One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga

Episode 2

Episode 2 keeps the laughs and excitement rolling without skipping a beat.

Any time spent with the Straw Hats being goofballs is time well spent. Nearly the entire run-time this week is spent going around to each of our beloved crewmembers and watching them engage in hijinks. This is as much affirmation of the character qualities we already know as it is a subtle way to add new wrinkles to existing themes. But it is all done through genuinely hilarious comedy beats with a smattering of cool action scenes thrown in for good measure.

The disguised imposters gag has to be one of my favorite bits. What's so great about it is the dramatic irony of the audience being in on the gag from the get-go. The imposters' disguises are just so obviously, painfully, laughably bad that it's impossible to fall for them. Even a newcomer to the series would clock right away that there is something off about the cast, having seen one or more of them in promotional materials or key art and the like. So the fact that these disguises keep fooling the main crew is so dumb it laps back around to brilliant.

I also love the complete nonsense of Franky's transformation. His post-timeskip design has always been something of a sticking point for some folks, and I understand that. His pre-timeskip design is just so iconic, and this is - in some respects - more downgrade than upgrade, especially from a less-is-more mindset. But the fact that he turned himself into a giant walking toy and all the hilarity that brings with it is too much fun. I love the POV shot of Usopp and Chopper pressing his nose to make his hair pop out in particular. The whole episode is just an excuse for the Straw Hats to be silly together and that is always a good thing.

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