Six of RJ Writing Ink’s Favorite Anime Moments from the Wano Country Arc
After more than four years, our time in Wano is over. Again. The Wano Country arc, likely the longest arc in One Piece in anime and manga, is over. And what an arc it was. I’m proud to have gotten to cover most of the arc on this blog, and nlw that it’s over in the anime, it feels sad to say goodbye to Wano Country a second time. However, we also got some of the best moments in the entire anime out of this arc, and the fans approval showed. Whenever Crunchyroll posted clips from new episodes, they tended to go viral on YouTube!
In honor of the anime reaching the end of the Wano Country Arc, I’m going back and covering some of what I think were the best moments from the entire arc. Granted, I didn’t start watching the anime again until around Act 3, but since I covered the manga here, I think I should get a pass.
Kaido KO’s Luffy in One Hit
For years, One Piece had hyped up the absolute menace that was Kaido while barely giving us any details about him. The little we knew from his sporadic appearances, though, showed that he wasn’t one to be taken so lightly. Luffy learned this first hand at the climax of Act 1 of the Wano Country Arc. After accidentally discovering the meeting place of the Alliance, Kaido nearly killed everyone present, only for Luffy to pick a fight with them to buy time to escape. The captain of the Straw Hat pirates got rewarded for his efforts by getting knocked out in a single hit.
This moment was a foretaste of the monumental challenge that Luffy and his allies were facing. Despite how strong he’d gotten, Luffy still had a ways to go to catch up to Kaido. In addition, we also saw first-hand Kaido’s Devil Fruit powers. He could turn into a dragon! Fitting that the strongest man in the world could turn into one of the strongest beasts in fiction.
Lord Yasuie’s Sacrifice
When first introduced, I didn’t know what to think of the man called Tonoyasu. At first, I thought he was just a traveling companion that Zoro picked up as he walked across Wano Country. However, his importance wouldn’t be revealed until it was almost too late. Halfway through the second act, it’s revealed that Tonoyasu was actually Lord Yasuie, the last of the four Daiymo of Wano Country before Orochi and Kaido took over the country. In order to give the Alliance a fighting chance, Yasuie allowed himself to get caught and executed by the false Shogun’s minions. By doing so, he made it look like the coming rebellion was a mere prank he pulled on Orochi to make him look paranoid. It worked to a fault, and Yasuie died know he got the last laugh.
When I read this in the manga, this was the moment when my natural dislike for Orochi descended to new levels of loathing. Seeing first-hand how Orochi had robbed the people of the ability to even cry at Yasuie’s death left me livid, and I cheered when Zoro came close to ending the man’s life then and there. In hindsight, though, I’m glad he didn’t. Orochi was evil, but he was still a puppet. The real monster was Kaido.
Oden’s Final Words
I’ll be honest about this: I loved pretty much everything about the extended flashback to Kozuki Oden’s life. From his taming of the Kuri region to joining the Whitebeard Pirates and sailing with Roger all the way to Laugh Tale, the whole experience made me love Oden more than I already did. His entire life story was just one, long example of badassery. However, his most legendary moment has to be his death. After enduring an hour being boiled in oil, Oden sacrificed himself to give his retainers the chance to escape. Out of respect for one of the few people able to match him, Kaido chose to end Oden’s life in an act of mercy, but not before he had time to give one last line.
This moment was already amazing to read in the manga, but it was the anime that took Oden’s passing into the status of legendary. Seeing Oden sinking into the oil wih a smile of his face. Hearing the people of Wano finish his last words with tears in their eyes. All of this played to the sound of the shamisen in the background. It was like a moment from a traditional kabuki play. Respect, Oden. You went out like a real one.
Roof Piece
It’s moments like this that make glad I was born in time to see One Piece as it happens. Episode 1,015 of the anime had the honor of adapting the 1,000 chapter of the manga, and it did not disappoint. After making it to the roof of Onigashima, Luffy and his allies stood face to face with the might of not just Kaido, but Big Mom. What does Luffy do? Walk right past them and grab Kin’emon and the others and get them to safety. The message behind that is clear: he’ll only care about them when he deems fit to do so! However, it’s the episode’s final moments that wound up setting the Internet ablaze.
Throughout the Wano Country Arc, Toei made it a point to improve the animation to meet the high expectations that the manga put on it. While moments like Queen’s start to the party were amazing, “Roof Piece” as fans took to calling it, was everything we wanted, and then some! Jaw-droppingly animated to the remix of the now legendary song “We Are!”, this moment was a masterclass in meeting the hype. It was so epic that it wound up trending for several days on YouTube, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Big Mom’s Defeat
After spending the entirety of the Whole Cake Island Arc fighting her, more than a few people were surprised to see Big Mom returning so soon. Having come to Wano Country in pursuit of Luffy, Big Mom instead decided to ally with Kaido so they could take over the world. Instead, her plans for world domination were brought down thanks to the combined efforts of Captain Kid and Trafalgar Law.
Thanks to the arc preceding it, fans were already aware of how inhumanly strong Big Mom was and why she was one of the Four Emperors. We also knew that a fight between her and Luffy and his allies was inevitable. However, I don’t think any of us expected that Law and Kid, not Luffy, would be the ones to knock Big Mom off her throne. Her era was over, and the new generation’s was getting started.
Luffy Ascends to Gear Fifth
For the umpteenth time during the Wano Country Arc, One Piece managed to break the Internet in a moment years in the making. After failing to defeat Kaido for a third time thanks to outside interference, it looked like Luffy might be down for the count. However, this near-death experience proved to be the push he needed to finally awaken his Devil Fruit. For Luffy, it was his ultimate form, Gear Fifth. For the world, it was heralding the return of Joy Boy after 800 years.
I already made a separate post on why this moment is amazing, but I still want to gush over it. From the continual beating of the drums as they built to an energetic crescendo to the grin on Luffy’s face as he awoke, this was what fans had been waiting for since the manga. However, it wasn’t until I Gear Fifth Luffy in action in the anime that I realized how poor my imagination was.
Luffy in Gear Fifth form is a firm argument for why One Piece needed to be an anime. The over-the-top reactions, antics, and hurt that Luffy unleashed on Kaido was like watching a classic Popeye cartoon. Toei pulled out all the stops here, and it showed.
Full Disclosure: these were only a handful of the great moments from the Wano Country Arc. If there are any others that you loved seeing make it into the anime, let me know!
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