One Piece
Episode 1140

by Grant Jones,

How would you rate episode 1140 of
One Piece (TV 1999) ?
Community score: 4.1

op1140.png
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation

Episode 1140 of One Piece is a solid weekly entry, though its pacing leaves a bit to be desired.

This week's events were strong in theory. I like all of it at face value. Bonney's descent towards the Pacifistas and their eventual turn, Luffy being revitalized and coming back in full Gear 5/Nika mode, Vegapunk's dramatic death, and the arrival of the Warriors of Elbaf – all terrific stuff. I like all of these in isolation and together, and they create a sense of climax and dramatic turning of the tide. Something has shifted in the world, and despite the losses, our heroes are surging against the control of the World Government and Saturn. It's heroic, uplifting, and full of iconic scenes.

I only wish it had happened at a slightly swifter pace. I couldn't help but think things were taking a long time to reach their climax in this episode. In part, that may be because three of these four major events are telegraphed pretty far in advance. The Warriors of Elbaf's arrival is a surprise few would see coming, but Luffy getting back into the fight, Bonney turning the Pacifistas away, and Vegapunk dying all felt like foregone conclusions. That doesn't mean they weren't impactful, but a string of wholly expected events can dull the blow, so to speak.

I'm also somewhat torn on Vegapunk programming a failsafe into the Pacfistas. It makes sense and it works, but I'm not sure how necessary it was. We have had such a long buildup of the unique connection between Kuma and Bonney, how it was a guiding light for both of them, etc. I think that I would have been completely fine with the Pacfistas being overridden on some base level by Bonney's pleas for help because their Kuma-like essence was simply too strong to be erased. I understand that might be pushing it a bit, and that by having Vegapunk say that he has put in the failsafe that gives pretext for Saturn to kill him… but hey, what can you do?

There are still terrific sequences this week, though. The arrival of the Elbaf warriors is big, bombastic fun featuring warship destruction (a rarer sight than it should be in my opinion). Luffy bouncing around and turning the entirety of Egghead Island into a cartoon world is such a delight, from the sound design to the bounce-house-like texture on the buildings. I adore the way his powers alter the space around him in these moments. Plus the big belly laugh I got from his haki-fist hitting Borsalino with an audible BOING noise, marvelous.

Rating:

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