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One Piece
Episode 964

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 964 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.3

Toki helps Oden recover from his bloated state and they begin to get to know one another. They instantly bond over having saved one another, and begin discussing their dreams: his to see the world beyond Wano, hers to finally see Wano. Eventually more pirates arrive, but Whitebeard returns and intervenes. Whitebeard's crew gave him no end of grief over how he treated Oden, and he begrudgingly allows Oden and Toki to come aboard with his crew.

They embark on years of adventure and trouble-making. They visit new islands, fight the navy, and make merriment. Oden is overjoyed at exploring more and more of the world, while he and Toki both ingratiate themselves with Whitebeard's crew. The couple eventually starts a family of their own, and Momonosuke is born aboard the ship.

Meanwhile, developments are afoot back on Wano. Oden's father is about to succumb to illness. Until Oden can return, he entrusts the care of Wano to Orochi, whom he says Oden loved like a brother. Yasuie finds this puzzling, and notices a sinister glint in Orochi's eyes. Back at Whitebeard's fleet, the crew continues to grow until there is a need to break up into divisions. Whitebeard gives Oden command of the 2nd division, and new crew members like Teech are brought on before we draw to a close.

Another solid episode of the Wano arc. I think the flashback does a good job of selling Toki and Oden's bond, which is the critical emotional portion of this arc. While I wouldn't exactly call their romance compelling, it does feel grounded and Momonosuke's birth also feels appropriately significant – more than it did in the manga for myself at least. The shot of them both standing with the sky sparkling behind them and seagulls flying overhead was particularly sweet.

The real treat is Oden's boundless enthusiasm. Seeing his wide-eyed wonder at exploring new places with an insatiable hunger for exploration is wonderful. In this aspect we see echoes of him in Luffy's own character, and that heedless charge into the unknown that they are both known for. Seeing Oden begin to write his journal also feels critically important, as he is one of the few characters who we primarily know of in the present tense through his personal writings.

We also got a shot of baby Shanks and baby Buggy D Clown, and that's all you need for a good episode of anime, folks.

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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