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One Piece
Episode 1028

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1028 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.3

This episode is hard to review as a whole as it is sort of split into three parts. I'll do my best to break them down evenly.

The opening section focuses on tying up loose ends. Big Mom gets to deliver a few big hits and we get some wonderful sequences where her lips are imposed over the blank background. Even after all this time since her introduction, she continues to inspire fear and provide viewers with excellent attack animations to savor. Also, Page One's pursuit of Usopp and Nami continues; I honestly forgot that this was still happening, but the shot of Nami electrifying him is, well, electrifying – animated to the nines and with a terrific chaser reaction shot of Usopp and Nami together. They're always a delight.

The middle section focuses on Eustass and Killer battling Hawkins. I have to admit, of all the various Wano threads I find Killer's to be weirdly endearing. There's not much in the way of moral conflict or grand stakes here: Killer was used and he's bitter about it, so he's going to make good on his name and shed some blood. That's it really. Simple, direct, and definitely relatable, it's nice having this overt revenge plot in Wano because it's incredibly easy to jump back into and root for Killer at the drop of a hat.

The final section is the Luffy and Kaido fight and… wow. I have said it again and again yet here I am saying it for the one-hundredth again: the Toei team is pulling out all the stops for us. The shimmering golden sparks, the expertly cut flashbacks, the gorgeous backgrounds, the sense of raw energy coming off every punch...it really does feel like the fight on top of the world that will usher in a new era. And when Luffy is uppercutting and "WE ARE" is blaring, it's hard not to feel that same rush that I felt when I first fell in love with the series. That boy really will be king of the pirates, and Toei has anointed him with a crown of shimmering jewels with their animation.

Rating:


Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

One Piece is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.com.

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