even had a chance to watch the anime, so it is really nice seeing you learn more and more about this world from a fresh perspective. Even though I was spoiled, watching you and others explore the deeper meanings in one piece has allowed me to learn new things about the world of One Piece when I thought that was no longer possible. Thanks!
I really love your videos on One Piece man. The entire time I was reading OP (read it all last year for the first time) I desperately wanted someone to articulate the deep literary merit I was picking up on and here you are delivering. Thank you both for making such awesome content surrounding literature it so so so important. I cannot wait until you become a weekly reader with us. I get goosebumps thinking about the day we all get to the find the One Piece with the straw hats!!
Long time fan of Merphy (and One Piece of course) but this is the first video i saw of you and i really loved it and your thoughts on the manga so far! Now i have some catching up to do.
@@Neaeran I’m so glad you enjoyed this discussion! It’s always a joy to chat with Merphy. If it makes it any easier, I have a One Piece playlist on the channel as well as playlists for the other manga I read and discussed with Merphy. All the best!
oh, it's so fun talking about One Piece... I'm 29 and I've been grew up with One Piece for 2 decades...never once stop dropping the series... Its literally got anything that I love about story...
The "I want to live" struck me the same as nami's "luffy help me" from along park. They all are a family and need each other. I love how they are are flawed in their own way and would not make it anywhere without each other
I also loved the discussion about the funeral of the Going Merry. For One Piece Day 2024 which happened just a few days ago, the Going Merry’s funeral won the title of the best anime scene, and “I want to live” ranked seventh. I would have put “I want to live” first, but the anime really does elevate the funeral scene a lot.
really love to listen other people perspective, especially from different generation. sometimes we really didn't expect the perspective really are. enjoy Onepiece sir.
Happy to see the old manga discussion crew back together. I’m hopeful that someday those weekly or biweekly manga chats would make a return, either for one piece or another manga in the future. Those chats were enjoyable and a fun watch.
I need you to finish thriller bark already haha!!! But just take your time, and have an awesome journey with one piece. These videos are out of this world!!! I mean truly phenomenal
such a fun discussion! when you brought up how merry's death was just SO heartbreaking, I also think that while merry's broken keel was the start to the arc, the merry was also kind of the keel to the arc as a whole. everything that happened on water 7 ultimately was because of the love for merry
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy might be a good excuse for me to do a reread 🤔 it’s pretty short and I think I might appreciate it more now more context of how it fits into the larger narrative
My wife was also brought in my the live action. She doesn't have any interest in the manga or anime (no time for +1000 chapters and episodes) but she's looking forward to the next season. Glad there's another avenue for fans to access the story and characters.
By the way, uttering a variation of the phrase " I can't believe I am crying over an animated ship" is the writ of passage in the community. In that moment, everyone who listened internally went, "We got him". Glad to have you here :)
Great talk as always I remember I started binging One Piece after I lost someone and watching the persistence of the characters helped me get strong and to be better. Also its hilarious and the sense of adventure never ends
The thing that fully solidified the significance of the merry is the fact that she knew she was dying and was even thrown into the aqua laguna and yet she still sailed all the way across the rough seas that night bc she wanted to “carry them one last time” - she came when it seemed like there was no hope, and this really solidified her as a member of the crew, showing that without her, the crew would not be here today. And this ties so perfectly tgt with the themes of the entire arc bc the merry is only able to develop a soul, to come and help them, bc of the love and care that ussop put into her. Even tho ussop couldn’t join the fight at enies lobby (since obviously sogekong is NOT ussop), he still played a critical role and the straw hats truly could not have made it out without him. The going merry, just like robin and ussop both did in this arc, takes this moment to iterate her desire to be in the crew - it’s her desire to make the most of her life and to take a chance on them, knowing she could be destroyed in the process. And in that same vein the death of the going merry is like the death of ussop’s old role in the crew (as well as the death of the first section of the story, the youthful beginnings of this crew that was really more like a group of friends) which signifies the beginning of a whole new beginning of his relationship with the crew as well as everyone else’s relationship with each other. But this is also another symbolic reason why ussop has to rejoin the crew, with new intent and new purpose. And the crew also knows that after this arc they have CHOSEN the straw hats. That it’s not just a temporary choice of circumstance, but that they truly want to be a part of this team as they have now all sacrificed sth to be a part of it
It's actually supposed to be Aqua RAGNA, as in Ragnarok. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that every instance of "Laguna" in an English transaltion is wrong, and it's actually "Ragna". It's a very popular shortening in a lot of Japanese SFF properties, especialy video games.
I had no idea. That's super cool. Also, I've been a one piece fan for a few years now, basically was hooked as soon as i started. I always considered myself a one piece junkie but never noticed the connection between the tides on the long ring long land and aqua ragna in water 7
It's also based on the Acqua Alta, the tides that flood Venice (stated in the SBS). Furthermore, Oda loves puns so it very much could be a play of lagoon and Ragnarok.
@@OfficialTigerino Oh yeah, I read that SBS, and I didn't know about the Aqua Alta before that, it was so interesting. Oda is inspired by so many things, I love it so much. It can't really be a pun on lagoon, though, because in Japanese, because of how the pronunciation works, it would have to be written differently: the way it is in the manga, ラグナ/raguna, the "u" becomes silent (like, for example, the "u" in the name Sasuke from Naruto, which is really pronounced Sass'ke). If you want the "u" to be actually sounded it has to be written ラグーナ/raguーna. (The "u" sound when it's not part of the first syllable is nearly always silent or near silent, though can also be overemphasized at the end of words for comedic effect and similar.) You can hear it really well in the anime any time a character talks about it. Sometimes it's hard to pick out if they talk a lot, but I think there are a lot of instances where they just say the name of it. The word "lagoon" in Japanese is a loanword written as "ラグーン/raguーn" (where the "ra" can lean as much towards "la" as you want, and it varies with dialect and sociolect too of course), too. (I work as a small time translator from Japanese (but to another language than English), so I tend to notice these things and just thought I'd mention it. Sorry for the mini-lecture, it's just that I'm really interested in this sort of thing, lol.)
You two newcomers are just great foil to the manga community. Can’t wait for you to catch it with us as soon as possible. Merry Go is the first great casualty of the series and it broke everyone. There’s something about Merry thanking the StrawHats for loving it so thoroughly as it dies made it so heartbreaking. Also I think you reading 2 arcs at the same time just makes good sense. Thriller Bark and Archipelago read together is great juxtaposition just like Long Ring Long Land read together with Water 7. I’m surprised you are the first one to catch the foreshadowing of LRLL taking away the crewmates and Water 7 delivered. Not one reactors on youtube seemed to have caught that, claiming LRLL as fillery lol.