Whole Cake Island upset the balance of power in the Grand Line, now the Reverie arc of One Piece shakes up the whole world! A short arc, the Reverie revolves around the meeting between world leaders throughout the Grand Line to make new policies. This year’s Reverie promises to bring a lot of change to the world of One Piece though, so time to explore just what goes down in this short, powerful arc!
Warning This article contains spoilers for One Piece. The manga is available on Mangaplus and Viz online. So, catch up before reading further!
What is the Reverie?
The Reverie is a meeting once every four years between the rulers of fifty great nations. This council comes together to discuss goings-on throughout the world, as well as make new laws. This year is going to be one of the most turbulent Reveries ever no doubt, as the pirate Straw Hat Luffy has been running amok across the New World. The young pirate reappears after a two-year absence to blaze a path across, recently causing chaos in an Emperor’s territory after defeating a Warlord.
Koby and Garp
One of the best surprises to kick off the Reverie arc is seeing old characters come back. King Riku and his representatives from the Ryugu Kingdom are under attack by pirates when a young Marine suddenly hops onto their boat from the water. Turns out, it’s Koby who is set to escort them to the Reverie at Sacred Marijoa! It’s always great to see Koby again, as he receives a ton of character growth throughout the series but it’s often offscreen. Still, the hints at how much he’s grown since the battle at Marineford were awesome to see.
Turns out Garp is there to escort the Fishman Kingdom representatives, and nobody is trying to mess with them. Garp is just as jolly as ever too, showing the Fishman representatives, which include King Neptune and his children. Even Shirahoshi has come along for the event, though she’s in simultaneous wonder and fear at the world around her.
Friends of the Straw Hats
More friends of the Straw Hat Pirates show up at the Reverie as well, with King Riku bringing along the Tontatta Pirates as their protection. The Happosui Kingdom is also present, with Sai as the one in charge now instead of his father, and officially married to Baby 5! They’re not the only ones though, as people from all over the Grand Line and even members of the Straw Hat Fleet are here, plus Nefertari Vivi and her father! Hell, even Dalton and Kureha of Drum Island make an appearance, but they’re not the Cherry Blossom Kingdom.
As many allies of the Straw Hats as there are, some adversaries make it too. Wapol, now in charge of the Black Drum Kingdom (an end-stage capitalism nightmare) makes his presence far too obvious by being a dick to whoever possible. He’s still just as terrible as he was all that time ago, but now he has to deal with people just as strong as him in a place that won’t hesitate to off him. Despite the Reverie’s importance, everyone is only second to the Celestial Dragons and Gorosei.
The Seven Warlords
One of the biggest decisions to come from this year’s Reverie, was brought forward by Alabasta and Dressrosa. Both countries are victims of a Warlord’s free pass to maniacal terror, and they don’t want to see it come to any others if they can help it. Now, they bring forward the argument that the Seven Warlord system is out of date and obsolete, with the power of the Marines more than enough.
Surprisingly, the motion passes and the Warlords are dissolved then and there. Stripped of their titles, each remaining Warlord is left to their own devices with bounties now in play again. This will have a huge effect but isn’t shown until the post-Wano arc later on. The dissolution leads to strange alliances and danger for some like Amazon Lily on Kuja. After this vote, the Reverie goes into recess for a break, as everyone spills out to discuss the matters at hand.
Bartholomew Kuma
Definitely, the most surprising appearance in Sacred Marijoa is Bartholomew Kuma, former Warlord of the Sea and Pacifista. Despite his status, he’s now just a slave for rent in Sacred Marijoa for the Celestial Dragons. It’s a sad existence, with Kuma a bloody mess in tatters. For some reason, Jewelry Bonney is there too, and reveals a power to change between her older and younger self. The reason is only clear after the Egghead Island arc, but for now, she seems extremely upset about his current status.
Saint Charlos
Ugh, this scoundrel again. Sain Charlos is the absolute worst, and makes it very obvious every time he’s on screen. He comes riding in on a slave, with no regard for the Reverie attendees he’s walking by. When he sees Shirahoshi, it sets off his absolute asshole mode and he demands that she become his property. This guy thinks he can see a mermaid princess and just take her along, claiming her on sight. Even worse, he has Cipher Pol Aegis 0 there as extra security.
Rob Lucci complies, moving in to take hold of Shirahoshi, while other bystanders grapple with the decision to intervene. Sai and the Tontatta are ready to attack the Cipher Pol members while the Riku family and Vivi are powerless to do anything. Thankfully another Celestial Dragon intervenes, Donquixote Mysosgard, the one who crashed on Fishman Island years ago. He seems to have grown quite a bit since this event, and is now a friend to the Fishmen and King Neptune especially.
Who is Imu?
By far the greatest reveal of the Reverie arc was the existence of Im, or Imu in some translations. Imu is someone that even the Gorosei answer to, and sits on the “Empty Throne” in Sacred Marijoa despite how nobody should. They’re still a shadowy figure, unknown if they’re a man or woman. They seem to have been alive since the Void Century though, and is the one that commands the obliteration of any knowledge about it.
Imu looks to be the final villain of the series, though One Piece has thrown fans for a loop before. Their powers are still unclear, as well as their original identity, but they command a weapon that can easily destroy entire islands. They make an imposing figure, tall with what seems to be an even taller crown on their head. Imu is just terrifying when it comes down to it, and it’s the mystery of the character that makes them that way.
This brings an end to the Reverie arc, catching everyone up on the goings on around the world. The Reverie itself isn’t quite over, but things are already rocky with the Fishman representatives leaving in anger. Now it’s time to go back to the Straw Hat Pirates as they arrive at Wano, ready to face down the Emperor Kaido. The Wano arc is one of the longest and most action-packed in One Piece, so the Reverie was a great way to lead into it.
