Family, Masks and Self-Acceptance | Reviewing One Piece: Whole Cake Island

You can watch my next One Piece review (The Reverie) RIGHT NOW on Patreon here (5$+): www.patreon.com/Aleczandxr To follow the readthroughs on stream, you can follow me on Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/Aleczandxr/ Link to AJ's Discord server: discord.gg/Ekhz7PNuJd One little error - in this video I ranked Smoker in both the honorable mentions and at 29. That was an error because of the list crossing over and getting mixed up with my Reverie ranking. For this video, Smoker’s rightful place is 29 and he is an HM for Reverie. CURRENT TWITCH SCHEDULE: Mondays @ 10am EST: A Blind Playthrough of Metal Gear Solid 3 Wednesdays @ 10am EST: Naruto Readthrough Fridays @ 10:30am EST: SOME FRIDAYS, I do full One Piece reading streams as well. Check Discord for updates/details. Sundays @ 11am EST: One Piece Readthrough

I can't believe we're so close to the end of these videos. Of all the YouTubers I've watched document their journey through One Piece, your series has by far been my favorite. The way you interact with media is a joy, and these stream-of-thought videos are fantastic. As for why people seem to say that One Piece falls off post-timeskip, I think one of the big reasons is that people caught up to the series and transitioned to a weekly format, either with the manga or anime. One Piece got a huge boost in popularity during Marineford, and a lot of people got to binge the entire first half of the series before getting caught up and having to wait for the next chapter. There's so much to remember, I've read through the series several times and I still forget things. So if someone had just read/watched once a long time ago I can definitely understand why they wouldn't have as much attachment to the series as the years go by.

#AJPIECE it’s crazy to me that even to this day people complain about Sanji not having an actual fight in this arc, but overlook the fact that Sanji knocked out a yonko in front of his father while being himself. No germa technology but his passion and love, things Judge abandoned him for, saved everyone on WCI and it’s so much more powerful than him kicking someone.

Your Wano streams lately have been no exaggeration some of my favourite content I've seen in anything. Your passion and excitement and overall presence and personality are a blessing. Thank you.

I know you already love the Nami slap, so let me add some more appreciation to it. One thing I love about WCI is how much growth everyone shows. You see multiple characters really dropping "gags" from the first half to show maturity in a number of ways. Chopper for example beyond his burgeoning mentorship of Carrot as a big brother figure always had a gag of being just awful at hiding and here he is being one of the most key members of a reconnaissance mission and being a team player, but what about Nami? Nami used to hide behind money as a way to hide her true feelings. She'd constantly hold grudges pre time skip and remind people of any debt they'd owe her to guilt people and usually didn't like to be open about her true self. It comes from years of having to betray people for Arlong and you see her start opening up but still using money as a proxy to show it. You see it with Lola and you see it with Camie at the auction house. It's important that the first major arc of the time skip has Nami forgiving a grudge and resolving a lot of her past and the second on Punk Hazard has her being a lot more altruistic and openly wanting to help the children with no sign of an ulterior motive. So Nami's opened up a ton from her time skip showing a commitment to the crew, and here is Sanji trying to play up a false role when for his entire time on the crew he's been one of the members who wore his heart on his sleeve the most. Nami understands what's going on, she knows this isn't what he feels and that he clearly is forcing himself, but it hurts her because he isn't putting the level of faith in Luffy to trust him the same way Nami has. It's like a slap in the face to all of her growth since joining the Straw Hats to see him not even willing to ask for help, for trying to take it all on himself and that's why she slaps him. It ties in everything that's changed for Nami since she joined and god I love WCI.

My mvp for WCI is Bege. Its an arc all about fractures in family relationships in many different shapes and forms. Sanji's family and the idea of who his real father is. Sanji as part of Luffy's crew abd stepping out of it. Big Mom and her family being her crew, but also her old family beating eaten by her. The broken dynamic of the germa family. Katakuri as his big brother role being unable to be himself. Lola as an outcast family member. In all these instabilities and fractures in family relations is a man that stands in contrast to it all, a bastion of stability. A husband and a father. A mafia-like boss, godfather, to his own crew. With the perfect devil fruit to represent that, a bastion.

