The plan to assassinate Big Mom fails in the most spectacular way! And now Luffy and his co-conspirators are in a major bind. Big Mom is furious and her fearsome pirate crew is out for blood. Can the Straw Hats find a way to escape to safety?!
Eiichiro Oda (尾田栄一郎, Oda Eiichirō) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime One Piece.
As a child, Oda was inspired by Akira Toriyama's works and aspired to become a manga artist. He recalls that his interest in pirates was probably sparked by the popular TV animation series titled Vicky the Viking. He submitted a character named Pandaman for Yudetamago's classic wrestling manga Kinnikuman. Pandaman was not only used in a chapter of the manga but would later return as a recurring cameo character in Oda's own works.
Please also see: 尾田荣一郎 (Chinese, simplified) 尾田榮一郎 (Chinese, traditional)
One wonders how she could have achieved her position in the first place, what with these destructive hunger-pangs of hers, and how (as it would turn out) she's not even all that powerful in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps she used to be more powerful when she was younger, and/or could hold her wits together better than now. Perhaps she just let her brood handle all the details. I don't know. Her backstory, nice as it was - the most extensive we've seen of all the antagonists up until this point - never did much to answer the really important questions.
All that backstory, only to now turn her into a plot device - a mindless engine of destruction with barely no agency of her own, just something for friend and foe alike to get the hell away from. Shame. At least it helps to drive Sanji's character and give him something to do. This is still his arc, after all.
2025 reread : this arc is really really good. Never a dull moment and while I read it it never feels too long. It has so many moments that are very emotional (case in point : Pedro). This feels like the volume that starts the end of the arc, all the set up done previously is starting to pay off. Btw, I think I forgot to mention but : I love how Jinbei fits in the crew. The man looks at Luffy with so much respect, and then he spends 5 minutes in the crew and he is already screaming at his captain to stick to the plan. Love it. He fits right in.
I must say, I love how the crew "handles" Luffy now. Like, he is still the captain but Nami gets to remind him what their goal is and now is the time to run. And he listens. I love it. I really love that this arc isn't all about the fighting? Don't get me wrong : I love Luffy toppling kingdoms and restoring justice. But this is a nice change of pace? This arc has a lot of scheming and, yeah there is fighting, but the way to save themselves is cooking? I like that a lot. I also love Big Mom's crew a surprising amount. She is a shit mom but I love some of her kids (not just Katakuri. Just to be clear).
“If I can lay the foundation for the dawning of the world that the men I look up to await, I’ll be happy. I’m certain I have enough time for that.”
If the last few volumes were already chaotic, this one somehow cranks it up a notch. There is always something happening, so I never felt bored, but there were plenty of moments where it almost felt like too much. There are so many characters running around, so many different things happening all at once, and it can get pretty overwhelming. The moment Katakuri finally steps into the main conflict was easily my favorite part of the volume. He has such a calm and intimidating presence that every time he appears, I immediately pay attention. He doesn’tt need to do much to feel dangerous. He just has that kind of presence that makes you believe Luffy has finally run into someone who is going to push him harder than ever.
I also have to talk about Pedro because this volume completely broke my heart. I loved Pedro from the moment he was introduced, so revisiting this part still hurts every single time. I’ve read this arc and watched it more than once, and it never gets any easier emotionally. I just wish the story had slowed down for a little while after such a huge moment. Everything moves so fast that it jumps right into the next crisis before I even have time to sit with what just happened. Pudding was another highlight for me because she is absolutely hilarious here. Watching her switch between being cruel, completely flustered, and surprisingly sincere had me laughing so many times. She ended up being one of the most entertaining characters in this volume.
My biggest complaint is that the escape keeps repeating the same pattern for a little too long. After a while, I found myself wanting the story to finally move on. Big Mom’s rampage starts to feel stretched out, and the constant chase loses some of its excitement because it keeps going without much of a break. Even with that, I still enjoyed seeing Sanji’s role in all of this. He doesn’t need a flashy fight to prove why he matters. His kindness, his understanding of food, and the way he connects with people are what make him shine. His scenes with Pudding and Chiffon reminds me why this arc has always felt so personal for him. This volume gave me some of my favorite character moments in the whole Whole Cake Island arc, but the nonstop chaos and rushed pacing made it harder for those emotional moments to leave the lasting impact they deserved.
Jeez this volume was a lot. It was essentially non stop action as the Straw Hats and their allies had to make a break for it after the assassination attempt went sideways and Big Mom went nuts in her craving for a wedding cake. It was a bit of a bummer in that the losses kept piling up and the Big Mom Pirates seemed unstoppable despite occasional wins. So the Volume title “Bittersweet” really does match. Ultimately while things happened and there were some unique and/or great moments I kind of was just let down.
