Summary
There’s no denying that theOne PieceIP would be nowhere near as popular and recognizable as it is today if it wasn’t for Toei Animation’s animated adaptation, whichbegan airing as far back as 1999. And while this anime is often criticized for its slow pacing and stretched-out scenes, it still does have some major highlights.
This has been especially true during the past few years, in which Toei Animation finally stepped up its game and managed to produce some beautifully animated battles that elevate the content of Eiichiro Oda’s manga. A lot of fights in recent arcs of theOne Pieceanime are better than their original illustrated versions, and the following are the absolute best examples of this occurrence.
1Sanji Vs. Luffy
An Emotional Clash That Benefited From The Use Of Music And Voice Acting
The conflict betweenVinsmoke SanjiandMonkey D. Luffywas the heart of the Whole Cake Island Arc. This all culminated in their climactic encounter on Whole Cake Château when Sanji kept attacking his former captain during his refusal to go back to the crew. While the anime did stretch out this battle quite a bit, it ended up working quite well because it allowed Toei to flesh out its emotional aspects.
Witnessing Sanji ruthlessly and relentlessly attack Luffy with some of his most powerful attacks was already quite harsh in the manga, but it was heartbreaking in the anime. The beautiful background score, coupled with Hiroaki Hirata and Mayumi Tanaka’s incredible voice performances, really makes this fight all the more tragic, and even the reuse of old flashback sequences worked in its favor. To top it all off, Sanji’s finisher, his legendary Concassé technique, had fluid animation.
2Zoro Vs. Kamazo The Manslayer (Killer)
A Short Filler Fight In The Manga Became A Viral Sensation In The Anime
In the manga version of the Wano Country Arc,Roronoa Zorofought the assassin known asKamazo the Manslayer(who was later revealed to beKiller) in a rather inconsequential fight. As expected from the great Eiichiro Oda, this brief encounter still had some exciting action, but it was nothing to write home about.
Fortunately, the talented animators at Toei Animation took this short clash and turned it into one of the most memorable moments of the Wano Country Arc’s second Act. The animation of their sword fighting was impeccable, with a lot of fluidity and special effects that made it all feel deadlier and even more epic than in the original material. Furthermore,Zoro’s final Purgatory Oni Giri attack was one of the most detailed sequences of the entire showback when the episode first aired, and it quickly went viral amongOne Piecefans on numerous social media websites.
3Worst Generation Vs. Beast Pirates
The Long-Awaited Return Of Luffy, Law, And Kid Was Turned Into A Momentous Occasion
Right before the Raid on Onigashima began,Luffy,Law, andKidappeared to save the Scabbards and destroy many of theBeasts Pirates’ ships. In the manga, this was a very brief action sequence that proved how strong all three members of the Worst Generation had gotten. And while this was an undeniably cool moment, it doesn’t hold a candle to its animated version.
The anime transformed this into an entire two-minute-long action scene of the three pirates using the full extent of their powers to annihilate the random members of the Beast Pirates and their vessels. The animation and fight choreography are top-notch and the fact that Opening 22, “OVER THE TOP,” plays in the background makes it feel like this is a real celebration. This makes sense, though, because this scene marked the anticipated return of Luffy and his allies to the story, after the excellent (but extensive) Kozuki Oden flashback.
4The Nine Red Scabbards Vs. Kaido
The Scabbards Got To Show Why They Were Kozuki Oden’s Most Trusted Allies
Sometimes it’s easy to forget how important Oden’sNine Red Scabbardswere to the plot of the Wano Country Arc, especially since the Raid on Onigashima had so many concurrent players fighting at the same time. In the manga, their emotional encounter withKaidois bittersweet because, even though they do manage to hold their ground against the Strongest Creature for a long time, he still defeats them all quite unceremoniously.
While this outcome didn’t change in the anime, the fight was further expandedso the Scabbards could properly show off more of their skills and abilities. It started with a beautifully animated black & white sequence and an epic unexpected assault on Kaido, and things got even better from there. The epic moment in which Kin’emon, Denjiro, Ashura Doji, and Inuarashi used Oden’s Two-Sword Style is a major highlight of the animated version and truly demonstrated that they were carrying their master’s legacy better than the manga did.
5Luffy (Gear 5) Vs. Kaido
A Power-Up Based On Classic Animation Works Much Better Animated
The moment in whichLuffyawakened his Devil Fruit and unlocked his brand-newGear 5form in his fight againstKaidowas extremely important in the manga. The power-up was entertaining in and of itself, and it felt like Eiichiro Oda was having a lot of fun when he drew every panel in which Luffy made use of his new cartoony abilities.
However,since Gear 5 as a whole is a huge tribute to classic rubber hose animation, it only makes sense that it would just look and feel more at home in the anime, which is exactly what happened when Toei Animation finally adapted this iconic moment. The use of both over-the-top wacky animation and classic cartoon sound effects was brilliant, and it added a lot more comedy to this intense clash. The original manga version is still unforgettable, but this is a fight that just needed to be animated.
6Luffy Vs. Rob Lucci Rematch
Gear 5 Keeps Proving That It’s A Lot More Fun In Animated Form
There’s an argument to be made that Toei Animation stepped up their game during the Wano Country Arc, and they carried this new high quality over to the Egghead Arc that immediately came after it. The unexpected but anticipated rematch betweenLuffyandRob Luccitook place during this arc, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The original illustrated version of this encounter was extremely exciting, as this was the first time readers got to see Luffy using his new Gear 5 form on someone else other than Kaido,and the menacing Rob Lucci was the perfect subject for his antics. However, once again, Luffy’s new power-up is better suited to the world of animation: the dynamic camera, the incredible particle effects, and the clever use of flashbacks enhanced this battle, and it ultimately proved that, while Luffy’s Gear 5 form is fun for the audience, it can also be terrifying for his enemies.
7Straw Hats And CP0 Vs. The Seraphim
An Unexpected Improvement That Demonstrated Why The Seraphim Are So Dangerous
The momentThe Straw Hat Piratesteamed up with theCP0agents and fought theSeraphimwas a brief but enjoyable sequence that was mainly included to have Luffy and Zoro witness the dangerous abilities of the World Government’s new biological weapons firsthand, with the temporary alliance with their former enemies being the cherry on top.
This was a decent fight in the manga, but it was ultimately kind of forgettable among the sea of exciting battles in the Egghead Arc. But the same can’t be said about its animated iteration, where it was turned into one of the most memorable moments of the entire arc. The amazing fight choreography and the stylized animationmade S-Hawk and S-Bear seem like an actual threat to the other characters, especially the former. Not to mention that Toei also added some brand-new scenes in which they made perfect use of both their Lunarian abilities and their artificial Devil Fruits.
8Garp Vs. Kuzan
The Anime Turned This Simple Fight Into A Cinematic Masterpiece
There’s no doubt that the thrilling encounter betweenMonkey D. GarpandKuzanon Hachinosu was one of the most memorable moments in the entire Egghead Arc. The manga version of this encounter between an old master and his past pupil was very well-made, even though it was a tad short, but Toei took it as an excuse to make a legendary movie-quality episode.
Episode 1115 was already incredible,but Episode 1121 is so impeccably animated that it feels like a short feature film: the fight choreography is complex and detailed, but still flows well, the music adds a lot of emotional tension to the scene and both Garp’s Haki attacks and Kuzan’s ice abilities feel as powerful as ever. The animated version even has a tongue-in-cheek meme in one of its impact frames. All of these elements combined helped to cement Garp vs. Kuzan as one of the most unforgettable encounters in all ofOne Piece.
