One Piece Multi-Piece #7: Impel Down

Article by Sean Wilkinson,
a.k.a. Master Of Tickets

Before we set sail for this short issue of the One Piece Multi-Piece, please chart a course by remembering to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, commenting at the bottom of this post, helping out my ad revenue as you read, and joining my Crew on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest snail transmissions of news on my content.

I rarely post anything on YouTube, but I'm a frequent commenter and content supporter, and I recently commented on one of Doug Walker's videos as follows:

It's not just you, Doug; Buggy the Clown didn't land for me in the anime at first. But he is AMAZING in the Impel Down arc (not going to spoil it, but the basic idea is the "Lock Up" episode of BTAS in Dante’s Inferno with One Piece characters, done as a full season).

And that's pretty accurate. With no crew to help him fight, find his way, feed him, or fix him up when he gets hurt, Luffy is basically infiltrating Impel Down, the World's most sadistic, hellish (complete with demonic-looking jailers, ravenous mythological beasts, and multiple floors of thematic punishment), and secure prison, to rescue his brother by himself. Hancock gets him in the door, of course, and gets word to Ace that Luffy is coming, but beyond that, he is on his own.

That is, until he ends up joining forces with Buggy the Clown (who, like I said, really shines as a character here), Mr. Three and Bon Clay from Baroque Works (as well as an underground LGBTQ+ rebel network run by the double-Queen of Bon Clay's home country--where Sanji is currently discovering himself)...and fucking Crocodile‽ 

It's almost like they're some kind of...Suicide Squad. And I love how surreal it all is!

Yes, this arc is merely a transitory stop on a grander journey to somewhere else (considering Blackbeard shows up with his crew to wreck the place for fun and Luffy just barely misses Ace as he's hauled away to Marineford for execution. But seeing Luffy work so well as a leader (considering that his makeshift subordinates are almost all former leaders themselves--Buggy, Crocodile, the disgraced Fishman Warlord Jinbei, and legendary Queen of Queens, Iva) with crew members who are either former villains of his or complete strangers is a testament to his emotional intelligence and a sight to behold.

This is where I chose to stop watching until I got these first seven issues of the One Piece Multi-Piece written, so Stay Tuned for more to come, and please chart a course by remembering to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, commenting at the bottom of this post, helping out my ad revenue as you read, and joining my Crew on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest snail transmissions of news on my content.

I'm gonna be Master Of Tickets!