Go Wacky-Waving-Inflatable-Arms-Man!
Title: "The Blazing-Fast Fist - Activating Gear Fourth's New Form!"
Chapters Covered: 895
Episode Director: Kohei Kureta (*1/2)
Animation Director: Masahiro Shimanuki ()
Time: 7:30PM EST
Watch It: www.crunchyroll.com/one-piece
You guys are lucky. My soon-to-be-old laptop died the other day so I'm fucking pissed that I won't be able to properly watch this episode for a few more days.
Do you have the livestream link?
At long last! Crossword, you might have to give Shimanuki two more stars if all goes right.
Ho ho ho ho oh lol no.
Okay let's hope it's a good one. Im pretty hype right now
Luffy Snake-man VS Katakuri - Episode 870:
One Piece Episode 871 Preview
Holy fucking shit.
Just saw the end…. Im at work so cant see all of it
Damn the one thing I didnt want them to do was animate the final blow..
And they did
And it was FUCKING FANTASTIC!!!!
My faith in Toei is slightly restored.... Gg Toei. gg
When I saw that ** star guy handle this extremely important episode I almost melted with rage. Thank god it wasnt indicative of the true quality. This episode ROCKED!
Who is the new Shakky Seiyuu?
This is the first time since i've watched this show weekly (Almost a decade now) I've EVER watched an entire episode of OP with a big dumb grin on my face. THIS is why i watch this show
I love how Shidas work here is the weakest. Watanabe is so good 
OPTC (JPN) FC: 223.189.439
That was amaziiiiiiiinnnnnngggggggggggggg
Give Shimanuki his stars! 870 delivered the hype!
Has there ever been a single episode that has had this many animators on it at once? I think all the heavy hitters in this arc were present. Koudai Watanabe should be a regular on the anime. His part was mindblowing!
The end of the episode surpassed my expectations!
I love how Shidas work here is the weakest. Watanabe is so good
You said it Bro…
Bro!
Anyway. I agree. At first I thought it was going to be utterly lame. Like Two Stars. And Shida doing a Pretty Transformation TM? I dont watch One Piece for Pretty Transformations. Its not Precure...AND I LOVE PRECURE mind you. Then it just kept topping itself!
At first I thought it was going to be utterly lame. Like Two Stars. And Shida doing a Pretty Transformation TM? I dont watch One Piece for Pretty Transformations. Its not Precure…AND I LOVE PRECURE mind you. Then it just kept topping itself!
This is the first post-timeskip fight in this damn anime to actually NAIL it's conclusion. Then they had to fuck it all up in the NEP by calling the part where the fight actually concludes a "Climax" and not this part of the fight which is the actual climax…. 
I guess calling Next week "Decisive Falling Action" doesn't have the same ring to it, eh? Hey, at least it would work as a double entendre.
Um…why did you quote me? Im flattered and all but what does that have to do with what I said? And why hasnt anyone told me who the new Shakky is? Hiromi Tsuru is gone... god rest her soul.
Ughhh, I'm in the air flying for the next 24 hours….I cannot wait to watch this.
Now in both the anime and the manga, the Luffy vs. Lucci fight can take a seat. What an episode!
Um…why did you quote me? Im flattered and all but what does that have to do with what I said? And why hasnt anyone told me who the new Shakky is? Hiromi Tsuru is gone… god rest her soul.
Anyway. I agree. At first I thought it was going to be utterly lame. Like Two Stars. And Shida doing a Pretty Transformation TM? I dont watch One Piece for Pretty Transformations. Its not Precure…AND I LOVE PRECURE mind you. Then it just kept topping itself!
You wouldn't happen to have thought this episode would be lame based off Toei's post-timeskip trackrecord of fucking up climaxes, now would you? Well if you did
This is the first post-time-skip fight in this damn anime to actually NAIL it's conclusion.
Um… no? I actually went with an open mind...which is odd because Toei fucks up everything. But no. Open mind. I saw Crosswords Rank and this really important episode was given to a Two and Three star animators and THAT made me think they fucked up. Seriously. I thought only Aya Komaki was worthy. Im super glad to be wrong!
Okay got home from work and watched the full episode…
holy shit.
In all honesty, I can't really think of anything I didn't like. I'm very impressed. The Luffy vs Katakuri part followed the manga exactly as far as I can tell. There wasn't a ton of filler of them just staring at each other, or Luffy getting beaten down. It was actually faithful to the manga! Luffy's training wasn't the more exciting thing but I always enjoy the flashbacks of him and Raleigh. Even the part with Sanji and Pudding was alright, cause yeah I guess it makes sense we have to know how they landed.
And King Cobra. God damn. I LOVED IT! This is the first time post timeskip that I'd say the anime was better than the manga with a finisher from Luffy. The way his fist turned into a literal cobra and screamed was epic. I mean I know it was symbolic but damn, what an awesome touch. And it wasn't drawn out or a pushing contest or anything. I also like that Luffy's Cobra hit first... that's the way I always imagined it happened... that's why Katakuri couldn't finish his attack and his arm just sorta fell on Luffy.
