One Piece: Egghead, Island of the Past and Future

Man, I haven’t talked about ‘One Piece‘ since 2023. That’s basically a lifetime ago in internet time. I’ve gotta brush the dust and cobwebs off my straw hat.

Following up the Wano arc was one of the tallest orders in the world. That arc set a new standard for the series, both in terms of storytelling and animation quality. More than that, it saw the largest explosion of viewers in the show’s entire twenty-plus year run. Partially because it was amazing, mostly because COVID didn’t leave people with much else to do.

Egghead had a tall damn bar to leap. And they didn’t just clear it. They soared over it with ample room to spare.

Grab a cushion, because there is a but. A fair few, actually. Later, though. First, a quick synopsis.

Fresh off their victory in Wano, the Strawhat Pirates sail towards their next adventure. The Log Pose takes them to Egghead, the Island of the Future, home to the world’s most brilliant scientist: Dr. Vegapunk. All seven of them.

This is my first criticism of the arc. Personally, I don’t think we needed seven Vegapunks. One Piece is already suffering from enormous character bloat, given the series massive scale. Adding half a dozen variants on the same guy is just too much. By the end of the arc, I’d completely lost track of which one was which and what their role was supposed to be.

On a more positive note: I love Egghead as a setting. The cartoonish sci-fi aesthetic is a delight on the eyes. Plus, the new outfits for the crew are fantastic. Sanji and Jimbe in Hawaiian shirts never fail to make me laugh.

But the Straw Hats aren’t alone. Before reaching the shore, the crew run into an unexpected face: Jewelry Bonney, a fellow member of the Worst Generation. She’s come to Egghead with two purposes in mind. To find her father, Bartholomew Kuma. The second: to get her revenge on Vegapunk for turning him into a Pacifista.

Bonney’s storyline is easily my favorite of the arc. Largely due to its tying into Kuma’s flashback. In a series chalk full of incredible backstories, Kuma’s stands tall as one of the best. Mysteries that have lingered since Thriller Bark are finally solved, and yet more are introduced to pave the way for arcs to come. That ending makes me ugly cry every single time.

It also fleshes out our primary antagonist this time around: Saint Saturn of the Gorosei. Him and the other Elders have been a shadow looming over the world for ages. Now, at last, we see the full extent of their terrible power. Of the five demons who live atop the world. Saturn in particular is one of the most loathsome villains we’ve seen to date. Where Vegapunk seeks to bring about positive change through science, Saturn twists his creations into weapons of mass destruction. He takes beautiful things, beautiful people, and twists them to his will. If he can’t control them, he breaks them. This dude is pure evil through and through, and the other four aren’t any better.

We also get a few returning villains, like Lucci and Kaku. Who, even after getting their own power-ups, have been completely left behind by our heroes. Watching Luffy utterly dismantle Lucci after how brutal their first match was is nothing short of cathartic.

On that subject, I’ve gotta talk about Kizaru. Up to this point, he’s been a fun yet menacing antagonist. Here, Oda peels back the layers of the onion to reveal the true depth beneath. Egghead isn’t just another job for him. Vegapunk is his friend. He helped build the island up with his own hands. Now, he’s been ordered to burn it all down. It’s a gripping conflict, and his rematch with Luffy is one of the highest points in the whole arc.

There are tons of other returning faces, most more welcome than the lazy Admiral. Dory and Broggy are back from Little Garden to crack some Navy skulls. Coby and Garp cause their own little incident on Fullalead, battling Aokiji and Blackbeard’s forces. Law and Kid get their own scuffles against Teech and Shanks respectively. Vivi’s off having her own adventures on the run from Imu. And that’s not even getting into the numerous cameos we get during Vegapunk’s announcement.

That’s as good a note as any to start on the lore. There are revelations abound, concerning both the mysteries of the past and events of the future. The clues to the truth behind the Will of D and the Void Century were already exciting. But the Vegapunk’s prophecy of doom sends the stakes into the stratosphere. After spending literal decades with these questions looming over our heads, it finally feels like we’re drawing near to the answers.

In another few years. All good things to those who wait and so on.

While I primarily stuck to the manga, I did keep my eye on the anime for most of the arc. Wano raised the bar high on the animation quality, and Egghead somehow managed to leap over it with style and grace. Even the arc’s least significant battles are a delight on the eyes. Combined with the incredible new additions to the score, and the whole arc just looks and sounds awesome!

For the most part. As you might expect given the show’s tight production schedule, there are plenty of valleys for every peak. Unfortunately, pacing is still a big problem for the anime. A single punch can get dragged out to nearly two minutes, simply by repeating the same three shots over and over.

Luckily, this long-running problem is finally being addressed. With Egghead now concluded, the series is transitioning from an all-year serial to a more traditional seasonal show. A change I personally could not be more happy with! We may be getting less ‘One Piece‘, but if that means more consistent animation quality and smoother pacing, that is a price I will gladly pay!

All in all, Egghead was yet another fantastic arc for the series. Not my favorite, by any means. But it still delivers on everything I want from ‘One Piece‘. Lots of laughs, tears, thrilling revelations, and jaw-dropping fight scenes.

I cannot wait to see Elbaph in animation. If you thought this arc was nuts, y’all haven’t seen anything yet! We haven’t reached the peak just yet!

Thanks very much for reading. Until next time: stay safe, sailors.