After listening to the whole 3 hours, I'm reaffirmed in my opinion that WCI is my favorite arc. The thematic richness, the focus, the characterwork and setting is just peak OP imo. Thanks for this retelling and in depth review

I'm so glad at the beginning you said Big Mom has one of the most interesting psychologies in all of One Piece. So many people dismiss her as shallow and annoying and I absolutely love her and am more terrified of her than someone like Doflamingo. And the Carrot love. I feel similarly about her but she gets so much hate. She's awesome.

#AJPiece I wanted to bring something regarding Brulee and Flampbe. In one of the chapter comments during WCI, Oda said that he wanted to try to write something "Moe" (the anime concept of cuteness). At first you think this is referring to Flampbe since she has a cute anime girl design. But at the end of the arc in an SBS Oda added a line saying "I had fun writing Moe , it's all about a cute little sister" the twist being that he was actually referring to another little sister, Brulee who has the opposite of a Moe design, but was a kind hearted little sister who cared for his brother for who he was , unlike Flampbe.

God this arc was amazing for me. What a great, emotional ride. Zou into Whole Cake Island is an amazing stretch of manga.

Semla is actually a real Swedish filled bun traditionally eaten in February (specifically on the Tuesday Fettisdagen) before the Christian fasting. While few are actively religious the semla tradition is still strong. Every local newspaper will have a semla test from the more famous local bakeries and the lines on Fettisdagen can be extremely long.

Watched this on Patreon already and I love it. I'm so glad you immediately understood Katakuri, he was super AJcore and I knew it, and I'm glad you're adding such a rich and dense take to him because he deserves it. Also the Reverie video was awesome - your passion for Imu is amazing.

#AJpiece Katakuri’s bounty is 1,057 billion cause 57 is one higher than 56 which is Luffy’s number (go-mu = 56) showing how he is a little better than Luffy at everything🍩

Katakuri is one character I thought you could say some interesting things about. Can't wait, I hope you enjoyed him!

Sanji barely above Zoro in the rankings just like their bounties after wholecake.

What an incredible arc. Holds a special place in my heart, and the Sanji vs Luffy fight is one that never fails to stir the heart. Katakuri is peak One Piece antagonist, in design, character and vision

