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One Piece
Episode 1033

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1033 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.5

Every time I think I'm about to fall out of love with Wano, another episode pulls me right back in. This week's episode nails scene after scene, cut after cut, in an absolute tour de force of weekly television. The entire Toei team – as well as director Ryōsuke Tanaka – deserve their kudos here.

In short, Episode 1033 is a visual feast. It's clear that the visual issues of last week's episode were due to corners being cut to save time/energy/etc for this episode because wow it is jaw-dropping. Wano is a very long arc, so I end up going through cycles and worry that I end up saying the same things over and over again. But I think it's a testament to the sheer number of high-quality episodes that I have to repeat once again that this is film-quality animation produced as weekly television. It keeps setting high water marks and exceeding them time after time.

Which segment was your favorite will probably vary, but there's no doubt we all have a lot to choose from this week. The big standouts are the Kaido and Luffy battle, Eustass breaking away from the goons, and Big Mom taking out Ulti. What I like about this is the visual range displayed in these different sections. The Kaido and Kid sections both use lighter line work along with these push-ins that reveal constantly rolling muscle and skin detail in a way that aims at realism then blows out through the other side with a gaping, exaggerated exit wound. On the other end, Big Mom's fight adheres closer to the standard look of the show, just with a higher-than-average visual fidelity and bright popping colors and lighting effects – essentially a sterling episode of action television, in keeping with the tone of the scene. The shots of Ulti getting, well, shot are particularly excellent, with black and white hit frames that veer into the surreal and existential.

Even the character bits all land this episode. The battle between Kaido and Luffy genuinely feels like two titans battling it out on the roof of the world. Sanji and Zoro are back to their usual comedic bickering and it really is the best mode of them to be in. Law gets to show off his medical pedigree, Kid glares at a grenade mid-flight, and Zeus cries sad pathetic puddles. Episode 1033 is one of the best episodes of one of the longest-running series of all time – and that's a feather in anybody's cap.

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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