SBS Volume 22

D: When I bought some gyudon (beef bowl) for this weird guy with glasses laying out in the street, he gave me a weird wheel and a "how to hypnotize" paper. And so, since you've been having trouble starting the SBS lately, I'm going to hypnotize you so that you can do it just right this time. Okay, now, watch this wheel verrrry carefully. When I say one, two, Janko you will start the SBS no matter what. Here we go! One, two, Jankooooooooo! "RAAAAAAAAAAH!! START THE SBS!!"

O: YOU GOT HYPNOTIZED!!

D: Oda-sensei!! I-!! Lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-lu-!! LOVE One Piece! I go to the store every day!! And say, "Is it here yet?"!! ...AND!! Therefore!! Would you!! Mind!! Telling me!! The release!! Date for!! The next voluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuume?!!!!?! -by Shironeko Pirate Crew-

O: Huh?! But it's such a pain. Oh, fine. For the tankobon people, I'll tell you the rule for which months are release months so you can mark it on your calendars. One Piece volumes come out in a repeating order that goes, "2 months", "2 months", then "3 months". So if you say, "There haven't been any for 3 months!" can you tell when the next two will come out?! Good.

D: Oda-sensei, I've been wondering about something. What country are Luffy and the others from? In Social Studies class, we learned that a Japanese pirate is called a "wakou". Is that like a direct interpretation into Japanese? Or is this manga completely unique in that respect? Please tell me. -PN Kuroman- SBS 22 1 Japanese Pirate

O: Hmmm. First of all, Luffy's crew is all "No-Nationality Men". You can't say what country they come from. Now about, "wakou". Yes. A long time ago, there were men in Japan called "wakou" who were basically "pirates". This "Wakou" would get into their boats and raid the Korean peninsula and Chinese mainland. Sometimes in your textbooks, it talks about "expeditionary forces" to Korea, but those were really pirates. They were there to loot and plunder and all that. Yeah, they were bad guys. There's also another famous group of people around the Seto Inland Sea called "Murakami Suigun (Navy)" who were basically pirates. They have been a big influence on Japan throughout history, though they don't get widespread recognition. A long time ago, I was researching the differences between "wakou" and "suigun", but there were "suigun" who were called "wakou", so I got the impression that there's no need to even draw a distinction. In short, Japan has had a lot of "pirates".

D: WHAT'S THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE OKAMA WAY? -By Mr. Two Bon Curry-

O: If you go over 300 Mascaras per hour, you can expect to be Mascarrested. (I'm good, aren't I?).

D: THERE WAS A MYSTERIOUS VILLAGE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TUNNEL.

O: Okay, next question.

D: Wait, wait, wait. Bon Kurei! Yes, you. Listen, I don't like your travesty of the dance! You can't even do the most basic of basics, the port de bras! There are no hands shaped that way. And start off by tying your toe shoes correctly! You twist it around your ankle like this. Twist, see? And about 2 cm higher. And for your "Swan Arabesque", you're not raising your leg!! You're much too green to pull off any At-ti-tude Turns. Go back and study one more time! And shave your leg hair while you're at it! -by 10 Years of Ballet Experience-

O: Uhhh, I just called for him... Here he is.

O: ...There you have it. An idiot on stage.