One Piece Every Day is a column where I read a chapter of One Piece every single day—more or less—and discuss my thoughts on it. Each entry will have spoilers up to the chapter covered in that day’s column.

Please keep in mind that many other readers are also first-timers. Do NOT spoil anything beyond this point in the comments!

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Here’s a thought I’d had but not directly articulated until just now. After the last two arcs’ main villains were, respectively, a clown with bizarre powers and a butler-pirate with cat paws, it seemed a little that Don Krieg, in this arc, seemed to just be A Guy. A hulking, towering figure for certain, but still just a man.

Well, in this chapter, we learn that he’s not, and it’s possibly my favorite moment of One Piece thus far? Definitely of the arc so far, at the very least.

But we’ll get to that, let’s start at the start. Krieg opens the chapter by demanding 100 full meals for every one of his still-living pirates. Of the cooks present, only Sanji—who declares that it’s a cook’s job to feed the hungry, not judge whether they’re good or bad people—is at all willing to do this, and the others do not take it terribly well.

^{Name a meal you’ve cooked that had people acting like this.}

Patty then just whomps him over the head, taking matters into his own hands as he fires a fish-shaped hand cannon(?!?!) at Krieg. It does not do anything.

Because, you see, Krieg is actually a cross between a World of Warcraft character and a nautical Iron Man.

^Yes.

But even this display of raw firepower can’t intimidate everyone. Quick shonen manga writing tip; what’s the quickest way to make a character seem like a badass? Have a more obvious badass show up, and then make it clear that this guy isn’t intimidated by that guy at all.

In this example, it’s Krieg who is “that guy.” Who’s “this guy”, then?

The head chef, obviously. Who straight up accuses Krieg and his men of cowardice.

Who, in the final panel of the chapter, Krieg finally puts a name to.

I do love this. Just from Krieg’s reaction alone we know that “Red Shoes” Zeff must have been, in his day, some truly hot shit. With a name like that, I’d guess probably the kind of pirate who turns up as the villain in movies even centuries later, but it’s probably too early to make any definitive calls. I’m sure we’ll learn more tomorrow.

Until then!

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