Episode 1071 of ONE PIECE was released today and it managed to deliver on the insane expectations that came with the early spoilers teasers of Luffy’s Gear 5, which already had the manga fans hyped. Not wasting a second, the episode immediately opened with Luffy’s transformation. Mayumi Tanaka’s voice acting was perfect as the Straw Hat captain wondered why he could still stand despite losing the fight. Still, he quickly accepts the new situation and understands that he now has a lot more freedom.
Shortly after, we see the Five Elders talking about their decision to interrupt the fight between Kaido and Luffy. They agree it was a good call to prevent the risk of the Gum Gum Fruit awakening. It is revealed that the real name of Luffy’s fruit is The Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model Nika. They’ve been attempting to get their hands on it for 800 hundred years, but it eluded them as if it had a mind of its own. It’s based on the Warrior of Liberation, the Sun God Nika, and it gives the user a body that has the same properties of rubber. They mention it’s potentially the most ridiculous power, and awakening it gives the user even more strength and freedom. Luffy’s character is obviously perfect for the fruit (silly and free), and the World Government is about to be disappointed to learn they failed to stop him from awakening his fruit.
Shortly forgetting Luffy and Kaido, we see the conclusion to Hiyori and Orochi’s confrontation. She reveals that she’s Oden’s daughter and shows that she won’t have mercy on one of the men behind most all her suffering. Despite Orochi being pathetic again and begging for forgiveness, we see Hiyori’s emotional outburst as her mask falls off. Symbolizing that she’s no longer hiding, she reminded me of when Momonosuke finally mustered the courage to tell off Kaido despite being held captive. The flashback felt a bit unnecessary and I had the feeling it was taking too long to get back to ‘main part’ though. With Kanjuro appearing and finishing off a confused Orochi, the only thing left is Luffy’s fight, and the next few episodes will be able to fully focus on it.
Going back to the roof, we see Luffy having fun with his new form. He says his heartbeat sounds funny as he constantly laughs. Unleashing his Conqueror’s Haki, he manages to knock out people below, making even Kaido wonder what the hell is up there. Not having the time to think for long, Luffy begins using his new ridiculous fighting style and drags the dragon up. The fight manages to capture the cartoonish style well, popping eyes and mouths all over and over exaggerating expressions. Whether it’s the bump or stars Kaido got on his head or the way he burned after Luffy literally ripped the ground up and made it bounce back the Blast Breath, there was no shortage of Looney Tunes-like moments. That’s what Gear 5 is all about, and the episode introduced it beautifully.
In the end, it’s clear this was just an introduction of Luffy’s new form. Kaido doesn’t seem too fazed, and he both thanks Luffy for being alive and apologizes to him for the way their fight ended previously. His character legitimately didn’t want to win like he did against Oden, and this time he can fight his heart out. We see a cool sequence to officially show off GEAR 5 and Luffy’s iconic pose where he’s covering his eyes, laughing right before the two decide to settle the fight for real (and we get the ‘to be continued’).
The staff for ONE PIECE episode 1071 had Tatsuya Nagamine as the episode director, Midori Matsuda as the animation director, and some of the key animators were Weiling Zhang, Vincent Chansard, Chris, Tu Yong-Ce, Naotoshi Shida, Takashi Kojima, Fastoo, Shotaro Ban,etc. You can also appreciate some of the animators who worked on the episode:
ONE PIECE Episode 1072 & Chapter 1089 Release Date
ONE PIECE episode 1072 preview is already available, and the anime will release its next episode on August 13, while the ONE PIECE manga will release chapter 1089 later today. You can watch the anime on Crunchyroll, while you can catch up to the latest manga chapter for free on either the VIZ website or the MANGA Plus website.
Images via Crunchyroll
© Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha / Toei Animation
