Luffy and the Impel Down escapees' first appearance in this episode in which they were falling from the sky is similar to how it was shown in the One Piece opening Kaze o Sagashite. The order in which they first appeared is exactly the same with Buggy and Mr. 3 being the first, then Mr. 1 and Crocodile, followed by Jinbe, Ivankov, and Luffy. The only differences are that in Kaze o Sagashite, the battleship and many other Impel Down escapees are not seen falling with them, and that Luffy's vest was blue-green instead of yellow, and as they were falling, Luffy's mouth is zoomed in as he yelled.
In this episode, Crocodile mentioned that they were falling down out of the sky because of Ivankov. He is in fact blaming the okama, but this was proven wrong in the next episode, where it showed detailed explanation on what happened on their way to the war.
When Whitebeard is about to be attacked by Lonz, the scars on the left and right side of his chest disappear but appear suddenly when Whitebeard blocks the attack.