Fujitora’s making his move!
What They Say:
“No Way Out! Admiral Fujitora’s Ruthless Pursuit!”
The people of Dressrosa show their appreciation to the Straw Hats one last time by foiling Fujitora’s strategy. As Luffy and the others are able to finally make their break from the island, however, an unbelievable new chapter opens in the story of the Straw Hat Pirates!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the show is getting very close to ending this arc, events are now finishing up so that we can make a side pivot. With a new film coming up this summer, we got the nod earlier this week that we’ll have something like three or four episodes that serve as a lead-in and side story for the One Piece Film: Gold release. That’s not a surprise and the basics look like it’ll be “old school” One Piece fun and after all the Dressrosa material and epilogue elements it’ll be nice to just disconnect for a bit for something fun. But before that we’ve got to get the gang off the island, which is going to be problematic as we saw Fujitora stepping up per instructions to go after them. We didn’t get a lot of action between him and Luffy the last time around but it had the right kind of delightful quick tease about it that made you want more of it.
Amusingly, things kick off with the gang doing their best to get out of here with Luffy being taken against his will because he wants to fight while the others know they need to get out of there. This has them taking an amusing route that all the pirate ships in the bay have put together, but it’s going up against the massive power of Fujitora, which in some ways feels like it’s far off the scale of what it should be – while reinforcing why he’s as feared as he is. It’s a slow moving piece but it has the right sense of power as he uses that massive rubble pile in the sky to go after them with, something that sparks fear among others watching from the sidelines with what it represents. Fujitora has put together a pretty solid oppressive plan here to strike fear, but we also know that it’s something that really doesn’t register with Luffy because of his personality and approach to life.
What’s no surprise here is that after all that Luffy/Lucy has done for Dressrosa, as well as the others from the crew, is that seeing what’s going on they rally to protect them. This is a wonderful moment as we see Fujitora grasping just how much love and encouragement Luffy is getting because of his actions, especially after how far off the rails Doflamingo went. That it leads to him really grasping it is no surprise, since people will do what they can to protect someone who protected them so much, and seeing that smile across his face is a moment of beauty within this series. It’s a small moment, but tying it to his blindness and what he now wishes he could see, well, it speaks volumes for him. Tying it to Luffy heading off as well now and knowing that it’s time, seeing the sendoff that he’s getting and smiling himself, just makes it all the better.
In Summary:
With an amusing crew about to set off from Dressrosa that Luffy and the others are catching a ride with, there are some fun bits in play considering Luffy’s time as Lucy and those that he’s gotten to know that are wanting to help him and to operate under his banner. This episode spends most of its time focused on the final farewells from Dressrosa with how the residents step up (once again) to protect the man who has done so much for all of them after years of being under Doflamingo’s grasp. There’s a good sense of honor coming from Fujitora, which is expected, and seeing that moment of softening from him feels incredibly earned after his participation in the series for so many years as the serious type. I’ve long liked the character and a moment like this simply feels significant for the future with whatever interactions may come down the road. A good episode overall, even if it’s light on actual “progress” for most of it.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
