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⠈⠙⢿⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣄⠛⠉⢩⣷⣴⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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One Piece fights are fun to watch, but One Piece itself has never been about the fights primarily - it's about all these themes, the emotions behind the fights. Because Luffy Does What He Wants it's never a question of orders or obligation for him - it's always a question of why does he want to fight? What drives him and others to not give up?
Sure the fights themselves are fun and cool! You know I cheered on fights because I like action scenes! But without that emotional weight behind it, I just wouldn't care?
With the Gear 5 reveal episode it's so cool because it ties into so many of the actual themes of the show and is such a narrative culmination of them that it's extra satisfying to watch.
The comparison I've seen a lot is Dragonball and the SSJ transformation and LET ME SAY RIGHT NOW that I'm not starting a fight here about what's better/more epic - I'm a longtime dragonball enjoyer I watched and rewatched that show years before most of you were alive. And while the SSJ transformation is extremely cool and ties in with Goku's character (i.e. that it's not selfish anger that gets him there) and expands on the Lore it's not really tied in with any of the shows themes as such, simply because that's not the sort of writer Toriyama is.
One Piece on the other hand is full of themes that the narrative builds itself on, especially of authority and freedom, about societal norms and how/why you might want to break them - something that is a quintessential pirate narrative btw.
When it was revealed that Luffy was the reincarnated Warrior of Smiles and Liberation I gasped, because it was always him, it could have only ever been him, because he has always made people laugh, has made them free (both physical and emotional, figuratively and literally) has only ever really cared about freedom - of being as free as possible, living without regrets and restraint and the thought that in a way the Devil Fruit chose him for those qualities, for the embodiment of freedom and to have it mirrored in his Awakening and his fight is just such Good Narrative Storytelling it makes me tear my hair out at how good Oda is at it.
(In addition, re the anime staff) cutting it with Hiyori's scene, having that moment of her being finally free of the burden of the last 20 years, of being able to stop enduring but instead giving her pain and pride a voice without having to stifle it is such a great choice to bring home those themes of individual freedom and the catharsis that comes with it...I'm just so !!!! LOOK AT ONE PIECE!! LOOK AT HOW GOOD IT IS!! PLEASE BREATHE IN THE THEMES.
Luffy’s Devil Fruit and its official name finally revealed on the anime. And i must say. This bit here where he jumps in front of the moon is beautifully done!
I need to draw Gear 5 Luffy when I get the chance holy shit that entire ep reminded me why I love cartoons
