“The Predator’s Trap – Black Maria’s Temptation”

The episode essentially continues on a lot of the same storylines without too much happening. The events with Kaido and Yamato move along well enough in the fight but also in how Yamato finally makes it clear that they won’t be in service to him in any form or fashion. This is a given at this point but that’s how Kaido operates. It’s a decent back and forth and some of the discussion about what Yamato has done over time are brought up, notably in the Fruit that Yamato partook of, but it keeps coming back to a slow-rolling fight sequence. Which again, isn’t badly done in the slightest, and I know this fight, in particular, hasn’t gone on long, but it comes after a lengthy fight with Kaido and Luffy that only ended with Luffy being knocked away. Of course, it’s the local hero that often has to be pivotal in events here but it doesn’t feel like Yamato will be the one in the end so that undercuts some of the feelings here.

I was happy to get some time the last episode with Franky getting hands-on in the fight, even though I struggle with his character in a lot of ways when it comes to the fighting. It just takes me out of things too much compared to most other Devil Fruit users, though it makes sense for him. We continue to get more of his fight with Sasaki and it’s similar to the above in that it works well enough and even gets down to swordfight material directly, but there’s just not enough that to really make it feel impactful as opposed to a kind of a filler of sorts to keep things moving without really doing too much. I was glad to see the episode give us a little time with Brook and Robin, however, as we haven’t seen them for a bit, but there’s some weirdness at first with what they encounter in the fog and it just letting Robin’s memories being messed with.

In Summary:

Kaido tries to convince Yamato to become the Shogun of the Land of Wano and rule the country with the special power he obtained by accident. Meanwhile, Saul, Professor Clover, and Robin’s mother Olvia suddenly appear in front of her.

Thanks for reading! Leave your comments below! See you next week! 

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