Man, it's really hard to grasp that we are quickly approaching the end of this journey, at least in catching up, feels like we just started post time skip era. I really love these type of long thought streaming videos, and your journey through One Piece definitely has been the most entertaining and insightful I have come across so far. It's been about 10 years since I've gone through One Piece myself for the first time and man, your videos not only were a great nostalgia trip, but also gave me a lot of new insights and appreciation for all the different stations of Luffy's journey. With how big and long the series is, it's really easy to forget a lot of stuff that make it so great. So thanks for all the hard work and amazing videos! One scene I love in particular in Whole Cake Island, which wasn't mentioned, is when the Strawhats are crossing paths with Germa again and Judge questions Luffy about what he sees in Sanji and goes on and on about how kind, weak and whiny Sanji is. Luffy just nods and then says goodbye. Then he asks Sanji why his "father" listed all of his best qualities, absolutely beautiful. About the whole "One Piece did fall off post time skip" thing. I personally don't feel that is the case, and you definitely shouldn't let your own enjoyment of the series get tainted by such comments, which luckily, you don't. That being said, I can see a few points why some people may feel that way. - There is definitely a noticeable shift between pre- and post-time skip in the scale of the different arcs and how certain stuff is handled. The Strawhats more often take a backseat post time skip and let other characters take center stage. There are way more characters and factions in the big arcs, and more cutaways to what's going on in different parts of the world. And there are more set up arcs like Fishman Island, Punk Hazard and Zou, which, while amazing in the big context, may feel lacking a bit on theor own. For people like you and me who love world building, character motivations and relationships and so on, post time skip One Piece is amazing. For people who were more into the whacky and concealed Strawhat adventures of pre time skip, I can see why post time skip OP may feel a bit lacking of sorts. We really didn't have a good whacky and concealed Strawhat adventure since like Thriller Bark. - The Anime especially took a deep dive in post time skip during Punk Hazard, Dressrosa and parts of Whole Cake Island in both quality and pacing. The pre time skip Anime wasn't perfect, but it had a certain charm to it, and it nailed many of the high points. Post time skip, the anime often felt soulless and boring, especially during the time when Toei tried to resurrect Dragonball and many of their top dogs were busy with that. And the pacing, dear god the pacing. It got to a point where they adapted like half a chapter per episode and everything was stretched to its absolute maximum and loaded with filler. I love Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island, I really do. But seeing boring fodder characters fighting each other in the Arena or Big Mom screaming WEEEDDUINGGGG KAAAAKEIIIIII for 20 episodes straight definitely does things with you. It has gotten much better with Wano again, where they kinda soft booted the Anime with a new art style and the return of many of the top dogs. But it's still not perfect, and many people probably have given up on the Anime by now, and I don't blame them. - Finally, I think (being able to) binge-watching/reading something compared to sit through it weekly with a lot of breaks definitely can make a huge difference. Pacing isn't as bad in the manga, but there are definitely parts that drag out a lot as well and as amazing of a storyteller Oda is, there is only so much you can fit into 15-17 pages. Someone in the comments has already mentioned it, One Piece did gain a lot of traction during the Paramount War and many people jumped on the train, being able to binge-watch/read the amazing first half of One Piece, then arrived at the absolute slug that was Punk Hazard or Dressrosa on a weekly basis. I was one of them, starting my One Piece journey in 2011, and I definitely had moments where I stepped away from it for 2-3 months in order to be able to binge-watch a bit more again, or would reread certain arcs back to back which definitely gives you a different perspective and appreciation. One Piece has doubled in lengths since I've caught on and while it's harder to catch up now, it does allow you to binge many of the bigger arcs and now arrive in the current day, where Oda definitely is taking more effort in slowly wrapping the story up and slowly uncovering many of the plot threads and secrets we have wondered about for decades. Egghead is an absolute treasure trove in that regard, and I'm sure you'll love it once you get there.

#AJPiece while the parallels between Luffy and Katakuri are pretty clear, something that not a lot of people touch on is the parallel between Big Mom and Luffy in this arc. Food is a significant theme of this arc. Through this lens, we can see that both Luffy and Big Mom are huge gluttons. Yet we also see the clear difference between them as it pertains to self-control. In this arc, Luffy abstains from food and nearly starves himself to death because of his devotion to Sanji (a member of his family). On the other hand, Big Mom terrorizes her family whenever she feels the slightest bit of hunger and nearly kills her own son during one of her earlier rampages. It's interesting how Oda made three of the Yonko serve as a dark inversion to one or more of Luffy's core traits. For instance, Blackbeard similarly believes in the power of dreams. But unlike Luffy who dreams of freedom and the strength to pursue it, BB dreams of the strength to plunge the world into chaos and anarchy (the dark inversion of freedom). Similarly, Big Mom's dream of uniting every race and her insatiable gluttony are also clear dark parallels to those two aspects of Luffy. I won't speak on Kaido's trait inversions to avoid spoilers, but I'm sure you'll be able to pick up on them by the time you finish Wano. On the other hand, Shanks is not an inversion but serves as the positive ideal that Luffy strives for as a pirate. It's clear that by splitting up these traits among the Yonko, Oda's goal is to use each of them to illustrate how they add up to make Luffy the ideal Pirate King.

#AJPiece My favourite moment in this arc is when Luffy eats Sanji’s food after fighting and waiting for him in the rain. I know you touched on it but the depth of that moment can’t be understated for me. Sanji never cooked ‘good’ food for his mum but she ate and smiled through it nonetheless because she adored the compassion and love he put into it. Comparatively, Sanji was a professional cook by the time luffy met him and only ever cooked amazing, perfect restaurant-level food for Luffy. But in that tuning point of a moment, when Sanji brings him a ruined, terrible meal, Luffy puts the same smile on his face that sanjis mum had put on hers. Growing up - she had been his light amidst the vinsmoke darkness and in this turning point moment of the arc, luffy had become Sanjis light amidst the vismoke darkness. Thanks for the vid as always sir, always a pleasurable experience. I’m a little heart broken I no longer get to experience your viewing experience in quite the same way when you’re caught up. I think speak on behalf of many when I say it’s been a delight.