But okay yeah, totally lived up to the hype. They really nailed it for once. I don't know who all the animators are as I don't always watch the anime, but I'd say they all did a great job. Of course now that the animation budget was used up on this episode, I'm sure the next few will be kinda eh but... oh well. Definitely worth the wait
Au contraire Miss Quexinos. Animation in Japan doesnt really rely on Budget like it does in America. It was more the talent, time and effort the team used. They chose the right animators. They gave them time and then had them use all their effort. I fully agree that this next episodes animation should suck because all the good animators and time must have been exhausted by this episode.
Oh really?… Welp I learned a thing. Still gonna watch their final exchange but there's no way it'll beat this episode.
I saw Crosswords Rank and this really important episode was given to a Two and Three star animators and THAT made me think they fucked up. Seriously. I thought only Aya Komaki was worthy. Im super glad to be wrong!
Komaki isn't the only great director on the show but she is certainly one of the best. Even without her we've still got folks like Kureta here, Satoshi Ito, Katsumi Tokoro, and Takashi Otsuka whenever he puts in a guest appearance. Yasunori Koyama too but he might've been rotated off of the show by now. And of course Toshinori Fukuzawa above all since he's head of the whole show and one of the cornerstones of the anime's new era.
Anyway, it goes to show that it's not just the animation director alone that determines the overall quality of the episode (though they are usually a decent shorthand) it's the whole package. Like, Shimanuki is far past his prime where he was animating stuff like Goku and Vegeta's iconic Kamehameha/Galick Gun beam clash, and I don't think anyone familiar with his past Dragon Ball work will dispute that notion, but this episode and his last one (862) succeeded in spite of him thanks to strong direction and having the right people working under him, including folks who don't normally work on One Piece like Kodai Watanabe and Masami Mori lending their talents. Heck, I've seen speculation that Mr. Pretty Cure himself, Nishiki Itaoka, was the one who did the non-Ishizuka parts of the finisher uncredited. And heck, even despite his rocky history in recent years Shimanuki himself turned out a pretty good-looking sequence here. So yeah, keep an open mind and don't let the ratings completely dictate your expectations. As I've said many a time they're just my personal opinions and don't necessarily exist in a vacuum.
HOLY SHIT i need to pick my eyes off the ground.
damn tomita, watanabe, ishizuka,tu,shida and all the other animators involved really out did themselfs.
ishizuka,tomita, kitazaki and tu have really improved this arc.
Damn, damn, damn, GODDAMN!!!
Words can't express how happy I am that this fight in the anime was done justice… and more! I was so hyped that I was literally counting the days until Sunday for this very episode, and my expectations were exceeded.
Thank you Toei, THANK YOU!
"Yes, I'm only bones, but that's because I have an interest… in dieting."
-Gentleman Skeleton Brook
This episode…god damn holy shit! This was the BEST ANIMATED fight of the entirety of the show! Not one single episode comes even close to such top tier animation.
Naotoshi Shida, Yoshikazu Tomita, Katsumi Ishizuka, Tu Yong-ce, Masami Mori, Koudai Watanabe the GOAT, Takumi Yamamoto, every single top tier regular and some S-class non-regulars came on this episode to deliver this sakuga fest. We're only gonna see such a god tier lineup in...5 years.
Kureta is an absolute boss as well, without his connections this wouldn've happened. He needs that (****) asap Crossy!
still doesn't justify the shit they pulled with the end of doffy fight
or the various other pacing bs
but hey at least this was GOD LIKE TIER HOLY SHIT WHAT THE F-
So after hearing all the hype surrounding this episode I decided to give it a watch. This is the first time I've watched a One Piece episode in ages…
Yeah this sure was some top-notch animation work here. Pretty much every single part of the fight looked spectacular, and the rest was... passable. The animation quality outside the action shots did not drop to a distracting level. Pacing still felt a bit sluggish for my part, but when it was on, it was absolutely f-ing on.
…Show desperately needs some new music though. Oh sure, the Gigant Thor Axe theme from Strong World is an epic climax song, but it gets used for that purpose way too much. It was in Fishman Island's climax (several times, even). It was in Dress Rosa's climax. Now it's in Whole Cake Island's climax. Is some variety really too much to ask for?
So after hearing all the hype surrounding this episode I decided to give it a watch. This is the first time I've watched a One Piece episode in ages…
Yeah this sure was some top-notch animation work here. Pretty much every single part of the fight looked spectacular, and the rest was... passable. The animation quality outside the action shots did not drop to a distracting level. Pacing still felt a bit sluggish for my part, but when it was on, it was absolutely f-ing on.
…Show desperately needs some new music though. Oh sure, the Gigant Thor Axe theme from Strong World is an epic climax song, but it gets used for that purpose way too much. It was in Fishman Island's climax (several times, even). It was in Dress Rosa's climax. Now it's in Whole Cake Island's climax. Is some variety really too much to ask for?
