“A Turnaround Move! The Flames of Marco the Phoenix!”

A lot of the first half is the familiar way things have worked for a bit where we still get a good bit of varied fighting going on but now with the twist of Chopper trying to get the antidote to the virus out there to enough people before it spreads uncontrollably. It takes an amusing twist with March burning Chopper which sets the others after him, but the reality is that it’s doing good work toward helping Chopper deal with the way he’s been iced up. He’s on fire but it’s not a hot or cold fire but rather one that’s simply warming him. It’s a busy and chaotic situation, especially when the helpful medical Mink friends arrive, but it’s welcome to see how the chill so many are facing is being eased by what Marco is able to bring to the table.

What we get by the end of this part is that Marco and others will help Chopper and his friends so that Zoro, Robin, and Brook can go deal with the real opponents out there and not these small fries, which is a welcome shift. The back half of the episode does go back to more of its usual focus but since that also includes some time with Jimbei, which always delights me, as well as with Franky as his fight gets pretty intense, it’s a good bit of fun. Franky’s still a hard character for me to connect with because of a lot of things about him, but I do like him as a character. Him with a mecha of sorts here fighting is definitely exactly who he is and always was, but it is at the same time also one of my least favorite things about him. It’s pretty fun stuff overall and it helps to up the ante nicely in the larger events that are going on here as we continue to get closer and closer to the really serious stuff.

In Summary:

While Kaido begins the New Onigashima Project, Marco appears in front of Chopper and the others, who are struggling with Ice Oni. The members of the Tobi Roppo continue to give the Straw Hats a hard time while their former member helps Zoro.

Thanks for reading! See you next week! 

乂⍱‿●乂