The Straw Hat's Separation Serial is a series of cover pages which tells what happened to the other eight Straw Hat Pirates after the crew was separated at the Sabaody Archipelago by Bartholomew Kuma. In the manga, each story runs through two cover pages per member, and they all take place during the arcs where Luffy was separated from them. In the anime, they were shown during Luffy's travel from Impel Down to Marineford.
The "Mini-Arcs"
1. Sanji's "Resisting in Kamabakka"
Sanji trying to escape from one Kamabakka inhabitant.
(サンジの地獄(カマバッカ)よりお気を確かに Sanji no Kamabakka yori oki wo tashikani)
Length: Ch. 543-544
Short Summary: Sanji was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Kamabakka Kingdom, where he was trying to escape the nightmare which he calls 'Hell'. However, he seems to have been turned into one of the island's okamas.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. Adventures on the Isle of No Escape (Chapter 543)
- 2. Maidens Through and Through (Chapter 544)
2. Robin's "How Terrible You People Are"
Robin trying to escape Tequila Wolf.
(ロビンのひどい事するわ Robin no hidoi koto suru wa)
Length: Ch. 545-546
Short Summary: Robin was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Tequila Wolf, where she was trying to escape the place. Luckily for her, the place is soon liberated by the Revolutionaries.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. Adventure in the Country of Labor (Chapter 545)
- 2. The Liberators of Slaves - The Revolutionary Army Comes (Chapter 546)
3. Franky's "This Week's Me is No Good"
Franky's arrival at Vegapunk's house.
(フランキーの今週のおれダメだ Furankī no konshū no ore dame da)
Length: Ch. 548-549
Short Summary: Franky was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Karakuri Island, where he is chased by wild cyborg animals. There, he happens to stumble across the house where Vegapunk was born.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. Wild Cyborg Animals (Chapter 548)
- 2. The House Where Dr. Vegapunk Was Born (Chapter 549)
4. Usopp's "I'll-Die-If-I'm-On-My-Own Disease"
Usopp after eating lots of food.
(ウソップの一人じゃ死ぬ病 Usoppu no hitori ja shinu byō)
Length: Ch. 550-551
Short Summary: Usopp was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to the Boin Archipelago. There, he and his companion, Heracles, find a forest full of food, resulting in Usopp getting very fat.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. The Boin Archipelago: A Forest of Gluttony (Chapter 550)
- 2. Usopp Gets Fat (Chapter 551)
5. Chopper's "I'm Not Food You Assholes"
Chopper escaping from the natives of Torino Kingdom.
(チョッパーの食いモンじゃねェぞ コノヤロー Choppā no kuimon janēzo konoyarō)
Length: Ch. 552, 554
Short Summary: Chopper was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Torino Kingdom. There, he narrowly escapes the natives who were trying to make him into stew, just before the natives get attacked by gigantic birds.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. Tanuki Stew on the Run (Chapter 552)
- 2. Humans and Birds in Battle (Chapter 554)
6. Nami's "Weather Report"
Nami watching as the Weatherians create rain.
(ナミのウェザーリポート Nami no Wezā Ripōto)
Length: Ch. 555-556
Short Summary: Nami was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Weatheria, a small sky island where the scientific study of weather is conducted. There, the scientists hold a meeting and Nami is impressed with their ability to control the weather.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. Business at Weatheria, the Legendary Sky Island (Chapter 555)
- 2. Weather Science on Weatheria (Chapter 556)
7. Brook's "Lodgings and Panties Repayment"
Brook composing a song.
(ブルックの一宿一パンツのご恩返し Burukku no isshuku ippantsu no go'ongaeshi)
Length: Ch. 557-558
Short Summary: Brook was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Namakura Island. Just as Brook is about to see a girl's panties, she is kidnapped by members of the Longarms, and Brook is surprised that none of the villagers are willing to go after her. He then sits down to write a song .
Chapter Titles:
- 1. People Who Don't Fight (Chapter 557)
- 2. Satan Composes A Melody (Chapter 558)
8. Zoro's "Where the Hell Are They? What a Pain in the Ass"
Zoro wandering the ruins with Perona.
(ゾロのあいつらどこだ世話がやける Zoro no aitsura doko da sewa ga yakeru)
Length: Ch. 559-560
Short Summary: Zoro was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Kuraigana Island, the same location that Perona had been sent to. After being bandaged and healed by the former enemy, the two seemed to be wary of each other. However, some brand of trust seems to have grown between them, as Perona returned Zoro's swords and the two casually wander through the ruins of the island. Later, he encounters an unknown being carrying a sword.
