Chapter Analysis

Color Cover: The Rocks Pirates The Rocks Pirates in suits look absolutely incredible. Maybe it’s because it’s Chapter 1169 — a stylish (カッコイイ) number for a stylish crew? Black suits, blue and purple shirts. Wang Zhi — the traitor who helped kidnap Shakky but never made it to God Valley — is the only one … Read more

A Homage to Water Seven Harald’s efforts and policies have finally come together — Elbaf-born Marines are making a name for themselves, and Elbaf seafood and timber have become wildly popular. The world seems to be entering a full-on “Elbaf boom.” This brings to mind Water Seven right after the Sea Train line first opened. … Read more

The Meaning of the Cover Page Cover page request: “Genzo and Nojiko scolding a cat that was trying to steal a book — but not really angry.” This is a clear callback to an episode from Nami’s childhood. ↓ Speaking of Nami — After reading Chapter 1167 all the way through and then looking back … Read more

What Hair Color Reveals The colored version of Rocks was revealed on the Jump cover — not in the chapter itself. His hair is white and blue. That all but confirms Buggy is his son: same hair color, and his wanted poster composition is almost identical to Rocks’s. Some new questions emerge: The third will … Read more

Is Law’s Return to the Main Story Imminent? Law reappears in the cover page — he’d been absent since his defeat at Blackbeard’s hands, with his fate unknown. Could a return to the main story be close? The cover page itself follows an interesting homage pattern. The last panel featuring Law in the main story … Read more

Davy’s Blood The meaning of the title “Davy’s Blood”: Davy D. Jones had a deep connection with Im 800 years ago. Rocks carries that blood, and now his son Teach has survived the God Valley Incident — meaning Davy’s will was not severed, but passed down through bloodline directly to Teach. The dream that Im … Read more

Fishman Island Homage This chapter was packed with self-homage elements from the Fishman Island arc: Even so, Im’s line — “It was you… Davy Jones!!” — is baffling. During the Egghead arc, when Emet’s body released the Haki bound by Joy Boy, you could forgive someone for thinking “Is Joy Boy still alive?” But calling … Read more

Yamato’s Cover Page Series: The Final Chapter Yamato’s Kin’inahori Proxy Pilgrimage, Final Chapter: “Dear Luffy — Wano is at peace today as well.” Yamato’s journey around Wano is complete. I expected her to gather a large crew along the way, like Oden did, but she ended up with only two companions. That’s probably fine — … Read more

The Color Page: Crane Game The color spread features the crew playing a crane game filled with chibi plushies — those cute, big-eyed, round-nosed map pin icons that One Piece uses for character location. Roger and Rocks have been added to the series this time around. (Rocks is adorable, by the way.) These would be … Read more

The Skypiea Homage Returns As I noted in my previous cover page analysis, the Skypiea homage is back. The Celestial Dragons hunting humans at God Valley and the hostage game at Elbaf are both callbacks to the trials Enel set in motion in Skypiea — and his plan to wipe out every islander along with … Read more