“Entering a New Chapter! Luffy and Sabo’s Paths!”
What They Say:
Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, contacts Koala and everyone in Kamabakka Queendom. He explains to them about the things that he is accused of, but someone who was eavesdropping on the call takes a stunning action.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With it being about three weeks since the last new episode, one that brought to close the previous storyline with Wano and kicked around a few other things, One Piece is now moving into what’s being called its final saga. As I continue to do my best to avoid knowing anything about the manga so I can just enjoy the anime, final doesn’t mean much when it comes to a show closing in on 1,100 episodes and arcs that run for a few years. What we get with this episode is pretty good standard fare for the start of a new arc and it also comes with a new set of theme songs and a shift in art style after the previous arc – which in itself really was a radical change when it first hit as we got to know Wano and what a different place it was from other lands we had visited.
The initial setup here is talking about the Last Road Ponegliff now that we’re down to the last one that Robin and the gang are trying to find and the fact that there are no clues for it. It provides a very minor recap in a way to help set the stage before the show shifts into more of a worldly view of events through the news broadcast about what’s been going on, giving it a very circus-like effect that’s amusing but useful. Being able to get an idea of the players and places like this is helpful and highlighting the events in a post-Reverie world with a place called Lulusia where there was a bit of a revolution going on. It’s the island where Sabo is believed to be holed up with his guys and that starts us down the path of catching up with people who are connected to him as Sabo himself is reaching out to Koala and the rest after his long absence. One that definitely has taken him down a few notches as he claims he’s being set up over an assassination.
What becomes fun going into the back half is we get an event happening that crates a massive storm at sea that spreads a sprawling tsunami and weather changes that the Straw Hats have to navigate through, which is a lot of fun visually. The chaos of the journey is its own kind of exhilarating but it takes an interesting twist when something surfaces from the sea onto the ship and comes just as Chopper gets whisked off in the wind – and something is beneath the ship as well that’s about to consume it. It’s comically large and fun and you can imagine how bad things will go from here. But so much of it is just the wild uncertainty of being on a ship in the middle of a snowstorm on the high seas. The small bits of dialogue, minor infighting, and attempts to keep the ship going are a lot of fun as it starts to introduce the new elements to the arc.
In Summary:
The start of a new arc always has its own quirks and things to it – and I appreciate that the post-credits area gives us a brief little educational piece for new viewers checking in before the next episode preview. Beyond that, the episode does what it needs to and give me what I wanted more – more time with the Straw Hats together. You know they’re going to be split up soon as seems to always happen but they’re at their best when they all together. The episode works in a lot of laying out of where everyone is and some of the geopolitical pressures of the moment so it’s useful to know the context of events going into the arc and some of what’s changed and happening since we’ve been in Wano for so long. I really like the shift in the animation style, and especially the new opening sequence, so there’s a lot to look forward to for One Piece afns.
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.
