One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga

Episode 11

Episode 11 of One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga is an emotional gut-punch in the best possible way.

There are big, emotionally resonant, moments in this week's outings. The first comes from Shirahoshi and the more in-depth view of why she's been trapped alone all these years. Vander Decken's constant assaults have kept her locked away, to the point of having to miss her mother's funeral. The moment Shirahoshi gets to spend time at her mother's grave and finally honor her resting place – along with the shot of young Shirahoshi being locked away behind closed doors – is so impactful. It highlights how much Luffy has done to change her life in such a short time (despite his gruff demeanor with her).

The other major sequence involved Jinbei's confession to Nami. He admits that he was the reason Arlong was free to roam the seas. That set the chain of events that led to Nami being taken prisoner, losing her childhood, her family, and any sense of peace. Her life would have been completely different if not for that, and a lot of heartache never would have occurred. The direction in these sequences is quite deft and brings home to the audience how much pain and violence were part of Jinbei's actions. Nami's response where she highlights how much the Fish-Men have suffered under the World Government is great too, and highlights this arc's major themes and tension.

The animators got to flex quite a bit this week, too. The battle between Luffy and Vander Decken featured lots of fun rubber-boy attacks. The extra element of Luffy's arms being bound with rope made these extra interesting (even if I question the ability of the rope to keep Luffy bound but I'm willing to let it slide for creative fights). A terrific episode all around.

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One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.