One Piece Chapter 1033: Zoro vs. King showing parallels to an old and challenging enemy

One Piece Chapter 1033 scanlations have been released this weekend, and with them fans have Zoro’s Conqueror’s Haki confirmed. In addition, One Piece Chapter 1033 gave fans more Zoro backstory, as well as an important character design.

One of the best parts of Zoro vs. King that fans noticed after One Piece Chapter 1033, was the parallels to Zoro vs. Daz Bones. Daz Bones was also known as Mr. 1 for the Baroque Works organization.

Both fights have startling similarities through One Piece Chapter 1033 which seems too deliberate to call a mere coincidence. As always, Oda wows readers with attention to detail and long-term storytelling.

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One Piece Chapter 1033: Zoro vs. King being shown to have a plethora of parallels to one of Zoro's most difficult fights against Daz Bones

Combat similarities

In both fights, Zoro starts off at a disadvantage and eventually progresses as a swordsman, until he’s on even ground with his opponent. Both Daz Bones and King were seemingly invulnerable opponents to start each fight. Daz Bones is made of steel, thanks to his Devil Fruit, whereas King was revealed to be from a race of God-like people in One Piece Chapter 1033.

Zoro also uses variations of the same three moves on both opponents. Against Daz Bones, Zoro uses the Oni Giri, the Tiger Hunt, and the Shishi Sonson. Against King, Zoro uses upgraded versions called the Purgatory Oni Giri, the Ultra Tiger Hunt, and the Shi Shishi Sonson. The latter most is used in One Piece Chapter 1033.

As an added bonus, the Shishi Sonson is how Zoro beat Daz Bones, but the Shishi Sonson had no effect on King whatsoever. These parallels in combat are great to see, as King feels like the first opponent Zoro greatly struggles against since Daz Bones.

While One Piece Chapter 1033’s end likely signals a change of pace for their fight, it’s fitting to see these parallels being established while Zoro struggles.

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Thematic and plot similarities

Daz Bones tells Zoro he's never met anyone like him. (Image via Shueisha Shonen Jump)

The parallels don’t just stop at combat, however. Daz Bones tells Zoro that there’s no one else like him at the beginning of their fight. This is literally true since each Devil Fruit is unique in powers and abilities, but it rings even truer for King.

We discover in One Piece Chapter 1033 that King is the last of the Lunarian race. In addition, we discover the Lunarians were a race of god like people who could survive in any environment. As a result, there’s quite literally no one else like King in the world.

Zoro also gets flashbacks to both his Shimotsuki village instructors in each fight and learns something important about swordsmanship from both. Against Daz Bones, Zoro remembers his instructor Koushiro’s words about swordsmen who can cut steel and spare paper in the same stroke. Against King, Zoro remembers Kozaburo’s words about swords needing masters who can tame their wild nature.

The former teaches Zoro about the swordsman’s will, whereas the latter teaches Zoro about the sword’s will. This is a fantastic parallel which shows Zoro still has more to learn from his time in Shimotsuki village and as a New World swordsman. It’s also great to see his foundational teachings relevant later in the story, regardless of the story's progression.

A final thematic parallel is that neither King nor Daz Bones are true swordsman. Daz Bones’ body was made of blades, so it was more like he was a living sword than a swordsman. As of One Piece Chapter 1033, King has used his sword against Zoro very little and has instead opted for more of a brawler approach.

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Final Thoughts

Zoro vs. King has been a fantastic fight which offers many parallels to one of Zoro’s strongest old enemies. While One Piece Chapter 1033 apparently shifts the battle in Zoro’s favor, the parallels already seen are still applause worthy and highlight Oda’s brilliant writing style.

While Zoro’s Conqueror’s Haki has definitely stolen the show in this fight, the plethora of parallels cannot and should not be ignored. Many One Piece fans would agree that one of the main attractions of the series is the constant foils and inversions.

Zoro’s Conqueror’s Haki will surely swing the battle in his favor. Yet Oda made a fantastic choice in making parallels to Zoro’s last major struggle before his Conqueror’s awakening. It made the fight feel that much more dire, while also making Zoro’s growth feel well deserved and significant. Truly masterful writing seen up to and certainly beyond One Piece Chapter 1033.