One Piece
Episode 962
by Grant Jones,
How would you rate episode 962 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.4
The battle in the land of Kuri commences between Oden and Ashura. Oden's raw power blasts away most of Ashura's goons and the two titans quickly cross blades. Oden's followers run towards the scene of the battle as the rain begins to fall. Ashura decries their pampered capital life, just before Oden uses his two-sword style to end the fight. Oden's retainers arrive to find that the battle is over and Oden sitting atop Ashura's body. Ashura begs for death, but Oden spares him and declares that he has decided to become their king.
News spreads of Oden's victory and his efforts to revitalize Kuri. Soon it is a land of joy and abundance. Oden is made the Daimyo of Kuri by his father and the people rejoice as it becomes a full-fledged province. Perhaps most shocking of all is that Oden asks his followers to become his samurai, moving them all to tears.
Flash forward to six years later, 33 years before the present day, and strange creatures have washed up on Kuri's shores. It turns out to be the young Cat Viper, Dogstorm, and Kawamatsu. Locals try to burn them alive but Oden spots the blaze on the shore. He rushes in and clobbers the locals with a giant fish, freeing the young trio. After being brought back and fed, the young minks reveal that they have a similar symbol at their home. Kawamatsu reveals his own past as well, that as a Fish-Man the locals hated him and killed his mother, forcing him to live off of scraps. Oden tries to send them away but they have nowhere else to go and stayed with him.
Oden's followers later try to steal money from Yasuie because Oden is incredibly broke. They get caught and Yasuie forgives them, then gives them money anyway. He tells them to get cleaned up and educated. Over time they slowly transform from hoodlums to well-mannered samurai.
Another three years pass and we see Oden arriving at the Flower Capital. He and his followers all look like Proper Samurai™ now. They shock the populace with how elegant and cool they look, making some forget to breathe at their passing. Oden is there to visit his father, who was rumored to be ill – but it would be their last meeting. On the shore of Kuri, Whitebeard's crew has crash-landed and decides to head ashore.
Wano One Piece is hit after hit.
The arc has been going on long enough to churn out multiple impactful flashback sequences, and this is in a series known for its powerful flashbacks. I personally don't feel Oden's is the best in the series by a long shot – it's solid, occasionally great – but the anime adaptation is definitely improving the experience. It certainly says something when Oden seems like such a larger than life character in a series with so many big personalities like One Piece.
There is a real sense of the abnormality to the flashback too. When Oden and Ashura are dueling, there is that brief moment right after the two-sword strike where water droplets hang in mid air as though they are frozen in time. Later, when the sun rises after Oden has defeated Ashura, the entire area is bathed in so much light and bloom, giving a heightened sense of unrealism to the events.
The direction too takes a turn to the past as well. There were many sequences – particularly during the conversation between Oden, Kawamatsu, Dogstorm, and Cat Viper – where the anime felt like it was from another era. The scene transitions, the comedic beats, the paucity of movement, it all gave off the air of an anime that aired 20+ years ago. Heck, Oden's father's messenger even comes sliding into one scene with a Scooby Doo-esque tire screeching noise. I thought these were all brilliant flourishes, yet more ways to separate this past-tense from the present-tense outside the flashback, but with a more subtle twist.
The real highlight for me was Oden and crew's arrival at the Flower Capital. The gorgeous black, white, and gray with those vibrant pink cherry blossom petals falling – fantastic stuff. The kind of striking imagery that I'm here for.
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. Save on Anime Streaming Subscriptions with Funimation.
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