One Piece fans are slamming the anime for once again fumbling a standout moment for Sanji in the “Egghead” arc that paled in comparison to the manga.
Episode 1105 of the One Piece anime recently premiered this week, and while most viewers were pleased with the latest development in the “Egghead” story arc, others were furious over the adaptation of certain scenes from the manga. More specifically, an incredible moment for Sanji was translated into what many perceived as an underwhelming experience at best, and at worst, a “butchering.”
As noted by social media X user @/pewpiece, the latest episode of the One Piece anime trended online, but not for the reasons most were hoping for. In Episode 1105, S-Shark fires at the adorable robot Edison after the Vegapunk variant lands on top of a building. The impact of the blast knocks off Lilith until she’s saved by Franky. After landing safely on the ground, Lilith cries out to Edison in fear that he didn’t survive the blast. A swift wind emerges from the blast fumes, revealing itself to be Sanji, who saved Edison in the nick of time. However, in the manga, Sanji saves Edison before S-Shark’s attack landes, demonstrating the incredible agility of the Straw Hat cook. Most significantly, Sanji lands with Edison right next to Roronoa Zoro, who appears startled by Sanji’s sudden appearance.
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Making matters worse, a scene where Zoro saves Lilith from S-Hawk’s attack and immediately overpowers him arguably has more time and attention put into it than Sanji’s. This has added fuel to the argument that the One Piece anime staff goes above and beyond in portraying Zoro as an amazing swordsman while dropping the ball on Sanji’s feats of strength. Fans have also pointed out that the One Piece anime made the controversial creative decision to add an anime-only scene where S-Shark throws Sanji against the wall, while the manga instead has Sanji landing a devastating kick on the Seraphim clone. Some have also argued that the animated version weakens Sanji’s kick at S-Shark to the point where it no longer looks like S-Shark is seriously harmed by the attack.
As One Piece Episode 1105 Faces Controversy, Others Come to Its Defense
While many One Piece fans are disappointed by Sanji’s heroic moment in the latest episode, others are coming to its defense. Some argue that manga readers simply interpreted the scene wrong and that Zoro wasn’t startled by Sanji suddenly landing next to him — instead, Zoro is reacting to S-Hawk, which happens in the anime. Meanwhile, others don’t believe the anime adapted the scene of Sanji saving Edison wrong or that it is a significant downgrade from the manga, as the original intent is still there; Sanji still uses his amazing agility to save Edison before it’s too late.
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It’s also important to take into consideration the storytelling differences between anime and manga. Static manga scenes need more material to properly play out in animation, resulting in new scenes like Franky rescuing Lilith when he isn’t there in the original. In an effort to draw out the fight between Sanji and S-Shark, the One Piece anime staff may have believed it would be more engaging to see Sanji get hit by S-Shark to demonstrate the character’s deadly power and add to the satisfaction of seeing Sanji defeat him later on in the anime.
