Padding? Filler? This is how you do it, you have fun with it. Hands down this was the funniest episode in the anime since that mostly-filler episode during the Sabo flashback (the one with Dadan and Garp falling into pitfalls and Dadan's dreams of meadows and fairies turning into a nightmare when the fairy turns into Luffy and punches her). The comedic timing was perfect, and between the dead-eyed Nami, Carrot, and Pedro had when Chopper sneezed, the soul-escaping freak-outs, "stuffed bunny" Carrot, and more it was a goldmine for reaction images. Even setting aside the exaggerated faces, Takagi's art and corrections have improved a lot lately and have become more consistent than they were a few years ago. I hope he continues to improve and get good staff.
Special shout out to Pedro's section, since that was entirely anime-original and absolutely hilarious for how completely unexpected it was.
! Honestly, he could've used some scenes like this in the manga along with the requisite fleshing-out of his mentor relationship with Carrot before making his explosive exit.
Well, Counter's the last of Opera's brothers we've seen. Dare we expect to see Gala after this? Will next episode explain exactly who that girl on his shoulder is? Daughter? Wife? Younger sibling? And that straw hat's pointless super-detail is practically KyoAni-tier. I really, really appreciate the anime's recent trend of having at least one above-average, good-looking sequence every week or every other week; let's keep it up through the wedding and beyond.