It’s amazing to see your finally at Whole Cake Island and it’s crazy to think you’re gotten here so fast. This arc was always one I connected to so deeply and just can’t help but talk about it. #AJPiece What I think is essential to consider with Sanji is how his lack of maturity leads to him being the only Straw Hat without a character arc in the Pre-Time Skip. Yes, there is his introduction to the story in Baratie, but that wasn’t as big of a character arc as one might think. Yes, he finally left Zeff to pursue his dream, but it’s not as if Sanji overcame any of the apparent self-worth issues at the time. And even after leaving Zeff, Sanji followed all his rules like gospel so he’d never hurt the man, even though Zeff would have no way of seeing it. Throughout the entire journey before the Time Skip, all of Sanji’s friends grew up and matured, while Sanji made the same mistakes. That being his constant attempts to sacrifice himself. On Arlong Park, he jumped into the water so Zoro wouldn’t have to, struggling to fight a Fishman he’d so easily beat on land but unable to do that until he saved Luffy, nearly dying in the process. In Drum Island, Sanji threw himself into the avalanche so Luffy could carry Nami to the top of the mountain; Sanji thought so easily that Luffy would let go, but instead, Luffy had to struggle to hold them both up the mountain. Skypiea showed Sanji almost dying through being struck by lightning a second time to make sure Nami and Usopp didn’t get hurt, the consequence of which being an inability to help in the final battle against Enel even though Sanji’s strength would have likely assisted in bringing down the Beanstalk and prevent a sacrifice on Wyper’s part. Water 7 had Sanji practically trying to get through the entire Sea Train alone, which ironically became the reason he couldn’t save Robin even if he came closest, and after that, on Enies Lobby, while his refusal to fight Kalifa was admirable, what wasn’t was his inability to call for help when he knew he’d never beat her. Thriller Bark showed this at its most extreme, with Sanji defending Nami to the point of fatal injuries and then attempting to take Luffy’s pain so Zoro wouldn’t get hurt. Had it not been for Zoro knocking Sanji out, Sanji likely would have died, given how it injured Zoro so much that he still wasn’t fully healed by the time they got to Saobody. What makes all of this hit even harder is the fact Sanji not only sees all of his friends make these same mistakes but has also watched them overcome them. While circumstances were different, Sanji has seen each crew member take on a sacrifice. Nami curried every burden for her village, and even once the Straw Hats were involved, she just kept trying to carry even more burdens that slowly destroyed her as Arlong took advantage of that selflessness until she finally asked for help from true friends. Robin was willing to sacrifice herself in body and spirit if it meant the Straw Hats would be safe. She placed her dream as lesser than all their lives out of a fear of being abandoned yet again, but they never would want such a sacrifice from her and instead give her the choice she thought she never had. In the same arc, Chopper used three Rumble Balls at once and became a monster with no heart; this didn’t help the Straw Hats, who then had to find a way to subdue Monster Point Chopper, and despite knowing that he tried this again in Saobody so he wouldn’t have to see anyone get hurt. It's the same mistake he made with Hiriluk. Chopper’s kind nature and immaturity made him try to do something he wasn’t ready for (like giving Hiriluk the mushroom), and his attempts only hurt everyone; Monster Point only became a helpful ability when it was no longer at Chopper’s expense. Franky stopped making ships because he couldn’t forgive himself for what happened to Tom. Brook didn’t want to burden another crew with helping him after already losing his first one. And Usopp made a sacrifice by speaking up for Merry when no one else would. Sanji has seen all of this, yet every time, he still chooses to make the mistake of self-sacrifice. Because Sanji’s immaturity and trauma clash with his kindness, he was born a kind soul; even his dream, which for most people is something entirely personal and perhaps a bit selfish, is still something he wishes to accomplish to feed people of all different types of fish. However, the world Sanji was born into did not value the kindness he was born with. He received no love from the men in his life; Judge literally asked Sanji to give him a reason to help. Leading to Sanji being unable to