Is This a Foreshadowing of Franky’s Power-Up?!
Yamato’s Cover Story Vol.22: The star is Franky!! This cover page coincides with the announcement of the new voice actor for Franky in the One Piece anime.
…or so it seems — but I actually think this is a genuine foreshadowing of Franky powering up to a flying model.
Evidence: Franky’s legs are barely visible on the cover — and they clearly look like Gundam legs.
Gundam is made up of three components — upper body, Core Fighter, and lower body — with the pilot controlling the unit from around the navel position inside the Core Fighter.
Sounds a lot like General Franky!
So: with Vegapunk’s assistance, a “fighter jet” unit gets added to the Soldier Dock System, and General Franky becomes a giant flying robot!
On top of that, the rest of the crew on the cover are holding bubble guns — so maybe Franky himself gets equipped with a bubble gun and bubble shield, making him able to fight Logia types!
Luffy Imitating Jinbe
Then again, Luffy loves imitating his crewmates — so this might just be him having fun.
Last week I covered how the cover page was a Jinbe homage. Did that energy carry over into this week?
A Greeting Taught by Makino?
Or maybe this yakuza-film-style greeting is something Makino taught him. Luffy and Ace were both taught by Makino how to properly greet someone you owe a debt to.
The name “Makino” is likely taken from Masahiro Makino, the director of Oda’s all-time favorite film, Jirocho Sangokushi. Oda reportedly loved it so much that he asked the studio to release it on DVD and personally offered to draw the jacket illustration.
Jirocho Sangokushi tells the story of the legendary yakuza boss Shimizu Jirocho in his early days — traveling the land, solving troubles, winning followers, and eventually becoming a great boss. It is essentially the blueprint for Luffy’s journey.
So: Foosha Village’s Makino takes her name from director Masahiro Makino — and the greeting Makino taught Luffy and Ace is a yakuza-style greeting in the tradition of Director Makino. That’s why Luffy gave the jingi greeting to Sauro.
The Well of Knowledge from Norse Mythology
The spring beneath the owl’s library — a spring as a symbol of knowledge — could this be modeled on Mimir’s Well, the Norse mythological source of wisdom?
Mimir’s Well is the spring where Odin sacrificed one eye in exchange for knowledge.
Could this finally be the moment for “the only pirate with an eye patch” that Oda teased long ago?!
The Shanks Twin Theory
Since the Reverie in volume 90, a Shanks-like figure has reappeared — hooded, with a left eye whose scar status is hard to make out.
This reappearance might finally settle the Shanks twin theory. I was firmly against this idea when it first started circulating, but self-homage has made me think it could be possible.
Inside the glass-box world captured by Lord, Grasshopper Rider appeared — and it looks unmistakably like the Flying Fish Riders, making it a self-homage to the Duval arc.
Duval is famous for being Sanji’s lookalike. So the groundwork is now laid for a character who looks identical to someone but is an entirely different person.
