One Piece Episode 1059 maintains the various plots and setups from the previous week with solid energy but not much substance to work with.
If there is ever an episode where the direction and cinematography elevated the material, it would be One Piece episode 1060.
As I mentioned last week, I don't find Zoro's story particularly engaging, at least not compared to many of One Piece's other backstories. Zoro is very much a present-tense character to me, whose motivation is more interesting the less I know about it. To put it another way, I don't find the Kuina segments add much to his character. Zoro has a pretty direct personality and archetype. His most endearing qualities are when there is less information rather than more. Whether he's getting lost any time he walks more than ten steps on his own, or the mystery surrounding his eye and the time skip, I think the question marks are better than the gaps that have been filled in.
But episode 1060 is executed so masterfully from a directorial standpoint that it is hard for me to maintain this opinion. Perhaps it's the extra time afforded by the anime that the manga was unable to provide, or the brilliant little moments like the shot of the straw dummies behind Zoro as he grips his sword hilts, and the color play as he lifts his sword again in the present to prepare for battle. It's an incredibly artful display, one where the Toei team makes an episode solely around the consideration of battle. Combined with the heartfelt moments shared between Zoro and Kuina, it's all incredibly engaging. This is one of the better Wano episodes, where it's all set up, and I'm eager to see what they have in store for us next week when it kicks off again.
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