One Piece (2026-)

Episode 1172

Episode 1172 of One Piece lets the other shoe (and hammer) drop.

As discussed last week, the kiddos are in danger. We see them put into all kinds of peril, and it really gets at one of those core, societal fears: the endangerment of the young. Having the Holy Knights threaten the young of Elbaph like this taps into the deep-rooted fear of children in danger. Elbaph was a pretty easy arc to be invested in already, and now it's a guarantee that most of us in the audience are locked in to find out what happens next.

The giant warriors put up a valiant fight. Sadly, it is to no avail. It's great getting to see characters like Saul in action nonetheless, and the action is big and impactful. Most enticing of all is the visual design and movement of the cartoonish nightmare creatures. I think in many other situations having cartoon doodle monsters might be a (perfectly reasonable) opportunity to go a bit light on the animation work, ham up the shoddy designs and do way less with them on screen. The Toei team does no such thing, and we're treated to a delightfully goofy monster mash of cool animated sequences where ghosts, skellymans, and beasts of legend frolic about in all their crude glory. Despite the childish appearances, they still retain that fearful edge, especially with the kids marching in sleepwalking lockstep beside their misshapen figures. The excellent use of ominous, string-heavy background music accentuated all this to sell the horror quite expertly.

Loki also swings his hammer at the tree. This is somehow too short an explanation yet still perfectly succinct. There's a lot of time focused on Loki posing, winding up, and smacking the tree one (1) time. But the crew at Toei once again knocks it out of the park with a gorgeous animation sequence. I'd say a solid four minutes of the runtime is just this one attack, but man, it really does sell the idea that you're watching the end of the world. Loki shrouded in purple as he cackles like a madman, set to the background hum of the ever-expanding detonation, is striking (snarf) imagery. I, for one, got caught up in it, and I imagine I'm not alone in that. One Piece has always been a series about landing one big telling blow, and good Lord, is this a big one. I may go back and watch that sequence again after uploading this very article.

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