I'm guessing this may be an Usopp heavy TV special given that he was the one more closely attached to the ship and has the most scenes involving its "relationship" with the crew. In this case the inevitable "Episode of Usopp" will focus on his dream of being a strong and famous pirate rather than his affinity to Merry as its carpenter. As such, I'm thinking the bulk of this TV special will adapt Water 7 and parts of Enies Lobby.
@o-chan:
Agreed. The specials before animated parts of the series that needed updated animation but in this case the anime staff pretty much nailed these scenes perfectly the first time around, ESPECIALLY Merry's funeral which had above average animation and great character design work from Eisaku Inoue (and this was back when he hoarded all the excellent key animators and designers). I think a re-animation of that scene would only emphasize why the original animation was so much better. I like that the current anime team is improving but even with Episode of Nami style animation it still can't compare to the anime at it's peak.
I also agree to much of this. While I like them for what they are, I really don't see these "Episode of" remakes as being definitive adaptations compared to how much the TV series nailed certain scenes and episodes. If the Episode of Luffy and Episode of Nami are indications, fast pacing tends to be a problem compared to the TV series.
The Merry funeral is definitely one of the best episodes of the series and sets the bar pretty damn high for this TV special. With Luffy vs Usopp mentioned, I honestly can't imagine that one measuring up either. The TV series adaptation of that whole build-up and the duel itself is a high watermark in direction, music, animation and artistic talent that the anime has rarely measured up to in the past 5 years. Heck, most of the Water 7/Enies Lobby anime material involving the Going Merry is a tough act to follow–the anime's peak as far as I'm concerned.
The loss of some of the great animators that worked on the earlier One Piece episodes certainly factors in there, though I think some of the current anime team still manages to impress on occasion. Part of it may just be how the talent is divided and distributed between each animation unit.
@Crossword:
There were a few moments during the Nami special, like at the end when Nami was saying farewell, that looks awkward due to the disconnect between modern One Piece's look and old One Piece's look. This special shouldn't have much of an issue on that front minus any scenes from the Kuro arc, but they pretty much already got them down perfectly the first time. The material's only like five-six years old in this case instead of twelve.
I have the same issue when it comes to modern "remakes" of the East Blue and early Grand Line arcs. The modern art styles of Nami, Usopp, and Luffy in particular clash the most with the older material. I guess it's not as much of a big deal to those who never watched or read the early arcs first, but the modern artwork and early OP settings don't always gel. In the Episode of Nami, for example, I felt that the more modern-looking Luffy encounter with Arlong had a different tone to it on top of being a bit awkward. However, I really had no problem with the movie remake of Drum Island thanks to how much Tate's independent stylization of characters gave the setting and material its own separate aesthetic.
Slytherin all the way, baby~
[[My series COMIXSCAPE!](
