One Piece (2026-)

Episode 1173

Episode 1173 of One Piece lets the chips fall… but not quite where you might think.

The Sun World events continue towards their fateful ends. The kids are in trouble, and the adults can't do anything about it. It's heartbreaking to watch Saul and the others give their all to defend the little ones, only to be rebuffed time and again. There's a dark-comedy aspect that is very well handled: the audience ends up laughing and feeling bad about it at the same time. Those giant cartoonish monsters like the draugr casually smacking aside the volunteer firefighters is worth a few regretful chuckles. I really like the choice to have not just the wiggly line work and flat colors but also portray the colors as being outside the lines. That's a nice touch that I don't think was really hinted at in the manga (to the best of my recollection, I mean it was black-and-white line art, so I'm pretty doubtful it would have been there). In any case, the Toei team did terrific work bringing this concept to life and underlining the comical absurdity of the dire situation. It somehow heightens the tragedy while relieving tension at the same time.

The Underworld is also twisting between dramatic and comedic. Loki tries to make the big threat that it's his freedom or they all go up in flames, but Luffy calls his bluff with a big fluffy punchy. It's a smart gambit on Loki's part, but - like many before him - he failed to consider that Luffy has the cost-benefit sensibilities of a honey badger. In the aftermath of Loki going down, we get the first inklings of a big flashback to times long past. Go ahead and prepare yourselves, folks; we only get a glimmer, but we all know what's in store if an honest-to-goodness flashback is spooling up. It's not quite a tearjerker yet, which is a relief. But the melodrama is already getting laid on thick with Hajrudin and Loki. “Don't tell me you believe I killed our father on purpose” is such a good line to end on. What a loaded question, what a tease. Oda has been laying cliffhanger endings on us for decades, and this is one of my favorite ones in years. We'll have to wait till next week to get more information, but in the meantime we get to sit with that question and ruminate.

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