Queen and Charlotte Perospero are on the verge of overwhelming Chopper and the alliance fighters on the Live Floor, but Sanji then arrives and attacks Queen, causing the All-Star’s long brachiosaurus neck to spin around and strike Perospero.
Queen’s teeth sprout what appear to be needles or syringes, demonstrating again just how extensive his cybernetic modifications are. It really seems he’s full-blown cyborg much like Franky and Kuma, so I imagine his ties to Vegapunk’s Special Science Group are deeper than we yet realize.
But just before Queen can reach Chopper, the return of the Hunter, Mr. Prince, Sanji, who finally gets his big moment to shine. I never doubted this moment was coming.
The scene is both an impressive show of force from Sanji and a great character moment. I love just how ridiculous it is to spin Queen’s neck around like a propeller to defelect Perospero’s attack, but it’s also worth mentioning Sanji isn’t even using the Raid Suit when he sends Queen and Perospero flying. The Raid Suit seems to primarily augment his defensive capabilities, so this is all Sanji.
Even more significant than Sanji’s attack, I love him stepping into the leadership position while Luffy and Zoro are out of commission. I really appreciate him both scolding Chopper for losing his composure on the battlefield, while also encouraging him to remember all of the miracles they have already witnessed and to not lose faith in Luffy.
So it seems we’re gearing up for Sanji to fight Queen, who again comments on Sanji being the child of Vinsmoke Judge.
Aside from the obvious pattern Sanji fights the 3rd strongest of the enemy side, his opponents are usually eccentric individuals and Queen is the most eccentric of them thus far. But most of all, Oda solidified the fight with Queen’s remark on Sanji.
This is because Sanji’s running subplot since Whole Cake Island ended was coming to terms with his family background.
Queen offers a natural development and resolution to this plotpoint and gives Oda opportunity to write funny fight banter between Sanji and Queen. Sanji will not take well being referred to as “Judge’s son,” and Queen might try to egg him on just from that. But other than Sanji, Queen will also get fleshed out via this fight. We will learn more on his background. I’m really curious to find out more about Queen’s affiliation with Judge and perhaps even the SSG. This makes me wonder if Queen helped set up the SAD and Smile production pipeline from Punk Hazard to Dressrosa to Wano along with Caesar.
*by StrawHatJedi
