In One Piece Episode 1144, the five elders Jaygarcia Saturn, Shepherd Ju Peter, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, Marcus Mars, and Topman Warcury join together to take on Luffy and the Strawhat’s. They quickly begin to target the other, Nusjuro in his Bakotsu form speeds through the island cutting down the Pacifista with his ice blade. Meanwhile, Sanji tries to get the Strawhat’s to leave the island. However, Zoro is taking his time defeating Lucci.
Pressured by Sanji, Zoro finally defeats Lucci with Three Sword Style: Spot Hunt. Luffy is being attacked by Ju Peter’s Sandworm form. Peter tries to eat Luffy but the Giants, Dorry and Brogy use Sun Saw to decapitate the Sandworm and free Luffy. If I think about, not too much actually happens in the episode. While Lucci does get defeated the story doesn’t move very much. However, this episode is yet another example of One Piece’s stellar animation.
This episode does set up the next arc even if it’s just a little bit. The Giants make an appearance. They manage to man handle several of the elders with their strength which is surprising. The only Elder that really got to show off his abilities this episode was Nusjuro, whose speed maybe unmatched in the series. He’s seems like a perfect future opponent for Zoro. The fight between Lucci and Zoro was brief but epic. As many have noted, the One Piece series seems bias in favor of Zoro over Sanji, who rarely gets this kind of spotlight.
