SBS Volume 29
Late-Skypiea SBS — Marine HQ vs Base rank disparity officially canonized (HQ ranks are 3 tiers above same-named Base ranks: a Base Captain = HQ Lieutenant; a Base Commander = HQ Junior Lieutenant); Vivi’s “I love this country” Vol. 23 speech confirmed as her always-felt sentiment (the Vol. 22 throat-grab “This country… I-” was the same line interrupted); Skypiea priests’ Buddhist-concept name-etymology (Gedatsu / Shura / Satori / Yama from Buddhist religious terms); Ohm’s name from the Hindu holy word; Grand Line compass-on-land works (only the sea is direction-scrambled); Zoro-vs-Sanji winner question dodged (Oda refuses to answer who’d win in a fight).
Q&A
Q: Jump Festa 2003 title call
D: To the person who replied “BECAUSE I MADE HIM LIKE ME” when asked “Why is Zoro so cool?” at Jump Festa 2003… GET OUT OF HERE IMMEDIATELY… SBS, START!!
O: That was so long ago, I don’t even remember it. When you say Jump Festa, you mean the event that Jump holds every year at the end of the year, right? In the two days, over 100,000 people came. This time there was a One Piece musical, too. Amazing.
Q: Marine HQ vs Base ranks
D: Are all the Marine Captains [Taisa] and above at the Marine Headquarters different than the Captains at the Marine Bases? Are they just raised tougher, or what?
O: Yes. They’re way different. The Marine Headquarters are like the super-elite of the Marines. These men who appeared at the assembly in Volume 11. These are the men in the Headquarters’ “Junior Officers” ranks (Lieutenant [Taii], Junior Lt. [Chuui], Ensign [Shoui]) but if the former Base Captain [Taisa] “Axe-Arm Morgan” or “Captain [Taisa] Nezumi” from Nami’s home were there, they would be among those men. The Headquarters and standard Base ranks are about three ranks apart, you could say. A higher Captain [Taisa] at a Base would be a lower Lieutenant [Taii] at Headquarters, and a Commander [Chuusa] would be a Junior Lieutenant [Chuui].
Q: “Northern Country” song (Sada Masashi)
D: AHH AHH AAAAAAHH AHH (8) -From the Northern Country, Sada Masashi-
O: AAHH AAAAAHH AAAHH AHH AAHH AAHH AAAHH (8) RURURU?!! ALL RIGHT, THAT’S ENOUGH!!! … What am I singing for? But I do love that song from the north.
Q: Pink snow in France
D: I heard that some unusual snow fell in France. That was pink snow!! Did you know about this beforehand and insert into the story on purpose?
O: Hmm, pink snow. Yes, I knew about it. It’s caused by tiny particles of dirt in the atmosphere, specifically iron, that are red in color. Then when snow falls, it can turn pink or red. I’ve heard that some fell in France. There are also records of yellow snow falling. It’s funny how pollution in the atmosphere can create these fantastic scenes.
Q: Skypiea priest names — Buddhist concepts + Ohm = Hindu
D: I have a question about the priests in Skypiea. Gedatsu (Being liberated from earthly desires), Shura (A buddhism divinity), Satori (Enlightenment, comprehension), and Yama (Another Buddhism divinity)… Since it’s God’s Land, did you name them after religious concepts? Also, where Ohm’s name comes from?
O: Yes, that’s right. I’m not very religious myself. “Ohm” comes from a holy word in the Hindu faith, which is written like this: (symbol). My apologies to all the religious people out there.
Q: Vivi’s “I love this country” — Vol. 22 throat-grab pre-load
D: In Volume 22, Chapter 198, when Crocodile has Vivi-chan by the throat, Vivi says, “This country… I-”. In Volume 23, Chapter 216, when Vivi is giving her speech, she says, “I still want to journey with you, but I love this country!!!” Is that what she said earlier?!
O: Yes. Thank you for reading so closely. That’s how it is. Vivi always felt that way. But, the roar of the rebellion drowned out the princess feelings. In the last scene, the citizens who had been scared must have been overjoyed to hear Vivi say something like that. What a great story. Yeah… yeah.
Q: Grand Line direction-finding on land
D: On the Grand Line, you can’t use compass directions, right? So in Volume 24, Chapter 218, when Robin asks “Is the Log Pose all right?” why does Nami respond, “Straight forward, North by Northwest!!”?
O: Uh, it’s summer now. Let’s see. On the Grand Line, you can still tell directions when on land. On the previous island, Nami confirmed that the next island was in the North by Northwest direction, and since they were proceeding that way, she said that. I’m not jumping into anything.
Q: Sanji “Nami-swan” vs “Noumiso” homophone gag
D: In the One Piece anime, when Sanji says “Naaami-swaaaan <3 ”, try saying “Nooomi-soooon”. It sounds exactly the same!
O: Okay. Thank you, Sasuke. I’ll do this for the rest of my life.
Q: Usopp Kamen Rider finishing pose
D: In Chapter 251 (Volume 27), page 91, where there’s a “Shakin!!” SFX, is Usopp doing the Kamen Rider finishing pose? Oda, how much do you like Kamen Rider?
O: I used to watch Kamen Rider when I was a kid. It was originally adapted from Ishinomori Shotaro-san’s manga, though that’s over now.
Q: Zoro vs Sanji serious fight (Oda dodges)
D: If Zoro and Sanji had a serious fight, who would win? Zoro beat Mr. 1, so… he’s stronger, right…?
O: Whoa! That was surprising… I thought you said “If Zoro and Sanji had a dick fight”…You have to be careful what you say. Someone might hear something totally wrong… Okay, see you next time!!
(serious = gachinko; dick = ga chinko)
Notable canon-leaks
- Marine HQ vs Marine Base rank disparity = 3 tiers — Marine HQ Captain is 3 ranks above Marine Base Captain. Morgan and Nezumi would be HQ Junior Lieutenants if transferred to HQ. This is the canonical Marine-rank deflation that explains every later Smoker/Hina/Kuzan/Akainu tier-vs-East-Blue-Marines power gap. Foundational Marine power-scaling SBS.
- Vivi “I love this country” was her always-felt sentiment — the Vol. 22 Crocodile-throat-grab “This country… I-” was the SAME line that became her Vol. 23 farewell speech. “Vivi always felt that way.” Canonizes Vivi’s princess-bond as load-bearing from the start, not invented at the speech-moment. Strengthens the stay-with-country-not-with-crew decision as character-consistent rather than reactive.
- Skypiea priests = Buddhist-concept name-etymology canonized:
- Gedatsu = “being liberated from earthly desires”
- Shura = a Buddhist divinity (asura)
- Satori = “enlightenment, comprehension”
- Yama = a Buddhist divinity (death god / king of hell)
- Ohm = “a holy word in the Hindu faith” (the sacred syllable Om/Aum)
- Religious-Sky-Island design thesis canonized — Skypiea is built on Buddhist/Hindu syllabic + concept palette.
- Grand Line direction-finding works on land — only at sea does compass/cardinal direction fail. Nami used the previous-island land-bearing (NNW) for ship-heading. Compass-on-land + Log-Pose-at-sea = canonical Grand Line navigation duality.
- Zoro vs Sanji winner = unanswered — Oda explicitly refuses to settle the question. Frames Zoro > Mr. 1 ≠ Sanji’s-relative-power. Canon-handling: leaves the rivalry permanently unresolved.