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One Piece
Episode 1046

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1046 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.5

Sometimes I enjoy One Piece for its expansive lore.

Sometimes I enjoy One Piece for its vast interconnected web of characters.

And sometimes I enjoy One Piece for its big dudes doing big hits.

It's honestly incredible that after all these years, some of One Piece's best moments are comprised of its most basic elements. We're approaching the three-decade mark for the series, and seeing Zoro do a big sword slash while Sanji does a big fire kick remains a consistently engaging event.

Episode 1046 gives us fire kicks and slashy swords in spades, with plenty of fan service slathered across every cell. Other than a few shots of Hyogoro and the other samurai talking which are your pretty standard fare, nearly every single sequence in 1046 is dynamite. Fluid motion, blazing fires, and ground-shaking impacts make it feel like Onigashima is coming to life right before your eyes only to be destroyed by the bombastic Straw Hats.

And it's the centering of Sanji and Zoro here that really sell this whole episode. I could be reductive and just summarize the events as “Sanji and Zoro fight Queen and King” and while that's technically true, I think the episode is doing what it should, which is slowing down and putting the spotlight on the Straw Hats in this critical moment. Despite all the new Wano characters who I dearly love, this is ultimately what I'm here for: the journey of Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates. I love how Onigashima has taken time to give the core crew members their moments to shine, and this episode is no exception.

To my mind, seeing Zoro and Sanji do a giant team attack while bickering is akin to hearing Luffy say “I'm going to be the king of the pirates!” No matter how many times it happens, I jump out of my seat and get hyped every time – and I will for years to come.

Rating:


Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

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

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