These years the show does have many new pieces of music tho.
I was screaming from hype in my car while I pulled over to the side of the road to watch this. This was legendary. The pacing seemed quick, the voice acting was a little more subtle, the fluidity of the animation was off the charts. It felt like I was watching a sakuga video from Toei, and that's so rare in this series.
Croc or Enel would never.
Wanna see the "ancient civilization destroyed" thing done really well? FFXIV did a great take on it. The bar's high for One Piece to beat.
I would write my thoughts but I'm fucking speechless.
It would be disingenuous to say anything about this episode without writing a full length essay. Jaw on the floor.
…Show desperately needs some new music though. Oh sure, the Gigant Thor Axe theme from Strong World is an epic climax song, but it gets used for that purpose way too much. It was in Fishman Island's climax (several times, even). It was in Dress Rosa's climax. Now it's in Whole Cake Island's climax. Is some variety really too much to ask for?
Tell me about it do you know how hard I was wishing for this song to pop up?
I wish they dropped Film Gold's OST in there.
“When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say”
This episode man. Lost for words, the donut wheel spinning, ducking, jumping. The future sight sounds and visual effects. The black mamba segment with crazy smooth dodge animations for Katakuri. State of the art stuff right there. I am happy.
Year of Sanji, let's go!
Black Mamba sounds like gunshots. Luffy did tell Shanks that his punches were “strong as pistols.”
This may come off as a surprise, but I…really liked the episode! There was not a moment that felt bad or poorly executed. The ending scene was given justice, perhaps even more justice than in the manga where the blows weren't shown as directly. Although I'd have to say my favorite part of the episode was when Katakuri first used Buzz Cut Mochi. That was absolutely glorious, especially the shot right when he swings and hits Luffy, and Katakuri's OST theme complemented it reallly well.
If I had any criticism of this episode, it's that I wish the Sanji and Pudding scene wasn't in it...but it's not like that scene was poorly made. I'd have just liked for it to be all Luffy-Kata action.
Dam that was 1 hell of an episode. Amazing animation and that filler with Rayleigh vs Luffy i really enjoyed.
Katakuri vs Luffy definitely ranks as his best fight, alongside vs Crocodile..
@RJ:
I wish they dropped Film Gold's OST in there.
I don't think they will or can use any of the Gold OST in the series, something to do with the composer or record label.
I don't think they will or can use any of the Gold OST in the series, something to do with the composer or record label.
16 chars. of sad face.
Damn, a fantastic effort overall.
Since there is going to be a lot of gushing, I'm going to go over what I really didn't care for in this episode. I really didn't like any of the cutaways, I could see why each of them existed, the initial flashback to showcase that Luffy needed to do something different as boundman wasn't enough to keep up with advanced observation haki users, the Sanji pudding one to pad time between action halfs, and the final one in an attempt to thematically tie together Luffy's Rayleigh training with him surpassing himself in this fight. The first of which carried on a tad too long, and wasn't particularly interesting, the second of which was bad, and the third I felt really just needed something more to adequately tie itself properly into the fight itself, maybe some ost leading into the fight, otherwise, it just kind of stands on its own.
Other than that, the actual meat of this episode, the fight itself, was gloriously executed. The animation staff did an absolutely stellar job, with the Watanabe gang of Masami Mori, Takumi Yamamoto and Koudai Watanabe himself delivering some of the best action sequences that the tv anime has ever seen, alongside the regulars of Tu Yong Ce, Katsumi Ishizuka, Yoshikazu Tomita and a new name Sadatoshi Matsuzaka, who really outdid themselves this episode to bring the action to life. I was particularly impressed by Tu Yong Ce and Yoshikazu Tomita's output on this episode, with both of them animating more than two minutes of the episode, and delivering some of their best work to date(with Tu delivering his best work). Kureta's direction during the action was also absolutely fantastic, his use of colours, rotations and perspective, really made the action in the manga feel extremely fast paced, and made every major blow have adequate follow through and timing(which was again, brilliantly executed by the animators themselves).
Overall, finally, a climax episode worthy of being called a climax. Though time skip has had loads of really good episodes, circumstances always tended to fall on the climaxes being lack lustre(many times due to outside reasons), but its great to see that they really made sure to deliver on this episode. So happy to see something this good from the anime.
Next episode I expect a large whiplash, considering that all the major action animators were on this episode. I at least expect next episode to be somewhat polished, though even that is in a little bit of doubt due to the animation supervisor not being particularly great to say the least…
I've rewatched this episode's fight like 10 times already. The animation is so CLEAAAAN. Damn, sooooo good
This episode was amaziiiiiiiing , i love it so much
art,animation,ost was really good , this is by far my favorite fight in this show, thank you toei
There is no cross reference his if snakeman belonged to the king of darkness with luffy
