Why One Piece Fans Are Going WILD for the Anime’s Latest Episode

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Episode 978, "The Worst Generation Charges in! The Battle of the Stormy Sea!" now streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.

One Piece fans are taking to social media to praise the series' animators for Episode 978's impressive animation. The episode's action is the primary subject of the praise, highlighting the movements of not only the characters but also the environment around them. Despite the scene's several moving parts, everything moves fluidly and smoothly. While certainly not an advertisement for fans to stop reading the One Piece manga, Episode 978 makes a case for readers to enjoy the anime as well.

During One Piece Episode 978, Luffy, Captain Kid and Trafalgar attack the Beast Pirates' ship with a fantastic combination of their abilities. Luffy and Kid begin punching and shoving each other midair as they jump down onto the Beast Pirates' ship, as Trafalgar teleports the vessel out of the water and into the air. Kid takes out the cannons while Luffy uses his limbs to swing around, burning the Beasts' Jolly Roger in the process.

Luffy, Captain Kid and Trafalgar combine their powers to destroy the ship in a fiery explosion. The scene shows what each character is capable of and hints at the pride each one feels as they try to become the Pirate King. They are competing with each other while working together, each one wanting to fight Kaido himself.

The animation is being praised as "movie quality" and "incredible" by Twitter users. The response is overwhelmingly positive, with fans expressing their adoration for the episode met with thousands of retweets and likes. One of the videos shared on Twitter has amassed 254.7k views and counting.

The quality of this scene in One Piece Episode 978 is impressive and does give off a movie feel. The level of care, detail and work put in by the animators is incredibly apparent as they delivered on a scene that looked and felt great. From the ship being lifted into the air to assorted sabers, nuts and bolts flying around, so many small parts are animated beautifully.

One Piece has come a long way since it first began airing in 1999. The fights are more impactful, and the quality of the animation itself has naturally improved too. The lines are crisp and the movement of the characters flows like water. The animators didn't hold back when creating this particular scene, extending it from its manga counterpart.

The original scene was shorter than the anime, so the production team went above and beyond for this fight. While the One Piece manga deserves all the praise it receives, episodes like 978 make a strong case for fans of the series to enjoy it through multiple mediums.