Episode 1111 (boy, that sure is a lot of 1's) is full of great reveals and great animation to boot.
The battles against the Seraphim continue apace. There are a couple of interesting developments here. First, Franky is hilarious because, of course, he is (he's the best, trust me). Second, Sanji is actually doing a bit of the chivalry shtick in a way I can appreciate. His whole code as an expression of self-sacrifice works for me, as I find it pairs well with his status as the ship's cook. I dig it when Sanji works and gives of himself to help others, like putting himself between Nami and harm's way. I also find it interesting to have him facing off against a Serpahim essentially solo. Sanji makes an off-hand comment about his opponent not-Jimbei being a science experiment. That struck a chord, I thought. Sanji is also some sort of science-experiment amalgamation, creating a unique juxtaposition between the two.
The battle with Luffy and Co. has more visual flair than thematic substance, but that's not a bad thing. Luffy battles a lot of opponents in this series, and many (all?) of these fights involve Luffy delivering a rapid-fire barrage of punches at an enemy. It's always a treat when the animation team can devise a way to make this regular act stand out or be visually unique compared to the others, and I think it works great here. It's also hilarious to hear Rob Lucci scream for Luffy to think when we all know the boy is just uh… not great at that.
Oh, and, of course, there is a massive reveal at the end: York is the one who killed Shaka. It's a well-done reveal, with the cold shadowy approach and the split screen to show her perspective and Vegapunk's. It's one of the more shocking events on this island, not directly tied to a larger macro-lore plot point that's been simmering in the background for years. I'm curious to see where it goes from here.
Rating:
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