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One Piece
Episode 1068

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1068 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.0

op1068.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation

One Piece Episode 1068 is yet another solid entry in the ongoing ever-growing hits catalog of Toei's run with the Wano arc.

Topically it's a grab-bag episode of sorts, jumping around to a few different set pieces. Izo versus CP0, Law and Kid recovering after the battle with Big Mom, Hiyori playing the shamisen over Shogun Orochi, and the ongoing fight on the rooftop between Kaido and Luffy. In prior episodes, I have frequently lamented the sheer breadth of scenes and characters and sub-plots running through Wano, as I feel it pulls the audience in too many directions at once with too little payoff. This episode should theoretically fall within that grievance, but I think it ends up a strong episode despite that for three main reasons.

First and most selfishly, I like all the characters this episode focuses on. It's bias, sue me. But I do think that's part of my issue with the high number of character stories - your mileage with each tale can vary wildly depending on who is in the spotlight.

Second, 1068's varied stories feel impactful because we are getting to see the dramatic conclusions/climaxes to threads that have been built up over the past few years. It can be hard to watch episodes that feel like they barely move the needle forward on too many stories, but this week we get almost the opposite effect where multiple big conclusions land at once. Izo's mortal battle with CP0 and Hiyori revealing her true intentions to Orochi are HUGE moments, and God they just feel great to watch. It's especially satisfying given how the manga handled Izo's death (or rather, didn't), so it's nice to have a more dramatic moment for such a prominent character in the arc.

Third, I think the direction is just superb in this episode. Lots of brilliant shots in this episode that wow in a fundamentally different way than flashy explosion punches. Hiyori is framed by the setting sun while the shadow of her father disappears into smoke as she plays the last song Orochi will ever hear in his life and her reflection glimmers in his eyes. Kaido stands stock still as the scene transitions to the fading memory of Charlotte Linlin when they first met. This is cinema baby, and I can't get enough.

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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