Finally, after over twenty years, at episode one thousand and forty two: One Piece has begun.
Usopp above, what an episode. The first portion is more Wano, but of course it is (as I discussed last week) the sort of Wano I enjoy: lots of big screen-shaking punches and explosive attacks and so forth between characters I am invested in and/or great animation. I want Yamato to live up to the title and legacy of Oden! I want Kaido to be defeated by the child he has forsaken! I want to see a triceratops turn into a helicopter! I want to see Macho Mech Franky Savage deliver a Saturday Morning super robot finisher! This is the bombast I signed up for.
But the back half with Robin… it's too much. I cried.
It's not the first time I've shed tears for Nico Robin and the trials she has gone through, and I'm sure it won't be the last. You might question whether I'm being biased in saying this is one of the best episodes of the entire Wano arc because it focuses so much on the emotional beats of Robin's story, but you would be wrong. Nico Robin's life story, and the way it resonates with the struggles she and the crew have gone through to get to this point, is peak One Piece.
And it's ultimately this kind of gut-wrenching catharsis that I want not just for Robin but for the entire Straw Hat crew. Show me how these current events weave into the journey of the characters that I love. As much as I love the new cast members Oda continues to introduce, it's the moments where the show reflects on the existing cast (who I already am deeply invested in) that really make this work sing for me.
Plus fully grown and self-actualized Robin doing the Dereshishi laugh? I'd give this six stars if I could.
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