If there's one thing that I often sorely miss as a result of less-than-stellar production values in One Piece, it's the atmosphere. I think of Toei's output as going through cycles rather than an overall declination, but something that we used to see the anime show a softer, more tender side more often. That goes beyond how sad or happy the plot is, because some of my favorite memories from the early days were those times where you could sit in silence without dialogue, listen to the pretty piano music, and admire the texture of this pirate world. Episodes that remind us of that still come around from time to time, but it's not often enough for my taste.
![One One](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126238486/999418361.jpg)
The Whole Cake Island arc has not been especially tidy so far. It had a major highlight with Big Mom's musical number, and I've gotten into the spirit of things despite whatever pacing or visual issues it's been facing, but this is the first episode of the arc so far that really feels great in the way that we wish the anime could be all the time. The heartfelt 'I love these characters so much I want to cry' quality that's always been a highlight of this series is captured perfectly here, simply through well-drawn art and simple but nostalgic music choices. For once, the shine of the anime's modern look is not at all in conflict with the earthier tone of the story.
The anchor of the story this week comes in the form of a flashback, just a few hours before Jimbei's arrival onto the scene. Last week, he smashed his way into the arc's already meaty cast, and now we're reeling back to get a little more context for what's going on. As if there were any doubts about Jimbei's intention to join the Straw Hat pirates (he and Luffy's group will be operating on different sides of the island for a little while yet), we get a scene where Jimbei gushes about Luffy and his stern belief that the little rubber guy's going to be the Pirate King one day. His crew is more than happy to let him leave and follow his dreams of sailing with Luffy, telling him that he's done more than enough on other people's behalf for one lifetime. It's genuinely a beautiful moment, and Jimbei's surprise at how willing his crew is to support this big life change is adorable. His reasons not to join Luffy's crew are dwindling fast.
There's also a sequence with the Straw Hats and Pedro having an equally pleasant campfire, where we learn of Pedro's past life as a pirate and his prior relationship to Whole Cake Island. This is followed up with an animation-intensive fight scene where they all fend off an attacking army of cartoon ants. This sequence looks fantastic, and I love how much the characters are given distinctive body language as they fight.
This is the kind of episode that makes me wonder if I've been too easy on the others. Obviously, I've still been having a good time with the arc up until now, and adaptation quality is not the only thing on offer if you haven't read the manga before, but there's something that just feels so right here. This feels much more One Piece to me, exactly what I'd hope the anime could be even half the time. It's not good 'for One Piece,' it's just regular ole good.
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Rating: A
One Piece is currently streaming onCrunchyroll and Funimation.com.
Sam Leach records about One Piece for The One Piece Podcast and you can find him on Twitter @LuckyChainsaw
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One Piece has a slightly different relationship with filler than other long-running shows like Naruto and Bleach, in that there ultimately isn't that much, and when there is, it's fairly short. One Piece prefers to just slow down the manga content rather than spend a lot of time with lower quality stories, but considering how close the anime is to catching up to the manga, it's better safe than sorry. The show's been feeling a little extra stretched lately, so I'm counting on this break to benefit the upcoming canon arc for the best.
Enter the “Marine Rookies” arc. On their way to Whole Cake Island, the Straw Hats find themselves starved of food and vulnerable to the harsh world around them. This is mostly Luffy's fault, since he insisted on doing the cooking in Sanji's absence and then promptly destroyed the majority of their ingredients. The only pitstop they can find is a small island between Zou and Whole Cake (teased in a recent episode) that also happens to be a Navy base. Our heroes have been in this predicament before, as the de facto Best Filler Arc Ever, G-8, was also about the Straw Hats infiltrating a Navy base.
The focal point of this arc appears to be on select Marines who inhabit this base, a trio of young up-and-comers who served in a unit under former admiral Aokiji. I was impressed that they went ahead and included that detail, since Aokiji is such a significant and mysterious character in the big picture. This sits in the sweet spot of filler being able to flesh out the world without stepping on whatever toes Eiichiro Oda might intend to draw in the future. It also doesn't hurt that these kids have a lot of personality, and their interactions with other Marines are pretty interesting since they are, earned or otherwise, being treated as rambunctious wunderkinds.
Furthering the comparisons to the G-8 arc, this is a story where the Straw Hats don disguises in an attempt to sneak in and out of the base. However, unlike G-8, they're recognized within the episode and mayhem explodes pretty much immediately. It's nice to know that their growing infamy affects how easily they're able to get away with stuff like that. Specifically, their plan is tarnished at the hand of Zappa, one of the titular Marine rookies who has had the hots for Nami's wanted poster.
This filler probably won't last more than three or four episodes (they rarely do these days), so thankfully it won't keep us away from Whole Cake Island for too long. While we're here, however, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that all the pieces are in place for this to be a fairly strong one. The central characters seem pretty likable and well-defined, and they exist in an interesting place within the One Piece world. There's also nothing that strikes me as 'off' or noticeably weird/perverse, which recent filler arcs almost always include. (BDSM control collars, a lady giant shrinking and growing inside Luffy and, oh geez, One Piece filler freakin' weird, you guys.) Fingers are crossed that it's smooth sailing until Whole Cake Island.
Rating: B
One Piece is currently streaming onCrunchyroll and Funimation.com.
Sam Leach records about One Piece for The One Piece Podcast and you can find him on Twitter @LuckyChainsaw
discuss this in the forum (576 posts) |back to One Piece
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