"Hold my beer."
Title: ''Clashing at Last - Enraged Luffy vs. Kaido''
Chapters Covered: rest of 922-923
Episode Director: Yasunori Koyama (*1/2)
Animation Director: Masahiro Shimanuki () and Hirotaka Ito (***1/2)
Time: 7:30PM EST
Watch It: www.crunchyroll.com/one-piece
One Piece Episode 915 Preview
Luffy vs Dragon Kaido - Episode 914
That's… not at all how I visualized that fight in the manga lol.
For anyone wondering, a former member here on Arlong Park by the name of Ocelot was an animator on this episode.
I'm so damn proud of him.
Monkey D. D. Ragon! So beastly he got two D's in his name!
Loved it.
I didn't envision the fight like that either, but I have a soft spot for Gatling attacks + mindless screaming.
I managed to watch the episode without spoiling myself on with sakugabooru beforehand, which meant that my jaw about hit the floor when we reached Ishizuka's part. I feel like I've been saying this every time he's shown up lately, but it still amazes me how seventeen years later he's managed to go Super Saiyan and has been putting out his best, most raw work.
That Elephant Gun cut blew me away the most in terms of pure spectacle but there's a lot of other really cool stuff going on in this episode. HIto skipped out on Inoue last week to deliver some of his most raw work yet at the end of the episode, Bahi JD is a very high-profile name to see on One Piece and his part stuck out in all the best, Mamoru Hosoda ways, and Ocelot being given the opportunity to not only work on the show, but kicking off the action on a very big episode is a really, really cool story. Toei being open to recruiting webgen animators over social media for the show bodes very, very well and is a very exciting prospect going forward if this episode sets a precedent.
I really enjoyed hearing more of Stampede's OST as well, and the tracks used were quite fitting. Overall I think I liked 870 more but that was a much different kind of fight and this episode did have less dead air (or at least dead air that wasn't already in the source material). If 915 can keep it up, and the preview looks pretty good aside from that goofy Gear Fourth shot, it'll be fantastic to bookend the year with the most animated episodes of One Piece.
I still have no idea what the sound department was thinking having Kaido make helicopter noises though. I just can't on that one.
Amazing episode, nothing else to say.
The music when Luffy first punches Kaido was fireeeee. Is it the first time they've used it in the anime?
Okay, this episode will go down as one of the most animated episodes in the entire series.
The anime opens with episode 914 its doors to webgen animation, a first for the show and for Toei.
Katsumi Ishizuka, Bahi JD the goat, Tetsuro Nireki, Tingmu Yang, Rondenso, Ocelot, so many crazy names on one episode.
Hirotaka Ito, one of the animation directors, absolutely went above and beyond, I was so stunned when I saw his animation sequence.
I don't think I have the necessary words to give this episode full justice.
However, I still believe that 870 retains its crown for the best animated episode of One Piece because of the fight choreography and Koudai Watanabe.
Monkey D. D. Ragon! So beastly he got two D's in his name!
As much as I enjoyed the animation, the additional scene felt unnecessary.
Always thought that Kaidou's dragon power is the sheer driving force behind his strength but this episode underplayed that power.
In the manga he only took a few hits before being knocked out of his drunken state and wasn't even shown struggling against Luffy.
In this episode however he repeatedly miss his attacks and his fire breathe was survived…? while constantly had to use his aura or forced to exert force against luffy attacks.
Which once again doesn't make much sense if his dragon form is stronger than his default form(considering next episode what he does, it's hard to swallow what happened here.)
As much as I enjoyed the animation, the additional scene felt unnecessary.
Always thought that Kaidou's dragon power is the sheer driving force behind his strength but this episode underplayed that power.
In the manga he only took a single hit before being knocked out of his drunken state and wasn't even shown struggling against Luffy.
In this episode however he repeatedly miss his attacks and his fire breathe was survived…? while constantly had to use his aura or forced to exert force against luffy attacks.
Which once again doesn't make much sense if his dragon form is stronger than his default form(considering next episode what he does, it's hard to swallow what happened here.)
In the manga Kaido's dragon form got pummelled like anything. I don't get what "sheer driving force behind his strength" was shown in the manga, because I never saw any. Hell, from what was shown in the manga, a lot of people just assumed that Kaido's dragon form was just kind of shit aside from the heat breath, and it was his human form where all his real combat prowess was at.
In the manga Kaido's dragon form got pummelled like anything. I don't get what "sheer driving force behind his strength" was shown in the manga, because I never saw any. Hell, from what was shown in the manga, a lot of people just assumed that Kaido's dragon form was just kind of shit aside from the heat breath, and it was his human form where all his real combat prowess was at.
I am going to say it is safe to assume it is a combination of Kaido still being drunk and the fact that the Dragon Form very likely isn't good in a straight 1 v 1 fight. It is big and powerful..but not very agile. Sure he can Hulk-Smash his way through an army but when your opponent can Size up his arms to match one of your claw attacks it just isn't a fantastic method for combat, as opposed to going "Haki imbued weapon + Shave straight into your opponents midsection"
We are slowly reaching DBZ tier with all this aura and explosions
Lol that looks like a video game boss battle.
Still don't understand why dragon form Kaido only have 2 leg instead of 4 total.
Kaido's dragon form was just kind of shit aside from the heat breath, and it was his human form where all his real combat prowess was at.
Yeaaah I really don't think that's the case
I’m goin to watch this episode about five times this week.
I loved that video Skippy! Awesome work!
What a visual treat. My goodness.
This was that good shit.
The episode animation wise was absolutely insane with a whole host of talents both regular and freelancing on the show. Hell, we even got a fan of the show who posted on Arlong Park working on this episode, and their scene was really good. Easily the best animated episode since Luffy vs Katakuri in 870, though I don't think it surpasses it on that front.
Direction wise, I think you could definitely argue this episode was overall the more well put together and engaging. Although it did have its slight pacing problems in the middle, I don't think anything was particularly forced pacing wise, and overall it felt like a more complete package to me than 870.
So yeah, probably the best episode of Wano so far. That was insanely good. I really don't get the power scaling bullshit people are going on about…
NEP also looks solid, though I don't think it'll be as good as this episode.
What I hope is that Kaido's eventual defeat does live up to the hype.
The music when Luffy first punches Kaido was fireeeee. Is it the first time they've used it in the anime?
Indeed it is. It's from Stampede as a matter of fact:
That was an incredible animated action sequence. One of the best in my memory.
Pure fire! I don't feel the need to come on here and comment very often, but holy shit this was incredible!
