Decent episode on a whole, though definitely more 2nd priority considering.
The action this episode, while not the most animated, had some nice cuts spread throughout and was at least serviceable for the most part. The board and direction of the fight definitely helped the fight have a natural flow and pace to it that helped compensate for the lack of movement in some scenes. Inoue's art in the first half was fairly nice, though I felt Kimitaka Ito's art and animation in the second half was far stronger than Inoue's output as animation director in the first, with him delivering some nice action and effects, as well as really pristine character art that felt very much in line with the Chief animation director, Keiichi Ichikawa's, character art. Tu Yong Ce's nice little bit at the end of the episode with Katakuri stopping Luffy going gear 4th with his awakening, as well as a little snippet of action in the first half of the episode between Katakuri and Luffy were the animation highlights of the episode.
Overall, a very competently put together episode, with the direction and storyboard being solid, and the animation, though not exceptional, being perfectly adequate.
The next two episodes definitely seem like they'll be highlights of this arc, with the series director himself handling next episode, along with the arguably the strongest animation director on the show. I'm hopeful for the key animators that will back them up for these vital next two episodes.