understand why anyone would help or value him without him having earned it; despite having always had someone who loved him unconditionally, as Sora attempted to save Sanji long before he was even born, Reiju inherited her will in offering Sanji concessions of kindness, and later Zeff shows he didn’t need a single reason to save Sanji. Yet, in his immaturity, Sanji can’t see other's kindness for what it truly is. That’s why Big Mom and Totto Land act as the perfect villains and setting for an arc centered around Sanji, and not just for obvious reasons. Big Mom and her pirates are little more than overgrown children who have never been appropriately raised, as Big Mom’s own mother enabled all of her worst behaviors because she never cared about Linlin in the first place. But Big Mom never saw that side of Mother Carmel, and by the end, she no longer sees her at all, using a framed portrait as a substitute for a mother figure that never truly existed. It’s much the same for Big Mom’s “dream,” which she inherited from Mother Carmel. While the idea of a world without discrimination is noble, we see repeatedly that Big Mom never does anything to actualize it. She never extended proper help to Fishman Island despite their struggles being evident, her only help coming after the battle had been over and even then just to claim her sweets. Big Mom is entirely complacent in living life happily in Totto Land, which acts as a microcosm of the very dream she claimed to have. In this land, all are equal but only in name, as the more significant systematic issues that allowed for racism to fester were never dealt with. Name-calling was not only a regular habit in Totto Land but something Big Mom herself actively participated in. Ultimately, it is Big Mom herself that keeps her dream from coming true, all because she never grew up past the child whose dream revolved around simply having everyone be the same size when eating at the table. Subsequently, her children are more broken, stunted, and childish than she is. Pudding is unable to comprehend the idea someone could love her appearance. This childish insecurity makes her make fun of Sanji’s and perhaps others' faces to cope and is only broken thanks to the influence of those outside of Big Mom’s bubble. Perospero has all of the tools and abilities to set off on his own journey. Yet, he doesn’t leave his family or even consider the notion of making a name for himself outside of simply rising the ranks in his family. Even the most mature of them in Katakuri has an immature idea of gaining value through absolute sacrifice for his family, but unlike most media (primarily simplistic ones aimed at children), which depicts self-sacrifice as the whole most beautiful thing that can even give one’s life value, often attempts at sacrifice come at the expense of the self as shown in Katakuri never getting to show who he truly is to his own family. Even those outside the family, such as Bishop Bobbin, foolishly thinks he can go alone in battle to rise up in the ranks of the Big Mom Pirates; this childish idea of working alone subsequently leads to an immediate failure. Even those who try to enter the family, such as Judge, have his own immature belief that he could play good and augment his children to be without emotion, something they all seem to be capable of at points, and yet is treated as a bad thing despite Judge’s own hostility emotional nature. One could even argue that Totto Land itself is a child that can’t grow up, as unlike every other territory the Straw Hats visit, it isn’t liberated, nor are its people free from Big Mom’s grasp; the most we get is the people merely questioning their place within said grasp. Not everyone can grow up, but it is an essential aspect of life that one can’t go without. All of Whole Cake Islands' characters are either those who refuse to grow up or those who do, creating such a fascinating structure with literally every character fitting in line somewhere with the thematic skeleton of maturity. And Sanji is the character who started immature in his attempt to remain entirely selfless in his attempts to only sacrifice himself as opposed to others, and by the end of the arc learns to make more selfish decisions; returning to the Straw Hats, saving his family, defeating Big Mom without having to physically harm her or taint the cake he made. It’s a beautiful showcase on how One Piece as a series values sincerity from selfishness as opposed to selflessness manipulated by those in power. Sorry the comment was so long, I just love this arc, Sanji, and Big Mom. Thanks for another great video.