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One Piece
Episode 1147

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1147 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.1

op1147.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
Episode 1147 of One Piece ushers in another momentous occasion that reshapes the world as we know it, though it does so with less visual aplomb than we are used to.

This episode marks the beginning of the end of Vegapunk. Or, his legacy, I suppose. Er… that's not quite it either, is it? It's complicated. In any case, Vegapunk is no longer among the living, but he imparts a final message to everyone on his way out the door, and we receive a major reveal in that message. It turns out that the world is going to sink into the sea! Kind of a big deal. In fact, the biggest deal.

Surely that's the only major piece of news in this message, and we can all breathe easy after this. Heh.

The world sinking is a big deal. Vegapunk has announced that the entire world is consigned to a fate few could ever imagine: becoming a Kevin Costner box office flop of mythic proportions. Having the smartest man in the world say the world is sinking irrevocably into the sea sends everyone into a frenzy. This deeply upsets the balance of power because it undermines the authority of the Elders, the Navy, and the World Government. Just as in all classical models of control, they are given the power in exchange for an (often vague) sense of security. The idea that the entire world is sinking threatens the sense of security they provide and, therefore, makes the truth Vegapunk reveals a subversive one. If people don't feel that the security they are being given is truly protecting them, they start to get a bit… well… [WE ARE intensifies.]

This also begets a great scene with Big News Morgan on his airship. Morgan bemoans the use of the broadcast as it will impact his news business, which is hilarious and true. Great little character moment placed in the rest of the reactions.

Sadly, I can't help but comment on how this episode's animation is not up to the same high-quality standards we have come to expect from the series. It's by no means bad, and has flashes of brilliance (like Sanji kicking one of the Elders in the jaw, or the somber mood beneath the CRT-filter glow of Vegapunk's video screens. But a lot of the sequences just don't quite measure up, like the pan over the Straw Hat crew about to face off against Saturn, which is both an odd camera movement and features some odd character proportions. Again, it's not bad and is in fact perfectly normal for weekly animation, yet it's impossible not to notice since the Toei team has been spoiling us for quite a while.

That said, it's still a good episode in no small part due to the high focus on Nico Robin. She must be protected, and this week we see everyone leap to her defense - ergo, it is good.

Rating:

One Piece is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
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