Summary
While the situation on Egghead Island escalates in theOne Pieceanime, the focus has now shifted back to events in the New World, as the Four Emperors make their moves against the Heart Pirates and Kid Pirates. Earlier,Trafalgar Law’s Heart Pirates were utterly defeatedby the Blackbeard Pirates on Winner Island, with only Law and Bepo managing to escape by the skin of their teeth.
Now, the closing segment of Episode 1109 ofOne Piecehas set the stage for another highly-awaited fight. Off the coast of Elbaf, Shanks and his crew await the arrival of the Kid Pirates, with two Road Poneglyph copies acting as the spoils for this impending confrontation. This battle tookOne Piece’sfan base by storm when it premiered in Eiichiro Oda’s original manga, and the pressure iseven higher for Toei Animationto deliver in the anime, and here are a few reasons why that is the case.
Kid’s Vendetta Lands On Elbaf’s Shores
It is no secret thatEustass Kid has a score to settlewith the Red Hair Pirates, especially when considering the humiliating defeat he suffered against them during their last confrontation. After forming an alliance with Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo to take down the Red Hair Pirates, Kid and his allies came out on the losing side, without even meeting Shanks face-to-face.
During this battle, Kid himself lost an arm and his memory of this incident continues to haunt him even after his exploits in the Wano Country Arc ofOne Piece. Given Kid’s massive ego and confrontational nature, it is no surprise that he has been aching for a chance to prove himself against Shanks, particularly after he helped take downanother Emperor of the Sea, Big Mom, in Wano Country.
With a bounty of 3,000,000,000 berries,Kid is one of the most wanted piratesin the New World, whose notoriety is near or perhaps even on par with the Four Emperors. As a result, this confrontation against one of the strongest and most influential figures inOne Piece, is the perfect proving ground to see how far he has come since his last skirmish with the Red Hair Pirates.
The First Real Showcase Of Shanks' Power
Besides all the aforementioned factors, this is effectively the first time thatShanks will be directly involved in a fight, and there has been no shortage of conjecture regarding the source of his strength along with his fighting style. Having been a part ofOne Piecesince its very beginning, Shanks' influence has been felt at various points in the story, but things might be about to change with this battle.
Since inspiring Luffy to set sail by gifting his straw hat to him,Shanks has made a few appearancesfrom time to time, but he has always used diplomacy to resolve any conflicts that he was involved in. However, this option is certain to be off the table with Kid, and only manga readers will have an idea of just how awe-inspiring Shanks' strength can be when it is finally unleashed in the upcoming fight.
During multiple points inthe anime adaptation of the Egghead Arc, Toei Animation has fleshed out fight scenes to a considerable extent, stretching them far beyond their original scope in the manga. While earlier arcs inOne Piecewere criticized for extending the manga’s content in a fashion that was akin to filler, this has not been the case of late.
From the fight between Luffy and Rob Lucci, to Blackbeard’s battle with Trafalgar Law, and even the ongoing skirmish with the Seraphim, Toei has gone above and beyond to add value to the anime. This comes at a time whenOne Pieceas a franchise is in the limelight for a number of different reasons, driven bythe fervor surrounding the Final Sagaof this long-running story.
Alongside its purpose of continuing the Kid Pirates' journey beyond Wano Country, Shanks versus Eustass Kid is a fight that will highlight how the Worst Generation matches up when pitted against someone of Shanks' caliber. Perhaps the most powerful active Emperor of the Sea in the franchise at present,Shanks is the bar that Luffyand his allies will have to aim for in order to stand up to the World Government.
This battle also highlights the constant shifts in power that are now taking place across the New World, asOne Piecefinally approaches its concluding act after an extremely long journey to get here. Lastly, there is a lot riding on how this fight is translated to the medium of anime, when looking back on how much of an impression it left in the manga.
What Toei Animation Needs To Get Right
Ultimately, there is a great deal ofpressure on the team at Toei Animationto do justice to this fight, which is undoubtedly one of the early peaks ofOne Piece’sEgghead Arc. Even though the fight itself is not all-too-elaborate or drawn out, the way it is portrayed in Episode 1110 will serve as the standard for future fights as they escalate even further going forward in this story arc.
Naturally, there are a few moments within this battle that deserve special attention, which manga readers will already likely have identified. Given the rapid sequence of events that define the fight’s choreography, there will not be much scope to extend itlike Toei has done with other battlesin the Egghead Arc, and their success in adapting it will be defined by how much they can enhance the impact of the limited amount of content they have.
