"The Greatest Day of My Life! Otama and Her Sweet Red-bean Soup!"

With the recent fight, this episode works toward a bit of healing and recovery for the pair, especially with Luffy getting some eating in to rebuild his strength. There’s a nice bit with Zoro getting his wound tended to by Okiku, a rather tall woman who is insistent on helping. His usual stoic side is no match for her though and it’s fun to watch as Zoro gets taken care of instead of just letting things heal naturally.

The bulk of the episode focuses on this kind of downtime in the first half and a bit beyond, allowing Otama to shine a bit and generally put them on the same page as they learn more about what’s been going on in Wano. It really rubs Luffy the wrong way because of his sense of right and wrong but also his own upbringing and the way so many children are treated poorly when it’s the last thing that should happen.

In summary, though more of a quiet episode until the last few minutes where Zoro gets to shine, a lot of what we get is good character material or some understanding of more of the nature of Wano and those that are in control of it.

The few tidbits we’d gotten before were good but we get a good bit more here that strike at the heart of the kind of justice and fairness that the Straw Hats believe in. The action in the final few minutes is a delight and I just enjoyed seeing competent but not overreactive Luffy handling himself while Zoro takes the stage to really deal with it and showcase his skill in the same kind of way. It again reminds me just how much I missed Zoro during the previous major arc.

Thanks for reading! See you next week! 

乂⍱‿●乂