Chapter Titles:
- 1. The Giant Gravestone Outside the Ruins (Chapter 559)
- 2. A Shadow Draws Near (Chapter 560)
Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, the cover stories were animated with varying differences to their manga counterparts.
With Nami, the anime version of her cover story differed very little from the manga, with some slight interactions and antics added to the plot.
With Franky, the anime version of his cover story was covered with filler content from Episode 418. Having been installed with Darjeeling Tea due to no cola available, Franky continues acting like a gentleman. Kitton, Franky's child host, tries to get Franky back to his wild nature by dumping him deep in a forest filled with cyborg animals. The plan backfires, but fortunately Franky reverts to his former self momentarily to save Kitton. Out of fuel, the two enter Vegapunk's lab in hopes of finding cola. In the manga, however he finds the lab while escaping from the cyborg animals and it is unknown if Kitton was with him in that moment.[2]
With Sanji, the anime version of his cover story was expanded a bit by giving an explanation as to why Sanji is dressed and acting like an Okama. In the anime, Sanji was explained by the substitute Queen of Kamabakka, Caroline, that in order to be set free from the island, he would have to fight the Queen and win. To do this however, he would have to don the "traditional fighting outfit" as part of Kamabakka customs. In reality, this was just a ruse in order to get Sanji to open up his "inner maiden". But this was proven wrong in the manga, where Sanji was forced to wear it. In the anime, Sanji returns to his former self after seeing the news about Ace's death, saying that he will never wear maiden clothes again.
With Chopper, the anime version of his cover story was handled a bit differently. While the main plot points of his cover story were covered briefly, it was expanded upon with a filler plot. Basically, the filler was about Chopper helping a wounded chick of the giant birds and getting the idea of using the bird to fly back to Sabaody. Unfortunately, he did not take into account how long it would take the chick to reach maturity. Later in the manga, he is able to actually leave the island by riding an adult giant bird (not the one he was taking care of in the anime).[3]
With Robin, the anime version of her cover story was changed with content from Episode 420 added. The sequence of her cover story basically had her freed by the revolutionaries rather than her temporarily escaping from the guards before meeting up with them.
With Usopp, the anime version of his cover story was expanded a bit with some scenes. Along with some antics with Heracles, it showed that the islands that Usopp was on were some type of island-sized carnivorous plants. The fact that the islands were plants was actually originally revealed much later in the story.[4][5]
With Zoro, the anime version of his cover story was added with bits of antics and filler. His cover story in the anime starts with some antics involving Perona and his lack of direction. After the two of them explore the ruins, the coverstory then ends with the mysterious figure not only attacking Zoro but alongside several other mysterious figures. This figure and the others were most notably presented to be very ape-like in the anime. This is actually a fact supported by the manga which revealed much later in the story that the ruins that Zoro explored are inhabited by weapon wielding Humandrills.[6]
With Brook, the anime version of his cover story differed only a little bit. Along with some added slight antics, the explanation of why the villagers summoned "Satan" was all that was added.[7]
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Trivia
- This is the third cover story to be animated.
References
- ↑ One Piece Green: Secret Pieces (p. 287), this is the name used to refer to the cover stories collectively.
- ↑ One Piece Anime — Episode 453, the coverstories of Nami and Franky are animated.
- ↑ One Piece Anime — Episode 454, the coverstories of Sanji and Chopper are animated.
- ↑ One Piece Anime — Episode 455, the coverstories of Robin and Usopp are animated.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 60 Chapter 591, the Boin Archipelago is revealed to be a group of giant carnivorous plants.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 60 Chapter 592, the ruins Zoro and Perona explored are revealed to be inhabited by Humandrills.
- ↑ One Piece Anime — Episode 456, the coverstories of Zoro and Brook are animated.
| Straw Hat's Separation Serial | |||||||||||
| Manga Chapters (covers) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 543 | 544 | 545 | 546 | 548 | 549 | 550 | 551 | 552 | 554 | 555 | |
| 556 | 557 | 558 | 559 | 560 | |||||||
| Anime Episodes | |||||||||||
| 418 | 419 | 420 | 421 | 453 | 454 | 455 | 456 | ||||
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