One Piece episode 1031 returns us to the One Piece that we know and love (or hate, depending on your affinity for roofs). I for one am glad to be back to Wano proper, if for no other reason than to start moving towards the resolution of the arc that we have spent far too long in.
The Kaido and Luffy punching continues unabated. Lots of big hammer blows and shaking screens with explosions on top of Onigashima. Ah, Home Sweet Home. But not much of consequence happens other than the punchies.
The mid-level chase sequence in this episode is more noteworthy. Nami and Usopp are always great together, and there are some fun moments in this sequence. I particularly liked the scene when they were pummeling Page One, and Usopp's speech to Tama was terrific. That said, both the manga and the anime make this chase feel like it goes on for roughly 100 miles with a repeating background loop. I wish there were more landmarks or clear objectives other than ”escape” to break some of this up because literal months have gone by in real life and they are still running down the same hallway in the show (that looks like a half dozen other hallways where fighting is occurring elsewhere).
The big standout of this episode is everything with Tama and Big Mom. Wano is so long that it is easy to lose track of the minor threads and sub-plots that have developed throughout, let alone stay invested in them, because they get spread over such long publishing times. That said, this thread feels particularly resonant and because of Big Mom's involvement, somehow more tragic. Tama's emotional pleas and recounting of what happened are delivered expertly by the voice cast and the animation team pulls out all the stops. When Big Mom hits Page One you really feel the blow and the emotional weight behind it – a rare feat in this arc of big explosive punches.
Glad to have you back, One Piece. Let the roof fighting continue.
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