© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
Episode 1155 of One Piece draws the curtain on more than a few big events and manages to get in a few parting emotional gutpunches on its way out the door.
The feast is here! The end of arc tradition hits right in time for the holidays with a big feast to wrap up Egghead Island. These moments are like the grand refrain for a beloved song, where we all sing along to the song as mugs are raised and plates are cleared. What’s interesting in this particular go-around is the way that Luffy is reluctant to indulge in the festivities.
Our plucky little hero is sad, you see. He made a promise that he would get Vegapunk out and didn’t manage to get the old apple-headed man off the island. It’s certainly a new struggle for Luffy to have given someone his word and so plainly failed to deliver on it, hence his deep grape-fueled sadness (sour grapes, I suppose). I think this was a pretty effective comedy beat, what with him “only” able to eat a bunch of grapes instead of “real” food as a sort of self-flagellation, and it felt new for our hero. That said, I wasn’t as convinced by the emotional dimension of this struggle since Lilith (who is also able to quickly change emotional gears) relieves his anguish in a tidy little “No wait, he’s alive, it’s cool,” and that seems to cure all ills. I actually think the most unique element of all this was Zoro being concerned over Luffy’s excessive grieving impacting his status as an Emperor of the Sea.
In any case, we get to the feast itself, and it’s a grand time. It has everything a feast needs: smiling Nico Robin, food and songs, smiling Nico Robin, tearful tributes, smiling Nico Robin, and best of all: smiling Nico Robin.
The other major elements have to do with the Celestial Dragons and St. Saturn. The Celestial Dragons continue to be the setting’s most nefarious villains because of their incredible greed and disdain for others (thank goodness these hyper-wealthy individuals who treat other people as mere objects are only fiction, I shudder to think what the world would be like if they were real). St. Saturn getting punished by Imu for his failure is a tremendous sequence. The way his body convulses as his life essence is drained(?) away is deeply unnerving, and it further adds mystery to what Imu is or is capable of.
And of course, the grand finale with Bonney and Kuma. What else can you say? It’s art.
It will be a long wait until April for the next episode, but this was a darn strong send-off before the break.
Rating:
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