Other parts of note: - RIP to Pedro - Really don’t know yet whether or not I find Pudding’s new schtick annoying or not. - Pretty epic seeing Sanji call out his biological daddy and claiming Zeff as his real one (insert Yondu’s “He may have been your father…” quote here) and his dick of family members (plus Reiju) being incentivized to help in turn for at least the moment. - I liked the payoff of Nami’s earlier interest in Big Mom’s stormcloud Zeus and their comparative powers. Likewise I continue to like how Nami’s friendship with Lola pays off with Chiffon. Taken together I wonder if there’s going to be some sort of connection revealed between Nami and Big Mom or that Nami is going to supplant her role somehow? - The problem with One Piece’s massive mythology and my steady binge reading pace is I completely forgot about Fishman Island’s Tamate Box - The Straw Hat Grand Fleet story happening in the chapter titles is heating up, hope Shanks won’t be too mad about Luffy’s supporters moving into his territory.
We end the volume with a cliffhanger of Luffy facing off against Big Mom son Katakuri which is an interesting set-up for a fight considering how Katakuri’s abilities are an interesting mirror to Gum Gum fruit powers and Luffy’s Gears. Should be neat to see how Luffy fights him next volume.
They barely escape from the place after declaring war on Big mom and its chase scenes and random fights, Big mom going Mad and berserk mode, Pudding realizing her love for Sanji, them running through the seducing woods, Nami getting a cloud and a sacrifice which was super emotional and then Luffy vs Katakuri! Decent volume and sets the stage for even greater fights in the next one!
There's one thing I constantly forget, and I know I mentioned it in previous volumes, you GOTTA` read One Piece in color. It enhances the manga immensely. I don't think One Piece art is special, it's unique, but there's a lot of sameyness going on. And I think without the color that hits home REALLLLLLLLLY HARD.
The other thing that One Piece never fails at is too much talking. Other than that it's solid.
The crew may have Sanji in their reach, but things go from bad to chaotic as they crash the wedding of the century and spurn the anger of Big Mom and her many children and officials! Oda runs wild in this action-packed entry to the "One Piece" series. Big Mom is just as dangerous with a weapon in her hand as she is when she is hungry!
Volume 87: Chapter 870-879 Saga 9: Whole Cake Island Arc 29: Whole Cake Island
Germa 66, Luffy and Sanji stay to fight Big Mom and her children. Caesar and Bege used that opportunity to escape. But, all Germa 66, Luffy and Sanji were defeated. At the same time, Du Feld was trying to steal the Tamate Box but was stopped by Stussy or her real identity is one of CP-0. But, the Tamate Box exploded. The mountain that hold the tea party event was collapsed.
Straw Hat Pirates and Fire Tank Pirates managed to escape and they parting ways. Big Mom is in hunger pangs and chasing Straw Hat Pirates. For a moment, Nami managed to get Zeus attention by giving him a storm cloud to eat. Nami used Zeus power to struck a lightning toward Big Mom. Pudding and Chiffon arrived to Luffy's group and asked Sanji to bake a wedding cake for Big Mom. They, then head to Cacao Island.
At the same time, Brook and Chopper arrived at Thousand Sunny using the submarine. Katakuri and other Big Mom Pirates already swarming the ship by using the mirror. Brook and Chopper trying to defend the ship but they were turned into a candy by Perospero. Luffy's group arrived at the ship and they managed to get back the ship. Perospero turned the upper part of Sunny into candy. Pedro sacrificed himself by blew himself up along with Perospero. Perospero didn't die after being saved by his candy armor.
Jinbe used Coup de Burst to escape from Whole Cake Island. Luffy stayed in the Mirroworld to fight against Katakuri. Katakuri ate Mochi Mochi no Mi that grants him a Mochi power, a better version of Luffy's rubber power.
Uff este volumen tiene una de mis escenas favoritas de Whole cake, cuando luffy rompe el espejo después de llevarse a Katakuri a la dimensión de Brulee y así los demás pudiesen escapar, en el opening hope, esa imagen queda increíble 💕 Bueno, en general este volumen fue de huida, correr de estos poderosos villanos y en muchas ocasiones entre la vida y la muerte aunque ya sabemos que nuestros niños tienen el poder del guión de su lado jjsjsjd 😅💜 a mi no me molesta xd Se viene el enfrentamiento con Katakuri, Sanji se fue con Pudding y Chiffon a preparar el pastel, Pedro se inmolo para darles la oportunidad de escapar y los demás niños estás escapando con Bigmon tras sus pasitos. Estuvo intensito jsjsj Vamos que este año si me pondré al día hdjsjsjd
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"—Contéstame a una cosa, Sanji. ¿Por qué nos has salvado? Caímos en la trampa del enemigo con tanta facilidad. Ese hubiera sido el final de nosotros, los que tanto odias, ¿no?
—Porque mi jefe se pondría triste si me estancara en el odio de mi infancia.
[...]
—Él estaría decepcionado de ver en la pequeñez de hombre en que me convertiría si me viera riéndome de la muerte de mi propia sangre. ¡No viviré una vida que no me permita mirarle a los ojos! ¡Me reúso!
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Sanji confronting his family is such a good scene, but I feel like Big Mom ended up a little underwhelming for me. She has such a powerful devil fruit but she spends most of this volume in "crazy mode" and just stomping around, which sort of takes away from her character and wipes her agency/personality.
I like the character of Pudding because her emotions is interesting. Actually she like Sanji but she acts as if she hate Sanji. I love to listen her inside emotion. But the manga of one piece has too many words and sometimes I confuse...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.