One Piece episode 1096 is one of the better examples of all the series' strengths that lay outside of the big battles and strange powers.
The opening half of this week's episode is a hard-hitting flashback to the end of Ohara. Dear reader, you know that I'm biased towards Nico Robin and I won't make any secret of it. So naturally, I'm going to praise any amount of screen time or spotlight she gets. My own bias aside, the entire Ohara sequence is both illuminating for the viewer from a lore perspective and well done visually. The reveal of the books being hidden in an inner lake to preserve the future is terrific stuff, and it's hard not to get emotional at Nico Olivia's pledge that the historian must preserve the past and work towards a better future at the same time. It's moving stuff, and Robin's tearful recollections of those events in the present are an extra shot in the heart. The Straw Hats getting mad at Vegapunk for making Robin cry was an extra special moment too.
The back half of the episode has Luffy and co. exploring the giant mecha ruins. This ultimately reveals Dr. Vegapunk, which is a huge deal in terms of named characters. Seeing him live in the flesh after many years of pondering is quite fascinating, a legend decades in the making. And he sure is a giant goofy Albert Einstein funny pastiche, isn't he? I don't know what I expected but I can assure you this final design would not have been in my top ten conceptions for the character.
The Toei team once again delivers plenty of visual splendor for us to enjoy across the entire breadth of the episode. The 8-Bit flashback sequences and detailing on Vegapunk's title card, Usopp comically bonking his head on the floor, and the goofy childish fun of Luffy and Chōpper's Gattai sequence - just 10/10 stuff all around. My Favorite Animation sequence has to be when Luffy, Chōpper, and Vegapunk take flight in their jet boots. There is such a delightful whimsy to the animation that it is hard not to fall into the same child-like wonder at the miracle of flight.
Rating:
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