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One Piece
Episode 983

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 983 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.5

Eustass Kid and his pirates lead the way towards Onigashima with the Thousand Sunny and the samurai trailing behind. The ragtag fleet pushes through the outer ring and prepares for possible ambushes. They are finally confronted with Onigashima, which is enormous and terrible to behold. A trio of guards notice their approach but Usopp knocks them out with a sleepgrass shot. The samurai destroy their ships by sinking them as soon as they arrive ashore – a sign of their conviction to emerge victorious or die trying.

The Straw Hats run into a huge party of Beast Pirates on the shore – who eventually turn out to simply be samurai dressed in Beast Pirates garb via Kin's special technique. Eustass Kid, his crew, and the Straw Hats are subjected to Kin's technique as well, and now that everyone is clothed in the leather and furs of the Beast Pirates, they can head into Onigashima incognito. At last, the assault is ready to begin as the To Be Continued card flashes.

Ah, an episode of extremes.

I find it hard to give this episode a definitive rating. The big problem, of course, is that 983 has the misfortune of following 982, which was a knockout punch of an episode. In contrast, 983 is just a “regular” episode of One Piece's Wano arc, which, while still a solid watch, inevitably feels lesser by comparison. Still, after all the time and effort that clearly went into last week's episode, I think the adaptation team has more than earned the right to coast a bit and simply turn in a “standard” episode.

And it's not like that this episode is completely uninteresting. The visual of Onigashima slowly emerging from between the walls of the outer ring was powerful and imposing. Bringing the personal stakes of Kid and Killer back to the forefront and how this arc has permanently changed them was also a good call. Plus we get to see Usopp flexing a bit, which is rare, but that's what makes it special every time it occurs. Lastly, the samurai sinking their ships is yet another iconic moment in an arc full of them. There's no going back now.

Then, of course, there is the Beast Pirates' costume dlc outfit swap.

This on its own could have made the episode a 5 for me. In pure practical terms it's nice to finally see what the official colors are for the Straw Hats in these outfit swaps, but really it's about seeing your fav in the getup. And folks - we're all eating well.

Here's to the big, big, big battle coming our way.



Rating:



Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

One Piece is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.com. Save on Anime Streaming Subscriptions with Funimation.

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