HIGHLIGHTS

The Four Emperors make moves against Heart Pirates and Kid Pirates in the New World.
Shanks and Kid Pirates’ confrontation on Elbaf is highly anticipated, with stakes high for Toei Animation to deliver.
The fight showcases Shanks’ power and how the Worst Generation measures up against him, highlighting shifts in New World power dynamics.

While the situation on Egghead Island escalates in the One Piece anime, the focus has now shifted back to events in the New World, as the Four Emperors make their moves against the Heart Pirates and Kid Pirates. Earlier, Trafalgar Law’s Heart Pirates were utterly defeated by the Blackbeard Pirates on Winner Island, with only Law and Bepo managing to escape by the skin of their teeth.

Now, the closing segment of Episode 1109 of One Piece has set the stage for another highly-awaited fight. Off the coast of Elbaf, Shanks and his crew await the arrival of the Kid Pirates, with two Road Poneglyph copies acting as the spoils for this impending confrontation. This battle took One Piece’s fan base by storm when it premiered in Eiichiro Oda’s original manga, and the pressure is even higher for Toei Animation to deliver in the anime, and here are a few reasons why that is the case.

Kid’s Vendetta Lands On Elbaf’s Shores

It is no secret that Eustass Kid has a score to settle with the Red Hair Pirates, especially when considering the humiliating defeat he suffered against them during their last confrontation. After forming an alliance with Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo to take down the Red Hair Pirates, Kid and his allies came out on the losing side, without even meeting Shanks face-to-face.

During this battle, Kid himself lost an arm and his memory of this incident continues to haunt him even after his exploits in the Wano Country Arc of One Piece. Given Kid’s massive ego and confrontational nature, it is no surprise that he has been aching for a chance to prove himself against Shanks, particularly after he helped take down another Emperor of the Sea, Big Mom, in Wano Country.

With a bounty of 3,000,000,000 berries, Kid is one of the most wanted pirates in the New World, whose notoriety is near or perhaps even on par with the Four Emperors. As a result, this confrontation against one of the strongest and most influential figures in One Piece, is the perfect proving ground to see how far he has come since his last skirmish with the Red Hair Pirates.

The First Real Showcase Of Shanks’ Power

Besides all the aforementioned factors, this is effectively the first time that Shanks will be directly involved in a fight, and there has been no shortage of conjecture regarding the source of his strength along with his fighting style. Having been a part of One Piece since its very beginning, Shanks’ influence has been felt at various points in the story, but things might be about to change with this battle.

Since inspiring Luffy to set sail by gifting his straw hat to him, Shanks has made a few appearances from time to time, but he has always used diplomacy to resolve any conflicts that he was involved in. However, this option is certain to be off the table with Kid, and only manga readers will have an idea of just how awe-inspiring Shanks’ strength can be when it is finally unleashed in the upcoming fight.

Why Is This Fight So Critical To The Egghead Arc?

During multiple points in the anime adaptation of the Egghead Arc, Toei Animation has fleshed out fight scenes to a considerable extent, stretching them far beyond their original scope in the manga. While earlier arcs in One Piece were criticized for extending the manga’s content in a fashion that was akin to filler, this has not been the case of late.

From the fight between Luffy and Rob Lucci, to Blackbeard’s battle with Trafalgar Law, and even the ongoing skirmish with the Seraphim, Toei has gone above and beyond to add value to the anime. This comes at a time when One Piece as a franchise is in the limelight for a number of different reasons, driven by the fervor surrounding the Final Saga of this long-running story.

Alongside its purpose of continuing the Kid Pirates’ journey beyond Wano Country, Shanks versus Eustass Kid is a fight that will highlight how the Worst Generation matches up when pitted against someone of Shanks’ caliber. Perhaps the most powerful active Emperor of the Sea in the franchise at present, Shanks is the bar that Luffy and his allies will have to aim for in order to stand up to the World Government.

This battle also highlights the constant shifts in power that are now taking place across the New World, as One Piece finally approaches its concluding act after an extremely long journey to get here. Lastly, there is a lot riding on how this fight is translated to the medium of anime, when looking back on how much of an impression it left in the manga.

What Toei Animation Needs To Get Right

Ultimately, there is a great deal of pressure on the team at Toei Animation to do justice to this fight, which is undoubtedly one of the early peaks of One Piece’s Egghead Arc. Even though the fight itself is not all-too-elaborate or drawn out, the way it is portrayed in Episode 1110 will serve as the standard for future fights as they escalate even further going forward in this story arc.

Naturally, there are a few moments within this battle that deserve special attention, which manga readers will already likely have identified. Given the rapid sequence of events that define the fight’s choreography, there will not be much scope to extend it like Toei has done with other battles in the Egghead Arc, and their success in adapting it will be defined by how much they can enhance the impact of the limited amount of content they have.