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One Piece
Episode 1078

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1078 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.1

op1078.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation

One Piece episode 1078 is the culmination of not only the Wano arc but a thread Oda has been laying out still Punk Hazard. Momonosuke is the rightful ruler of Wano country and his journey is at an end. The Akazaya Nine can at last lay down their burden, and the people of Wano are able to enjoy the fruits of their own land free of oppression. The Straw Hats' rugged determination has paid off in spades. Despite the painful losses during the fighting, there is a new sense of hope as twenty years of subjugation come to an end.

Folks, when I tell you I have said just about all I can say about Wano - well, I've been writing about it weekly for over four years now and it looks like it is finally in the rearview. I'm not sure what to say that I haven't said forty times over at this point. But I will offer a few closing(?) thoughts before we head off on the next adventure.

Looking back on the course of the arc, it's clear how big of a risk this was. I know that “risk” isn't exactly something one associates with shonen fighting series, and certainly not with one of the biggest and longest-running series in the space. But the audacity of the arc's scope is quite impressive. Wano is a story that took years to tell and essentially serves as one of the biggest payoffs in the entire series thus far: Luffy's latest form, Momo, and Kinemon's tale, Gol D Roger's backstory, various aspects of Kaido and Big Mom. It's a huge undertaking and one which demands a lot of the audience. There was a high chance that people would simply not like this arc or its themes, or perhaps just become weary of reading about it week after week, and they would drop the series and move on to other pastures.

More than a few did in my circles at least.

There's no telling how the arc will come to be viewed as time passes, but I think Wano has largely been a success. The arc has proved that One Piece is doing something few other works are capable of doing and the audience will stick with it. Anecdotally, I'd say One Piece appears to be more popular now than when the arc started, and while many factors play into that I think the ambition is part and parcel of it.

So enjoy your triumph Momonosuke and friends, you've earned it.

Rating:

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

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