One Piece Episode 824 review!

         With a kind of singular focus the last time around that involved a lot of running around as the group came together a bit more in the mirror world, One Piece essentially padded things out a touch. The regrouping portion of any arc in this franchise has its familiar elements – and its fun – and this one is no exception. While I wanted more of Luffy getting closer to Sanji or seeing Sanji make some bold moves after all that he’s learned, you know you have to wait for the right time on that. And that means dealing with the situation that Brook’s in by being Big Mom’s plaything in a really crazy kind of situation with the guardians that she has with her. 

     While we get a bit more of Luffy’s fight outside at the start where he’s taking a beating, the fun really gets underway when Brook wakes up in the “arms” of everyone else in the mirror world and has his freakout over it that’s silly and amusing. There’s a nice nod of closure for what Pedro did as he apologizes and Brook makes clear that none is necessary in service of the larger mission, which is a welcome moment. What’s really amusing is how easily (and freakishly) Brook hands over the copy of the Ponegliff and the freakout that Nami has over it. With that in hand the plan is now to connect with the remaining members, though Sanji is proving hard to find since he’s put things in motion to be outside, which has him coming across Luffy amid his fight that has him beaten down a fair bit. All things reconnect in the long run in One Piece.

      The show does work through some smaller areas to set what’s to come as the wedding is the next day and that means seeing the brothers enjoying some drinking together and complaining about barmaids that can’t hold their liquor. These guys are just terrible people in general and it’s amusing to see how others are aware of this and Big Mom is keeping them isolated to drink/sleep it off so as to not ruin things. There’s not a lot of material to this, though Sanji’s sister continues to be portrayed as one that will shift in some form, and likely with a significant cost, before all is said and done. But the fun for me was just watching through the material outside with Sanji doing his best to find Luffy in the rain amid all the bodies from the fight where Luffy made his declaration. The further cementing of his anger and shame over what he did really coming through well.

In Summary:

 
      Again, One Piece is the kind of piecemeal show that it always is, offering up some crumbs along the way while building the larger theme. There’s a lot to like with it, such as Brook and the Ponegliff and the material we get seeing both Sanji’s sister by herself and the brothers off elsewhere, but the culmination of events for a while now in the final scene here is just one of the best pieces because it leaves you wanting oh so much more. Sanji and Luffy have been together for so long and been through so much that their relationship is truly among the strongest here and I can’t wait to see how this confrontation plays out.

Watch One Piece Episode 824 here