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One Piece
Episode 1121

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1121 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.4

op1121.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation

Episode 1121 shows the series' penchant for building earth-shattering stakes around a single exchange of blows.

This episode has a lot going on and very little at the same time. Garp's rescue of Koby is interrupted by none other than Kuzan, and they come to blows. In a sense that's all that really goes on here, but it is obviously so much more than that reductive summation. Still, it is worth pointing out the surface-level simplicity of the events to highlight how well the Toei team has adapted the material and fleshed out this singular moment to feel as momentous as it is.

Garp and Kuzan approaching each other at high speed is the team's open door to introduce more of the relationship these two have. We get flashbacks from various points in their careers, from those very early days. I loved the entire setup of the “battleship bags” as training tools, as it is both simple and comically over the top in that quintessential One Piece fashion. Most importantly, we see the various stages of Garp and Kuzan growing to trust one another more, and how certain flashpoints altered Garp's outlook. In particular, Dragon and Luffy both become outlaws of different sorts, and Kuzan is there when Garp learns the news both times. This adds that extra layer of irony to Kuzan battling Garp now, as he has also crossed over to that side of the fence. Furthermore, it provides another painful edge to the shattering of their relationship, and how they are literally and figuratively driven apart by the exchanging of blows on Beehive Island.

The use of different animation styles for the various flashbacks was a nice touch as well. It helped for clarity but also reinforced that these men were very different at other points in time, their visuals representing their evolving understanding of the world. All in all great stuff.

Rating:

One Piece is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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