Welcome to my review of One Piece Chapter 1184. This is an edited transcription of my review because I wanted to improve my ability to speak about something unscripted and I want to reduce spending 5 – 6 hours scripting & editing my One Piece reviews. I look at my One Piece videos as a way to quickly experiment with different formats while talking about one of my favorite manga!
This is such heartwarming chapter? This is about Brook learning the kindness of Leuven? He cares for Shuri, he cares for Candel, and he cares for Brook, but he’s got that rough exterior that we just think that he’s gonna beat up someone. This chapter we see more of his kindness.
The first part of this chapter, we see Shuri (age 14) beating up a bunch of suitors. Last chapter, I thought Imu took her over when she was seven, but now it is more seeming like Gunko’s current physical appearance is the age when she was sent to Mary Geoise.
It is clear Shuri is becoming more like her parents as she is picking up swordsmanship very well! She idolizes Brook and expects her suits to be as strong & musically talented as Brook.
I appreciate that Brook doesn’t encourage this advances. He isn’t being Brook about it by asking to see her panties, which I am very happy he doesn’t do that.
Shuri does notice that Brook admires her father & mother a lot, which is when we see Brook when he was 11. We see Brook peering through the window of a school and seeing these kids learning music. Brook is covered in dirt & scratches & is chased out to the dumps where he lives eating scraps & frogs.
He begins to sing a song about how bad the kid is, talking about how his parents & little brother are hungry. Leuven overhears this song and says the lyrics are rotten, but he does dig the song despite that.
Brook offers Leuven dinner and although it doesn’t look good, in fact, Leuven begins convulsing after eating it. He does enjoy spending time with Brook. This is the first glimpse of realizing that Leuven was still royalty at this point as he thinks back to the fancy dinners he has had with Candel.
We even see Leuven get a bit more comfortable with Brook as he takes off his royal coat. We see him in his white tank top fishing, playing music, eating with Brook, having the best time of his life.
And I’m wondering if Leuven is being this kind because at one point, Candel was being kind to Leuven. Oda definitely trying to make his design very un-kingly, he has the messy hair, and the white tank top. So I’m curious if Candel reached out a helping hand to Leuven, which lead him to do the same for Brook, which maybe is why Brook is also being so kind to Shuri. Esperia is just such a kind-hearted and wonderful place.
I do say kind-hearted and wonderful place, but literally the very next panel, the marines have attacked and essentially have been beaten up Brook because they believe he is working for the Mouron family. It’s a really sad panel that is immediately resolve with Leuven & Candel bursting through the gates, which is just so fun to see!
One of the marines is freaking out threatening that they are apart of the World Government, but Leuven & Candel just don’t care. Which now I’m very curious about what lead up to the moment of Esperia disappearing.
I appreciate that after saving Brook, we learn how quickly Brook falls in love with Candel because she called him cute, which I can’t blame him. It is wonderful to see these characters be so kind.
Leuven offering a room, food, a place to learn music & train with a sword is just so generous! It really makes me understand why Brook was so against Gunko during their first encounter when he called her a father-killer. We get why he is upset because Leuven gave him a new life.
I’m very curious how these next chapters will be, but at least now we can enjoy the kindness that Brook was shown & how much kindness he shares back to everyone with his music! What a wonderful chapter!