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One Piece
Episode 1066

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1066 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.4

op1066.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation

You'd think writing the One Piece weekly anime review column would be the easiest job in the world. "Wano is good, so all you have to do is say it's good, and bam, you're done, right?" Oh dear reader, if only it were so easy! The challenge, you see, is that I have to talk about this series week in and week out, and come up with new things to talk about. Honestly, it's easier to talk about when there are more critical things to say! That's a terrible irony—when a work is struggling or has flaws, it's often a lot easier to get that keyboard clacking with my thoughts on why. It's a lot harder to muster up the words when the work is flawless.

And buddy, One Piece Episode 1066 has left me speechless.

Because we all know what I'm going to say, you watched it with your own eyes. It's peak fiction. It's high-class kino. It's cinema in the truest sense: brilliant, bold, and impossible to look away from. I don't know what I can tell you that your own experience can't. One Piece Episode 1066 is another half-hour of weekly television that manages to be like the greatest thing you've ever seen.

There is a major difference this week as Henry Thurlow takes the helm as director and storyboard artist. Previously, he has worked as an animator (among other things, I'm sure) on the show, and this marks his debut in the big chair, so to speak. And what a debut it is – a nearly wordless opening seven minutes followed by one of the most bombastic and colorful fight sequences in a legendary arc chock full of them. It's had to stand out when Wano's catalog is already packed with hits, but by God, 1066 stands alongside them.

What continues to astound me is the incredibly deep bench of talent that the Toei team has at this point. The quality – and the quantity of said quality – coming out of there is just amazing. It's some of the best work being done in the animation space, and I don't say that lightly. It's an incredible gift to witness the passionate outpouring of such skilled artists, directors, and voice actors week in and week out. These talents have come together to bring to life a fun story about a rubbery pirate and a dream, in all the vivid colors and fluid motion you can imagine. I hope that the team at Toei knows how much the community appreciates their work and dedication because the evidence of their incredible craftsmanship is right there on the screen.

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.

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