‘One Piece’ Animation Team Talks Favorite Wano Episodes, Luffy vs. Kaido & Egghead Island Arc

The year 2023 is a special time to be a One Piece fan. It has brought on several milestones for the franchise, with the over 25-year-long manga finally reaching its final stretch of the story, the live-action series at Netflix getting a release date, and the anime’s stellar animation and upcoming Gear 5 episode, which sees Luffy get a legendary (and powerful) transformation. Each episode leading toward the climatic reveal of Luffy’s new form has garnered critical acclaim from critics and fans alike on Twitter, elevating freelance animators like Vincent Chansard and Henry Thurlow into household names within the fandom.

At Anime Expo 2023, TV Insider got the chance to speak to the One Piece Series Director (Yasunori Koyama), Animation Director (Kenji Yokoyama), and Production Manager (Tetsushi Akahori) ahead of One Piece Day (July 21 and 22) to discuss their favorite moments in the current Wano Kuni arc and the upcoming Egghead Island arc.

Can you confirm the date of the highly anticipated Gear 5 episode?

Kenji Yokoyama: We can’t confirm as of now, but just based on the original [manga], you can tell it’s gotta be soon.

Is there something you can tease for the upcoming July-August episodes?

Yokoyama: Luffy and Kaido are in it. [Laughs]

What are your favorite scenes of the Wano arc thus far that you’ve worked on/overseen?

Yokoyama: I’m particularly responsible for the original drawings for the series, and there are many, many memories of doing it, but particularly in that arc, the scene where Otama is eating Oshiruko (Red Bean Soup). That’s something that I really put my heart into drawing. And particularly, I have very strong feelings about how Luffy’s face, Luffy’s expressions, appeared at that time.

Interesting. What about Luffy’s expressions were more important to nail in this arc than any other?

Yokoyama: So I’ve done a lot of this, and one thing, in particular, is that Luffy’s a character who, even if he’s getting angry, doesn’t really appear frightening or threatening, and there’s something about his very kind of happy-go-lucky easygoing quality in his face in his expressions that’s really important to me.

What was your favorite scene in this arc?

Yasunori Koyama: I’m really pleased. I mean, I’ve lots of memories of all the episodes I’ve been involved with. But in particular, I think Episode 971 in the Wano Kuni series. That’s where Oden goes to Kaido, and you know, there’s a way in which he, Oden, kind of in a stupid way, is still suffering a lot for everyone’s purpose to save everyone. And I think there is something in the way also in which he brings his samurai to fight; there’s something that comes from the Japanese. We’ve got maybe kind of a national identity but not exactly a national identity, but there’s something that comes out of the tradition of Japanese samurai movies that we can see here, and I feel that idea of kind of like suffering and taking on a lot for the group is really important here.

Tetsushi Akahori: I work at the production level as a producer. I don’t draw particular episodes, but I think I can make a contribution of my own here, telling you about what I appreciate or seen that’s particularly important for me, and that’s Episode 892. … That’s a scene where the kind of look, the background, the kind of atmosphere of One Piece changes, and I felt that when it was broadcast, I was really, really pleased that we were kind of producing a new kind of One Piece and that [it received] such [a] strong positive audience reaction made me feel really happy.

Is there a consensus or any strict rules on the aura effect for haki? Or is creative control left up to the animators?

Akahori: There are some general rules at the kind of broadest level, yes. But each animator has their own particular style, and we actually want to encourage that. Yes.

I love all the haki, by the way.

Everyone: [Laughs]

Will the current Land of Wano art style be used once we progress toward the Egghead Island arc?

Koyama: So, of course, you know, they’re very different. The Wano Kuni and Egghead are very different arcs. And so we will be choosing or adopting a style that’s best that will, you know, promote or be best for Egghead Island. Yeah. So that’s something that we’re contemplating now.