Like Bonney and Kuma
In ch1183, Shuri was 7 and Brook was 20. Seven years on — Shuri is now 14 and Brook is 27 — and their parent-and-child-like bond hasn’t changed one bit. Not actually parent and child, but close like one.
This dynamic, as I’ll also discuss in the cover page section, is very much like Bonney and Kuma.
King Leuven’s Face Resembles Beethoven
Young Prince Leuven‘s face and hairstyle are modeled on Ludwig van Beethoven. Esperia Kingdom is a nation of instrument craftsmen, so it makes complete sense that the future king would be styled after Beethoven — often called “the Father of Music.”
Trash Heap Homage
The recent backstory arcs in One Piece’s final chapter are packed with homages befitting the finale. Loki’s childhood wove in elements of Ace and Chopper; the God Valley Incident echoed Marineford. And now in Brook’s childhood, three different children’s memories tied to a trash heap are paid homage — though the other two aren’t Sabo and Ace.
First: Luffy
Brook is mistaken for the courier and captured by corrupt marines who were trying to intercept illegal drugs bound for the Mouron family — then tortured. This is a direct homage to Luffy being captured and tortured by Porchemy.
Prince Leuven and Kandel rushing in to rescue Brook is a homage to Ace and Sabo saving Luffy.
It’s a Goa Kingdom homage — though Prince Leuven seems to have called the corrupt marines “garbage” and wiped them out. The exact opposite of the Goa King, who set fire to the trash heap planning to burn the residents along with it.
Leuven concealing his status as a prince when meeting Brook is a homage to Sabo hiding his status as a noble’s son when he met Ace.
So the first of the three “trash heap children” paid homage in Brook’s childhood is Luffy. …Side note: why does the villain marine look exactly like a character from Dokaben? He was even carrying a bat.
Second: Doflamingo
Young Doflamingo, striking his signature cool pose at the top of the trash heap. Even after Law joined, they used the heap as their base for a while. That iconic image of young Doflamingo — fallen from World Noble to just another street kid — was homaged through Prince Leuven.
Third: Law
When the others were discussing the White Lead Disease, young Law — having just resolved to stab Corazon — sat alone in the trash heap. He was ultimately saved by Corazon’s love. That scene where their hearts finally draw close to each other was homaged in this week’s final panel.
Brook’s flashback is happening in the middle of the Elbaf arc — and in the Elbaf arc, King Harald being manipulated by Im was itself a homage to King Riku being manipulated by Doflamingo in Dressrosa. The chain of Dressrosa self-homages in this arc just keeps going.
Cover Page Theory
Cover page request: “Brook getting electrocuted by an electric jellyfish while swimming in the sea.” The pattern on the jellyfish looks just like Im’s eyes — which is a bit unsettling. Could the jellyfish be symbolizing that Im was the mastermind behind the destruction of Esperia Kingdom and the shock Brook carries from it?
And speaking of electric sea creatures and Brook — this brings to mind the ch1098 cover page featuring Bonney’s birth.
As I mentioned at the start of this article, Shuri and Brook’s relationship has that warm, parent-and-child quality — just like Bonney and Kuma. With the cover page elements echoing each other too, this has to be an intentional homage.
The final panel of this chapter was also a homage to the scene where Law opened his heart to Corazon. Speaking of Law’s childhood — that’s ch762 “The White Town.” The cover page for that chapter was part of the Jimbei series, with the Straw Hats floating at sea — a composition close to this week’s cover page.
Probably a blend of those two cover pages. That’s all for today. See you next week.