The day has come, One Piece fans. It feels like we have been waiting ages for Luffy to unpack his next gear form, and the Straw Hat pirate has done so at last. This weekend marked the premiere of One Piece episode 1071, and it gave Gear 5 Luffy a proper introduction to the world. And as we all hoped, the episode took Luffy to the next level this weekend with some of the anime’s best animation to date.
Videos by ComicBook.com
As you can see below, the animation for One Piece episode 1071 is impressive to say the least. A number of key animators were brought in to oversee Luffy’s new form, and they did not come to play. Luffy pulled all the stops for his comeback against Kaido, and some of his Gear 5 scenes are too good for words.
In particular, One Piece popped off with a scene penned by Weilin Zhang and Vincent Chansard. The combo shows Luffy in his Gear 5 form as he takes on Kaido in his full dragon form. Filled with laughter, Luffy is seen turning the field around him to rubber as he manages to shoot back a dragon blast at Kaido. From start to finish, this Zhang-Chansard tribute is perfect. It also marks the former animator’s first foray into the One Piece world, so Zhang did not hold back with his debut.
It goes without saying that One Piece episode 1071 is good, and the anime fandom is geeking out. As soon as the release went live late last night, anime streaming services such as Crunchyroll struggled to keep up with demand. Most of these technical issues have been resolved, so One Piece episode 1071 is now available to stream. You can check out the anime’s stunning new animation and tell us whether Gear 5 Luffy is living up to expectations.
Want to know more about One Piece? No worries! You can read up on the anime’s official synopsis below: “As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer “Red-Haired” Shanks. But Luffy’s life changed when he accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure…one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world…”
What do you think about the newest episode of One Piece? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
